Scientific American Mind February/March 2006
About this book
One Person, One Neuron? By Katja Gaschler Nerve cells devoted exclusively to recognizing Halle Berry or Bill Clinton? Absurd. That's what most neuroscientists thought, until recently. Train Your Brain By Ulrich Kraft Mental exercises with neurofeedback may ease symptoms of attention-deficit disorder, epilepsy and depression--and even boost cognition in healthy brains Picture This By Thomas Grüter How the brain creates images in our minds may well determine how we think Mindful of Symbols By Judy S. DeLoache Before they learn that one item can represent another, young children conflate real objects and their symbols. The errors show how difficult it is to start thinking symbolically Mastery of Emotions By David Dobbs Joseph E. LeDoux discovered how fear arises. Now he is showing that the biology of emotions is what gives life meaning Science Probes Spirituality By Jamie Talan Discovering how meditation expels negativity could lead to drugs that bring us peace Freud Returns By Mark Solms Neuroscientists are finding that their biological descriptions of the brain may fit together best when integrated by psychological theories Freud sketched a century ago Do Animals Have Feelings? By Klaus Wilhelm Animal lovers insist their fellow creatures experience joy, sympathy, fear and grief, but scientifically, it is hard to say Combating Stress in Iraq By Bret A. Moore and Greg M. Reger Psychologists on the battlefield are helping soldiers stay mentally fit during long and frightful tours of duty Do Gays Have a Choice? By Robert Epstein Science offers a clear and surprising answer to a controversial question Fighting Parkinson's By Konrad Schmidt and Wolfgang Oertel The disease remains incurable, but research advances point to better treatments for this increasingly common disorder