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Choosing a user name starting with a letter appearing earlier in the alphabet is just one scientifically vetted way to increase the odds of...
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60-Second Mind
Leading science journalists provide a weekly one-minute commentary on the latest developments in the science of brain and behavior. For a full-length, weekly podcast you can subscribe to Sci...
Episodes
20 of 334 episodesJunk Diet Rewires Rat Brains
High-calorie and exceedingly pleasurable foods appear to change rat brain rewards circuitry, causing the rodents to continue to seek such fa...
High Price Tag on Meds May Boost Healing
Parkinson’s patients derived more benefits from a salt solution they were told was an expensive drug than from the same solution when it was...
Publication Bias May Boost Findings for Bilingual Brain Benefits
Of studies presented at conferences, those that found a cognitive benefit to bilingualism were almost twice as likely to get published in jo...
Inclusion Illusion Lessens Racial Bias
Implicit bias against another race lessened after volunteers experienced themselves via virtual reality as a member of that race. Karen Hopk...
Blood Test Forecasts Concussion Severity
Levels of a protein fragment in the blood paralleled how long head injuries benched hockey players. Ingrid Wickelgren reports
Bouncy Gait Improves Mood
If you're in an up mood, you may walk more energetically. But a study finds that purposefully walking more energetically may improve your mo...
Synchronized Walking Reduces Opponent's Perceived Size
Subjects who kept pace with a walking colleague estimated a potential enemy to be smaller and lighter than did other walkers who were not ma...
Big Parental Control May Stunt Kid Assertiveness
Young adults who’d had highly controlling parents were less able to stress their own viewpoints to a friend or partner in confident and prod...
Lots or Little Sleep Linked to Sick Days
Absence from work due to illness increased dramatically for those who slept less than six hours or more than nine hours per night. Christie...
Can’t Take My Eyes off You—Your Face, That Is
The direction of your gaze when looking at someone offers an unconscious, automatic giveaway of whether your initial reaction is romance or...
Talking to Strangers Makes You Happy
People who had to strike up conversations on a subway later reported feeling happier than those who didn’t. Christie Nicholson reports.
People Think Experiences Bring Happiness, Still Opt for Things
Survey subjects rated life experiences as making them happier and as a better use of money than buying objects. But they actually spent thei...
Childhood Stress Decreases Size of Brain Regions
Children who experience neglect, abuse and/or poverty can have smaller amygdalas and hippocampuses, brain regions involved in emotion and me...
Even Monkeys Believe In Hot Streaks
Monkeys trained to play fixed video games made moves indicating that they expected certain patterns to occur. Erika Beras reports
Brain State Bread Crumbs Lead Way Back to Consciousness
Researchers studying anesthetized rats discovered a handful of activity patterns that may mark the path to consciousness after anesthesia. K...
Body's Pain Perception Mapped for First Time
Our ability to pinpoint pain varies across the body, and in a specific pattern. Christie Nicholson reports
Vision Involves a Bit of Hearing, Too
Researchers could tell what sounds blindfolded volunters were hearing by analyzing activity in their visual cortexes. Christie Nicholson rep...
Parents Who Support Corporal Punishment Do It a Lot
Thirty-three families allowed themselves to be recorded for up to six nights. Parents who said they supported corporal punishment did it oft...
Extroversion Extends Benefits across Cultures
In a study covering five different countries, subjects reported feeling best on the days when they practiced what are considered extroverted...