Benedict Carey

From birth, humans learn quickly, efficiently, and automatically, but there are ways we can improve how our brain's absorb new information.

New neuroscience research has upended common assumptions about the best study strategies. A new book examines the science and best practices for learning.

A new study published in the journal Nature correlates a father’s age with his children’s risk of having autism or schizophrenia. As Benedict Carey notes in The New York Times, the fi...

New numbers released by Centers for Disease Control reveal that the number of children who have been diagnosed with autism has nearly doubled since 2002. Susan Hyman, chairperson of t...

According to new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine, daily doses of a drug commonly used to treat Parkinson's disease has shown to improve function in people with brain injuries. The large-scale study showed that the drug, amantadine, can make a measurable difference for patients suffering from traumatic brain injuries. Doctors have experimented with drugs like amantadine to treat such patients, but this is the first time a study proved its effectiveness.

The Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) is a dictionary that defines and classifies all mental health disorders. First published in 1952, the DSM is used by everyone from clinicians to pharmaceutical companies to policy makers. Since its inception, the DSM has been revised only four times — one such occasion was in 1980 when homosexuality was no longer defined as a mental disorder. In the fifth edition, another big change may come to the DSM. Autism is up for a redefinition which could potentially reduce the number of people considered "autistic" by half.

Two Cornell researchers used a large-scale study of posts on Twitter to track the world's mood shifts, and the discovered a pattern that transcends nationalities and climate. The study focused on Tweets from two million people, in 84 countries, posted at all times of day, month, and year. They found some fascinatingly similar patterns. Might their study have any implications for the way people do research going forward?

According to a new report, scientists have come one step closer in the development of neuroprosthetics that may help restore memory loss. A brain implant, tested in rats, successfully restored lost memories and strengthened old ones. Its use in humans will require far more research. Benedict Carey, science reporter for The New York Times, explains the findings.

Science fiction or science? A new report in the well-respected Journal of Personality and Social Psychology cites evidence for what seems to be extrasensory perception. This has caused some outrage in the scientific community, with one leading voice calling the decision to publish the article "pure craziness."

After 18 years of being held captive, how will Jaycee Dugard break from the emotional and mental stresses that built up during that time?  We talk to Benedict Carey, science reporter ...

The Army is starting a new program to help improve the mental health and mental strength of its soldiers. Every one of the Army's 1.1 million soldiers will be required take part in t...

Duped. Tricked. Hornswoggled. Deceived. How can you tell if someone is fooling you? According to a new article out in today's Science Times, it's all in how they tell the story. The n...

Suppose that scientists could erase certain memories by tinkering with a single substance in your brain. They could make you forget a chronic fear, a traumatic loss, even a bad habit....

Talk about turning a notion on its head. What if your coveted winter vacation—the time when you leave the bitter, snowy cold behind and head for a few days of palm trees—could actuall...

Psychiatry's number one diagnostic manual is being re-written -- and it's making everyone crazy. Gender identification disorder may be in, while sleepwalking disorder is on the outs. ...

A man known only as H.M. is the reason we know as much as we do about the brain.