More and more research suggests that exercise is good for the aging brain. Researchers are also now working to understand how exercise affects the brains and behaviors of adolescents. A new study shows that while exercise does not improve teenagers’ performance on certain memory tasks, it does affect how their brains adapt to perform the […]
Decoding How Babies Learn Language: Q&A with Patricia Kuhl
Early language exposure plays a critical role in shaping the young brain. Even babies can discriminate the sounds of various languages, using computational statistics to make sense of what they hear. Patricia Kuhl, co-director of the Institute for Brain & Learning Sciences at the University of Washington, has been pioneering these studies over the past […]
Media Advisory for CNS 20th Annual Meeting in San Fransicsco
Celebrating 20 Years of Mind and Brain Discoveries Join us in San Francisco to explore the nature of how we think! Updated April 11, 2013 Media Advisory (April 2013) Check the CNS News Center during the meeting for blog posts and press releases. And follow the meeting on Twitter: @CogNeuroNews #CNS2013 For journalists attending the meeting, please […]
Using reward to improve visual awareness in stroke patients: Q&A with Paresh Malhotra
For stroke patients whose visual awareness is impaired on one side, merely offering a reward improves their attention. That is the result of a recent study that tested how stroke patients respond to stimuli when offered a financial incentive. As reported in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, the researchers gave a simple test […]
Getting the Beat: How Our Brains Process Rhythm
From babies to adults with no musical training, everyone can tap and move to a beat – whether nodding in time to a symphony, bopping to jazz, or dancing it Gangnam Style. That skill relies on a combination of basic motor processes and higher order cognitive processes, according to a new study. The research could […]
Listening in a Crowd: How Musical Training Aids Older Adults
Holding a conversation in a mall this holiday-time may prove difficult with the increasingly loud crowds, particularly for the elderly. But the musicians in the group may have an advantage, according to a new study. Having musical training appears to help older adults separate distinct sounds, the researchers found. The new study built on past […]
Treating Seizures Leads to Face Blindness Discovery: Q&A with Josef Parvizi
When Josef Parvizi set out to treat a patient with uncontrollable seizures, he was not expecting the serendipitous turn of events that would lead to a new discovery: the critical importance of two nerve clusters for perception of faces. The findings, recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience, may help researchers better understand a clinical […]
Frequent Exercise Aids Young Adults in Complex Cognitive Tasks
Regular exercise can combat a host of age-related cognitive declines, scientists are finding. But a new study indicates that exercise benefits not only older brains but also those of young adults. The research suggests that frequent exercise helps young adults to suppress inhibitions, a skill critical during complex tasks such as driving, and that it […]
Our Young Brains on Race: How Racial Perceptions Develop
How our brains respond to race changes as we develop from children to adolescents, according to a new study on race perception. The researchers found that a child’s social environment plays an important role in developing neural bias to race. The more diversity we are surrounded by at a young age, the less a person’s […]
Threats, Survival, and Fear: Q&A with Joseph LeDoux
With Halloween around the corner, fear may be on your mind. As a basic emotion, fear develops when we react to an immediate danger. Understanding exactly how our brains detect and respond to such danger has been a goal of Joseph LeDoux of the Center for Neural Science at New York University for much of […]
