Chinese researchers report that academic burnout can push adolescents towards excessive online gaming. Using a large-scale cross-sectional survey, the researchers assessed the associations among academic burnout, internet gaming, depressive symptoms, and attentional bias. They found that academic burnout can lead to depression and negative thinking, which, in turn, leads to further dependency on internet gaming. The study also emphasized the importance of improved curriculum and stress reduction programs to support the mental well-being of adolescents.

Every thought, memory, and feeling we experience depends on trillions of tiny connection points in the brain called synapses. These are the junctions where one neuron passes signals to another, forming the vast communication network known as the connectome—the brain’s wiring diagram. Although scientists have developed powerful tools to increase or decrease neural activity, directly redesigning the brain’s physical wiring has remained far more difficult.

A research team led by Dr. LEE Sangkyu and Director C. Justin LEE at the Center for Memory and Glioscience within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), in collaboration with Dr. LEE Kea Joo of the Korea Brain Research Institute (KBRI), has now developed a molecular tool that makes such structural editing possible. The new platform, called SynTrogo (Synthetic Trogocytosis), enables researchers to induce astrocytes to selectively remodel synaptic connections in a targeted brain circuit.

New research has revealed people trying to resist their food cravings use social media content featuring indulgent treats as a substitute for eating the real thing.

Learning a second language is becoming increasingly popular worldwide, with millions of people turning to digital tools and mobile applications to pick up a new language at their own pace. But what makes some more popular or effective than others?

Many successful language-learning apps are built around a simple idea of making learners guess a word based on a picture, even before they learn the answer. This design isn’t just for fun, but a strategy that draws on decades of cognitive psychology which suggests that attempting an answer first and then seeing the correct one strengthens memory.

Now, a new study by the National University of Singapore (NUS) provides formal experimental evidence confirming why this works. The research shows that word-picture guessing exercises with immediate feedback can significantly improve adults’ ability to recall new vocabulary in a second language.