Mind & Brain

We live in an era of constant surveillance. Psychology research shows how this might change how we perceive the world—even unconsciously

Two leading theories of consciousness went head-to-head—and the results may change how neuroscientists study one of the oldest questions about existence

Many children choose to follow peers with more narcissistic tendencies—and self-esteem may be part of the complex power dynamics involved

Researchers discover a new color outside the range of human color vision, but you have to laser your retinas to see it

Hear takeaways from 35 years at Scientific American from Gary Stix, our recently retired mind and brain editor.

Crows can tell the shapes of stars from those of moons and symmetrical quadrilaterals from unsymmetrical ones, new results show

Neuroscientists have created the largest and most detailed map of a mammal’s brain in a landmark achievement

Scrolling on social media at bedtime is particularly disruptive to sleep. Here’s why

People on TikTok and other social media say they feel more alert when they have had fewer hours of sleep—but sleep scientists warn this is a false sense of energy

New studies underscore the difficulty of implanting entirely fictional events in a person’s recollection

Our conscious awareness may be governed by a structure deep in the brain

Just as tobacco companies knew they were poisoning people, today’s social media titans knowingly poison our politics, peddling lies and stoking angry divides for profit