Social media’s individualized, instant, and streamlined communication provides users with up-to-date information on world events, community opinions, and trending memes. However, with the uptick in AI-generated content and extremist views, social media can be incredibly deceptive, with the gap between fact and fiction looming larger and larger. Most recently, the New York Times reported that […]
The magic behind misinformation Read More »
Everyone is capable of hallucinating. Some illnesses and the use of psychedelics may increase the frequency and likelihood of hallucinogenic episodes, but this does not mean hallucinations make one mentally ill or a drug addict. The human brain is faulty at best — it makes mistakes, and hallucinating is only one of many. There are
Yes, being ‘delulu’ is normal: Mechanisms of hallucinations Read More »
The placebo effect is a phenomenon observed in many experiments, most often medical. This peculiar occurrence is when patients are given a control treatment, such as a sugar pill rather than the true medication being tested, yet have considerable positive gains in their condition. In other words, patients’ conditions are improving despite not receiving any
Mind over medicine: The placebo effect Read More »
For Matt Holdback, the symptoms started when he began shaking and sweating at the possibility of being called on in class, he wrote in a personal essay for the Selective Mutism Information & Research Association. When there was any confrontation, Holdback would try to get away with a small nod or a hand in the
Why won’t they speak? Read More »
Former Red Sox player Wade Boggs, known as the “chicken man,” famously ate chicken before every one of his games as a good luck charm. Boggs told MLB.com, “In 1983, we ate chicken every day, and I wound up winning a batting title in ’83. So, the chicken worked.” While this pre-game ritual may have
The science of superstition Read More »
Taking notes in class. Signing a lease. Making a grocery list. All of these activities used to require a very important tool: our very own handwriting. Nowadays, we tend to rapidly jot down notes during class on our laptops or use autofill to put signatures on important documents. Because the faster we get these things
Nothing beats good old pen & paper Read More »
As the days get shorter and the weather colder, keeping that frown upside down becomes an arduous task. While you might think you have what it takes to bear the elements through sheer willpower, your genetics and neurochemistry disagree. Studies of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) in Iceland and in various regions globally show that genetics
Fishing for happiness: Omega-3 and seasonal affective disorder Read More »
Bill Wilson co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous in the 1930s. He had struggled with alcoholism since his early twenties and depression even longer. But while AA helped Wilson recover from alcoholism, he remained frustrated with available mental health treatments. So, in the ‘50s, he began collaborating with psychologist Betty Eisner and discovered the power of LSD. In
Our brains on psychedelics: Getting creative in the treatment of mental illnesses Read More »
Kanye West, Billie Eilish, Lorde, Pharell Williams, and many other talented artists all share a unique characteristic that enhances their abilities: synesthesia. Defined as a perceptual phenomenon where two or more senses are connected that allow the individual to experience their sensations differently than most, synesthesia is an idiosyncratic phenomenon. There have been documented experiences
Chromesthesia: The blending of sounds and color Read More »