A team of Tel Aviv University researchers from the field of prehistoric archaeology has proposed an innovative hypothesis regarding an intriguing question: Why did ancient humans bring their young children to cave painting sites, deep underground — through dark, meandering, hazardous passages? The researchers explain: “Next to many cave paintings, there is clear evidence of the presence of children as young as two years old.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects social communication and development. A key characteristic in its clinical diagnosis is that autistic children rarely look at others’ faces, which is internationally recognized as a significant behavioral marker. Now, however, a new study aims to challenge this idea by using a combination of child-friendly testing environments and artificial intelligence to better understand the relationship between eye contact, cognitive development, and children’s attention skills.

A research team led by Dr. SHIN Hee-sup at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) has uncovered a fundamental brain circuit that distinguishes these two types of fear. Their findings reveal that the locus coeruleus (LC), a small brainstem structure that produces norepinephrine (NA), plays a crucial role in processing fear—but in a lateralized manner, with the right and left hemispheres serving distinct functions.