Inside the quest to understand the most complex thing on the planet: our brain

Your mind is in fact an ongoing construction of your brain, your body, and the surrounding world.

We asked experts for their best arguments in the long-standing debate over whether brains and computers process information the same way.

Discovered more than a decade ago, a remarkable compound shows promise in treating everything from Alzheimer’s to brain injuries—and it just might improve your cognitive abilities.

Experts may not agree on what consciousness is or isn’t. But that hasn’t stopped Marcello Massimini from peering into the minds of those with profound brain injuries to determine if anyone is still inside—and how to proceed with treatment.

Humans are good at spotting intelligence that looks like our own. But there’s no rule saying machines have to think like us.

For years scientists have tried to find a gene for conditions like schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s and autism. But the real source could lie in a much more complex genetic puzzle.

The 100 or so jars contain brains that once belonged to patients at the Austin State Hospital, a psychiatric facility.

Life under covid has messed with our brains. Luckily, they were designed to bounce back.

DREAM VENDING MACHINE I feed it coins and watch the spring coil back, the clunk of a vacuum-packed, foil-wrapped dream dropping into the tray. It …

One patient in a pioneering trial describes his “life-changing” experience with the psychoactive drug.

We still don’t know much about the experience of being aware that you’re dreaming—but a few researchers think it could help us find out more about how the brain works.

The moment we recognize someone, a lot happens all at once. We aren’t aware of any of it.

Three new books lay bare the weirdness of how our brains process the world around us.

We made a comic to explain the truth behind some common misconceptions.

Optogenetics and advanced imaging have helped neuroscientists understand how memories form and made it possible to manipulate them.

Large, expensive efforts to map the brain started a decade ago but have largely fallen short. It’s a good reminder of just how complex this organ is.

Optogenetics and advanced imaging have helped neuroscientists understand how memories form and made it possible to manipulate them.

The idea that consciousness is widespread is attractive to many for intellectual and, perhaps, also emotional reasons. But can it be tested? Surprisingly, perhaps it can.

Over the decades this publication has repeatedly explored the topic of what we know—or don’t yet know—about our own brains.

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