Virtual Reality Aimed At The Elderly Finds New Fans
Some doctors are finding that virtual travel — to Venice, a Hawaiian beach or Africa — can open new worlds to people confined by low mobility, dementia or depression.
Mental Health
Beyond Sightseeing: You'll Love The Sound Of America's Best Parks
The National Park Service is racing to record soundscapes of each park that capture nature for the ear. "If we start to lose sounds of wilderness, we start to lose a piece of us," one scientist says.
Teen Bullies And Their Victims Both Face A Higher Risk Of Suicide
For the first time the nation's pediatricians point to bullying, both online and in real life, as increasing the risk of suicide for teenagers.
To Help A Criminal Go Straight, Help Him Change How He Thinks
More than half of prisoners released from prison are rearrested within a year. Cognitive therapy can help prisoners change the thinking that gets them in trouble, like "I'll never back down."
Personality Tests Are Popular, But Do They Capture The Real You?
It can be a lot of fun taking those back-of-the-magazine personality tests. But tests may be less fun when they are used by employers to make big life decisions on hiring and job performance.
Invisibilia: Is Your Personality Fixed, Or Can You Change Who You Are?
A man committed a horrible crime. Then he decided he no longer wanted to be a bad person. It is possible to change our personalities, psychologists say, even though we like to think they're innate.
Depressed Teen's Struggle To Find Mental Health Care In Rural California
After a teenager attempted suicide, her parents searched in vain for therapists who would take their insurance and were accepting new patients. The family paid for therapy with credit cards instead.
Can Mindfulness Help You Quit Smoking?
Psychiatrist Judson Brewer describes how patients who practice simple mindfulness techniques can kick unhealthy habits.
A Protein That Moves From Muscle To Brain May Tie Exercise To Memory
In mice, monkeys and people, exercise releases a protein called cathepsin B. And as blood and brain levels of this protein rise, memory gets better. But the protein has a dark side, too.
Can You Psych Yourself Into Running A 4-Minute Mile?
NPR's Lulu Miller tells the story of one runner who always believed he could break the four-minute mile. Then a terrible accident made him question if he would ever be the same runner.