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…
Synaesthesia is a relatively rare condition that gives people extraordinary perceptual experiences from everyday normal sensory input. For example, someone with synaesthesia might be able to taste or hear…
The Conversation organised a public question-and-answer session on Reddit in which Barbara Sahakian, professor of Clinical Neuropsychology at Cambridge University, discussed subjects from depression to…
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety-related mental condition that affects 1-2% of the population. It is severely debilitating and can strike anyone regardless of age, gender and cultural…
Just prior to him leaving office, I was asked by John Beddington, the UK’s chief scientific adviser, to scope the future of neuroscience over the next ten years. It seemed to me that the best way to consider…
Gamers around the world are snapping up a new device that promises to give them an edge on competitors by boosting their gaming focus. It is certainly easy to see the appeal of being able to improve your…
Our eyes detect light by converting it into electrochemical impulses. These are detected by brain and used to see but also to detect movement. How the brain processes visual information such as motion…
It was Victor Borge, the famous Danish comedian, to whom we can attribute the quote: “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people”. And he was right, laughter is universal in human cultures and…
Power, especially absolute and unchecked power, is intoxicating. Its effects occur at the cellular and neurochemical level. They are manifested behaviourally in a variety of ways, ranging from heightened…
Jason Shepherd, assistant professor of neurobiology and anatomy at the University of Utah answered questions posed by the public on Reddit. The Conversation has curated the highlights. Cognitive disorders…