At this time of year many of us are trying to turn over new leaves, and make plans for the coming year. We might even be trying to forget some of the more painful events of the last year. But is it possible to actually erase traumatic memories? For decades scientists believed that long-term memories […]
There seems to be no escaping stress. Even the good things in life can stress you out! (After all, “desserts” spelled backward is “stressed.”) You may think that the best way to reduce stress is through relaxation (e.g. yoga, meditation), but apparently that is NOT true…… Some experts suggest that a little stress is good […]
Many of you have (or are still) spending your Summer holidays outside your own country. This probably means that you have been trying to speak a few words of the local lingo….probably with mixed reactions, but probably lots of memorable fun too. Speaking different languages has always been something I’ve enjoyed, and the motivation (plus […]
Science and the Arts are full of highly creative people whose personal behaviour sometimes strikes others as odd. Albert Einstein picked up cigarette ends off the street to get tobacco for his pipe; Howard Hughes spent entire days on a chair in the middle of the supposedly germ-free zone of his Beverly Hills Hotel suite; […]
The recent discovery of a network in the brain dedicated to autobiographical mental imagery is helping researchers understand the many purposes that day-dreaming serves in our lives. They have called this web of neurons “the default network,” because when we are not absorbed in more focused tasks, the network fires up. The default network appears […]
We know that there are certain foods that are supposed to be good for our brain health, but did you know that some spices also have been found to help your little grey cells grind more effectively? Come with me on this month’s journey to explore how a bit of fruitiness and the spice of […]
We Humans like to think that we have much more self-discipline than other animals. We know how to set goals— losing 5 kilos, starting our own businesses—and then we resist temptations and plough through difficulties to achieve them. We are far from perfect at this talent, but in most of our minds there is no […]
I always get a deep sense of satisfaction when I read that something in science has ‘proved’ what we know in the healing & energy worlds. During a healing session, there is not only an energetic phenomenon that occurs, but also a simultaneous psycho-emotional component. This is why during a healing people can often experience […]
As someone who likes to combine things – I have a fondness for working on reports and articles in cafes wherever I happen to be in the world – I can appreciate this study. Two neuroscientists have ‘discovered’ that Michelangelo was conveying secret messages about neuroanatomy in his artwork on the Sixtine Chapel ceiling. Was […]
In a recent study, neuroscientists at the University of California, Berkeley, report that hormone fluctuations during a woman’s menstrual cycle may affect the brain as much as do substances such as caffeine, methamphetamines or the popular attention drug Ritalin. Scientists have known for decades that working memory (short-term information processing) is dependent on the chemical […]
You are probably no stranger to the fact that people who have come back from the verge of death have said that it was as if ‘their whole life flashed before their eyes.’ Very recently, unusual research into brain activity just before death offers clues about why such experiences occur. An analysis of brain activity […]