Nov 26, 2020 | Science & Technology
In her inaugural lecture at the University of Auckland, Professor Karen Waldie attempts to answer some of the big questions in the area of developmental cognitive neuroscience. Are dyslexia and ADHD real? How do children with dyslexia turn out years later? Do...
Aug 7, 2019 | Science & Technology
By Jeremy Delahanty Imagine you have been asked to define pain by your doctor. They might have asked for a rating on a scale from zero, no pain, to ten, unbearable pain. Or you chose from a selection of faces ranging from happy to tearful. Maybe you answer with your...
May 7, 2019 | Science & Technology
By Norman A. Paradis Norman A. Paradis investigate why it is so hard to find a cure for Alzheimer’s after a century of research into the brain disease. Biogen recently announced that it was abandoning its late stage drug for Alzheimer’s, aducanumab, causing...
Oct 23, 2018 | Science & Technology
By Lily Toomey Reading minds seems to be a common part of the science-fiction canon—a genre much loved by actual scientists. But even as someone who turned their love of Kurt Vonnegut, John Wyndham and H.G. Wells into a career as a neuroscientist, I hadn’t considered...
Aug 16, 2018 | Science & Technology
By Lauren Mackenzie Reynolds Do dogs really, truly understand what we tell them? Scientists trained some pups to endure MRIs to help find out as Lauren Makenzie Reynolds explains. Scrolling back through my Instagram posts recently, I came across a short video I took...
Aug 6, 2018 | Science & Technology
By Yewande Pearse Hallucinations may be a symptom of mental illness, but they are not necessarily harmful as Yewande Pearse explains. As late as the 18th century, hallucinations in their various forms were considered independent diseases or syndromes. In 1821, Alexis...
Jul 30, 2018 | Science & Technology
By Hannah Thomasy Doctoral candidate Hannah Thomasy discusses the impacts of all-nighters on the brain. Is staying up late a health-risk? For decades, scientists have suspected that there is a connection between poor sleep and neurodegenerative diseases like...
Jul 26, 2018 | Science & Technology
By Benjamin Bell What is a hallucinogen? Benjamin Bell explores what these mind-altering drugs do in our brains. The term “drug” applies to all substances that can induce any biological changes in any of our bodies’ functions. But that label doesn’t differentiate at...
Jun 28, 2018 | Science & Technology
By Benjamin Bell Benjamin Bell lays out a cautiously optimistic case for using the psychedelic in therapy for social anxiety. For the nightly news and cop shows, Ecstasy is the scourge of music festivals, the substance of interest in raves and DEA raids. For veterans...
Sep 21, 2017 | Science & Technology
Neuroscience has uncovered so many clues about human attitudes and behaviours that have far-reaching consequences. But scholars and doctors disagree about what it does and does not tell us about what it means to be human. Are we our brains? Do we have free will? How...