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Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified an evolutionarily preserved scent molecule in mammalian blood that attracts predators and repels prey. In the study, published in Scientific Reports, they also report that humans exposed to the smell become stressed and react to it as if they were prey.

Is it less wrong to avoid tax if everyone else is doing it? A new study from Karolinska Institutet demonstrates that our view of what is morally right or wrong is shaped by how widespread a particular behaviour is. The results, which are presented in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, can improve our understanding of the psychological mechanisms behind attitudinal change in society.

What happens in the brain when we see other people experiencing a trauma or being subjected to pain? Well, the same regions that are involved when we feel pain ourselves are also activated when we observe other people who appear to be going through some painful experience. This is shown in a study from Karolinska Institutet published in Nature Communications. But we are sensitive to different degrees to learning fear from other people and one explanation would appear to be found in the endogenou

​​​​​​​In a new study led from Karolinska Institutet, researchers report that people can be conditioned to associate images with particular pain responses – such as improved tolerance to pain – even when they are not consciously aware of the images. The findings are being published in the journal PNAS.

Imagine shrinking to the size of a doll in your sleep. When you wake up, will you perceive yourself as tiny or the world as being populated by giants? Researchers at Karolinska Institutet may have found the answer.