Do we perceive the weight of our body parts and the weight of objects differently?

According to Newton’s law, weight is given by the product of its mass and gravity. How does the brain determine the weight of objects and body parts?

Does the combination of psychedelics and meditation enhance mystical experiences?

Researchers assessed whether combining psychedelics with meditation increases mindfulness, compassion, insight, and mystical-type transcendence to a higher degree than meditation with a placebo.

Health professionals' responses to stress in critical care scenarios and the risk of burnout

A study assessed the psychobiological functioning of 27 Pre-Hospital Emergency Medical doctors and paramedics, stressing the importance of recovery periods.

How does our brain organize past memories?

Episodic memory allows us to mentally relive moments from the past, retrieving details such as what happened, where, and when. However, the way we recall these events can vary, highlighting different aspects of the experience. Studies indicate that cued recollection simultaneously activates two essential brain networks: the DMN (Default Mode Network) and the FPCN (Frontoparietal Control Network). An investigation led by Matteo Frisoni analysed whether different memory dimensions – details of objects and characters, spatial layouts, temporal sequences, and verbal dialogues – are processed in specialized sub-regions within these networks and whether this differentiation influences recall performance. The results showed that the FPCN exhibited common activation for all memory dimensions, while the DMN revealed more pronounced specialization, especially in its posterior regions. Additionally, it was found that greater functional specificity within these networks was associated with better memory performance. The research also revealed an asymmetry in the DMN, with greater activation in the left hemisphere for all dimensions except the temporal, while the FPCN maintained balanced activation between hemispheres. This study offers a new perspective on how the brain organizes and optimizes our ability to recall past experiences. This study was supported by the BIAL Foundation, in the scope of the research project 384/20 - Schema-based temporal memory in parietal cortex (SCHETEMP), and published in the journal NeuroImage, in the article Specialization for different memory dimensions in brain activity evoked by cued recollection - ScienceDirect.

Why do some people remember their dreams and others don't?

Dreams are like windows into the mind, reflecting daily memories, beliefs, and concerns, while playing an essential role in learning, memory consolidation, and even our mental and physical health. Although almost everyone dreams, the ability to recall these experiences varies greatly from person to person. Research led by Giulio Bernardi sought to better understand this phenomenon by analysing the factors that influence dream recall. To do this, the team used a multimodal database that collected dream reports, personal characteristics, and cognitive, psychometric, and neurophysiological measures. The results point to three main factors that determine whether a person wakes up with the memory of the dream experience: attitude towards dreams, tendency to mind-wander, and sleep patterns. Additionally, the ability to recall dream details depends on resistance to interference and age. Interestingly, similar sleep patterns seem to favour both dreams with content and so-called "white dreams" - those we know we had, but whose content escapes us. This suggests that white dreams are real experiences, whose memories simply disappear upon waking. This study reinforces the idea that dreams are shaped by individual and momentary factors, opening new perspectives to understand their connection with memory and the human mind. This study was supported by the BIAL Foundation, in the scope of the research project 91/20 - Mentation report analysis across distinct states of consciousness: A linguistic approach, and published in the journal Communications Psychology - Nature, in the article The individual determinants of morning dream recall | Communications Psychology.

Can meditation change the way we face death?

The brain is constantly creating and updating models of reality, anticipating future events and adjusting to minimize surprises. Although this mechanism is essential for our adaptation, it can also lead to an unsettling awareness of mortality. To avoid this discomfort, the brain has developed automatic ways to distance death, attributing it to the "other" rather than oneself. A team led by Aviva Berkovich-Ohana investigated whether meditation could reduce this natural tendency to deny death. The study revealed that experienced meditators react differently compared to novices: instead of rejecting the idea of their own mortality, they seem to accept it more naturally. Thus, the results provide evidence that meditation can transform the way the brain processes death, shifting from denial to acceptance. Furthermore, this change was associated with greater well-being and advanced states of self-transcendence. This suggests that integrating meditation into clinical contexts could be a promising approach to dealing with the fear of death, complementing psychological and pharmacological therapies that more radically affect self-perception. This study was published in the journal Neuroscience of Consciousness, in the article Training the embodied self in its impermanence: Meditators evidence neurophysiological markers of death acceptance, as part of the research project 191/20 - Understanding the brain mechanisms of death-denial for fostering mindfulness-based existential resilience, supported by the BIAL Foundation.