
Unhurtful Thoughts: A Preoccupied Brain Produces Pain-Killing Compounds
Spinal scans reveal the mechanism by which intense thinking can block pain receptors in the nervous system

Unhurtful Thoughts: A Preoccupied Brain Produces Pain-Killing Compounds
Spinal scans reveal the mechanism by which intense thinking can block pain receptors in the nervous system

Not-So-Quick Fix: ADHD Behavioral Therapy May Be More Effective Than Drugs in Long Run
Cognitive and behavioral therapies that help young people reduce impulsivity and cultivate good study habits are costlier and take longer to administer, but may be more efficacious over time


Gene Linked to Increased Risk of PTSD
Variations in the PKCA gene and reports of emotionally affecting photos among 700 health young volunteers confirm hypotheses about the core role of memory in PTSD

Diagnosis of Early Psychosis Risk Excluded from Psychiatry's Updated Guidebook
The benefits of catching psychosis early were deemed to come at too high a price--over-reliance on antipsychotic drugs which have unpleasant side effects

Better Safe Than Sorry: Why We Believe In Tempting Fate [Excerpt]
Switching grocery lines, carrying an umbrella, talking out loud about a possible no-hitter in baseball—a sense of jinxing things arises because when negative possibilities come to mind, they seem more likely

Feeling Free

The Brain May Disassemble Itself in Sleep
Slumber may loosen the links that undergird knowledge, restoring the brain daily to a vibrant, flexible state

How Do Painkillers Buffer against Social Rejection?
Jeannine Stamatakis, an instructor at various colleges in the San Francisco Bay Area, answers

Psychiatry's "Bible" Gets an Overhaul
Psychiatry's diagnostic guidebook gets its first major update in 30 years. The changes may surprise you

Mental Imagery Technique Helps Abuse Victims
Abuse victims find relief from feelings of contamination

Readers Respond to "The Google Effect"--and More
Letters to the Editor about the January/February 2012 issue of Scientific American Mind

Does Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Require Trauma?
Revisiting the role of trauma in PTSD