Science

How To Keep Calm And Carry On

One of my scientific heroes, positive psychology researcher Dr. Barbara Fredrickson, published a study showing that the largest variable in determining our level of life satisfaction is “resilience” — the ability to bounce back quickly from life’s small and large upsets. It wasn’t having a great boss or a happy family

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Maximizing Your Efficiency And Staying On Task

If you’re reading this, there’s a decent chance that you have a cognitively challenging task you’ve vowed to complete one day — whether it’s writing a novel or just finishing a crossword puzzle. Some of you might be halfway through completing it, but just can’t find the stamina to get it finished — so daily interruptions like

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Why You Can’t “Just Say No”: An Interview With Dr. Joseph Frascella

Dr. Joseph Frascella, director of NIDA’s Clinical Neuroscience and Behavioral Research Division, heads a broad drug abuse and addiction program of translational research and research training in clinical neuroscience, human development and behavioral treatment. He discusses how drug addiction changes the brain

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The Neuroscience Of Lying

Lying is natural. It’s actually pretty necessary for our survival. Can you imagine always having to tell the truth? “How old do you think I am?” or “Do you like my cooking?” are questions we don’t always want to answer honestly, and so we don’t. While additional inquires are often suspended after

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Prelude To A Kiss: The Science of Kissing

The scientific term for kissing is “osculation,” while the science of studying kissing is “philematology.” Osculologists (these are the scientists who study kissing) tell us that we use no less than 34 of our facial muscles, and perhaps up to 146 total body muscles, when we kiss. Most important is the orbicularis oris

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What Fatherhood Does To Men’s Brains

Research show that indeed, a few days after birth, changes occur in the brains of both daddy and baby. According to research, not only do men get better at hearing a baby’s cry as the due date of their child approaches, but a baby’s smile activates the same circuits in the brain that are involved

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On the Spectrum: Understanding the Nature of Autism

The number of people worldwide affected with autism is estimated to be 62.2 million, and the precise cause is not yet understood. However, over the last several years, researchers have identified a number of risk factors closely associated with the prevalence and severity of symptoms.

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Old But Not Weak: Mastering Your Body As You Age

When I looked at my father as he got older, I often felt sorry for him. He was quite healthy as late as his 80s, but past the age of 90, he slowed down significantly and his speech declined. When I touched his body with my hand, attempting to teach him some exercise, he would flatly refuse. All I could do for him

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Friends With Benefits: Socializing To Fight Alzheimer’s

Even though “Elaine Hamlin” (a pseudonym) had been retired from teaching for a number of years, she still maintained an active social and community life. She belonged to a book club, volunteered at the League of Women Voters and was a frequent dinner guest at the homes of her former colleagues.

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Today, I Will Run: Strengthening Willpower and Summoning Self-Control

Drink more water. Go to bed earlier. Go to bed earlier without my iPad. Meditate. Avoid sugar. Avoid self-diagnosing on WebMD. Eat some nuts occasionally. Learn Italian. These are just a few of my New Year’s resolutions. And by the time you read this, I’m sure some will have already been broke

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How A Little Courtesy Makes A Big Difference (for Your Brain and Other People)

Strife and chaos are arguably the reigning zeitgeist of the 21st century. In France, rudeness was even once reported as the chief cause of stress, ranking at 60 percent — placing it well above concerns over the debt crisis or persistent rates of double-digit unemployment. Neuroeconomist Paul J. Zak has proposed

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Healing All Wounds: A Closer Look at Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is, scientists tell us, an unseen epidemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that it sees 2.2 million emergency room visits a year — 280,000 hospital stays, and 50,000 deaths. These figures do not include veterans. “Total combined rates of TBI-related hospitalizations, ER visits, and deaths

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Why Do We Crave? The Science Behind Food Cravings

The reward mechanisms that control cravings are very similar to the ones in addiction. “We think that cravings for drugs and food (particularly so-called ‘hedonic foods’ that are high-fat, high-sugar) are very similar,” says Natalia Lawrence, senior lecturer in translational medicine at the University of Exeter.

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Know Your Brain: The Default Mode Network — Wakeful Daydreaming

Whenever we think of the human brain, it becomes far too tempting to just imagine the entire organ having clearly mapped regions that individually process each piece of data that comes in and file everything according to function, and not to think of the whole as being greater than the sum of its parts — that the brain relies on vast

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Nurturing Well-Being With Nature

Neurobiological research has been showing us again and again that there is a strong association between our psychophysiological well-being and nature. But the loss of biodiversity, population growth, climate change, and urban relocation are posing major challenges to not only the natural environment but also to our

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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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