Reference Terms
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Thought
Thought or thinking is a mental process which allows beings to model the world, and so to deal with it effectively according to their goals, plans, ends and desires.
Thinking involves manipulation of information, as when we form concepts, engage in problem solving, reason and make decisions. Thinking is a higher cognitive function and the analysis of thinking processes is part of cognitive psychology.
The basic mechanics of the human brain reflect a process of pattern matching or rather recognition. In a "moment of reflection", new situations and new experiences are judged against recalled ones and judgments are made. In order to make these judgments, the intellect maintains present experience and sorts relevant past experience. It does this while keeping present and past experience distinct and separate. The intellect can mix, match, merge, sift, and sort concepts, perceptions, and experience. This process is called reasoning. Logic is the science of reasoning.
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Mind & Brain News
February 17, 2026
Feb. 17, 2026 Researchers have identified two brain receptors that help the brain clear away amyloid beta, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. By stimulating these receptors in mice, scientists increased levels of a natural amyloid-breaking enzyme, reduced ...
Feb. 16, 2026 A parasite that may already be hiding in your brain has a shocking survival trick: it can infect the very immune cells sent to destroy it. Yet most people never get sick, and new research from UVA ...
Feb. 16, 2026 A sweeping review of global research suggests that exercise—especially aerobic activities like running, swimming, and dancing—can be one of the most powerful ways to ease depression and anxiety. ...
Feb. 15, 2026 Scientists have created the most detailed maps yet of how genes control one another inside the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Using a powerful new AI-based system called SIGNET, the team uncovered cause-and-effect relationships between ...
Feb. 13, 2026 Scientists at Cedars-Sinai have uncovered a surprising repair system in the spinal cord that could open new doors for treating paralysis, stroke, and diseases like multiple sclerosis. They found that special support cells called astrocytes—located ...
Feb. 12, 2026 A newly identified protein may hold the key to rejuvenating aging brain cells. Researchers found that boosting DMTF1 can restore the ability of neural stem cells to regenerate, even when age-related damage has set in. Without it, these cells ...
Feb. 12, 2026 Swapping just an hour of TV a day for something more active could significantly lower the risk of developing major depression—especially in middle age. A large Dutch study tracking more than 65,000 adults over four years found that replacing 60 ...
Feb. 11, 2026 A simple brain-training program that sharpens how quickly older adults process visual information may have a surprisingly powerful long-term payoff. In a major 20-year study of adults 65 and older, those who completed five to six weeks of adaptive ...
Feb. 11, 2026 Depression in older adults may sometimes signal the early stages of Parkinson’s disease or Lewy body dementia. Researchers found that depression often appears years before diagnosis and remains ...
Feb. 10, 2026 Human evolution has long been tied to growing brain size, and new research suggests prenatal hormones may have played a surprising role. By studying the relative lengths of index and ring fingers — a clue to oestrogen and testosterone exposure in ...
Feb. 10, 2026 Autism has long been thought of as a condition that mostly affects boys, but a massive study from Sweden suggests that idea may be misleading. Tracking nearly 3 million people over decades, researchers found that while boys are diagnosed more often ...
Feb. 10, 2026 A sweeping new review of ADHD treatments—drawing on more than 200 meta-analyses—cuts through years of mixed messaging and hype. To make sense of it all, researchers have launched an interactive, public website that lets people with ADHD and ...
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Feb. 16, 2026 For years, compulsive behaviors have been viewed as bad habits stuck on autopilot. But new research in rats found the opposite: inflammation in a key decision-making brain region actually made ...
Feb. 15, 2026 A new Stanford study suggests math struggles may be about more than numbers. Children who had difficulty with math were less likely to adjust their thinking after making mistakes during number ...
Feb. 15, 2026 Sleeping on a problem might be more powerful than we ever imagined. Neuroscientists at Northwestern University have shown that dreams can actually be nudged in specific directions — and those dream ...
Feb. 15, 2026 Psychedelics can quiet the brain’s visual input system, pushing it to replace missing details with vivid fragments from memory. Scientists found that slow, rhythmic brain waves help shift ...
Feb. 14, 2026 Couples who intentionally slow down and soak in their happy moments together may be building a powerful shield for their relationship. Researchers at ...
Feb. 13, 2026 A new study suggests that generosity may be more than a moral lesson—it could be shaped by how different parts of the brain work together. By gently stimulating two brain regions and syncing their ...
Feb. 10, 2026 A bonobo named Kanzi surprised scientists by successfully playing along in pretend tea party experiments, tracking imaginary juice and grapes as if they were real. He consistently pointed to the ...
Feb. 10, 2026 Researchers at the University of Michigan have created an AI system that can interpret brain MRI scans in just seconds, accurately identifying a wide range of neurological conditions and determining ...
Feb. 9, 2026 We don’t experience the world through neat, separate senses—everything blends together. Smell, touch, sound, sight, and balance constantly influence one another, shaping how food tastes, objects ...
Feb. 9, 2026 A long-term study found that women who closely followed a Mediterranean diet had a much lower risk of stroke. The strongest benefits were seen in women who ate more plant-based foods, fish, and olive ...