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Aha! That's it! How insight happens in the mechanism of brain operation

The Aha! experience is the reaction that humans may have during the problem-solving process when they suddenly discover the solution to a problem. The restructuring of the initial problem representation is the key to solving insight problems. However, while solving insight problems, not all individuals reach an impasse or need to restructure the problem. Only problems that cannot be solved without representational changes can be regarded as pure insight problems; others are classified as pseudo-insight problems. Based on the homonymy of Chinese characters, we developed two sets of Chinese remote associates tests (CRATs) for this study. By comparing the brain activity of adults during pure and pseudo-insight problem solving, we analysed the commonality and uniqueness of brain activation while solving these two types of insight problems. The results show that these two types of insight problem solving share the same brain activation area but different operating areas, with the ventral precuneus connected to pure and pseudo-insight problem solving, and the left thalamus showing significant activation when only semantic search and conceptual integration are required. This study initiates the exploration of the brain activity of insight problem solving, and enhances our understanding of how representational change generates insight.

An arduous journey back home for Formosan Landlocked Salmon

The Formosan landlocked salmon is a critically endangered species also known as the Taiwanese ‘national treasure fish.’ In recent years, the fish was stocked into Rahaw Creek (upper Yusheng Creek, Yilan), where a sustainable group had been successfully rehabilitated. Lately, however, frequent stream fragmentation events in Yusheng Creek have prevented the fish from expanding their habitat, killing many as a result. To understand the reasons for the fragmentation and to improve rehabilitation, the research team installed six monitoring wells across a 500-meter fragmented reach to record temperatures and groundwater levels, which allowed them to understand surface water-groundwater interactions over different periods. The findings showed that compared to the perennial ones, the fragmented reach is of significantly higher streambed vertical hydraulic conductivity, causing the water to infiltrate the streambed at higher speeds. The findings also indicated that the vertical hydraulic conductivity was influenced by discharge, rainfall changes and the remains of dead diatoms. Most fragmentation studies focus on streams in semi-arid climates. This paper not only demonstrates the uniqueness of how mountain stream discharge in humid subtropical climates is affected by hydrological conditions and bioactivities, but also sheds light on the complexity of surface water-groundwater interactions by examining temporal variations in hydraulic conductivity.

Physics Professor Hung-Yi Pu Joins GMVA International Research Team to Unravel Black Hole Mysteries

In collaboration with the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA) and several international research teams, Assistant Professor Hung-Yi Pu of the Department of Physics at National Taiwan Normal University participated in a multinational research project. The project successfully obtained images using a new millimeter-wavelength observation to confirm for the first time ever the connection between accretion and jet formation near supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies. The results were published in the April issue of Nature, a leading international journal, helping to raise Taiwan's profile internationally.

Visit from Ecole du Louvre Forges Academic Exchange and Cooperation between France and Taiwan

The Director of the Ecole du Louvre, Claire Barbillon, visited National Taiwan Normal University on 27 April. During her visit, she not only led students in exploring the beauty of classical sculptures, but also established with NTNU a channel for greater academic exchange and cooperation between France and Taiwan as the Ecole du Louvre and NTNU reached a consensus to sign a memorandum of understanding for academic cooperation as well as an agreement for student exchange.

NTNU’s Visit to Australia: Cultivating Academic Exchange, Benchmarking, and Alumni Relations

With the goal of strengthening and advancing academic cooperation and exchange with institutions of higher learning in Australia as well as learning more about administrative benchmarking already underway in the management and planning of university campuses, President Cheng-Chi Wu of National Taiwan Normal University led a seven-member delegation to visit Queensland, Australia on April 3-9, 2023. The delegation included Vice President for International Affairs Yi-De Liu, Vice President for General Affairs Horng-Sheng Mii, University Head Librarian Shyue-Cherng Liaw, College of Liberal Arts Dean Chiou-Lan Chern, Graduate Institute of Translation and Interpretation Director Daniel Hu, and Graduate Institute of Taiwan History Professor Su-Bing Chang. In a span of seven days, they visited the University of Queensland (UQ) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane as well as Griffith University in the Gold Coast.