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<\/p>\nQuick links from the past week in mind and brain news:<\/p>\n
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New Scientist<\/i> has an interesting piece on several conditions somewhat clumsily cobbled together as disorders<\/a> of ‘extreme empathy’ although it’s still a good read.<\/p>\n Ace t-shirt blogger Coty Gonzales turns out the be a cognitive neuroscientist in an interview<\/a> for Hide Your Arms<\/i>.<\/p>\n The Guardian<\/i> have a video interview with evolutionary anthropologist Robin Dunbar on social<\/a> group size and social networking websites. No word on poking.<\/p>\n The latest research on using fMRI to ‘read’ subjective mental states, this time during memory<\/a> recall, is expertly covered by Neurophilosophy<\/i>.<\/p>\n The Economist<\/i> discusses the latest advances in brain-to-machine<\/a> connections. Great photo caption.<\/p>\n Food<\/a> induced seizures. Neuroskeptic<\/i> covers a case of a woman who had seizures triggered by eating.<\/p>\n Time<\/i> magazine covers research finding that psychopaths<\/a> show greater reward system and reward expectation-related dopamine release. This cued lots of vague musing on the personalities of psychopaths in the press.<\/p>\n A Carl Zimmer talk<\/a> on his excellent book ‘Soul Made Flesh’ on the beginnings of neurology and neuroscience is available on C-SPAN<\/i>.<\/p>\n Scientific American<\/i> have released a feature article that isn’t locked behind a paywall. Read the piece on how the brain handles colours<\/a> and contours before they change their minds.<\/p>\n The UN recently warned<\/a> of the effects of drug dependence on developing countries and Addiction Inbox<\/i> covered the debate. Lots of other good posts on AI recently.<\/p>\n BBC Radio 4<\/i> had a documentary on the human library<\/a>, a scheme where instead of borrowing books, you borrow a person to have a conversation with.<\/p>\n Eight studies demonstrating the power of simplicity<\/a> are covered by the excellent PsyBlog<\/i>.<\/p>\n Reuters<\/i> reports that a French reality TV programme recreated<\/a> the Milgram conformity experiments. Replaces scientist with a Parisian waiter who tuts when the person doesn’t want to continue.<\/p>\n Reminders of disease primes<\/a> the body and mind to repel other people, according to new research covered by the BPS Research Digest<\/i>.<\/p>\n Wired Science<\/i> cover a new neuroimaging study that aims to understand ‘Gulf War Syndrome<\/a>‘.<\/p>\n Lip reading<\/a> for the FBI. Sensory Superpowers<\/i> covers the use of lip reading by the feds and how we all do it to some degree.<\/p>\n New Scientist<\/i> discusses the use of torture and the future for interrogation<\/a>.<\/p>\n During recovery, a brain injured man is building an astounding doll universe with himself as a central character, Henry Darger-like in its scope. The blog<\/a> of the Marwenocol<\/i> project has lots of detail.<\/p>\n Biologist Lewis Wolpert reviews<\/a> Greenberg’s ‘Manufacturing Depression’ in The Guardian<\/i>.<\/p>\n Science News<\/i> report on a cross-cultural study finding that sharing<\/a> money on the ‘ultimatum game’ is related to the extent to which the person lived in communities with market economies.<\/p>\n Kids prefer friends whose speech<\/a> sounds similar to their own, regardless of race, according to research covered by Scientific American Mind<\/i>.<\/p>\n Psychological Reports<\/i> has a paper on graffiti<\/a> addiction!<\/p>\n Some empirical evidence for the ‘extended<\/a> mind hypothesis’ (we become our tools) is discussed by Wired Science<\/i>.<\/p>\n The Times<\/i> reports on the case of a researcher being sued<\/a> for libel after criticising bogus lie-detector technology. Please sign the petition at LibelReform.org<\/a> to keep libel law out of scientific arguments.<\/p>\n A bogus TV report of a Russian invasion panics<\/a> Georgia, according to a report from BBC News<\/i>.<\/p>\n The Guardian<\/i> reports on protests in Colombia by people outraged by narco-soaps<\/a> glamorising cartels.<\/p>\n