Prof. Earl Miller speaks with BuzzFeed reporter Terri Pous about the problems posed by multitasking. When it comes to juggling two tasks like driving and talking on the phone, Miller notes that "when someone is on the phone with you, they have no idea what’s going on in front of you. That’s just plain dangerous for drivers and anyone around them."
MIT researchers have made electrical recordings of individual brain cells, which may provide insight into human intelligence, reports Hannah Osborne of Newsweek. Researchers discovered that human cells have fewer ion channels, which allow electrical currents to enter and exit cells, potentially increasing “the resistance of human dendrites, making the cell better at processing information,” explains Osborne.
MIT researchers have found that the large size of neurons in the human brain allows for electrical compartmentalization, which may contribute to the human brain’s complex cognitive capabilities, writes UPI reporter Brooks Hays.
Prof. Mark Harnett has found that each individual cell in the human brain could operate like a mini-computer, reports Clare Wilson for New Scientist. Wilson explains that “the study has revealed a key structural difference between human and mouse neurons that could help explain our superior powers of intelligence.”
In an article for The New York Times, Prof. Alan Jasanoff reviews Eric Kandel’s book, “The Disordered Mind.” Jasanoff writes that the book provides an engaging “overview of contemporary thinking about the intersection of mental health and neuroscience.”
Boston Globe reporter Martin Finucane writes that MIT researchers have developed sensors that can track dopamine levels in the brain. The sensors could eventually be used to monitor “Parkinson’s patients who receive a treatment called deep brain stimulation,” Finucane explains, adding that the sensors could “help deliver the stimulation only when it’s needed.”
New Yorker contributor Judith Thurman visits the lab of Dr. Ev Fedorenko, an alumna and research affiliate at MIT, who is studying the science of language. Fedorenko explains that she is focused on exploring, “how do I get a thought from my mind into yours? We begin by asking how language fits into the broader architecture of the mind.”
Molly Webster of WNYC’s Radiolab visits the Picower Institute to learn more about how researchers are investigating new techniques that might eventually be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Prof. Li-Huei Tsai speaks about her group’s work using flickering light to reduce the beta amyloid plaque found in Alzheimer’s patients, and graduate student Dheeraj Roy discusses his work recovering memories with light.
MIT researchers have found that holding back-and-forth conversations with young children may help boost a child’s language development, report Drs. Edith Bracho-Sanchez and Richa Kalra for ABC News. The study found that conversations created “stronger connections between the brain regions responsible for comprehension and production of speech.”
Writing for STAT, Justin Chen spotlights graduate student Eugene Lee’s work mapping the brain of worms in an effort to gain a better understanding of how worms, and animals in general, learn. “With science,” says Lee, “you might not know exactly where the research will take you, but you trust that when you arrive all the effort will have been worth it.”
Boston Globe reporter Martin Finucane writes that MIT researchers have identified the region of the brain responsible for generating negative emotions. “The findings could help scientists better understand how some of the effects of depression and anxiety arise, and guide development of new treatments,” Finucane explains.
In this BBC Click video, Prof. Daniela Rus discusses a new technique that she and her colleagues developed that allows people to correct a robot’s actions using brain waves and hand gestures. “Instead of having the humans adapt to the machine, we want the machine to adapt to the humans,” explains Prof. Daniela Rus.
Carey Goldberg writes for WBUR’s CommonHealth about this year’s USA Memory Championship, which is taking place at MIT. “[M]emory is a skill, it's not an innate capacity," says Robert Ajemian, a research scientist at MIT’s McGovern Institute. "And that's the message that we want to get out, both to the scientific community and to the lay community."
Fast Company reporter Steven Melendez writes that CSAIL researchers have created a new system that allows a robot to detect human brainwave patterns so it knows when it made a mistake. Melendez explains that, “Teaching robots to understand human nonverbal cues and signals could make them safer and more efficient at working with people.”
In an article published by Wired, Jordana Cepelewicz highlights a study co-authored by Prof. Earl Miller that examines the capacity limit for the human brain’s working memory. Cepelewicz explains that the research, “not only provides insights into memory function and dysfunction, but also offers further evidence for a burgeoning theory of how the brain processes information.”