The 49th edition of the Encephalon psychology and neuroscience writing carnival has just appeared online, this time hosted by Neuroscientifically Challenged – a blog that’s new to me but looks very good.
A couple of my favourites include a sceptical look at gene therapy in psychiatry and an interesting overview of a theory of how the brain and culture co-evolved.
There’s much more where that came from so check it out for the last fortnight’s highlights.
Link to Encephalon 49.
Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news:
Scientific American looks at the neuroscience of dance, and includes one of my favourite studies on ballet dancers and capoeira artists.
War on Drugs bulletin: a World Health Organisation study finds the USA leads the world, by quite a wide margin, in per capita consumption of illegal drugs. Globally, there seems no relation between drug consumption and legal restriction. $500 billion well spent then.
Sharp Brains rounds up some of their recent brain enhancement articles by the SB team and guest scientists.
Separated at birth: celebrity psychologists Linda Papadopoulos and Robi Ludwig. That’s just spooky isn’t it?
A 2005 paper in the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis reports on a man with phantom limb who finds it involuntarily responds to hypnotic suggestions.
The Neurocritic finds the ‘watermelon works like viagra’ nonsense is, well, nonsense.
The NYT Freakanomics blog has a fascinating piece on why people lie on social welfare applications, in the opposite direction than you’d think.
From deceiving others to a great piece on self-deception, in the International Herald Tribune.
Mixing Memory is doing an excellent in-depth review of Lakoff’s new book ‘The Political Mind’. Just check the blog and look for the past pieces and forthcoming updates.
Cypress Hill vindicated! Cognitive Daily reports on a study finding that high-pitched voices are generally rated as more attractive.
The BPS Research Digest tracks down a fascinating book on the history and philosophy of jokes.
Enhancing your cognitive ability with electricity makes a comeback. Technology Review looks at transcranial direct current stimulation.
Developing Intelligence has another fascinating piece – this time on how the cognitive benefits of meditation are likely to be available to everyone.
The excellent Advances in the History of Psychology finds a interesting paper on a seemingly apocryphal 1868 dust-up between Paul Broca and John Hughlings Jackson.
Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news:
More on experimental philosophy. Scientific America has an excellent piece on the curious new form of conceptual engineering.
The BPS Research Digest looks at new research on ‘non-criminal psychopaths‘.
How to win friends and influence people. Cognitive Daily covers some recent research on popularity at school.
NeuroScene has monthly podcast interviews with mind and brain researchers.
I’m a Blind Climber Who “Sees” With His Tongue. Not only a perfect chat-up line, but also an article for Discover Magazine.
The 1930s Marital Scale is now available as an online test!
The Immanent Frame discusses Pascal Boyer’s cognitive explanation of the evolution of religious thought.
Documentary photographs from institutions for people with learning disabilities from 1960s American, discovered by Neurophilosophy.
If you need an antidote after those somewhat disturbing photos, could I recommend the rocktastic Heavy Load.
How Smart Is the Octopus? asks Carl Zimmer.
The Language Log picks up on some sexual pseudoscience from CNN.
Oxytocin may be a useful treatment for social anxiety, reports The Times.
The Onion radio news reports on a successful case of gay conversion therapy.
NeuroQuantology. Not sure quite what to make of it.
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/health/24deme.html?ei=5087&em=&en=66e6d3978799d897&ex=1214452800&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1214330421-orjv8mJqWsiyfnOUB4Wt0w&pagewanted=all
“>Antipsychotics dangerous and overprescribed in dementia, reports The New York Times.
The mighty Neuroanthropology has a great piece on cybernetic theory and neuroanthropology hot from a recent conference.
The Times has an article on government-by-cognitive-bias book ‘Nudge‘.
Psychologist Deric Bownds reviews the brain’s default network.
The second social scientist from the US military’s Human Terrain System is killed in the ongoing conflicts, reports Wired.
Sharp Brains has an excellent interview with psychologist Arthur Cramer about, well, sharpening the brain!
Hot Spanish psychologist talks about psicología y los hombres como mero instrumento de placer. Not the sort of Spanish lessons I remember, sadly.
Advances in the History of Psychology picks up on an intriguing new book on the history of ignorance.
Pharma industry spent $168 million, yes that was $168 million, lobbying US lawmakers in 2007, up by a third from 2006, notes Furious Seasons.
Developing Intelligence has an excellent piece on untraining the brain and the use of meditation and hypnosis to decouple automatic attentional processes.
Neuroanthropology has just released the latest edition of the Encephalon psychology and neuroscience writing carnival, where there’s a line-up of the last fortnight’s best in mind and brain blogging.
A couple of my favourites include an interesting look at the science of out of body experiences, and another on the Amazonian Mundurucu tribe who have no formal maths but who apparently have a logarithmic mapping of numbers onto space.
It’s quite a diverse edition and it seems some of the anthropologically inclined readers of Neuroanthropology have submitted posts as there’s some welcome new faces.
Link to Encephalon 48.
Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news:
Clear thinking science writer Carl Zimmer discusses the evolution of the mind in a video lecture.
Pure Pedantry looks at a new study on serotonin and rejection in the Ultimatum Game.
The increasingly excellent Frontier Psychiatrist has a good post on neurosyphilis.
The New York Times has a brief piece on the neuroscience of schizophrenia with funky animation and auditory commentary.
Developmental language disorder is the subject of a Health Report special.
The Chicago Reader interviews the author of ‘Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness’ (thanks Melissa!).
Neurophilosophy examines new research on the neuropsychology of confabulations.
Senior moments and the ageing brain are discussed on NPR Radio.
Not Exactly Rocket Science covers some fascinating research on the facial expression of fear and the experimental creation of ‘anti-faces’.
Illusion Sciences is a great blog about the science of visual illusions.
Popular herbal supplement Ginkgo ‘does not treat dementia’, according to BBC News.
Research on porn and mirror neurons involves a sloppy reverse inference. Sadly, not as sexy as it sounds.
Furious Seasons on the fact that GlaxoSmithKline are being investigated for allegedly falsifying data on paroxetine and suicide.
People who are sexually attracted to walls, computers and a range of other inanimate objects are featured in an article in Bizarre magazine.
New Scientist suggest that self-obsessed, manipulative and deceitful men have the most sex… oh hang on, it should be ‘report having the most sex’. I knew there was a flaw in there somewhere.
Some excellent local news reporting on the brain imaging research of Nottingham neuroscientist Richard Ramsey.
Film content, editing, and directing style affect brain activity. As does popcorn I presume.
The Telegraph looks at the science of why we scream.
Political philosophers seem to vote less often than other philosophers, according to Eric Schwitzgebel’s fantastic ongoing project to examine the utility of philosophy.
Discover Magazine has a great short video on research showing that ADHD may be delayed brain maturation that eventually catches up.
The endowment effect and the psychological influence of property is discusses by The Economist.
The Atlantic publishes two pages of absolute drivel about brain scans and FKF Research (who else?). Slate takes them to task for publishing such nonsense.
Rabble rousing psychologist Richard Lynn cites IQ – atheism correlation as causal in the Times Higher Ed.
Quick links from the past week or so in mind and brain news:
A fascinating personal account of ‘supposed demoniacal possession‘ from an 1849 edition of the Journal of Psychological Medicine.
‘Key to All Optical Illusions Discovered’ says over-enthusiastic headline for very interesting article.
An article in Seed Magazine discusses quantum physics and whether we create the world just by looking at it.
Dr Petra looks at new research showing that tackling depression may reduce risky sexual activity.
Six ground-breaking discoveries about the brain are covered by Neurophilosophy.
PsychCentral has a wonderful bit of detective work showing the Scientific American just replaced ‘writing’ with ‘blogging’ to re-release an article entitled ‘Blogging: It‚Äôs Good for You’.
Harvard psychiatrists and child bipolar researchers are caught out not declaring millions in drug company payouts, reports Furious Seasons.
BBC News reports that light therapy ‘can slow dementia’ and that a new ‘dual action’ Alzheimer’s drug may be on the horizon.
Which Cognitive Enhancers Really Work: Brain Training, Drugs, Vitamins, Meditation or Exercise? PsyBlog is on the case and Sharp Brains follows up with a considered analysis and commentary.
American Scientist tackles the ‘Britney Spears Problem’, which actually turns out to be about search algorithms.
Archaeologists discover a <a href="http://sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/32999/title/Acrobats_last_tumble
“>sacrificed acrobat in ancient Mesopotamian ruins, according to Science News.
Neurophilosophy looks at some proposed DARPA developed neurobinoculars.
A new study on the neuroscience of fairness is covered in a piece from the BPS Research Digest.
Eric Schwitzgebel considers the ability of the mind to self-perceive, with an interesting discussion continuing in the comments.
I love watching point-light motion video and Cognitive Daily has a fascinating research on how viewing motion give us such a clear way of identifying living things.
My Mind on Books previews a list of forthcoming cognitive science books for 2008.
Solomon Asch’s famous conformity experiment is recreated in a video hosted by The Situationist. Still just as powerful.
Philosophy Bites has an audio discussion on human agency – i.e. how we can understand when someone is doing something on purpose.
Who says Americans don’t do irony? The Neurocritic reports that the next NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction will be held in Las Vegas!
The latest edition of the Santa Fe Institute magazine has some fascinating articles on social networks and terrorism, but is only available as a 6.1 Mb whole-magazine pdf download.
The Economist has a double bill on ‘smart drugs’ – potential new compounds to improve memory, concentration and learning.
The science of mindfulness meditation is discussed by The New York Times.
The Boston Globe highlights the work of a psychiatric epidemiologist. One of the least glamorous but most important forms of mental health research.
To the bunkers! Skynet sentience and subsequent robot war temporarily postponed owing to faulty software.
Neuropsychologist Martha Farah discusses the future of free will with Wired.
The New York Review of Books has an extensive review of ‘Nudge’, a new behavioural economics book, and discusses how Obama plans to use the new theories in his policy making.
Optical illusions! Scientific American has a whole series with explanations.
Yahoo! News reports that earlier diagnosis means that people with Alzheimer’s are increasingly able and willing to discuss their experience and lobby for research.
The famous University College London ‘lunch hour lectures’ are now available online as video archives. iTunes users can also download UCL lectures.
The Independent catalogues the weird and the wonderful behavioural disorders / difficulties / fallacies that have been medicated.
Initial study finds that heavy, long-term cannabis use may shrink certain brain structures, according to Science Daily.
Deric Bownds looks at sex differences in judging attractiveness.
Thoughts of death make us eat more cookies. Enough said, although New Scientist has <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19826583.900-thoughts-of-death-make-us-eat-more-cookies.html
“>more.
PhysOrg on a paralysed man who takes a walk in Second Life owing to a brain-computer interface.
The newly minted Neuroanthropology.net has a very funny post on an allegory for modern cognitive science.
Dennett vs Fodor. Handbags at 40 paces. “As often before, Jerry Fodor makes my life easier, this time by… providing along the way some vivid lessons in How Not to Do Philosophy.” 3 Quarks Daily links to the latest philosophical ruckus.
Jonah Lehrer discusses theories of memory in a short but sweet segment for NPR Radio.
Fox News reports that an Arizona teen becomes sixth victim this year of brain-eating amoeba. Sadly true, it seems.
Yes, we have no bananas! Sorry, I meant no disease in the brain of a 115-year-old woman. Pure Pedantry looks at the eye-opening implications.
SciAm on why unscientific assumptions in economic theory are undermining efforts to solve environmental problems. If only those humans weren’t so irrational.
ABC Radio National’s The Philosopher’s Zone broadcasts part two of its series on the philosophy of suicide.
PsyBlog has been rocking the cognitive biases recently. This is a fascinating article on ‘Four Belief Biases That Can Reduce Pleasure‘.
Columbia University has an archive of video lectures by some of the ‘big names’ in psychology and neuroscience.
The BPS Research Digest covers a new study that finds that harsh discipline actually makes aggressive children worse.
Calm Zone. A fantastic UK initiative to encourage young inner city males to get help for mental health difficulties.
“Why we posted epilepsy film to YouTube”. The Guardian continues the debate over whether video of people having seizures is education or exploitation.
Time magazine wonder about the possibilities of prescribing our own antidepressants.
Pete Doherty says ‘a mind is a terrible thing to waste’. No it’s not the Pete Doherty you’re thinking of.
The All in the Mind blog finds some interesting commentary on movement, the mind, cognition and the car.
Psychologist David Rabiner asks does mindfulness meditation help adults and teens with ADHD? in an article for Sharp Brains.
The Situationist discusses whether we’re living in an age of increasing child anxiety?
Gratingly banal headline obscures an interesting article from The New York Times on the neurobiology of cigarette addiction.
Not Quite Rocket Science covers recent research on how perceived social hierarchy affects cognitive abilities. The Economist on the same.
A fantastic 2002 article from Wired on the curious and death of psychiatrist Elisabeth Targ, who completed the (in)famous prayer healing (not quite so) randomised controlled trials.
Brain Windows is a fantastic looking neuroscience blog that seems to have been dormant for a couple of months. Plenty of good articles there though.
Forgetting Is the New Normal according to an excellent brief article on memory and ageing from Time magazine.
Furious Seasons looks at some new broadsides in the debate over the effectiveness of antidepressants.
Can you teach happiness? ABC Radio National’s education programme EdPod examines whether it’s possible to teach positive psychology to school children.
Inspirational Kid’s Company founder and child therapist Camila Batmanghelidjh is interviewed in The Independent.
Time magazine looks at the psychology of Second Life.
The ‘seven challenges of psychotherapy‘ are discussed by PsychCentral.
The latest edition of the Encephalon psychology and neuroscience writing carnival has just appeared online, ably hosted by The Neurocritic.
A couple of my favourites include an article on the psychology of superstition from PodBlack and one hot from the Association for Psychological Science convention, where Cognitive Daily report on cognitive influences on calculation.
It’s a bumper edition and it even has some video of an intriguing experiment on ‘distributive justice’. You’ll have to read more to find out.
Link to Encephalon 46.
PLoS Medicine has an eye-opening study on how the local price of alcohol is related to the level of violence in the area.
To the bunkers! Robot removes brain tumour.
BBC News Magazine has an interesting piece on ‘celebrities we love to hate’ with comments on the phenomenon of celebrity from a number of sociologists.
ABC Radio National’s excellent All in the Mind had a great edition on the science of happiness.
Petra Boyton looks at a recent study on how alcohol and drug use among European young people is deliberately and strategically linked to sexual behaviour.
An US Iraq veteran who wrote about his PTSD, sadly, kills himself.
BPS Research Digest picks up on interesting new study that found that women’s memories are more speech-filled than men’s.
Am I part of the cure, or am I part of the disease? Scientific American looks at the psychological health benefits of blogging, and on the flip side, whether it’s driven by pathology.
Those concerned about their blogging habits may want to diagnose themselves with a couple of light-hearted lists of social media related psychopathologies.
PsyBlog reports on a new study that found that online daters site spend seven times longer looking at other people’s profiles and sending emails than they did going on real dates.
Frontal Cortex has found a interesting video of someone’s speech function being temporarily ‘switched off’ by TMS.
Getting doctors to routinely enquire about domestic violence may help detect and prevent this vastly under-recognised problem, according to The New York Times.
Psychological Science has an accurate (if not slightly formulaic) article on ‘mirror neurons‘.
Researcher mull possible use of oxytocin to treat social phobia, reports BBC News.
Computer World asks the somewhat ridiculous question “Asperger’s and IT: Dark secret or open secret?”. Secret? How about “Asperger’s and IT: blessing or gift?”
One of the original internet psychologists, John Suler, has a posse… sorry, blog.
The Wall Street Journal reports “Research shows that people often do get a high from shopping – the brain releases chemicals such as dopamine or serotonin”. Oh gag me, please. Release us from these tired, misleading clich√©s.
Sage Journals are giving away free access on registration to all their academic journals until the end of May (thanks Patricio!).
BBC News reports on unlikely suggestions to bring in testing for brain doping in school students.
Could an Acid Trip Cure Your OCD? The use of psychedelic drugs in the treatment of mental illness is considered by Discover Magazine.
The New York Times has some brief audio interviews of people talking about their experience with ADHD.
Older brains may be slower because they’ve just got more information to sift through. The advantages and disadvantages of wisdom are considered by The New York Times.
The ironies of peer pressure: smokers give up in groups, reports BBC News.
Drugs, anthropology and embodied cognition. A lost weekend, or a collection of interesting links from Neuroanthropology. You decide.
Frontal lobe damage changes performance on the ‘Pepsi challenge‘. Isn’t the world a better place now we know that?
Philosophy Now reviews ‘Freedom and Neurobiology’ by John Searle.
In an article for Salon, our recent interviewee neurologist Robert Burton gets stuck into a high-tech huckster promoting expensive SPECT scans to diagnose Alzheimer’s and herbal supplements to treat the brain disorder.
Channel N discovers a video lecture by Antonio Damasio on the neuroscience of emotion.
Psychologist Charles Fernyhough turned every moment of the first three years of his daughter’s life into a research project notes The Telegraph as they review the resulting book.
Treatment Online on research that has found that variations in serotinergic neuroreceptors may indicate severity of depression.
13 ways to quickly improve your decision-making are discussed by PsyBlog.
The Age has a fantastic article on the psychology of risk and why we’re so bad at judging it.
“The Change You Deserve”. The slogan for antidepressant drug Effexor, and now, the slogan for the US Republican party!
Furious Seasons notes that a recent study on bipolar disorder being overdiagnosed is being supported by leading bipolar researchers.
APA psychology magazine Monitor has an excellent article on how research with deaf people who can’t sign might shed light on the fundamentals of cognition.
Burgeoning research on the neuroscience of mystical experiences is discussed in the The New York Times.
Pictures of brain tumours!
BBC News reports that music can enhance the taste of wine. If only it could do the same for brussel sprouts.
The brain is not modular: what fMRI really tells us. An article in Scientific American Mind discusses limitations of brain scanning.
Deric Bownds covers a study that finds our facial touch sensitivity is enhanced by viewing a touch.
The excellent ABC Radio National’s All in the Mind discusses the neurobiology of nicotine addiction and concerns about new anti-smoking drugs.
Developing Intelligence covers a fascinating study on time distortion due to visual flicker.
The Wall Street Journal on the possibility of the US Goverment awarding Purple Hearts, a medal for soldiers wounded in battle, for cases of PTSD (thanks Kyle!).
Edition 45 of the Encephalon psychology and neuroscience writing carnival has just arrived online, this time ably hosted at PodBlack Blog.
A couple of my favourites include a poem inspired by a new stereoscopic atlas of the body and brain, and an excellent post on the neuropsychology of stalking (with a great bonus Death Cab for Cutie track!).
Coincidentally, the stalking article appears courtesy of Neurocritic where the the next edition of Encephalon is due to appear in two weeks.
Link to Encephalon 45.
Fascinating article in the New York Times on lying, deception and why exaggeration seems the same but is psychologically quite different.
UK government returns to pissing in the wind over drug classification. Prime Minister feels that having wet trousers will “send a message”.
New Scientist covers a new study on old news that hallucinations and delusions during intensive care can lead to trauma in children.
Fake tits and heroin, brought to you by HotForWords.
Scientific American Mind has an excellent article on unconscious bias and prejudice and how it affects how we behave.
How LSD rocked the world. The Independent discusses the cultural impact of LSD in light of the recent passing of its creator.
AlterNet discusses the implications of having America’s chemically modified 21st century soldiers in the heat of battle.
To the bunkers! Intelligent robot exoskeleton created by a company called Cyberdyne Systems. Cue nervous laughter.
Developing Intelligence has an article on modelling the diffusion of information in the brain.
Where do all the neurotics live? New York apparently. An article in the Boston Globe covers ‘Big Five’ <a href="http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/05/04/where_do_all_the_neurotics_live/?page=full
“>personality maps created for a new book. The full map is here.
Treatment Online discusses new research showing post-birth depression affects male partners as well.
Interesting New York Times article on why intelligence in animals isn’t always an evolutionary advantage.
Neuroanthropology has had a series of great essays recently, on everything from brain imaging to addiction.
Rather breathless article from The Times on possible use of ecstasy for treating PTSD that’s more anecdote than hard data but has some interesting personal accounts.
Channel N finds an award winning video report on the neuroscience of the teen brain.
The LA Times has a brief but interesting article on the advantages of ‘good enough’ evolutionary mind adaptations from the author of ‘Kludge‘.
In autistic boy’s hands, paper and scissors express an amazing spectrum. An article on an remarkably talented boy from The Seattle Times.
PsychCentral discusses the benefits of the usually unintentionally planned ‘single session psychotherapy‘.
This week’s Nature reviews a couple of books on children and neurodevelopment.
Science Daily looks at some interesting findings on the influence of epigenetics on suicide. If you’re not familiar with epigenetics, it’s well worth checking out. It’s the future.
Antipsychotic drug use soars among U.S. and U.K. kids despite an almost complete lack of evidence for its effectiveness or long-term safety.
The New York Times have an article on breaking habits and boosting creativity.
3D brain images! Get those red and green glasses out.
Scientific American’s blog Mind Matters looks at evidence on how mobile phones can affect brain function.
Musical hallucinations are covered in a cool article from the BPS Research Digest.
Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news:
Interesting Scientific American article looks at the how infections can increase risk for mental illness but suffers from some rather irresponsible and sensational statements in the summaries.
A classic study on how children learn the world isn’t flat, covered by PsyBlog.
Science Daily reports on research suggesting that the key language areas of the brain ‘shift’ as we age.
Some wonderful examples of 19th century Japanese brain art are discovered by In Two Minds.
Neuroscientifically Challenged has an excellent short piece on a brain scanning study on social hierarchy in humans.
The excellent Dana magazine Cerebrum has an article on the link between the heart and brain function. Healthy heart, healthy brain.
The Neuroethics and Law Blog rounds up some recent reviews of neuroethics books.
BBC News has a remarkably good article on ‘sex addiction‘ and why it’s not an addiction, even if it’s a problem.
A coooool visual illusion is discovered by Cognitive Daily.
Booze reduces the brain response to fearful faces finds study reported by Science News who seem to have had a few when they wrote the first rather over-generalised sentence.
The Frontal Cortex has a thoughtful piece on madness and creativity.
Female voices sound sexier when they’re at the peak of fertility in the menstrual cycle, reports New Scientist.
The latest research on deep brain stimulation for treatment resistant depression is covered by PsychCentral.
Scientific American has an article on whether age-related cognitive decline may be caused by a breakdown in connections between different brain systems.
The anthropology of Grand Theft Auto! A thinly veiled excuse to play video games at work leads to an interesting article on why Liberty City is such as success.
Furious Seasons on why new data reveals that the famously corrupt Paxil Study 329 is actually worse than we thought. Hard as that is to believe.
McGill University has some funky neuroscience images (thanks Sandra!).
Unix, Lacanian psychoanalysis, anarchy, David Cronenberg, the unconscious and Stanislaw Lem – together at last!
BPS Research Digest covers a curious debate over whether psychotherapy is over-hyped where a frankly delusional psychopharmacologist ignores evidence and seemingly makes up figures about levels of therapist abuse. He references his own paper, which quotes a different figure.
The 44th edition of the psychology and neuroscience writing carnival Encephalon has just been released by the ever-excellent Cognitive Daily.
What with the flurry of recent interest in neuroscience studies predicting the imminent death of our concept of free will, this edition has a slyly satirical slant on your ability to resist.
A couple of my favourites include a post by Cognitive Daily on a remarkable study that found that priming students to believe that free will doesn’t exist increases levels of cheating (!), and a provocative article from The Mouse Trap on whether God is just the result of humans making a Type I error – i.e. detecting a false positive.
Of course, another alternative is that God is significant but just has a very small effect size. Epicurus is that you?
Link to Encephalon 44.
Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news:
BBC science programme The Material World has a great feature on the blood-brain barrier. I love the blood-brain barrier!
In light of the recent resurgence of a penis theft panic in Congo, here’s a link to an old article of mine on the psychology of penis theft beliefs.
Sharp Brains rounds up a fantastic series of interviews with neuroscientists.
Professor Semir Zeki has a posse, sorry… blog.
The Times has a review of a new book on the behavioural genetics of personality.
A remarkably comprehensive article on the drug industry’s underhand tactics with antipsychotic drugs is published by the St Petersburg Times.
Cognitive Daily looks at the desensitising effect of violent video games.
Research to test human brain implants to control robot arms is submitted for review in Japan, reports Pink Tentacle.
The New York Times has an interview with Daniel Gilbert on the curious psychology of happiness.
Neuroscientist Andrew Newberg writes about brain science and the biology of belief.
ABC Radio National have had a couple of good shows on food and the evolution of the brain; and hearing, lip reading and language perception.
Does language shape cognition? The New York Times re-examines the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis in light of new research.
Discover Magazine has an interesting short article on how earthquake prediction algorithms also apply to epileptic seizures.
The ‘top ten mind myths‘ series is concluded by PsyBlog.
Frontal Cortex has a fascinating discussion of how society regards MRI scans, compared to the limits of the science.
Current tools are not very good at identifying ‘kiddie psychopaths‘, reports the BPS Research Digest.
Treatment Online looks at a study that tracked how the balance of genes and environment differs on women’s paths to alcoholism.
Some recent books on consciousness are discussed by My Mind of Books.
Mind Hacks 
