cognitive scientist awards

As hormones surge, some brain areas shrink in what scientists say may be a fine-tuning that helps mothers bond with and care for their babies. Brain scans of a woman during pregnancy showed that some areas shrink, possibly becoming more specialized, while neurological fibers appear to show temporarily improved communication. Research is revealing intriguing clues about how pregnancy changes the brain. Studies scanning women’s brains before and after pregnancy have found that certain brain networks, especially those involved in social and emotional processing, shrink during pregnancy, possibly undergoing a fine-tuning process in preparation for parenting. Such changes correspond with surges in pregnancy hormones, especially estrogen, and some last at least two years after childbirth, researchers have found. A new study, published Monday in the journal Nature Neuroscience, adds to the picture by documenting with M.R.I.s brain changes throughout one woman’s pregnancy. It confirms previous...

  Meningococcal meningitis is a potentially fatal bacterial infection of the brain and surrounding tissues that has been responsible for significant morbidity and mortality for hundreds of years. Today, sporadic and deadly outbreaks still occur, despite effective therapeutics and available vaccines. What is the story of meningococcal meningitis, and how has the disease continued to prevail despite technological advancements? Meningococcal Disease Presentation Meningococcal meningitis is caused by the organism  Neisseria meningiditis,  a gram-negative coccobacillus that exclusively infects humans.  Approximately 10% of the population will be carrying the organism in their oropharynx  (middle part of the throat) at any given time, and colonization of the oropharynx always precedes infection—a factor that likely contributed to outbreaks during the 19th century, when people were often living in close quarters or regular close contact with one another. The 2 most com...

The exploration of coma and disorders of consciousness (DoC) remains a significant frontier in neurology, characterized by its complex challenges and the critical need for innovative therapeutic interventions. This Research Topic stems from the Curing Coma Campaign and its World Coma Day. The Curing Coma Campaign is the first global public health initiative to unify the concept of coma as a treatable medical entity with the goal of promoting recovery of consciousness through early intervention and long-term support. The assemblage of 13 scholarly articles in this Research Topic provides a broad perspective on the contemporary state of research and clinical practice pertaining to this field. Collectively, these studies shed light on the complicated, dynamic, and progressive nature of DoC, providing an overview of cutting-edge research that underscores novel treatment approaches, the critical timing and methodologies of rehabilitation, recent advancements in diagnostic tools, and the mul...

  How do our brains snap to attention and orient us to the outside world — like when we’re sound asleep and the smoke alarm goes off? And when different choices confront us, how does our brain make decisions? Two groups of researchers at Boston Children’s explored these all-important brain operations. The first study, published February 21 in  Nature , explored how the brain is organized to guide our choices. We wanted to understand how neurons are connected to one another in brain areas important for decision-making,” says Wei-Chung Allen Lee, PhD, a researcher with the F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center at Boston Children’s. Lee co-led the study with Christopher Harvey, PhD, at Harvard Medical School and Stefano Panzeri, PhD, at University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. The researchers focused on the posterior parietal cortex, an “integrative hub” that processes information gathered by multiple senses. Studying mice, they recorded brain activity as the ani...

  Confidence is crucial. It inspires audacious acts, elevates teams and spurs businesses to grow. But too much of it? That’s trouble. Overconfidence can tamper with decisions and bury risks in plain view. It doesn’t throw a business off balance—it can take the whole thing down. The reality? Overconfidence is not a little quirk; it’s a silent disaster in waiting. Overconfidence In Leadership: An Epidemic We applaud bold leaders, celebrate gut-driven decisions and label unwavering confidence as “visionary.” The problem? Overconfidence wears a mask. It looks like decisiveness but blinds leaders to risk, silences critical voices and sets the stage for failure. Take the 2008 financial crisis. Executives, convinced of their brilliance, built complex financial instruments they didn’t fully understand. Their overconfidence led to underestimating systemic risks, believing their models were untouchable. It wasn’t a failure of leadership—it was a cultural epidemic of arrogance. The ...

  In a short span, AI tools have become a mainstay in workspaces. Today, more than ever, knowledge workers around the world have embraced various AI tools to enhance productivity. But are we bordering on overreliance on AI? Is there a flipside? A new report by Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University researchers has shed some light on the concerning aspects of generative AI. The report highlights its impact on critical thinking skills among working professionals. According to the researchers, the increased reliance on AI tools may cause a decline in cognitive abilities and problem-solving abilities.  A recent study conducted by researchers from Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University has revealed a concerning correlation between the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in workplaces and a decrease in critical thinking skills. The research suggests that as employees become more dependent on generative AI for their tasks, they tend to utilize less c...

  Specific abnormalities in cancer cells known to cause more aggressive disease The presence of more than one high-risk genetic abnormality is associated with dramatically more aggressive multiple myeloma, a study reported. Its findings highlight the importance of testing myeloma patients for these genetic abnormalities, helping to better understand their disease’s potential course and guiding treatment decisions, the researchers wrote. “The results of this study have enabled us to more accurately classify the aggressiveness of an individual patient’s cancer,” Martin Kaiser, MD, the study’s lead author and a professor of molecular hematology at The Institute of Cancer Research in the U.K., said in an institute news story. “We would like all myeloma patients to be able to access the newer diagnostic tests which enable clinicians to group individual patients based on their risk profile and provide treatment that is tailored to their needs.” The study, “Co-Occurrence of Cyto...