Choose Growth
As Abraham Maslow wrote, “One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again”
Cognition3878 articles archived since 1845
Can Science Explain Deja Vu?
Most of us have experienced deja vu—that sensation when new events feel eerily familiar. Could this "glitch in the Matrix" be a brain short-circuit?
The Neuroscience of Free Will: A Q&A; with Robyn Repko Waller
We discuss blending philosophy and neuroscience in unraveling the mysteries of free will
Recommended Books, March 2020
Saving the Florida panther, cornfield espionage and racial profiling, and more
Autistic People Make Great Social Partners if You Actually Give Them a Chance
Style, not substance, drives negative impressions of the social life of people on the autism spectrum
Constant Shifts between Mental States Mark a Signature of Consciousness
Both of two essential brain networks that switch roles—one is on when the other is off—shut down in unresponsive individuals
The Brain Learns in Unexpected Ways
White matter, the insulation around our neural wiring, plays a critical role in acquiring knowledge
Does Music Boost Your Cognitive Performance?
The answer depends on your personality
Born Ready: Babies Are Prewired to Perceive the World
A study in infants adds to the debate about whether we come into the world prepped for higher cognitive abilities such as face recognition
An Alcoholic Parent Can Affect How a Child’s Brain Switches Tasks
Such children’s neural circuits do not transition properly from an active state to a resting one
How to Make the Study of Consciousness Scientifically Tractable
We need to reexamine the idea of “objectivity” in research
All That We Might Possibly Know
What if consciousness is not something special that the brain does but is instead a quality inherent to all matter?
Feral Dogs Respond to Human Hand Cues
Most feral dogs that did not run away from humans were able to respond to hand cues about the location of food—even without training.
Why Don’t People Care That More Men Don’t Choose Caregiving Professions?
People attribute the lack of women in STEM fields to external factors but attribute the lack of men in helping professions to internal ones
How Does a Mammalian Brain Forget?
A mouse study shows immune cells gobbling up the connections between memory-associated neurons
Yes, Free Will Exists
Just ask Schopenhauer
Living with No Sense of Direction
For those with developmental topographical disorientation, ordinary travel is extraordinarily difficult
Sign Languages Display Distinct Ancestries
Well more than 100 distinct sign languages exist worldwide, with each having features that made it possible for researchers to create an evolutionary tree of their lineages.
Some Wolf Pups Show Innate Fetching Talent
Some wolf pups will play fetch with a stranger, suggesting that an ability to playfully interact with people could have come before, and played a role in, dog domestication.
Do We Possess a Transpersonal Imagination?
Some products of our imaginations seem to spring from sources beyond our everyday selves...
