Did you know that different parts of your brain are activated when you spend money with cash versus a credit card? That our brains can tempt us to spend rather than save? That similar brain regions are involved whether you are expecting a social or material reward? Learn more about how the brain thinks about money, […]
The night owls among us can find the typical hours of a work or school day challenging. A new study, in which researchers scanned the brains of night owls and early risers throughout the day, confirms that night owls suffer from poorer attention and reaction times, and greater sleepiness. Lead researcher Dr. Elise Facer-Childs says […]
Search engines, social media and email have become our external hard drives for memory storage. We don’t remember phone numbers, addresses or anything else that can be easily retrieved. Facebook sends us birthday reminders without asking. This shift in how we process and compartmentalize information is being called Google brain, the Google effect and digital […]
As we get older, each year seems to fly by more quickly. That may be because our ability to process what we see slows down with age, according to a new study from researchers at Duke University. In effect, we process fewer new images than when we were younger, making it feel like time is […]
Over the past few decades, neuroscientists have gotten a clearer understanding of how the brain matures, from childhood to adulthood (all about brain training). What they’ve found is that critical systems—including those that control impulsive behavior and evaluate long-term consequences—often do not mature until people are well into their twenties. Does this mean we should […]
How do psychiatrists and psychologists diagnose mental health disorders? Since 1952, there has been a standardized classification manual, commonly called the DSM (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Now in its fifth edition, the manual has about 300 different diagnoses. But many people have multiple disorders with overlapping symptoms. Here’s one doctor’s fascinating […]
