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language

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

·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.

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 adults, children and speech bubbles.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 1, 2025·4 min read

Multilingualism Starts Early: Study Challenges View on Language Learning

A new study of 121 infants in Accra, Ghana, reveals that babies regularly hear between two and six languages from multiple caregivers. Unlike the Western model of learning one language from a primary caregiver, these children acquire language through a dynamic social environment.

This shows older people walking and talking.

Featured Neuroscience

·January 16, 2025·5 min read

Exercise Boosts Language Processing in Older Adults

Increasing physical fitness improves language comprehension in older adults. Over six months, monolingual participants who followed a simple exercise program were 7% quicker at detecting words in language tests, highlighting the cognitive benefits of fitness.

Featured Neuroscience

·January 8, 2025·6 min read

Dopamine and Serotonin Drive Emotional Word Processing

Researchers have uncovered how neurotransmitters in the brain respond to the emotional content of language, shedding light on the intersection of emotion, cognition, and communication. Using advanced techniques, the team simultaneously measured dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine release in patients during exposure to emotionally charged words.

Autism Featured Neuroscience

·January 3, 2025·4 min read

Multilingualism Boosts Cognitive Skills in Children With Autism

Children in multilingual households, including those with autism, demonstrate stronger executive functions, such as inhibition, flexibility, and perspective-taking, compared to monolingual peers. Speaking multiple languages also reduces repetitive behaviors and improves communication, key challenges in autism.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·December 18, 2024·4 min read

Genes Behind Dyslexia Linked to Brain Changes in Motor, Vision, and Language

A large-scale study revealed that genetic variants linked to dyslexia are associated with differences in brain areas controlling motor coordination, vision, and language. Using data from over a million individuals, researchers calculated genetic "polygenic scores" for dyslexia and analyzed their relationship to brain structures. Higher genetic risk for dyslexia was tied to lower volumes in brain regions related to speech processing and movement, and increased volumes in the visual cortex.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 17, 2024·4 min read

Baby Babble Syncs With Heartbeats to Shape Speech Development

Infants' heart rate rhythms are closely linked to their early vocalizations, including coos, babbles, and emerging words. Researchers found that babies were most likely to produce sounds when their heart rate reached a peak or trough, with speech-like sounds occurring during heart rate deceleration.

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language

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

How the Brain Transforms Speech Pitch into Meaning

Multilingualism Starts Early: Study Challenges View on Language Learning

Exercise Boosts Language Processing in Older Adults

Dopamine and Serotonin Drive Emotional Word Processing

Multilingualism Boosts Cognitive Skills in Children With Autism

Genes Behind Dyslexia Linked to Brain Changes in Motor, Vision, and Language

Baby Babble Syncs With Heartbeats to Shape Speech Development

Gene Therapy Restores Hearing in Those with Deafness

Forever Chemicals May Disrupt Brain Development

Kids Outsmart AI in Puzzle Game That Builds Critical Thinking

Drug-Coated Neural Implants Reduce Immune Rejection

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