Neuroscience

Physicians in China treat addictions by destroying the brain’s pleasure center

Drug addiction in China is highly stigmatized. And now, some doctors are trying to cure it with a radical procedure known as as a “stereotactic ablation.” More simply, it’s the practice of destroying parts of the brain’s “pleasure centers” (the nucleus accumbens) in heroin addicts and alcoholics as a way to stop drug cravings. At…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 27

Why do we blink more than we need to?

Human blinking is somewhat of a mystery to scientists. While it’s well known that eye-blinking is done to lubricate the cornea, these seemingly spontaneous flashes happen at a rate that’s greater than what’s needed. But now, as new research from Japan suggests, our blinking patterns may serve an unexpected purpose — one that works to…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 25

Like humans, dragonflies are capable of focusing their attention

Scientists have discovered that dragonflies can do something they didn’t think invertebrates were capable of. It’s called ‘selective attention.’ Like primates, dragonflies have special brain cells that allow them to lock on to specific targets when hunting their prey, while simultaneously ignoring potential distractions. The discovery sheds important insight into the sophistication of bug brains…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 21

Could this be next year’s most haunting movie?

Check out a brand new trailer for Vanishing Waves, the Lithuanian erotic science fiction romance that’s been sweeping festivals and winning tons of awards. Vanishing Waves hits U.S. theaters in 2013, and we honestly can’t wait. Check out the NSFW redband trailer, which came out last summer, here. Here’s the official synopsis: Have you ever…

Trailers Charlie Jane Anders Dec 20

Here’s the Exact Part of Your Brain That Thinks About Sex (And Cars, And Baseball…)

If you’ve ever wondered which part of your brain thinks about a particular object, activity or concept, worry no longer—this interactive brain is about to answer all your questions. This online app lets your peer into a wealth of fMRI data, which has been organized to show information about how thousands of objects and actions…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Dec 20

Re-Wiring the Brain: The Science of Nexus

My science fiction novel Nexus is out today. It’s a story about the struggle over a technology that can get information in and out of the human brain – senses, thoughts, emotion, all sorts of information. (Read an excerpt here.) That’s science fiction, right? Yes and no. The technology I describe – a ‘drug’ that’s…

Books & Comics Ramez Naam Dec 18

Everything you ever wanted to know about sensory deprivation chambers

On Fringe, a sensory deprivation tank can activate your mental powers and even open a gateway to another universe. But what can floating in a dark warm tank do for you in real life? And why would people even want to do such a thing? The sensory deprivation tank — a temperature-regulated, salt-water filled, soundproof,…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Dec 17

Why we should send uploaded astronauts on interstellar missions

The awesome 100 Year Starship (100YSS) initiative by DARPA and NASA proposes to send people to the stars by the year 2100 — a huge challenge that will require bold, visionary, out-of-the-box thinking. One possible solution is mind-uploading — what could give rise to highly versatile and resilient software-based astronauts and their e-crews. And at…

io9 Giulio Prisco - KurzweilAI Dec 13

The neuroscience of comas, or what it means to be trapped inside your own mind

It’s a fate that’s only comparable to death. The coma, typically the result of a massive head injury or drug overdose, is a medical condition that continues to frustrate physicians, while also causing great anguish for friends and family members. But neuroscientists are starting to understand the condition a bit better — even catching a…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 7

Why do your pupils get larger when you’re on drugs?

Normally, our pupils dilate in response to changing light; as it gets darker, our pupils get larger. But they expand in size for other reasons as well, including when we’re sexually aroused and when we’re performing complex cognitive tasks. But it’s also known that certain medications — including illicit drugs — can cause pupils to…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 7

Why do your grandparents keep falling for email scams?

We’ve all heard tales of elderly friends and relatives who have fallen for financial scams. Pyramid schemes, Nigerian emails, dodgy “computer repair” calls, you name it. That said, there may be a reason for it — a scientific explanation for how we get scammed more easily the older we get. A new article published in…

io9 Tim Barribeau Dec 6

Introducing Spaun — the world’s largest functioning model of the human brain

Cognitive scientists have yet to create a functional, working model of the human brain. Our computers are way too slow, and our understanding of the brain is way too primitive. But that doesn’t mean we can’t create a model of the functioning brain at a much smaller scale. And in fact, this is exactly what…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 4

Parkinson’s patient wins lawsuit over treatment that turned him into a gay sex addict

A French man under treatment for Parkinson’s disease has been awarded 197,000 euros ($256,927) in damages after claiming that the drug Requip turned him into a gay sex and gambling addict. The drug, which is developed by British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, is extremely effective at curbing the symptoms of Parkinson’s — but as the Didier…

io9 George Dvorsky Dec 3

The Most Realistic Artificial Brain Has a Mind of Its Own

Computers can do practically anything these days, but they’re still a far cry from robotic brains that don’t just do what they’re told but actually think for themselves. The Semantic Pointer Architecture Unified Network, or Spaun, is one of those, and it’s creeping up on human intelligence. Developed by neuroscientists and software engineers at the…

Artificial Intelligence Eric Limer Nov 30

Whoa, scientists just reversed autism symptoms in mice

A team of researchers at McGill University in Montreal announced that they’ve successfully reversed the symptoms of autism in mice. By restoring the production of a critical neural protein (which they had knocked out in the first place), the geneticists were able to alleviate symptoms consistent with the disorder. They caution that this is not…

io9 George Dvorsky Nov 27

Inside the Science of Getting Sauced

Raise your hand if you’re drinking this weekend! Okay, that’s a lot of hands. Now keep it raised if you understand how the beer/wine/cocktail/backwoods moonshine you’ll be nursing actually gets the job done (the job being getting you drunk). Is your hand still raised? Okay, you’re free to go. The rest of you, watch the…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Nov 21

This optical illusion discovered by Aristotle is still a brain-twister

It’s time for another bracing reminder that your brain is a screw-up and your eyes are liars. This particular illusion is known as the Motion Aftereffect Illusion. It’s pretty simple. Look at enough motion steadily and your brain will get tired and punk you for fun. You can even do it with a real waterfall.…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Nov 20

The brain disorder that makes the world into a bad claymation film

The eye is just a pinhole that leaks light onto a bunch of reactive cells. It’s the brain that “sees” things. And if something goes wrong in the brain, all kinds of things can appear distorted. But one particular crossed wire brings moving objects to a standstill. It’s called akinetopsia. The first documented case of…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Nov 19

Einstein’s brain was definitely not like the others, scientists say

The first formal study to take a look at the entire cerebral cortex of Albert Einstein’s brain has revealed some interesting clues about the scientist’s extraordinary cognitive abilities. Florida State University researchers examined 14 recently rediscovered photographs and compared them to 85 “normal” human brains — and not surprisingly, they noticed some marked differences. Soon…

io9 George Dvorsky Nov 16

This is a tree. It’s also a brain.

Feast your eyes on a Maple Brain — a cerebellar sculpture (adapted from and inspired by actual fMRI scans) hewn from the stump of a maple tree. Apparently the sculptor (who, judging from his website, probably goes by “Bachy”?) “can produce figured wooden brains customized to reflect your abilities, research interests or particular features of…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Nov 15

Physicians in China treat addictions by destroying the brain’s pleasure center

Why do we blink more than we need to?

Like humans, dragonflies are capable of focusing their attention

Could this be next year’s most haunting movie?

Here’s the Exact Part of Your Brain That Thinks About Sex (And Cars, And Baseball…)

Re-Wiring the Brain: The Science of Nexus

Everything you ever wanted to know about sensory deprivation chambers

Why we should send uploaded astronauts on interstellar missions

The neuroscience of comas, or what it means to be trapped inside your own mind

Why do your pupils get larger when you’re on drugs?

Why do your grandparents keep falling for email scams?

Introducing Spaun — the world’s largest functioning model of the human brain

Parkinson’s patient wins lawsuit over treatment that turned him into a gay sex addict

The Most Realistic Artificial Brain Has a Mind of Its Own

Whoa, scientists just reversed autism symptoms in mice

Inside the Science of Getting Sauced

This optical illusion discovered by Aristotle is still a brain-twister

The brain disorder that makes the world into a bad claymation film

Einstein’s brain was definitely not like the others, scientists say

This is a tree. It’s also a brain.

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