Language

Creativity is important—without it, human society cannot survive—yet finding an appropriate method to quantify imagination has scientists stumped

Hearing action words can cause subtle motor responses--but context is key. Daisy Yuhas reports

Whether reading Chinese characters or French words written alphabetically, the same areas light up in our brains, an insight that could inform learning strategies for literacy

A relaxation of "executive functions" during rapping allows for more natural de-focused attention and uncensored processes to occur--possibly the hallmark of creativity, a researcher says

An audible activity from Science Buddies

Number crunching decades of top 40 music for psychological insight

A lesson in communication from Scientific American

An elephant in a Korean zoo has developed a way to vocalize a handful of recognizable words in the Korean language. Sophie Bushwick reports

A captive beluga whale has altered his normal songs to more closely approximate human pitch and rhythms. Christopher Intagliata reports

Researchers develop a model for how we find certain sounds, like nails on a chalkboard, unbearable. Christie Nicholson reports

The mimicry of the whale, now deceased, was no match for that of a parrot, but is an example of vocal learning, nonetheless

Children could benefit from personalized lessons based on brain scans