Perception puzzles, Visual Perception, Optical illusions and Paradoxes This page illustrates that our visual perception cannot always be trusted. The components of an object can distort the perception of the complete object. Our mind is the final arbiter of truth. Most optical illusions are the result of 1) incongruent design elements at opposite ends of parallel lines, 2) influence of background patterns on the overall design, 3) adjustment of our perception at the boundaries of areas of high contrast, 4) afterimages resulting from eye movements or from kinetic displays, or 5) inability to interpret the spatial structure of an object from the context provided by the picture. The Parthenon Optical illusions have been studied for millenia. Perpetually ascending staircase. The red squares are the same color in the upper part and in the lower part of the "X" The diagonal lines are parallel. There are no gray spots at the corners of the squares. Stairway between corners of a flat square. The rows of black and white squares are all parallel. Impossible triangle.
Thoughts on Neuroplasticity I recently read a fascinating book, The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge. He describes case histories and research indicating that the brain is far more malleable than we once thought. We used to think each function was localized to a small area of the brain and if you lost that area of brain tissue the function was gone forever. We once thought you couldn’t teach an old dog new tricks. Now we know better. Learning a new skill actually changes the structure and function of the brain, even into old age. One of the more intriguing experiments he describes was in monkeys. Researchers hypothesized that the monkeys had “learned” that one arm didn’t work in the period right after the surgery when the spinal cord was still in spinal shock, and then never re-learned that they could use it when the shock passed. Patients with phantom limb pain often have the illusion that the phantom limb is unable to move. Much of chronic pain is learned behavior.
The Evolutionary Psychology of Human Sex and Gender By Daniel Pouzzner, 2000-Apr-11/12 Sexuality is an indispensable mechanism whereby biological evolution bridged the immense gap between asexual/Lamarckian unicellular organisms, and the now plainly preeminent humans. For tens of millions of generations, the lineage leading to humanity has been formed and continued exclusively by sexual procreation. The precise microbiological mechanics of sexuality vary widely from species to species, while the functional consequences - strictly sexual procreation, in which each individual has precisely two parents, each contributing roughly half of the individual's genome - is absolutely conserved. In this essay, I give an overview of the differences between the male and female human phenotypes, concentrating on mental distinctions. The only universal genetic difference between a male human and a female human is that the male has an additional chromosome, ``Y'', and it is by far the smallest of all. Human ovulation is concealed, not advertised.
For neuroscientist the eye is a window to mind's workings (12/6/2007) Sabine Kastner likes to show people that the difference between Darth Vader and Yoda is largely a matter of perception. "Put these glasses on," she says, offering a pair of goggles with two different-colored lenses, "then look at the screen and tell me what you see." A glance at her laptop reveals the visage of Vader, the dark-helmeted nemesis of Jedi Knights from the "Star Wars" films, on the screen. But tell her so, and Kastner then asks, "Are you sure you don't see anything else?" As though succumbing to a Jedi mind trick, the viewer's brain suddenly morphs Vader's helmet into the wizened face of the elfin creature Yoda -- an image that was always there, but only visible to the left eye. "Visual perception is not a passive thing where you just open your eyes and take everything in. A new approach to old questions About two decades ago, Kastner was majoring in philosophy at Georg-August-University in Göttingen, Germany. An eye on the problem "He's my continual motivation," she said.
The "Johnny Depp Effect" - An evolutionary explanation for homosexuality Who is more attractive as a mate? A guy who is kind or a guy who is cruel? A guy who is sensitive or a guy who lacks empathy ? A guy who is physically attractive or a guy who is homely? A guy who can appreciate art or the guy who only appreciates ESPN? Now consider who is more likely to be gay. This exercise in mate preferences (and stereotypes , please excuse us) serves to illustrate a simple point: Gay men are attractive. Two recent articles suggest that these women are on to something. Again, scientists have known for some time that sexual orientation has a genetic component. It was once hypothesized that such a trait could be maintained via kin selection. Hypotheses demand empirical tests, and when the kin selection hypothesis of homosexuality was tested by David Bobrow and Michael Bailey of Northwestern University and later by Qazi Rahman and Matthew Hull of the University of East London, it was not supported. References
Neuronal Circuits Able To Rewire On the Fly To Sharpen Senses (12/19/2007) Researchers from the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC), a joint project of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, have for the first time described a mechanism called "dynamic connectivity," in which neuronal circuits are rewired "on the fly" allowing stimuli to be more keenly sensed. The process is described in a paper in the January 2008 issue of Nature Neuroscience, and available online at This new, biologically inspired algorithm for analyzing the brain at work allows scientists to explain why when we notice a scent, the brain can quickly sort through input and determine exactly what that smell is. "If you think of the brain like a computer, then the connections between neurons are like the software that the brain is running. When a stimulus such as an odor is encountered, many neurons start to fire. "This mechanism helps to explain why you can walk into a room and recognize a smell that seems to be floral.
Why Atheists Are More Intelligent Than the Religious It is natural to believe in God, so more intelligent individuals are more likely to be atheists. Religion is a cultural universal, and its practice is observed in every known human society. However, as I explain in earlier posts (Why do we believe in God? These theories contend that the human brain has been selected to agency – personal, animate, and intentional forces – behind otherwise natural phenomena whose exact causes cannot be known. If these theories are correct, then it means that religiosity – belief in higher powers – may have an evolutionary origin. It may therefore be reasonable to conclude that atheism may not be part of the universal human nature, and widespread practice of atheism may have been a recent product of Communism in the 20th century. Once again, analyses of large representative samples from both the United States and the United Kingdom support this prediction of the Hypothesis .
How to Trick Your Brain for Happiness This month, we feature videos of a Greater Good presentation by Rick Hanson, the best-selling author and trailblazing psychologist. In this excerpt from his talk, Dr. Hanson explains how we can take advantage of the brain’s natural “plasticity”—it’s ability to change shape over time. gobyg There’s this great line by Ani Tenzin Palmo, an English woman who spent 12 years in a cave in Tibet: “We do not know what a thought is, yet we’re thinking them all the time.” It’s true. In recent years, though, we have started to better understand the neural bases of states like happiness, gratitude, resilience, love, compassion, and so forth. Ultimately, what this can mean is that with proper practice, we can increasingly trick our neural machinery to cultivate positive states of mind. But in order to understand how, you need to understand three important facts about the brain. Fact one: As the brain changes, the mind changes, for better or worse. Fact two: As the mind changes, the brain changes. 1. 2. 3.
Counter-Rotating Spirals Illusion More Java applets here. If your browser supports Java, you should see an animated image above (generated by a Java applet embedded on the page). Otherwise, you should see a static image. Instructions for Viewing the Illusion: Sit about 50 cm (20 inches) from the screen. Look at the center of the spiral for about 20 seconds. The User Interface: Start/Stop Button The Start/Stop button starts/stops the applet's rotation thread. Detach/Attach Button The Detach Button detaches the applet from the Web page and places the applet in its own frame window. Speed Control The Speed Control varies the speed of the animation in a range of 1 through 120 RPM. History of this Illusion The illusion is an example of the "Motion Aftereffect" phenomenon. This effect was described in the early 19th century by R. In 1935, the artist Marcel Duchamp produced a set of 12 rotating optical illusions called Rotoreliefs. In the 1970's, a number of Psychologists were actively studying the phenomenon. Jerry says: Dr.
Neuroscience News - Neuroscience Research Neuroscience Labs Neuroscience Jobs Neuroscience Books Reviews Neuroscience Forums Social Network Wild Mood Swings - Surf the web on a whim. (C) Sean McManus <p style="font-size:x-large;">Oh no! You don't have Javascript enabled. Please <a href=" Javascript now</a> or the only moods you'll experience will be boredom and frustration.</p><hr noshade> Pick your mood, click the button and Wild Mood Swings will open an appropriate website in a new window. What is Wild Mood Swings? It's a simple game and online web experience: you select a mood from the pull-down list, click on 'take me away' and it'll whisk you away to an appropriate site. Each time you reload the page or click the shuffle moods link, the moods are sorted into a different order, adding an additional element of serendipity. What do I need to work it? Some of the links will take you to sites that require the Flash plug-in or Chrome browser. If it's not working, it's possible you have a pop-up blocker installed that is stopping Wild Mood Swings from opening your destination site in a new window. Why was it developed? When was it launched?
10 Psychology Tricks You Can Use To Influence People Before we get started, it’s important to note that none of these methods fall under what we would term the dark arts of influencing people. Anything that might be harmful to someone in any way, especially to their self esteem, is not included here. These are ways to win friends and influence people using psychology without being a jerk or making someone feel bad. Trick: Get someone to do a favor for you—also known as the Benjamin Franklin effect. Legend has it that Benjamin Franklin once wanted to win over a man who didn’t like him. He asked the man to lend him a rare book and when the book was received he thanked him graciously. Scientists decided to test this theory and found that those who were asked by the researcher for a personal favor rated the researcher much more favorably than the other groups did. Trick: Ask for way more than you want at first then scale it back later. This trick is sometimes known as the door in the face approach. Trick: Mirror their behavior.
The Stages of Sleep Each and every night, your brain passes through four stages of sleep. Passing through all these stages takes about 90-110 minutes and marks one full sleep cycle. So, if you sleep soundly for eight hours per night, you're getting five full sleep cycles. The Five Stages of Sleep Let's take a closer look at the five stages of sleep: NREM Stage 1 is a light sleep and you are easily woken. When is The Best Time for Lucid Dreaming? Your longest and most memorable lucid dreams will usually occur in the fourth and fifth sleep cycles (after about six hours of sleep) during phases of REM sleep. The graph shows REM sleep occurring at the end of each sleep cycle. If you don't wake up to an alarm, you'll find you often wake directly from a dream, which makes it much easier to remember. This graph also shows how it's essential for lucid dreamers to get sufficient shuteye and not miss out on REM sleep by cutting sleep short. How Much Sleep Does The Average Person Need? How Long Do Dreams Last?