Cogent Biosciences Soars 120% on Breakthrough Phase 3 Results for Bezuclastinib in GIST Treatment 
Lost in space: MethaneSat failed just as NZ was to take over mission control – here’s what we need to know now 
Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026 
Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Breakthrough Success With First NASA Mission 
SpaceX’s Starship Completes 11th Test Flight, Paving Way for Moon and Mars Missions 
FDA Pilot Program Eases Rules for Nicotine Pouch Makers 
NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead 
NASA Astronauts Wilmore and Williams Recover After Boeing Starliner Delay 
Is space worth the cost? Accounting experts say its value can’t be found in spreadsheets 
CDC Vaccine Review Sparks Controversy Over Thimerosal Study Citation 
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Reaches New Heights but Ends in Setback 
Conventional wisdom has always taught people that winning takes dedication, conviction, and hard work. However, scientists recently discovered that it could also be as simple as flipping a switch in the brain. It’s a neat behavioral conditioning technique where those who have a meek or submissive disposition can be turned into more assertive personalities with a winner’s mindset.
In the paper published in Science, Chinese scientists explain how they were able to transform mice that displayed tendencies of “losers” into ones that had the traits of “winners”. It basically involves putting the rodents in a situation wherein they could display a more dominant act, which reinforces the part of the brain that aims for such results.
“Social dominance in mice depends on their history of winning in social contests,” the paper reads. “Zhou et al. found that this effect is mediated by neuronal projections from the thalamus to a brain region called the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Selective manipulation of synapses driven by this input revealed a causal relationship between circuit activity and mental effort–based dominance behavior. Thus, synapses in this pathway store the memory of previous winning or losing history.”
In a recent interview with The Guardian, lead researcher Hailan Hu from Zhejiang University noted how conditioning the mice to have an “Alpha” mindset also led to behaviors that lend support to that particular point of view. This behavioral conditioning method could potentially apply to humans as well.
“We stimulate this brain region and we can make lower ranked mice move up the social ladder,” Hu explained. “It’s not aggressiveness per se. It increases their perseverance, motivational drive, grit.”
As to how this could apply to people, most psychology experts agree that having a history of winning or being on a winning streak inevitably produces the effect of making organisms more assertive and confident. This applies to humans thanks to an obvious social structure.
