Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news:
Neuroanthropology publishes the list of best online anthropology writing of 2008.
A thorough and accessible academic article on Facebook and the social dynamics of privacy is available in draft form from lawyer James Grimmelmann.
PsyBlog has an excellent piece on a simple but evidence-based exercise on gratitude that has been shown to increase well-being.
Average THC content in US marijuana increasing, reports Wired.
Seed magazine has an interesting piece on how maths and sociology can predict the next big thing in music.
Developmental psychologist Elizabeth Spelke and philosopher Joshua Knobe discuss what babies tell us about cognitive development, math and racism in a video discussion over at 3QuarksDaily.
Wired has an short article on the anthropology of YouTube. Stupid title, good write-up.
Nine-month-old babies can tell the difference between happy and sad music, according to research covered by the BPS Research Digest.
Neuronarrative has video of a talk by Terry Pratchett discussing having Alzheimer’s disease.
The use of MDMA (ecstasy) to assist psychological treatment for trauma is discussed by The Economist.
Dana has an interesting piece where Eric Kandel discusses the year in neuroscience. Bizarrely, he seems to uncritically accept the ‘autism epidemic’ shadyness.
A free neuroaesthetics conference is being held in Berkley, California. My Mind on Books has the details.
Channel N has a list of its best videos of 2008.
Drug companies have agreed to stop giving free trinkets to doctors, according to The New York Times, in what seems like a token effort to make themselves more ethical.
The Economist has an interesting article discussing the politics of evolutionary explanations for behaviour.
A study on texting as a sign of cognitive recovery after loss of consciousness is covered by The Neurocritic.
Neurophilosophy has a great piece on a new study showing that the ability to recognise our own faces can de disrupted by touch.
Mind Hacks 
The Wired THC article didn’t talk about the changes in testing method over the past decades, which I think was a source of controversy regarding the findings (along with the self-regulation noted by the article).