In brains we trust, or do we? Image via Wikipedia Much has been written about the seductive allure of fMRI brain images accompanying research papers and giving them more credence than is deserved; similarly much has been written about the whole enterprise of fMRI based research that tries to find the neural correlates of X,Y,and Z, as if X/Y or Z being human/animal faculties could have a substrate other than neural.
In both of the above cases, while the neuro babble seemingly provides more authority to the underlying argument, it is not clear what value , if any , one gets by just identifying a brain area responsible for X/Y or Z. While she does treat mirror neuron hyped research with the contempt and dressing that it deserves by trying to explain more than is warranted; her own enthusiasm for Oxytocin as the magical trust molecule or the epitome of moral foundations, deserves similar treatment. Ps: Disclosure of interest. : I received a free copy of Braintrust for review from Princeton university press.
Like this: Myths about the Future that Could Ruin Your Life. @FunkyJAU Because they're both the dreams of people who believe the status of society is basically a wrong, and eventually the day is gonna come that we'll get our just desserts. For some heaven, for others Siberia or the firing squads. We're just so happy in our sinfulness/decadence, well, we don't care. On both sides it's kind of like "the world is evil, I'm right, one of these days they're gonna understand how right I was". They're both bitter fantasies against a world they feel rejects them and their values.
And before you say the Marxist dreams of benefiting those people instead of tossing them in hell, I'd suggest you recall the purges. What about the covert Marxist take over of the modern media? (of course, Fox News is the exception to this!) Those aren't Marxists, those are doom peddlers. And Fox News is no exception. The Neurology Of Near-Death Experiences. I've never had a patient confess to having had a near-death experience (NDE), but recently I came across a fascinating book called The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain by Kevin Nelson, M.D. that reports as many as 18 million Americans may have had one. If true, the odds are not only that some of my patients have been among them, but also some of my friends. Which got me wondering: just what does science have to tell us about their cause?
That NDEs happen isn't in dispute. The sequence and type of events of which they're composed are similar enough among people who report them that NDEs could be considered a syndrome of sorts akin to a disease lacking a known cause. But just because millions of people have experienced NDEs doesn't mean the most commonly believed explanation for them—that souls leave bodies and encounter God or some other evidence for the afterlife—is correct. Neurophysiology can also explain the feeling of moving through a tunnel so commonly mentioned in NDEs. The Neuroscience of Self-Esteem, Self-Criticism and Self-Compassion. All the emphasis on self-esteem building in recent decades has done little to instruct people on what to do when they hit a bump in the road. Most of us, research shows, unleash our inner critic – even if the hardship is brought on by age, illness or another inevitable part of life. Recently, scientists such as Paul Gilbert of Kingsway Hospital in the United Kingdom and Kristin Neff of the University of Texas at Austin, have suggested being self-compassionate, rather than self-critical, especially in rough times, is more likely to help us rebound and may lead to greater success and happiness in the long run.
This is not just semantics or new-age feel-good fluff. Gilbert associates self-esteem, self-criticism and self-compassion with three interacting emotional systems in the brain, each with their own evolutionary purpose and mediating neurotransmitters. The "drive" system The threat-protection system For many of us, these first two systems dominate. The mammalian care-giving system. Slower Nerve Traffic, More Creativity. Neuroscientist Rex Jung notes “Creativity is a complex concept; it’s not a single thing.” That quote comes from a recent New York Times article, which comments that one of his studies “suggests that creativity prefers to take a slower, more meandering path than intelligence.”
“The brain appears to be an efficient superhighway that gets you from Point A to Point B” when it comes to intelligence, Dr. Jung explained. “But in the regions of the brain related to creativity, there appears to be lots of little side roads with interesting detours, and meandering little byways.” The article adds, “Although intelligence and skill are generally associated with the fast and efficient firing of neurons, subjects who tested high in creativity had thinner white matter and connecting axons that have the effect of slowing nerve traffic in the brain. “This slowdown in the left frontal cortex, a region where emotional and cognitive abilities are integrated, Dr. A CNN article on her research [Ultra-sensitive?
Behavior & emotion. Some Strange Psychological Findings from Psych Central. In their excellent book, 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology, Lilienfeld and colleagues (2010) investigate popular psychology myths. In addition to addressing these prevalent myths, the authors briefly discuss some “difficult to believe” psychological findings. Some of the findings include: Our brains contain approximately 3 million miles of neural connections. People suffering from extreme forms of anterograde amnesia, an inability to consciously recall new information, often display implicit memories without being able to display them consciously.
As an example, they may show a negative emotional reaction when interacting with a doctor who has been rude to them, even though they can’t recall meeting the doctor. People who hold a pencil with their teeth find cartoons funnier than people who hold a pencil with their lips. Research derived from U.S. In isolated areas of some Asian countries, individuals suffer from a psychological condition called “koro.” References Photo by Q. What the science of human nature can teach us. After the boom and bust, the mania and the meltdown, the Composure Class rose once again. Its members didn’t make their money through hedge-fund wizardry or by some big financial score. Theirs was a statelier ascent. They got good grades in school, established solid social connections, joined fine companies, medical practices, and law firms. Wealth settled down upon them gradually, like a gentle snow.
You can see a paragon of the Composure Class having an al-fresco lunch at some bistro in Aspen or Jackson Hole. A few times a year, members of this class head to a mountain resort, carrying only a Council on Foreign Relations tote bag (when you have your own plane, you don’t need luggage that actually closes). Occasionally, you meet a young, rising member of this class at the gelato store, as he hovers indecisively over the cloudberry and ginger-pomegranate selections, and you notice that his superhuman equilibrium is marred by an anxiety. Help comes from the strangest places. Ms. In the Mind's Eye: Psychology News 紙.
Expert on Mental Illness Reveals Her Own Struggle. Brain & neuroscience. Mind and Brain. Robin S. Cohen, Ph.D. Love & relationships. Osama Bin Laden Has Been Killed. Early Monday morning I heard the news: "Navy Seals have killed Obama. " Ha. I knew what they meant. The view from my chair: my very first thought was that this was a scam. How convenient. The more I watched the various news anchors gloat about Obama and the Special Forces and "the turning point in the war" the more I became convinced I was being lied to. But something nagged at me. And then the answer hit me: I drink too much.
Did I really need to see the body to believe he was dead? The first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem. It's impossible to hear the news about his death and not feel some sense of payback; but it's also impossible not to hear the news reporting and not want to punch something electronic. None of them reported the story. Some examples, not too many, you need your strength: Start with the media outlets and politicians that were fooled by the fake bin Laden death photo. Ok, so he was fooled, fine, the guy doesn't work for Adobe. I'm exaggerating? But. Guitarists' Brains Swing Together. When musicians play along together it isn't just their instruments that are in time – their brain waves are too. New research shows how EEG readouts from pairs of guitarists become more synchronized, a finding with wider potential implications for how our brains interact when we do.
Ulman Lindenberger, Viktor Müller, and Shu-Chen Li from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin along with Walter Gruber from the University of Salzburg used electroencephalography (EEG) to record the brain electrical activity in eight pairs of guitarists. Each of the pairs played a short jazz-fusion melody together up to 60 times while the EEG picked up their brain waves via electrodes on their scalps.
The similarities among the brainwaves' phase, both within and between the brains of the musicians, increased significantly: first when listening to a metronome beat in preparation; and secondly as they began to play together. ADHD drug helps menopausal women with focus, memory deficits, study shows. May 06, Medications (PhysOrg.com) -- At menopause, many women begin to notice a decline in their attention, organization, and short-term memory. These cognitive symptoms can lead to professional and personal challenges and unwarranted fears of early-onset dementia. A small study by Penn Medicine and Yale researchers, published in the journal Menopause, found that a drug typically given to children and adults with ADHD improved attention and concentration in menopausal women, providing the first potential treatment for menopause-related cognition deficits.
Researchers believe the cognitive issues may be the result of a menopause-related decline in estrogen input to the prefrontal cortex, which interferes with neurotransmission, causing executive function problems. "Subjective declines in memory, focus and organization are common in mid-life women," said study author C. Before clinical recommendations can be made, a follow-up clinical trial needs to validate results.