Behavior
Why We Have Free Will
Neurons fire in your head before you become aware that you have made a decision. But this discovery does not mean you are a “biochemical puppet”
Neuroscience2833 articles archived since 1845
Cognition
Scientists Unveil the Secrets of Visual Attention
Concentration affects how we detect and perceive objects and scenes
Mind & Brain
How Virtual Time Travel Affects Our Feelings about the Past and Future
"Too late" might be the two most tragic words in English, but what if you could rewind the clock? What if the past was not immutable? Would we regret past bad decisions more or less?
Bio Bigwigs Go after Drugs for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and ALS
Lists of the biggest challenges in brain science often start—or end—with consciousness. “End” because consciousness is considered so overwhelming a hack that it merits coming last on the list—the ultimate challenge...
The Sciences
The Dark Corners of Our DNA Hold Clues about Disease
A “deep-learning” algorithm shines a light on mutations in once obscure areas of the genome
Mind & Brain
Autism Risk Linked to Particulate Air Pollution
Children whose mothers were exposed to high levels of fine particulate pollution in late pregnancy have up to twice the risk of developing autism as children of mothers breathing cleaner air, scientists reported...
What Forms of Creativity Turn You On?
It’s no secret: creativity is sexy. People all over the world rank creativity as a highly desirable quality in a partner, and people who are creative across a variety of fields report more sexual partners (similar results have been found in specific fields such as visual art, music, and humor)...
Technology
Google's Top Searches of 2014
Americans looked to Google for information on Ebola, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and the actor Robin Williams’s suicide this year—all of which ranked among the hottest search terms of 2014...
Mind & Brain
How to Be a Better Digital Native
Moderation is key to getting the most out of your digital devices
Mind & Brain
Blood Test Forecasts Concussion Severity
Levels of a protein fragment in the blood paralleled how long head injuries benched hockey players. Ingrid Wickelgren reports
Computing
Brain-Hacking Software Can Decode Your Knowledge and Dreams
New technologies are extracting detailed data from our brains that reveal what we know, have seen or have dreamed. Some of the signals could even fly a plane
Health
Prenatal Exposure to Chemicals Tied to Lower IQ at Age 7
Children whose mothers were exposed to higher levels of phthalates, common chemicals in consumer products, in late pregnancy tend to score lower than other kids on intelligence tests at age 7...
Mind & Brain
Less Sleep Means More Stress for Teens
Teens stay up late at night and sleep late into the morning, a result of a natural shift in their circadian rhythms. That biological schedule puts them at odds with the adult world, as well as early start times for high school...
Mind & Brain
Glittering Nobel Gown Represents Scientist's Work
Women in the public eye are constantly scrutinized for what they wear, whether it be a politician, a Hollywood starlet or even a scientist at the Nobel Prize ceremony.
Mind & Brain
Calling It Sex When They Mean Love
The saying "Why do they call it love when they mean sex?" is often used when a person feels a strong physical attraction toward another person and they camouflage it as love or a special connection...
The Sound (And Taste) Of Music
It's said that a person can have good taste in music but what about the taste of music? What would it taste like? Experimental psychologist Charles Spence and researchers at the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at the University of Oxford may be able to provide some insight...
Mind & Brain
Bouncy Gait Improves Mood
If you're in an up mood, you may walk more energetically. But a study finds that purposefully walking more energetically may improve your mood. Christie Nicholson reports
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Seeing Cuteness Improves Our Performance, Study Finds
Scientists conclude that cute things not only make us happier, but they also improve our performance in tasks that require behavioral carefulness
Mind & Brain
Can Fear Be Erased?
Hormone and gene therapies for anxiety and PTSD could be on the way
Cognition
Human Cyborgs Reveal How We Learn
Hooking the brain up to a computer can do more than let the severely disabled move artificial limbs. It is also revealing the secrets of how we learn
