MomBoard: E-ink display for a parent with amnesia
Today marks two years since I first set up an e-ink display in my mom’s apartment to help her live on her own with amnesia.
cognition-neurology-perception
2 Mental Abilities Separate Humans from Animals
Two key features created the human mind
The Roots of Fear: Understanding the Amygdala
Treating anxiety, depression and other disorders may depend on the amygdala, a part of the brain that controls strong emotional reactions, especially fear. But a deep understanding of this structure has been lacking. Now scientists at the University of California, Davis have…
You Don’t Need Words to Think
Brain studies show that language is not essential for the cognitive processes that underlie thought
How the Human Brain Contends With the Strangeness of Zero | Quanta Magazine
Zero, which was invented late in history, is special among numbers. New studies are uncovering how the brain creates something out of nothing.
How a Rare Disorder Makes People See Monsters
A mysterious neurological condition makes faces look grotesque—and sheds new light on the inner workings of the brain.
A protein called Reelin keeps popping up in brains that resist aging and Al
Early in life, the protein Reelin helps assemble the brain. Later on, it appears to protect the organ from Alzheimer’s and other threats to memory and thinking.
The Best Strategy for Learning May Depend on What You’re Trying to Remember
Different approaches can support varied forms of memory
How Magic Tricks Help Us Understand Animal Minds
By performing tricks for birds, monkeys and other creatures, researchers hope to learn how they perceive and think about their world
Scents and memories at the hospital
Stanford medical student Yoo Jung Kim writes about smells in the hospital and how they can trigger fond memories and provide motivation.
Electric ‘Ripples’ in the Resting Brain Tag Memories for Storage
New experiments reveal how the brain chooses which memories to save and add credence to advice about the importance of rest.
How cuddly robots could change dementia care
Researchers are using AI and technological advancements to create companion robots
The Mystery of S., the Man with an Impossible Memory
A famous case study helped spark a myth about a man who could not forget. But the truth is more complicated.
How ‘feelings about thinking’ help us navigate our world
The pleasant feeling of knowing, the frustration of forgetting, and other ‘metacognitive feelings’ serve as unsung guides
Why We Love Music
Researchers are discovering how music affects the brain, helping us to make sense of its real emotional and social power.
The Most Detailed 3D Reconstruction of Human Brain Tissue
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Interesting Engineering: Imagine exploring the intricate world within a single cubic millimeter of human brain tissue. It might seem insignificant, but within that tiny space lies a universe of complexity -- 57,000 individual cells, 230…
Visual perception improves in the blink of an eye
Blinking—long considered a problem the brain must overcome to produce seamless vision—may actually be more of a feature than a bug, new research suggests.
I Know the Secret to the Quiet Mind. I Wish I’d Never Learned It.
Of all the injuries we suffered, mine is the worst. My brain injury has shaken my confidence in my own personality, my own existence.
Do you have an inner monologue? Here’s what it reveals about you.
While experts disagree on how common self-talk really is, they wholeheartedly agree that it’s a valuable tool for self-discovery.
Blinking is more than meets the eye
Eye blinks aren't just a mechanism to keep our eyes moist. Research finds that blinking plays a key role in processing visual information.
My Synesthesia Transforms Speech into Text I ‘See’ in My Head
From the time I learned to read, I have experienced a form of mental closed-captioning called ticker-tape synesthesia
Memories are made by breaking DNA — and fixing it
Nature - Nerve cells form long-term memories with the help of an inflammatory response, study in mice finds.
What is it like to remember all the faces you’ve ever seen?
They’ve been studied by researchers and recruited by police forces, but what’s it actually like to be a super-recogniser?
Why Some Songs Makes Everyone Want to Dance
A syncopated rhythm may prompt our brain to find the beat
Virtual Walking
When I use my virtual reality gear I do practical zero virtual walking - meaning that I don't have my avatar walk while I am not walking. I general play standing up which means I can move around the space in my office mapped by my VR software - so I am physically walking to
How the brain responds to reward is linked to socioeconomic background
The brain’s sensitivity to rewarding experiences — a critical factor in motivation and attention — can be shaped by socioeconomic conditions, according to an MIT study.
How Being Bilingual Helps Your Brain (Even If You Learn a New Language in A
There was a time in America, not so very long ago, when conventional wisdom discouraged immigrants from speaking the language of the old country at home. In fact, 'it used to be thought that being bilingual was a bad thing, that it would confuse or hold people back, especially…
The Beauty of Crossed Brain Wires
Synesthesia makes ordinary life marvelous.
Inside a Brain Circuit, the Will to Press On
A rare brain stimulation study suggests that a brain circuit known as the “salience network” contributes to differences in our ability to overcome challenges and cope with stress.
How Odors Influence Brain’s Decision Making Mechanism
Researchers have uncovered a novel function of the hippocampus in decision making, showing that specific brain cells, known as 'time cells,' are stimulated by odors to facilitate rapid 'go, no-go' decisions.
Shari Liu: How babies think about danger | TED Talk
Are babies oblivious to danger? It's not that simple, says cognitive scientist Shari Liu. Sharing surprising insights (and plenty of baby videos) from studies of early human development, Liu highlights the unexpected ways babies perceive and respond to risky situations — and…
Text vs. Images: Which Content Format is Effective?
When we talk about using different ways to share information, it's like picking the one that fits what you need! Words, pictures, and mixes of both have
Why I See Static Everywhere
What we know about a mysterious condition called visual snow.
Noisy brain may underlie some of autism’s sensory features
Random fluctuations in neuronal activity are more variable in a fragile X mouse model than in wildtype mice.
The Happiest Man in the World
Harry’s psychotic delusions bring him cheer. His psychiatrist embraces them.
What does the Cerebellum Do Anyway?
Hint: It's Not Just Balance
My Brain Doesn’t Picture Things
I can’t imagine sights, smells, or sounds. What’s wrong with me?
Google Researchers Launch an Ambitious Project to Map Mouse Brain: Paving t
In a bid to unravel the complexities of the human brain and shed light on the origins of various mental illnesses and neurological disorders, Google Research, in collaboration with a consortium of esteemed institutions, has embarked on an ambitious five-year, $33 million…
The Faulty Weathermen of the Mind
Could a theory from the science of perception help crack the mysteries of psychosis?
The Usefulness of a Memory Guides Where the Brain Saves It | Quanta Magazine
New research finds that the memories useful for future generalizations are held in the brain separately from those recording unusual events.
Aphantasia can be a gift to philosophers and critics like me
Aphantasia veils the past and the future from the mind’s eye. That can be a gift to philosophers like Derek Parfit and me
The mystery of what causes ALS
Scientists are racing to find out what causes this progressive disease. And they're starting to make some headway.
Book Review: A Neurosurgeon’s Inside Look at the Brain
Theodore H. Schwartz's “Gray Matters” explores the evolution of brain surgery, along with its many risks and rewards.
A New Doorway to the Brain
Neuroscientists can now explore the “wild west” in our heads in incredible detail—a boon to medicine and understanding what makes us tick.
What is the secret to an evocative smell description?
Many languages have very few odour-related words, so conveying what a scent is like requires knowing your audience
How Psychedelics Can Heal a Broken Mind
Mind-altering drugs could open the brain to a state of childlike learning, aiding recovery from psychological trauma, brain injury, or paralysis.
Having an out-of-body experience? Blame this sausage-shaped piece of your b
An obscure bit of brain tissue appears critical to both out-of-body experiences and our sense of being anchored to a physical self.
How Having Synesthesia Helps This Perfumer Create Unique Scents
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When perfumer Frédéric Malle experiences a fragrance, he also perceives it as an array of colors. This is what it's like to see — and smell — the world as someone who has synesthesia.
Their Eyes See Color. Their Brains Can’t Make Sense of It.
A family in the Netherlands has a rare and perplexing brain condition that helps explain how we recognize color.
Why we sometimes sense invisible others
In times of high stress or effort, people sometimes feel the presence of others – an effect which isn't an hallucination. But what exactly is it?