A couple of links on some science related news;
The latest Carnival of Neuroscience
Secrets of ocean birth laid bare; The largest tear in the Earth's crust seen in decades, if not centuries, could carve out a new ocean in Africa, according to satellite data
Magic mushrooms really cause 'spiritual' experiences; “My guess is that there will be people saying ‘You’re looking for a spiritual shortcut’” says Griffiths. He stresses that the drug is no replacement for the mental health benefits of continuous personal reflection: “There’s all the difference in the world between a spiritual experience and a spiritual life.”
A head for trouble; We like to think it’s our choice to help an old lady across the road or push her into the traffic. But an increasing number of scientists say we’re fooling ourselves. Are some of us just hard-wired to be bad?
The Neuroscience of Playing Chicken; If you don't know what chicken is (are you from this planet?), it involves two people in cars driving at each other at high speeds. The first person to get the hell out of the way is the chicken. Unfortunately, it's impossible to fit a car, much less two, into an fMRI machine, so Fukui et al. came up with a "game theoretical" version. They chose chicken over the more well-known game theoretical game, the Prisoner's Dilemma, because in Prisoner's Dilemma tasks, people don't always behave the way game theory says they should, which leads to empirical and theoretical problems. Chicken is different, largely in that there's no reward for trying to make the same choice as the other participant. In chicken, you want to make the opposite choice of your opponent. I'll let them describe their version of chicken (p. 3; figure from p. 2):…
Trust in Fish; A mutually beneficial interaction between two species of fish turns out to involve the careful appraisal of one by the other — and the appropriately virtuous behaviour by the former while being watched. This is yet another example of a complex social behavior once thought to be unique to mammals
What a synapse does when it’s not doing anything
Connecting cortex to machines: recent advances in brain interfaces; Recent technological and scientific advances have generated wide interest in the possibility of creating a brain−machine interface (BMI), particularly as a means to aid paralyzed humans in communication. Advances have been made in detecting neural signals and translating them into command signals that can control devices. We now have systems that use externally derived neural signals as a command source, and faster and potentially more flexible systems that directly use intracortical recording are being tested. Studies in behaving monkeys show that neural output from the motor cortex can be used to control computer cursors almost as effectively as a natural hand would carry out the task. Additional research findings explore the possibility of using computers to return behaviorally useful feedback information to the cortex. Although significant scientific and technological challenges remain, progress in creating useful human BMIs is accelerating
It’s a Goal; The project is aiming to help young men between the ages of 16-35 who may suffer, or have suffered, with depression, but also to include those who have little confidence, a low opinion of themselves and who have poor communication and social skills.
Psychiatry by Prescription …Is psychiatry an empirical science that studies brain functioning, or a form of humanism that studies the inner workings of the mind in its broad social and cultural context? Assistant professor of psychiatry David Brendel takes up this question in his new book, Healing Psychiatry: Bridging the Science/Humanism Divide, in which he diagnoses the field’s internal schisms and proposes a cure.
Multimedia
The psychology of stalking; Repeated unwanted advances, being followed, distressing packages and letters in the mail, relentless phone calls and emails can all be part of the often-terrifying experience of being stalked. It's a social problem that's increasing and it doesn't just happen to celebrities. From the latest research in forensic psychiatry, we hear what motivates those who stalk, and one woman gives an open account of what impact being the victim of a stalker has had on her life
The Life of Thomas Young; Retired engineer Paul Riddell prepared a tribute to the little known 19th Century English scientist Thomas Young
How many of me are there? This week, we examine the question of personal identity with Douglas Hofstadter (author of the seventies cult classic Gödel, Escher, Bach). We normally assume that our identity is singular - there's one me and one you - but could the person I think of as me really be us
Is football (soccer) good for your mental health? Listen online
