Tag: thinking

  • Ancestral asymmetries…

    Ancestral asymmetries…

    The left and right side of the brain are involved in different tasks. This functional lateralization and associated brain asymmetry are well documented in humans, but little is known about brain asymmetry in our closest living relatives, the great apes. Using endocasts (imprints of the brain on cranial bones), scientists now challenge the long-held notion […]

  • Drawing. Seeing.

    Drawing. Seeing.

    Drawing an object and naming it engages the brain in similar ways, according to research recently published in JNeurosci. The finding demonstrates the importance of the visual processing system for producing drawings of an object. In a study by Fan et al., healthy adults performed two tasks while the researchers recorded brain activity using functional […]

  • Learning new words…

    Learning new words…

    Children may learn new words better when they learn them in the context of other words they are just learning – according to research from the University of East Anglia. Eighty two children took part in the study. In two experiments the team taught them some new words for things they couldn’t name – such […]

  • Abstract thoughts…

    Abstract thoughts…

    Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have leveraged machine learning to interpret human brain scans, allowing the team to uncover the regions of the brain behind how abstract concepts, like justice, ethics and consciousness, form. In this study, Just and his team scanned the brains of nine participants using a functional MRI. The team sifted through […]

  • Picking up voices…

    Picking up voices…

    Our brains have a remarkable ability to pick out one voice from among many. Now, a team of Columbia University neuroengineers has uncovered the steps that take place in the brain to make this feat possible. The auditory cortex is the brain’s listening hub. The inner ear sends this brain region electrical signals that represent […]