Neuroscience2859 articles archived since 1845

Readers Respond to "Why We Cheat"

Letters to the editor from the May/June 2013 issue of Scientific American MIND

We've Been Looking at Ant Intelligence the Wrong Way

Unlike humans, ants don't build a unified map of the world. Instead specialized systems, including the ability to learn from recent experience, create complex navigational behavior

Researchers Discover Potential Clue behind Age-Related Memory Decline

Scientists from Columbia University improve memory in elderly mice after pinpointing a gene for senescent forgetfulness

Poor Choices: Financial Worries Can Impair One’s Ability to Make Sound Decisions

New research suggests causative link between income level and cognitive function

Leaders Are Born, Not Made, Fish Study Finds

An experiment to train bold stickleback fish to be followers and shy fish to be leaders produces unexpected results

Stem Cells Mimic Human Brain

Studying such 'mini-brains' helps researchers look into neurological diseases in living human tissue

Just Thinking about Science Triggers Moral Behavior

Psychologists find deep connection between scientific method and morality

MIND Reviews: Haldol and Hyacinths

Books and recommendations from Scientific American MIND

Sniffing Out New Strategies in the Fight Against Alzheimer’s Disease

Despite barriers of blood, brain and bureaucracy, intranasal insulin may emerge as a promising treatment for pathological memory loss

In Natural Networks, Strength in Loops

In the complex architecture that ferries fluids in plants and brains, scientists are finding a model of resilience

Limit Youth Football Practice Hits For Brain Health

Changes in youth football practices cut total hits to the head in half, while leaving game situations unaffected. Ingrid Wickelgren reports.

MIND Reviews: Touching a Nerve

Books and recommendations from Scientific American MIND

Urbanization Alters Bird Behavior

Blackbirds living in a city were more leery of approaching a food source than were their country cousins. Cynthia Graber reports.

New Measure of Consciousness Tracks Our Waking States

This fairly simple metric for neural activity could guide treatment for people with brain injuries

Brain Implant Could Enhance Our Senses

Neuroscience in Fiction: Crux, by Ramez Naam

Crux (Angry Robot Books) is an outstanding speculative fiction adventure. It combines the very highest level of neuroscientific reality with plausible neuroscience fiction that is very well thought through...

Self-Esteem Is Overrated

Managing editor Sandra Upson introduces the September/October 2013 issue of Scientific American MIND

Pain is an emotion

Our new column in Scientific American Mind is out today and it's about the illusory nature of pain, and how pain perception and severity varies with mood and circumstances.

Illusion of the week: The Primal Flashlight

This illusion will enhance not only the brightness and color, but also the details of the visual scene.

How Long until We Have the Superhuman Exoskeletons from Elysium?

A roboticist-neuroscientist explains