Behavior

It has generally been thought that electric eels are purely solitary animals, which stalk prey on their own. Now, however, scientists have described seeing the creatures hunting in packs – which only nine other fish species are known to do.

A new study is presenting a robust hypothesis to explain how a parasitic infection can alter behavior. The research provides new insights into how neurophysiological changes influence behavior, and points to novel therapeutic research targets.

A growing body of study is beginning to suggest severe apathy in older adults is an early sign of dementia. New research is now presenting one of the first longitudinal studies to show apathy could be an early symptom of cognitive decline.

A pair of studies are showing how passive smartphone data can be used to predict relapse episodes in schizophrenia patients. The research used machine learning to analyze behavioral data and predict schizophrenic relapses up to one month before they occurred.

A study, conducted over the past few months in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, has found fans of apocalyptic and horror films are reporting less distress and greater resilience during this time compared to those who don’t like such genres.

Four years after it was announced, the results of a controversial clinical trial have been published, finding a testosterone-reducing drug, originally developed for prostate cancer, lowered sexual interest in children for men with pedophilic disorder.

Scientists in Finland have conducted a study investigating the root causes of fearfulness in dogs, uncovering a previously unknown link between urban living environments and social fearfulness in dogs.

Scientists have already observed that rats will readily share food with other rats who are hungry. A new study now suggests that they do so not just based on what the other rat does, but also on how it smells.

Is there a link between personality traits and gut microbiome composition? While new research does not claim gut bacteria determines a personality, it does reveal a bi-directional association between behavior and the microbiome.

For the first time, new research describes both gesture-based and vocal communication among wild orang-utans: specifically Southwest Bornean orang-utan mothers and their young.

A study by the University of Exeter shows that staring at seagulls discourages them from stealing your chips. By placing a bag on the ground and then staring at herring gulls trying to sneak up for a free meal, the team found that stared at birds took longer than ones where the humans looked away.

We know baby birds communicate, often loudly, and mostly about food, but a new study suggests they can also communicate with each other while still in the egg. This method of communication influences the behavioral and physiological traits of newly-hatched chicks from the same clutch of eggs.