We’ve all heard it: Put a frog in boiling water, and it will jump out. But put the same frog in lukewarm water and heat it gradually, and you’ll cook the frog. Often used as a metaphor for the unhurried and stubborn response many have to a slowly rising threat, the mechanisms underlying the urban myth have become a subject of scientific fascination.
This parable seems to have inspired new Northwestern University research, which identified a brain pathway responsible for rapid-threat detection.
“Animals are more likely to react to rapid rather than slow environmental change,” said lead…
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News Source: www.sciencedaily.com