Until recently, grid cells were thought to use a precise system of coordinates when it came to mapping out space — a reason grid cells were described as the “brain’s inner GPS” when the researchers who made this discovery won the Nobel Prize. Neurobiologist Lisa Giocomo of Stanford University suspected that the [ … ]
When speaking about evolution many people tend to use the past tense, as if we’re no longer evolving, as if our species is the same now as it was during the Paleolithic period. This is false. Similarly, many people believe that in order to maximize our health and longevity, we should imitate [ … ]
There are only a few artists of any kind that possess as much mystery, illusion, and complexity of form and composition as Vincent van Gogh. When people hear of van Gogh, two facts usually come to mind: 1) he cut off his own ear, and 2) he painted “The Starry Night.” Both of these facts have given van Gogh [ … ]
Every time molecular biologist John Medina taught parents about their babies’ brains, he noticed something interesting: They didn’t seem to care. “Even though I was talking about cells and molecules, I would get the same five questions every time,” Medina says, listing them [ … ]
Is there a gene that leads you down the path to debilitating depression only after the fourth hard knock comes along in your life? Is there another gene conferring a higher vulnerability for schizophrenia that gets triggered only if you become the victim of vicious bullying before [ … ]
Although the concept is known by many names and iterations, the ideal of unconditional love is universally held in the collective human psyche. Most cultures have religious or philosophical principles that refer to the concept, often presented as the ultimate goal of the human maturation process. Yet, unconditional love [ … ]
Life-threatening situations, like the ones created by natural calamities, can test even the bravest among us. How fear impacts the brain has emerged as an important area of study for neuroscientists and psychologists. When the brain detects imminent danger, it responds in a fairly standard manner. “Generally, the brain [ … ]
Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects 2.5 million people worldwide, including 400,000 Americans. The National Institutes of Health describes MS as a nervous-system disease impacting the brain and spinal cord. It damages the myelin sheath, the material that surrounds and protects nerve cells, often [ … ]
We begin with the question: Why would someone pay $135 million for a painting? Prior to 2006, no one had, until Ronald Lauder came along. Mr. Lauder, an American philanthropist, businessman, and art collector purchased “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I,” a 1907 painting by Gustav Klimt. [ … ]
“When I was young, my mom told me the dirtiest thing in the world is money” reflects Yuegang Zuo, professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. His latest work reinforces the fact that 90 percent of all paper money circulating in U.S. cities contains traces [ … ]
Generation Y (a group also known as “millennials”) and Generation X will someday inherit the future. However, they may not be as prepared for this task as past generations. In addition to increasing rates of physical health problems, such as obesity and its related diseases, mental health among teenagers and 20-somethings [ … ]
Remember the famous New Yorker cartoon where two women are talking and one says to the other, “But enough about me. What do you think about me?” Solipsistic myopia is endemic to human behavior, so it’s no surprise that such a condition afflicts companies, too. As a client at a big [ … ]
It is difficult for all of humanity to flourish at its fullest potential when millions struggle to survive every day. When poverty is such a widespread issue, it seems like we must first look toward its eradication before we can solve any other global problems. Poverty is a societal matter, and so as a society [ … ]
The foregoing is an excerpt from Frances Jensen’s book, “The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults.” So what did Jensen find out about that murky and mysterious organ, the adolescent brain? More than anything, she discovered that teenagers [ … ]
Dr. Leah Krubitzer is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, where she is the head of the Laboratory of Evolutionary Neurobiology. Her research concerns the brain’s neocortex, the largest part of the cerebral cortex — involved in perception, memory, spatial reasoning and language [ … ]
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