I've had this silly and embarrassing little problem for years and I'm noticing that it's getting worse. Sometimes, when I run into somebody I know or if I'm introducing somebody I know to somebody they don't know, I truly blank out on the name of the person I know.
[more inside]
posted by iamkimiam
on May 18, 2013 -
25 answers
I would like to get some book recommendations on the following topic: the connection between brain arousal states (am I using that term correctly?) (e.g. sleepy, alert, hyperalert/anxious), EEG states (e.g. theta, alpha, beta), and various neurotransmitters and perhaps even psychotropic medications.
[more inside]
posted by DMelanogaster
on Apr 30, 2013 -
6 answers
It's when "words fall away to pictures" occasionally , perhapps particularly when reading the text of physical books, usually novels, of a large size. It doesn't happen with reading online or e-book readers or textbooks. It's as if the visual imagination (
without deliberate activation) overrides what's actually been seen by the eyes, so that the story unfolding is actually being "watched" in the mind's eye in an immersive, vivid way where one becomes virtually unaware of the actual text print and the outside world (so it's not even like watching a movie in a cinema, where there is more consciousness of the real surroundings). This is
not just getting immersed in reading - the strong, and not deliberately activated, visualization is crucial. Based on anecdotal evidence, what I'm describing (not from my personal experience) appears to be a rarer rather than a common experience. Anyone have ideas what this neurological (?) trait might be?
posted by zresearch
on Apr 20, 2013 -
18 answers
I'm working on a creative project about somebody who gets his brain removed and put in a vat. What should I read?
[more inside]
posted by HeroZero
on Mar 15, 2013 -
27 answers
I'm a nurse who has trouble at the start of my shifts because my brain doesn't get up and running until I've been there for at least an hour -- but the work really requires me to be at 100% from the first minute. There are plenty of questions about how to wake up your body in the morning. How do I wake up my brain?
[more inside]
posted by shiny blue object
on Jan 22, 2013 -
27 answers
Sometimes when I have a sexual thought, I can literally feel a buzz, a reaction in my brain just above the ears on both sides of my head, almost an electrical feeling, usually in two short pulses. What is this? Do you experience it? More details inside.
[more inside]
posted by anonymous
on Dec 12, 2012 -
7 answers
The brain is really good at keeping track of body position, limbs, etc., even when it's not looking at them.
Is there a term that describes the equivalent ability as it relates to objects? E.g., I'm sitting at my desk right now and I know there's a plant behind me. I want a term for that ability!
So far all I've got is "object propriception"
posted by gribbly
on Dec 5, 2012 -
23 answers
The fMRI (functional MRI) is primarily used in research; can I get one done for clinical reasons?
[more inside]
posted by airguitar2
on Sep 19, 2012 -
11 answers
Can going off and then later back on an antidepressant "do" something to your brain chemistry or is in some other way unsafe or unwise?
[more inside]
posted by anonymous
on Sep 13, 2012 -
16 answers
How does your anxiety manifest itself physically? Details about TMJ and perhaps a touch of hypochondria after the jump...
[more inside]
posted by aintthattheway
on Sep 2, 2012 -
22 answers
I am in what seems to be an intractable situation, due to a number of major errors on my part. Help needed for someone on the edge of a precipice.
[more inside]
posted by anonymous
on Aug 30, 2012 -
20 answers
A family member is having brain surgery next week. What can I put in a care package to make her recovery more pleasant?
[more inside]
posted by tealcake
on Aug 28, 2012 -
9 answers
I sometimes have the type of trouble sleeping where although I am objectively tired, I can't "shut my brain off" and end up lying awake with my eyes closed. What can I do with my brain during these times?
[more inside]
posted by zadermatermorts
on Aug 8, 2012 -
52 answers
My supervisor has pointed out to me that I tend to take language very literally, and it's impeding my performance at my job. Help me rewire my brain!
[more inside]
posted by anotheraccount
on Jun 21, 2012 -
33 answers
I am female. I have a unisex name. My male partners have always had unmistakably male names. Why, then, have new acquaintances continually called my male partners by my name?!
[more inside]
posted by thrasher
on May 18, 2012 -
34 answers
What is the name (medical/psychological term?) for this feeling that "my life been a dream since that one event several years ago"?
[more inside]
posted by vidur
on May 2, 2012 -
6 answers
I'm looking for videos of people having their brain probed by a brain surgeon, causing them do or say things, but where they invent "reasons" for why they did or said those things, falsely believing they acted out of free will.
[more inside]
posted by Eiwalker
on Apr 18, 2012 -
5 answers
Question about the compulsion to drink beer disappearing when I exercise.
[more inside]
posted by naju
on Apr 4, 2012 -
9 answers
Freaked out like crazy: I ran a red light and put myself and others in very real danger. How did I forget how to drive safely for 10 seconds?
[more inside]
posted by chocolatemilkshakes
on Mar 27, 2012 -
49 answers
I get data review and entry work done extremely fast with no discernible lack of quality. But, I also have a persistent feeling I'm doing things wrong or missing important details. How to fix this?
[more inside]
posted by reenum
on Mar 6, 2012 -
10 answers
What games (PC, Mac, iOS, or Android) are good at quantifying brain/thinking functions?
[more inside]
posted by cowmix
on Jan 15, 2012 -
7 answers
Can doing mental puzzles, riddles problems actually make us smarter or does it just make us more nimble with whatever smarts we already have?
[more inside]
posted by Senor Cardgage
on Oct 29, 2011 -
12 answers
Hospice and palliative-care providers often tell patients' families and friends that as people die, hearing is the last sense to go. Is there any science behind the claim?
[more inside]
posted by evidenceofabsence
on Sep 23, 2011 -
10 answers
Who can I talk to/where can I go to find an expert in polypharmacy, particularly with an eye to repairing damage to the central nervous system?
[more inside]
posted by anonymous
on Jul 1, 2011 -
29 answers
I'm weaning off Lexapro under my doctor's supervision. Because I'm not going to keep bugging my doctor about this (she's on vacation anyway), I figured it'd hit up for guys for some withdrawal symptom advice. I've been having some fun ones, and I want to make sure everything is fine. I'd also like to find out what might help me feel a little bit better.
[more inside]
posted by your mom's a sock puppet
on Jun 11, 2011 -
10 answers
You are not my doctor, but I'm writing in the hope that someone has had a similar experience and might be able to help me see my way through this difficult situation. I've had a month of extremely strange experiences with psychoactive drugs, and I'm wondering if someone might reassure me that this situation is reversible. (Warning: long, messy situation ahead.)
[more inside]
posted by anonymous
on May 31, 2011 -
12 answers
Help me find this fascinating article/web page about how our brain perceives color.
[more inside]
posted by cebailey
on May 20, 2011 -
4 answers
I have been diagnosed with stage 2 glioma/astrocytoma (brain cancer). I would love to find some good blogs from people who have gone through the treatment and experience of brain cancer, but I've been having trouble with the search. Links would be much appreciated! I've looked at "Blog for a Cure" and there are few that are updated. I've found more by googling but many are inapplicable. Thanks in advance for your help.
posted by anonymous
on Apr 21, 2011 -
13 answers
What do you call brain freeze when it doesn't occur in your brain? (Or any other pain that doesn't occur where you'd expect.)
[more inside]
posted by iguanapolitico
on Mar 2, 2011 -
14 answers
Help me with this brain feeze?
No one visits me, I have no friend or I can get along with anyone socially great first few times. So I decided to let everything go. I cant ask help to anyone in person so this post.
I do have a good job, good credit, somewhat healthy, good education {May be I never learned :) }
Couple of days in a week I think as follows...
I am living a life, lifestyle thats truly less than the true potential.
Selling myselves less
so called "plucking the low lying apple"
Not stretching my comfort zone.
Some people have said that may be I get depressed.
The problem is I dont always try to change it.
Instead I just think about all the chances I screwed up and all the people, relationships I have pissed off.
Its like my brain freezes to come up with solution and want to just watch TV and eat pizza(comes later though).
For few days I live a very lethargic , lazy life.
Dishes lie unwashed, no laundry, no bath, no gym, exercise.
I live alone, so need to be ashamed of someone might say something.
I am 31 years old, live alone, never been in a relationship, no gf(as I piss off everyone in some way I cant understand).
I do have a good job, good credit, somewhat healthy, good education {May be I never learned :) }
Help me with this brain feeze?
posted by daveg02
on Feb 9, 2011 -
9 answers
Can you help me find a sci-fi movie from the '80s with a floating brain in it? I only saw bits of it at the video store.
[more inside]
posted by qbject
on Jan 15, 2011 -
3 answers
Is there any ground breaking hope for a pre-teen who was born with mental retardation due to the umbilical cord wrapped tight around the neck while in the womb (restricting blood flow to the brain)?
[more inside]
posted by gttommy
on Jan 3, 2011 -
5 answers
What exactly is happening in my brain that creates the very real feeling that I am covered in spiders when I am not, in fact, covered in spiders?
[more inside]
posted by doublehappy
on Dec 29, 2010 -
9 answers
I've come to the conclusion that the root of unhappiness/strife, etc. is what goes on inside my own noodle. In addition to meditation (and, with apologies, excluding western religion) how to tame The Monkey Mind?
How to better control the quality of one's thoughts?
posted by gb77
on Dec 16, 2010 -
16 answers
When you read or think a lot or otherwise concentrate, and you get fatigued or sleepy, what exactly is happening biologically? Is it a matter of blood sugar depletion? Something else?
posted by shivohum
on Oct 31, 2010 -
14 answers
Is there a term for the phenomenon of unintentionally using an entirely different word when writing?
[more inside]
posted by Wossname
on Oct 19, 2010 -
9 answers
