In our first Fish Fry podcast of 2021, we sit down with Dr. Scott Frey (Miller Family Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Missouri) and chat about the challenges and newest advancements in brain-hand communication. We take a closer look at how Dr. Frey and his team are helping to personalize recovery from ‘lost’ limbs and the details of a new wireless device that could help people with severe upper limb injuries live better lives. Keeping with our brain-related theme this week, we also investigate a recent study from MIT that reveals that reading computer code is a brain beast of its own and does not precisely replicate the cognitive demands of language or math.

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Links for January 8, 2021

To the brain, reading computer code is not the same as reading language (MIT News)

Comprehension of computer code relies primarily on domain-general executive brain regions (eLife)

Personalizing recovery from ‘lost’ limbs: MU researcher awarded $1.5 million grant from Department of Defense to gather real-life data on limb function.