Category: Linkage

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

Prof Philip Zimbardo, of ‘Stanford Prison Experiment‘ fame, slams the US Government and the Abu Ghraib scandal in his outgoing speech.

Developing Intelligence examines the possible role of dopamine in the binding problem and consciousness.

How I tamed the voices in my head – a fantastic story in the Independent about hearing and dealing with voices.

An amazing demo of what we remember visually, and why is put online by Cognitive Daily.

The BBC reports that the use of hyperactivity drugs for children soars worldwide.

Neurontic ponders why we have a nervous system in our stomachs.

Is Your Memory Erased While You Sleep? asks Scientific American.

OmniBrain discovers that a court ruled that a bankruptcy website passed the Turing test.

Compulsive hoarding in the digital age. A curious form of psychopathology sees its expression in collections of digital media.

Neurophilosopher looks at a brainwave-reading video game controller!

An ethical code to prevent humans abusing robots, and vice versa, is being drawn up by South Korea.

Nature reports on research suggesting biblical accounts of violence can spark actual aggression, particularly in believers.

Sex doesn’t sell, particularly for women, according to research discussed in the Economist.

From onegoodmove, a short video about Stanley Milgram and his obedience experiments. Doesn’t the young Stanley Milgram look handsome, in a tweed jacket-1970s-professor kind of way?

For more on the man, and to find out about his other groundbreaking experiments, see stanleymilgram.com run by Dr Blass, Milgram’s biographer (featured in the video). And also check out this classic from Dan Wegner the ‘The Milgram Obedience Song’ which features samples from recordings made during the obediance experiments.

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

PBS has a TV programme, with online video, about stimulating the brain through nanowires implanted into blood vessels.

Neuroscientist, artist, author and stroke survivor Dr Jill Bolte Taylor is interviewed on Neurofuture.

The brain’s visual system can adapt and develop later in life, even if cataracts block all visual input during childhood, reports BBC News.

Mixing Memory reports on a curious study suggesting that the suggestion of a ghostly presence makes people less likely to cheat.

The Washington Post wonders whether teenage multi-tasking and ‘flitting from task to task’ could affect their long-term ability to focus.

Neural Development is a new open access journal, which is reviewed by Neurophilosopher.

Lack of sleep may impact upon moral judgement, reports New Scientist.

The BPS Research Digest examines research that suggests childhood experiences could increase the risk for PTSD later in life.

Do voters based their choice on facial features rather than message? The Toronto Star considers some recent research that suggests this might be the case.

Edge features Marvin Minsky with an essay on artificial intelligence and the psychology of love.

Another great demo from Cognitive Daily: using word prompts to help change blindness.

The latest edition of psychology and neuroscience writing carnival Encephalon has been been published, this time ably hosted by Pure Pedantry.

A couple of my favourites from this curiously pirate-themed edition include a demonstration of an effect known as ‘boundary extension’ and an article on the sometimes paralysing effects of choice.

Head on over if you want more of the latest articles from the online mind and brain community.

Link to Encephalon 17.

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

Schizophrenia could be ‘evolution of the intellect’ according to genetic study looking at how traits linked to the disorder may be beneficial in some instances.

“Why do men ignore nagging wives? It’s all science”. The sexism is optional it seems.

Cognitive Daily looks at research suggesting that video gamers make better surgeons.

In light of the case of a 4-year-old American girl who died from prescribed psychiatric medication, the Boston Globe questions the trend for diagnosing infants with bipolar disorder.

There’s been some fantastic neuropsychology videos on Channel N recently.

BBC News reports on a recent discovery of new brain cell growth in adult human brains.

The 2007 USA Memory Championships kick off in a couple of weeks.

SciAm reports that the ‘largest ever’ autism study identifies two promising genetic factors in the condition.

Developing Intelligence looks at how children develop prospective memory – the memory for remembering to do things in the future.

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

Could it be magic? Extreme apparent mental causation. Mixing Memory investigates the psychology of magical thinking.

The presence of genes for the immune system can go a little way to predicting how likely couples are to remain faithful.

Corpus Callosum on a study showing that psychotherapy can reduce the adverse effects of psychiatric drugs.

PsyBlog examines the psychology of self-disclosure in the formation of relationships.

A computer system based on the cognitive science of perception can make sense of street scenes. Full paper is online as a pdf.

A fifteen-minute exercise may help overcome a lifetime of racial stereotyping. Cognitive Daily reports on a surprising study.

Researchers have been able to use a brain scan to read people’s intentions, albeit in very restricted circumstances.

Trailer for documentary about suicides from the Golden Gate Bridge is online.

Developing Intelligence has a fantastic introduction to the neuroscience of dopamine.

Quick links from this year’s Valentine’s psychology stories:

Early social experiences can influence adult behavior in romantic relationships. More on the same from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Love activates the same brain areas as cocaine, reports the The New York Sun. It also activates the same brain areas as chess, but apparently that isn’t worthy of a mention.

Smells like man. A component of male sweat can boost arousal in heterosexual women.

Thinking Meat (excuse the innuendo) has a round up a several studies on love published in the APA’s monthly journal. My favourite is an article that looks at the psychology of how romantic love and sexual desire are related.

Sex and relationship psychologist Dr Petra Boyton suggests ways to celebrate.

Psychologist explains the neurochemistry behind romance. Really, this is all there is to this news story. No event, purely a press release.

The award for the most tenuously linked news story: neuroscience of tasting sweetness “fueled [sic] by some powerful biology”.

Relationship studies are popular with university researchers. Is this news?

A new five part series called ‘Extra Senses’ has just started on BBC Radio 4, looking into the science behind sensations beyond the ordinary touch, sight, smell and sound. Today’s show was on pain and features some excruciating sounds from a man eating a lightbulb (“the most painful part could be tomorrow morning”!) as well as interviews with neuroscientists who research the neurological basis and functions of pain. Next week the presenter, Graham Easton, looks at balance.

Link: Extra Senses (thanks to Harry for the tip)

Welcome to the 16th edition of the psychology and neuroscience writing carnival Encephalon hosted this time on Mind Hacks.

We’ve had a flood of articles submitted, covering everything from time perception to sexuality in dreaming, so continue reading for these and more!

Continue reading “Encephalon 16”

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

Three psychiatrists have started producing a regular, engaging and somewhat quixotic podcast called My Three Shrinks.

The Neurophilosopher investigates a new form of artificial limb that feeds back touch sensations.

Approximately 6 out of every 100 words are affected by repetitions, corrections or hesitations. Why does this happen? Mixing Memory is on the case.

Neuroscientist Read Montague discusses his current reads with American Scientist.

Pure Pedantry investigates why speed daters say that selective is hot.

The New York Times has an article on the psychology of the colour red.

Improve your presentation by slagging it off? Cognitive Daily looks at research suggesting that self-deprecating comments may improve audience ratings.

Furious Seasons is a blog about psychiatry and mental health by a ‘long-time psych patient’. What makes this blog different is that the author is also an award-winning investigative journalist.

The blog reports on the good and bad in mental health, keeping tabs on both shady commercial interests and significant treatment advances.

It also looks at personal issues in dealing with mental illness and examines how the mainstream media makes sense of this contentious issue.

Link to Furious Seasons.

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

Make Beautiful Brain Music. Wired covers the creation of brainwave-based music. Even better it’s touring!

MSNBC visits the Newberg lab to discover how researchers are studying the neuroscience of spiritual experience.

The New York Times discusses the psychology of email spam.

Furious Seasons keeps tabs on the ongoing court case concerning the antipsychotic drug olanzapine.

What’s going on in George Bush’s mind? The New York Magazine speculates.

Developing Intelligence examines research on change blindness and attention.

Explaining piano skills: Deric Bownds discusses a study that suggests that the brain makes specific connections between action and sound areas.

The 15th edition of psychology and neuroscience writing carnival Encephalon has just arrived online, this time ably hosted by brain fitness blog SharpBrains.

A couple of my favourites include a wonderfully informative post from Blog Around the Clock on the biological clock and a video of Jonah Lehrer’s talk on Walt Whitman’s connection to modern neuroscience.

There are many more fascinating pieces, so wander over and have a browse.

The next edition of Encephalon will be hosted here, so if you have any writing you wish to submit, send it in.

Link to 15th edition of Encephalon.

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

NPR radio has a special on teenage sleep: how it works and sleeping better.

There’s a careful analysis of differences in the structure of the left and right hemispheres of the brain over at Developing Intelligence.

American Scientist has an interview with ergonomist and author Steven Casey.

A new drug seems to show early positive results in treating glioblastomas – one of the most difficult and dangerous forms of brain cancer.

‘You are what you expect’ according to The New York Times.

Folic acid supplements may help maintain mental abilities in older adults, reports New Scientist.

Activation in an area of the right temporal lobe when viewing others’ actions is associated with self-reported altruism – a story that got so muddled in the press it’s best just reading the study abstract.

Cognitive Daily examines research that suggests that the brain responds differently to metaphor and irony.

What is it like to be a manbat? (Philosopher Eric Schwitzgebel has a blog – cool!).

Pure Pedantry has a wonderful post on perceptual binding and the binding problem.

The BPS Research Digest commissioned PsychSplash founder Dr. Gareth Furber to produce a list of links to psychology resources on the internet. He oblidged in the form of a poem.

This is one of the verses:

I must admit, I have a thing for librarians
Mostly the younger ones, not the octogenarians
My fascination however I assure you is pure
It’s their mental health resources that are the lure.

And who can disagree with that?

Link to BPSRD ‘Web guide for psychology students’.

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

The New York Times reports on effective non-drug treatments and behavioural techniques for children with mental disorder.

BBC News reports that mental health drugs are over-prescribed (is this news?). BBC graphics watchers may note that the standard mental health graphic has changed from a man looking out the window to an attractive girl in white trousers.

PsyBlog’s wonderful series on the psychology of emotions continues. Check it out for the latest installments.

The Neurocritic has a fantastic post on a Suzanne Vega song about phantoms limbs (really) and the latest treatments for the post-amputation experience.

See what’s hot in consciousness research: Deric Bownds has a list of the most frequently download academic articles on consciousness.

News on an upcoming conference on fMRI lie detection.

A video of psychedelic and imperceptibly shifting artwork generated by neural networks has been tracked down by Neurofuture.

ShrinkRap considers research on treatments for injecting speed users: Abilify (an antipsychotic) or Ritalin (another form of speed).

Is this a sentient machine? Neurophilosopher publishes a follow-up to an earlier post on whether machines can be sentient.

More on childhood amnesia from Developing Intelligence – what is the role of the important memory skill source monitoring?

SciAm reports on research that suggests that daydreaming is a necessary function of the brain.