December 2007/January 2008
Scientific American Mind

Cover; December 2007/January 2008; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

From the Editor; December 2007/January 2008; by Mariette DiChristina; 1 Page(s)

Beat the Blahs

Table of Contents; December 2007/January 2008; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

Letters; December 2007/January 2008; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

Head Lines; December 2007/January 2008; by Siri Carpenter, Melinda Wenner, Jonathan Beard, Amelia Thomas, Charles Q. Choi, Lisa Conti, Kat Leitzell, Karen Schrock,; 6 Page(s)

Left Brains vs. Right Brains; Who Said Quitters Never Win?; One Size Fits All; A New View; Monkey See, Monkey Ignore; Smoking Away Schizophrenia?; Understanding Baby Talk; Shoot First, Ace Geometry Later; Good-bye, Alex; Perfect yet Imperfect

How Do Neurons Communicate?; December 2007/January 2008; by Karen A. Frenkel; 2 Page(s)

The answer is surprisingly elusive--and the subject of intense debate

Illusions: Touching Illusions; December 2007/January 2008; by Vilayanur S. Ramachandran and Diane Rogers-Ramachandran; 3 Page(s)

Startling deceptions demonstrate how tactile information is processed in the brain

Calendar; December 2007/January 2008; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Exhibitions, conferences, movies and more

Bored?; December 2007/January 2008; by Anna Gosline; 8 Page(s)

Don't blame your job, the traffic or your mindless chores. Battling boredom, researchers say, means finding focus, living in the moment and having something to live for

Do Animals Feel Empathy?; December 2007/January 2008; by Frans B. M. de Waal; 8 Page(s)

We call a callous turncoat a "rat." Rodents such as rats and mice, however, are giving scientists clues to the evolutionary origins of empathy. Also, "Empathy Is a Pain, So Why Bother?" by Peggy Mason

The Secret to Raising Smart Kids; December 2007/January 2008; by Carol S. Dweck; 8 Page(s)

Hint: Don't tell your kids that they are. More than three decades of research shows that a focus on effort--not on intelligence or ability--is key to success in school and in life

Sex, Math and Scientific Achievement; December 2007/January 2008; by Diane F. Halpern, Camilla P. Benbow, David C. Geary, Ruben C. Gur, Janet Shibley Hyde And Morton Ann Gernsbacher; 8 Page(s)

Why do men dominate the fields of science, engineering and mathematics?

Living with Ghostly Limbs; December 2007/January 2008; by Miguel Nicolelis; 8 Page(s)

Scientists are pinpointing the neurological roots of the vivid and painful illusion of phantom limbs in amputees--and finding ways to curb it

Amputee Envy; December 2007/January 2008; by Sabine Mueller; 6 Page(s)

People with body integrity identity disorder feel alienated from a part of their body and want to have it amputated. Researchers are unraveling clues to the causes of this bizarre condition

Psychedelic Healing?; December 2007/January 2008; by David Jay Brown; 6 Page(s)

The same hallucinogenic drugs that blew minds in the 1960s soon may be used to treat mental ailments

Inside the Terrorist Mind; December 2007/January 2008; by Annette Schaefer; 8 Page(s)

Scientists are probing the psyches of terrorists to reveal what motivates their monstrous acts. Far from being crazed killers, terrorists are gunning for the greater good--as they see it

Facts and Fictions in Mental Health; December 2007/January 2008; by Scott O. Lilienfeld And Hal Arkowitz; 2 Page(s)

What "psychopath" means--it is not quite what you may think

Mind Reviews; December 2007/January 2008; by Nicole Branan, Karen Schrock and Peter Sergo, Kurt Kleiner, Corey Binns, Peter Sergo; 2 Page(s)

The neuroscience of altruism and consciousness, a story about a man with Asperger's, and a holiday gift guide for brain enthusiasts of all ages

Ask the Brains; December 2007/January 2008; by Gerhard Kloesch and John P. Dittami, Michael Oldham; 1 Page(s)

Why do we dream? Is the human brain evolving more slowly than the chimpanzee's?

Head Games; December 2007/January 2008; by American Mensa; 1 Page(s)

Match wits with the Mensa puzzler