Science

What Political Polarization Looks Like In Your Brain

November 2, 2020

With the upcoming (and basically ongoing) 2020 elections in the United States, it’s pretty much impossible to not find yourself bombarded with political campaign commercials on TV or radio. You’ve probably also gotten your share of campaign phone calls or literature by mail. Whatever your own political leanings may

Looking At Your (Irrationally) Positive Brain

November 1, 2020

Neuroscientist Tali Sharot has found through her research that when it comes to optimism, the way our mind approaches — and even tricks — us is a function of survival. In her book, “The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain” she outlines how people tend to overestimate the likelihood of positive

Ghosts in the Machine: Why Moaning Spirits Are Probably Just in Our Heads

October 31, 2020

Since time immemorial, we’ve seen ghosts. Whether it’s a disembodied voice whispering in the night, the classic lady in white drifting through walls, or even a candle flickering in a room with a closed window, art and culture have made these uncanny episodes as familiar to us as they are to the mystics and psychics

Finding Yourself: Body Schemas and More

October 30, 2020

Somewhere in our heads, a constant mental narrative tells us where we are, if we’re upside down, where our physical self stops and where the surrounding world begins. Body awareness, also called the body schema or corporeal awareness, is essential for a host of functions that don’t get much attention

Unraveling The Mystery of How Your Brain Makes Memories

October 28, 2020

Whenever you’re living out a new and exciting experience — even if it’s something as simple as trying a new glass of wine during a summer picnic, there are neurons actively at work, however leisurely everything around you may seem. These neurons, known as “engram” cells, act in a similar way to pixels in a

The Neuroscience of Taste: A Q&A With Psychologist Charles Spence

October 23, 2020

Dr. Charles Spence is a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Oxford and author of “Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating.” Among numerous other awards, he won the Ig Nobel Prize for his breakthrough “sonic chip” experiment, which showed that altering sound alone changed whether

Looking for the Effect of Emotion in Economics

October 20, 2020

Yes, that classic dilemma: From a perch above, you see a train rushing toward a bridge on which five people are standing. If the train proceeds unimpeded, all five will certainly die. Oh, but wait: There happens to be standing next to you a person of generous figure. It is within your power to push this

Brain Health At Any Age: You’re Never Too Old

October 18, 2020

How do you lead a brain healthy lifestyle, one that champions a proactive approach
to shaping the brain? The lifestyle is composed of five major components, or “slices of a brain health pie”: physical activity, mental stimulation, socialization, spirituality, and nutrition. All of these five domains

Why Is The “Using 10 Percent Of Your Brain” Myth So Pervasive?

October 13, 2020

In the film Lucy, Scarlett Johansson awakes groggily, looking around the room, wondering where she is. Her voice plays over a rapid-fire montage: “What happened? What did you do to my stomach? What’s going on?” Cut to Morgan Freeman, giving a neuroscience lecture. “It is estimated most human beings normally

The Voice Inside Your Head: The Origin of “You”

October 11, 2020

Suppose you could shrink down to the size of a molecule and enter your brain. You would immediately find yourself flying among billions of neurons along great highways of dendrites and axons with streams of chemicals splashing across synaptic gaps and firestorms

Know Your Brain: The Parietal Lobe — Time in Thy Flight

October 5, 2020

We owe our perception of time to a portion of the brain known as the parietal lobe, which comprises one of four major lobes within the cerebral cortex, positioned behind the frontal lobe and the central sulcus fold that keeps them apart. The central sulcus increases the brain’s surface area and cognitive ability

Looking For Loneliness In Your Brain

September 29, 2020

Some time before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of the world, a neuroscientist named Dr. Kay Tye was studying the impact of human loneliness on the brain — a phenomenon that would soon become all too relevant in a world of social distancing. Tye knew that the overwhelming majority of people knew

Who’s The Decision-Maker: Your Brain Or You?

September 26, 2020

It seems an unlikely place to find a discussion on free will, but neuroscientists often grapple with the question of who is making your life choices: Your brain or your consciousness? More importantly, what’s the difference?

Working For Happiness: 7 Principles of Positive Psychology

September 21, 2020

Did you know that most Americans actually find free time more difficult to enjoy than work? Although many people also find their work stressful, boring, or meaningless, success doesn’t make people happy, either. “More than a decade of groundbreaking research in the fields of positive psychology …”

Seeing Is Believing: How Virtual Reality Is Changing Our Culture

September 18, 2020

Virtual reality is no longer just the hypothetical domain of sci-fi movies. It promises great freedom — consider an avatar that increases your self-efficacy, or surgical training applications for physicians. Experts in the field Jim Blascovich and Jeremy Bailenson examine how virtual worlds will transform us.

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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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