A slightly belated selection of quick links from the past week in mind and brain news:
If you’re a mental health professional from a low or middle income country you can apply for a grant to attend the Global Mental Health Summit happening this September in Greece. Applications need to be in by June 20th.
The mood we are in affects the way we see things by modulating the activity of the visual cortex, according to a new study expertly covered by Neurophilosophy.
Discover Magazine has a brief look at some EEG kit that aims to integrate both electrical activity from the brain with human action recording.
Altruism may have resulted from a form of natural selection caused by a state of near-continual warfare, according to a study covered by the Independent. Hang on, isn’t that the plot of 1984?
Time magazine has an article on complexity theory that doesn’t seem to have a punchline as such but is an interesting tour through various studies that can be understood on various level of explanation.
Ignore the title and skip the first line and the Boston Globe has an interesting article on the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation to study the neuropsychology of autism. The ‘testing reflexes’ bit is a minor part of it.
New Scientist covers a study that finds we prefer advice from a confident source, even when the person has a poor track record.
This is an absolutely fascinating study covered by the BPS Research Digest. We seem to have a ‘blind spot’ for our own body language.
The New York Times has an brief piece on how new guidelines on whether young athletes should return to play after a concussion are causing controversy.
Anthropology in crisis – what, still? The excellent Culture and Cognition blog looks at why anthropology is still a contested field.
New Scientist covers a wonderfully elegant study on what causes ‘tip-of-the-tongue’ just can’t remember that word experiences.
The excellent Channel N mind and brain video blog has moved. Update your bookmarks!
Neuronarrative covers some interesting research on how fictional depictions of organ donations on medical dramas affect whether people want to sign up for this life saving option.
The work of a burqa wearing Islamic <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/06/world/middleeast/06dubai.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all
“>sex therapist who practices in Dubai is covered by The New York Times.
Furious Seasons covers a new study on how antidepressant paroxetine (Serpxat / Paxil) is linked to sperm damage in some men.
An excellent piece by an epilepsy doctor and researcher asking for a better understanding of the seizure disorder is on the BBC News site.
Wired Science reports that the Pentagon are investigating pills for PTSD prevention.
Time moves too slowly for hyperactive boys, reports New Scientist. Don’t I just know it.
The excellent philosophy of mind blog Brain Hammer has moved. Update your bookmarks!
Another big name psychiatrist gets in hot water for undeclared payments from Big Pharma. The Wall Street Journal blog has the story.
Search Magazine has an article on the neuroscience of forgiveness. It misses a study on exactly this that recently appeared in Neuropsychologia.
Excessive use of “neuro” in a book title: Neuropsychological Neurology: Neurocognitive Impairments of Neurological Disorders (thanks @sarcastic_f!)
Evidence for Freudian projection inadvertently found in a study of whether dogs can have a guilty expression or not – turns out, owners just perceive the expression when they think the dog has done something wrong but the canine face doesn’t change. BBC News is on the case.
Not Exactly Rocket Science finds an intriguing study showing that five-month-old babies prefer their own languages and shun foreign accents.
There’s a review of an interesting-looking new book and ethnographic study on heroin injectors and crack smokers on the streets of San Francisco over at Neuroanthropology.
Mind Hacks 