Mind, features and articles | Educational Science

Mar 31, 2008

The Multiple Mysteries of Herschel Walker and Sybil

In his new book Breaking Free, former Dallas Cowboys star Herschel Walker claims that for much of his life, he was really we. That's because he has Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD, or Dissociative Identity Disorder, as it was renamed in 1994 by the American Psychiatric Association). The diagnosis is controversial,...

Mar 31, 2008

FDA Takes 2nd Look at Laser Eye Surgery Safety

Perfect vision in minutes. See better than 20/20 today. Throw away your glasses forever. You won't believe your eyes. The LASIK ads are so tempting. How can one resist those attractive women and men, nerds no more, liberated from the yoke of eyewear, at long last taking control of their...

Nov 30, 2009

How Brain Scans Are Used In Murder Trials

The functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scan of accused murderer Brian Dugan was introduced in the sentencing portion of his murder trial. The defense used the scan to try to demonstrate that the defendant's brain was psychopathic. The main benefit of using fMRI to assess the brain of a...

Nov 30, 2009

Antidepressants Can Change Personalities

Taking an antidepressant can lead to significant personality changes, likely for the better, a new study finds. The study looked at the effects of taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which are widely used to treat depression today, and found that those who took these antidepressants experienced more positive emotions,...

Nov 30, 2009

Motherly Behavior Grows New Brain Cells

The act of mothering may trigger the development of maternal neurons, at least in rats, according to a new study. The mommy neurons could help a nurturer to recognize her little ones, though the scientists aren't sure of their function. And the rats didn't have to be pregnant or have...

Oct 31, 2009

Music Improves Brain Function

WASHINGTON (ISNS) -- For most people music is an enjoyable, although momentary, form of entertainment. But for those who seriously practiced a musical instrument when they were young, perhaps when they played in a school orchestra or even a rock band, the musical experience can be something more. Recent research...

Oct 31, 2009

Cell Phone Use Linked to Brain Changes

Peasants waving pitchforks and torches are not exactly storming the castle, but the scientists are sure restless. Yet another scientific study has come out questioning whether cell phone use is good for your brain — and there's more on the way. The Swedish Research Council announced yesterday that researchers at...

Sep 30, 2009

Cleanliness May Foster Morality

A simple spritz of a fresh-smelling window cleaner made people more fair and generous in a new study. The researchers figure cleanliness fosters morality. They conducted fairness tests, with subjects completing tasks in a room that was either unscented or one that was sprayed with a common citrus-scented window cleaner....

Aug 31, 2009

Your Brain Is Organized Like a City

A big city might seem chaotic, but somehow everything gets where it needs to go and the whole thing manages to function on most days, even if it all seems a little worse for the wear at the end of the day. Sound a bit like your brain? Neurobiologist Mark...

Aug 31, 2009

The Science (and Art) of Depression Medication

Did you know that as much as some doctors and researchers like to think that medicine is a science, it is very much an art too? You can see that no more clearly than in the decision process doctors use to prescribe a specific psychiatric medication. Ask a psychiatrist what...

Jul 31, 2009

Babies' Brains Churning With Activity

The look of amazement in the eyes of an infant suggests the wheels are churning away inside that noggin. New research confirms they are. Scientists have shown that when 9-month-olds watch people reach for objects, the motor region in their brains gets activated, as if the babies were doing the...

Jul 31, 2009

Bonding with a Captor: Why Jaycee Dugard Didn't Flee

Why didn't she try to escape sooner? is the question on many people's minds in reaction to the Jaycee Dugard story. Dugard was recently reunited with her family after being held captive for 18 years. She was apparently kidnapped at a bus stop near her home in South Lake Tahoe,...

Jun 30, 2009

Rorschach Test: Discredited But Still Controversial

Though the Rorschach is the most famous psychological test in the world, it is little understood outside of psychology circles. The test, in the news this week and under much debate, is a series of 10 colored ink blots created nearly a century ago by Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach. The...

Apr 30, 2009

Clue to Narcolepsy Found

Narcolepsy, a chronic neurological disorder caused by the brain's inability to regulate sleep-wake cycles normally, is described by the National Institutes of Health thusly: At various times throughout the day, people with narcolepsy experience fleeting urges to sleep. There is no cure. But now there's a hint as to the...

Mar 31, 2009

Odd Illusion: Seeing Is Feeling

Ever stare long enough at something that's moving — a conveyor belt or a waterfall — until other objects seem to move even though they are fixed? It's an optical illusion called the motion aftereffect. In a new study, people had their fingertips stroked, then watched a stationary stripe on...