What is psychology and what does it involve?
The mind is highly complex, and conditions that relate to it can be hard to treat.
Thought processes, emotions, memories, dreams, perceptions, and so on cannot be seen physically, like a skin rash or heart defect.
Human color awareness more limited than previously thought
A study of people’s color awareness has shown that we see surprisingly little color in our periphery and that the brain actually constructs much of our sense of a colorful world.
Our ability to see the full color spectrum of visible light evolved about 35 million years ago, and it gives us a unique perspective on the world compared with most other mammals.
Scientists unravel the mystery of anesthesia
Scientists from Scripps Research have shown how anesthetics cause clusters of lipids in the cell membrane to break apart, triggering downstream processes that lead to a loss of consciousness.
Anesthesia is one of the biggest mysteries of neuroscience. Despite health professionals using it every day for more than 150 years, the molecular mechanism by which general anesthetics produce their effects is unclear.
What does it mean when we dream?
There are several theories about why we dream. Are dreams merely part of the sleep cycle, or do they serve some other purpose?
Possible explanations include:
- representing unconscious desires and wishes
- interpreting random signals from the brain and body during sleep
- consolidating and processing information gathered during the day
- working as a form of psychotherapy
Neuroscience research: 6 fascinating findings
In this feature, we discuss six studies that uncover new and unexpected truths about the organ we hold in our skulls. Neuroscience is never easy, but the resulting intrigue is worth the effort.
The brain is the pivotal hub of our central nervous system. Through this organ, we take note of the world, we assess our version of reality, we dream, we ponder, we laugh.
The science behind lucid dreaming
In lucid dreams, the dreamer realizes they are dreaming even as they remain asleep. What is the science behind this intriguing consciousness phenomenon? This special feature looks at the current research.
Typically, when we dream, we are not aware that we are dreaming, and the most unlikely events, characters, and environments seem real to us.
But now and again, some of us realize that we are in a dream as we are dreaming. This phenomenon is called “lucid dreaming,” and it has stirred the interest of researchers and the public alike.
