cognitive-science

To show how monkeys think about math and shapes, scientists had them play games — including some designed by kids.

Defensive Publication: System and Architectural Framework for Beneficial Intelligence (BI) Author / Inventor: Parth Nirgide Initial Publication Date: September 13, 2026 License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Document Classification: Open Technical Specification & Defensive Prior Art Disclosure 1. Abstract This disclosure establishes prior art for Beneficial Intelligen…

For most AI apps, the unit of time is a request. A user sends a message, the model responds, and the workflow ends. Cogweald is designed around a different primitive: one real day. Each world can advance by at most one chapter per day. That sounds like a product rule, but it is also an important systems abstraction. It gives state changes a rhythm, makes costs predictable, and gives readers a rea…

BackgroundChildhood trauma may influence clinical presentation in first-episode schizophrenia (FES), but its specific associations with cognitive function and clinical symptoms remain unclear.MethodsSeventy-one FES participants and 62 healthy controls were assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-SF), MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (…

A 2026 Mendelian-randomization study connected genetic proxies for certain gut bacteria with cognitive performance. The finding is a research clue, not evidence that a probiotic or diet can improve cognition.

A scientist who wanted to show pigeons don’t need intellect to navigate was surprised by nuances in his own study findings.

A new study of great ape laughter also gives clues about how humans’ ancient ancestors started speaking.

The sun is not real. It is a cognitive placeholder. We did not discover the east—we invented it, because cognition cannot begin without a first anchor, and that anchor, in daylight, must be one thing, shared by all. Everything else follows: the west is deduced, the north is projected, the south is an afterthought. Time, calendar, myth, and the entire cosmic order are not descriptions of the world…

Embodied cognition, a research programme that is standardly presented as a corrective to classical cognitive science, insists that brain, body, and environment must be understood together if cognition is to be explained adequately. This paper argues for the stronger claim that cognition has always been an embodied phenomenon, because embodied cognition was the first kind of cognition to evolve. T…

The rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has introduced new forms of cognitive support as well as potential behavioral risks in academic contexts. Rather than treating AI use as a purely homogeneous phenomenon, this study conceptualizes GenAI engagement through a psychological dual-pathway framework that explicitly separates capability-oriented AI familiarity from exposure…

By identifying ‘living fossils’ in modern speech, some researchers are arguing that human language evolved slowly through a ‘survival of the wittiest’. The theory suggests verbal humour was sexually selected over physical fighting, using visual brain regions to build the foundation of complex modern grammar

Michael Levin is a developmental and synthetic biologist at Tufts University whose work sits at the intersection of biology, bioelectricity, artificial life, regenerative medicine, synthetic biology, computer science, cognitive science, and philosophy of mind. He is known for his research on how cells communicate, make decisions, build bodies, repair tissues, and form collective intelligence thro…

Traditional cognitive science has historically confined the mind within the cranium. While the “second brain” metaphor underscores the autonomy of the enteric nervous system, it remains entrenched in a neurocentric paradigm. Here, we propose a transformative framework: the gut microbiota may function as a constitutively relevant contributor to specific embodied cognitive architectures. We contend…

This study presents a quantitative analysis of errors in the perception and interpretation of hydronyms by university students in Western Kazakhstan. The aim of the study is to identify the types of errors that occur when students interpret hydronymic units and to reveal the cognitive difficulties underlying these errors. The study involved 120 university students who had previously completed cou…