How the use of smartphones can revolutionize research in cognitive science
Smartphones may be the new hot tool in cognitive psychology research, according to a paper in the online journal PLoS ONE.
View ArticleExtended synaptic development may explain our cognitive edge over other primates
Over the first few years of life, human cognition continues to develop, soaking up information and experiences from the environment and far surpassing the abilities of even our nearest primate...
View ArticlePlacebo response, pain experience occur at nonconscious level: study
With the discovery that the unconscious mind plays a key role in the placebo effect, researchers have identified a novel mechanism that helps explain the power of placebos and nocebos.
View ArticleSignal analysis techniques used to map normal neural activity
(Medical Xpress)—Looking at a tangled mass of network cables plugged into a crowded router doesn't yield much insight into the network traffic that runs through the hardware.
View ArticleLong memories in brain activity explain streaks in individual behaviour
(Medical Xpress)—Even with a constant task, human performance fluctuates in time-scales from seconds to minutes in a fractal manner. In a recent study a Finnish research group found that the individual...
View ArticleHuman cognition depends upon slow-firing neurons
Good mental health and clear thinking depend upon our ability to store and manipulate thoughts on a sort of "mental sketch pad." In a new study, Yale School of Medicine researchers describe the...
View ArticleUsing human brain cells to make mice smarter
Glial cells – a family of cells found in the human central nervous system and, until recently, considered mere "housekeepers"– now appear to be essential to the unique complexity of the human brain....
View ArticleHuman brain frontal lobes not relatively large, not sole center of intelligence
Human intelligence cannot be explained by the size of the brain's frontal lobes, say researchers.
View ArticleResearchers find protein essential for cognition, mental health
The ability to maintain mental representations of ourselves and the world—the fundamental building block of human cognition—arises from the firing of highly evolved neuronal circuits, a process that is...
View ArticleGauging ability of non-responsive patients to follow commands and communicate
A case study using functional magnetic resonance imaging suggests that behaviorally nonresponsive patients can use selective auditory attention to convey their ability to follow commands and...
View ArticleFaulty stem cell regulation may contribute to cognitive deficits associated...
The learning and physical disabilities that affect people with Down syndrome may be due at least in part to defective stem cell regulation throughout the body, according to researchers at the Stanford...
View ArticleMemory-related brain network shrinks with aging
Brain regions associated with memory shrink as adults age, and this size decrease is more pronounced in those who go on to develop neurodegenerative disease, reports a new study published Sept. 18 in...
View ArticleResearchers use new map of human brain to study dementia
Researchers at the University of Georgia are developing new maps of the human brain that promise to help in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.
View Article'False memories'—the hidden side of our good memory
Justice blindly trusts human memory. Every year throughout the world hundreds of thousands of court cases are heard based solely on the testimony of somebody who swears that they are reproducing...
View ArticleThe science behind our appreciation of art
From the mystery of the Mona Lisa's smile, to the shock of a shark suspended in formaldehyde, the question of what defines a piece of art as a great work has raged for centuries.
View ArticleMemory's crucial impact on maintaining social bonds
Memory's crucial impact on our ability to establish and maintain social bonds is the focus of a new book, "Examining the Role of Memory in Social Cognition" (Frontiers), edited by Cornell...
View ArticleHidden variations in neuronal networks may explain traumatic brain injury...
A team of researchers at the Neuroscience Institute at Georgia State University has discovered that hidden differences in the properties of neural circuits can account for whether animals are...
View ArticleNeuroscience risks being the next science research bubble
Science, like any other field that attracts investment, is prone to bubbles. Overly optimistic investments in scientific fields, research methods and technologies generate episodes comparable to those...
View ArticleMaking sense through order
Cognitive scientists at the University of Rochester say they have an alternative to the standard explanation for why order matters when the human mind processes information. Instead of ignoring the...
View ArticleHuman speech's surprising influence on young infants
America's preoccupation with the "word gap"— the idea that parents in impoverished homes speak less to their children, which, in turn, predicts outcomes like school achievement and income later in...
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