July 2011
18 posts
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Hellhole: The Most Devastating Article About... →
Andy Worthington writes an excellent piece covering the various costs (psychologically and morally) of prisoners in long-term isolation units.
EEG studies going back to the nineteen-sixties have shown diffuse slowing of brain waves in prisoners after a week or more of solitary confinement. (…) Without sustained social interaction, the human brain may become as impaired as one that has...
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'Seduced by brain scan porn' and other broken... →
Today, the BPS Research Digest posts about the well known/accepted reliability arguments against allowing brain scans as deception evidence in court.
Jarrett brings up a nice study that supports the claim that as long as you throw in lot of neuroscience jargon that a jury will side with whichever counsel spits it, and a newer study that says bringing in a fMRI scan will up your chances 76% (lab...
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“…as evolved social creatures, we have brains that are attuned to trying to...”
– - WSJ review by RONALD BAILEY: “The Believing Brain” by Michael Shermer
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"How Blasts Injure the Brain" →
neurocide:
Published today on PLoS, “A Possible Role for Integrin Signaling in Diffuse Axonal Injury” researchers shed light on understanding cellular injuries in the brain caused by explosion blasts. Unfortunately, the relevance of this expands further than the 300,000 soldiers that have experienced a traumatic brain injury. So how can a explosion of sound cause brain damage?
Through a...
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I SEE SEXY PEOPLE: "Extrasensory Pornception" &... →
Searching for a paper about precognition and consciouness naturally lead me to this paper by Professor Daryl J. Bem of Cornell. If you heard of him, it’s likely because he has been rocking the boat with psi studies that report data (along with other researchers) that “is evidence” of a 6th sense. ESP and serious brain studies aren’t normally what you expect, but it’s...
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“Bruni and Davenport Guest Blogging Stints:
I send my thanks to Tommaso Bruni...”
– The brilliant and inspirational Prof. Adam Kolber giving me the closest thing I got to a birthday card today and more importantly an overall awesome opportunity to be heard by some movers and shakers in the neuroethics & law field. It was especially awesome to have lunch with him before he...
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"Transitioning brain research – From the... →
While neuroscientists and science writers are busy ping-ponging back and forth speculating about the merit and potential of neuro lab research applications in the real world, private, non-profit agencies and the government are wasting no time. I found a very interesting hub of information dealing with the “ethical, legal, and social issues associated with emerging neurotechnology,”...
approachingsignificance asked: Have anyone told you lately how great your posts are? Tumblr needs more of you.
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The stroke that made an arsonist →
“An unusual case of random fire-setting behavior associated with lacunar stroke”
Abstract: A case of a 47-year-old man with a sudden onset of a bizarre and random fire-setting behavior is reported. The man, who had been arrested on felony arson charges, complained of difficulties concentrating and of recent memory impairment. Axial T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging showed a low...
