BRAINDECODER

Many women understand that if they act too assertively, they will face backlash. They will seem unlikeable. But while extensive research has documented this phenomenon, some studies have failed to find it. Which raises a question: Are there ways women can be strong without penalty? A new paper in Psychological Bulletin reports that yes, there…

Not everybody remembers their life the same way. In fact, just like personality traits, people have different memory styles. Some tend to rely more on detailed sensory information when forming their memories, while others incorporate a lot of factual knowledge instead.

The skills that enable one person to knuckle down and focus while another’s mind wanders don’t come down to one or even a handful of spots in the brain, a new study suggests. Scientists have identified brain networks that spread across many regions, with synchronous activity patterns that are linked to a person’s ability to…

«Salvador Dali intuited that what we construe visually as reality is the product of the habits of the mind, more than of the eye,» neuroscientist Susana Martinez-Conde and her colleagues wrote after seeing the exhibit. «He understood that we create an ordered or disordered world from the intermittent and incomplete retinal information processed by your…

Glial cells could serve as backup to neurons for rebuilding lost brain tissue

A newborn human is, strictly speaking, a bit of a train wreck. Brand-new babies aren’t capable of much beyond eating (around the clock), pooping (usually all over their cutest onesies) and sleeping (though certainly not at night). But what’s going on inside those tiny heads is nothing short of amazing.

Imagine a John Doe on a medical examiner’s table. Possibly murdered. Found in a scene empty of any clues that could point to his identity or his assailant. The coroner plans for an autopsy, hoping the body still harbors a few crime-solving clues—fingerprints, weapon marks, traces of last meal. But what about his brain? If…

The man hasn’t recalled any dreams for 26 years, but his sleep is unquiet. Sometimes he speaks in French and Spanish or starts swearing; he has also been known to point and kick and punch. Once, his movements propelled him right out of bed. Though the fall woke him and he needed stitches, the man…

According to expert Dr. Judith Edersheim, co-founder and co-director of the Center for Law, Brain, and Behavior, it is a question of how—not if—neuroscience will play a role in the courtroom.