News & Research
How Storytelling Can Motivate Us to Help Others
The Annenberg School’s Communication Neuroscience Lab, led by doctoral candidate Mary E. Andrews, explored how personal narratives in messaging can promote protective actions for vulnerable groups during COVID-19, with a focus on healthcare workers and incarcerated individuals. Meanwhile, the Dakar Greenbelt project in Senegal aims to improve urban sustainability through ecological infrastructure, with contributions from ...Read More
Gaze and Pupil Dilation Can Reveal a Decision Before It’s Made
A study by Penn neuroscientist Michael Platt and colleagues reveals that eye movement and pupil dilation can predict decision-making, particularly in financial scenarios involving loss aversion. This research could lead to personalized interventions to influence decision-making processes, especially among older individuals, by understanding the biological aspects of decisions based on where a person looks and ...Read More
Can the New Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics Unlock the Science of Beauty?
Neuroscientist Anjan Chatterjee explores how the brain responds to art, questioning traditional concepts of art’s value and the impact of AI-generated art, in the newly established Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics. His findings highlight the evolutionary basis for perceiving beauty and art while acknowledging the cultural and neurological influences and pondering the implications of AI in ...Read More
Bigger Brains are Smarter, But Not By Much
The study, led by Gideon Nave and Philipp Koellinger, examined the relationship between brain volume and cognitive performance, concluding that while a positive relationship exists, brain size accounts for only a small percentage of performance variance. The research utilized data from over 13,600 individuals, controlling for various confounding factors, and highlighted the need for future ...Read More