MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences UnitCochlear implants (CIs) are neuroprostheses that can provide good speech perception in quiet listening situations, but often fail to do so in environments with interfering sounds (e.g. in a restaurant or classroom). Importantly, there is a lot of variability between CI listeners, and it remains unclear why some people do really well with CIs, while […]
A core cognitive operation in problem solving and intelligence
Tests of simple problem solving are important because they predict success in many real life activities, including education and work. Often they are called tests of fluid intelligence. Fluid intelligence is important in meeting many kinds of cognitive challenge, such as dealing with brain diseases, mental health conditions, or developmental or economic disadvantages. Evidently a […]
Memory control in trauma’s wake
After a traumatic event, people often experience intrusive thoughts about the experience. Such memories can be powerfully distressing, so survivors of trauma typically report that they try to suppress them. Fortunately, intrusive thoughts tend to decline over time. But up to now, researchers have not known how this happens: is it merely that memories of […]
Problems in imagining future positive experiences are linked with low mood after brain injury
An acquired brain injury (ABI) refers to damage to the brain as the result of an interruption to its blood supply (stroke), from a severe blow to the head (traumatic brain injury) or from a brain tumour. Many people make excellent recoveries from these injuries. However, for some, it can bring about major changes that […]
Mid-life activities protect old-age cognition against brain decline
Denis Chan and colleagues at the University of Cambridge studied 205 retired individuals from the CamCAN cohort and found that mid-life intellectual, physical and social activities made significant positive contributions to their current cognitive abilities (IQ). The positive effects of mid-life activities also appear to have a protective effect in the face of poor structural […]
Improving identification of young children struggling after adversity
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was originally conceived as a condition that affected adults, having it’s original origins as a syndrome experienced by war veterans. Over the years, we have increasingly understood that children can experience PTSD also, and the diagnostic criteria (i.e., symptoms that an individual needs to display to receive a diagnosis of PTSD) […]
Is apathy a key driver of frontotemporal dementia?
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects regions of the brain involved in key cognitive functions, such as abstract reasoning and emotion regulation. Apathy—a multifaceted construct that describes a range of behavioural and cognitive impairments—has been associated with worse outcomes in FTD. In this study, researchers aimed to understand whether apathy begins to […]
Investigating how a life under lockdown has affected child mental health
As the first cases of COVID-19 reached the shores of the United Kingdom, the government imposed a national lockdown to protect public health. After schools closed, young people suddenly faced a radically restricted lifestyle, one usually poor in social experiences like interactions with peers. Given the importance of such experiences during development, there was widespread […]
