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Ensuring Research Validity: A Checklist for Stronger Science
Scientific credibility depends on valid research. But with growing concerns about replication failures and questionable research practices, how can scientists ensure their findings stand up to scrutiny? Under the Cortex explores.
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Tech Use Isn’t Driving Dementia in Older Adults
Screens are steadily taking over more and more of our life, leading some researchers to worry about the effect of long-term use on older adults’ brain. It has been suggested that this might lead to so-called digital dementia—that depending on digital technology throughout our life might detract from cognitive functioning in our later years. ... One reason some researchers worried about “digital dementia” was previous research that linked television viewing, a passive activity, with negative outcomes such as an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
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Neuroscience Says Music Is an ‘Emotion Regulation Machine.’ Here’s What to Play for Happiness, Productivity, or Deep Thinking
What kind of headspace do you want to be in today? Focused and productive as you tick through routine to-do list items? Dreamy and creative? Happy and social? Contemplative? Analytical?
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People Likely Aren’t as Susceptible to False Memories as Researchers Thought
How much can we trust our memories? We know that our mind keeps an imperfect record of the past. We can forget or misremember details with frustrating consequences. Our attention can be diverted in ways that make it all too easy to miss key events. But a particularly disturbing idea suggests that we readily form false memories—that is, we can become convinced we experienced something that never actually occurred. This concept is often used to cast doubt on the reliability of a plaintiff’s testimony in a court case, suggesting it is easy to create false memories of entire events.
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Have We Been Thinking About A.D.H.D. All Wrong?
... In the years since the consensus statement was published, however, the evidence for each of these A.D.H.D. biomarkers has faltered. Attempts to replicate the studies that showed differences in brain electrical activity came up empty. And though scientists have identified complex collections of genes that together may be signs of greater risk for A.D.H.D., they have failed to find a specific gene that predicts the disorder. “There is no single-gene story,” John Gabrieli, an M.I.T. neuroscientist, told me recently.
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Technology Use May Be Associated with a Lower Risk for Dementia, Study Finds
With the first generation of people exposed widely to technology now approaching old age, how has its use affected their risk of cognitive decline? ... None of the 136 studies the authors reviewed overall reported an increased risk of cognitive impairment correlated with technology use — a consistency that is “really quite rare,” said co-lead study author Dr. Michael Scullin, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University, via email.
