How young mice phone home

Photo montage courtesy Jack Kearse and the Liu Lab

Study: Mothers' brains screen for baby calls

Emory researchers have identified a surprising mechanism in the brains of mother mice that focuses their awareness on the calls of baby mice. Their study, published June 11 in Neuron, found that the high-frequency sounds of mice pups stand out in a mother's auditory cortex by inhibiting the activity of neurons more attuned to lower frequency sounds.

"Previous research has focused on how the excitation of neurons can detect or interpret sounds, but this study shows the key role that inhibition may play in real situations," said Robert Liu, assistant professor of biology and senior author of the study.

Read more.

Watch a video of a mother mouse responding to a baby's call.

Psychologist reins in animal-therapy claims

From Connecticut's Record-Journal:

"It's clear that animals cheer people up and can engage people who have otherwise withdrawn, but some doubt the long-term benefits of animal therapy.

"Scott Lilienfeld, a professor of psychology at Emory University in Atlanta and columnist for Scientific American, said there isn't sufficient research to claim that animal therapy has a lasting therapeutic effect. He's not ruling out that possibility, but says more and better studies need to be done.

"'We often find a short-term activating effect,' he said. 'Lots of things will cheer people up in the short term.'"

Read more on a report Lilienfeld wrote with neuroscientist Lori Marino, "Dolphin Therapy is All Wet."

Your mama was a lobe-finned fish

We were all a bunch of fishes, a long time ago.
So wave your fins in the air, and watch this video.

New thoughts on cognition

Psychology's Larry Barsalou, a leading researcher of grounded cognition, is interviewed by Science Watch:

"For the past 50 years, theories have assumed that the brain is an information processing device somewhat similar to a computer, and that the information processing properties of the brain are separate from the brain's systems for perception, action, and introspection. These new theories propose instead that the cognition is deeply grounded in these systems, relying heavily on simulations of perception and action, being grounded in the body, and being situated in the environment."

Barsalou's paper "Grounded Cognition" was just named a "fast-breaking paper" by Science Watch, due to its high number of citations. Read more.