Unpleasant sounds can cause physical reactions. In some cases, this is a remnant of human evolution. In other cases, it is a disorder.
Welt der Wunder Redaktion
Music brings people together, makes us dance, sing, and sometimes even cry. This effect has been scientifically proven.
Dolphins are very intelligent. They have self-awareness, personality, and empathy. Their social behavior is very complex. They use tools, give themselves individual names, mourn their dead, can imitate behaviors even across species – including humans – and pass on what they have learned to their offspring, thus developing their own culture.
Many people find it unbearable to watch another person suffer. Physical mishaps make them uncomfortable, physical violence in movies is almost unbearable. But what is really going on inside us when this happens?
Our brain decides which pain stimuli it processes and which it does not. Can we actively control this process?
Childbirth pain is considered to be the most intense there is. A scratch, on the other hand, is hardly felt: the brain is quickly signaled that the injury is not life-threatening. But how far can pain go?
For most people, pain is an unpleasant thing. But some people seem to find satisfaction in pain – they seem to be addicted to it. But how can that be?
Many people regularly solve brain teasers to stay mentally young, as they are afraid of becoming forgetful in old age. But can they really improve our memory and even prevent dementia?
Whether it’s pester power strategies, signs with short-term offers or special scents in the air: by now we are all familiar with the trickery that supermarkets use to get us to buy. But why do we fall for them again and again?
In traffic, at a soccer game, or on the Internet – we encounter advertising messages everywhere. Can they seduce us without us noticing, and can our brains be influenced by neuromarketing?