When people encounter new information that challenges their expectations, their pupils are likely to dilate. This physiological response is a sign that something is happening in the brain to help the person adapt to the new situation, according to a study led by Brown University researchers and published in Nature Human Behaviour.

BBRF is hosting a free webinar, “How Hand Gestures Can Support Communication for Those With Autism and ADHD, and/or Language Impairments” on August 11, 2026, at 2pm ET. Dr. Nadya Modyanova will share research exploring how the brain understands hand gestures and how caregiver hand gestures can help make communication easier and more accessible for people with autism, ADHD, and language impairments. The webinar will be moderated by Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., President & CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation and host of the Emmy® nominated television series Healthy Minds.

Previous research has suggested that overconfidence may also help children learn. Believing they can succeed, the theory goes, might encourage them to persist longer at difficult tasks and eventually see performance improvements. New research, however, suggests that this apparent learning advantage may be a statistical illusion.

UCLA Health and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center researchers used real human brain tissue samples, donated by several neurosurgery patients and kept alive in a lab for several days, to test the underlying mechanisms of deep brain stimulation.