60-Second Mind
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
College Students Are Less Empathic Than Generations Past
29 May 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Research presented at the conference of the Association for Psychological Science found that today's college students are far less empathic than their...
Soil Bacteria Might Increase Learning
24 May 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Research presented this week shows that exposure to a specific bacteria found in soil increases learning in mice. Christie Nicholson reports
Digging Deeper into the Entire Brain
16 May 2010
Contributed by Lukas
A recent paper in the journal Nature finally brings some vindication to fMRI, one of the most popular methods used to study the brain. Christie Nichol...
Facial Expressions of Mice in Pain
12 May 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Recent research has found that mice make humanlike facial expressions when they are in pain. Christie Nicholson reports
Risk-Taking Behavior in Teens
03 May 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Many studies suggest that risk-taking behavior in teens is due to the slow development of brain function that controls impulsivity. New research concl...
Auditory Illusions
25 Apr 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Two classic auditory illusions. Try them out! Christie Nicholson reports
Making a Decision? Take Your Time
17 Apr 2010
Contributed by Lukas
A recent study shows that when faced with a decision, it's best to take some time--relax and cool off--so logical thinking can guide us to the best ch...
Using Light to Control the Brain
12 Apr 2010
Contributed by Lukas
A new approach to manipulating the brain with light is gaining increasing attention. Christie Nicholson reports
Neuroscience Is Everywhere
03 Apr 2010
Contributed by Lukas
From literature to architecture, academics and entrepreneurs are using neuroscience to explain everything from why we like a complex narrative thread ...
Manipulating Moral Judgment
29 Mar 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists find that when the area of the brain responsible for understanding the intent of others is disrupted, moral judgment is also affected. Chri...
Chronic Pain Relief
21 Mar 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Chronic pain may be due to an overabundance of a protein, which amplifies the pain signal to the brain. A drug that neutralizes this protein may provi...
Humans Want to Share Information
15 Mar 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Speaking at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Tex., new media scholar Clay Shirky argues that businesses are buckling under the pressure of...
Happy People Talk More Seriously
06 Mar 2010
Contributed by Lukas
A recent study analyzed 20,000 conversations and found that happiness strongly correlated with talkative people who went beyond the small talk. Christ...
Why Does Schizophrenia Appear in Young Adults?
27 Feb 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Recent research explores the effects of a schizophrenia risk factor (DISC1) and its influence over the onset of the disease. Christie Nicholson report...
Fighting Crime with Math
20 Feb 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science presented a mathematical model to predict criminal behavio...
Catching the Brain at Work
10 Feb 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists found a way to detect the order of activity in two regions of the brain using fMRI. And they found that the brain can register something as...
Dealing with Super Bowl XLIV Pressure
05 Feb 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Sports psychologist Patrick Cohn discusses two types of athletes, and how to deal with pressure in the days before the big game. Christie Nicholson re...
Sex Differences in Jealousy
28 Jan 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Recent research attempts to provide a more nuanced look at the long-held view that men are more jealous of sexual infidelity than emotional infidelity...
The Talent for Facial Recognition
21 Jan 2010
Contributed by Lukas
Recent research in Current Biology finds that the ability to recognize faces is most likely heritable. Christie Nicholson reports
Making and Keeping Your Goals
13 Jan 2010
Contributed by Lukas
An interview with David Allen, best-selling author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, on how to make and keep goals. Christ...
No Gender Gap in Math
06 Jan 2010
Contributed by Lukas
A worldwide study of nearly half a million boys and girls found no significant gender gap in math ability. Christie Nicholson reports
Powerful and Bad in 2009
31 Dec 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Recent research finds that a feeling of entitlement to power can inspire hypocrisy. Christie Nicholson reports
Remembering That Person's Name
22 Dec 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Recent research finds that we all have a tough time remembering names as we age. But for those with early Alzheimer's the decline is significant and i...
Our Bodies, Our Culture
15 Dec 2009
Contributed by Lukas
How we understand the location of our own body in space is culturally dependent. Christie Nicholson reports
Hockey and Concussions
08 Dec 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers are asking hockey players to give up their brains to study the long-term impact of concussions. Christie Nicholson reports
Fear of Fear Itself
01 Dec 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A recent study links fear of feeling anxious to depression. Christie Nicholson reports
Are Your Siblings Really Your Siblings?
24 Nov 2009
Contributed by Lukas
This Thanksgiving how can we be certain we're sitting down with our genetically related family? Evolutionary psychology provides some food for thought...
The Roots of Language
17 Nov 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Recent research with chimps provides support for theories of how language evolved in humans. Christie Nicholson reports
Boost Your Creativity with Eye Movement
10 Nov 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Recent research published in the journal Brain and Cognition finds that people can boost the number and quality of their original ideas when they incr...
Hearing Our Heartbeats
03 Nov 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists have recently found that there are two brain pathways involved how we perceive our own thumping hearts. Christie Nicholson reports
A Pretty Face or a Hot Body?
27 Oct 2009
Contributed by Lukas
When pursuing a mate for a short-term relationship, are we more interested in the face or the body? How about for a long-term relationship? Christie ...
What Our Stuff Says about Us
20 Oct 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Psychologist Sam Gosling from the University of Texas reveals what we can predict about personalities by just looking at their stuff. Christie Nichols...
It's Funny Because It's True
13 Oct 2009
Contributed by Lukas
New research proves that the things we find funny often reveal somewhat hidden beliefs we hold. Christie Nicholson reports
What the Experts Still Don't Know
06 Oct 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Twenty three world-renowned psychologists write about what they still don't understand about themselves
Internet Addiction?
29 Sep 2009
Contributed by Lukas
As experts organize the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a debate has started on whether to include Internet...
Is Texting Making Us Bad Spellers?
23 Sep 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A recent study finds SMS texting is not impacting young people's ability to spell. Christie Nicholson reports
Detecting Digitally Altered Video
16 Sep 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A study in Applied Cognitive Science finds that we're likely to believe a doctored video over own memories of an event. Christie Nicholson reports
Where the Desire for Change Resides
09 Sep 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists have found an area of the brain that becomes highly active when we finally decide to explore the unknown. Christie Nicholson reports
Predictors of Preschool Depression
31 Aug 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A five-year study followed more than 1,700 children and found that depression in preschoolers is primarily predicted by two factors. Christie Nicholso...
In Defense of Evolutionary Psychology
26 Aug 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Lisa DeBruine of the University of Aberdeen proposes that the value of evolutionary psychology lies in its ability to inspire new questions about huma...
Human-Robot Relationships
18 Aug 2009
Contributed by Lukas
How will human-robot interaction affect our culture? A psychologist and artificial intelligence researcher share their predictions. Christie Nicholson...
Answers to the Rorschach Test Revealed
02 Aug 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A recent debate erupted on Wikipedia concerning the public posting of popular interpretations of the Rorschach test. Christie Nicholson reports
Artificial Intelligence Predicts Gambling Behavior
21 Jul 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A simulated neural network is able to predict the bets and wins/losses of gamblers. Christie Nicholson reports
Questioning Evolutionary Psychology
17 Jul 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Recently, the doubts and questions plaguing the theory of evolutionary psychology have boiled up to the mainstream press. Christie Nicholson reports
Severe Weather Psychology, Part 2
08 Jul 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A psychology PhD student from the University of Sheffield shares her initial observations on how well local people understand the behavior of tornadoe...
Severe Weather Psychology, Part 1
07 Jul 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Jacqui Wilmshurst, a PhD psychology student at the University of Sheffield, is spending summer in the field studying human reactions to severe weather...
Increase Your Creativity: Live Abroad
14 Jun 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Recent research shows that people who have lived in a foreign country are more creative when it comes to solving problems. Christie Nicholson reports
Our Bodies, Our Brains
01 Jun 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Recent studies have shown that moving our body in certain ways can improve our ability to think. Christie Nicholson reports
Obama's Message to Graduates
18 May 2009
Contributed by Lukas
President Obama's message to Arizona State University grads matches new research on how to live a fulfilled and happy life. Christie Nicholson report...
Immorality and <i>Twitter</i>
04 May 2009
Contributed by Lukas
The other week headlines were crying out that Twitter, the microblogging platform, makes us immoral, but the study on which the claim was made did not...
Why Dating Doesn't Predict Marital Success
27 Apr 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists confirm what may seem obvious to some: what satisfies us in dating, does not predict how happy we'll be in marriage. Christie Nicholson rep...
When Do Dreams Begin?
16 Apr 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Recent research from the American Institute of Physics has found that the our dreaming sleep begins much earlier than previously thought. Christie Nic...
Hope for Spinal Cord Injuries
08 Apr 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA reports success in repairing damaged nerves in a system critica...
Why Cops Make Fatal Errors
31 Mar 2009
Contributed by Lukas
New research suggests that a police officer's ability to multitask influences the number of wrongful shootings. Christie Nicholson reports
Sylvia Plath's Son and Suicide in Families
24 Mar 2009
Contributed by Lukas
The recent suicide of Sylvia Plath's son, Nicholas Hughes, makes us question whether suicidal tendency runs in families. But the science remains compl...
Wiping Out Bad Memories
18 Mar 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Research published in the journal Science last week shows the successful obliteration of a specific memory in mice. Christie Nicholson reports
Where Is God?
11 Mar 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA provides support to the critics of the idea that a God spot exists in th...
Online Games as Study Tool
03 Mar 2009
Contributed by Lukas
An interdisciplinary research group called the "Virtual Worlds Exploratorium" has started to analyze data from the online game EverQuest II, in order ...
Thinking of Human as Machine
24 Feb 2009
Contributed by Lukas
It will be a long time before machines can be "more human than human," as scientists are just starting to decode what happens inside our brains as we ...
Women as Sex Objects
17 Feb 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A new study presented at the recent American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Chicago shows that when men see photos of scantily ...
The Scent of Sexual Sweat
09 Feb 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Do you like the scent of your Valentine? The Journal of Neuroscience reports that certain regions in women's brains are activated when they smell "sex...
Muscle Movement Affects How We Hear
03 Feb 2009
Contributed by Lukas
The area of the brain responsible for movement plays a larger role than previously thought in how we hear speech. Christie Nicholson reports
When an Innocent Confesses to a Crime
27 Jan 2009
Contributed by Lukas
New research shows the persuasive power of a false confession. It seems the confession itself can corrupt other evidence that may excuse a defendant. ...
Surviving a Plane Crash
20 Jan 2009
Contributed by Lukas
We might think near-death experiences leave survivors, such as those on US Airways Flight 1549, forever suffering from post-traumatic stress and fear,...
The Persistence of Racism
12 Jan 2009
Contributed by Lukas
Recent research concludes that although people predict they will react negatively to racial slurs, their behavior proves otherwise. Christie Nicholson...
A Blind Man Sees
05 Jan 2009
Contributed by Lukas
A recent paper in Current Biology provides one of the few human cases of blindsight, the ability for perceptively blind people to respond to visual st...
Great Expectations for 2009
30 Dec 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Multiple experiments by Duke University professor Dan Ariely reveal how our expectations hugely influence our decisions, and ultimately, our experienc...
Beware the Holiday Sugar High
22 Dec 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Recent research concludes that parents significantly overestimate how sugar affects their children's hyperactive behavior. Susannah F. Locke reports.
Gift-Giving for Lovers
15 Dec 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Research suggests that women don't seem to mind if they receive the less-than-perfect gift. Men, on the other hand, are a different story. Susannah F....
To Get Good Grades, Get Good Sleep
08 Dec 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Research suggests that college students don't get enough sleep, and that they are far better off sleeping than cramming for exams. Steve Mirsky report...
Cyberchondria: Online Diagnosis Leads to Obsessive Fear
02 Dec 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Beware using the Web for self-diagnosis, you'll probably end up with a lot of unnecessary stress, according to a recent study by Microsoft. Christie N...
Eat, Exercise and Be Merry
24 Nov 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Research shows that people who write down what they are grateful for may exercise more. Rachel Mahan reports
Beating Loneliness at Its Own Game
17 Nov 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers have found that indulging in feelings of nostalgia curiously combat the sad feelings that accompany loneliness. Christie Nicholson repor...
A Bitter Placebo to Swallow
10 Nov 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Research shows that the items surrounding a successful medical treatment, like the type of drink we use to wash down a pill, can sometimes be as effec...
More Sex for Women?
03 Nov 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A recent analysis of survey responses shows who's cheating: Women, young couples and the over-60 crowd are closing the infidelity gap. Rachel Mahan re...
The Real Monsters on Halloween
27 Oct 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A study shows that young children have a tough time knowing if monsters are real or pretend. Christie Nicholson reports.
Restoring Movement in Paralyzed Limbs
20 Oct 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A study published in Nature shows how an artificial connection restores movement in paralyzed limbs. Christie Nicholson reports
Cell Phones Sometimes Cause Real Pain
13 Oct 2008
Contributed by Lukas
People increasingly complain of being "electrosensitive," claiming that the electromagnetic fields emitted from mobile phones cause them real pain. Ch...
Musicians Think Differently from the Rest of Us
06 Oct 2008
Contributed by Lukas
New research shows that musicians simultaneously use both sides of their brain more often than nonmusicians
Business, Lies and E-mail
29 Sep 2008
Contributed by Lukas
New research finds that business students lie more often in e-mail than when communicating using pen and paper. Christie Nicholson reports
Exposed Untruths Continue to Shape Voter Impressions
22 Sep 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Misinformation on the campaign trail, once disseminated, is hard to undo--especially when it reinforces one's preconceptions. Christie Nicholson repor...
Spooky Science: Does a Fear of Ghosts Help Keep Us Honest?
15 Sep 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Does the fear of "someone watching" help put us on the straight and narrow path?
Observers of Walking Figures See Men Advancing, Women in Retreat
08 Sep 2008
Contributed by Lukas
When viewing figures walking, a curious illusion appears. People perceive male strollers as moving toward them, whereas the female walkers appear to b...
Is Fidelity in our Genes?
01 Sep 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A gene that promotes monogamy in rodents may do the same in humans. Researchers think variation in this gene may help predict your man's ability to co...
Hotel Guests Throw in the Towel on the Environment
25 Aug 2008
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to using towels in hotels, it's herd mentality, not eco-principles, that leads patrons on a greener path. Christie Nicholson reports
For Online Consumption, the Web Is All About Cool
18 Aug 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Back in 2006 the concept of the "long tail" stated that the Web will turn consumers into lovers of niche products and services, and that the days of t...
Olympic Gold Medal: Is the Body Language of Triumph (or Defeat) Biological?
11 Aug 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A study published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA concludes that our reaction to Olympic victory is innate. Christi...
Rest Assured: The Brain Practices the Day's Lessons as We Sleep
05 Aug 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Studies show we may be doing a lot more than just resting while we sleep. In fact the brain is hard at work, consolidating, sifting and moving the inf...
A study shows prescription OD accidents are on the rise
28 Jul 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A study published in Archives of Internal Medicine shows that fatal medicinal mistakes at home rose substantially in two decades. Christie Nicholson r...
A Whiff of Disaster, Dulled by Dopamine
21 Jul 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Research published in Nature Neuroscience uncovers a remarkable mechanism a female mouse uses to save her babies from dangerous miscarriage.
Dicey Proposition: Animals Are Self-Aware
14 Jul 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Researchers continue to search for a way inside the mind of an animal. One promising study looked at monkeys that make bets
E-Therapy: Working It Out Online
07 Jul 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A new study in The American Journal of Psychiatry evaluates the merits of digital therapy. Christie Nicholson reports.
When Craving Is Better Than Getting
30 Jun 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A study published in Nature Neuroscience shows that our own calming thoughts can significantly dampen the arousal we feel when we are anticipating pos...
Why Are Conservatives Happier Than Liberals?
24 Jun 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Conservatives have greater subjective life satisfaction than liberals, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Two New York University researchers ...
Of Two Minds, One Consciousness
16 Jun 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Studies of split-brain patients provide insight into how we form thoughts--specifically how the left brain will create its own narrative based on info...
No Fair! My Serotonin Level Is Low
09 Jun 2008
Contributed by Lukas
The chemical messenger serotonin, thought to be implicated in depression and anxiety, may change the way we see fairness in social situations. Christi...
Craving for Sex May Trip Other Hungers in Men
02 Jun 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Watching women in bikinis tends to make men more impulsive when it comes to monetary decisions. Christie Nicholson reports.
Is Civilization the Result of Humans' Need to Share?
27 May 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A 2007 study published in Science shows that young human children perform as well as apes on intelligence tests, but that kids beat apes in social ski...
Our Cars, Ourselves
19 May 2008
Contributed by Lukas
Increasingly, GPS and voice-activated systems in cars are turning a fairly private place into an open vessel for our habits--and as such, a possible b...
You Say "Ga," I say "Ba," but Everyone Hears "Da"
12 May 2008
Contributed by Lukas
A fascinating auditory illusion proves that the visual cue of moving lips plays an important role in accurately hearing what people say.