Neuroscience Research

We all know that sunshine seems to have an impact on your mood, but could it even affect how well you think and make decisions? Surprising new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham suggests that it can:

I find I close my eyes to "enhance" my other senses. If I'm trying to hear a barely audible voicemail, for example, I often close my eyes. I always assumed that I was merely reducing visual stimuli and hence freeing up my brain to…

If you want to get someone to do something, speak into his right ear. Research by Dr. Luca Tommasi and Daniele Marzoli from the University Gabriele d'Annunzio in Chieti, Italy, shows not only that we have a preference for processing…

Over the years, movie-makers have tried to go beyond what's on the screen to scare theatergoers. In the 1950s, director William Castle startled those viewing his horror films, notably The Tingler, with gimmicks like vibrators installed…

Should you spend as much time polishing the few words of your headline as on the hundreds of words that comprise your news article or blog post? The answer may well be, "Yes!" according to a new study by OTOInsights. In an unusual…

According to the New York Times, the Walt Disney Company is operating a "secretive" lab in Austin, Texas, to perform neuromarketing studies. Specifically, the NYTimes describes a program to determine the effectiveness of online ads:

One of my most read, tweeted, and retweeted posts lately has been Video Games Make You Smarter... Really. In addition to the cognitive enhancement from "shooter" and other games involving intense screen action, there's another way that…

It makes sense that if we have a viewer's attention and present him or her with a compelling ad, we stand a chance of improving the perception of our brand. But what about those times when we don't have the viewer's attention, and he…

My last two posts, Video Games Make You Smarter… Really! and Nap for Success, featured just a couple of the surprising but well-documented conclusions in Think Smart: A Neuroscientist's Prescription for Improving Your Brain's Performance.…

Can video games make you a better air traffic controller? How about a better surgeon? And, for the huge demographic bubble of baby boomers, can video games keep you cognitively sharp into old age? Continuing our focus on brain fitness…