Category Archives: Creativity

August 13

Diffusion MRI: Mapping the structural highways of the brain

Some of my favorite scientific images to look at come from scanning the human brain with a tool called diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (or diffusion MRI). These images depict the long fibers that connect one part of the brain to another in a color-coded fashion, with a beautiful result: a colorful map of the brain’s […]

January 25

Instant Gratification: Weighing the Psychological Benefits and Costs of MDMA Use

Can a pill exist that brings instant happiness without any negative side effects? Probably not.

October 13

Pop Culture Psychology: What Your Favorite Superhero Can Say About You

[En espagñol] It’s October and the leaves are turning – Halloween is creeping up, and it’s time to start thinking about your costume. Vampires and zombies are always popular, but you’ve probably noticed a trend in the last few years: superheroes are where it’s at. We love our pop culture characters, and from Luke Cage […]

March 05

“Mind Change”: Does Technology Really Harm Our Brains? A NeuWrite Reads Special Report

When I was growing up, there was this idea that the things we did on the Internet were part of a life separate from the one in the “real world” (most literally seen in the online game “Second Life”).  The people you met and the things you did weren’t really part of you and the […]

August 28

Creativity and mood: the ups and downs of bipolar disorder

They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night. –Edgar Allen Poe [1] If the emotions are sometimes so strong that one works without knowing one works, when sometimes the strokes come with a continuity and a coherence like words in a speech or a letter, […]