The decider: How your brain makes up its mind
It seems like there are two kinds of people: the ones who agonize over every decision and the ones who go with their gut. There’s the guy on line at the coffee house who takes ten minutes to decide on...
View ArticleCommercial breaks may be good for the brain
Talk about turning a notion on its head. What if your coveted winter vacation—the time when you leave the bitter, snowy cold behind and head for a few days of palm trees—could actually add to your...
View ArticleAmerica's #1 Prescription: PLAY!
Ants do it. (says E.O. Wilson) Octopuses do it. Humans...mmmm, not so much. There's talk going around about the science of P-L-A-Y, and specifically, about what play means, how it lights up our brains,...
View ArticleWhy does scratching stop us from itching?
When we drag our nails across a chalkboard, it's not pleasant. But dragging our nails across our skin often provides us nothing but relief from a prickly, tickly sensation know as The Itch. Just what...
View ArticleYour brain on climate change: Why we fight the impulse to go green
The world is now spending billions of dollars investigating the causes of climate change. Scientists are quickly putting together physical and biological experiments and projects, hoping for solutions...
View ArticleHitting harder than a fist: Childhood bullying linked to teen psychosis
Bullying causes more than tears, according to new research. Scientists reporting in the May issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry say that childhood bullying can lead to teenage psychotic...
View ArticleHow To Catch A Liar
Duped. Tricked. Hornswoggled. Deceived. How can you tell if someone is fooling you? According to a new article out in today's Science Times, it's all in how they tell the story. The new focus on...
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Attention! How To Lead A Focus-Driven Life
Although there is no calculator that can compute our national attention deficit, it is clear there are too many stimuli competing for our precious brain time. In a world where the temptations to...
View ArticleJourney to the Center of a Baby's Brain
New scientific research suggests that the mind of a baby is a humming, buzzing, supercharged learning machine, capable of taking in and processing enormous amounts of information. Now that we know...
View ArticleTeenage Wasteland? How Teen Texting Affects Behavior
Teenagers send thousands upon thousands of text messages each month (some as many as 24,000!). So researchers are beginning to wonder: what’s the effect of the furious finger work? Reporter Katie...
View ArticleA New Look at Brain Injuries in Soldiers and Athletes
In the past, athletes involved in high-impact sports such as boxing or football would refer to the periods their brains went dim as "punch drunk." They'd find themselves thinking slowly, forgetting...
View ArticleHow Magic Works, and What it Says About Our Brains
We’re going to take a bit of a risk today, and try to explain the science of something extremely visual in a primarily auditory medium. We’re going to talk about magic, why sleight-of-hand works, and...
View ArticleDoctor Bridges Gap Between Mind and Machine
For Dr. Anthony Ritaccio, the idea of being a human-cyborg isn't just something of science fiction books, but a real world possibility. Ritaccio was born without his right hand, and through his work,...
View ArticleNorwegian Mass Murderer Anders Breivik Declared Insane
Can brain chemistry explain or excuse some kinds of criminal behavior? The Takeaway speaks to Michael Gazzaniga about his new book, Who's in Charge? Free Will and the Science of the Brain.
View ArticleJonah Lehrer on How to Expand Your Imagination
In 1965, a frustrated Bob Dylan was ready to quit the music industry. Abandoning his guitar, he retreated to a cabin in Woodstock, New York. Off the tour bus and away from the city, Dylan finally...
View ArticleHow Neuroscience is Changing Teaching
Everyone had a favorite teacher growing up, but did you ever wonder how that person got you excited about learning? Well, according to new neurological research, it might be because that teacher...
View ArticleWhat Does Your Sneeze Say About You?
Until recently, we thought of laughing, sneezing and hiccuping as ordinary human actions. But it turns out that these seemingly-mundane behaviors have a long evolutionary history. In fact, how we...
View ArticleToday's Takeaway | December 26, 2012
Understanding How the Mind Makes Meaning | The Reading Brain | Your Brain on Sound | The Real Science of Erasing Your Brain | The Future of the Brain
View ArticleUnderstanding 'How the Mind Makes Meaning'
Today, The Takeaway spends the hour looking at the science of the mind, and how understanding the brain gives us new insights into how we understand ourselves.Cognitive science professor Benjamin...
View ArticleThe Reading Brain
Our brains evolved in survivalist terms, prioritizing basic sensory functions, like sight and scent. Today, our brains are forced to process information at a higher capacity -- and must faster -- than...
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