Neuroscience

Can You See The “God Spot” In This Brain Scan? Neither Can We

Don’t be fooled by headlines suggesting neuroscience researchers have found the “God spot” in the brain that triggers religious devotion, say experts. Yes, it’s back to the drawing board with our “worship me now, fools” raygun. Reuters’ FaithWorld blog has been covering the University of Pennsylvania’s Neuroscience Boot Camp, going on now, and one message…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Aug 11

Don’t Close Your Eyes When Listening To Scary Music

If you’re the kind of person who covers your eyes at the scariest parts of movies, science wants you to stop. Apparently, you’re really only making it worse for yourself. Neuroscientists have discovered that the amygdala – the part of the brain that senses fear and emotion – kicks into gear when people listen to…

io9 Graeme McMillan Jul 29

Should Scientists Synthesize a Hormone That Causes Fear?

A group of US neuroscientists have been studying why the scent of sweat from terrified people causes other people go into the hyper-alert fight-or-flight mode. People smelling this “stress sweat” in fMRI brain scanners show activity in the emotion-processing amygdala, and are 43 percent more accurate at identifying whether a face was “threatening.” Now those…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jul 29

Perfecting Closed-Skull Brain Surgery

Although surgeries that involve nary a slice or a stitch have heretofore been limited to science fiction, doctors in Switzerland announced that they’ve successfully performed closed-skull brain surgery on 9 patients using only sound waves. The Swiss scientists used a technology developed to kill uterine fibroids without surgery that an Israeli company modified for use…

io9 Megan Carpentier Jul 28

Neurologists Claim that Hip-Hop Leads to Head Injuries

Hip-hop culture has caused profound harm to American adolescents, according to a new study from the Journal of Neurosurgery. But it doesn’t warp teenaged brains or make kids more violent; instead, it’s lead to a sharp rise in head injuries. So what has hip-hop done to incur the wrath of pediatric neurosurgeons? It gave the…

io9 Lauren Davis Jul 21

Your Brain Will Eventually Be Used Against You

Although every lie detector ever built has proved unreliable, scientists continue to search for that magic machine that will reveal dishonesty. Now two Harvard neuroscientists have hit on a “pre-crime” technique that reveals intent to lie before it happens. While some people already think that brain-imaging lie detectors are a scam, others remain convinced that…

io9 Megan Carpentier Jul 13

Schizophrenic Brains Make More Complicated Music Than Sane Ones

A new computer program lets your brain turn fMRI machines into musical instruments by assigning notes to active regions of your cortex. The results may cause people to drive themselves crazy just to stay on the cutting edge of electronica. Philosopher Dan Lloyd uses functional MRIs — which track changes in brain activity by lighting…

io9 Megan Carpentier Jul 6

A Drug That Could Give You Perfect Visual Memory

Imagine if you could look at something once and remember it forever. You would never have to ask for directions again. Now a group of scientists has isolated a protein that mega-boosts your ability to remember what you see. A group of Spanish researchers reported today in Science that they may have stumbled upon a…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jul 2

Brain-Hacking May Cure Tourettes — Or Weaponize It

Neuroscientists think they’ve identified the part of the brain that causes Tourette’s Syndrome, the condition that causes random tics including compulsive obscenity. How long before we can hack that part of the brain? Writing in the journal BMC Neuroscience, Kristen Muller-Vahl and her team explained how they used a new technique, Magnetic Transfer Imaging (MTI)…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders May 12

Scientists Use Laser Beams and Engineered Algae Viruses to Control Your Mind

That’s right: Scientists will achieve mind control. By shining laser beams. Directly at cells in your brain. Which have been intentionally infected. By a blue-light sensitive virus. That they made in a lab. From algae. According to Wired, you can really do some fancy stuff inside the mind by injecting an engineered virus into cells…

Tech News Wilson Rothman Apr 30

Scientists Erase Painful Memories Without Drugs

A new study shows that people’s painful or frightening memories can be erased. A group of cognitive scientists have revealed that people can forget pain if they are exposed to specific stimuli during “memory reconsolidation,” the hour or so after you recall a memory. The researchers first proved this using rats. According to ABC News:…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 7

Your Brain Starts Deteriorating By Age 27, Say Neuroscientists

A depressing new study from a group of neuroscientists at University of Virgina suggests that people begin experiencing age-related cognitive deterioration in their late 20s. Published today, a summary of the study explains: Some aspects of peoples’ cognitive skills – such as the ability to make rapid comparisons, remember unrelated information and detect relationships –…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 20

How Neuroengineering Will Lift Your Depression – And Control Your Mind

The better we understand how our brains function, the closer we get to controlling them at a molecular level. And that means a possible cure for depression, but it could also mean foolproof brainwashing. Over at Wired, Quinn Norton has just published a series of articles that take you on an in-depth tour of the…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 4

Neurologists Explain Why You Hate George Lucas

In just a few short decades, George Lucas has gone from renegade entertainer who filled children’s lives with wonder, to the object of wrath and ridicule. Now scientists can explain why. Over at VeryEvolved, a lengthy and fascinating article on the nature of nostalgia explains how our brains process memories. And how the disruption of…

io9 Annalee Newitz Feb 23

An Infrared Brain Scan That Can Determine What You Want

Canadian researchers have developed a “mind reading” technology that can predict which of two items a person will prefer with 80 percent accuracy. Devised at the University of Toronto to aid children who cannot move or speak, the infrared scanner picks up brain patterns involved in very simple preference – such as which kind of…

io9 Annalee Newitz Feb 10

Carbon Nanotubes Will Rewire Your Brain, Make You Smarter

Carbon nanotubes, or hollow microscopic wires made of carbon (pictured), may one day replace some of the neurons in your brain. They could repair brain damage, or give a turbo boost to healthy brains. A group of researchers in France and Italy have published a paper today in Nature Nanotechnology that carbon nanotubes can act…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 22

Technology Puts Images from Your Brain onto a Computer

Japanese scientists have unveiled a device that can pluck images out of your brain and recreate them on a computer screen. Using an fMRI brain scanner, researchers read electrical signals coming from people’s brains while they thought about letters in the word “neuron.” The research team led by Yukiyaso Kamitani at ATR Computational Neuroscience Labs…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 11

A Medicine That Can Make You Schizophrenic and Then Sane Again

A new form of gene therapy could make you insane, then set you right again. Scientists have discovered that disabling series of genes in mice makes them engage in repetitive actions, similar to what humans do when they have schizophrenia, autism, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. But, as the researchers report in a paper to be published…

io9 Annalee Newitz Dec 10

Paralyzed Man Speaks Again Using Brain Implant

A man suffering from “locked in” syndrome, where a fully-conscious person is completely paralyzed except for some eyelid movements, is speaking again using a computer. Doctors report in Nature today that he’s using a brain implant to control speech synthesizing software with his mind. Though it is often difficult to tell when somebody with locked…

io9 Annalee Newitz Nov 21

Gender-Bending Body Swap Experiment Leaves Subjects Wanting More

In science fiction, characters often swap bodies to achieve immortality, pose as someone else, or walk a mile in a loved one’s shoes. Now neuroscientists at the Karolinska Institute have found a way to convince subjects that they’ve swapped bodies with another person. Men become women, humans become mannequins, and the participants are eager to…

io9 Lauren Davis Nov 17

Can You See The “God Spot” In This Brain Scan? Neither Can We

Don’t Close Your Eyes When Listening To Scary Music

Should Scientists Synthesize a Hormone That Causes Fear?

Perfecting Closed-Skull Brain Surgery

Neurologists Claim that Hip-Hop Leads to Head Injuries

Your Brain Will Eventually Be Used Against You

Schizophrenic Brains Make More Complicated Music Than Sane Ones

A Drug That Could Give You Perfect Visual Memory

Brain-Hacking May Cure Tourettes — Or Weaponize It

Scientists Use Laser Beams and Engineered Algae Viruses to Control Your Mind

Scientists Erase Painful Memories Without Drugs

Your Brain Starts Deteriorating By Age 27, Say Neuroscientists

How Neuroengineering Will Lift Your Depression – And Control Your Mind

Neurologists Explain Why You Hate George Lucas

An Infrared Brain Scan That Can Determine What You Want

Carbon Nanotubes Will Rewire Your Brain, Make You Smarter

Technology Puts Images from Your Brain onto a Computer

A Medicine That Can Make You Schizophrenic and Then Sane Again

Paralyzed Man Speaks Again Using Brain Implant

Gender-Bending Body Swap Experiment Leaves Subjects Wanting More

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