Fitness
Rocking Helps Adults Sleep Too
Adult humans, as well as mice, slept better when gently rocked.
Neuroscience2809 articles archived since 1845
Neuroscience
Targeting Certain Brain Cells Can Switch Off Pain
By turning off certain brain cells, researchers were able to make mice sense painful stimuli—but not the associated discomfort. Karen Hopkin reports.
Neuroscience
How the Brain Reads Faces
Brain regions that process faces reveal deep insights into the neural mechanisms of vision
Neurology
Better Biomarkers Could Help Us Treat Alzheimer’s
We need better molecular biomarkers to create targeted drugs
Neuroscience
Why Do We Sleep?
There are plenty of theories, but nobody really knows for sure
Neurology
Why Rocking to Sleep Is a Matchless Sedative—and Elixir
Back-and-forth motions may tweak the sensory organs that control our balance and spatial orientation
Neuroscience
The Cerebellum Is Your "Little Brain"—and It Does Some Pretty Big Things
A newly identified circuit connecting the cerebellum to the brain’s reward centers in mice could help scientists understand autism and addiction
Cognition
"Mona Lisa Effect" Not True for Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa effect is the illusion that the subject of a painting follows you with her gaze, despite where you stand. But da Vinci's famous painting doesn't have that quality. Christopher Intagliata reports...
Chemistry
Fake Whiskeys and Octo-Ecstasy
Scientific American assistant news editor, Tanya Lewis, and collections editor, Andrea Gawrylewski, take a deeper look at two short articles from the Advances news section of the December issue, on counterfeit whiskeys and the effect of real ecstasy...on octopuses...
Neuroscience
Gene Therapy Targets Epilepsy
Antiseizure medication doesn’t work in every person with epilepsy. But a treatment option is emerging that would spare the need for brain surgery
Neuroscience
Does Weight-Loss Surgery Rewire Gut–Brain Connections?
Bariatric procedures are revealing new insights into the dialogue between bowel and brain
Neuroscience
“Hunger Hormone” Ghrelin Aids Overindulgence
Ghrelin, the hormone that makes you hungry, also makes food, and food smells, irresistibly appealing. Karen Hopkin reports.
Neuroscience
You Gotta Scratch That Itch
A particular set of brain neurons may be behind registering itch and inducing us to scratch.
Cognition
The Brain’s Autopilot Mechanism Steers Consciousness
Freud’s notion of a dark, libidinous unconscious is obsolete. A new theory holds that the brain produces a continuous stream of unconscious predictions
Computing
Computers Determine States of Consciousness
A machine learning algorithm uses EEG traces to find a patient’s odds of waking
Neurology
Huge Brain Study Uncovers “Buried” Genetic Networks Linked to Mental Illness
Enormous genomic analysis yields tantalizing insights into mechanisms behind conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
Cognition
Prehistoric Viruses and the Function of the Brain
The exceedingly strange story of learning, memory and the “Arc” gene
Fitness
A New Connection between the Gut and Brain
A surprising way that diet leads risks of stroke and cognitive impairment
Neuroscience
Your Brain Sees Ambiguous Language as a Type of Illusion
‘The Chicken is Ready to Eat’ has two meanings. A new study shows how your neurons decide.
Neuroscience
Do Brain Waves Conduct Neural Activity Like a Symphony?
A dispute at a big neuroscience meeting erupts over whether the field needs new thinking about the way clusters of neurons process information
