Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences

Each year, Forbes Magazine lists the top 30 people under the age of 30 who have reached notable success in their chosen field. Elika Bergelson, a research assistant professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, was selected for the 2015 list for her work on the development of language in infants.

Rochester scientists say they have an alternative to the standard explanation for why order matters when the human mind processes information. Ting Qian and Richard Aslin explain that our tendency to detect patterns is built into our cognitive processes, even when it’s at the risk of overestimating the importance of such patterns. (photo by Flickr user redwoodphotography made available under CC BY-ND 2.0)

An interdisciplinary team of University neuroscientists and neurosurgeons has used a new imaging technique to show how the human brain heals itself in just a few weeks following surgical removal of a brain tumor.

A new study shows for the first time that playing action video games improves not just the skills taught in the game, but learning capabilities more generally.

Recent studies have showed that the color red tends to increase our attraction toward others, feelings of jealousy, and even reaction times. Now, new research shows that female monkeys also respond to the color red, suggesting that biology, rather than our culture, may play the fundamental role in our “red” reactions.

Knill, who came to the University as an associate professor in 1999, was a leading scientist in the study of human perception. He also served as the associate director of the Center for Visual Science since 2001. Most of his work, which included over 60 research and review articles, focused on visual perception and how humans use vision to guide physical actions.

Elika Bergelson, a newly-appointed research assistant professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, focuses on understanding how babies learn words between 6-to 18-months old. Funding from the NIH recognizes Bergelson as one of the nation’s “exceptional early career scientist” and will help her pathbreaking work advance more quickly.

Humans have a well-documented tendency to see winning and losing streaks in situations that, in fact, are random. Now in the first study in non-human primates of this systematic error in decision making, researchers find that monkeys also share our unfounded belief in lucky streaks.

The findings of a new study suggest that number learning is a fundamental process that follows a universal pathway. However, the timing of the process depends on a child’s environment.

Aslin joined 83 inductees at the ceremony in April to become an official member of the academy—one of the highest honors given to a scientist or engineer in the United States