On Barro Colorado Island, in the middle of the Panama Canal, a population of metallic-green sweat bees is divided. Half the breeding females live socially, as queens reigning over one or two worker daughters in nests burrowed into twigs. The … Continue reading
Journal Club
Highlighting recently published papers selected by Academy members
Author Archives: Amy McDermott
Journal Club: Brain scans and behavior suggest oxytocin can change perceptions of fairness
Some people are more generous in social situations—offering to cover the dinner bill for example. Others are more individualistic, preferring to keep resources for themselves. A recent study in Nature Neuroscience finds that perceptions of fairness vary from person-to-person based … Continue reading
Categories: Journal Club | Neuroscience
Tagged amygdala, fairness, orbitofrontal cortex, oxytocin, prosocial
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Journal Club: Carbon payments could prove more profitable than mining or logging for some nations
Logging, mining, and other activities plow through the tropical forests of developing countries, releasing 10 to 18 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change. One proposed solution is for wealthy countries to pay developing nations to keep … Continue reading
Categories: Climate science | Environmental Sciences | Journal Club | Sustainability Science
Tagged carbon offset, carbon payment, deforestation, Guyana, logging, mining, rainforest, REDD+
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Journal Club: Low-intensity focused ultrasound shows promise as tool to probe deep brain function
To study the brain’s networks of neurons, neuroscientists typically alter the activity in one area, and observe the cascade of effects on others—something like unscrewing one bulb in a string of Christmas lights and observing as others go dim. But … Continue reading
Categories: Journal Club | Neuroscience
Tagged amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, frontal cortex, ultrasound
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Journal Club: Pinpointing theory of mind deficiencies in autism
Around age four, preschoolers learn that other people have unique thoughts and feelings, an inner life. These children start to be able to predict a person’s behavior based on that understanding. They start developing theory of mind (ToM). That developmental … Continue reading
Categories: Journal Club | Neuroscience | Psychological and Cognitive Sciences
Tagged ASD, autism, theory of mind
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