Neurology

Cogito ergo sum, baby

Toddlers have amazing philosophical minds that work like computers and can teach us a world about ourselves

By Robert Burton Aug 13, 2009

Big Pharma says your mysterious pain is real

A brain scan told them so. And now they can sell you a drug. But what is unreal pain?

By Robert Burton June 11, 2009
A judge without empathy is inhuman

The anti-Obama rallying cry that a Supreme Court justice must rule by reason alone is ignorant of how our minds and bodies work.

By Robert Burton May 12, 2009
A-Rod isn't a cheater

Taking steroids is only natural. It's an extension of our technological lives. So let's come down from our romantic soapboxes.

By Alva Noe May 1, 2009
PBS's latest infomercial

By airing another self-help show disguised as medical science -- the dubious "UltraMind Solution" -- the public network continues to undermine its credibility.

By Robert Burton March 12, 2009

The dark lesson of Bernie Madoff

The financier ripped off his lifelong friends and clients with callous precision. He should be a case study of human cruelty.

By Robert Burton February 26, 2009
Should Johnny play linebacker?

Concussions sustained in high school sports may put young athletes at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease.

By Robert Burton January 13, 2009
What your loneliness is telling you

New science says being lonely speeds aging. Old philosophy says the holiday blues are a signal to examine and change your life.

By Katharine Mieszkowski December 22, 2008
My candidate, myself

Even when faced with new facts and insights, most voters don't change their minds about their favorite candidates. A neurologist explains how they might.

By Robert Burton September 22, 2008
Born that gay

Do recent neurological studies prove once and for all that homosexuality is biological?

By Robert Burton September 12, 2008
Why "placebo" is not a dirty word

Yes, alternative medicine works mostly by the power of suggestion. But so do a lot of conventional treatments.

By Robert Burton August 1, 2008
Hang up and drive

Think driving while talking on the cellphone is safe as long as you use a headset, as new laws require? Stop yammering and read this article.

By Katharine Mieszkowski July 25, 2008
We are family

Are humans unique in the animal kingdom? Neuroscience pioneer Michael Gazzaniga thinks so. He is not convincing.

By Robert Burton July 1, 2008
Gambling with science

Determined to defeat lawsuits over addiction, the casino industry is funding research at a Harvard-affiliated lab.

By Eliza Strickland June 16, 2008
Daniel Amen responds to "Brain scam"

The host of the PBS special "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life" addresses the critical Salon article about him.

By Daniel Amen, M.D. May 12, 2008
Brain scam

Why is PBS airing Dr. Daniel Amen's self-produced infomercial for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease?

By Robert Burton May 12, 2008
Buff up your brain

Exercise improves your health. That's a no-brainer. But do the new brain-fitness programs improve your mental health?

By Robert Burton March 31, 2008
The certainty epidemic

We all seem convinced we're right about politics, religion or science these days. What makes us so sure of ourselves?

By Robert Burton February 29, 2008
The truth about "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"

Family and friends of Jean-Dominique Bauby speak out about how Julian Schnabel's Oscar-nominated film honors and defames Bauby's real story.

By Beth Arnold February 23, 2008
How looks can kill

People obsessed with their appearance suffer from a biological disorder, researchers now say. But not so fast: It's still our culture that warps our brains.

By Robert Burton January 31, 2008
The letter E is purple

My synesthesia made me feel like a freak. But if my son has inherited this neurological quirk, I hope he realizes what a gift it is.

By Alison Buckholtz January 15, 2008
The atheist delusion

Theologian John Haught explains why science and God are not at odds, why Mike Huckabee worries him, and why Richard Dawkins and other "new atheists" are ignorant about religion.

By Steve Paulson December 18, 2007
The man who lost his past

The documentary film "Unknown White Male," about a New York stockbroker who loses his memory, is medically implausible. But it offers an important lesson about an overlooked illness.

By Robert Burton December 11, 2007
I feel your pain

New proof of "mirror neurons" explains why we experience the grief and joy of others, and maybe why humans are altruistic. But don't call us Gandhi yet.

By Gordy Slack November 5, 2007
We're prejudiced, now what?

Scientists now tell us bias toward others may be innate. But that doesn't mean we have to behave like Bill O'Reilly.

By Robert Burton October 31, 2007