Behavioral Research Blog

Communication between husbands and wives is often discussed on TV, in magazines, and is frequently a topic of discussion amongst friends. Additionally, it is also a popular research theme.

Listening to your favorite music in your car can have a very uplifting effect and can help create a pleasant atmosphere. Also, having a conversation while driving can be a very efficient way of spending your time.

In infancy you can observe an explosive growth. Many researchers focus on this age group. Think about studies aimed at learning more about speech behavior, maternal sensitivity, or learning behavior in infancy.

With so many meetings, in so many fields of behavioral research, what makes Measuring Behavior stand out?

Don’t you miss the touch of a loved-one when they are far-away? Skype and a number of other communication channels are great solutions to talk and even video chat when you are apart.

The world's population is ageing. International dementia and Alzheimer organizations state that there are an estimated 36 million people worldwide with dementia.

Penke and Asendorpf (2008) used a large online study and a detailed behavioral assessment to investigate sociosexual behavior.

As a consumer, you have to make many different choices. Which peanut butter do you want? Which potato chips are the healthy choice?

When a baby is born prematurely, this baby and his or her parents often experience a rough start. You can think about eating problems, high risk of infection, or even anemia.

When it comes to measuring our emotional responses to food items, medical treatment, or works of art, our behavior does not always paint the whole picture.

Zebrafish are a popular model of choice for many researchers, including chronobiologists. That’s because zebrafish rapidly develop their ‘inner clock’ (circadian system) – and because this system is highly light-entrainable.

We already know some monkeys display above average intelligence. One way by which we can tell is their use of tools. Studies have shown that capuchin monkeys use boulders and logs as anvils upon which they can crush nuts.

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is one of the main neurodegenerative diseases and many researchers are involved in investigating this disease and developing treatments

On a yearly basis, an estimated 20.000 individuals are diagnosed with primary brain tumors in the United States alone. About ten times that number of patients will receive treatment for primary or metastatic brain cancer.

Don’t we all enjoy the variety and intensity of bird colors? Male birds have perhaps the most impressive color display in nature.

In the beginning of this year I wrote a post about the Morris water maze test, a popular and well-validated paradigm to study learning and memory in rats and mice.

Zebrafish are not the first species one might think of as being exposed to alcohol in their natural environment.

Behavior of laboratory rodents is often studied in well-controlled, simple experiments, in an environment that is fundamentally different from the animal’s home cage.

A great example of optogenetics in behavioral studies is the work of Dr. Kravitz and Dr. Kreitzer at the Kreitzer lab (currently, Kravitz works at the NIDDK in Bethesda). Let me tell you about it.

Last year the news was hitting the internet: The Zwiebel lab (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA) may have found a new bug repellant that is stronger than DEET.