2008-09-12 Spike activity

Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news:

The theories of the legendary John Hughlings-Jackson are the topic of an excellent post on The Mouse Trap. See also this fascinating paper on the philosophy of JHJ.

The Boston Globe has an interesting piece on the psychological benefits of <a href="http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/09/07/the_secret_benefits_of_fandom/?page=full
“>being a fan.

Triple J’s Hack radio show has had some interesting sections on the mind this past week (thanks Michael!) some of which are rounded up by the All in the Mind Blog.

Dr Petra has a great post on the widely reported but hardly definitive study on if you can tell whether a woman has vaginal orgasms by the way she walks.

Chauvinists are less unnerving than ambiguous men, suggests tits in office study reported by New Scientist.

Sharp Brains discusses the future of computer-assisted cognitive therapy.

The way players approach online multi-player games is innately scientific, suggests a new study covered by Wired Games.

BBC News has the amusing story of the British MP stopped by armed police in the Colombian jungle and made to eat coffee whitener to prove it wasn’t cocaine.

More from Dr Petra – good summary of two recent sex studies on attraction and eye contact, and the shocking normality of the BDSM folks.

A Wired reporter discusses his experience of taking part in an fMRI experiment on the neuroscience of fear.

An essay on the shaking palsy. One of the foundational studies in neurology and Parkinson’s disease is covered by Neurotopia.

The Frontal Cortex discusses an interesting example of financial herd behaviour.

40% of people think they remember film footage of the London 7/7 bombing which has never existed, according to a wonderfully conceived real-world false memory study reported by The Guardian.

The New York Times covers the fact that personality tests show men and women are more different in more egalitarian societies but skates over the fact that some sex-stereotypical characteristics are exaggerated by self-report measures and virtually disappear in observational studies.

Man on a mission US Senator Charles Grassley uncovers yet another psychiatry researcher with undeclared financial payments from drug companies, reports Furious Seasons.

Great chat up lines in science #3: I can see with my skin.

Psychologist Jonathan Haidt asks what makes people vote Republican at Edge and George Lakoff frames the Obama campaign at the HuffPost.

Artist with ‘multiple personality disorder’ Kim Noble has an exhibition of paintings by each of her alters in London. The Guardian has some of the pictures online.

Brain-Based Lie Detection Leads to Murder Conviction in India? The Neuroethics and Law Blog discusses an interesting case with a comment by the researcher who doubts the reliability of the technique used in this case.

Neuroanthropology covers ‘Great Diagrams in Anthropology’. Gotta dig the tree man picture.