How do thoughts, emotions, memory and perception emerge? In this section, we unpack the latest discoveries in brain and neuroscience, offering new perspectives on how the mind works and how we experience the world.
What if learning started with the hand? Writing a word is already the first step toward understanding it. Handwriting is one of those everyday gestures we barely notice anymore, yet it profoundly shapes our cognitive development. Once considered a foundational skill, it’s increasingly sidelined in favor of digital tools that may be faster but often…
Every delayed task tells the same story: a brain choosing immediate comfort over future effort. Time slips away, elusive. The task at hand patiently waits, yet we find countless ways to avoid it. A coffee break, a trivial video, compulsively checking emails, an illusion of movement that masks inaction. But why do we delay so…
A night, memories… then a complete blank. Alcohol blackouts reveal a disturbing flaw in how the brain records reality. There are times in life when we wish we could erase certain memories, painful or burdensome recollections that loom over our everyday lives. However, forgetfulness, a process that may seem passive, remains one of the most…
We thought sleep meant shutting off. But in the dark, the brain stays active dreaming and reshaping our experiences. In the dim light of a Chicago laboratory, a young girl was sleeping peacefully. Her name was Ester Kleitman, and although she had no idea, she was about to help her father make one of the…
Is blue really blue for everyone? Among the Himba, words redraw the boundaries of what the brain perceives. We tend to believe that our perception of color is universal: blue is blue, and green is green for everyone. However, what we see is shaped by our language, culture, and environment. Among the Himba, a tribe…
Under the harsh glare of stage lights, nothing is left to chance. Even memory becomes an instrument of precision. Imagine yourself standing on a stage, illuminated by dozens of spotlights, facing an audience hanging on your every word, keenly attuned to even the slightest misstep. And yet, each line, each phrase flows effortlessly from your…
We believe we decide in a stable, rational way. Yet the brain may reinvent its strategy every time. Our thoughts and decisions appear to follow a logical thread, a well-defined trajectory dictated by the brain’s stable organization. For decades, neuroscience has sought to map this organization, identifying specialized networks that activate depending on the task…
Could abstaining sharpen the mind? Fasting fascinates as much as it promises effects on the brain. For decades, scientists have been investigating the effects of fasting on physical health. It is now well established that calorie restriction and various forms of fasting can lead to weight loss, improve insulin sensitivity, reduce inflammation, and even extend…
When the past fades, identity trembles. Yet the brain never truly forgets. Memory, which links us to our past and shapes our sense of identity, is the thread that allows us to recognize ourselves over time. But what happens when this thread breaks, when memories fade, and the past becomes inaccessible? Retrograde amnesia is a…
Between tradition and biology, fasting is as intriguing as it is fascinating. Behind deprivation lies a still misunderstood intelligence of the body. For millennia, fasting has been practiced across cultures and traditions as an act of discipline and spiritual elevation. Far more than mere deprivation, it represents a return to the essentials, an exercise in…