Explanatiion of how religious beliefs may be formed

Feeling anxious can direct our attention and memory toward supernatural beings such as gods, a new study has found.

Our dreams' weirdness might be why we have them, argues new AI-inspired theory of dreaming

Why we dream is a divisive topic within the scientific community, and the neuroscience field is saturated with hypotheses. Inspired by techniques used to train deep neural networks, a neuroscience researcher argues for a new theory of dreams: the overfitted brain hypothesis. The hypothesis suggests that the strangeness of our dreams serves to help our brains better generalize our day-to-day experiences.

Meditative practice and spiritual wellbeing may preserve cognitive function in aging

It is projected that up to 152 million people worldwide will be living with Alzheimer's disease (AD) by 2050. To date there are no drugs that have a substantial positive impact on either the prevention or reversal of cognitive decline. A growing body of evidence finds that targeting lifestyle and vascular risk factors have a beneficial effect on overall cognitive performance. A new review examines research that finds spiritual fitness, a new concept in medicine that centers on psychological and spiritual wellbeing, and Kirtan Kriya, a simple 12-minute meditative practice, may reduce multiple risk factors for AD.

Predicting who may do best with psychedelic-assisted therapy

As psychedelics gain ground as a potential therapy for mental health disorders, there remains a pressing concern that patients in clinical trials may have adverse effects to the drugs. New research identifies personality traits that have been associated with positive and negative experiences on psychedelics in previous studies, information that could help predict how future clinical trial participants will respond to the drugs.

The role of adult playfulness in romantic life

While play and playfulness have been studied well in children, their structure and consequences are understudied in adults. A new article highlights available research on this topic and also examines why playfulness is important in romantic relationships.

Atheists and believers both have moral compasses, but with key differences

A new study suggests that, while atheists and theists share moral values related to protecting vulnerable individuals, atheists are less likely to endorse values that promote group cohesion and more inclined to judge the morality of actions based on their consequences.

Real-time dialogue with a dreaming person is possible

Dreams take us to what feels like a different reality. They also happen while we're fast asleep. So, you might not expect that a person in the midst of a vivid dream would be able to perceive questions and provide answers to them. But a new study shows that, in fact, they can.