Scientific American Magazine

New insights into the neurology of anxiety and depression—and how stress feeds them

Score one for believers in the adage "Use it or lose it." Targeted mental and physical exercises seem to improve the brain in unexpected ways

Psychiatric illnesses are often hard to recognize, but genetic testing and neuroimaging could someday be used to improve detection

Brain-scanning machines may soon be capable of discerning rudimentary thoughts and separating fact from fiction

New drugs to improve memory and cognitive performance in impaired individuals are under intensive study. Their possible use in healthy people already triggers debate

How do you fix a broken brain? The answers may literally lie within our heads. The same approaches might also boost the power of an already healthy brain

The brain is still an enigma. But that won't stop us from trying to enhance mental functioning

A noted ethicist argues in favor of brain enhancement

Activating the brain's circuitry with pulsed magnetic fields may help ease depression, enhance cognition, even fight fatigue