Carl Sherman
Carl Sherman has written about neuroscience for the Dana Foundation for ten years. His articles on science, medicine, health, and mental health have appeared in national magazines including Psychology Today, Self, Playboy, and Us. He has been a columnist for GQ and Clinical Psychiatry News, and is the author of four books. He holds a doctorate in English literature and has taught at various universities. When not writing about the mind, the brain, and the interesting things people do with them, he enjoys travel, listening to music, looking at art, and copyediting. He lives and works in New York City.
The Pressure to Perform
Assessing mental health risks for those in the public eyeAre those who perform before the public—hundreds, thousands, even millions of spectators at a time—at heightened risk of mental illness? It’s complicated.
The Brain and Covid: Strides and Speculations
One year on, science has discovered much about the effects on the brain, but there is still much to learn
Neurosteroids: A Major Step Forward
Research that began three-quarters of a century ago has led to one of the first new drugs to treat depression in 60 years—and the potential to treat much more.
How Do You Measure Moral Wounds of War?
The psychic legacy of war’s deep ethical disruptions—what has come to be called moral injury—has been a growing concern of those who seek to understand trauma.
Stretching the Boundaries of Near-Death
At a recent NYAS symposium, researchers describe methods to “extend the window of opportunity in which the brain can be salvaged”
Why is Exercise Good for the Brain?
There’s no doubt it helps, but how and how much are still puzzles. Researchers are teasing out the details of muscles, memory, and mood.
The Senses: Hearing
Hearing is a mechanical sense. It turns physical movement into the electrical signals that make up the language of the brain, translating these vibrations into what we experience as the world of sound.
The Senses: Vision
All of our senses give us vital information about our surroundings, but the one we rely on most is vision. Accordingly, the physical apparatus for gathering visual information—the eye—and the brain circuits that process this information are more complex than corresponding systems for the other senses.
The Senses: Smell and Taste
Smell and taste are the oldest of the senses. They are essential for survival, having evolved to play key roles in such basic processes as feeding, mating, and avoiding danger.
The Senses: The Somatosensory System
What we refer to as “touch,” the "fifth sense," is really shorthand for a group of senses.