Cognitive Science

The latest breakthroughs, innovations, and cool happenings at the cutting edge of the world of cognitive science. Updated daily.

Understanding Image Memorability

Why are some images easier to remember than others? Here, we review recent developments in our understanding of ‘image memorability’, including its behavioral characteristics, its neural correlates, and the optimization principles from which it originates. We highlight work that has used large behavioral data sets to leverage memorability scores computed for individual images. These studies […]

Published on May 6, 2020

Sequential Presentation Protects Working Memory From Catastrophic Interference

Abstract Neural network models of memory are notorious for catastrophic interference: Old items are forgotten as new items are memorized (French, 1999; McCloskey & Cohen, 1989). While working memory (WM) in human adults shows severe capacity limitations, these capacity limitations do not reflect neural network style catastrophic interference. However, our ability to quickly apprehend the […]

Published on May 5, 2020

Efficient Communication in Distributed Simulations of Spiking Neuronal Networks With Gap Junctions

Investigating the dynamics and function of large-scale spiking neuronal networks with realistic numbers of synapses is made possible today by state-of-the-art simulation code that scales to the largest contemporary supercomputers. However, simulations that involve electrical interactions, also called gap junctions, besides chemical synapses scale only poorly due to a communication scheme that collects global data […]

Published on May 5, 2020