Monthly Archives: October 2006

Neuropsychology of hypnosis

October 24, 2006 – 9:00 am

Seed Magazine discusses how researchers are exploring the neuropsychology of hypnosis to understand this curious state of mind. Hypnosis fell out of favour in psychological circles as it got taken up by ‘stage hypnotists’, and researchers found out that, contrary to the movie stereotypes, hypnosis actually increases the number of false memories recalled, rather than […]

By vaughanbell | Posted in Inside the Brain | Comments (3)

Encephalon 9 arrives

October 24, 2006 – 8:15 am

The latest edition of the Encephalon psychology and neuroscience writing carnival has just arrived on the net with plenty of musings on the mind and brain to keep you occupied. Favourites include an article on the balance of activation in the cortical hemispheres and the link to paranormal experiences, and a discussion of a recent […]

By vaughanbell | Posted in News | Comments (1)

Night Waves

October 23, 2006 – 6:00 pm

Assuming all goes well, I should be on Radio 3′s Night Waves this evening talking about the neuropsychology behind the Gallery Space Recall project. UPDATE: What an odd experience that was. I sounded like a robot and got vastly outclassed by a poet. Story of my life.

By vaughanbell | Posted in News | Comments (1)

SciAmMind on microexpressions and gestures

October 23, 2006 – 8:00 am

A new issue of Scientific American Mind has arrived on the shelves with a couple of freely accessible articles on microexpressions and communication through gestures available online. Microexpressions are like any other facial expression, but they are very subtle and occur incredibly quickly, coming and going in several hundred milliseconds. Paul Ekman, largely known for […]

By vaughanbell | Posted in News | Comments (1)

Update: Art, psychology or empty room?

October 23, 2006 – 7:45 am

Looks like the story about Gallery Space Recall has been picked up by a few places (see previous post on Mind Hacks). Probably the best coverage is from The Independent which attempts to look at both the context and content of the work, while BBC News has a short piece, and The Mirror and The […]

By vaughanbell | Posted in News | Leave a Comment

Art, psychology or empty room?

October 22, 2006 – 5:00 pm

I arrived in Cardiff on Friday to give a talk with artist Simon Pope on our art / science collaboration Walking Here and There to find the exhibition made the front page of the South Wales Echo with the headline “It’s an empty room… So why on earth do they think it is art?”. The […]

By vaughanbell | Posted in News | Comments (4)

SfN special edition of Synapse

October 22, 2006 – 12:30 pm

For those wanting to catch the vibe from the recently ended 2006 Society for Neuroscience annual conference in Atlanta, the latest edition of The Synpase psychology and neuroscience writing carnival is an SfN special. There’s also been some good coverage on reanimated Nature Neuroscience blog Action Potential if you want an alternative slant on proceedings, […]

By vaughanbell | Posted in News | Leave a Comment

2006-10-20 Spike activity

October 20, 2006 – 8:00 am

Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news: Cooking with sleeping pill Ambien! ABC Radio’s science show Ockham’s Razor compares behaviour across the animal kingdom and asks ‘What counts as intelligence?’ New Scientist reports on a wonderfully designed study suggesting that facial expressions might be inherited to some degree. Apparently, I am […]

By vaughanbell | Posted in Linkage | Leave a Comment

“Psychological harm is not a disease of the mind”

October 19, 2006 – 10:07 am

When the law and the mind come together… The former Tory leader Iain Duncan-Smith appeared on the Today programme this morning, promoting his call for a new law to be introduced to punish people who drive their partners to suicide. He says the current 1861 Offence Against the Person Act is inadequate because it requires […]

By christianjarrett | Posted in Nonsense | Leave a Comment

Charles Darwin complete works free online

October 19, 2006 – 9:49 am

The complete works of Charles Darwin are being published online, free for anyone to read and search. Among his many works, perhaps the one of most interest to Mind Hacks readers will be The expression of the emotions in man and animals, published in 1872. Link to Charles Darwin online.

By christianjarrett | Posted in News | Leave a Comment

BrainsRule!

October 19, 2006 – 8:15 am

BrainsRule! is a neuroscience website for kids. It’s along the lines of the University of Washington’s Neuroscience for Kids but focuses more on interactivity and has sections for teachers and professionals. There’s plenty of great resources there, although the talking brain on the front page is a little bit disturbing. Maybe it’s the lipstick which […]

By vaughanbell | Posted in Linkage | Leave a Comment

Reclaiming imagination: art, psychosis and creativity

October 19, 2006 – 8:00 am

ABC Radio’s All in the Mind has just broadcast a panel discussion on psychosis and creativity by three artists who have had their own experience of altered states. The discussion was part of an exhibition and conference entitled ‘For Matthew and Others: Journeys with Schizophrenia’ that is being held at the College of Fine Arts […]

By vaughanbell | Posted in Togetherness | Leave a Comment

New BPS Research Digest

October 18, 2006 – 7:00 pm

For those wanting their fortnightly hit of studies from the British Psychological Society Research Digest, a new edition has just been released and is welcoming eager readers…

By vaughanbell | Posted in News | Leave a Comment

The psychology of rumours

October 18, 2006 – 8:30 am

BoingBoing has alerted me to the fact that a book on psychology of rumours has just been published. The book is by two psychologists, Profs Nicholas DiFonzo and Prashant Bordia who have been researching the topic and have consulted on legal cases where rumours have been involved. It is entitled Rumor Psychology (ISBN 1591474264) and […]

By vaughanbell | Posted in Togetherness | Leave a Comment

Talking here and there

October 18, 2006 – 8:00 am

During the coming week, artist Simon Pope and I will be giving a couple of talks on Walking Here and There – an art / science collaboration project that aims to investigate the interaction of place and memory in psychosis, and particularly reduplicative paramnesia, the delusional belief that a place exists in two or more […]

By vaughanbell | Posted in News | Leave a Comment

Pay-per-play mental gynastics

October 17, 2006 – 7:00 pm

The Washington Post asked one of their journalists to test-drive several of the increasing number of ‘cognitive fitness’ websites that have online games and puzzles specifically designed to increase mental performance. Although there isn’t a massive amount of research on the subject, the little research there is suggests that staying mentally active, particularly during later […]

By vaughanbell | Posted in News | Comments (2)
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