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Tag Archives: decision making

Exhaled air: A problem in buildings?

By Janet Raloff / October 30, 2012

Classrooms are one environment where carbon dioxide levels can be high. They’re also one of the last places anyone would want to risk harming reasoning abilities and thought processes. Credit: iStockphoto

New studies suggest carbon dioxide that accumulates in classrooms could limit how well the brain processes information, lead to more student absences

Posted in Environment & Pollution | Tagged air pollutant, air pollution, air quality, Architectural Energy Corp., brain, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, carbon dioxide, CO2, cognition, concentration, decision making, Environmental Health Perspectives, exhale, getinvolved, indoor air, László Kajtár, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Mark Mendell, office buildings, Roger Hedrick, room air, school absences, schools, sickness, topstories, ventilation, William Fisk

The teenage brain

By Amanda Leigh Mascarelli / October 17, 2012

The brain releases dopamine when something makes us feel good — like pulling off an exciting trick. The strength of this “feel good” response in teens helps explain why they sometimes chance real risks. Credit: iStockphoto

Adolescence triggers brain — and behavioral — changes that few kids or adults understand

Posted in Brain & Behavior | Tagged Adaptation, adolescence, Beatriz Luna, behavior, BJ Casey, brain, Brown University, Cornell University, decision making, Eveline Crone, evolution, feature, impulsiveness, incentives, learning, Leiden University, Michael Frank, nerve, neuron, prefrontal cortex, reward center, risk taking, synapses, synaptic pruning, teenager, temptations, topstories, University of Pittsburgh, ventral striatum