Scientists Hint at Why Laughter Feels So Good

Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary psychologist at Oxford demonstrated that it is not the intellectual pleasure of cerebral humor, but the physical act of laughing: ...the simple muscular exertions involved in producing the familiar ha, ha, ha, ... trigger an increase in endorphins, the brain chemicals known for their feel-good effect...

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Translational Research in Early Childhood Education

...Each year, it seems, brings another study on the dismal state of America's education system and a renewed debate about its causes and possible solutions. But lately there is something new -- or at least newish -- on the education scene: neuroscience. The mind, brain, and education (MBE) movement, also known as neuroeducation, is gaining momentum as a research field. Consider the recent formation of the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society and its journal Mind, Brain, and Education, which published its first issue in 2007. Also notable are the neuroeducation initiative led by former Society for Neuroscience President Tom Carew and the increasing visibility of research bridging neuroscience and education at scientific meetings, including the upcoming Aspen Brain Forum.

So what is MBE? You might say it's translational neuroscience research, applied to problems in education instead of medicine -- benchtop to blackboard, if you will. This week, Science Careers profiles two researchers who are working to span this neuroscience-education divide to help children with learning disorders...