Can Showing Hand Make You Open-Minded? (2)

Can sign language make you better at hand processing?

The languages developed by deaf communities are unique for using visual signs produced by the hand. In the present study, we explored the cognitive effects of employing the hand as articulator. We focused on the arbitrariness of the form-meaning relationship-a fundamental feature of natural languages-and asked whether sign languages change the processing of arbitrary non-linguistic stimulus-res...

Can Other People Make You Less Creative?

This paper explains in layperson’s terms how an agent-based model was used to investigate the hypothesis that culture evolves more effectively when novelty-generating creative processes are tempered by imitation processes that preserve proven successful ideas. Using EVOC, an agent-based model of cultural evolution we found that (1) the optimal ratio of inventing to imitating ranged from 1:1 to ...

Yes, you can make a difference.

Kinesthesis can make an invisible hand visible.

Self-generated body movements have reliable visual consequences. This predictive association between vision and action likely underlies modulatory effects of action on visual processing. However, it is unknown whether actions can have generative effects on visual perception. We asked whether, in total darkness, self-generated body movements are sufficient to evoke normally concomitant visual pe...

You get what you inspect, not what you expect: can we make the transseptal puncture safer?

Progress in the field of catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation has resulted in a renaissance of the technique of transseptal (TS) catheterization. Conventionally, the procedure is performed under fluoroscopic guidance and pressure monitoring. In experienced hands, various modifications of this method have a reasonable safety profile. However, serious complications such as cardiac tamponade ...