Current reporting, research and professional developments across Cognitive Psychology, curated for psychologists and behavioral-health professionals.
Why did the experience of consciousness evolve from our underlying brain physiology? Despite being a vibrant area of neuroscience ...
In a concert, members of the audience can respond emotionally to music, owing to their biological synchronization to the audio input. However, the mechanism underlying this biological response is unclear. Now, a…
Scientists have uncovered a brain circuit in primates that rapidly detects faces. The findings help not only explain how primates sense and recognize faces, but could also have implications for understanding conditions…
How much trust should we put in our memories? New research shows we have a good awareness of when we are recalling events accurately -- and when our brain is filling in gaps with general knowledge.
Although people lie a lot, they typically refrain from accusing others of lying because of social norms around making false accusations and being polite. But artificial intelligence (AI) could soon shake up the rules…
Opera singers have to use the extreme limits of their voice range. Many pedagogical and scientific sources suggest that the highest pitches reached in classical singing can only be produced with a so-called 'whistle'…
Charles Darwin enjoys a near god-like status among scientists for his theory of evolution. But his ideas that animals are ...
A new study has compared the amount of music and speech that children hear in infancy. Results showed that infants hear more spoken language than music, with the gap widening as the babies get older.
Music and speech are among the most frequent types of sounds we hear. But how do we identify what we think are differences between the two? An international team of researchers mapped out this process through a series of…
Singing rehabilitates speech production in post-stroke aphasia. Researchers investigated the rehabilitative effect of singing on the brain.
Are acoustic features of music and spoken language shared across cultures? Researchers recorded themselves performing traditional music and speaking in their native language. In all 50+ languages, the rhythms of songs…
Music holds an important place in human culture, and we've all felt the swell of emotion that music can inspire unlike almost anything else. But what is it exactly about music that can bring on such intense sensations in…
Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the most celebrated musicians in human history, has a rather low genetic predisposition for beat synchronization, according to a new study.
Diving deep into quantum biology or cognitive science alone is challenging enough. That being said, a research team recently ...
The human brain appears biased toward hearing and producing rhythms with simple integer ratios, but the favored ratios can vary greatly between different societies, according to a 15-country study.
The tone and tuning of musical instruments has the power to manipulate our appreciation of harmony, new research shows. The findings challenge centuries of Western music theory and encourage greater experimentation with…
How does listening to live music affect the emotional center of our brain? A study has found that live performances trigger a stronger emotional response than listening to music from a device. Concerts connect performers…
Three-quarters of people age 50 to 80 say music helps them relieve stress or relax and 65% say it helps their mental health or mood, according to a recent poll. Meanwhile, 60% say they get energized or motivated by…
A new study has shown that music evokes similar emotions and bodily sensations around the world.
Engaging in music throughout your life is associated with better brain health in older age, according to a new study. Scientists working on PROTECT, an online study open to people aged 40 and over, reviewed data from…
A research team announced they have identified the principle by which musical instincts emerge from the human brain without special learning using an artificial neural network model.
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar has invited applications for a Masters course in Cognitive Science program.
People who are very sleepy during the day, despite a good night's rest, may have a sleep disorder called idiopathic hypersomnia. New research has found this neurologic disorder may not be as rare as once thought.
Phonetic information -- the smallest sound elements of speech -- may not be the basis of language learning in babies as previously thought. Babies don't begin to process phonetic information reliably until seven months…
A new study provides compelling evidence that music preferences can serve as a window into an individual's moral values. It has uncovered an important link between music and morality, paving the way for a deeper…
Psychologists used music to manipulate emotions of volunteers and found the dynamics of their emotions molded otherwise neutral experiences into memorable events. The tug of war between integrating memories and…
An extremely supportive atmosphere for new ideas laid the foundation for an 'Aha moment' about a toggle-switch in the fruit fly brain. Do humans have one, too?
Music can take on many forms in cultures across the globe, but researchers have found in a new study that some themes are universally recognizable by people everywhere with one notable exception -- love songs.
The human memory system is seated in the medial temporal lobe (MTL). Broadly, it contains the hippocampus, parahippocampal cortex ...
Unlike previously thought, it turns out that speech production and singing are supported by the same circuitry in the brain. Observations in a new study can help develop increasingly effective rehabilitation methods for…
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