51 search results
Early adopters: What are smartphones doing to children?
Education & Development

Early adopters: What are smartphones doing to children?

...cortex called the basal ganglia. It’s this part of the brain that allows us to pay attention to critical tasks and ignore distractions. Such overstimulation could lead to problems in later life, particularly with focus, memory and impulsivity. “It seems that you can overstimulate young brains to the point that day-to-day life won’t excite to the same extent,” says...
View article Early adopters: What are smartphones doing to children?
Article 5 mins
Play, learning and the brain
Education & Development

Play, learning and the brain

...cortex (cortical atrophy) and other abnormalities suggesting under-development and mal-development of the brain. The contrast is marked but it is important to remember the comparison is with a very extreme example. Research like this suggests that new information about how the brain works will help us to develop more effective learning strategies. Now complete Activity 2,...
View course Play, learning and the brain
Level 2: Intermediate 15 hrs
Studying mammals: The social climbers
Nature & Environment

Studying mammals: The social climbers

...cortex, the region of the brain that processes visual information. All neurons are interconnected; indeed, those with a specialised linking function are termed interneurons. They receive signals from one or more neurons and pass them to others, forming neural networks between the brain and the body. Each neuron has a long extension called an axon, which enables it to...
View course Studying mammals: The social climbers
Level 1: Introductory 10 hrs
Making sense of mental health problems
Health, Sports & Psychology

Making sense of mental health problems

...cortex or the 100 trillion synapses that make up all the connections. We have just begun to try to figure out, how do we take this very complex machine that does extraordinary kinds of information processing and use our own minds to understand this very complex brain that supports our own minds? It’s actually a kind of cruel trick of evolution, that we simply don’t...
View course Making sense of mental health problems
Level 2: Intermediate 10 hrs
Can talking two languages keep your brain healthy?
Languages

Can talking two languages keep your brain healthy?

...cortex, and that is because they are using it so much more often,” he says. The ACC is like a cognitive muscle, he adds: the more you use it, the stronger, bigger and more flexible it gets. Bilinguals, it turns out, exercise their executive control all the time because their two languages are constantly competing for attention. Brain-imaging studies show that when a...
View article Can talking two languages keep your brain healthy?
Article 10 mins
A tour of the cell
Science, Maths & Technology

A tour of the cell

...cortex (Figures 9a and 10). Bundles of microfilaments are found in microvilli of absorptive epithelial cells (e.g. in the intestine), and in the leading edge of moving cells, where the ability of the actin filaments to rapidly disassemble and reassemble plays a key role in cell motility. Figure 9 The arrangement of cytoskeletal proteins in intestinal epithelial cells: (a)...
View course A tour of the cell
Level 2: Intermediate 12 hrs
Dreaming of an answer to narcolepsy: Why don't we understand sleep?
Health, Sports & Psychology

Dreaming of an answer to narcolepsy: Why don't we understand sleep?

...cortex. In other settings, the orexins act more like hormones, working further afield in the brain. This is how orexins influence other brain chemicals, including dopamine (essential for the processing of reward, in planning and for motivation), serotonin (strongly associated with mood and implicated in depression) and histamine (an important alerting signal). “In most...
View article Dreaming of an answer to narcolepsy: Why don't we understand sleep?
Article 15 mins
Studying mammals: Return to the water
Nature & Environment

Studying mammals: Return to the water

...cortex, that are reminiscent of those in primates. They use sound in a number of sophisticated ways and engage in subtle social interactions that may be mediated by a simple form of 'language'. Dolphins can be trained to respond to commands and perform tricks - and they can develop and vary these routines and imitate each other's behaviour. On the other hand, the large...
View course Studying mammals: Return to the water
Level 1: Introductory 10 hrs