Stories by Daniel Tranel

Daniel is a neuropsychologist who helps treat people with brain damage or disease. In his research he studies people with brain damage to explain what parts of the brain are important for language, emotion, memory, and making choices. His research has helped us understand more about the treatment of traumatic brain injury, stroke, and Alzheimer's disease. When he is not doing research, he likes to spend time playing football, hockey, and basketball on his farm. He also enjoys playing guitar, especially the songs of John Prine.

Mind & BrainMay 26, 2015

Name That Tune: What Parts of Our Brains Do We Use for Naming Songs?

Proper nouns are names for unique persons, places, and things. One of these “things” can be songs. Songs have specific names, such as “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” or “Jingle Bells.” When you hear a song, you often think of its name. We conducted a scientific study to find out which parts of the brain are important for naming a famous song. We already had some clues about which brain region might be important – we knew from previous research that the left temporal pole (LTP) is an important brain region for naming proper nouns.

Amy M. Belfi, Daniel Tranel