Scientific American - 60-Second Mind

How the Itch Informs the Scratch

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:00:08 EST

Itch. Past studies have shown that whatever the cause--perhaps just hearing me talk about itch--something triggers nerve fibers that send a signal lighting up three areas of the brain: the emotional regions; the limbic system that sparks the urge to scratch; and the cortex that tells you where to scratch.

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Lack of Sleep Might Make You Feel Hungrier

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:00:08 EST

Scientists are still trying to understand the full purpose of sleep. But we know one thing it’s probably good for: it may help keep you on that diet.

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Men Spend the Big Bucks When Women Are Scarce

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:00:08 EST

Across the animal kingdom, males are competitive when females are scarce. Now a study with people has examined how the number of women affects men’s attitudes about a marker for competitive fitness: Money. Basically, the fewer the women, the more the men threw their money around. The research is in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology .

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Cognitive Decline Sets in around Age 45

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 10:00:08 EST

When people over 65 show losses in their short-term memory and comprehension, it’s no surprise. But a new study claims that a general cognitive decline starts to set in as early as age 45. The research is in the British Medical Journal .

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The Elderly React Slowly Because They Want to Be Right

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 12:00:08 EST

Older folks may appear to react or process info slowly. But there may be a method to their meander-ness: they’re making sure they get it right.

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Toddlers Don't Monitor Their Own Speech

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 11:00:08 EST

When I'm talking I can hear my own voice. And with that feedback I can tell almost immediately when I’ve made an error. Like I just did. An error.

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A Quirk of Speech May Become a New Vocal Style

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 12:00:08 EST

A long-existing speech phenomenon has recently become a big thing among young women. Called vocal fry, it’s a low guttural vibration typically found at the end of sentences. You can hear it in this young reporter's voice. [Listen to podcast for audio sample.]

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Individuals Are Removed from Blame When in Groups

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 00:00:08 EST

Groupthink is a phenomenon in which the members of a group override their individuality in favor of unanimity. Scholars have ascribed bad decision making to groupthink, for example, in U.S. policy during the Vietnam War.

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Killing 1 Person to Save 5

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 14:00:08 EST

Would you kill one person to save five others?

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Dreams Help Soothe Your Bad Memories

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:00:08 EST

Sleep helps us consolidate our memories. Sleep also helps us learn. During REM sleep, which is the dreaming stage of sleep, the brain stops releasing stress chemicals. Now a new study finds that as we dream we can even soothe our stressful associations to certain experiences.

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Protein Might Ward Off Afternoon Snooze

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 11:39:08 EST

The other afternoon I hit a classic mid-afternoon slump. Sleepy and sluggish, I grabbed for a bit of chocolate. But I probably should have had egg whites or maybe a piece of steak. Because a recent study in mice has found that it’s protein, not sugar, that provides the perk.

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How We View Half-Naked Men and Women

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 00:00:08 EST

We typically think of women as the targets of body objectification. In fact, research by psychologist Helen Fisher found that men viewed bikini-clad women much as they would a set of tools.

But a new study finds there’s more subtlety in how we view scantily dressed people. And that it’s not just women who are objectified.

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Brains Built to Cooperate

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:00:08 EST

We are social animals. So you might assume our brains are built to excel when we cooperate with each other, as opposed to when we function in isolation. Now research with another animal supports that notion.

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Be Afraid, but Not Too Afraid

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:00:08 EST

It’s time to get scared. Nightmare On Elm Street, Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre will be airing on TVs through to midnight tonight, Halloween.

The holiday reminds us that we love to be scared. Too much fear, however, is no good. At the extreme are phobias.

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Are Men Funnier Than Women?

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 00:00:08 EST

In a 2007 Vanity Fair article Christopher Hitchens asked: Why are men, taken on average and as a whole, funnier than women?

Well a recent study finds that men might have a tiny edge over women in producing humor but the gap is too small to account for the stereotype.

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Body Language Improves Our Communication

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:00:08 EST

Texting, e-mailing, IMing, DMing. These methods are great ways to keep in touch--but they also carry the risk of miscommunication. The lack of vocal inflection is one reason, but there are other more cues we lack in digital conversation.

In a recent study, seven pairs of subjects controlled virtual avatars. One avatar described a word without mentioning the actual word. For example, for the word "water," you might say "wet." The other avatar tried to guess the word

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Young Children Think Differently about Ownership

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 09:00:08 EST

MINE! That word appears early in life. Toddlers have an idea of ownership. They also have an idea of what can be owned, and what can’t. [More]

Clothing Reveals Racial Stereotypes

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 11:00:08 EST

You are what you wear. Most of us know appearances matter in first impressions, but recent research shows that clothing can tap into pretty stark racial stereotypes.

Thirty-four subjects--almost all white or Asian--looked at digital faces. They had to decide with an instant mouse click whether the face was black or white. Each of the 16 different faces was morphed along a continuum from white to black. And each face was on a body wearing either a business suit or a janitor’s jumpsuit.

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Speech Disorders May Be Helped Using Rhythm and Familiar Words

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:00:08 EST

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Scientists Find a New Way to Measure Pain

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:00:08 EST

[ Audio clip of pain ]

Physicians gauging pain have little to go on besides a patient’s self-report. And some sufferers simply can’t communicate how they’re feeling.

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