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Imagine a Drug That Feels Like Tylenol and Works Like OxyContin
Doctors have long taken for granted a devil’s bargain: Relieving intense pain, such as that caused by surgery and traumatic injury, risks inducing the sort of pleasure that could leave patients addicted. Opioids are among
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New ‘Unconscious’ Therapies Could Help Treat Phobias
If you’re terrified of spiders, a psychiatrist might suggest facing your fears through seeing pictures or getting close to the real thing—not just one time but over and over. For someone with arachnophobia, this sounds
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You Don’t Need Words to Think
Scholars have long contemplated the connection between language and thought—and to what degree the two are intertwined—by asking whether language is somehow an essential prerequisite for thinking. British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell answered the question with
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How Your Brain Detects Patterns without Conscious Thought
The human brain is constantly picking up patterns in everyday experiences — and can do so without conscious thought, finds a study of neuronal activity in people who had electrodes implanted in their brain tissue for
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Your Immune System Can Make You Feel Sad, and That’s a Good Thing
While your body fights germs, you feel depressed, anti-social, even lethargic. Social neuroscientist Keely Muscatell offers an evolutionary explanation for why your mood and immune system are linked. …
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Scientists Discuss How to Study the Psychology of Collectives, Not Just Individuals
In a set of articles appearing in Perspectives on Psychological Science, an international array of scientists discusses how the study of neighborhoods, work units, activist groups, and other collectives can help us better understand and respond to societal changes.