Parts of the brain not traditionally associated with learning science become active when people are confronted with solving physics problems, a new study shows. Continue reading “New parts of the brain become active after students learn physics”
The logic of modesty – why it pays to be humble
Why do people make anonymous donations, and why does the public perceive this as admirable? Why do we downplay our interest in a potential partner, if we risk missing out on a relationship? A team of scientists, consisting of Christian Hilbe, a postdoc at the Institute Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), Moshe Hoffman, and Martin Nowak, both at Harvard University, has developed a novel game theoretic model that captures these behaviors and enables their study. Their new model is the first to include the idea that hidden signals, when discovered, provide additional information about the sender. They use this idea to explain under which circumstances people have an incentive to hide their positive attributes. Continue reading “The logic of modesty – why it pays to be humble”
Can training improve memory, thinking abilities in older adults with cognitive impairment?
Cognition is the ability to think and make decisions. Medication-free treatments that maintain cognitive health as we age are attracting the attention of medical experts. Maintaining the ability to think clearly and make decisions is crucial to older adults’ well-being and vitality. Continue reading “Can training improve memory, thinking abilities in older adults with cognitive impairment?”
Our brains are obsessed with being social
Our brains are obsessed with being social even when we are not in social situations. A Dartmouth-led study finds that the brain may tune towards social learning even when it is at rest. The findings published in an advance article of Cerebral Cortex, demonstrate empirically for the first time how two regions of the brain experience increased connectivity during rest after encoding new social information. Continue reading “Our brains are obsessed with being social”
Decision-making is shaped by individual differences in the functional brain connectome
Each day brings with it a host of decisions to be made, and each person approaches those decisions differently. A new study by University of Illinois researchers found that these individual differences are associated with variation in specific brain networks — particularly those related to executive, social and perceptual processes. Continue reading “Decision-making is shaped by individual differences in the functional brain connectome”
Neanderthals mated with modern humans much earlier than previously thought, study finds
Using several different methods of DNA analysis, an international research team has found what they consider to be strong evidence of an interbreeding event between Neanderthals and modern humans that occurred tens of thousands of years earlier than any other such event previously documented. Continue reading “Neanderthals mated with modern humans much earlier than previously thought, study finds”
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