Cognitive Science

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

Cycling and Spatial Navigation in an Enriched, Immersive 3D Virtual Park Environment: A Feasibility Study in Younger and Older Adults

BACKGROUND: Cognitive decline is a significant public health concern in older adults. Identifying new ways to maintain cognitive and brain health throughout the lifespan is of utmost importance. Simultaneous exercise and cognitive engagement has been shown to enhance brain function in animal and human studies. Virtual reality (VR) may be a promising approach for conducting […]

Published on August 17, 2019

The Default Mode Network’s Role in Discrete Emotion

Emotions are often assumed to manifest in subcortical limbic and brainstem structures. While these areas are clearly important for representing affect (e.g., valence and arousal), we propose that the default mode network (DMN) is additionally important for constructing discrete emotional experiences (of anger, fear, disgust, etc.). Findings from neuroimaging studies, invasive electrical stimulation studies, and […]

Published on August 17, 2019

Learning How to Generalize

Abstract Generalization is a fundamental problem solved by every cognitive system in essentially every domain. Although it is known that how people generalize varies in complex ways depending on the context or domain, it is an open question how people learn the appropriate way to generalize for a new context. To understand this capability, we […]

Published on August 16, 2019