The human brain needs to suppress obvious ideas in order to reach the most creative ones, according to scientists. These obvious associations are present in both convergent thinking (finding an ‘out-of-the-box’ solution) and also in divergent thinking (when individuals have … Continue reading
Psychologists at the University of Sussex have found a link between depression and an acceleration of the rate at which the brain ages. Although scientists have previously reported that people with depression or anxiety have an increased risk of dementia … Continue reading
When infants are playing with objects, their early attempts to pay attention to things are accompanied by bursts of high-frequency activity in their brain. But what happens when parents play together with them? New research, publishing December 13 in the … Continue reading
Neuroscientific investigations often cross the borders between scientific disciplines; they walk boldly from biology to psychology and stride straight through to the other side, dipping their toe – and sometimes their entire leg – in the murky waters of philosophy. … Continue reading
Babies might be more knowledgeable than adults give them credit for. For example, a new study claims that while some babies aren’t able to speak during the early years, that doesn’t mean they aren’t able to think — in fact, … Continue reading
The purpose of my blog posts over the past several weeks (1,2,3,4) has been to explore the emerging sub-field of neuroanthropology and its application to pedagogy and educational reforms. Neuroanthropology is an anthropological approach to studying the human brain. Like … Continue reading
Theory for the Working Sociologist makes social theory easy to understand by revealing sociology’s hidden playbook. Fabio Rojas argues that sociologists use four different theoretical “moves” when they try to explain the social world: how groups defend their status, how … Continue reading
Recent studies have shown that young adults better remember factual information they are curious about. It is not entirely clear, however, whether this effect is retained during aging. Here, the authors investigated curiosity-driven memory benefits in young and elderly individuals. … Continue reading
Researchers at University of Helsinki, and University College London have found evidence that children with hearing impairment and cochlear implants can benefit from hobbies involving music and especially singing. The results published i Music Perception show that the auditory skills … Continue reading
The kicks a mother feels from her unborn child may allow the baby to ‘map’ their own body and enable them to eventually explore their surroundings, suggests new research led by UCL in collaboration with UCLH. For the study, published … Continue reading
