Inside the Mind

It's already a scary world. Why do we seek to experience more fear?

By Jamie Allen

We often think that if a drug has been studied by scientists and given a favorable outcome, then it must be safe and proven. But many kinds of biases can creep into a study, rendering it less than effective.

By Patrick J. Kiger

A series of studies showed that including the word 'sorry' in a rejection actually made the rejected person feel worse.

By Alia Hoyt

Although left-handed people were thought to be "sinister" or "unnatural" in previous eras, we now know that left-handedness is natural for 10 percent of the population. And it can have some advantages over right-handedness too.

By Alia Hoyt

An extensive study looks at personal space in 42 countries, and how weather affects preferences.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

Do we have a tendency to walk clockwise around the block? Why do sports favor counterclockwise rotation? Does it have anything to do with handedness or driving habits?

By Laurie L. Dove

Forgetfulness may seem like an undesirable trait, but new research shows that memory loss is an essential brain function that can make us smarter.

By Shelley Danzy

A new study reveals that anything more than a moderate amount of charisma in a leader actually may interfere with his or her effectiveness.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Researchers have shown that THC in marijuana alters the structure of the brains in older mice to be more like brains of younger mice. Could the same be true for humans?

By John Perritano

Humans do a lot of guessing to make sense of the world, even though we now have books and the internet to help us. So how do we get better at guessing?

By Alia Hoyt

Research suggests the human brain is wired to distinguish the rhyme and rhythm of verse from ordinary prose, and to react to literary contemplation.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Need a neural workout? Satnav devices may be convenient, but they could diminish our abilities for spatial reasoning.

By Jesslyn Shields

Empathy is an important emotion that enables healthy relationships and fosters the development of a safe, secure world. But what happens when someone has too little — or too much?

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

New research shows that for people with misophonia, or an aversion to specific sounds, the brain is overactive in key areas.

By Shelley Danzy

Actually it doesn't. You may think you're skilled at "multitasking" but chances are you aren't working on two things at exactly the same time. What's really going on and why is multitasking not a good idea?

By Alia Hoyt

Is handwriting analysis bogus hocus-pocus or a peek into people’s personalities? A new study sheds some light on the practice.

By Karen Kirkpatrick

Depends on whether it needs to be quick or good.

By Michelle Adelman

Robert Lamb explores the mental healing power of ambient music and provides you with ambient music recommendations to help you through this, or any, troubled time.

By Robert Lamb

There are a lot of ways mental real estate can be allocated. Neanderthals evolved their big brains in a different way than we did — and you see where that got them.

By Jesslyn Shields

Time with animals can improve our mental and physical health, but a study find that even simply looking at pictures of cute animals can help you concentrate.

By Christopher Hassiotis

Wouldn't keeping quiet help us get away from whatever's scaring us? What's the science behind the weird face and raw shout?

By Laurie L. Dove

What's the science behind fainting at the sight of blood? This BrainStuff video takes a look at the brain's internal toggle switch making some people hit the floor.

By Laurie L. Dove

It happens to politicians, beauty queens and regular folks. Brain farts, that is. But, why?

By John Donovan

Yuo cna raed thsi rgiht? Probably, but that doesn't mean a popular internet meme on the topic is totally accurate.

By Laurie L. Dove

You're deep in dreamland when you hear an explosion so loud you wake up. But there's nothing outside or inside your house making the noise. What just happened?

By Sean Russell