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language

·April 18, 2011·2 min read

How the Bilingual Brain Copes with Aging

As brain power decreases, older adults find new ways to compute language Older bilingual adults compensate for age-related declines in...

Featured Neurology Psychology

·November 29, 2011·2 min read

Look at That! Ravens Use Gestures, Too

Ravens gesture with their beaks to point out objects to each other Pointing and holding up objects in order to...

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·January 30, 2012·3 min read

Researchers Rewrite Textbook on Location of Brain’s Speech Processing Center

New location of critical area provides hints on origin of language. Scientists have long believed that human speech is processed...

Psychology

·March 28, 2012·4 min read

In Immersion Foreign Language Learning, Adults Attain, Retain Native Speaker Brain Pattern

A first-of-its kind series of brain studies shows how an adult learning a foreign language can come to use the...

Autism Featured Genetics

·May 10, 2012·2 min read

Evolution’s Gift May Also Be at the Root of a Form of Autism

A recently evolved pattern of gene activity in the language and decision-making centers of the human brain is missing in...

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·July 2, 2012·3 min read

DNA Sequenced for Parrot’s Ability to Parrot

Scientists say they have assembled more completely the string of genetic letters that could control how well parrots learn to imitate their owners and other sounds by using single molecule sequencing.

Featured Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·September 18, 2012·3 min read

Theory: Music Underlies Language Acquisition

Contrary to the prevailing theories that music and language are cognitively separate or that music is a byproduct of language, theorists at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) advocate that music underlies the ability to acquire language.

Psychology

·October 15, 2012·3 min read

Language is Shaped by Brain’s Desire for Clarity and Ease

Using an artificial language in a carefully controlled laboratory experiment, researchers found that many changes to language are simply the brain's way of ensuring that communication is as precise and concise as possible.

Two brain images are shown side by side with Wernicke's area highlighted.

Featured Neuroscience

·January 16, 2013·3 min read

Research Reveals How the Human Brain Adapts to Injury

Scientists used a new combination of neural imaging methods to discover how the human brain adapts to injury. The research shows that when one brain area loses functionality, a back-up team of secondary brain areas immediately activates, replacing not only the unavailable area but also its confederates.

The image shows a child with ASD identifying words from a flash card.

Autism Featured

·March 4, 2013·3 min read

Speech Emerges in Children with Autism and Severe Language Delay at Greater Rate Than Previously Thought

A new study reveals 70 percent of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, and who have a history of severe language delay, achieved fluent speech by the age of eight.