Neuroscience around the Web – Issue 8

Your brain releases dopamine twice during a meal or snack: Once when you first eat the food, and a second time when it reaches your stomach. Dopamine is a "feel good" hormone and the more you crave a food, the more dopamine is released on first taste, but the less is released when it reaches your stomach. This is how overeating may happen: We keep eating until sufficient dopamine is released.

It's well-known that other people's moods affect our own. The is called "emotional contagion" and occurs online as well. Now researches have found that online videos also influence our emotions. "We mirror the emotions of those we see online and we seek out people who share our emotions." To protect ourselves from "catching" negative emotions, we need to be vigilant about the online content we consume.

Our self-image is distorted, our motives are often a complete mystery to us, our family and friends see us better than we see ourselves, we think we're better at something than we really are, we deceive ourselves without realizing it, and more, in this insightful article.

Society's messages shape our emotions and thoughts about our own and other people’s bodies. "We feel responsible for the size and shape of our bodies, despite the many influences on the styling of our lives and our bodies. We are encouraged to see our bodies and health as personal projects, and as failures unless they conform to a particular ideal."

And that of your partner, "but only if the couple works in the same company or occupation." That's "because work-linked couples have a better idea of what's going on in each other's work."