Leiden University’s Carel ten Cate tracked down 34-year-old duck recordings—and the man who made them—to verify that musk ducks are capable of vocal learning, an ability that hadn’t been thought to exist in waterfowl.

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.

Manipulating the activity of neurons active during training had similar effects on the mice’s behavior.

Dreamers answered experimenters’ questions or solved simple math problems, showing that complex two-way communication between the dreaming and waking world is possible.

Technologies such as noninvasive brain stimulation and virtual reality gaming offer insights into how dreams arise and what functions they might serve.

Their ability to distinguish between individuals is strong evidence for fast mapping, a learning tool generally thought to belong only to humans.

Conversations between the immune and central nervous systems are proving to be essential for the healthy social behavior, learning, and memory.

Several routes exist for immune cells to communicate with neurons in the central nervous system, though T cells rarely come in direct contact with neural tissue.

The Stanford University researcher shared valuable insights into memory and learning during his 49-year career.

People who show low social engagement over long periods of time often show reductions in cognitive function. Studies of the brain may provide clues about this correlation.

Absence of human contact is associated with declines in cognitive function. But as the COVID-19 pandemic brings concerns about the potential harms of isolation to the fore, researchers are still hunting for concrete evidence of a causal role as well as possible mechanisms.

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.

Rats and equations help researchers develop a theory of how our brains keep track of when events took place.

Signals from the lateral entorhinal cortex help create “time cells” in the hippocampus, according to some researchers.

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