October/November 2006
Scientific American Mind

Cover; October/November 2006; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

From the Editor; October/November 2006; by Mariette DiChristina; 1 Page(s)

Point of View

Table of Contents; October/November 2006; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

Letters; October/November 2006; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

Head Lines; October/November 2006; by Jonathan Beard, Nicole Branan, Jamie Talan, Temma Ehrenfeld, Brie Finegold, Mark Fischetti, JR Minke; 6 Page(s)

Color Is Quickest Decoder; Protein Prevents Neuron Death; Visions for Psychedelics; More Success Than IQ; Schizophrenia: One Step Closer; Brain Atlas Released; Cortex Implants Considered; Babies Learn to Move; Babies Learn to Speak; Confiding in No One; Patch Could Lift Depression

Determining Nature vs. Nurture; October/November 2006; by Douglas Steinberg; 2 Page(s)

Molecular evidence is finally emerging to inform the long-standing debate

Illusions: The Neurology of Aesthetics; October/November 2006; by Vilayanur S. Ramachandran and Diane Rogers-Ramachandran; 3 Page(s)

How visual-processing systems shape our aesthetic sensibilities

Calendar; October/November 2006; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Exhibitions, conferences, movies and more

Gestures Offer Insight; October/November 2006; by Ipke Wachsmuth; 6 Page(s)

Hand and arm movements do much more than accent words: they provide context for understanding

A Look Tells All; October/November 2006; by Siri Schubert; 6 Page(s)

A person's face will always reveal his true feelings--if, like Paul Ekman, you are quick enough to recognize microexpressions

Exposing Lies; October/November 2006; by Thomas Metzinger; 6 Page(s)

Inventors claim that new technologies can ferret out fibbers, but it is unclear what the gear actually reveals

The Eureka Moment; October/November 2006; by Guenther Knoblich and Michael Oellinger; 6 Page(s)

We've all had sudden, smart insights. How do they arise? And is there a way we can conjure them up at any time?

Can We Talk?; October/November 2006; by Annette Lessmoellmann; 6 Page(s)

Dogs understand "fetch" and "leash," whereas apes can combine hand-signed words into short sentences. So what special skill did humans bring to the language game?

Verbal Bottleneck; October/November 2006; by Katrin Neumann; 6 Page(s)

People who stutter sometimes suffer from mistaken notions about their intelligence or emotional balance, but the problem is the neurophysiological process of speaking itself

The Electrical Brain; October/November 2006; by Rolf Dermietzel; 6 Page(s)

Most nerve cells use messenger chemicals to communicate. Now science is learning more about the brain's rarer, lightning-fast electrical signaling

When the Nose Doesn't Know; October/November 2006; by Eleonore von Bothmer; 6 Page(s)

Loss of smell can be distressing and is associated with disorders such as depression. Smell training may help recover the sense

Detecting Autism Early; October/November 2006; by Ulrich Kraft; 6 Page(s)

New techniques could diagnose autism in babies, enabling more effective treatment while the brain is most malleable

Don't Count on It; October/November 2006; by Annette Lessmoellmann; 4 Page(s)

A small Amazon tribe, the Pirah¿, have no number system. Is the reason neurological--they cannot count--or psychosocial--they just do not want to? An interview with Daniel L. Everett

Do Self-Help Books Help?; October/November 2006; by Hal Arkowitz and Scott O. Lilienfeld; 2 Page(s)

Sales are booming, but readers are not always getting their money's worth

Mind Reads; October/November 2006; by Richard Lipkin, Brie Finegold, Jonathan Beard; 2 Page(s)

Reviews of This Is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin; The Human Voice by Anne Karpf; Healing Psychiatry by David H. Brendel; and The Worst of Evils by Thomas Dormandy

Ask the Brains; October/November 2006; by Peter Pressman, Roger Clemens and Mark A. W. Andrews; 1 Page(s)

Why do we get food cravings? Why do we yawn?

Head Games; October/November 2006; by Abbie F. Salny; 1 Page(s)

Match wits with the Mensa puzzler