A meta-analysis by Associate Professor Wang Zhe and PhD candidate Cheng Chao (East China Normal University) in Educational Psychology Review finds that seductive details have a small but significant negative effect on learning outcomes. Using three-level meta-analysis and MASEM, the study provides the first cross‑study evidence that extraneous cognitive load mediates this effect.

A new study showed that psilocybin – the chemical compound in magic mushrooms that influences behavior and emotions – dissolved in water could make fish less aggressive and lazier. Researchers found that in naturally aggressive fish, the substance could dampen frequency and intensity of energetically demanding behaviors such as aggressive swimming bursts compared with members of the same species that were not exposed to psilocybin. This is one of the few times an anti‑aggressive effect of psilocybin has been demonstrated in an animal model, the team said and pointed out that this knowledge could be used in the future to study how psilocybin alters neural signaling and yield results that eventually may be transferable to humans.