Emotions, Stress & Anxiety

Related Topics Mental Health Diet and Lifestyle Thinking and Awareness

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The Anatomy of Emotions

It’s hard to describe what an emotion is — let alone how many of them there are or whether everyone experiences the same ones. But we do know this: emotions arise from activity in distinct parts of the brain.

BrainFacts/SfN

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Solitary Confinement: Psychological and Neurobiological Insights into Isolation

This panel discusses the implications of solitary confinement with a neurobiologist, a physician, a lawyer, and an individual held in solitary for 29 years.

BrainFacts/SfN

Using Neuroscience to Fight Solitary Confinement in Court and in Print

Jules Lobel has spent years using neuroscience studies in court to argue and prove that solitary confinement should be considered cruel and unusual punishment.

BrainFacts/SfN
14 min

How Stress Alters the Brain and Behavior

Huda Akil, professor of psychiatry at the University of Michigan, explains the many ways that the stress of chronic isolation, especially solitary confinement, affects the brain and behavior.

BrainFacts/SfN
18 min

The Impact of Isolation on the Brain

Richard J. Smeyne discusses recent research that reveals how solitary confinement can cause physical damage to the brain.

BrainFacts/SfN
16 min

Making It Visible: Neuroscience Shines a Light on Solitary Confinement

As social animals, our health depends on interactions with others. If placed in isolation, without those connections, our physical and mental health take a hit.