Cognitive Corner

Join me for an enlightening conversation with Professor Bryan Denny, Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences at Rice University and Director of the T-SCAN Lab. A leading researcher in affective neuroscience, his groundbreaking work uses neuroimaging and behavioral methods to understand how the brain and body shape our emotional experiences. His translational research focuses on developing emotional regulation interventions for clinical populations, family caregivers, and bereaved spouses.

We explore cognitive reappraisal and psychological distancing, why emotion regulation strategies work differently across people and situations, and what happens when these skills are trained. Professor Denny discusses applications in bereavement, borderline personality disorder, and Alzheimer's caregiving, along with research on emotion regulation during COVID-19 and healthy eating. We also examine how distancing can help manage overwhelming emotions, why reappraisal is not appropriate in every situation, and his advice for students pursuing psychology and neuroscience.

Join me as I speak with Professor Martin Monti, Professor of Psychology and Neurosurgery at UCLA and Area Chair of Cognitive Psychology. Professor Monti directs the Monti Lab, bridging psychology and neurosurgery at UCLA's Ronald Reagan Medical Center. His groundbreaking work uses advanced neuroimaging to explore two fundamental aspects of being human: the nature of consciousness and the relationship between language and thought.

We unpack the distinction between wakefulness and awareness in vegetative and minimally conscious states. Professor Monti details his famous fMRI tennis-imagery paradigm to detect hidden awareness, his lab's pioneering use of low-intensity focused ultrasound on the thalamus, and the potential of brain-computer interfaces for patient communication. We also examine the ethical challenges surrounding disorders of consciousness, what algebraic studies reveal about the relationship between language and cognition, and his advice for aspiring neuroscientists.

In this episode, I speak with Professor Matthew Goldrick, Professor of Linguistics and Director of the Cognitive Science Program at Northwestern University. A leading researcher in the cognitive science of language, he combines behavioral, acoustic, and computational methods to explore speech and multilingual processing. Professor Goldrick is also the recipient of the 2026 Jeffrey L. Elman Prize for Scientific Achievement and Community Building from the Cognitive Science Society.

We explore how the mind transforms thoughts into speech and what speech errors reveal about language processing. Professor Goldrick explains how multiple languages interact in bilingual speakers, how cascading activation shapes speech, and how bilingualism affects pronunciation. We also discuss how speech may reveal motor dysfunction in people at risk for psychosis and his advice for aspiring cognitive scientists.

In this engaging episode, I speak with Professor David Poeppel, Professor of Psychology and Neural Science at NYU, and one of the world's leading cognitive neuroscientists studying speech, language, and auditory perception. By combining cognitive neuroscience, linguistics, psychology, and advanced brain imaging, his research has transformed our understanding of how the brain converts sounds into the words and ideas we understand.

We explore the "parts list" of how the brain recognizes speech. Professor Poeppel explains why timing is fundamental to speech perception, how different brain pathways and hemispheres support language, and what his influential theories reveal about human communication. We also discuss the brain's remarkable ability to process music, one of the biggest unanswered questions about language and memory, and his advice for students pursuing cognitive science.

In this episode, I speak with Professor Keith Holyoak, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at UCLA, a Guggenheim Fellow, and one of the world's leading researchers on human reasoning and analogy. By combining behavioral research, cognitive neuroscience, and computational modeling, his research has transformed our understanding of how analogy serves as a fundamental building block of human thought.

We explore how analogy helps us solve problems, transfer knowledge across domains, and fuel creativity, while also examining the situations in which it can lead us astray. Professor Holyoak discusses what distinguishes human analogical thinking from today's large language models, why current AI lacks biological consciousness, and what insights from his recent book and research reveal about AI-generated writing. We also discuss how relational thinking develops from childhood and the role of the prefrontal cortex in complex reasoning.

In this enlightening episode, I speak with Professor Konrad Kording, a leading computational neuroscientist, data scientist, and Penn Integrates Knowledge (PIK) Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania. His research bridges neuroscience, AI, machine learning, and causal inference, tackling the challenge of uncovering cause-and-effect relationships when controlled experiments aren't possible.

We explore why proving causality is uniquely difficult and how quasi-experiments help control confounding variables. Professor Kording breaks down scientific pitfalls like p-hacking, deep insights from his microprocessor paper, and how biological brains solve the credit assignment problem compared to AI. Finally, he shares the hurdles of simulating the C. elegans nervous system and how initiatives like Neuromatch and the Community for Rigor are helping train the next generation of scientists to promote more rigorous research.

Professor Kent Berridge, a leading neuroscientist and the James Olds Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Michigan, has revolutionized our understanding of pleasure, desire, and motivation.

In this captivating episode, we discuss the difference between “liking” and “wanting,” why dopamine drives desire rather than pleasure, and how specific “hedonic hotspots” in the brain generate pleasurable experiences. Professor Berridge also explains how these discoveries have reshaped our understanding of addiction, craving, and reward. We explore the surprising links between desire and fear, how motivation is created in the brain, and what these findings reveal about human behavior.

Join me as I speak with Dr. Randy McIntosh, a leading neuroscientist and Professor at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. He holds the BC Leadership Chair in Neuroscience and Technology Transfer Across the Lifespan and serves as Director of the Institute for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology.

In this episode, we explore how different parts of the brain work together, why early development is such a critical window for learning, and how brain networks change in conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Professor McIntosh also explains The Virtual Brain, an open-source platform he co-developed that creates personalized brain simulations, and discusses how these models could support early detection, prediction, and future clinical care. He also shares how social and cultural experiences shape brain health, along with insights from My Virtual Dream (a large-scale public neuroscience experiment).

In this insightful episode, I sit down with Dr. Heather Collins, a cognitive neuroscientist and a keynote speaker with over 50 peer-reviewed publications, including work in The New England Journal of Medicine and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Dr. Collins specializes in translating brain research into real-world strategies, and her work spans from studying Alzheimer's disease to helping NASA astronauts maintain peak cognitive performance.

We discuss mastering attention by managing cognitive load and working in focused sprints, why multitasking decreases performance, the difference between working memory and long-term memory, and techniques for retaining information. Dr. Collins also shares Alzheimer's prevention strategies, early warning signs, and compassionate caregiving approaches.

In this fascinating episode, I sit down with Professor Moran Cerf, a neuroscientist, Academic Director in Executive Education at Columbia University, and Alfred P. Sloan Professor at the American Film Institute. He holds a PhD in neuroscience from Caltech, an MA in Philosophy, and a BSc in Physics from Tel-Aviv University. Prof. Cerf holds multiple patents and has published five books and over 70 academic papers. His work has been featured on CNN, BBC, NPR, Time, Netflix Explained, and many other outlets.

We explore his journey from hacker to neuroscientist, his groundbreaking research recording single neurons during brain surgery to study consciousness and emotion, and how he studies and influences dreams. Prof. Cerf also discusses what makes content truly engaging, the future of brain–machine interfaces, and why mastering storytelling is one of the most valuable skills to develop.