Mysteries of the Brain

Abstract

![Figure][1] CREDIT: BLACK AND GOLD PURKINJES , ENAMEL ON COMPOSITION GOLD LEAF, 42″ X 42″, GREG DUNN, 2010, WWW.GREGADUNN.COM Next week, tens of thousands of researchers will make their way to New Orleans, Louisiana, for the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, a testament to both the vitality of this discipline and how little we know about the body's most complex organ. To identify and explore some of the brain's enduring mysteries, Senior Editor Peter Stern and the news staff at Science have consulted with neuroscientists from our Board of Reviewing Editors and elsewhere. The brain mysteries we chose for a closer examination here encompass medical science, evolutionary biology, cognitive science, and more—and leave many provocative questions to another time (see p. [39][2]). [How Are Memories Retrieved?][3] [Why Is Mental Illness So Hard to Treat?][4] [Why Are Our Brains So Big?][5] [Why Are You and Your Brain Unique?][6] [Can We Make Our Brains More Plastic?][7] [Brain Teasers][2] [PDF of all stories.][8] [1]: pending:yes [2]: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/338/6103/39.full [3]: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/338/6103/30.2.full [4]: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/338/6103/32.full [5]: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/338/6103/33.full [6]: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/338/6103/35.full [7]: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/338/6103/36.full [8]: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/338/6103/30.1.full.pdf