Dopamine: The Currency of Desire
Rethinking the “pleasure molecule” could help scientists better understand addiction, Parkinson’s disease and motivation
Cognition2825 articles archived since 1845
Why Robots Must Learn to Tell Us “No”
Don’t worry about disobedient machines. Devious human masters and misunderstood commands are the real threat
Some People's Brains Are Wired for Languages
Brain scans may offer clues to a person’s natural aptitude—and help those less gifted learn how to study better
When Free Choice Is an Illusion
Magicians and cognitive scientists know how to manipulate what we pick—or thought we picked
Nurturing Genius
A decades-long study of exceptionally gifted children reveals what it takes to hone the world's sharpest minds
Getting Robots To Say No
Gordon Briggs, a postdoc at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, talks about the article he and Matthias Scheutz, director of the Human Robot Interaction Laboratory at Tufts University, wrote in the January issue of Scientific American titled the Case for Robot Disobedience.
Eye Contact Can Be Overwhelming
Research shows that maintaining eye contact can make it harder to think
Why Toddlers with Autism Avoid Eye Contact
Science has long debated whether meeting another’s gaze feels unpleasant or just uninteresting
A New Twist on Treating Arachnophobia
Researchers are focusing on a way to disrupt frightening memories of spiders
Learn a New Lingo While Doing Something Else
Hearing a foreign language in the background can help you learn it faster, even if you are not paying attention
Can a Rosy Outlook Ward Off Illness?
A study of white female nurses found those who were more optimistic were a third less likely to die of any cause
From the Magic of Exercise to the Mind of an Octopus
A look inside the January/February issue of Scientific American Mind
Lions are the Brainiest of the Big Cats
They can solve puzzles that solitary leopards and tigers can’t—evidence that sociality promotes high-level cognition
These Greek Villagers Whistle to Chat
Whistles let shepherds communicate between distant hillsides because a whistled sound wave travels farther than spoken words.
"Power Poses" Don't Stand Up
A 2010 study claimed that striking certain poses could alter hormone levels and risk-taking behavior. But subsequent studies can’t replicate that finding. Christopher Intagliata reports.
So, You Want to Be a Synesthete?
Several “artificial” approaches exist but most evidence suggests that training cannot capture a synesthete’s experience
Psilocybin: A Journey beyond the Fear of Death?
Johns Hopkins clinical pharmacologist Roland Griffiths talks about a major new study hinting at psychedelic drugs as therapeutic powerhouses
Failed Alzheimer’s Trial Does Not Kill Leading Theory of Disease
The drug, and others based on the “amyloid hypothesis,” are still being tested in other, different trials
The Brain's GPS Tells You Where You Are and Where You've Come From
Scientists are discovering how the brain navigates
