Category Archives: Cognition

On Having No Head: Cognition throughout Biological Systems

Posted on February 2, 2021 by Giorgio Bertini

The central nervous system (CNS) underlies memory, perception, decision-making, and behavior in numerous organisms. However, neural networks have no monopoly on the signaling functions that implement these remarkable algorithms. It is often forgotten that neurons optimized cellular signaling modes that … Continue reading →

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The Origin of Mind: Evolution of Brain, Cognition, and General Intelligence

Posted on January 29, 2021 by Giorgio Bertini

Darwin considered an understanding of the evolution of the human mind and brain to be of major importance to the evolutionary sciences. This groundbreaking book sets out a comprehensive, integrated theory of why and how the human mind has developed … Continue reading →

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The “online brain”: how the Internet may be changing our cognition

Posted on January 22, 2021 by Giorgio Bertini

The impact of the Internet across multiple aspects of modern society is clear. However, the influence that it may have on our brain structure and functioning remains a central topic of investigation. Here we draw on recent psychological, psychiatric and … Continue reading →

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Strategies for Preventing Cognitive Decline in Healthy Older Adults

Posted on December 14, 2020 by Giorgio Bertini

Many advances have been made in the understanding of age-related changes in cognition. As research details the cognitive and neurobiological changes that occur in aging, there is increased interest in developing and understanding methods to prevent, slow, or reverse the … Continue reading →

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Natural killers of cognition

Posted on December 11, 2020 by Giorgio Bertini

One of the mechanisms driving aging and neurodegenerative diseases is the accumulation of senescent cells, while their elimination mitigates age-related decline. A new report details how, with aging, changes in the dentate gyrus microenvironment lead to natural-killer-cell-mediated clearance of neurogenic … Continue reading →

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Cognition all the way down

Posted on October 13, 2020 by Giorgio Bertini

Biology’s next great horizon is to understand cells, tissues and organisms as agents with agendas (even if unthinking ones) Biologists like to think of themselves as properly scientific behaviourists, explaining and predicting the ways that proteins, organelles, cells, plants, animals … Continue reading →

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Handbook of Cognitive Archaeology: Psychology in Prehistory

Posted on August 17, 2019 by Giorgio Bertini

The remains that archaeologists uncover reveal ancient minds at work as much as ancient hands, and for decades many have sought a better way of understanding those minds. This understanding is at the forefront of cognitive archaeology, a discipline that … Continue reading →

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Cognitive enhancement after training in preschoolers from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds

Posted on April 8, 2019 by Giorgio Bertini

The association between socioeconomic status and child cognitive development, and the positive impact of interventions aimed at optimizing cognitive performance are well-documented. However, few studies have examined how specific socio-environmental factors may moderate the impact of cognitive interventions among poor … Continue reading →

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Diminishing Cognitive Capacities in an Ever Hotter World

Posted on January 22, 2019 by Giorgio Bertini

Objective: Modeling and evaluating a series of power-law descriptions for boundary conditions of undiminished cognitive capacities under thermal stress. Background: Thermal stress degrades cognition, but precisely which components are affected, and to what degree, has yet to be fully determined. … Continue reading →

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Connection Between Cognitive Function and Diet

Posted on October 12, 2018 by Giorgio Bertini

A new study reports the Ketogenic diet can help to improve cognition. The study reports the Ketogenic diet can help improve balance in the gut microbiome, lower blood glucose levels and increase the processes that help to clear amyloid beta … Continue reading →

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