Under the Cortex

How Our Brains Grasp Faces

From the earliest months of life, we rely on faces to help us navigate the world. They tell us who’s safe, who’s familiar, and whether they’re paying attention to us. But

The Cost of Efficiency: Exploring Doubling-Back Aversion

Why do we avoid retracing our steps—even when it helps us reach our goals faster? In this episode of Under the Cortex, host Özge Gürcanlı Fischer-Baum speaks with Kristin

Time Warped: How Repetition Distorts Our Sense of Duration

Why do familiar experiences sometimes feel like they happened longer ago than they actually did?  In this episode of Under the Cortex, host Özge Gürcanlı Fischer-Baum sp

Two Maps in the Mind: How the Brain Stores What We Know About Others

How does your brain keep track of the people in your life—not just who they are, but where they are in relation to you and to each other?  In this episode of Under the C

Bridging Research and Editorial Vision: A Conversation with Arturo Hernandez

How do the roles of researcher and editor inform each other? What can this intersection tell us about the future of psychological science?    In this episode of Under t

Real-Time Research: How the Experience Sampling Method Is Changing Psychology

How do you design a study that captures human experience as it unfolds in real time? In this episode, Under the Cortex explores the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), a po

Why Do Emotions Hijack Our Decisions? The Neuroscience of Impulsivity

Why do some people struggle to control their actions when emotions run high? What happens in the brain when impulsive decisions take over? Why do some brains lose control

Beyond Words: Why TalkBank is Crucial for Spoken Language Research

Most linguistic datasets focus on written text, but what about the way we actually speak? TalkBank, the world’s largest open-access repository of spoken language, is help

Ensuring Research Validity: A Checklist for Stronger Science

Scientific credibility depends on valid research. But with growing concerns about replication failures and questionable research practices, how can scientists ensure thei

Young Minds, Smart Strategies: How Children Decide When to Use External Memory Aids

Do young children prefer to rely on their memory, or do they take the easier route and use external aids like lists and reminders? How do they decide when to put in the m

Understanding Addiction: A General Liability or Unique Disorders?

Is there a single explanation that accounts for all addictive behaviors, or is the reality more complex? How can quantitative classification methods help uncover the nuan

Addressing Selection Bias in Disparities Research

Psychological research often focuses on disparities, but how do the populations studied impact the reliability of findings?  In this episode of Under the Cortex, Özge Gü

Beyond Focus: How Attention Shapes Learning Differently for Children and Adults

Children often surprise us with the details they remember—sometimes even better than adults! But what if their ability to learn comes not from focus, but from a broader,

Dosage Dilemma: Unpacking Meditation App Science

Although meditation apps are gaining popularity, a clear link between usage dosage and intervention outcomes has yet to be established.  In this episode of Under the Cor

The Hidden Cost of Caregiving: Stress, Anxiety and Coping Mechanisms

As populations age, the need for informal caregivers is increasing. As individuals step up to provide care for loved ones in need, they face their own mental health chall

2024 in Review: 10 Most Popular Articles from APS Journals

How do the five love languages hold up to empirical research? How do psychological researchers feel about self-censorship? How does gender equality vary by country global

Building Bridges: Exploring Cooperation in Children

When children play, how do they develop the essential skill of cooperation? What methods do they use to solve complex problems while working in teams? How do they approac

Heart Rates and Step Counts: A Novel Approach to Eating Disorder Care

What potential do everyday devices, like smartwatches, have in transforming the management and treatment of eating disorders?    In this episode, Under the Cortex explo

Midlife-Onset Alcohol Dependence: Causes and Consequences

What drives the onset of alcohol dependence in midlife? How does it present unique challenges, and what strategies can help when it disrupts the lives of individuals and

Too Many Connections? How Aging Impacts Memory and Recall

How does the brain’s memory function change as we grow older? What recent discoveries are helping us understand these changes better?  In this episode of Under the Corte