Learn foreign languages to keep brain sharp

Learning foreign languages may sharpen your brain by enhancing its elasticity and ability to code information, a new study suggests. The more foreign languages we learn, the more effectively our brain reacts and processes the data accumulated in the course of learning, researchers said.

The neurophysiological mechanics of language and speech acquisition are underexplored when compared to the brain's other functions. The reason for such scarce attention is the inability to study verbal function on test animals.

Researchers from the Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Russia together with colleagues from the University of Helsinki in Fin land carried out experiments where the brain's electrical activity was measured with electroencephalography (EEG). Ten male and 12 female participants, with the average age being 24, took part in the investigation. The subjects had electrodes placed on their heads and then listened to recordings of different words in their native language, as well in foreign languages, both known and completely unknown by the subjects. When the known or unknown words popped up, changes in the brain's activity were tracked. Researchers focused on the spe ed at which the brain readjusted its activity to treat unknown words.

The ability of the brain to process information depends on one's “linguistic anamneses,“ experts said. The study shows that the brain's electrical activity was higher among those who knew foreign languages.

Brain perceives taste with all senses: Study

Our brain relies on not just one but all the senses to anticipate taste, a new study suggests. The study, by researchers from the Stony Brook University in the US, may change the way neuroscientists think about the role of the gustatory cortex -the part of the brain responsible for the perception of taste. “We found that the gustatory cortex receives information from all the senses, not just taste,“ said Alfredo Fontanini, from Stony Brook University in the US. Gustatory cortex's ability to represent stimuli of multiple modalities is greatly boosted by learning that they can predict taste, the researchers said.