Earworms: Why Songs Get Stuck in Your Head

    Brain Series Current: Earworms Cocktail Party Effect All Posts Next It’s been three hours since you heard that song. You’re trying to focus on work, but there it is again-playing on an endless loop in your head. ...

    February 15, 2025 · 10 min · Rafiul Alam

    The Cocktail Party Effect: How You Hear Your Name Across a Crowded Room

    Brain Series Current: Cocktail Party Effect Change Blindness All Posts Earworms You’re in a loud, crowded room. Dozens of conversations happening simultaneously. You’re focused on talking to someone right in front of you, filtering out all the background noise. ...

    February 14, 2025 · 10 min · Rafiul Alam

    Change Blindness: Why You Missed the Gorilla

    Brain Series Current: Change Blindness The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon All Posts Cocktail Party Effect Watch a video of people passing basketballs. Count the passes made by the team in white shirts. ...

    February 13, 2025 · 11 min · Rafiul Alam

    Pareidolia: Why We See Faces in Everything

    Brain Series Current: Pareidolia The McGurk Effect All Posts The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon You see a face in the electrical outlet. Another in the clouds. Your morning toast looks like it’s staring at you. ...

    February 11, 2025 · 10 min · Rafiul Alam

    The McGurk Effect: Your Eyes Change What You Hear

    Brain Series Current: The McGurk Effect Superfood for Your Brain All Posts Pareidolia Watch someone’s lips say “ga” while the audio plays “ba,” and your brain will hear “da”-a sound that doesn’t exist in either the visual or auditory input. ...

    February 10, 2025 · 11 min · Rafiul Alam

    Nostalgia on a Plate: Why We Crave Foods from Our Childhood

    Deeply Personal Current: Nostalgia on a Plate Cats and Empathy All Posts Next Nostalgia on a Plate: Why We Crave Foods from Our Childhood My wife was chopping vegetables when she stopped, knife mid-air, and said: ...

    February 9, 2025 · 10 min · Rafiul Alam

    Superfood for Your Brain

    Brain Series Current: Superfood for Your Brain Neurogenesis All Posts Next ...

    February 8, 2025 · 11 min · Rafiul Alam

    Cats and Empathy: Do They Actually Know When You're Sad?

    Deeply Personal Current: Cats and Empathy Previous All Posts Nostalgia on a Plate Cats and Empathy: Do They Actually Know When You’re Sad? It was 2 AM when my wife woke me up, her voice tight with pain. ...

    February 7, 2025 · 9 min · Rafiul Alam

    Neurogenesis: Can You Grow New Brain Cells?

    Brain Series Current: Neurogenesis Previous All Posts Superfood for Your Brain For most of the 20th century, neuroscience had a dogma: “You’re born with all the neurons you’ll ever have. Neurons don’t regenerate.” ...

    February 7, 2025 · 10 min · Rafiul Alam

    Preventing Cognitive Decline in Your 30s and 40s

    Brain Series Current: Preventing Cognitive Decline 30s-40s Brain Training for Your 20s All Posts Neurogenesis You’re in your 30s or 40s. You’re at your career peak. You feel sharp, capable, effective. ...

    February 6, 2025 · 11 min · Rafiul Alam