Category: Linkage

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

Science Central News discusses change blindness (with video demos).

Researchers find that antibiotic D-cycloserine, used to treat tuberculosis, improves recovery rate in psychological treatment for social anxiety.

CBS News has an in-depth article on the science of sexual orientation.

Research suggests that solo exercise may not have the same beneficial effect on the brain as exercising with someone else.

The American Journal of Psychiatry has an article on the potential use of virtual reality to diagnose schizophrenia.

A couple of articles on ADHD:
* The New York Times discusses the potential value of ADHD to ‘knowledge economy’ works.
* USA Today reports on the use of computer games and neurofeedback as a treatment.

Natural sleep is bimodal – two stretches with a brief wakening in the middle – reports Circadiana.

Drugs which lower blood pressure may significantly reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Long term users of marijuana have poorer memory function, finds new study.

Antidepressant drugs may be more effective in treating older people, suggest new research.

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

PBS have an online documentary about anorexia called ‘Dying to be thin‘.

PsyBlog discusses how we maintain a sense of identity when we live regulated lives.

BBC Radio 4’s science programme Leading Edge discusses Stroke, transcranial magnetic stimulation and aggression.

Blogger records the recent LSD symposium in honour of Albert Hoffman.

Science News suggests ways to optimises the brain in two parts: 1) Exercise; 2) Nutrition.

The New York Times discusses recent genetic evidence that humans are still evolving.

Happiness is a false memory says an engaging article by Mixing Memory.

Nature discusses the light and colour-based art work of Dan Flavin.

Leading scientist of the Human Genome Project expects genes ‘governing’ personality to be found.

Consciousness continues to baffle psychoanalysts says Psychiatric News (who doesn’t it baffle?).

Metafiler: “Why do companies advertise?”

Stayfree’s media literacy curriculum

Vaughan on Mindhacks.com does some smackdown on neuromarketing

Guardian special report on loyalty cards

A brief guide to the concept of ‘priming’

Three from the BPS research digest:
When sex doesn’t sell (either because it distracts or provokes negative associations)

Experimental confirmation that music affects the power of (political adverts)

looking for the best option, rather than a good enough option can make you unhappy

Pledgebank: art not ads

Icarus Diving on my decoding advertisements post

Experienced traders seem to overcome the endowement effect (a common cogntiive bias)

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

Measure of serotonin receptors in hippocampus found to be an early predictor of Alzheimer’s in some people.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers magazine Spectrum discusses the use of magnetic stimulation in the treatment of psychiatric disorder.

An explanation of a curious touch illusion called the “cutaneous rabbit” is offered after a recent brain-imaging study on the effect.

Electrical activity in the brain can predict which items will be remembered before they are encountered.

Babies as young as 18 months show willingness to help others, reports USA Today.

PsyBlog looks at the psychology of attributions in depressive thinking.

Cognitive Daily discusses an ingenious experiment that suggests that young babies have an understanding of others people’s goals.

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

A new study from Duke University Medical Center suggests that half of US Presidents were mentally ill at some stage.

Food from the sea shore fuelled human brain evolution, claims researcher.

New study reports that boys and girls show different rates of cognitive development after being placed in care from orphanages.

Teachers who wave their hands more, teach mathematics better (via BB).

Early humans were food for predators, and the need to avoid being lunch was a factor in human evolution, claims new research.

Neuroethicist Judy Iles answers five questions (with video) on crucial questions facing brain science.

Study of ‘crispy-crunchiness’ shows how our brains analyze the sound of food to determine crispness.

Men in their 50s have more satisfying sex lives than men in their 30s finds new survey.

Does mental exercise help keep the wits sharp? The Washington Post investigates.

Musicians use beta-blocker propanolol to prevent on-stage jitters, reports the New York Times.

Dr. William Hapworth on methamphetamine (and he gives a lecture too!).

I’m currently enjoying reading the Brain Ethics Blog that aims to discuss the consequences of brain science amd the ethical issues that arise from it.

It is run by two Danish neuropsychologists, Thomas Zoëga Ramsøy and Martin Skov, who give their own take on the current hot topics of mind and brain science.

The most recent post, analysing a recent study that claims to have made inferences about cognitive evolution from a brain scanning experiment, particularly caught my eye as an insightful look into a recent controversial finding.

Link to Brain Ethics Blog.

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

Research suggests that complex decisions should be ‘slept-on’ whereas simple decisions such as “selecting a brand of oven glove” (huh?) can be left to the conscious mind.

Cinematical reviews new movie “Unknown white male” – a documentary about someone with retrograde amnesia.

Japan sees a surge of death from people who make ‘internet suicide pacts‘, reports the BBC.

Wired discusses research on the biases in interpreting emotional tone from other people’s emails.

An article in The Manitoban discusses the science and validity of parapsychology [Ghostbusters fans: make your own jokes about Manitoban’s Spirit Guide here].

Nature report on research that suggests that the more familiar you are with a route, the longer it seems.

Stanford neuroscientist Bill Newsome wants to implant an electrode in his brain to better understand human consciousness. Cool!

Circadiana discusses the disrupting effect of puberty and menstruation onset on sleep patterns.

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

PLoS Medicine have a review article on the links between cannabis and psychosis.

Psychologist Petra Boyton casts a critical eye on media reports that ‘sexual chemistry lasts just two years’.

The Royal College of Nursing debate ‘harm minimisation‘ measures for people who self-harm.

Beta-blocker drug propranolol could reduce the impact of painful memories if taken after severe trauma.

Wired magazine discuss recent research into developing an eye test for Alzheimer’s disease.

The touch of a loved one’s hand can induce in measurable stress-reducing responses in the brain during tense times.

BBC Radio 4’s health issues show ‘Case Notes’ has a half-hour special on the neuroscience and treatment of stroke.

The brain continues with significant development after the age of 18 (via /.).

New Scientist on research that shows that the brain only has to send a movement command to create the sensation of movement.

The New York Times has an insightful article on the media obsession with pretty brain images and what they actually tell us.

Article in Wired on an inventor of retinal implants (via BoingBoing).

A few places where you can enjoy the intersection between experimental psychology and marketing research are at:

(labs)

The Food and Brand Lab (was ‘The Illinois Food and Brand lab’, but has now moved to Cornell) found at consumerpsychology.net

The Bangor University: The Experimental Consumer Psychology research group – see this article in New Scientist about Jane Raymond’s research Is advertising flogging a dead horse? (New Scientist, 24 December 2005).

(associations)

The Association for Consumer Research

Society for Consumer Psychology

(journals)

Journal of Consumer Psychology

<a href="http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/jws/cbh
“>The Journal of Consumer Behaviour (defunct?)

Journal of Marketing

Journal of Marketing Research

(updated)

Psychology and Marketing

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

A new blog ‘On The Spectrum‘ collects and discusses development in the science of the autism spectrum.

Mixing Memory discusses the psychology of intellectual of insight

ABC Radio’s All in the Mind discusses the effect of petrol sniffing on the brain.

Scientific brain linked to autism – with the appropriate number of caveats and qualifications.

Brain Waves previews an upcoming book on the female brain.

Epilepsy Action launches Mothers in Mind campaign.

RadioLab’s science programme discusses the psychology and neuroscience of stress.

A report on a person who experiences near permanent deja-vu.

An engaging article from Cognitive Daily tackles research on the how children understand the concept of death.

Wired chart the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation for the treatment of depression.

I’ve just discovered mindhacks.org. I think it’s a version of this site from a parallel universe.

It’s a seemingly dormant blog that has a mixture of posts on everything from the science of spirituality to the plainly cosmic…

Dr. William A. Tiller’s studies and experiments have proven that human consciousness “changes space.” And he explains how this works in a way that’s easy for us to follow and understand.

But further – and of importance to the subject matter of our current issue – he demonstrates not only that Zero Point Energy is, for all practical purposes, absolutely limitless, but that in it lies our future potential.

Zero Point Energy sounds suspiciously like a good dose of caffeine to me, but I suspect Dr. Tiller might have something slightly different in mind.

Link to mindhacks.org