Neuroscience

Baby's First Words: Do We Teach Them Or Do They Teach Us?

Do babies says "mama" and "papa" because they recognize their parents or did those words become terms for parents because that's what babies first say? The human brain may be hard-wired to recognize certain repetition patterns, acc ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 26 2008 - 4:51pm

Brain Study A Clue In How Daredevil's Other Senses Improved After He Went Blind

You may not know "Daredevil" if you are not a comic book guy- the Ben Affleck movie certainly didn't endear him to most of the public. Daredevil lost his sight in an accident but, shortly after that, found his remaining senses had been enhan ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 26 2008 - 8:53pm

Antidepressants And Exercise Use The Same Biochemical Pathway

Researchers conducting a study in mice have discovered that the brain must create new nerve cells for either exercise or antidepressants to reduce depression-like behavior. In addition, the researchers found that antidepressants and exercise use the same b ...

Article - News Staff - Aug 28 2008 - 1:47am

Maybe Bird Brains Aren't So Bad

Along with chimps, orangutans, elephants, and dolphins, some birds are smart enough to recognize themselves in the mirror. We're naturally inclined to think of mammals as the creatures most likely to have a developed sense of self, but it turns out th ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Oct 22 2008 - 11:04pm

Hooray! No Sweat Needed- Even Watching Sports Improves Brain Function

Being an athlete or merely a fan improves language skills when it comes to discussing their sport because parts of the brain usually involved in playing sports are instead used to understand sport language, new research at the University of Chicago shows. ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 1 2008 - 4:30pm

This Is Your Brain On Zen- Experienced Meditators Recover More Quickly

Experienced Zen meditators can clear their minds of distractions more quickly than novices, according to a new brain imaging study. ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 2 2008 - 10:00pm

Mothers Undergoing Caesarean Deliveries Less Responsive To Their Baby Crying, Says Study

A new study has found that mothers who delivered vaginally compared to caesarean section delivery (CSD) were significantly more responsive to the cry of their own baby, identified through MRI brain scans two to four weeks after delivery. The results of th ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 3 2008 - 6:45pm

Michael Shermer on Why Numbers and Gut Feelings Don't Mix

Michael Shermer on why we're not really hard-wired for statistics: Thanks to our confirmation bias, in which we look for and find confirmatory evidence for what we already believe and ignore or discount contradictory evidence, we will remember only th ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Jan 15 2009 - 5:57pm

EPO Blood Doper Is Also Memory Enhancer

A drug used to increase blood production in both medical treatments and athletic doping scandals seems to also improve memory in those using it. New research published in BMC Biology says that the memory enhancing effects of erythropoietin (EPO) are not re ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 8 2008 - 5:51pm

What's worse: cell phones or cigarettes?

We know what's worse for your health (in case you were wondering: we know cigarettes cause cancer, and there is no reliable link between cell phones and cancer), but what about your sanity: Novelist Jonathan Franzen on cell phones: ...

Blog Post - Michael White - Oct 22 2008 - 10:57pm