Cognitive Science bridges the gap between the brain and the mind - tracing how networks of neurons shape perception, attention, memory, and imagination. This section explores the science of thinking and awareness, from the role of the default mode network in creativity to the mechanisms of focus, flow, and altered states. By bringing together neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy, we highlight the discoveries that reveal not only how the mind works, but how it can be expanded.
A new study in The Journals of Gerontology explores how major marital transitions - specifically widowhood and divorce - affect cognitive function, revealing that the effects vary widely by age and gender. Using 20 years of longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study, the research uncovers distinct cognitive patterns in the first two years after becoming widowed or divorced. For women, widowhood influenced cognition differently in midlife and older adulthood, while for men, neither widowhood nor divorce predicted meaningful cognitive shifts.
A new exploratory study published in Cerebral Cortex examines a rarely discussed feature of natural breathing - the brief post-expiratory pause - and reveals its surprising connection to emotional well-being. Combining precise respiratory measurements with resting-state magnetoencephalography (MEG) and psychological assessments, the researchers found that individual differences in this short pause between breaths correlate with activity in the salience network, a brain system central to emotion and interoception. The findings suggest that tiny variations in our breath may quietly reflect deeper psychological patterns.
A comprehensive chapter published in Oxford Scholarship Online examines how women and children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) demonstrate remarkable strengths and adaptive capacity, challenging long-standing deficit-focused models. Researchers from leading institutions outline how protective actions, maternal resilience, and positive childhood experiences shape long-term health and safety outcomes for families. The authors emphasize that women and children are not passive recipients of harm but active agents navigating adversity, often in ways invisible to outside observers.
A new Open Access study in Analysis examines whether reflective thinking shapes philosophical decisions - or whether philosophy itself can enhance reflection. Using a preregistered design, researcher Nick Byrd recruited participants from four major online platforms and tested responses to classic thought experiments alongside a battery of reflection tasks. While reflection did not alter philosophical judgments, several known correlations replicated. More surprisingly, completing philosophical scenarios first improved reflection test performance, suggesting that the cognitive relationship between reflection and philosophy runs in both directions.
A new study in the Journal of Neuroscience reports that the human brain begins encoding the physicochemical features of odor molecules within the first hundred milliseconds after inhalation. By recording EEG activity while participants smelled a diverse range of odors, researchers found that early theta-band responses reflect low-level molecular structure and predict individual differences in odor discrimination ability. The findings offer a clearer view of how early sensory coding shapes olfactory behavior, separating rapid structural decoding from later representations of odor pleasantness.
Students are often told that strong metacognitive skills - planning, monitoring, and evaluating their learning - lead to better grades. But a new study shows a surprising disconnect: self-reported metacognition doesn't reliably predict academic performance. Instead, students' beliefs about how they compare to their peers align far more closely with their actual results. The findings challenge long-held assumptions about how learning really works and reveal the powerful role of academic self-perception in shaping success.
A new study in the Journal of Neuroscience reveals that the human brain does not simply add up the value of multiple items when making consumer decisions. Instead, it actively "rescales" how much a bundle is worth, generating a lower value than the sum of its parts. Using a three-day deep-fMRI protocol, researchers found that the same regions of the prefrontal cortex compute value for both single items and bundles, but the neural signal is attenuated when multiple items appear together. The findings help explain everyday purchasing choices and the psychology behind bundled offers.
A new paper published in English: Journal of the English Association (Open Access) examines how Katherine Mansfield created some of the most emotionally vivid characters in modern literature. The study shows that Mansfield blended two ways of experiencing emotion - our cognitive evaluations of events and the deeper background feelings that shape how we sense the world. By tracing these layers in stories like The Garden Party, Psychology, and Revelations, researchers explain why Mansfield's characters feel intensely alive and psychologically complex even a century later.
A comprehensive Open Access narrative review published in The European Journal of Public Health examined how citizens and patients perceive the use of large language models in healthcare. The study analyzed 120 scientific papers on ChatGPT and similar systems, identifying perceived benefits in health information access but also substantial concerns regarding accuracy, bias, safety, and the future of the doctor - patient relationship. The findings provide one of the broadest portraits to date of how the public understands AI-driven health information and what safeguards people expect.
