When You Are Sleeping, What Does Your Brain Do?
When you go to sleep, your whole body relaxes, but your brain actually never rests. Increasing evidence suggests that sleep is important for several cognitive functions, one of which is...
Brain Imaging in the Courtroom? When Neuroscience and Law Intertwine
“John, did you murder your wife?” “No.” “Beep.” “But the fMRI lie detector indicates that you are lying. Have you ever imagined a scene like...
Communication Between Brains
"I am what I am because of who we all are." –Ubuntu Have you ever wondered how your newsfeed affects your political views? Why you and your friends have similar opinions on certain matters? Where do...
The Brain on Writer’s Block
It always happens at the worst times; the flow of words across the page suddenly halts as inspiration disappears. This irritating occurrence, known as writer's block, is defined by Merriam Webster as “a...
Off With His Head
Sixteen-month-old Jaxon Taylor of New South Wales, Australia was recently internally decapitated after a major car accident severed his upper vertebrae. Upon airlift to a Brisbane hospital where spinal surgeon...
Psychiatry: The Modern Predicament
It is an exciting time for all things neuroscience. President Obama’s BRAIN initiative is dedicated to funding much-needed research on the brain—what Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes...
Integrating New Neurons in the Brain
Why is it so difficult to recover from brain injuries and diseases? Despite the various impressive abilities of the adult mammalian brain, it is unable to replace neurons lost to brain injuries and...
Happy Fat
The neurological benefits of being fat Although there has been a push toward body-positive images in recent years, the labels of being “skinny” or “fat” still remain a large part of our lives. These...
The Science Behind FOMO
It’s a Friday night. You lay on your bed quietly browsing Facebook. Your aunt has recently discovered reactions and is now reacting to all your pictures from 2010. A buzz. You quickly check your...
The Neuroscientific Merits (or Lack Thereof) of Cramming
Many students have probably discovered that no amount of pedagogic ingenuity can inspire academic motivation more than the combination of 4:00 a.m. on the corner of one’s computer screen and an 8:00 a.m....