Cognitive Science

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

Exploring and Exploiting Uncertainty: Statistical Learning Ability Affects How We Learn to Process Language Along Multiple Dimensions of Experience

Abstract While the effects of pattern learning on language processing are well known, the way in which pattern learning shapes exploratory behavior has long gone unnoticed. We report on the way in which individual differences in statistical pattern learning affect performance in the domain of language along multiple dimensions. Analyzing data from healthy monolingual adults’ […]

Published on April 30, 2020

The Hidden Talents Approach: Theoretical and Methodological Challenges

It is well established that people living in adverse conditions tend to score lower on a variety of social and cognitive tests. However, recent research shows that people may also develop ‘hidden talents’, that is, mental abilities that are enhanced through adversity. The hidden talents program sets out to document these abilities, their development, and […]

Published on April 30, 2020

Channelrhodopsin Excitation Contracts Brain Pericytes and Reduces Blood Flow in the Aging Mouse Brain in vivo

Brains depend on blood flow for the delivery of oxygen and nutrients essential for proper neuronal and synaptic functioning. French physiologist Rouget was the first to describe pericytes in 1873 as regularly arranged longitudinal amoeboid cells on capillaries that have a muscular coat, implying that these are contractile cells that regulate blood flow. Although there […]

Published on April 29, 2020