August/September 2006
Scientific American Mind

Cover; August/September 2006; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

From the Editor; August/September 2006; by Mariette DiChristina; 1 Page(s)

Challenging Choices

Table of Contents; August/September 2006; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

Letters; August/September 2006; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

Head Lines; August/September 2006; by Nicole Branan, Jamie Talan, JR Minkel, Jonathan Beard, Nicole Garbarini, Richad Lipkin; 6 Page(s)

Surprise: Estrogen as Neurotransmitter; Stopping HIV Dementia; Swept Up in Land Mines; Prozac Spurs Neuron Growth...; ...Yet Antidepressants Offer No Cure; Foot Alert; Babies Organize Sight; Seeing Alzheimer's Early; Which Flu Risk Would You Take?; Lost in the Moment; More Likely to Succumb

Champ Chimp; August/September 2006; by Michael Springer; 2 Page(s)

A chimpanzee's development of number skills sheds some light on our own

Illusions: The Quirks of Constancy; August/September 2006; by Vilayanur S. Ramachandran and Diane Rogers-Ramachandran; 3 Page(s)

Why do two identical lines appear to be different even when we know they are the same?

Calendar; August/September 2006; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Exhibitions, conferences, movies and more

The Teen Brain, Hard at Work; August/September 2006; by Leslie Sabbagh; 6 Page(s)

Under challenging conditions, adolescents may assess and react less efficiently than adults

Turning Off Depression; August/September 2006; by David Dobbs; 6 Page(s)

Helen Mayberg may have found the switch that lifts depression--and shined a light on the real link between thought and emotion

Diversity at Work; August/September 2006; by Elizabeth Mannix and Margaret A. Neale; 8 Page(s)

"Diversity" in employee teams does not always equal superior performance

Should We Operate?; August/September 2006; by Katrina Firlik; 6 Page(s)

How a brain surgeon evaluates the risk of a procedure and informs her patients about it can be as tricky as the surgery itself

Coming to Attention; August/September 2006; by Andreas K. Engel, Stefan Debener and Cornelia Kranczioch; 8 Page(s)

Neuroscientists explain how the brain actively selects a target on which to focus

Violent Pride; August/September 2006; by Roy F. Baumeister; 6 Page(s)

Do people turn violent because of self-hate or self-love?

Natural High; August/September 2006; by Ulrich Kraft; 6 Page(s)

The brain produces its own marijuana-like chemicals to protect neurons, and researchers hope to exploit these compounds to ease anxiety, obesity and addiction

Feeling Faint; August/September 2006; by Rolf R. Diehl; 4 Page(s)

Keeling over at the sight of blood or from standing still too long may be a lifesaving mechanism

Rise of the Modern Mind; August/September 2006; by Cameron McPherson Smith; 8 Page(s)

By marrying psychology with archaeology, scientists are unearthing how thought evolved

Think Better: Fostering Group Creativity; August/September 2006; by Joerg Mehlhorn; 2 Page(s)

The right atmosphere, and a few gimmicks, can bring out bright ideas among a group of people

Mind Reads; August/September 2006; by Richard Lipkin, Jonathan Beard; 2 Page(s)

Reviews of A Mind of Its Own by Cordelia Fine, Cunning by Don Herzog, The Price of Privilege by Madeline Levine, and Fascism and Democracy in the Human Mind by Israel W. Charny

Ask the Brains; August/September 2006; by Amir Raz; 1 Page(s)

Could certain frequencies of electromagnetic waves or radiation interfere with brain function?

Head Games; August/September 2006; by Abbie F. Salny; 1 Page(s)

Match wits with the Mensa puzzler