Mind & Brain / Depression & Happiness

How Pot, Cocaine, and Hunger Intersect in the Brain

Researchers are studying the role that the endocannabinoid system plays in cravings, and using their findings to try to control our excesses. 12.01.2011

What You Don't Know Can Kill You

Humans have a perplexing 
tendency to fear rare threats such as shark attacks while blithely 
ignoring far greater risks like 
unsafe sex and an unhealthy diet. Those illusions are not just 
silly—they make the world a more dangerous place.
 10.03.2011

How Depression Dulls the World—Literally

The condition seems to affect how our senses work, and researchers may one day use this to make an objective diagnosis of depression. 02.11.2011

The 100 Top Science Stories of 2010

Every year DISCOVER sorts through the scientific accomplishments of the past 12 months, and assembles a list of the coolest experiments, most brilliant discoveries, and most world-changing events. As you page through the countdown to the #1 science story, we think you'll come to the same conclusion we did: 2010 was quite a year. 12.16.2010

The Brain Is Ready for Its Close-Up

Neuroscientists know that the first step in understanding something is to get a good look at it. A new book showcases their finest attempts to image the brain, from Victorian drawings to state-of-the-art brainbows. 11.17.2010

The Brain: The Switches That Can Turn Mental Illness On and Off

The difference between one personality and another is not determined by genes alone. Love’s got something to do with it too. 06.16.2010

Psychologist Says Antidepressants Are Just Fancy Placebos

Irving Kirsh aims to "explode the myth" of Prozac and its ilk, arguing that there's little evidence that they actually work for most patients. 06.09.2010

#20: Can a Shock to the Brain Cure Depression?

Deep brain stimulation is looking like a viable treatment for a growing list of brain issues. 01.25.2010

Neuroscience Finds Wisdom Centers in the Brain

This quintessential human characteristic depends both on powerful logic and deep emotion. 07.06.2009

Are Smart Drugs the Answer to Bad Moods—and a Bad Economy?

Today’s mind-altering chemicals can improve your memory, alertness, and mood. Just wait until you see what tomorrow’s crop can do. 04.02.2009

Vital Signs: A Gland Failure

When adrenal functions go out of whack, the mind and body respond in startling ways. 03.29.2009

Why Darwin Would Have Loved Botox

All those wrinkle-causing winces, smirks, and sneers may have been the product of evolution. 10.15.2008

Are Antidepressant Drugs Actually Worth Taking?

A psychologist says secret corporate documents show how ineffective the drugs really are. 10.10.2008

Could an Acid Trip Cure Your OCD?

Researchers are again using mind-bending drugs as a means of treating mental disorders. 05.16.2008

The Borderline Whack-Jobs Who Pioneered Psychoanalysis

Some were fanatical prudes, while one was dubbed “the Pied Piper of carnality.” 03.05.2008

The Cuckoo Surgeon Who Did Ice-Pick Lobotomies

At his peak, Walter Freeman hacked at dozens of brains each day. 02.19.2008

Hope May Be Useless Against Cancer

New study finds that being happy won't help you live longer. 02.11.2008

Health Trends: Alternatives to Antidepressants

The drugs' safety and efficacy are routinely questioned. 07.24.2007

Health Trends: Strain Bad for Brain

Another great reason to avoid chronic distress. 07.13.2007

Is Dirt the New Prozac?

Injections of soil bacteria produce serotonin—and happiness—in mice. 06.14.2007

Whatever Happened To... Primal Therapy?

1970s psychotherapy is alive and screaming in Venice, California. 05.09.2007

Dead Men Walking

What sort of future do brain-injured Iraq veterans face? 02.23.2007

Dead Men Walking

What sort of future do brain-injured Iraq veterans face? 02.23.2007

Map: Shiny, Happy People

National mirth rates are uncovered. 12.05.2006

Shiny Happy People

Can you reach nirvana with the aid of science? 08.01.2006

Vitamin Cure

Can common nutrients curb violent tendencies and dispel clinical depression? 05.01.2005

The Physiology of . . . Facial Expressions

A self-conscious look of fear, anger, or happiness can reveal more than a lie detector 01.02.2005

Lights Out

Can contact sports lower your intelligence? 12.03.2004

Psychology

01.02.2004

Pumped Up on Prozac

11.10.2003

Vital Signs

What's the connection between mental illness and cornea color? 06.01.2003

Wired for Emotion

Now that we're getting closer to a root cause of depression (psst--it may come from your left prefrontal cortex), can we figure out how to fix it? 04.01.2000

Mind Over Time

Now that we've finally figured out where our biological clocks are located, can we learn to control them? 07.01.1999

Vital Signs:Locked in Place

Andrea's accident had imprisoned her mind in a lifeless body. But how was anyone to know? 05.01.1998

That Fine Madness

Great artists are more likely to suffer from manic depression than the rest of us. So claims the latest in a long line of explanations that link mental illness with genius. 10.01.1996