Mind & Brain

From board games to solo puzzles to fantastical escapes to tricks for running faster, find a game for every mood

Thousands of people around the world do live-action role-playing to learn and change themselves. I am one of them

Games have captivated people since ancient times. Now they run our lives

Why we’re fascinated by solving mind-bending puzzles, pitching faster fastballs, embodying new characters, playing ancient games, and much more

A preliminary study suggests that sex and gender are represented differently in the brain

The U-shaped curve that pegged youth and old age as the happiest times of life has changed

People are reluctant to reach out to friends they have lost touch with—but both sides are gratified when they reconnect

Fear of phantom costs pushes us to avoid “free money” or “too good to be true” offers

The extent to which people experience “inner speech” varies greatly, and the differences matter for performing certain cognitive tasks

The EEG has shaped researchers’ understanding of cognition for everything from perception to memory

Heat and mood are closely linked, which may explain summertime depression—and how to treat it

A Stanford anesthesiologist deconstructs the component parts of what it means to undergo a psychedelic trip