To complete tasks that require storing relevant visual details for short periods of time, such as solving a puzzle, reading or comparing different objects, humans leverage their so-called visual working memory. This is a cognitive system that allows people to store...
Euclidean geometry is the branch of mathematics describing shapes and the spatial relationships between objects in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) settings. The rules of Euclidean geometry guide our understanding of the world and everything inhabiting...
The motor cortex is a part of the mammalian brain and is known to support the planning and control of voluntary body movements. Some past neuroscience studies, however, found that the motor cortex may not be necessary for executing some learned skills and motor...
The human brain is highly skilled at detecting patterns in the world and using this information to predict future events. This ability to anticipate events is also reflected in how we experience music, precisely in our ability to intuitively anticipate what will come...
Recent technological advances opened exciting possibilities for neuroscience, enabling the collection of increasingly detailed neural data. Making sense of the large number of neural recordings gathered by neuroscientists worldwide, however, has so far proved more...
Recent technological advances are allowing neuroscientists to map the human brain with increasing precision, highlighting connections between different regions and their function in greater depth. While the role of many brain regions has been broadly identified, the...
Past neuroscience research has pinpointed many of the neural processes through which the human brain forms, stores and retrieves important information, such as domain-specific knowledge and memories. One dimension of human memory is the ability to link various aspects...
When we listen to a song or musical performance, out-of-tune singers or instruments are generally perceived as unpleasant for listeners. While it is well-established that mistuning can reduce the enjoyment of music, the processes influencing how humans perceive...
Recent neuroscience studies have been investigating how the stimulation of some nerves, particularly the vagus nerve, using electrical pulses affects neural activity in the mammalian brain. The vagus nerve, the longest cranial nerve in the human body, is known to play...
Chemical changes to histones, the proteins that help to pack and organize DNA inside cells, play a key role in determining what genes will be consistently activated over the course of an animal or human's life. Past studies have shed light on some chemical alterations...