February/March 2006
Scientific American Mind

Cover; February/March 2006; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

From the Editor; February/March 2006; by Mariette DiChristina; 1 Page(s)

Mind Field

Table of Contents; February/March 2006; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

Letters; February/March 2006; by Staff Editor; 2 Page(s)

Head Lines; February/March 2006; by Kaspar Mossman, Lisa DeKeukelaere, Kiryn Haslinger, Jonathan Beard, Nicole Garbarini, David Dobbs, J; 6 Page(s)

Migraine, Not Sinus; Optimism Prolongs Life; Good for Business; Shrekking Off Stress; Odd Gait; Half-Asleep; The Shape of Alzheimer's; Old vs. Young; A Pacemaker for Depression; Bonding Hormone; Facing a Transplant

Purple Shoes or Blue?; February/March 2006; by Stephanie Huegler; 2 Page(s)

Why do we agonize over so many choices? More important, how do we find peace of mind once we choose?

Illusions: Stability of the Visual World; February/March 2006; by Vilayanur S. Ramachandran and Diane Rogers-Ramachandran; 3 Page(s)

When your eyes scan a room, why doesn't the world appear to bounce like the real image in your retina?

Calendar; February/March 2006; by Staff Editor; 1 Page(s)

Exhibits, conferences, movies and more

Picture This; February/March 2006; by Thomas Grueter; 6 Page(s)

How does the brain create images in our minds?

Do Animals Have Feelings?; February/March 2006; by Klaus Wilhelm; 6 Page(s)

Animal lovers insist their fellow creatures experience joy, sympathy, fear and grief, but scientifically, it is hard to say

Combating Stress in Iraq; February/March 2006; by Bret A. Moore and Greg M. Reger; 8 Page(s)

Psychologists on the battlefield are helping soldiers stay mentally fit during long and frightful tours of duty

Science Probes Spirituality; February/March 2006; by Jamie Talan; 6 Page(s)

What happens in the brain to create a sense of peace during meditation? And could drugs tap those mechanisms without us focusing inward for hours? Includes "Meditations on the Brain" by R. Douglas Fields

Mastery of Emotions; February/March 2006; by David Dobbs; 6 Page(s)

Joseph E. LeDoux discovered how fear arises. Now he is showing that the biology of emotions is what gives life meaning

Do Gays Have a Choice?; February/March 2006; by Robert Epstein; 8 Page(s)

Science offers a clear and surprising answer to a controversial question

Train Your Brain; February/March 2006; by Ulrich Kraft; 6 Page(s)

Mental exercises with neurofeedback may ease symptoms of attention-deficit disorder, epilepsy and depression--and even boost cognition in healthy brains

Fighting Parkinson's; February/March 2006; by Konrad Schmidt and Wolfgang Oertel; 6 Page(s)

The disease remains incurable, but research advances point to better treatments for this increasingly common disorder

Mindful of Symbols; February/March 2006; by Judy S. DeLoache; 6 Page(s)

On the way to learning that one thing can represent another, young children often conflate the real item and its symbol. These errors show how difficult it is to start thinking symbolically

One Person, One Neuron?; February/March 2006; by Katja Gaschler; 6 Page(s)

Nerve cells devoted to recognizing Halle Berry or Bill Clinton? Absurd. That's what most neuroscientists thought--until recently

Ask the Brains; February/March 2006; by Henry Olders, Kim A. Bard; 1 Page(s)

What causes insomnia? Are humans the only primates that cry?

Think Better: Upstaging Stage Fright; February/March 2006; by Marion Sonnenmoser; 2 Page(s)

Anxiety can ruin your performance in a play, business meeting or exam, but exercises can help

Mind Reads; February/March 2006; by Kenneth Silber, Kaspar Mossman Sarah Todd Davidson, Jonathan Beard; 2 Page(s)

Reviews of Fool's Paradise by Stewart Justman, Emotion Explained by Edmund T. Rolls, Why Men Never Remember and Women Never Forget by Marianne J. Legato and Abducted by Susan A. Clancy

Head Games; February/March 2006; by Abbie F. Salny; 1 Page(s)

Match wits with the Mensa puzzler