The common phrase “In vino veritas” suggests that alcohol acts as a truth serum, but is this truly the case? While alcohol can lead to increased openness and a willingness to speak one’s mind, it also intensifies emotions and can lead to impulsive behaviors and regrettable statements. Ultimately, alcohol’s impact on honesty is complex and nuanced.
New research suggests that the brain stores at least three copies of a memory, encoded by different groups of neurons in the hippocampus. These copies vary in their stability and malleability, offering potential avenues for treating memory disorders like PTSD and dementia.
Geoffrey Hinton, a pioneer in artificial intelligence, believes that studying artificial neural networks can reveal secrets about how human brains learn. While backpropagation, a key algorithm in AI, was once considered too complex for biological brains, recent research suggests it might play a role in human learning. This discovery could revolutionize our understanding of the brain and lead to breakthroughs in AI.
Neanderthals, our close evolutionary cousins, hold a fascination for researchers and the public. They play a significant role in understanding the uniqueness of our species, Homo sapiens. Recent discoveries in archaeology and other disciplines shed light on the Neanderthal mind and its differences from ours. Despite anatomical similarities, evidence suggests cognitive differences in brain architecture, language, and symbolic thought. The key distinction lies in the ability of modern humans to link semantic clusters in the brain, fostering metaphor and abstract thinking. This cognitive advantage set the stage for the development of our species and its global dominance.
Scientists have created miniature models of the human brain that include the organ’s protective blood-brain barrier (BBB). The models, which are about the size of a sesame seed, could be used to study neurological diseases and develop new treatments.
