R. Douglas Fields

Contributing Columnist

Latest Articles

How Our Longest Nerve Orchestrates the Mind-Body Connection

August 26, 2024

Like a highway system, the vagus nerve branches profusely from your brain through your organs to marshal bodily functions, including aspects of mind such as mood, pleasure and fear.

The Brain Region That Controls Movement Also Guides Feelings

January 23, 2024

The cerebellum is responsible for far more than coordinating movement. New techniques reveal that it is, in fact, a hub of sensory and emotional processing in the brain.

The Hidden Brain Connections Between Our Hands and Tongues

August 28, 2023

Sticking out your tongue while doing delicate work with your hands reveals a history of evolutionary relationships.

Why the Brain’s Connections to the Body Are Crisscrossed

April 19, 2023

In all bilaterally symmetrical animals, from humans down to simple worms, nerves cross from one side of the body to the opposite side of the brain. Geometry may explain why.

Neuronal Scaffolding Plays Unexpected Role in Pain

July 28, 2022

Perineuronal nets, rigid structures that hold certain neurons in place, affect a surprising amount of brain activity, including some associated with chronic pain.

Can Machines Control Our Brains?

May 17, 2021

Advances in brain-computer interface technology are impressive, but we’re not close to anything resembling mind control.

The Epigenetic Secrets Behind Dopamine, Drug Addiction and Depression

October 27, 2020

New research links serotonin and dopamine not just to addiction and depression, but to the ability to control genes.

Spreading the Word on a Possible Alzheimer’s Treatment

May 27, 2020

Neuroscientists could use brain waves to spur immune cells into action against the disease — but the process is almost too fantastic to believe.

Why the First Drawings of Neurons Were Defaced

September 28, 2017

Every exquisite drawing by Santiago Ramón y Cajal, the founder of modern neuroscience, is marred by a curious mark. Here is the little-known story behind it.

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