Brain Waves

Exploring how we think, learn and connect.

Lydia Denworth

The Role of "Mindreading" Neurons

How does the brain learn from observing? New research reveals a specific set of neurons that simulate another individual's decisions.

How Eye Contact Prepares the Brain to Connect

Gazing into someone else's eyes is a powerful social signal. What is it that makes eye contact special? A new study suggests that it prepares the social brain to empathize.

The Connection Between Sleep and Pain

A new study reveals why pain and difficulty sleeping often go hand in hand.

Risky Decisions Reflect a Tug of War in the Brain

Faced with a risky decision? An unusual new study reveals the push and pull that takes place in the brain as you weigh your options.

The Power of Purpose and Meaning in Life

The secret to healthy aging? A new study reveals the powerful, positive and pervasive effects of filling life with people and activities that feel worthwhile.

How to Cross the Finish Line

Long-term goals like writing a book or running a marathon are hard to accomplish. But there are ways to tackle them that help you get where you want to go.

Get Off Twitter and . . . Clean the Bathroom?

Do you fear social media is getting in the way of time with friends and family? A new study examined how people spend their time when they log off. The results were surprising.

It’s Cold and Flu Season, Call a Friend

Worried about getting sick this winter? Don't forget about the protective power of friendship.

How to Be a Happier Parent

Parenting is a joy, except for all the times it's not. If you are looking for a little more everyday happiness, a new book has practical ideas.

An Upside to the Adolescent Brain

The teenage brain gets a bad rap, but it's not all about risk-taking. Emerging brain research shows the adolescent love of reward is good for learning and memory.

The Link Between Exercise and Memory (and Sleep?)

Does your mind feel clearer and your memory sharper after a workout? A new study explains how exercise changes the brain to improve your ability to remember new skills.

Why You Need a Social Convoy

Worried about loneliness? It's critical to pay attention early and often to the close friends and family who move with you through life.

Friends Are Similar Deep in the Brain

Have a lot in common with your friends? You might be surprised to learn just how deep the similarities go.

How Parenting Is Hard-Wired

Being a mother or father means making big changes in behavior. For the first time, scientists have worked out the details of a brain-wide circuit for parenting.

How Do You Make or Maintain Friends? Put in the Time.

Friendship takes time. A new study shows exactly just how much time, but also reminds us why it's worth it.

What Happens in the Brain During Unconsciousness

People have wondered about the mysteries of the unconscious brain for centuries. Three new studies shed a little more light and show the brain is still working, but differently.

Wooing with Song and Mating for Life

We fall in love with our eyes and ears. That's why communication is so important, for people and for songbirds.

The Benefits of Learning Outdoors

What's the best to motivate students to learn? At least some time studying outdoors seems to help.

Who Are the Difficult People in Your Life?

Social connection isn't all positive. Sometimes we're stuck dealing with demanding people. A new study reveals who they are, and why we can't abandon them.

The Connection Between Writing and Sleep

Do you have trouble falling asleep? A new study reveals that writing for a few minutes is an easy and effective solution. But what you write about makes all the difference.

How to Be a Good Friend

Who will you celebrate with in the festive weeks to come? A year of researching friendship reveals the importance of prioritizing, laughing, and giving thoughtfully.

The Two Channels of Empathy

Is empathy an instinctive sharing of emotion? Or is it understanding how other people feel? According to the latest scientific thinking, it's both.

Sleep Strengthens Recent Learning and Negative Memories

What happens in the brain during sleep? Quite a lot. Machine learning and EEG are revealing how memories, especially negative ones, and learning are boosted while we're asleep.

Why Be Tolerant? Lessons From Bonobos

Humans aren't the only species willing to help strangers for no benefit. Bonobos, one of our closest relatives, do it, too.

Your Brain Cells Up Close and In Color

A just-released database of human brain cells might change the way we develop drugs and study cognition.

Stress Makes It Harder to Recognize Danger

Sometimes stress heightens our awareness, but more often, it dulls our ability to respond to new threats. Recognizing the risk and reducing sources of stress can help.

The Paradox of Confiding in (Near) Strangers

Think you only discuss important matters with your closest confidants? A new book suggests your inner circle is bigger than you imagine.

What’s Your Friendship Style?

No one way of making friends works for everyone, but some form of connection is essential.

This Is Your Brain on First Grade

When kids start grade school, they have to learn to sit still and pay attention. That experience helps them develop better executive functioning.

How Children’s Brains Learn to Reason

Reasoning is a profoundly important cognitive skill that affects achievement in school and in challenging careers. Now we know more about how it develops in children's brains.

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