cognitive science

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What Does a Dog See in Its Mind When You Say 'Ball'?

Scientists cite pups' 'referential understanding,' with mental images hinting at deeper grasp of language

(Newser) - Many dog owners believe their pets understand and respond not only to commands such as "sit" and "stay," but also to words referring to their favorite objects. "Bring me your ball" will often result in exactly that. But science has had trouble determining whether dogs and...

Rats Have Imaginations, Too


Rats Have
Imaginations,
Just Like
We Do
new study
Nov 6, 2023 10:10 AM CST

Rats Have Imaginations, Just Like We Do

Study has wide-ranging implications, and not just for rodents

(Newser) - Humans aren't the only creatures in the animal kingdom with imaginations, a new study suggests. It seems that rats are in the club, too, reports Scientific American . In a series of remarkable experiments, researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Virginia concluded that rats are capable of visualizing...

Study Sees Unexpected Benefit for Kids Who Play Music

Learning an instrument early may help keep the mind sharp in old age, study suggests

(Newser) - A new study out of Scotland offers a powerful argument for having children or teens learn a musical instrument—they may end up with sharper minds in old age. The study from the University of Edinburgh found what researchers describe as a small but "statistically significant" link between the...

Study Shows Goldfish Might Know More Than You Think
Study Shows Goldfish Might
Know More Than You Think
new study
Jan 12, 2022 11:40 AM CST

Study Shows Goldfish Might Know More Than You Think

They 'have the cognitive ability to learn a complex task' in an unfamiliar environment

(Newser) - It's Dr. Seuss meets science: Israeli researchers have taught six goldfish how to "drive," or, more specifically, direct their tanks-on-wheels in a deliberate manner. In a study published in Behavioural Brain Research , scientists at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev write that "navigation is a critical ability...

Dumb and Dumberer? IQ Surveys Say Yes

After steadily rising for decades, IQ scores appear to be falling

(Newser) - It's official: We're not getting any smarter. Worse, media exposure might be to blame. Researchers analyzed 730,000 IQ scores of Norwegian men entering the country's military draft who were born between 1962 and 1991, per ScienceAlert . They found that IQ scores rose almost 0.3 points...

Kissing the 'Right' Way: Most of Us Don't Go Left
Kissing the 'Right' Way:
Most of Us Don't Go Left
NEW STUDY
Jul 19, 2017 11:00 AM CDT

Kissing the 'Right' Way: Most of Us Don't Go Left

New research suggests this tendency might be innate

(Newser) - Dig if you will the picture: two people engaged in a kiss. Prince sang about "curious poses," but new research suggests that most of us may strike similar poses, leaning to the right instead of the left when kissing the lips of our partners. Researchers at the University...

'Ums' and 'Uhs' Could Be Clue to Mental Decline


How Your Speech
Could Offer Hint
of Mental Decline
NEW STUDY
Jul 17, 2017 9:30 AM CDT

How Your Speech Could Offer Hint of Mental Decline

Verbal issues could be a clue to deteriorating cognitive state

(Newser) - Your speech may, um, help reveal if you're uh ... developing thinking problems. More pauses, filler words, and other verbal changes may be an early sign of mental decline, which can lead to Alzheimer's disease, a study suggests. Per the AP , researchers had 400 people without cognitive problems and...

Your Life May Indeed Flash Before Your Eyes at Death
Your Life May Indeed Flash
Before Your Eyes at Death
new study
Jan 31, 2017 10:41 AM CST

Your Life May Indeed Flash Before Your Eyes at Death

But not chronologically, more of a jumble, say researchers

(Newser) - The idea that our lives flash before our eyes in the moments before we die may sound close to mystical, but neurologists at Hadassah University in Jerusalem say the phenomenon—or at least some version of it—appears to be quite common. They found, however, that "life review experiences,...

Hate it When People Get Your Name Wrong? You Shouldn't

Scientists say almost everyone does it, even with dogs

(Newser) - Almost everyone has done it one time or another: mix up the names of family members or friends. And so a cognitive scientist whose mother would often call her by her siblings' and even the family dog's name set out to learn why. Reporting in the journal Memory &...

App to Improve Attention May Help People With Depression

Novel approach targets related issues instead of the symptoms of depression

(Newser) - Video games have become so pervasive that clinicians have moved from simply studying how they affect our bodies and brains to designing them with specific outcomes in mind. Such is the case with an app called Project: Evo, an app-based game that was designed ostensibly to improve attention. Science Daily...

Military May Boost Soldier Performance With Brain Stimulation

Seen as safer alternative to prescription drugs

(Newser) - Air crew, drone operators, and other personnel serving in the military's most demanding roles may soon get a non-pharmacological boost: brain stimulation. Devices that use five electrodes to shoot weak currents into very specific targets in the cortex have performed very well in studies investigating performance under pressure, boosting...

Smoke Pot When You're Young and Your IQ May Suffer
Smoke Pot When You're Young
and Your IQ May Suffer
study says
Oct 7, 2016 7:52 PM CDT

Smoke Pot When You're Young and Your IQ May Suffer

'It makes them feel better momentarily,' but issues like depression don't improve

(Newser) - Over the years, Dr. Elizabeth Osuch, a researcher in Canada studying mood and anxiety disorders and the impact of marijuana, has seen "many youth" smoke pot "heavily." And despite previous research suggesting those who start at a young age are at a higher risk of psychiatric issues...

Practice Doesn't Make Perfect When It Comes to Chess
Practice Doesn't Make Perfect
When It Comes to Chess
study says
Sep 18, 2016 5:00 PM CDT

Practice Doesn't Make Perfect When It Comes to Chess

Study suggests that you need to be naturally smart, too

(Newser) - If you were hoping to become a chess master by practicing 10,000 hours, think again. Contrary to the theory that expertise at chess is based on intensive training, researchers at the University of Michigan have concluded based on a meta-analysis of 19 studies that hard work is important but...

Scientists Create Stoner Rats
Scientists Create Stoner Rats
NEW STUDY
Aug 24, 2016 2:30 PM CDT

Scientists Create Stoner Rats

THC reduces their 'willingness to exert cognitive effort,' even for a larger reward

(Newser) - Scientists, apparently bored with pert, productive rats, added a little marijuana to the equation and found that, as many a teenager can tell you, laziness ensued. So report researchers at the University of British Columbia in the Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience after concluding that male lab rats given TCH...

Scientists: We May Be Able to Alter Human Intelligence

There are 2 gene networks perhaps controlled by master 'switches': researchers

(Newser) - Researchers from London's Imperial College think they've found two networks of genes, possibly controlled by a master system, that control cognitive functions—a find that may allow them to modify human intelligence down the line, the Guardian reports. In a study published in Nature Neuroscience , scientists say these...

Some People Are Born Without a 'Mind's Eye'

Aphantasia impairs one's ability to visualize

(Newser) - When science journalist Carl Zimmer wrote a 2010 article in Discover magazine about English neurologist Adam Zeman's case study of a man who couldn't visualize people or things, the professor was approached by 21 people who saw themselves in the article and wanted to learn more. Now Zeman...

Why Parents Should Put a Toy Chicken on Their Heads

Kids can learn the difference between joking and pretending by 16 months

(Newser) - Parents who joke and pretend with their toddlers are doing more than just play, they're teaching them important life skills, researchers from the University of Sheffield report in a new study in Cognitive Science . In fact kids as young as 16 months use cues from their parents to pick...

How Scientists Know What Music You Like

 How Scientists Know 
 What Music You Like 
NEW STUDY
Jul 23, 2015 2:30 PM CDT

How Scientists Know What Music You Like

Cognitive style is a major predictor of musical taste

(Newser) - Are you an empathizer, preferring to focus on the emotions of those around you, or a systemizer, interested in the patterns and rules of the world? How you answer that question predicts what style of music you like, report University of Cambridge psychologists in the journal PLoS ONE . In fact,...

Toddlers' Sense of Justice Surprises Researchers

They're more interested in making things right than punishing wrongdoers

(Newser) - Preschool justice may be more developed than previously thought. So finds new research published in the journal Current Biology , where 3- and 5-year-olds observed two of four different scenes involving puppets, toys, and cookies. It turns out that not only did the kids sort out pretty quickly whether the "...

Older Adults Think Better in the Morning
Older Adults Think Better
in the Morning
STUDY SAYS
Aug 12, 2014 2:40 PM CDT

Older Adults Think Better in the Morning

People 60 to 82 did best on cognitive tasks before 10:30am

(Newser) - Older adults who want to take a crack at the Sunday Times crossword or try a Food Network recipe may want to do it first thing in the morning. A small study by Canadian researchers and published in the journal Psychology and Aging found that adults between the ages of...

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