Antidepressants might lift up one’s spirits, but might they break hearts? In “Too Hard For Science?” I interview scientists about ideas they would love to explore that they don’t think could be investigated. For instance, they might involve machines beyond the realm of possibility, such as devices as big as galaxies, or they might be [...]

One minute we’re being told that brain training makes you smarter, and the next minute we’re told it’s all bogus. Confused? I don’t blame you. The research literature on brain training is confusing and even sometimes contradictory. This is the way of science. I believe, however, that there is hope in making sense of things if the field and the [...]

Some people are incurable contrarians or imperturbable logicians. But most of us, whether we like it or not, allow other people’s opinions and advice to color our own experiences and opinions. Have you found that restaurant to really be as good as people say it is? New findings suggests that a person’s willingness to coolly [...]

When the body does not properly manage insulin levels, diabetes and other metabolic disorders are familiar outcomes. That hormonal imbalance, however, has also been linked to a higher risk for psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia. And a new study has uncovered a potential pathway by which this metabolic hormone can upset the balance of a [...]

Editor’s note: The following is a critique of a social and emotional learning program called MindUP that I have covered in other blogs (see list below) and in a feature in Scientific American Mind (visit “Schools Add Workouts for Attention, Grit and Emotional Control”).  Please also read a response to this critique, posted separately, from [...]