The Forgotten History of the Discovery of Human Brainwaves
The centennial of the discovery of brain waves in humans exposes a chilling tale involving Nazis, war between Russia and Ukraine, suicide and the vicissitudes of history
The Unbelievable Slowness of Thinking
The brain is sometimes called the most complex machine in the known universe. But the thoughts that it outputs putter along at a trifling 10 bits per second, the pace of a conversation
Read all the stories you want.
The Vagus Nerve’s Mysterious Role in Mental Health Untangled
The healing potential of the brain’s most interconnected nerve intrigues researchers
Forcing a Smile Using Electrical Stimulation Can Boost Your Mood
Researchers directed electric current to activate targeted facial muscles and then asked study participants how they felt
Concussions Are Remarkably Common and Can Cause Long-Term Problems
New diagnostic techniques can pick up these brain injuries and ensure people get help
Developing Expertise Improves the Brain’s Ability to Concentrate
Expertise bulks up the brain’s ability to think deeply, a skill that may generalize across tasks
Consciousness Might Hide in Our Brain’s Electric Fields
A mysterious electromagnetic mechanism may be more important than the firing of neurons in our brain to explain our awareness
Anyone Can Learn Echolocation in Just 10 Weeks—And It Remodels Your Brain
Human echolocation repurposes parts of the brain’s visual cortex for sound, even in sighted people
How Your Brain Processes Zero (It’s Not Exactly ‘Nothing’)
What we think about when we think about “zilch” is surprisingly complex, neuroscientists find
You Don’t Need Words to Think
Brain studies show that language is not essential for the cognitive processes that underlie thought
Tiny Babies Who Can Smell Their Mother Recognize Faces Better
A smell’s effect on facial recognition is key at first—but decreases as a baby’s eyesight improves
A ‘Once-in-a-Lifetime’ Nova Explosion Is Running Late
The famous exploding star T Coronae Borealis is due to detonate any day now, but it’s running a little late