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language

·May 15, 2025·6 min read

AI Handwriting Analysis May Catch Dyslexia and Dysgraphia Early

A new AI-driven tool developed by researchers could revolutionize how educators and clinicians screen for dyslexia and dysgraphia in children. By analyzing handwriting samples from K–5 students, the system detects behavioral cues, spelling errors, motor difficulties, and cognitive issues with remarkable precision.

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience

·May 13, 2025·5 min read

How the Brain Links Sound to Meaning

A new study has mapped how the brain retrieves words during speech, identifying two distinct but overlapping networks in the prefrontal cortex. Researchers used high-resolution electrocorticography in 48 patients to reveal that semantic processing and articulatory planning occur in neighboring yet functionally distinct regions.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 10, 2025·5 min read

From Calls to Communication: A New Look at Language Origins

A new study reveals that wild chimpanzees combine vocal calls in structured ways to create new or more specific meanings, echoing key features of human language. Researchers documented over 12,000 calls from chimpanzees in Côte d’Ivoire and found that they formed at least 16 different two-call combinations.

This shows a head looking right, and one looking left.

Autism Featured Neuroscience

·May 5, 2025·4 min read

Why Lefties Are More Common in Autism and Dyslexia

A new meta-analysis highlights a strong connection between early-onset neurodevelopmental disorders with linguistic symptoms and left- or mixed-handedness. Disorders like dyslexia, autism, and schizophrenia were notably associated with higher rates of non-right-handedness, unlike later-onset conditions such as depression.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 23, 2025·6 min read

Babies Learn Words Without Visuals

Infants as young as 15 months can use language context to infer the meaning of words referring to objects they’ve never seen. Researchers found that when 15-month-olds heard a new word in a familiar context—like "kumquat" during a conversation about fruit—they later identified the unseen object correctly.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 22, 2025·4 min read

Gestures Help Listeners Predict Speech

Humans use hand gestures during conversation, but until now, it wasn’t clear whether listeners actively use these gestures to anticipate speech. A new study using virtual avatars shows that listeners indeed use iconic gestures—like miming typing—to predict what the speaker will say next.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 9, 2025·4 min read

How Self-Control Shapes Language Learning in Young Children

New research shows that a child's ability to regulate behavior—an aspect of executive function—is closely tied to how they understand and learn language. Researchers tested over 100 Dutch children aged 4 to 5, using sentence comprehension tasks and eye-tracking.

This shows the outline of a person, a brain and smoke stacks.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 7, 2025·5 min read

Air Pollution May Impair Language Skills, Brain Health

Long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter may harm cognitive health, particularly language ability, in older adults. In a new study of individuals aged 65 and over, those living in England’s most polluted areas consistently scored lower on cognitive assessments, especially in language-based tasks.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 20, 2025·6 min read

Brain Regions Linked to Word Memory Identified

A new study has identified brain regions crucial for remembering words and how they are affected in people with temporal lobe epilepsy. Researchers found that shrinkage in the prefrontal, temporal, and cingulate cortices, as well as the hippocampus, was linked to difficulty recalling words.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 19, 2025·8 min read

From High Valyrian to Klingon: Artificial Languages Engage the Brain Like Natural Speech

A new study finds that the brain processes artificial languages, such as Esperanto and Klingon, using the same neural network as natural languages. Researchers scanned the brains of 44 speakers of constructed languages and observed activation in language-processing regions when participants listened to sentences in their conlang. This contrasts with computer programming languages, which engage different brain areas linked to logical reasoning.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·March 18, 2025·5 min read

Verbal Fluency Might Predict Human Longevity

A recent study reveals a surprising link between longevity and verbal fluency—the ability to effectively recall and utilize vocabulary. Researchers analyzed cognitive data from the Berlin Aging Study, involving over 500 elderly participants tracked for nearly two decades, assessing verbal fluency alongside memory, perceptual speed, and verbal knowledge.

This shows people around a campfire talking.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·March 18, 2025·7 min read

When Did Humans First Speak? Genes Offer New Clues on Language Origins

New genetic research suggests that humans first developed language around 135,000 years ago when populations began geographically splitting, followed by widespread social use around 100,000 years ago. Using data from 15 genetic studies, researchers found that early human groups branched out approximately 135,000 years ago, which likely coincides with the origin of language as a cognitive system.

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language

AI Handwriting Analysis May Catch Dyslexia and Dysgraphia Early

How the Brain Links Sound to Meaning

From Calls to Communication: A New Look at Language Origins

Why Lefties Are More Common in Autism and Dyslexia

Babies Learn Words Without Visuals

Gestures Help Listeners Predict Speech

How Self-Control Shapes Language Learning in Young Children

Air Pollution May Impair Language Skills, Brain Health

Brain Regions Linked to Word Memory Identified

From High Valyrian to Klingon: Artificial Languages Engage the Brain Like Natural Speech

Verbal Fluency Might Predict Human Longevity

When Did Humans First Speak? Genes Offer New Clues on Language Origins

Brain Stimulation Method Can Evaluate Consciousness in Alzheimer’s Disease

Early Intervention Helps Most Autistic Children Acquire Spoken Language

Brain Conductors Find Precise Connection to Target Cells via Protein Handshake

Multilingualism Calculator Reveals True Language Strengths

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