Cognition | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/cognition/RSS feed for CognitionenFri, 30 Oct 2026 14:00:00 +0000Crows Can Make Decisions Based on Visual Information at Lightning Speed—Roughly Twice as Fast as Humans Can, Study Suggestshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/crows-can-make-decisions-based-on-visual-information-at-lightning-speed-roughly-twice-as-fast-as-humans-can-study-suggests-180989779/Even though the brain structures of birds and mammals are different, a new study suggests that crows and primates have similar decision-making nerve cell circuitryFri, 30 Oct 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/crows-can-make-decisions-based-on-visual-information-at-lightning-speed-roughly-twice-as-fast-as-humans-can-study-suggests-180989779/Some Monkeys Seem to Become Germophobic After Living Through a Disease Outbreak, Just Like Humanshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/some-monkeys-seem-to-become-germaphobic-after-living-through-a-disease-outbreak-just-like-humans-180989764/Macaques that had gotten sick or seen others become ill were less likely to eat a tasty treat that looked like it was contaminated with poop than primates that didn't witness the outbreak—even though they didn't know how the infection spreadsWed, 28 Oct 2026 15:18:44 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/some-monkeys-seem-to-become-germaphobic-after-living-through-a-disease-outbreak-just-like-humans-180989764/Trio of Scientists Wins Medicine Nobel for a Method to Turn Nerve Cells On and Off With Light, Helping to Unravel the Brain's Mysterieshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/trio-of-scientists-wins-medicine-nobel-for-a-method-to-turn-nerve-cells-on-and-off-with-light-helping-to-unravel-the-brains-mysteries-180989618/Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel received the 2026 award for their contributions to a revolutionary technique in neuroscience called optogenetics, which allows researchers to examine precise connections between neuronal activity and behavioral outcomes in live animalsMon, 05 Oct 2026 19:33:54 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/trio-of-scientists-wins-medicine-nobel-for-a-method-to-turn-nerve-cells-on-and-off-with-light-helping-to-unravel-the-brains-mysteries-180989618/MRI Scans Might Reveal Signs of Alzheimer's Disease Seven Years Before a Telltale Marker Appears in the Brainhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mri-scans-might-reveal-signs-of-alzheimers-disease-seven-years-before-a-telltale-marker-appears-in-the-brain-180989570/Not all researchers are convinced that the brain changes detected via MRI are robust enough to become a diagnostic tool. But the findings could help researchers better understand the mechanisms that drive the neurodegenerative diseaseTue, 29 Sep 2026 20:33:37 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mri-scans-might-reveal-signs-of-alzheimers-disease-seven-years-before-a-telltale-marker-appears-in-the-brain-180989570/Some Birdsongs Are More Pleasing to Human Ears Than Others. Higher-Pitched, Complex Calls Tend to Sound More Beautiful to Ushttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/some-birdsongs-are-more-pleasing-to-human-ears-than-others-higher-pitched-complex-calls-tend-to-sound-more-beautiful-to-us-180989540/In a new study, more than 80 participants rated the pleasantness of vocalizations made by 123 European bird species. Researchers then looked at the acoustic qualities of the most—and least—liked songsThu, 24 Sep 2026 19:01:33 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/some-birdsongs-are-more-pleasing-to-human-ears-than-others-higher-pitched-complex-calls-tend-to-sound-more-beautiful-to-us-180989540/From Boosting Mental Health to Reducing Dementia Risk, Here's Why Reading Is Extremely Good for You, According to Sciencehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/from-boosting-mental-health-to-reducing-dementia-risk-heres-why-reading-is-extremely-good-for-you-according-to-science-180989548/Mounting evidence suggests that regularly cozying up with a book can increase brain and mental health, improve literacy and math skills, and even slow cognitive decline. What's more, fiction seems to have the added benefit of introducing readers to others' perspectivesWed, 23 Sep 2026 16:33:51 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/from-boosting-mental-health-to-reducing-dementia-risk-heres-why-reading-is-extremely-good-for-you-according-to-science-180989548/Scientists Say the Human Brain Might Be Made of Two Distinct Nervous Systems That Got Squished Togetherhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-say-the-human-brain-might-be-made-of-two-distinct-nervous-systems-that-got-squished-together-180989539/Two separate types of progenitor cells give rise to the front and back of the organ, according to a new study. The findings can help researchers study human diseases that affect the hindbrain, since its nerve cells have previously been difficult—if not impossible—to make in the labTue, 22 Sep 2026 15:54:17 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-say-the-human-brain-might-be-made-of-two-distinct-nervous-systems-that-got-squished-together-180989539/The Brain Shrinks as We Age and During Major Transitions. But Surprisingly, It Seems to Take a Break From Rewiring During Menopausehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-brain-shrinks-as-we-age-and-during-major-transitions-but-surprisingly-it-seems-to-take-a-break-from-rewiring-during-menopause-180989527/Puberty, pregnancy and menopause are the three major hormonal transitions for the female brain. Researchers already knew that during the first two, the organ fine-tunes itself in response to hormonal shifts, but they haven't been sure about the thirdMon, 21 Sep 2026 18:51:14 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-brain-shrinks-as-we-age-and-during-major-transitions-but-surprisingly-it-seems-to-take-a-break-from-rewiring-during-menopause-180989527/Archaeologists Are Reconstructing the 'Invisible' Technologies of the Stone Age, From Rope to Thread and Twinehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/archaeologists-are-reconstructing-the-invisible-technologies-of-the-stone-age-from-rope-to-thread-and-twine-180989534/Largely missing from the archaeological record, fiber innovations played a huge role in the lives of early humans. Researchers are weaving together new insights from the traces they left behindMon, 21 Sep 2026 18:24:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/archaeologists-are-reconstructing-the-invisible-technologies-of-the-stone-age-from-rope-to-thread-and-twine-180989534/Scientists Created Mice With Half-Human Brains. The Hybrid Animals Could Revolutionize Our Understanding of Neurological Disordershttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-created-mice-with-half-human-brains-the-hybrid-animals-could-revolutionize-our-understanding-of-neurological-disorders-180989518/Our brains and their associated diseases are notoriously hard to study. So researchers developed an animal model with a cortex—the brain’s outer layer—grown from human-derived cellsThu, 17 Sep 2026 20:16:55 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-created-mice-with-half-human-brains-the-hybrid-animals-could-revolutionize-our-understanding-of-neurological-disorders-180989518/This New Brain Map Shows Every Nerve Cell in an Adult Male Fruit Fly's Central Nervous System. Here's Why That Mattershttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-new-brain-map-shows-every-nerve-cell-in-an-adult-male-fruit-flys-central-nervous-system-heres-why-that-matters-180989490/The recently released "connectome" joins a previously completed map of an adult female fruit fly’s brain. The digital 3D diagrams allow scientists to trace precise neural paths in the bugs’ brains, which can unlock secrets about the organ in humansWed, 16 Sep 2026 16:17:14 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-new-brain-map-shows-every-nerve-cell-in-an-adult-male-fruit-flys-central-nervous-system-heres-why-that-matters-180989490/