Communication Skills May be Somewhat Genetic
Razi Berry From inside the womb and as soon as they enter the world, babies absorb information from their environment and the adults around them, quickly learning after birth how to start communicating through cries, sounds, giggles, and other kinds of baby talk. But are a child’s long-term language skills shaped by how their brain […]
Changes in Brain Activity While Studying a New Language
Razi Berry A study with first-time learners of Japanese has measured how brain activity changes after just a few months of studying a new language. The results show that acquiring a new language initially boosts brain activity, which then reduces as language skills improve. “In the first few months, you can quantitatively measure language-skill improvement […]
Importance of Learning ‘Slang’ When Studying a New Language
Razi Berry Experts say English slang and regional dialect should not be banned from classrooms but when you’re getting to grips with a second language how helpful is it to learn non-standard lingo? Very, says Sascha Stollhans, of the Department of Languages and Cultures at Lancaster University, who argues that standardized language norms are artificial […]
Diet, Teeth, and How We Speak
Razi Berry Anthropologist Caleb Everett and former student Sihan Chen used a novel data analysis of thousands of languages, in addition to studying a unique subset of celebrities, to reveal how a soft food diet — contrasted with the diet of hunter-gatherers — is restructuring dentition and changing how people speak. Their findings, published in […]
New Ideas on How to Rehab Language Ability After Stroke
Razi Berry New Edith Cowan University (ECU) research has found that intensive therapy is not necessarily best when it comes to treating the loss of language and communication in early recovery after a stroke. Intensive therapy is not necessarily best when it comes to treating the loss of language after a stroke Published today in […]
Social Contact Important in Preventing Dementia
Razi Berry Being more socially active in your 50s and 60s predicts a lower risk of developing dementia later on, finds a new UCL-led study. The longitudinal study, published in PLOS Medicine, reports the most robust evidence to date that social contact earlier in life could play an important role in staving off dementia. Socially […]
Reading with Toddlers Linked to Less Aggressive Parenting
Razi Berry People who regularly read with their toddlers are less likely to engage in harsh parenting and the children are less likely to be hyperactive or disruptive, a Rutgers-led study finds. Possibly first study first to focus on how shared reading affects parenting Previous studies have shown that frequent shared reading prepares children for […]
Intelligence Impacts Health and Aging
Razi Berry For over 100 years, scientists have sought to understand what links a person’s general intelligence, health and aging. In a new study, a University of Missouri scientist suggests a model where mitochondria, or small energy producing parts of cells, could form the basis of this link. This insight could provide valuable information to […]
Eating Mushrooms for Your Brain Health
Razi Berry A team from the Department of Psychological Medicine and Department of Biochemistry at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine has found that seniors who consume more than two standard portions of mushrooms weekly may have 50 percent reduced odds of having mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Seniors consuming more than two standard […]
The Power of Yes
Razi Berry Self-talk to Bring More of What You Want Into Your Life Yes. YESSSSSSSS! There is a lot of support out there for saying No. Saying no prevents you from over giving, overextending yourself. Saying no allows you to put yourself first. I’ve begun to look at it another way. I’ve started saying YES. […]