Issue 3 of neuroscience writing carnival has just been published on Thinking Meat and contains articles on everything from whether video games desensitise us to violence to whether spindle neurons will be the next fashionable thing after ‘mirror neurons’ have lost their media sparkle.
See the complete issue for a raft of other commentaries on current mind and brain issues.
Link to Encephalon #3.
The Psychology Wiki is a wide-ranging Wikipedia-like resource that is edited by psychology professionals and students. It focuses on the mind and brain and contains a number of fantastic articles.
They’ve just announced their first ‘featured article’, an comprehensive piece on the science of Recovery from Acquired Brain Injury.
The article examines the neuroscience of brain injury and the mechanisms that support subsequent recovery. It also looks at practical steps and the experience of the recovery process.
There’s plenty more fantastic material on the wiki, and if you want to share your knowledge I’m sure they’d be pleased to have you pitch in.
Link to Psychology Wiki.
Link to article ‘Recovery from Acquired Brain Injury’.
Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news:
Research in PLoS Biology reports that functional connections in the brain transform experience into memory.
Some researchers still not disclosing their conflict of interest in key studies, reports AADT Blog.
BBC Radio 4 programme Leading Edge discusses body clock genes and mind reading machines.
Metapsychology has an in-depth review of Nancy Andreasan’s book on the neuroscience of genius (via 3Q).
New autism study shows differences in brain structure.
Seed Magazine reports that brain scanning research that suggests that we can process social outsiders as less than human.
Researchers identify what are possibly the first neurons in the development of the human cortex.
Nature Reviews Neuroscience has an in-depth article on molecular and genetic approaches to brain asymmetry and handedness.
The Psychiatric Times explores the link between conduct problems in adolescence and personality disorders in adulthood.
A new BPS Research Digest for the second half of July has been published online; with articles on neural implants, marginalised minorities, judging trustworthiness, the effects of alcohol on noticing gorillas, the effects of mobile phones on the brain, and it asks the question does reading to babies gives them a head-start?
The complete text of the classic book on psychopaths and the psychopathic personality The Mask of Sanity is available online as a pdf file.
The book was written by psychiatrist Hervey Cleckley (pictured on the left) and is one of the classics in the field. It is still highly regarded for its in-depth case studies of psychopaths.
Contrary to most Hollywood depictions psychopaths are not necessarilly people who enjoy causing pain or suffering, but are thought to lack empathy and, therefore, tend to use violence to acheive an end, without concern about the impact of their actions.
There’s further information on psychopaths and psychopathy here for those wanting an introduction.
Link to complete text of The Mask of Sanity (1.4Mb).
Link to webpage on psychopathy.
The third installment of neuroscience writing carnival Synapse just hit the net and is hosted at The Neurophilosopher’s Blog. Get it while it’s hot!
Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news:
New brain-computer interface turns brains into automatic image sorter thats operate faster than human consciousness.
The Neurophile discusses the difficulty with classifying LSD.
Manchester University reports on the use of virtual reality to test claims of telepathy.
Do we agree on what’s beautiful? asks Cognitive Daily.
The Neurophilosopher analyses Grossberg’s neural network model that attempts to explain autism.
The latest results on the effects of mobile phones on the brain are discussed by Brain Ethics.
ABC Radio Health Report discusses the myths and realities of adult ADHD.
New Scientist reports that probable cause of some deadly brain cancers established.
More on drug advertising from Neurofuture (aw, shucks) and Omni Brain.
Dating coaches. huh?
Comic strip tackles the new face of teenage rebellion. Computational linguistics in the firing line.
2006 Biomedical Image Awards contains several neuroscience images.
It can’t hurt to ask to ask about drugs? Can it? Asking about drugs use can increase the chance of people using substances suggests new research.
Men who share a bed with someone suffer mild cognitive impairment, women sleep better!
Omni Brain are recruiting!
The second issue of neuroscience blog carnival Encephalon has just been published on Pure Pedantry. Head over for long list of new neuroscience writing.
My favourite is from the Neurophilosopher’s Blog and is an article on the first example of neurosurgery literature – a papyrus from Ancient Egypt discussing the outcomes of 48 brain surgery cases!
There’s been a series of particularly good articles over at cognitive science blog Developing Intelligence recently – analysing everything from the cognitive neuroscience of task switching to evidence that video games might improve brain function.
Another particularly helpful article has been a comprehensive round-up of commentary on Paul Bloom’s article for Seed Magazine that argued that data from fMRI experiments are given undue weight and attention by both scientists and the media alike.
Link to Developing Intelligence.
Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news:
Washington Post discusses the prejudices associated with elderly mental illness.
The neuroscience of playing chicken is analysed on Mixing Memory.
Time Magazine has an in-depth article on the ‘New Science of Siblings‘ looking at the genetic influences on thought and behaviour.
Neurophilosophy blog discusses a potential new blood test for prion diseases like vCJD and mad cow disease.
Deric Bownds’ Biology of Mind Blog hits full stride.
There’s a wonderful article on ‘What a synapse does when it’s not doing anything‘ on Gene Expression.
Magic mushrooms cause profound spiritual experiences. Pope still catholic.
Free will, criminal acts and brain tumours: The Times discusses cases where neuropathology seems to have led directly to criminal behaviour.
Science News analyses the ‘neglected’ impact of ADHD in girls.
Research suggests early brain scans may predict later Alzheimer’s disease.
Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news:
Seed Magazine has an insightful article on being seduced by the flickering lights of fMRI.
Also see the April 2006 issue of Cortex for a more in-depth approach (warning: their website doesn’t work in Firefox).
Differences in the placenta of pregnant women may predict later autism in baby, suggests new study.
Popular Science on the next generation of artificial limbs, fused directly to human bone and interfaced with the brain.
Training your husband using operant conditioning and animal training techniques (via Dana Leighton).
New study suggests metabolic syndrome may be a health risk for some who take antipsychotic drug clozapine.
BrainDigg is like Digg but for neuroscience stories.
Paranoid and suspicious thoughts more common than thought, suggests new survey.
Stroke leaves Geordie women with Jamaican-like voice in a case of foreign accent syndrome (with video).
Mixing Memory tackles debates over the representation of knowledge in a well-thought out article on a complex area.
Actress Ashley Judd reveals her experience of depression.
Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news:
Science News on how the ageing brain changes in its processing of emotions over time – do we mellow in old age?
A computer system that can ‘read’ emotional expressions from the face is to be exhibited and tested at a London exhibition.
Male sexual orientation may be influenced by number of older brothers from the same biological mother owing to the increasing production of antibodies with additional children.
American Scientist has an in-depth review of “The Man Who Knew Too Much: Alan Turing and the Invention of the Computer”.
Pure Pedantry has a concise explanation of recent experiments on the neuroeconomics of dread.
People more likely to give correct money for payment when they have the ‘feeling of being watched‘ – induced by putting a pictures of a pair of eyes nearby.
New BPS Research Digest!
Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news:
Science reports that researchers have found an inhibitor for the most potent known neurotoxin.
Brain-scanning for the effect of car brands. Brain Ethics casts a skeptical eye over the research.
Rare nerve disease gene found to be caused by mutation in a single gene.
Interesting new blog on psychology and neuroscience seems to be going strong.
Neuroscientist Shelley Batts analyses Red Bull’s effect on the brain.
New study suggests that the antidepressant paroxetine (also known as Seroxat or Paxil) doesn’t seem to increase birth defects as previously thought.
Cognitive Daily look at the psychology of love, happiness, and arranged marriage.
Scientific American on the suprising ability of young babies to predict the actions of others.
Wonderful posts from Pure Pedantry on the genetics and heritability of mental attributes and a follow up from Gene Expression.
Language Log presents a post that acts as a case study of the danger of taking neuroscientific evidence, essentialising it and extrapolatating to policy. On this occasion, policy relating to how you teach reading in schools to the two sexes.
Link: Language Log on David Brooks, Cognitive Neuroscientist
Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news:
The Boston Globe has a review of Walter Benjamin’s collected writings on drugs and intoxication.
Study finds Prozac worse than placebo at treating anorexia (via AADT)
South America’s indigenous Aymara people have a ‘reverse concept’ of time.
The Phineas Gage Group apply behavioural science to legal education.
Older people do mellow with age – they’re quicker to perceive happiness, slower to perceive fear.
World of Psychology report that child abuse may be a causal factor in schizophrenia.
Psychologist Dana Leighton is recording and podcasting her general psychology lectures.
Developing Intelligence looks at recent research which is trying to determine the main alogorithms of the prefrontal cortex.
One I missed in a previous post… Chronobiology blog Coturnix has now moved to A Blog Around the Clock.
ScienceBlogs has just welcomed a slew of new writers in the fold and now has enough to justify a Brain and Behavior Channel which gathers all the posts from the cognitive and neuroscience sites.
The new members include neuroscientists Shelly Batts, Jake Young and, er, The Evil Monkey.
Also part of the collective are Jonah Lehrer, a staff writer for Seed Magazine with an interest in cognitive science, and a site called Corpus Callosum, written by a community psychiatrist from the US.
You may also recognise Mixing Memory and Carl Zimmer’s The Loom , both of which have now moved to the expanded science blogging site.
Link to ScienceBlogs brain and behavior channel.
Mind Hacks 