Latest

language

·April 8, 2024·6 min read

Baby Talk: Early Social Interaction Spurs Language Growth

Early social interactions, characterized by "parentese," smiles, and eye contact, significantly impact infant brain development and language growth. Utilizing magnetoencephalography (MEG), the study observed increased brain activity in 5-month-olds during social interactions with adults, compared to nonsocial scenarios.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 28, 2024·6 min read

Babies Predict Actions Based on Language Community

Six-month-old infants can predict actions of individuals who speak their mother tongue, but not of those speaking a foreign language. This research, merging insights from predictive brain mechanisms and social categorization, found that brain activity and eye movement in infants differ based on the language spoken by the observed person.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 26, 2024·6 min read

Bilingualism May Shield Against Aging Brain Problems

Bilingualism may serve as a powerful tool against age-related cognitive decline, particularly in social cognition areas such as theory of mind. Their study demonstrates that early bilingualism leads to beneficial structural changes in the brain, including increased gray matter volume and cortical thickness, which contribute to a stronger cognitive reserve.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·March 26, 2024·5 min read

Talking Hands: Cultural Codes in Hand Gestures

A new study confirms Italians gesture more than Swedes, but more importantly, it reveals the diverse functions and frequencies of gestures across cultures. Analyzing storytelling methods, the study found Italians favor pragmatic gestures to guide narrative flow, while Swedes prefer representational gestures to depict actions and events.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 25, 2024·6 min read

Can Rhythm Sense Predict Language Skills?

Researchers developed the Speech-to-Speech Synchronization (SSS) test to explore how individuals align their speech with language rhythms, revealing innate differences that could influence language acquisition and neurological health. The study found that individuals can be categorized into high and low synchronizers, with high synchronizers displaying stronger neural connections related to language perception and production.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·March 22, 2024·4 min read

Canine Cognition: Dogs Match Words with Objects

A new study reveals dogs' ability to understand words as representations of objects, indicating a deeper level of cognitive processing than previously thought. Researchers used non-invasive EEG to measure dogs' brain activity, finding distinct patterns when dogs heard a word and were then shown either a matching or mismatching object.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 19, 2024·6 min read

AI Breakthrough: Machines Mastering Human Tasks Through Language

Researchers made a significant leap in artificial intelligence by developing an AI capable of learning new tasks from verbal or written instructions and then verbally describing these tasks to another AI, enabling it to perform the same tasks. This development highlights a unique human-like ability in AI for the first time—transforming instructions into actions and communicating these actions linguistically to peers.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 15, 2024·3 min read

Brain Abnormalities in Children with Developmental Language Disorder

Researchers have discovered that the anterior neostriatum, a part of the brain linked with movement, shows abnormalities in children with developmental language impairments. This study utilized a novel computational approach to analyze data from 22 studies, revealing that these abnormalities are uniquely prevalent in the anterior neostriatum.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 11, 2024·6 min read

Bilingualism: Native Language Eases Brain’s Effort

A novel study unveiled how the brain processes native and foreign languages differently in polyglots. By examining brain activity in individuals proficient in five or more languages, the study found that the brain's language network responds more intensely to non-native languages, except for the native language, which shows significantly less activation.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 6, 2024·6 min read

Household Size Shapes Child Language Development

Researchers shed light on the impact of household size and adult-to-child ratios on children's language development, challenging conventional beliefs about family dynamics. The team found that while higher household density negatively affects vocabulary scores, a greater number of adults relative to children in the home can enhance language skills, especially in Hispanic families.

Autism Featured Neuroscience

·March 6, 2024·5 min read

Unexpected Literacy Skills in Nonverbal Autism

Nonspeaking autistic individuals may possess undervalued literacy skills, suggesting the potential for written communication as an expressive alternative. By adapting an innovative method akin to Whac-a-Mole, the research team demonstrated that a significant portion of the study's nonspeaking autistic participants could predict letter sequences in sentences, indicating a foundational understanding of written language.

Autism Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·March 1, 2024·5 min read

Early Words Shape Future Brain: Genetic Link Between ADHD and Language

A new study delves into the genetic underpinnings of language development in early childhood and its implications for later cognitive abilities and neurodevelopmental disorders like ADHD and ASD. By analyzing vocabulary data from over 17,000 children across different languages, the study uncovers how genetics influences word production and comprehension from infancy to toddlerhood, revealing that vocabulary size is not only a marker of early language skills but also predictive of future literacy, cognition, and potential neurodevelopmental challenges.