Codex Mentis: Science and tech to study cognition

Created using NotebookLM, with all the benefits and blind spots of human editing. In this episode of Codex Mentis, we explore the underlying machinery of scientific truth to understand how research reaches the public and why a healthy dose of scepticism is vital for its evaluation. The conversation begins with an overview of Dr Pablo Bernabeu’s interactive web application which uses a unique peer-...

Created using NotebookLM, with all the benefits and blind spots of human editing. This episode explores whether the human mind functions as an abstract symbol processor or a physical simulator deeply rooted in bodily experience. We delve into the 'modality switch effect', a phenomenon where shifting from one sensory modality to another, such as from sound to sight, incurs a measurable cognitive pe...

Created using NotebookLM, with all the benefits and blind spots of human editing. In 2009, a deceased Atlantic salmon was placed inside a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner to test its calibration parameters. Although the subject was undeniably dead, the standard statistical software produced results suggesting the fish was actively contemplating human emotions. This bizarre outcome hig...

Created using NotebookLM, with all the benefits and blind spots of human editing. Can a machine that writes Shakespearean sonnets about traffic jams actually help us understand the human soul? In this episode of Codex Mentis, we dive into a 'potential bomb' thrown into the heart of cognitive science: the rise of Large Language Models (LLMs) and their challenge to how we think humans learn to speak...

Created using NotebookLM, with all the benefits and blind spots of human editing. In this episode of Codex Mentis, we explore the critical intersection of generative AI and research methodology, focusing on a production-ready, open-source workflow for secure speech transcription developed by Dr Pablo Bernabeu. While OpenAI’s Whisper models have set a new gold standard for speech-to-text accuracy,...

Created using NotebookLM, with all the benefits and blind spots of human editing. In the high-stakes world of scientific inquiry, methods and findings are inextricable. Yet, issues of reproducibility remain a challenge, especially in experimental linguistics and cognitive science. As the old adage goes, "To err is human", but when creating research materials, adhering to best practices can signifi...

Created using NotebookLM, with all the benefits and blind spots of human editing. In this episode of Codex Mentis, we unpack why learning a third language is not simply ‘second language learning, but easier’. Third Language Acquisition (L3) forces the brain to juggle two existing linguistic systems, creating a ‘two-blueprint’ problem where prior knowledge can help or hinder in unexpected ways. We...

Created using NotebookLM, with all the benefits and blind spots of human editing. How do scientists measure a thought? While the great philosophical questions about the nature of meaning have been debated for centuries, the last few decades have seen the development of a sophisticated scientific toolkit designed to turn these abstract queries into concrete, measurable data. In this episode of Code...

Created using NotebookLM, with all the benefits and blind spots of human editing. What happens in your brain when you understand a simple word? It seems instantaneous, but this seemingly simple act is at the heart of one of the deepest mysteries of the human mind and has sparked one of the longest-running debates in cognitive science. In this AI-enhanced episode of Codex Mentis, we journey deep in...