http://exploringthemind.com Brain Candy for the Curious Mind! Thu, 28 Jul 2011 20:10:45 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 Copyright © Exploring The Mind! 2010 michael@hypnosisnetwork.com (Exploring The Mind!) michael@hypnosisnetwork.com (Exploring The Mind!) 1440 http://exploringthemind.com/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/itunes_144.jpg http://exploringthemind.com 144 144 Brain Candy for the Curious Mind! Exploring The Mind! Exploring The Mind! michael@hypnosisnetwork.com no no http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/are-your-memories-just-faked http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/are-your-memories-just-faked#comments Wed, 27 Jul 2011 18:25:54 +0000 admin http://exploringthemind.com/?p=1090 How would you feel if someone implanted a fake memory into your mind? Based on surprising new research, it’s possible.  Your memory is malleable and can easily be fooled into remembering something that isn’t 100 percent true. In fact, all it takes to create a false memory is a little “help” from your friends…

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]]> http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/are-your-memories-just-faked/feed 13 http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/passion-creates-pain-relief http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/passion-creates-pain-relief#comments Tue, 02 Nov 2010 20:32:18 +0000 admin http://exploringthemind.com/?p=1005 Deep down, we all know pain and love are profoundly coupled.  Well, according to some Stanford researchers, it turns out pain and love overlap in the brain. And although love can hurt, it turns out love just might actually be a “pain reliever” as well. In the brain, early stages of passionate love are similar to what drug addicts feel towards their drug of choice.  In short, just thinking about the one you love kick starts activity in several regions on the brain – notably the “reward center.” Because research has established that activation of this “reward center” reduces pain - researchers predicted people in the early stages of passionate love might experience pain reduction when the reward center was triggered by a picture of the person they were “hot” for at that time. The study itself is sort of involved, but very cool…so bear with me for a moment and everything will become clear…

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]]> http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/passion-creates-pain-relief/feed 4 http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/brain-scans-can-reveal-your-decisions-7-seconds-before-you-decide http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/brain-scans-can-reveal-your-decisions-7-seconds-before-you-decide#comments Thu, 24 Jun 2010 19:44:11 +0000 admin http://exploringthemind.com/?p=698 In a kind of spooky experiment, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences reveal that our decisions are made seconds before we become aware of them. In the study, participants could freely decide if they wanted to press a button with their right or left hand. The only condition was that they had to remember when they made the decision to either use their right hand or left hand. Using fMRI, researchers would scan the brains of the participants while all of this was going on in order to find out if they could in fact predict which hand the participants would use BEFORE they were consciously aware of the decision.

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]]> http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/brain-scans-can-reveal-your-decisions-7-seconds-before-you-decide/feed 77 http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/why-measuring-gradual-progress-can-backfire http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/why-measuring-gradual-progress-can-backfire#comments Thu, 17 Jun 2010 19:01:42 +0000 admin http://exploringthemind.com/?p=603 At one point in time, we have all been told that it is best to learn a new skill slowly. To learn to hit a correct forehand in tennis, you need to practice over and over again. To prepare for a test in school, you should study every day leading up to the exam. This is still great advice, but what if you practice or study consistently and show no signs of improvement? Should you just give up? No, you shouldn’t, and here is why

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]]> http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/why-measuring-gradual-progress-can-backfire/feed 9 http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/can-computer-brain-games-really-make-you-smarter http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/can-computer-brain-games-really-make-you-smarter#comments Thu, 10 Jun 2010 22:20:00 +0000 Michael Lovitch http://exploringthemind.com/?p=552 If you surf around the internet often, I imagine you have seen advertisements all over the place claiming that brain software can increase your intelligence. You know, just play this video game and get smarter...Sounds Great! But not so fast, there are actually people out there that research this stuff...

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]]> http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/can-computer-brain-games-really-make-you-smarter/feed 5 http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/the-power-of-profanity http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/the-power-of-profanity#comments Fri, 28 May 2010 05:16:26 +0000 admin http://exploringthemind.com/?p=411 Have you ever wondered why swearing seems to be your immediate reaction to pain? In June 2009, researchers at the Keele University in England sought to determine why the automatic response for so many people in pain is to blurt out swears. The question at hand was, does simply expressing pain (in a shout, yelp, or cry) make you feel better, or, is it the specific words you choose to yell that helps to lessen pain? Do curse words contain a hidden power that has the ability to help decrease pain?

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]]> http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/the-power-of-profanity/feed 15 http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/spirituality-and-the-brain http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/spirituality-and-the-brain#comments Fri, 28 May 2010 05:14:00 +0000 admin http://exploringthemind.com/?p=391 ]]> http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/spirituality-and-the-brain/feed 14 http://exploringthemind.com/hypnosis/decisions-and-actions-who-is-in-control http://exploringthemind.com/hypnosis/decisions-and-actions-who-is-in-control#comments Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:07:34 +0000 admin http://exploringthemind.com/?p=205 The June 2009 issue of the Journal Neuron just published a fascinating study that could be the next step towards figuring out how hypnosis actually works in the brain. As you probably know, I am big into brain science – and especially studies employing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). What I like about fMRI is that it provides a window into the brain; allowing scientists to find out what is really going on as opposed to solely relying on reporting or behavioral assessments.

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