Behavioral Research Blog

Object exploration is part of infants’ early development. How do infants with Down syndrome explore the world around them? And how is exploratory behavior related to their general development?

In my previous blog post, I shared some of the basics of cognitive neuroscience. In this blog post, we will zoom into a more specific part of cognitive neuroscience: emotions.

Humans are incredibly good at recognizing patterns. Now computers can do it as well, and that can be useful. Read more about machine learning and object detection.

Is there a relationship between food choice and a person’s mood? Bartkiene et al. examined the factors that influence our food choice, using facial expression analysis.

The SUKIPANI smile is an exercise to train the muscles you use while smiling. Dr. Sugahara explains the effect of the movements of the muscles and uses FaceReader to analyze the smiles.

We all agree that communication in the operating room is essential. It saves time and ensures a better quality of patient care. Using the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist supports this. How can we learn to use this checklist?

Nowadays, measuring heart rate and heart rate variability can be done remotely, without all kinds of devices being attached to the test participant, using remote photoplethysmography (RPPG). What is RPPG and how does it work?

Tube feeding has had a fascinating history, but there is still scope for innovation. Noldus will develop a system to measure its users' experience in the FoodFriend project.

How can we understand emotional reactivity in children with ADHD? In the current study, Tarle and her colleagues examined the relation between emotion regulation and working memory in children with and without this disorder.

Nutrition plays a vital role in children’s growth, development, and health. Researcher Walton and her team observed family mealtimes to gain a better understanding of children’s nutrition risk.

Including social behavior as part of a phenotypic screen has important benefits and eventually leads to better translational value of rodent models.

Introducing the Behavioral Analysis Facility. Researchers evaluate the behavioral and functional activities of new pharmacological drugs using diverse functional tests. Learn more about their recent projects.

Why are the rewarding effects of nicotine greater in diabetic rats?

Contrary to common methods, gait analysis can detect clinically relevant symptoms early on, researchers say.

First developed in 1981 by Richard Morris, the Morris water maze task is still one of the most popular tests for memory and learning in rodents.

Rodent social behavior is important in research on neuropsychiatric disorders, but major limitations hamper progress.

So what kind of behavior can you measure? We haven't had time to follow all five behavior research tracks but here are a few highlights of the first conference day.

How zebrafish are helping us to discover the mechanisms behind this neurodegenerative disease.

Worm infections can cause cognitive problems. But it’s unclear if it affects learning, memory, or both.

It is pretty well-known that stress and anxiety have an effect on the immune system. This can be a real problem, especially in psychiatric disorders.