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<\/p>\nQuick links from the past week in mind and brain news:<\/p>\n
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Neuro-linguistic programming: Cargo cult psychology? An excellent piece debunking NLP from the Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education<\/i> appears online as a pdf<\/a>. It always struck me as Scientology without the aliens.<\/p>\n PsyBlog<\/i> has an excellent round-up of 10 influencers of conformity<\/a>. Fuck me I will do what you tell me.<\/p>\n The US crime rate has been consistently falling, so why do the US public tend to think it’s on the rise? The Boston Globe<\/i> investigates<\/a>.<\/p>\n The BPS Research Digest<\/i> has yet another nail in the coffin for the Freudian idea of repressed<\/a> memories.<\/p>\n The chairman of the DSM-IV committee writes a stinging attack<\/A> on the DSM-V for Psychiatric Times<\/i>.<\/p>\n The Onion<\/i> gathers the public’s view<\/a> on the draft of the new psychiatric bible. “If they change which planets men and women are from, I’ll be pissed.” <\/p>\n Some lovely research on how pupil dilation<\/a> reflects cognitive functions, in this case decision-making, is discussed by the mighty Neurophilosophy<\/i>.<\/p>\n The LA Times<\/i> has a story of how a new business model for dealing high purity heroin is targeting<\/a> the middle-class. A Slate<\/i> article from ’96 notes that this is an often repeated<\/a> media story. <\/p>\n There’s an engaging interview<\/a> with Iain McGilchrist, who’s just written a book about the brain’s hemispheres, over at Frontier Psychiatrist<\/i>.<\/p>\n The Guardian<\/i> has a short piece on why slot machine gamblers<\/a> are so hard to study.<\/p>\n Peter Hughes is a psychiatrist blogging about his work on a Haiti<\/a> mental health programme, over at the Royal College of Psychiatrists<\/i>.<\/p>\n Newsweek<\/i> has an excellent piece on how we assume<\/a> neuroscience studies done on Westerners reflect universal human traits and recent efforts to develop local neuroscience resources.<\/p>\n What distinguishes women with unusually high numbers of sex partners<\/a>? Barking Up the Wrong Tree<\/i> reports the surprising answer of one study on the topic.<\/p>\n BBC News<\/i> reports on continuing and mysterious deaths<\/a> of (mostly) Scottish heroin users from anthrax. Interestingly, almost exactly the same thing happened a decade ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n There’s a good report<\/a> from the recent Cultural and Biological Contexts of Psychiatric Disorder conference over at Somatosphere<\/i>.<\/p>\n The Brandon Sun<\/i> reports that a man is found not responsible<\/a> for killing a nun during an epileptic fit. The news is now officially complete. Move along. <\/p>\n Film from the original Pavlovian conditioning experiments<\/a> is dug up by the wonderful Advances in the History of Psychology<\/i> blog.<\/p>\n Reuters<\/i> reports on a study finding that beds<\/a> less visible from the nurses’ station in intensive care units have higher death rates.<\/p>\n “do women want to be humped for 13 minutes straight?” asks Neurotopia<\/i> who is calling for an empirical investigation<\/a> into the matter.<\/p>\n The Onion<\/i> reports that the CIA are forced to complete all scheduled torture in one hectic<\/a> weekend. “We were already way behind on false executions as it was”.<\/p>\n Pissed up on booze? Or a hard night on the alcohol breakdown product acetaldehyde<\/a>? Neuroskeptic<\/i>, a spectacularly good blog, covers an interesting new study. <\/p>\n The Library of Congress<\/i> Music and the Brain podcast<\/a> is excellent.<\/p>\n Oh Christ, Louann Brizendine has written a follow-up to her stereotype-waving book ‘The Female Brain’ called (can you guess?) ‘The Male Brain’. Elle<\/i>, yes that Elle<\/i>, has an ass-kicking<\/a> review and interview.<\/p>\n New Scientist<\/i> covers a study that used mobile phone signals to track daily movements and finds we’re actually very predictable<\/a>. <\/p>\n The now widely reported genetic overlap<\/a> between mental disorders should be undermining the diagnostic boundaries of psychiatric diagnoses but don’t shake the tree man, because, like, who knows what’ll fall out? Wiring the Brain<\/i> discusses the evidence.<\/p>\n BBC News<\/i> reports on a dating<\/a> study that found women prefer ‘men who are kind’. No word on whether they prefer men who have more enthusiasm than talent and drink too many energy drinks.<\/p>\n “Placebo<\/a> treatments stronger than doctors thought”. Not sure whether that’s a headline or a philosophy puzzle. Either way, it’s a story in the Seattle PI<\/i>.<\/p>\n The Splintered Mind<\/i> introduces the concept of cognitive shielding<\/a>. Permits you to shout “They canne hold captain!” when losing an argument. <\/p>\n