learning

People who had cognitive functions depleted by noninvasive brain stimulation or a mentally demanding task could subconsciously recognize individual words in a made-up language more easily than controls, researchers find.

A look back at some of the articles we most enjoyed reading, writing, and editing this year

Beyond The Scientist’s coverage of COVID-19’s molecular underpinnings were many other stories highlighting the advances made in scientists’ understanding of the biology of cells.

His work bridged the gap between psychology and neurobiology.

A controversial idea from the mid-20th century is attracting renewed attention from researchers developing theories for how cognition arises with or without a brain.

Historical and modern experiments have hinted that unicelluar organisms can learn from their experiences, but the idea still has its critics.

Mice and flies given the polyamine in their diet have increased brain cell metabolism and cognitive function, and epidemiological data hints at a similar benefit in humans.

Graduate student advocacy groups were central to designing the program, which provides a semester of funding if a trainee needs time to find a new mentor.

Honeybees can remember reward-associated odors three days after a single learning experience.

Adult neurogenesis, already appreciated for its role in learning and memory, also participates in mental health and possibly even attention, new research suggests.

Cutting-edge microscopy is revealing how new neurons made in adult mice’s brains tap into existing neuronal connections.

Honeybees can remember reward-associated odors three days after a single learning experience.

Under constant darkness, Drosophila’s ability to form lasting memories is impaired.

Strategies to make lab animals forget, remember, or experience false recollections probe how memory works, and may inspire treatments for neurological diseases.

The animals develop a new memory that overrides the fearful one by inhibiting the cells that encode the original memory.

Researchers have developed ways to manipulate neurons involved in a particular memory to make mice recall an experience or to remember something that never happened.

Juvenile birds learn the length of the sounds in a song from a false memory introduced via optogenetics, instead of from real interactions with a tutor bird.

Hear seals imitating human sounds and melodies.

Young zebra finches that receive feedback after they sing from a video of a fluffed-up female eventually develop more accurate tunes.