Have you heard about the Google Brain project? It’s a deep research effort, planned by Google, in order to successfully create the world’s most accurate model of the human brain. However, the company’s own search engine may be influencing our brains in a way they never anticipated before. [ … ]
It’s the largest, and perhaps best-known, lobe of the brain — one of four regions making up the cerebrum. Altogether, it makes up one-third of the entire organ. You might even say it’s the part with the most personality. We use it when we recall episodic memories — events that stand out from childhood, as well as [ … ]
Dopamine is released from the brain’s prefrontal cortex into a small structure known as the “nucleus accumbens,” which differentiates rewarding and reinforcing stimuli as we experience it. Think of it as the difference between that sweet mocha flavor and those late nights that you’re putting in regularly now. [ … ]
I like to say that I never chose writing — it chose me. From the time I was 9 years old, I wrote stories profusely, almost never with the ending in mind, or even the basic roadmap of where I was going — just writing the scenes as they played out in my head moments ahead of time. As I grew older, not having an idea was hardly an [ … ]
If the visual cortex acts as a camera — revealing the important visual information we need to take in — then think of the motor cortex as a sort of cursor for the body. Located in the cerebral cortex, it is responsible for the planning, control, and execution of each of our voluntary movements. It is best understood divided into [ … ]
Researchers Jorg Fachner and Dr. Clemens Maidhof of Anglia Ruskin University conducted the first music therapy study to use “hyperscanning” — a technique that allows researchers to monitor the activity in two separate brains simultaneously by controlling multiple scanners from a remote location. While the patient and therapist had [ … ]
“It’s complicated” is probably more than just a Facebook relationship status — whether your status is “Single,” “In a relationship,” “Married,” or “Just ask” — we can all agree that “It’s complicated,” has been applicable at some point in our lives. There’s little doubt that maintaining a relationship [ … ]
That feeling of satisfaction you get when someone likes the new photos on your Instagram is processed by the basal ganglia and is probably a big reason you spend too much time on it — your brain is constantly craving the next little reward — reinforced each time you upload a new picture and get feedback. [ … ]
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 [ … ]
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 [ … ]
Why are we just hearing about this now? The question is all too familiar when it comes to dealing with sexual misconduct. Those who say it still think it’s an important point, that those who suffered should have come forward when the abuse happened — as if there is a right time for accusations like the ones made publicly [ … ]
Recognized in 2013 as one of Norway’s 10 brightest minds is the neuroscientist and human rights defender Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. Fleeing Iran in 1985, at the age of 14, with his family, the experience of coming to Norway as a refugee has shaped a great deal of Amiry-Moghaddam’s work. In addition to co-founding [ … ]
So where do we begin? While great strides have been made in functional MRI technology over the last two decades, having constant access to the equipment is something of a tall order, as would be the question of how accurately these technologies reflect brain activity that happens when such equipment is not present. [ … ]
Dr. Max Gomez, better known to viewers as “Dr. Max,” the medical correspondent on WCBS-TV in New York, has enjoyed a long and prolific career as a science educator. His new book, “Cells Are the New Cure: The Cutting-Edge Medical Breakthroughs That Are Transforming Our Health,” is co-written with Robin Smith. [ … ]
Cramming the night before seems to be the inevitable culmination of reviewing for any kind of exam — regardless of how old you are, its significance, or the complexity of the material. Some swear that it’s an acquired skill that can be picked up by making notecards of important terms, or spacing out reading sessions with a small reward. [ … ]
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