Rebecca Saxe’s work addresses the human brain’s capacity for abstract thought and the origins of ‘theory of mind,’ the ability to understand the beliefs, hopes and plans of other people.
Rebecca Saxe
Professor
Massachussetts Institute of Technology
From this contributor
U.S. agency backtracks on broad interpretation of ‘clinical trial’
Autism researchers need no longer worry that their basic research will become entangled in the red tape associated with clinical trials.
U.S. agency backtracks on broad interpretation of ‘clinical trial’
1985 paper on the theory of mind
In 1985, Simon Baron-Cohen, Alan Leslie and Uta Frith reported for the first time that children with autism systematically fail the false belief task.
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Mind over metrics: How can we tell if two brains (or AI models) are alike?
The ability to record from large populations of neurons has triggered the development of myriad methods for comparing them. But we’re still grappling with how to convert measures of likeness into a better mechanistic understanding.
Mind over metrics: How can we tell if two brains (or AI models) are alike?
The ability to record from large populations of neurons has triggered the development of myriad methods for comparing them. But we’re still grappling with how to convert measures of likeness into a better mechanistic understanding.
This paper changed my life: A technical breakthrough for memory studies
In a 2007 Science paper, Mark Mayford and his colleagues found that some neurons activated during learning are also recruited during memory retrieval. Noelia Weisstaub shares how this study and others drove an era of great progress in tool development.
This paper changed my life: A technical breakthrough for memory studies
In a 2007 Science paper, Mark Mayford and his colleagues found that some neurons activated during learning are also recruited during memory retrieval. Noelia Weisstaub shares how this study and others drove an era of great progress in tool development.
Early experience reshapes zebrafish retinal cells, alters behavior
The cells undergo a classic form of plasticity previously thought to occur only in downstream visual circuits.
Early experience reshapes zebrafish retinal cells, alters behavior
The cells undergo a classic form of plasticity previously thought to occur only in downstream visual circuits.