BCI devices that read minds and act on intentions can change lives for the better. But they could also be put to nefarious use in the not-too-distant future. Now's the time to think about risks.
The stone flakes are flying, but what brain regions are firing?
Shelby S. Putt
We can't observe the brain activity of extinct human species. But we can observe modern brains doing the things that our distant ancestors did, looking for clues about how ancient brains worked.
Has neuroscience been on the wrong track for centuries?
Justin Pickard/Flickr
There's both money and prestige invested in the simple idea that different brain areas are responsible for certain functions. But that doesn't make it true.
A study has found there are differences in the brains of people with ADHD.
from www.shutterstock.com.au
This week, the prestigious journal The Lancet published a large study identifying objective differences in the brains of people diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Because everyone is different, psychologists have long debated how to characterise personality.
Szoki Adams/Flickr
Both genetic and environmental factors determine someone's personality. Genes account for between 30-50% of the determination and unique environmental experiences making up the rest.
A team of American researchers have mapped the cerebral cortex into 180 distinct regions.
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Neuroscientists analysed the brains of 210 healthy young adults. The result was a modern atlas of the human brain, 97 areas of which have never been described before.
An early understanding of numbers may be a sign of mathematical ability.
Oksana Kuzmina
Particular parts of an individual's brain tend to work together on certain tasks. Researchers can look at these patterns of "functional connectivity" to predict traits – like the ability to pay attention.
Typically, researchers pool a bunch of brain scans to figure out the average way brains handle certain tasks. Instead, could they pick out individual brain profiles from a stack of 126 people's scans?
Patients with alexia – or acquired dyslexia – can recognise letters but not words.
Letters via B Calkins/www.shutterstock.com
Brain damage is caused by persistent depression rather than being a predisposing factor for it, researchers have finally concluded after decades of unconfirmed hypothesising.
The idea that during sleep our minds shut down from the outside world is ancient and one that is still deeply anchored in our view of sleep today, despite some everyday life experiences and recent scientific…
Dementia and cognitive decline have a huge impact on the overall health and activity of the ageing population and come with a substantial social and economic cost for society. But for those who have dementia…
It’s a common conversation starter to assert that we only use 10% of our brains. In Lucy, the soon-to-be-released thriller about a woman forced to work as a drug mule for the Taiwanese mob, Professor Norman…
When patients suffer from a brain injury and are unresponsive, we often don’t know whether they have suffered irreversible damage from which they will never recover, or whether the damage is a temporary…
Given the media coverage brain imaging studies get, you might think that they are constantly revealing important secrets about this mysterious organ. Catherine Loveday thinks otherwise. She makes the point…
This is good, talking to people is better.
Peter Byrne/PA
Imagine you’ve suddenly been given a job as a car mechanic but there’s a slight hitch: you know nothing whatsoever about cars, there are no books to help you, no internet and no-one who is willing to tell…
The headlines The Guardian: Male and female brains wired differently, scans reveal The Atlantic: Male and female brains really are built differently The Independent: The hardwired difference between male…
