October/November 2008
Scientific American Mind

Cover; October/November 2008; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

From the Editor; October/November 2008; by Mariette DiChristina; 1 Page(s)

Word Power

Table of Contents; October/November 2008; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

Letters; October/November 2008; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

Head Lines; October/November 2008; by Katherine Leitzell, Nicole Branan, Nikhil Swaminathan, Victoria Stern, Melinda Wenner, Lizzie Buchen, Lucan Laursen, Kurt Kleiner, Emily Anthes, Sandy Fritz; 8 Page(s)

Duped by Doping; Hooked by Choice; Brain-Scan Mystery Solved; Mapping the Spine, Gene by Gene; Serotonin and SIDS; The Oxygen Dilemma; Left or Right, Fight or Flight; Common Ground; Illusions of Steepness and Height; Go Ahead, Change Your Mind; Dressed for Distress; Why Dogs Don't Enjoy Music; When Time Doesn't Heal

Perspectives: Speaking of Memory; October/November 2008; by Steve Ayan; 2 Page(s)

World-renowned neuroscientist Eric Kandel discusses Freud¿s legacy, memory¿s foibles and the potential of drugs that boost brainpower

Consciousness Redux: Rendering the Visible Invisible; October/November 2008; by Christof Koch; 2 Page(s)

Clever experiments reveal how unconscious mechanisms can affect our brain and our behavior

Illusions: A Perspective on 3-D Visual Illusions; October/November 2008; by Stephen L. Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde; 4 Page(s)

Paint and architectural illusions provide clues to how your brain reconstructs 3-D images

Calendar; October/November 2008; by Rachel Dvoskin and Victoria Stern; 1 Page(s)

Exhibitions, conferences, movies and more

Can Gossip Be Good?; October/November 2008; by Frank T. McAndrew; 8 Page(s)

It helped us thrive in ancient times, and in our modern world it makes us feel connected to others--as long as it is done properly

The End?; October/November 2008; by Jesse Bering; 8 Page(s)

Why so many of us think our minds continue on after we die

Meet Your iBrain; October/November 2008; by Gary Small and Gigi Vorgan; 8 Page(s)

How the technologies that have become part of our daily lives are changing the way we think

Putting Thoughts into Action; October/November 2008; by Alan S. Brown; 8 Page(s)

Researchers are decoding the brain to give a voice and a hand to the paralyzed--and to learn how it controls our movements

Talking about Terrorism; October/November 2008; by Arie W. Kruglanski, Martha Crenshaw, Jerrold M. Post and Jeff Victoroff; 8 Page(s)

How we characterize an issue affects how we think about it. Replacing the "war on terror" metaphor with other ways of framing counterterrorism might help us curtail the violence more effectively

Why You Should Be Skeptical of Brain Scans; October/November 2008; by Michael Shermer; 6 Page(s)

Colorful scans have lulled us into an oversimplified conception of the brain as a modular machine

Tempering Tantrums; October/November 2008; by Stefanie Reinberger; 6 Page(s)

Emotional outbursts afflict virtually all toddlers. Some children, however, are prone to more violent fits that could--if left unchecked--pave a path toward persistent aggression

Why Do We Panic?; October/November 2008; by Hal Arkowitz and Scott O. Lilienfeld; 2 Page(s)

A better understanding of the path from stress to anxiety to full-blown panic disorder offers soothing news for sufferers

A Sense of Irony; October/November 2008; by Wray Herbert; 2 Page(s)

Language has many layers of meaning. When and how do we grasp them?

Mind Reviews; October/November 2008; by Melinda Wenner, Hal Arkowitz, Victoria Stern, Jascha Hoffman; 2 Page(s)

On Dating and Mating; Good Drama, Bad Therapy

Head Games; October/November 2008; by American Mensa; 1 Page(s)

Match wits with the Mensa puzzlers

Ask the Brains; October/November 2008; by Yadhu Kumar, William B. Keith; 1 Page(s)

Does napping after a meal affect memory formation?; Why do we find it funny when some­one falls down?