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communication

·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 people walking and chatting in a park.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 3, 2025·4 min read

Daily Chats and Nature Boost Mental Health

A new study reveals that simple daily behaviors, such as chatting with friends, spending time in nature, and engaging in mentally stimulating activities, are strongly linked to improved mental well-being. People who connected socially every day scored notably higher on mental health measures than those who did so rarely.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 3, 2025·4 min read

Listening Builds Trust, But Stories Change Minds

A new study challenges the widely held belief that high-quality, nonjudgmental listening is essential for persuasion. While good listening improves how people feel about a conversation and reduces defensiveness, it doesn’t enhance the impact of persuasive messages.

This shows a couple on chairs facing each other.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·March 31, 2025·7 min read

Fear of Emotions Fuels PTSD-Related Conflict in Romantic Relationships

New research reveals that fear of emotions may explain why individuals with PTSD symptoms often struggle to communicate with romantic partners. The study found that people with higher PTSD symptoms were more likely to fear strong emotions, which led to less constructive and more conflict-driven communication styles.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 3, 2025·5 min read

How the Brain Transforms Speech Pitch into Meaning

A new study reveals that Heschl’s gyrus, once thought to only process sound, actually plays a crucial role in interpreting speech melody, or prosody. Researchers tracked brain activity in epilepsy patients with implanted electrodes and found that this region encodes pitch accents as meaningful linguistic signals, separate from word sounds.

This shows a dog and a communication board.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·December 10, 2024·5 min read

Dogs Using Soundboards Show Intentional Communication

Dogs trained to use soundboards can combine two-word buttons purposefully to communicate needs and desires, rather than randomly or by imitating their owners. Researchers analyzed over 260,000 button presses from 152 dogs, finding meaningful combinations like "outside + potty" occurring more often than chance.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·October 2, 2024·3 min read

Humans Slow Speech to Help Dogs Understand

A new study reveals that humans naturally slow their speech when talking to dogs, which helps dogs better understand commands. Researchers analyzed speech rates and brain responses in 30 dogs and 27 humans across five languages, finding that humans speak at around three syllables per second to their pets, compared to four syllables when talking to other humans.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 29, 2024·4 min read

Marmoset Monkeys Use Unique Calls to Name Each Other

Researchers have discovered that marmoset monkeys use specific vocal calls, known as "phee-calls," to identify and communicate with each other, a behavior previously observed only in humans, dolphins, and elephants. This ability to label others vocally suggests that marmosets possess advanced cognitive skills in social communication. The study also found that marmoset families share similar vocal labels, akin to names and dialects in humans. This discovery provides new insights into the evolution of social communication and language.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 22, 2024·4 min read

Chimps Use Gestures, Like Humans, to Communicate

Researchers have found that chimpanzees communicate with gestures in a rapid turn-taking pattern similar to human conversation. Studying over 8,500 gestures across five wild communities, they discovered that chimpanzees exchange gestures with pauses averaging 120 milliseconds.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 16, 2024·5 min read

Breaking Silence: Giving the Silent a Voice Through Thoughts

Researchers enabled a silent person to produce speech using thought alone. Depth electrodes in the participant's brain transmitted electrical signals to a computer, which then vocalized imagined syllables. This technology offers hope for paralyzed individuals to regain speech. The study marks a significant step towards brain-computer interfaces for voluntary communication.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 13, 2024·3 min read

Heat Waves Reduce Politicians’ Speech Complexity

High temperatures lead to simpler language in parliamentary speeches. Analyzing seven million speeches from 28,000 politicians, researchers discovered that heat negatively impacts cognitive abilities. This effect was more pronounced in older politicians. The findings highlight the broader impacts of climate change on human performance and decision-making.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 11, 2024·6 min read

Elephants Use Names to Call Each Other

Wild African elephants use name-like calls to address each other, a rare ability among nonhuman animals. Researchers confirmed this by using machine learning to analyze elephant calls and observing that elephants responded specifically to calls addressed to them.

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communication

From Calls to Communication: A New Look at Language Origins

Daily Chats and Nature Boost Mental Health

Listening Builds Trust, But Stories Change Minds

Fear of Emotions Fuels PTSD-Related Conflict in Romantic Relationships

How the Brain Transforms Speech Pitch into Meaning

Dogs Using Soundboards Show Intentional Communication

Humans Slow Speech to Help Dogs Understand

Chimps Use Gestures, Like Humans, to Communicate

Breaking Silence: Giving the Silent a Voice Through Thoughts

Heat Waves Reduce Politicians’ Speech Complexity

Elephants Use Names to Call Each Other

AI Learns to Decode Neuron Types From Brain Signals With 95% Accuracy

Your Brain Maps Actions Like It Maps Space

AI Tool Reads Faces to Predict Health, Aging, and Cancer Outcomes

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