THIS explains a lot: people with a section of their brains missing can still lead productive lives as lawyers. Scientific American (Jan) cites the case of a man who was missing the stalk that joins the two sides of the brain, but still had a successful legal practice. The magazine quotes a scientist who says that he “seemed odd — not remarkable, but he missed the point of social interaction”. Which describes plenty of professionals of all disciplines, come to think of it.

Get in some naked social interaction and you might be on the way to changing the structure of your brain so that it’s better at multitasking, Scientific American says in a separate story. Non-human mammal mothers are better than virgins at tests that involve keeping an eye on sights, sounds, smells and other animals all at once — an ability that human mothers may share.

It’s not just scientists who want to know what’s going on in our soft grey bits, reports Fast Company (Jan/Feb). A marketing company that wanted to know what people really thought of a bathroom cleaner put “brain-wave fingerprinting” headbands on a group of volunteers watching an advert for it. Unfortunately, it gave them the answer: nothing. Participants’ brainscans, which showed plenty of activity while they watched clips of human interaction, flatlined when the product appeared.

Brainwaves don’t just show up on computer. Fortune (Dec 26) reports on Tim Smale, whose moment of inspiration can now be seen as a business success. The one-time media executive is now a hypnotherapist who specialises in helping executives to “bolster their focus and reduce their stress,” the magazine says.

Those of us who don’t fancy someone fiddling in our psyches may want to follow the example set by fitness-loving CEOs such as Roland van Bommel, the chief executive of William Grant & Sons, the distillers. “Running cleans out all the negative feelings,” he tells European Business (Jan/Feb). “It’s much more mental than physical, a form of brain chemistry.”

Brain chemistry can also be altered by pinot noir at Woodstock’s Breakthrough Café, reports Fast Company. Here, groups of strangers get together to have a drink and talk about new ideas with the help of hovering “inno-waiters”. In other words, what is known elsewhere as going to the pub.

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