Reasoning is an ability that is unique to human cognition. However, despite our advances in neuroimaging techniques, we cannot clearly map the neural regions involved in human reasoning. In a new study, researchers from Korea came up with a new approach to understand the foundations of both inductive and deductive reasoning and identify the major brain areas responsible, paving the way for uncovering the mechanisms of various other cognitive processes.

One of the factors that make us uniquely “human” is our ability to reason, i.e., to cognitively analyze situations, predict possible outcomes, and make decisions accordingly. Broadly speaking, human reasoning can be classified as “inductive,” which involves making predictions based on existing knowledge, and “deductive,” in which definitive conclusions are reached from given premises. However, despite the cutting-edge technology we have at our disposal, neuroscientists are yet to pinpoint where this ability stems from.

Scientists typically use a global approach called “meta-analysis,” a statistical method combining results of previous studies to derive conclusions. However, meta-analyses in this field have not adequately accounted for the complex folded geometry of the cortical surface (the surface of the two brain hemispheres).

Summary: An overgrowth in the gastrointestinal tract of the bacteria Klebsiella in preterm babies was associated with an increased presence of certain immune cells and the development of neurological damage. The findings suggest a link between microbiota and brain development.

Source: University of Vienna.

Extremely premature infants are at high risk for brain damage. Researchers at the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna have now found possible targets for the early treatment of such damage outside the brain: Bacteria in the gut of premature infants may play a key role.

Science can solve the great mystery of consciousness – how physical matter gives rise to conscious experience – we just have to use the right approach, says neuroscientist Anil Seth.

“It’s really important that we don’t think of structures in the brain as monolithic,” said Gowrishankar. “There’s lots of little nuance in brain. How plastic it is. How it’s wired. This finding is showing one way how differences can play out.”

Researchers alter two of five genes responsible for vision in Aedes aegypti to make human targets less visible to these flying insects.

The authors add that the research informs fundamental scientific understanding of how face recognition works in the brain, suggesting that not only a face’s visual cues but also prior social knowledge plays an active role in perceiving faces.

Summary: Knowledge of an individual’s personality can influence the perception of a face’s identity and bias it toward unrelated people or identities, researchers report.

Source: NYU

Do Vladimir Putin and Justin Bieber look alike? They do if you think they have similar personalities, shows a new study by a team of psychologists.

Its findings, which appear in the journal Cognition, reveal that knowledge of a person’s personality can influence the perception of a face’s identity and bias it toward unrelated identities. For example, if Vladimir Putin and Justin Bieber, a pair of faces among many tested in the research, have more similar personalities in your mind, then they visually appear more similar to you as well, even if they lack any physical resemblance.