January 2004
Scientific American Mind

Cover; January 2004; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

A Symphony of the Self; January 2004; by John Rennie; 1 Page(s)

Letter from the Editor

Table of Contents; January 2004; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

Head Lines; January 2004; by Chris Jozefowicz, Dennis Watkins, Scotia W. MacRae, Daniel Cho, Mark Fischetti; 4 Page(s)

Silent Screams; In Perspective: Alzheimer's Disease; Quieting Phantom Limbs; Smarter in Menopause?; Overcoming Fear; Phonics Could Prevent Dyslexia; Half a Brain More; Single Neuron Spied; Painful Expectations; Mitigating Trauma

Learning from Switched-Off Brains; January 2004; by Claus C. Hilgetag; 2 Page(s)

"Virtual damage" from pulsed magnetic fields is providing new insights about the brain. The procedure may help treat disorders - or even boost mental performance

Anguish and Ethics; January 2004; by Hubertus Breuer; 2 Page(s)

Emotions have more influence over our solutions to ethical problems than we think

Getting the Picture; January 2004; by Michael H. Herzog, Udo Ernst and Christian W. Eurich; 2 Page(s)

An illusion called shine-through provides a window into how the brain binds an object's component features into a coherent whole

Islands of Genius; January 2004; by Darold A. Treffert and Gregory L. Wallace; 10 Page(s)

Artistic brilliance and a dazzling memory can sometimes accompany autism and other developmental disorders

Music in Your Head; January 2004; by Eckart O. Altenm¿ller; 8 Page(s)

Listening to music involves not only hearing but also visual, tactile and emotional experiences. Each of us processes music in different regions of the brain

The Quest to Find Consciousness; January 2004; by Gerhard Roth; 8 Page(s)

By studying the brain's physical processes, scientists are seeking clues about how the subjective inner life of the mind arises

Does Free Will Arise Freely?; January 2004; by Michael Pauen; 8 Page(s)

How consciousness is produced influences when we can regard fetuses as individuals, whether courts can hold us accountable for our actions, and other hot issues

Televison Addiction; January 2004; by Robert Kubey and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi; 8 Page(s)

Is no mere metaphor

Sussing Out Stress; January 2004; by Hermann Englert; 6 Page(s)

Chronic stress makes people sick. But how? An how might we prevent those ill effects?

Fear Not; January 2004; by R¿diger Vaas; 8 Page(s)

Anxieties can become strongly etched into the brain. But don't worry - researchers may find ways to erase them

The Science of Persuasion; January 2004; by Robert B. Cialdini; 8 Page(s)

Social psychology has determined the basic principles that govern getting to "yes"

Memories of a Fly; January 2004; by Rapha¿l Hitier, Florian Petit and Thomas Pr¿at; 8 Page(s)

Tiny and ubiquitous, the fruit fly is a helpful model for the study of memory

Humbled by History; January 2004; by Robert-Benjamin Illing; 8 Page(s)

Over the centuries, many "proven" ideas about the brain were later found lacking, a lesson worth remembering today

Your Personal Pathology; January 2004; by Robert M. Sapolsky; 2 Page(s)

How will we feel when biology can name what makes each of us who we are?

Principled Problem Solving; January 2004; by Ian Ayres and Barry Nalebuff; 2 Page(s)

Letting constraints filter and guide your thinking can often be the best way to reach truly creative solutions

Mind Reads; January 2004; by Chris Jozefowicz, Daniel Cho, Robert Rorke, Dennis Watkins; 2 Page(s)

Reviews of The New Brain: How the Modern Age Is Rewiring Your Mind by Richard Restak, Remembering Trauma by Richard J. McNally, Consciousness: An Introduction by Susan Blackmore, and Decisions, Uncertainty, and the Brain: The Science of Neuroeconomics by Paul W. Glimcher

Seeing Is Believing; January 2004; by Vilayanur S. Ramachandran and Diane Rogers-Ramachandran; 2 Page(s)

2-D or not 2-D, that is the question: test yourself to learn what shapes formed by shading reveal about the brain