![](\"http:\/\/www.mindhacks.com\/files\/2005\/01\/spike.jpg\")
<\/p>\nQuick links from the past week in mind and brain news:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
New Scientist<\/i> has an excellent piece on theories of how deep brain stimulation<\/a> treats mental illness. Ignore the stupid title.<\/p>\n A study found by Barking Up the Wrong Tree<\/i> finds higher intelligence<\/A> is a “protective factor” against teenage sexual activity. Geek you say? <\/p>\n Slate<\/i> has a fascinating article on cognitive distortions<\/a> in how we think about geography and how they affect our judgements.<\/p>\n Noam Chomsky answers<\/a> questions on cognitive science and anarchism on, er, reddit<\/i>. Next week, Britney interviewed on PubMed.<\/p>\n NPR Morning Edition<\/i> has a section on how ageing<\/a> brains are slower but more shrewd.<\/p>\n There’s some excellent straight thinking coverage of the recent discovery of bones of an apparently new species of hominid<\/a> over at Laelaps<\/i> with Carl Zimmer using the opportunity to straighten out the ‘missing link’ fallacy<\/a>.<\/p>\n The New York Times<\/i> reports on how Google now return a crisis hotline<\/a> when you do searches on how to commit suicide but only in English it seems. Half a billion Spanish speakers – una versi\u00f3n castellana por favor.<\/p>\n Spank me nanny, spank me! Not Exactly Rocket Science<\/i> covers a study that explains how pain can be experienced as pleasurable<\/a>. It’s all. about the. timing apparently.<\/p>\n The Guardian<\/i> has a piece on an ‘anatomy of a media drug scare’ about the misreporting<\/a> of UK drug deaths linked to currently legal drug mephedrone.<\/p>\n The New York Times<\/i> visits a sanctuary<\/a> for the exotic animals of dead drug lords in Colombia.<\/p>\n ‘Supertaskers<\/a>‘ or people who can multi-task without performance drop off are discussed in Time<\/i> magazine.<\/p>\n Living the Scientific Life<\/i> on What do Great Tits<\/a> Reveal about the Genetics of Personality. Gutted.<\/p>\n There’s an excellent discussion of Allan Hobson’s neuroscientific theory of why we dream<\/a> over at The Neuroskeptic<\/i>.<\/p>\n Contemporary Psychotherapy<\/i> magazine has just released it’s latest edition<\/a> online.<\/p>\n There are some wonderful embroidered<\/a> cellular scale neurobiology creations over at Bioemphemera<\/i>.<\/p>\n The Neurocritic<\/i> covers the American Academy of Neurology’s Neuro Film Festival<\/a> which has some fantastic entries.<\/p>\n Is art<\/a> the highest form of sanity? The Times<\/i> has an intelligent discussion of the old ‘art and madness’ trope looking the misuse of the clich\u00e9 in recent writing.<\/p>\n The Guardian<\/i> has a video interview<\/a> with David Eagleman, neuroscientist and author of short stories about fantastic after-life possibilities. “We won’t die \u2013 our consciousness will live forever on the internet”.<\/p>\n A new study on impulsivity<\/a>, dopamine and addiction is covered by the splendid Addiction Inbox<\/i>.<\/p>\n BBC News<\/i> has an excellent piece by consistently excellent Mark Easton on the UK government’s failure to assess how effective their billions on drugs treatment<\/a> services work.<\/p>\n Synthetic Neurobiology: Optically Engineering the Brain to Augment Its Function. A talk<\/a> by MIT neural engineer Ed Boyden from The Singularity Summit 2009<\/i>.<\/p>\n The Splintered Mind<\/i> muses on people who come across as smart<\/a> and how this relates to genuinely being smart. By the way, if you don’t read the blog, it is a public fountain of emerging philosophical thinking. <\/p>\n The New York Times<\/i> discusses the ‘The Myth of Mean Girls<\/a>‘ contrasting public concerns about the behaviour of girls and the fact that every major index of crime shows that violence by girls has been plummeting for years.<\/p>\n The mighty Language Log<\/i> has an evolutionary psychology bingo card<\/a>. Eyes down for a full house.<\/p>\n The Onion<\/i> has a brilliant video<\/a> report: DEA Official Announces Successful Drug Bust on Son.<\/p>\n The ever-awesome BPS Research Digest<\/i> discusses a still not completely convincing study that reports to have found the direct evidence for mirror neurons<\/a> in the human brain using depth electrodes, including in the, er, hippocampus.<\/p>\n The Frontal Cortex<\/i> has been excellent<\/a> lately.<\/p>\n