Arts

Questioning the Nature of Reality: Watching “Westworld”

September 23, 2018

Based on Michael Crichton’s 1973 science fiction cult classic, the original film took place in a futuristic Western-themed amusement park, where the android entertainers malfunction and have many of the park’s human visitors running for their lives. In the television series

Using Brains to Build Healthier Communities

September 20, 2018

Conceived by Jill Bolte Taylor, the neuroanatomist who experienced a stroke in 1996 and went on to pen the best-selling memoir, “My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey,” The Brain Extravaganza! project resembles the popular CowParade but this time it’s about us … and our brains.

The Longest Street In The World

September 20, 2018

“Sesame Street” first aired in 1969 as an American television show aimed at using television to educate underprivileged children in order to bridge the educational gap between children from different economic backgrounds. “Sesame Street” is now showing in over 140 countries, with international

A Father’s Love: Actor Joe Mantegna on his Daughter’s Autism

September 2, 2018

You may know him as David Rossi in the popular TV series “Criminal Minds” or the voice of Fat Tony on “The Simpsons,” but what you might not know is that actor Joe Mantegna is the parent of an autistic child. Twenty-four years ago he and his wife, Arlene, sat across from a doctor hearing the words no parent

The Hipster Paradox: The Science of Why Hipsters Are So Mainstream

June 10, 2018

Where I work, my customers drink beer, a lot of beer. But not the trendy, craft microbrews flooding in from San Diego and Portland. They drink cheap beer — Coors, Budweiser, and, most of all, Pabst. They bring out their finest plaid shirts, Stetson high-crown hats, and Western boots for a night full of

Gray Matter And Graffiti: What Does It Say About Us?

June 6, 2018

Is it art, or is it a crime? When the topic of graffiti comes up at dinner parties these days, that question might be at the center of the discussion. But this was certainly not always the case. Back in the 1940s and ’50s, no one would have dreamed of calling graffiti “art.” It was vandalism, plain and

Exploring the Uncanny Valley

May 27, 2018

With bright red lips, rosy cheeks, and painted smiles, clowns are creepy. They make us balloons shaped like puppies, dance, and tell jokes — they even come out of small clown cars, all to make us laugh. So why are these (supposedly) beloved clowns so unnerving? It’s because of the “uncanny valley”

Neurons to Networks: An Interview with Interconnected Filmmaker Tiffany Shlain

April 9, 2018

Back in 1987, when most teenagers weren’t thinking about the internet and the massive changes it would bring about just a few years later, Tiffany Shlain co-authored a proposal called “The United Nations Intelligence Communication Software.” It was about how “computers are going to help solve world peace,”

The “Brain Magic” of the Culinary Arts

March 21, 2018

Have you ever watched a cooking show on television and found your mouth automatically watering at the sight of an appealing meal being made? Or have you ever eaten a piece of chocolate and found yourself smiling? Regardless of what you are eat (even if it’s bad for you!), you can’t help but notice

Try These Brain Puzzles

January 19, 2018

Enjoy these brain puzzles from puzzle designer Lloyd King. Have fun! (Answers are on the next page.)

Crystal Clear: An Interview with Comedy Legend Billy Crystal

December 24, 2017

Few comedians are more beloved than Tony- and Emmy Award-winning actor, producer, writer, and director Billy Crystal. Who can forget memorable films like “When Harry Met Sally,” “City Slickers,” “Throw Momma from the Train,” and “Analyze This”? As cast member of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,”

Keanu Reeves Talks “Replicas” at New York Comic Con

October 7, 2017

Keanu Reeves took the stage to an attentive, standing room-only audience to discuss his upcoming film “Replicas” at New York Comic Con on October 5. “Replicas” is the story of neuroscientist William Foster, played by Reeves, who brings back to life his wife and children that were killed in a tragic car accident.

Your Brain on Jazz

September 16, 2017

Listening to the velvet nuances of jazz may be a musical dessert for the ears, but it can also help reduce anxiety and improve one’s focus. Asked why jazz could have such an effect, Dr. Mark Jude Tramo, a professor at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, says that, “jazz stretches

An Exploration of Optical Illusions: Part 2

April 28, 2015

Last week, we explored the science of the infamous dress that rocked the Internet – blue and black, white and gold? Today we will continue this theme as we investigate…

Exploring “The Substance: Albert Hofmann’s LSD”

February 1, 2014

It was supposed to be the holy grail of psychiatry, but a person’s best intentions are no match for forces outside his control. In the documentary “The Substance: Albert Hofmann’s LSD,” filmmaker Martin Witz sets out to explore the scientific, cultural, and spiritual history of a chemical compound with

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A magazine dedicated to the brain.

We believe that neuroscience is the next great scientific frontier, and that advances in understanding the nature of the brain, consciousness, behavior, and health will transform human life in this century.

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