TheMindReport

Nasal temperature drops during stress, especially social speech stress

Thermal video of the nose tracked an objective “stress dip,” and it lined up with body-type anxiety symptoms more than self-rated stress. In healthy adults, nasal skin temperature dropped during two lab stressors and rebounded during recovery, but did not fully return to baseline in five minutes. A speech-based social stressor produced a bigger temperature […]

The Serenade of Shower Sounds: Enhancing Math Skills with the Hum of Rain

Introduction: A Symphony of Numbers Picture this: you’re immersed in a world of numbers, facing a complex math problem or perhaps struggling with those tricky first steps in algebra. What if the key to finding clarity isn’t another cup of coffee but, instead, a simple yet rhythmic backdrop: the sound of rain? Intriguing, isn’t it? […]

Decoding Brain Activity: A New Approach to Filtering fMRI Noise

Introduction: Peering into the Brain’s Resting State Imagine trying to listen to your favorite song during a thunderstorm; it’s tricky, right? Differentiating between the music and the background noise takes effort. This scenario mirrors the challenge faced by researchers when dissecting brain activity captured by functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). The fMRI techniques allow scientists […]

The Secret Noise That Changes Our Minds: Insights from the Three-Spined Stickleback

Introduction: Sound Waves, Quiet Creatures, and Shifting Minds Imagine living in a place where silence is often shattered by sudden noises—a car horn, construction clatter, or the bang of a door. For many of us, these noises are simply part of life’s background hum, easily ignored after a while. But what if these everyday sounds […]