Scientific American - Mind - February 2010.pdf - Scientific Anmerican - simonrodnip55

( f rom the editor )

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ACTING EDITOR IN CHIEF: Mariette DiChristina

EDITORS: Karen Schrock, Ingrid Wickelgren

ART DIRECTOR: Patricia Nemoto

ISSUE PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR:

Bridget Gerety Small

COPY DIRECTOR: Maria-Christina Keller

EDITORIAL ADMINISTRATOR: Avonelle Wing

SENIOR SECRETARY: Maya Harty

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Gareth Cook,

David Dobbs, Robert Epstein, Jonah Lehrer

CONTRIBUTING RESEARCHERS: Smitha Alampur,

Kenneth Silber, Kevin Singer

COPY AND PRODUCTION,

NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP:

SENIOR COPY EDITOR, NPG:

Daniel C. Schlenoff

MANAGING PRODUCTION EDITOR, NPG:

Richard Hunt

SENIOR PRODUCTION EDITOR, NPG:

Michelle Wright

BOARD OF ADVISERS:

HAL ARKOWITZ: Associate Professor

of Psychology, University of Arizona

STEPHEN J. CECI: Professor of Developmental

Psychology, Cornell University

R. DOUGLAS FIELDS: Chief, Nervous System

Development and Plasticity Section, National

Institutes of Health, National Institute of Child

Health and Human Development

S. ALEXANDER HASLAM: Professor of Social and

Organizational Psychology, University of Exeter

CHRISTOF KOCH: Professor of Cognitive and

Behavioral Biology, California Institute

of Technology

SCOTT O. LILIENFELD: Professor of Psychology,

Emory University

STEPHEN L. MACKNIK, Director, Laboratory of

Behavioral Neuropsychology, Barrow

Neurological Institute

SUSANNA MARTINEZ-CONDE, Director,

Laboratory of Visual Neuroscience, Barrow

Neurological Institute

JOHN H. MORRISON: Chairman, Department

of Neuroscience, and Director, Neurobiology of

Aging Laboratories, Mount Sinai School

of Medicine

VILAYANUR S. RAMACHANDRAN: Director,

Center for the Brain and Cognition, University

of California, San Diego, and Adjunct Professor,

Salk Institute for Biological Studies

DIANE ROGERS-RAMACHANDRAN: Research

Associate, Center for the Brain and Cognition,

University of California, San Diego

STEPHEN D. REICHER: Professor of Psychology,

University of St. Andrews

Some of the articles in this issue

are adapted from articles originally

appearing in Gehirn & Geist.

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, PRODUCTION:

William Sherman

ADVERTISING PRODUCTION MANAGER:

Carl Cherebin

PREPRESS AND QUALITY MANAGER:

Silvia De Santis

PRODUCTION MANAGER: Christina Hippeli

CUSTOM PUBLISHING MANAGER:

Madelyn Keyes-Milch

Look of Love

Is there anything more powerful in human society than a steady gaze? I once, for in-

stance, completely ustered and enraged a careless driver who nearly ran over my

then toddler and stroller-riding infant daughters and me as she rolled into a gas sta-

tion simply by calmly staring at her. I didn’t say a word or make a gesture. “What

are you looking at?!” she yelled. It’s no wonder, actually: humans are so visually ori-

ented and so social as a species, it would be surprising if we did not respond to the

looks of others.

Peering into each other’s eyes, then, naturally has a strong in uence on that most

social of activities: creating a personal, shared bond as we fall in love with another.

As psychologist and contributing editor Robert Epstein writes in the cover story,

“How Science Can Help You Fall in Love,” the relationship-cementing effect of mu-

tual gazing is well documented by researchers. Epstein relates some fascinating ex-

amples of his experiences with study subjects and others in his thought-provoking

article. Who says science isn’t sexy? Turn to page 26 for more.

Once you nd your bliss, how do you maintain that passion over the decades?

That is the subject of the feature “The Happy Couple,” by wellness consultant and

writer Suzann Pileggi. As a person who recently celebrated 20 years of marriage my-

self, I was curious to nd out how I’ve apparently stumbled on the ingredients nec-

essary for this achievement. As Pileggi shows, it is not enough to be there for your

partner when he or she suffers bad news or a health crisis. It’s even more critical to

be warm and supportive when your loved one gets good news. If it happens frequent-

ly enough, a seemingly neutral “That’s nice, honey” to your main squeeze’s good

news can squelch romantic res, crippling rapport over the long term. In my case,

my husband also has taught me, without saying anything speci cally, how to think

as part of a couple, rather than an individual, by always acting in ways that work

best for both of us. Flip to page 34 to nd more secrets of success for couples.

Mariette DiChristina

Acting Editor in Chief

editors@SciAmMind.com

www.ScientificAmerican.com/Mind

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND 1

B E H AV I O R • B R A I N S C I E N C E • I N S I G H T S

( c ontents )

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Volume 20, Number 7, January/February 2010

FEATURES

SPECIAL SECTION LOVE

40 >> Daring to Die

Wanting to die is not enough to trigger suicide.

To end their own life, humans need the guts

to go through with the act and the means to

carry out their plans.

BY KAREN SPRINGEN

48 >> Are Social Networks Messing

with Your Head?

Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and their cousins

have evolved from college fad to global ubiquity

in seven short years. Whether they are good for

our mental health is another matter.

BY DAVID D I SALVO

56 >> Depression’s Evolutionary Roots

Perhaps depression is not a malfunction

but a mental adaptation that focuses

the mind to better solve complex problems.

BY PAUL W. ANDREWS AND

J. ANDERSON THOMSON, JR.

62 >> Driving and the Brain

Could computer software based on cognitive

science improve older drivers’ skills?

MIND takes three programs for a spin.

BY KASPAR MOSSMAN

COVER STORY

26 >> How Science Can Help

You Fall in Love

Nothing is more ful lling than being in a

successful love relationship. Yet we leave

our love lives entirely to chance. Maybe

we don’t have to anymore.

BY ROBERT EPSTEIN

34 >> The Happy Couple

The key to keeping the magic alive in

a marriage, experts say, is nding ways

to promote the positive.

BY SUZANN PILEGGI

2 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND

January/February 2010

DEPARTMENTS

1 >> From the Editor

22 >> Illusions

How the eyes can see movement where

it does not exist.

BY VILAYANUR S. RAMACHANDRAN AND

DIANE ROGERS-RAMACHANDRAN

25 >> Calendar

Exhibitions, conferences, contests, and more.

68 >> Facts and Fictions

in Mental Health

Do the “eyes” have it? Eyewitness testimony is

ckle and, all too often, shockingly inaccurate.

BY HAL ARKOWITZ AND SCOTT O. LILIENFELD

70 >> We’re Only Human

Even lms that are historically inaccurate

can be a valuable teaching tool.

BY WRAY HERBERT

72 >> Reviews and Recommendations

Mental health and illness through history,

a beautifully illustrated reference book about

the brain, and memory and identity

disorder in lm and on television.

8 >> Head Lines

>> In ammation worsens Alzheimer’s.

Nobel Laureate

Eric R. Kandel

>> Should parents spank kids?

>> Nightmares and anxiety.

>> Memory in utero.

>> The bilingual brain.

>> Neuron genes jump around.

>> Handwriting reveals liars.

18 >> Ruled by Birth Order?

For decades the evidence has been

inconclusive, but new studies show that

family position may truly affect intelligence

and personality.

BY JOSHUA K. HARTSHORNE

20 >> Consciousness Redux

Reviving consciousness: direct stimulation

of the arousal centers in patients may

restore awareness.

BY CHRISTOF KOCH

74 >> Ask the Brains

>> Where does the recording of memories

take place and how?

>> How does background noise affect

our concentration?

75 >> Head Games

Match wits with the Mensa puzzlers.

76 >> Mind in Pictures

How Much Is Too Much Coffee?

BY DWAYNE GODWIN AND JORGE CHAM

Scientific American Mind (ISSN 1555-2284), Volume 20, Number 7, January/February 2010, published bimonthly by Scientific American, Inc., 75 Varick Street, 9th

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www.ScientificAmerican.com/Mind

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND 3

4 >> Letters

Perspectives