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The Mind

Illustration shows the Thinker contemplating while coronavirus particles drift by.
The Mind

How we make decisions during a pandemic

From mask wearing to physical distancing, individuals wield a lot of power in how the coronavirus outbreak plays out. Behavioral experts reveal what might be prompting people to act — or not.

A little girl looks off in the distance, distracted.
The Mind

Women and girls with ADHD

VIDEO: The disorder can present differently in girls and boys, and holds different challenges for women who live with it

A photo shows a baby fitted with electronic sensors on its head meant to measure brain waves as part of a study on language.
The Mind

Out of the mouth of babes

Learning a language is child’s play, but linguists are still trying to understand how children do it so easily

Photo shows a small boy by himself running down the nondescript hall of a shelter.
The Mind

Treating the growing trauma of family separation

War, disasters, trafficking and immigration are tearing millions of children from their parents all around the world. A psychologist explores how to help them recover.

Photo shows a 2016 image of a woman who lives with chronic pain laughing with friends at her dining table while creating Zen tangle art.
The Mind

Living with chronic illness: Why some cope and others don’t

What helps some people diagnosed with cancer, heart disease or diabetes stay relatively happy and healthy, while others are devastated? Psychologist Vicki Helgeson explains the traits and mindsets that can make the difference.

Illustration shows common data visualization forms, such as a pie chart, box plots and a scatterplot.
The Mind

Why scientists need to be better at data visualization

The scientific literature is riddled with bad charts and graphs, leading to misunderstanding and worse. Avoiding design missteps can improve understanding of research.  

Still photograph from the 2015 movie The Revenant. Frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brandishing a rifle and shouting in fury, beneath trees.
The Mind

Revenge is bittersweet at best

Research is starting to reveal how the urge for vengeance may have evolved, when it can be useful and what could prevent the violence it can provoke

Photo shows a class of students sitting in front of monitors playing a game.
The Mind

What electronic games can teach us

Digital play can enhance certain types of learning, but how to harness that potential for the classroom remains a prize question

Photograph of a pregnant woman
The Mind

How maternal mood shapes the developing brain

Stress and anxiety during pregnancy can mean a higher risk of offspring developing ADHD, depression or other conditions. Medical psychologist Catherine Monk explains how prenatal mental care benefits mothers and babies.

Photo of a mountain chickadee
The Mind

Total recall: A brilliant memory helps chickadees survive

In winter, the birds must remember where they’ve hidden tens of thousands of seeds. Biologist Vladimir Pravosudov explains what this can teach us about how the brain evolves.

Conceptual illustration of neuroscience and the law. Included are a man’s head, nerve cells, gavel, eye and brains, one of which is balanced on legal scales.
The Mind

The brain, the criminal and the courts

States of mind that the legal system cares about — memory, responsibility and mental maturity — have long been difficult to describe objectively, but neuroscientists are starting to detect patterns. Coming soon to a courtroom near you?

Image shows a married couple depicted in an oil painting by artist Jan Van Eyck painted in 1434. It is part of the National Gallery of London’s collection.
The Mind

Sex strategies of the evolutionary kind

For women, a short-term fling may involve a quest for good genes or just a good time. It’s a puzzle for the researchers looking at how people choose mates.

Photo shows a woman smiling while doing meditation with others. Staying cheerful can be protective against stress and some illnesses.
Health & Disease

Always look on the bright side of life

How a positive outlook may buffer us from stress and ward off health problems 

Photograph of a man walking on a wooden jetty at the water, under cloudy skies. Despair-induced suicidal thoughts and actual attempts are recognized as distinct things by researchers, who are working to better understand the progression and so intervene more effectively.
The Mind

Short-circuiting the suicide cascade

Psychologists are seeking better ways to cut the link between dire thoughts and fatal action. Among their strategies: individualized plans for pulling back from the brink, and limiting access to deadly means, especially guns.

Animated illustration shows a golden key turning a switch inside the brain of a woman feeling despair. The key opens her eyes to a beautiful vista – a golden shoreline glistening in the sun. Ketamine is helping people with suicidal depression to feel better.
The Mind

Listening to ketamine

The fast-acting drug offers a new way to treat depression and fathom its origins. Recent approval of a nasal spray promises to expand access, but much remains unknown about long-term use and the potential for abuse.

The Mind

Can ketamine stop suicides? A neuroscientist's perspective

VIDEO: Ketamine shows promise in treating clinical depression — but it also has a history as a recreational drug and a potential for abuse. 

Artwork showing neurons along with the tangles of tau protein and clumps of amyloid-beta plaques that are typically found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Investigating when and how these proteins form might lead to new therapies.
Health & Disease

Watching Alzheimer’s in action

A look inside the brains of engineered mice suggests therapies might need to target two key proteins — tau and amyloid-beta — at the same time

A conceptual illustration with the message that the causes of autism are many. This variety in genetic and environmental triggers may help explain why the condition itself is so variable.
Health & Disease

The quest for autism’s causes, and what it reveals about all of us

The more researchers look, the more multifaceted the risk factors appear — and the more we learn about how the brain works and develops