Category Archives: Neuroscience in pop culture

December 22

Fatal Attraction: What is Sex and Love Addiction?

Have you ever been in love? Has it made you do crazy things? Whether it was sending your lover bundles of flowers, stalking their social media (or stalking them in person), or boiling a rabbit in a pot of water, we’ve all been there. We know that love is enthralling. It is potent enough in […]

July 21

Media Misrepresentations of Mental Illness: Dissociative Identity Disorder

It’s no secret that watching movies can create lasting impressions on viewers. This is true in cases of medical dramas, where viewers are introduced to rare diseases through interactions with fictional patients seeking help. It is also true of mental health conditions – both in the cases of television and movies, it has become increasingly […]

February 10

Can Botox make us happier?

I’ll admit it – I absolutely love Netflix reality shows depicting beautiful people, their lifestyles, and their interpersonal issues (looking at you Selling Sunset…). At least once per season on my favorite shows, a cosmetic surgeon shows up to give Botox injections to any willing participant to help keep their skin wrinkle-free. As a Netflix […]

April 29

How Metal can regain its Sound: the Science of Cochlear Implants

This article discusses various scenes from the film Sound of Metal. Although what is discussed likely will not come as any great surprise to anyone generally familiar with the film, be aware that mild “spoilers” are ahead! If you haven’t yet seen the film but choose to read on, this article contains some clips from […]

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 […]

May 14

Yelp Reviews the Human Brain

 

July 04

Gay Animals and the Science of Sexuality

Earlier this year, a New York Times headline struck my attention: The Gay Penguins of Australia. The story details the lives of Sphen and Magic, two male Gentoo penguins at the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium in Australia. Sphen is 6 years old and rather quiet. Magic likes to chase after toys and is 3 years […]

May 16

Why Do I Care So Damn Much About Game of Thrones?

Spoiler Alert. Although the neuroscientific, psychological, and cinematic concepts explored in this piece are relevant to all kinds of fiction beyond Game of Thrones, this post will be examining these concepts through the lens of the global obsession surrounding the final season of Game of Thrones, which wraps up in just a few days. So […]

August 09

The Power of Neuroscience Compels You!

[En español] Last February the Vatican announced that it was offering an exorcism training course* for priests. At first I thought it was a great way to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the release of the wonderful horror classic The Exorcist, but as it turned out, this initiative was in response to an alarming rise in […]

July 13

Not Just an Average Face (Infographic)