MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'cognition'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:47:10 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5182064&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fnew-books-recursive-mind-by-michael.html This post, and all others on BrainBlog, are written by Anthony Risser for his blog BrainBlog. The appearance of this entry, and others, on different websites, framed under different websites, or not at the BrainBlog URL do not have my permission. All rights retained. Michael C. Corballis The Recursive Mind: The Origins of Human Language, Thought, and Civilization Princeton: Princeton University Press (2011) ISBN 978-0-691-14547-1 This is the first time I have read any of the several philosophical books that Michael Corballis has written. I am more familiar with his scientific publications, some of which are core “must reads” for any budding neuropsychological researcher. In “The Recursive Mind,” he outlines his approach to placing the relationship between language and thought. T... BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5182064 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 21:59:00 +0100 5182064 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5182067&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F83QTuZxBx3c%2F Obesity linked to Cognition (HealthCanal): - “Obese people tend to perform worse than healthy people at cognitive tasks like planning ahead, a literature review has found, concluding that psychological techniques used to treat anorexics could help obese people too.” - “According to a review of 38 studies on cognitive function and obesity by researchers from the University of NSW, obese people have a tendency toward “reduced executive function”, meaning planning, goal-oriented behaviour and decision-making.” - “Obesity may both cause and be caused by the reduced executive function, said review lead author Dr Evelyn Smith, from UNSW’s School of Psychiatry.” To read article: click Here. To access study: Click on A review of the association between obesity and cognitive fun... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5182067 Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:09:46 +0100 5182067 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5169611&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F83QTuZxBx3c%2F Obesity linked to Cognition (HealthCanal): - “Obese people tend to perform worse than healthy people at cognitive tasks like planning ahead, a literature review has found, concluding that psychological techniques used to treat anorexics could help obese people too.” - “According to a review of 38 studies on cognitive function and obesity by researchers from the University of NSW, obese people have a tendency toward “reduced executive function”, meaning planning, goal-oriented behaviour and decision-making.” - “Obesity may both cause and be caused by the reduced executive function, said review lead author Dr Evelyn Smith, from UNSW’s School of Psychiatry.” To read article: click Here. To access study: Click on A review of the association between obesity and cognitive fun... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5169611 Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:09:46 +0100 5169611 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5130668&cid=t_91887_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F15%2Fdiversion-pathfinder-selection-for-children-and-young-people%2F Scan or click to download 'Diversion pathfinder selection for children and young people' Title: Diversion pathfinder selection for children and young people The Skinny: Invitation from DH Offender Health to submit expressions of interest to become a youth justice point of arrest diversion pathfinder. Funding is available to provide identification of health needs and other vulnerabilities and support under 18 year olds into interventions at the earliest stage possible. Publisher: DH Size: 16p. Published: 03/03/11 Supplementary Documents: Background Scope Document: Pathfinders for Children and Young People Point of Arrest Diversion Application guidance for Children and Young People Point of Arrest Diversion Pathfinders Application form Youth Justice Liaison and Diversion process ... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5130668 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 07:27:47 +0100 5130668 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096361&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F08%2F04%2Fpolicy-implications-of-implicit-social-cognition%2F Situationist Contributor Brian Nosek and Rachel Riskind recently posted their paper, “Policy Implications of Implicit Social Cognition” on SSRN.  Here is the abstract. * * * Basic research in implicit social cognition demonstrates that thoughts and feelings outside of conscious awareness or conscious control can influence perception, judgment and action. Implicit measures reveal that people possess implicit attitudes and stereotypes about social groups that are often distinct from their explicitly endorsed beliefs and values. The evidence that behavior can be influenced by implicit social cognition contrasts with social policies that implicitly or explicitly assume that people know and control the causes of their behavior. We consider the present state of evidence for implicit... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096361 Thu, 04 Aug 2011 04:01:10 +0100 5096361 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5096320&cid=t_91887_107_f&fid=36672&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencebase.com%2Fscience-blog%2Fthe-heat-is-on-for-thermal-imaging.html The heat is on – Designer and thermal photographer Joseph Giacomin of Brunel University contacted me about his book – Seeing the World Through 21st Century Eyes. “The book,” he told me, “provides a visual journey through the world around us through the medium of thermal photography, hopefully stimulating questions about both the effect of man’s activity on the environment and the nature of our perceptual relationship with the environment.” The book is at once both scientific and artistic. Not only does it hook into one of the most compelling discoveries – that what we see, what we perceive, is all in our heads, not “out there”, it also shows how modern techniques such as thermography can bridge the divide between scientific constr... Sciencebase Science Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5096320 Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:30:51 +0100 5096320 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050744&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F07%2F18%2Fthe-situation-of-the-climate-change-debate%2F Situationist Contributor Dan Kahan, Maggie Wittlin, Ellen Peters, Situationist Contributor Paul Slovic, Lisa Ouellette, Donald Braman, and Gregory Mandel, recently posted their paper, “The Tragedy of the Risk-Perception Commons: Culture Conflict, Rationality Conflict, and Climate Change” on SSRN. Here’s the abstract. The conventional explanation for controversy over climate change emphasizes impediments to public understanding: Limited popular knowledge of science, the inability of ordinary citizens to assess technical information, and the resulting widespread use of unreliable cognitive heuristics to assess risk. A large survey of U.S. adults (N = 1540) found little support for this account. On the whole, the most scientifically literate and numerate subjects were slight... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050744 Mon, 18 Jul 2011 20:31:20 +0100 5050744 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028486&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F07%2F14%2Fu-cant-touch-this%2F Look around and you will see countless examples of how we conceptualize luck as following the “logic of contagion”: the star baseball player who refuses to change his socks during his record-breaking hitting streak; the basketball player who takes a shower during halftime of a playoff game after going 0-12 from the field; the students rubbing the foot of a lucky statute on their way to a big exam. Luck, good or bad, seems to have a certain “stickiness.” Over the weekend my friend Norbert Schwarz sent me a fascinating new article that he has just published with Alison Jing Xu and Rami Zwick in the Journal of Experimental Psychology that investigates this very phenomenon.  The abstract of the paper appears below: Many superstitious practices entail the belief that good or bad luck c... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028486 Thu, 14 Jul 2011 18:48:08 +0100 5028486 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934335&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F06%2F14%2Fwhen-our-intuition-leads-us-to-bad-decisions%2F Six years ago, Malcolm Gladwell released a book entitled Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. In his usual style, Gladwell weaves stories in-between descriptions of scientific research the support his hypothesis that our intuition can be surprisingly accurate and right. One year ago, authors Daniel J. Simons and Christopher F. Chabris, writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education not only had some choice words for Gladwell’s cherry-picking of the research, but also showed how intuition probably only works best in certain situations, where there is no clear science or logical decision-making process to arrive at the “right” answer. For instance, when choosing which ice cream is “best.” Reasoned analysis, however, works best in virtually every other si... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934335 Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:39:28 +0100 4934335 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934367&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F06%2F13%2Ftanya-chartrand-on-social-mimicry%2F From The Human Spark: Obvious mimicry can be maddening – as the “Stop copying me!” refrain screamed by generations of siblings can attest. But in this Web-Exclusive Video, Alan Alda learns that subtle mimicry in social situations can actually lead to positive emotions and behaviors. Duke University psychologist Tanya Chartrand enlists Alan as a participant in her research. Watch this clip to learn about social mimicry – and why you can’t expect an actor not to always have the best interests of the camera in mind! Related Situationist posts: The Embodied Situation of Power “The Situational Power of Appearance and Posture,” “The Situation of Imitation and Mimickry,” “The Situation of Trust,” “The Situation of Body Image,” “The (Unconscious) Situation of... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934367 Mon, 13 Jun 2011 04:01:48 +0100 4934367 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872182&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F05%2F27%2Fintroduction-to-social-psychology-and-social-cognition%2F (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872182 Fri, 27 May 2011 15:09:32 +0100 4872182 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4828983&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F05%2F17%2Fa-psychologist-and-a-superhero%2F Psychology has spilled over into pop culture in many ways throughout the years. For instance, in 1911, one psychologist saved Coca-Cola by conducting rigorous studies into caffeine’s effects on cognition and sensory and motor abilities. In 1929, another inspired his nephew’s successful public relations campaigns, which linked smoking cigarettes with female empowerment, if you can believe it. Since 1895, other psychologists were directly involved in advertising, using surveys and other new ploys to get us to buy their products. (You didn’t need toothpaste to clean your teeth; you needed it to make you sexier.) One psychologist even changed the comic book world and influenced an entire movement (that would be the feminist movement). In the early 1940s, Harvard psychologist William ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4828983 Tue, 17 May 2011 10:30:00 +0100 4828983 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4758704&cid=t_91887_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F04%2F27%2Fjournal-of-the-american-medical-association-2011-vol-305-no-10%2F This article recommends a general framework for evaluating driver fitness relies on a functional evaluation of multiple domains (cognitive, motor, perceptual, and psychiatric) that are important for safe driving and can be applied across many disorders, including conditions that have rarely been studied with respect to driving, and in patients with multiple conditions and medications. Neurocognitive tests, driving simulation, and road tests provide complementary sources of evidence to evaluate driver safety. No single test is sufficient to determine who should drive and who should not. An NHS Athens password is required to access this article online, alternatively contact the Library for a copy of the article. Filed under: Current Awareness Tagged: Accidents, Aging, Atrial Fibrillation, Co... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4758704 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 11:32:57 +0100 4758704 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4636555&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=36506&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FBrainSciencePodcastBlog%2F%7E3%2F2MrgmzutFLQ%2Fembodied-cognition-with-lawrence-shapiro-bsp-73.html Discussion) Brooks, R. (1991) "New Approaches to Robotics," Science 253: 1227-32. Brooks, R. (1991) "Intelligence without Representation," Artificial Intelligence 47: 139-59. Clark, A. and Chalmer, D. (1998) "The Extended Mind." Analysis 58: 7-19. Glenberg, A. and Kaschak, M. (2002) "Grounding Lanquage in Action," Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 9: 558-65. Ehrlich, S., Levine, S., and Golden-Meadows, S. (2006) "The Importance of Gesture in Children's Spatial Reasoning," Developmental Psychology 42: 1259-68. Thelan, E. and Smith,L. (1994) A Dynamical Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action (Cambridge: MIT Press) See Episode Transcript for additional references.  Subscribe to the Brain Science Podcast: Annoucements:   Join the discussion of this episode in... the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4636555 Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:00:06 +0100 4636555 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4631522&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F25%2Fpsychology-of-inequality%2F Elaine McCardle wrote a terrific review of last month’s Fifth Annual PLMS Conference.  Her article is the spotlight piece on the Harvard Law School website and includes several excellent videos, photos, and links.  Here’s the story. * * * While equality is a fundamental principle of American law and the bedrock of the national psyche, inequality has actually increased in the past four decades in the distribution of wealth, power, opportunity, even health. Yet the topic of inequality has received relatively little attention from legal theorists, and, for the most part, it is ignored in the basic law school curriculum. A conference last month at HLS, “The Psychology of Inequality,” presented by the Project on Law & Mind Sciences (PLMS), stepped into that vacuum, bringi... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4631522 Fri, 25 Mar 2011 04:01:28 +0100 4631522 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4525057&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F27%2Flegal-socialization-and-the-news%2F Over at the new Law & Mind Blog, several Harvard Law students have been blogging about a chapter (forthcoming inIdeology, Psychology, and Law, edited by Situationist Contributor Jon Hanson) by Mitchell Callan and Situationist Contributor Aaron Kay. In the second post on the topic (copied below), LLM candidate David Simon discusses legal socialization. * * * Imagine you and your neighbor share a fence along a common border, part of which demarcates the boundary between both properties and “the wilderness.” The fence benefits both of you because it keeps out the livestock-killing coyotes. One day, a shared and critical part of the fence collapses onto your property, leaving your yard open to coyotes, who may eat your livestock. Without legal recourse, how might you resolve... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4525057 Sun, 27 Feb 2011 04:20:50 +0100 4525057 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4419211&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F31%2Fsituationism-in-the-news-14%2F From Boston Globe (by Kevin Lewis): The Brand-Name Ego Boost: Researchers found that using a generic (vs. brand name) product undermines self-esteem. In one experiment, university students were asked to type out a resume, ostensibly for a recruiting event. Students used an Apple iMac to type their resumes and were told that the keyboard and mouse were new. Some students, though, were told that the keyboard and mouse were generic parts — to save money. The students who used the generic keyboard reported expecting a lower salary.  More . . . Lower stress through writing: Researchers at the University of Chicago have shown that expressive writing before a test can boost scores.  More . . . Higher ground: Everyone assumes that heaven is high above the ground somewhere, while hell is down... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4419211 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 04:06:43 +0100 4419211 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4377667&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F01%2Fdeconstructing-henry.html A website from UCSD Brain Observatory:Deconstructing Henry (Source: BrainBlog) BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4377667 Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:15:00 +0100 4377667 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4272369&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F12%2F20%2Fwhen-salsa-is-more-than-salsa%2F Ask anyone in legal academia about the annual U.S. News rankings and you will undoubtedly hear a long list of complaints about how they fail to capture the strengths and weaknesses of schools, encourage deans to invest in the wrong things, and offer little true insight for prospective students. Yet no one has managed to articulate a feasible plan for breaking free from their choke hold and so nearly every law school in the country plays the rankings game to one degree or another, whether it is hiring experts to help increase incoming LSAT scores or sending out glossy brochures to the chosen few who vote on faculty reputation scores. A few weeks ago, however, Brooklyn Law School took things to a new level by sending out . . . spicy salsa! As my colleague, Dan Filler, argued over at the Facu... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4272369 Mon, 20 Dec 2010 04:01:37 +0100 4272369 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4266009&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FXmynFlO5_uU%2F David DiSalvo, a science and technology writer whose posts we share with you regularly, has just published his selection of the 2010 psychology studies really worth knowing about. A great tour of the brain and psychology that leads us from how many of our waking hours are dedicated to day dreaming, how the impression we are trying to give when meeting someone influences how we evaluate the other person, to how a confident posture gives a biochemical advantage that increases feelings of power and tolerance of risk. Enjoy! (Source: SharpBrains) SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4266009 Fri, 17 Dec 2010 16:45:35 +0100 4266009 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4186899&cid=t_91887_87_f&fid=34925&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbestyoucanbe.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F11%2Fbe-best-you-can-be-understanding.html I wrote about my son's memory and processing disabilities two days ago. Today I read a Zimmer article on the routers in our brains, and how consciousness goes offline during even simple decision making tasks. I think we'll hear more about this "router" dysfunction hypothesis, particularly in the context of autism, schizophrenia and other disorders of cognition and consciousness.The "offline when making decisions" model is something I'll be watching for in him. (Source: Be the Best You can Be) Be the Best You can Be blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4186899 Sat, 20 Nov 2010 18:31:00 +0100 4186899 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4183268&cid=t_91887_87_f&fid=34925&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbestyoucanbe.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F11%2Funderstanding-different-mind-memory.html As my oldest son moves into his adolescence, his mind continues to change. Observing him, I get new insights into how his mind works.He has a pen pal now, a young woman who is studying special education. She started writing him as part of a school program, and has continued on. She is a wonderful correspondent.My young adolescent tells her stories to impress her. They aren't, however, true stories.They are generally plausible stories, no more or less impressive than the things he actually does. Often they are things he has done, just not things he has done recently. On the other hand, he omits adventures that I, in his place, would certainly include.I think he's dissembling a bit, but mostly I think he doesn't really remember what happened yesterday. He may remember it in detail six months... Be the Best You can Be blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4183268 Fri, 19 Nov 2010 04:27:00 +0100 4183268 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4179401&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F11%2Fmedia-hm-man-who-couldnt-remember-bbc.html From the BBC Radio 4 show, "Case Study":HM - The Man Who Couldn't RememberBroadcast on 11 August 2010.Listen to the programme (Source: BrainBlog) BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4179401 Thu, 18 Nov 2010 16:55:00 +0100 4179401 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4179407&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iqscorner.com%2F2010%2F11%2Fsocial-face-cognition-abilities-where.html Very thought provoking research suggesting that the taxonomy of human cognitive abilities (i.e., CHC theory) may need to figure out where to fit abilities from the domain of social face cognition.A nice piece of interesting research by Wilhelm et al. (2010), presented in the new IQs Readings formatEnjoy.intelligence IQ tests IQ scores CHC theory Cattell-Horn-Carroll human cognitive abilities psychology school psychology individual differences cognitive psychology neuropsychology special education educational psychology psychometrics psychological assessment psychological measurement IQs Corner face recognition face cognition social intelligence social awareness - iPost using BlogPress from my Kevin McGrew's iPad (Source: Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Cor... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4179407 Thu, 18 Nov 2010 04:53:00 +0100 4179407 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4119038&cid=t_91887_107_f&fid=36672&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSciencebaseScienceBlog%2F%7E3%2F1q1O_tg2mO4%2Flatest-science-snippets.html The boiling Sun – In case you woke up today feeling important…there's a rather humbling picture that shows the scale of a plume of gas erupting from the surface of the Sun that would literally engulf the whole planet. More to the point, you could fit the Earth into the sun a million times over…and the sun isn't even a particularly big star and it's just one of billions in our galaxy and there are billions of galaxies in the "known" universe. The universe itself may simply be a tiny bubble in a even more unimaginable froth of universes…still pretty picture isn't it? Alchemist for 27th October on ChemWeb.com – In this week's issue theoretical work opens up entirely new chemical vistas hinting at the chemistry of elements beyond... Sciencebase Science Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4119038 Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:05:36 +0100 4119038 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4086240&cid=t_91887_87_f&fid=34925&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbestyoucanbe.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F10%2Fautism-after-childhood-profile-of.html This article illustrates how poorly we understand the lifelong natural history of the injured, healing, and evolving brain.The article also introduces us to the somewhat spectrumish researcher Peter Gerhardt. Gerhardt, a speaker for Spectrum Training Systems (WI), is one of the very few American researchers who studies autistic adults. (Yes, medical science does have structural problems.)Gerhrdt, we're told, is developing a "program" focused on "adolescence to adulthood" at New York's (ABA intensive) McCarton School.  I followed up on that lead, but unfortunately he doesn't have a blog, though he does have a public Facebook page.Dr. Gerhardt appears to have some ongoing relationship to the Virginia based Organization for Autism Research, the "only autism organization which focuse... Be the Best You can Be blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4086240 Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:24:00 +0100 4086240 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4077339&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F10%2F17%2Fdan-kahan-at-harvard-law-school%2F On Monday, October 18th, the HLS Student Association for Law and Mind Sciences (SALMS) and the American Constitution Society (ACS) are hosting a talk by Yale professor Dan Kahan entitled “The Laws of Cultural Cognition, and the Cultural Cognition of Law. Professor Kahan is the Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law at Yale Law School.  A graduate of Harvard Law School, Professor Kahan clerked for both for Justice Thurgood Marshall and Judge Harry T. Edwards of the District of Columbia Circuit United States Court of Appeals. Professor Kahan is well-known for his work in the area of cultural cognition, or the study of how people assess the degree of risk in a given situation based on their culturally engrained concepts of good behavior.  He leads the Cultural Cognition Project, which ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4077339 Sun, 17 Oct 2010 23:15:11 +0100 4077339 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4065417&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F10%2F13%2Fdo-you-still-have-a-security-blanket%2F Do you still have your favorite blanket, pillow, or plush toy from your childhood? If you do, don’t fear — you’re amongst good company. Our partner LiveScience has the story by examining the data that drives our need to keep these reminders from our childhood. We believe these objects hold something of greater value to us than just their outward appearance or physical properties. Scientists call this belief “essentialism.” Essentialism is why we don’t feel the same about replacing a lost object, whether it be our wedding ring, a toy from our childhood, or our cherished iPhone. The new object loses that emotional attachment the original had. That’s one of the reasons some of us hang on to those childhood toys or objects — they hold an emotiona... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4065417 Wed, 13 Oct 2010 09:00:04 +0100 4065417 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4040620&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F10%2F07%2Fthe-embodied-situation-of-power%2F From LiveScience: * * * When suiting up with that “power tie,” you may also want to strike a pose — a power pose, that is. New research indicates that holding a pose that opens up a person’s body and takes up space will alter hormone levels and make the person feel more powerful and more willing to take risks. “These poses actually make you more powerful,” said study researcher Amy C.J. Cuddy, a social psychologist at the Harvard Business School. The opposite also proved true: Constrictive postures lowered a person’s sense of power and willingness to take risks. Cuddy teaches the results of the study to her students. . . . * * * In the study, researchers randomly assigned 42 participants, 26 of them women, to assume and hold a pair of either low- or high-power poses. The hig... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4040620 Thu, 07 Oct 2010 04:01:42 +0100 4040620 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3938391&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F09%2F07%2Fthe-situation-of-property-ownership%2F Patricia Kanngiesser, Nathalia Gjersoe, and Bruce M. Hood recently published a fascinating paper, titled “The Effect of Creative Labor on Property-Ownership Transfer by Preschool Children and Adults,” in the August 16, 2010 issue of Psychological Science.  Here’s the abstract. * * * Recognizing property ownership is of critical importance in social interactions, but little is known about how and when this attribute emerges. We investigated whether preschool children and adults believe that ownership of one person’s property is transferred to a second person following the second person’s investment of creative labor in that property. In our study, an experimenter and a participant borrowed modeling-clay objects from each other to mold int... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3938391 Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:01:43 +0100 3938391 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3934518&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F09%2F05%2Fthe-situational-effects-of-mirror-neurons%2F From TEDxTalks: Gustaf Gredebäck is an Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology, Uppsala University where he manages the Uppsala Babylab. His research span several topics including occulomotor development, social cognition, and object representations in infancy. Central to his research is the active infant, that perceive, interpret, and interact with his/her physical and social environment in a goal directed and future oriented manner. * * * * * * For a sample of related Situationist posts, see “A (Situationist) Body of Thought,” “Smart People Thinking about People Thinking about People Thinking,” “A Closer Look at Interior Situation,” “The Unconscious Situation of our Consciousness – Part IV,” “The Body Has a Mind of its Own,” and “Br... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3934518 Sun, 05 Sep 2010 04:01:25 +0100 3934518 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3845080&cid=t_91887_87_f&fid=34925&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbestyoucanbe.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fcognitive-evaluation-and-motivation.html One of my sons has substantial measured cognitive disabilities including base IQ and a range of social functions. By most recent evaluations he's borderline "mentally retarded". (A nasty phrase that's enshrined by legal statutes. Of course there's no true binary state, this is all continua.)Which is why our titanic struggles over his misuse of internet resources are puzzling. This ought to be the mismatch of the decade. In every measure of knowledge and cognitive measurement there should be no contest between him and me.And yet it is a struggle. Mostly I win, but he wins some too. He's proven OS X Parental Controls, for example, are utterly broken. (I have more to write about iPhone for special needs adolescence. There's more promise there, starting with disabling Safari and YouTube.)Yes, ... Be the Best You can Be blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3845080 Mon, 09 Aug 2010 04:46:00 +0100 3845080 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3845160&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F08%2F09%2Frenata-saleci-on-the-paradox-of-choice%2F A common theme of The Situationist and of the scholarship of Situationist Contributors is the “choice myth” in western culture.   Here is a video of Professor Renata Saleci, who employs sociology, psychoanalysis, and philosophy, to offer a slightly different version of that familiar theme. For a sample of related Situationist posts, go to “Sheena Iyengar on the Situation of Choosing,” and the  links in that post.   To review the hundreds of Situationist posts discussing the “Choice Myth” click here., (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3845160 Mon, 09 Aug 2010 04:01:02 +0100 3845160 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3813049&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F08%2F03%2Fsheena-iyengar-on-the-situation-of-choosing%2F From Ted Talks: “[Situationist friend] Sheena Iyengar studies how we make choices — and how we feel about the choices we make. At TEDGlobal, she talks about both trivial choices (Coke v. Pepsi) and profound ones, and shares her groundbreaking research that has uncovered some surprising attitudes about our decisions.” * * * * * * For a sample of related Situationist posts, see “Sheena Iyengar on the Situation of Choice,” “Sheena Iyengar’s Situation and the Situation of Choosing,” “Sheena Iyengar on ‘The Multiple Choice Problem,’” “Can’t Get No Satisfaction!: The Law Student’s Job Hunt – Part II,” “Dan Gilbert on the Situation of Our Decisions,”and “Just Choose It! “  To review all of the Situationist posts that discu... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3813049 Tue, 03 Aug 2010 04:01:26 +0100 3813049 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3802458&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F30%2Fattributional-divide-top-10%2F This article, the first of a multipart series, argues that a major rift runs across many of our major policy debates based on our attributional tendencies: the less accurate dispositionist approach, which explains outcomes and behavior with reference to people’s dispositions (i.e., personalities, preferences, and the like), and the more accurate situationist approach, which bases attributions of causation and responsibility on unseen influences within us and around us. Given that situationism offers a truer picture of our world than the alternative, and given that attributional tendencies are largely the result of elements in our situations, identifying the relevant elements should be a major priority of legal scholars. With such information, legal academics could predict which indiv... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3802458 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:01:43 +0100 3802458 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3794858&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F28%2Fthe-future-of-embodied-cogntion%2F I have just returned from the fabulous Barnard Interdisciplinary Workshop on Embodiment. The three-day workshop, funded by the National Science Foundation, brought together 23 experts from across the cognitive sciences and humanities—including George Lakoff, Larry Barsalou, and Vittorio Gallese—to plan and discuss the future of the rapidly growing field. I was lucky enough to participate as a representative from legal academia and I must say that I am more convinced than ever that embodiment research is set to revolutionize a number of disciplines both inside the mind sciences and without. In the coming weeks, I hope to bring more new work from embodied cognition to the Situationist, so find those soft slippers, put the tea kettle on, and sit back in a comfy chair . . . * * * For a sam... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3794858 Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:01:41 +0100 3794858 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3761492&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F17%2Fthe-situation-of-practice%2F From USC News: Struggling with your chip shot? Constant drills with your wedge may not help much, but mixing in longer drives will, and a new study shows why. Previous studies have shown that variable practice improves the brain’s memory of most skills better than practice focused on a single task. Cognitive neuroscientists at USC and UCLA describe the neural basis for this paradox in a new study in Nature Neuroscience. The researchers split 59 volunteers into six groups: three groups were asked to practice a challenging arm movement, while the other three groups practiced the movement and related tasks in a variable practice structure. Volunteers in the variable practice group showed better retention of the skill. The process of consolidating memory of the skill engaged a part of the br... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3761492 Sat, 17 Jul 2010 04:01:44 +0100 3761492 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3750117&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F14%2Fsituationist-political-science-and-the-situation-of-voters%2F Joe Keohane wrote an outstanding article, “How Facts Backfire: Researchers discover a surprising threat to democracy: our brains,” for the Boston Globe last week.  Here are some excerpts. * * * It’s one of the great assumptions underlying modern democracy that an informed citizenry is preferable to an uninformed one. “Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government,” Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1789. . . . Mankind may be crooked timber, as Kant put it, uniquely susceptible to ignorance and misinformation, but it’s an article of faith that knowledge is the best remedy. If people are furnished with the facts, they will be clearer thinkers and better citizens. If they are ignorant, facts will enlighten them. If they are mistaken, facts w... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3750117 Wed, 14 Jul 2010 05:16:26 +0100 3750117 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3746857&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FEID5-wTAlF0%2F We often hear interest from people of all ages in being participants in the cognitive research we are doing in our UCSF lab. However, all of our experiments to date have been focused on under 20 year olds and the over 60 age group, and many people fall in between. Well, we have just launched our first experiment aimed at exploring the impact of distraction and multitasking on performance across the lifespan, with a large enough number of participants to allow for gender comparisons. So, we are reaching to people of all ages with the opportunity to be participate in this cool new experiment. This is a behavioral study using a video game that we created and developed to evaluate these skills. It sets the stage for both a brain training and brain recording experiment to follow. Taking part re... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3746857 Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:29:57 +0100 3746857 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3724486&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F05%2Fthe-situation-of-touch%2F From Situationist Contributor John Bargh’s ACME Lab: Sitting in a hard chair can literally turn someone into a hardass. Holding a heavy clipboard leads to weighty decisions. Rubbing rough surfaces makes us prickly. So found researchers studying the interaction between physical touch and social cognition. The experiments included would-be car buyers who, when seated in a cushy chair, were less likely to drive a stiff bargain. The findings don’t just suggest tricks for salesman, but may illuminate how our brains develop. “The way people understand the world is through physical experiences. The first sense they develop is touch,” said study co-author Josh Ackerman, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology psychologist. As they grow up, those physical experiences shape how people co... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3724486 Mon, 05 Jul 2010 04:48:24 +0100 3724486 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3706778&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FxiHveFhb7SE%2F In spite of the recent economic downturn, revenues for digital technologies to assess, enhance and treat cognition, or digital brain health and fitness tools, grew 35% in 2009. “The convergence of demographic and policy trends with cognitive neuroscience discoveries and technological innovation is giving birth to a nascent marketplace that can fundamentally transform what brain health is, how it is measured, and how it is done,” says Alvaro Fernandez, member of the World Economic Forum’s Council on the Aging Society and Editor-in-Chief of the report. “This groundbreaking report can help pioneers shape the emerging toolkit to benefit an aging society that increasingly seeks new ways to enhance cognitive functionality and mental wellness across the lifespan.” &#... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3706778 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:26:58 +0100 3706778 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3702997&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F06%2F28%2Fthe-situation-of-presidential-death-threats%2F Gregory Scott Parks, and Danielle Heard recently posted their fascinating paper, titled “‘Assassinate the Nigger Ape’: Obama, Implicit Imagery, and the Dire Consequences of Racist Jokes,” on SSRN.  Here is the abstract. * * * In 1994, Congress passed legislation stating that Presidents elected to office after January 1, 1997, would no longer receive lifetime Secret Service protection. Such legislation was unremarkable until the first Black President – Barack Obama – was elected. From the outset of his campaign until today, and likely beyond, President Obama has received unprecedented death threats. These threats, we argue, are at least in part tied to critics and commentators’ use of symbols, pictures, and words to characterize the Obama as a primate... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3702997 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 04:01:39 +0100 3702997 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3742323&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=35077&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneurophilosophy.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F06%2F25%2Ftouch_influences_social_judgements_and_decisions%2F APPLYING for a job? The weight of the clipboard to which your CV is attached may influence your chances of getting it. Negotiating a deal? Sitting in a hard chair may lead you to drive a harder bargain. Those are two of the surprising conclusions of a study published in today’s issue of Science, which [...] (Source: Neurophilosophy) Neurophilosophy blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3742323 Fri, 25 Jun 2010 09:05:29 +0100 3742323 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3641142&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F3sblmEAdA8M%2F The Boston Globe has a good article/ book review on the latest quasi-luddite attack on the Internet (an attack in the name of brain science no less, and with cool brain scans). The book in question: “The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains.” The Internet ate my brain (Boston Globe) - Nicholas Carr says that our online lifestyle threatens to make us dumber. But resistance may not be futile The reporter, Wes Anderson, adds the proper perspective, in my view, by ending the article with: “Books and the Internet, literary culture and digital culture have coexisted for many years. It may be that an engaged intellectual life will now require a sort of hybrid existence — and a hybrid mind that can adapt and survive by the choices one makes. It may require a new ... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3641142 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:23:59 +0100 3641142 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3633516&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F06%2F06%2Fthe-palliative-function-of-ideology%2F Jaime Napier is an Assistant Professors of Psychology at Yale University. Her primary research interest is the effects of societal injustice, including how members of advantaged and disadvantaged groups diverge in their perceptions and explanations of injustice; how political and religious ideologies may ameliorate the outrage associated with perceived injustice; and the consequences of accepting or rationalizing injustice on individual subjective well-being and self-esteem. At the third annual conference on Law and Mind Sciences, which took place in March of 2009, Napier’s fascinating presentation was titled “The Palliative Function of Ideology.” Here’s the abstract: In this research, we drew on system-justification theory and the notion that conservative ideology ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3633516 Sun, 06 Jun 2010 04:01:59 +0100 3633516 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3629708&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F06%2F04%2Fthe-situational-influence-of-red-ink%2F Last week, NPR’s All Things Considered included a story by Guy Raz about California psychology professor Abraham Rutchick‘s study of how people use red and blue pens to grade papers. Rutchick tells host Raz that the red graders were way tougher than those who used blue pens.  Here are some excerpts from the interview (which you can listen at this link). * * * GUY RAZ, host: Tell me how you went about studying this theory. Prof. RUTCHICK: The basic idea is that throughout our lives we get papers handed back to us from teachers with a bunch of corrections on them, and typically they’re in red ink. * * * Prof. RUTCHICK: That happens enough times over the course of our lives that the idea of red ink and red pens and error is in correction, you know, gets sort of lodged in ou... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3629708 Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:18:40 +0100 3629708 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3617951&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fcurious-reading-about-neuropsychology.html Study raises questions about military's brain injury assessment toolBY KATHERINE MCINTIRE PETERS 24 May 2010next.gov.com (Source: BrainBlog) BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3617951 Mon, 31 May 2010 20:42:00 +0100 3617951 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3617952&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fobit-prof-richard-gregory.html Recently, from The Telegraph:Prof. Richard Gregory of the University of Bristol (Source: BrainBlog) BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3617952 Thu, 27 May 2010 20:46:00 +0100 3617952 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3742327&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=35077&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneurophilosophy.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F05%2F27%2Fapparent_motion_steer_the_wandering_mind%2F A new study shows that apparent motion influence the direction of mental time travel (Source: Neurophilosophy) Neurophilosophy blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3742327 Thu, 27 May 2010 12:00:35 +0100 3742327 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3569964&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=35066&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneurodudes.com%2F2010%2F05%2F16%2Fthe-evolutionary-psychology-of-war%2F Nothing too shocking here for students of evolutionary psychology but it’s always interesting to see real world examples of how our shared behavior. There is a new book by Sebastian Junger called War, in which he recounts how men do not fight for larger ideological goals (eg. “a safer Iraq”, “finding Bin Laden”) but instead they can overcome fears because “they’re more concerned about their brothers than what happens to themselves individually”. Here’s Junger on Good Morning America: After the jump some more from Junger and a nice talk from Robert Sapolsky about similar behaviors in chimps. Another example from soldiers in Afghanistan is the “blood-in, blood-out” ritual for increasing group cohesiveness and testing individ... neurodudes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3569964 Sun, 16 May 2010 20:29:44 +0100 3569964 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3556174&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F05%2F11%2Fthe-situational-effects-of-hand-washing%2F NPR’s Morning Edition had a recent story (by Nell Greenfieldboyce) about research on the effects of hand-washing.  Here are some excerpts. * * * Soaping up your hands may do more than just get rid of germs. It may scrub away the inner turmoil you feel right after being forced to make a choice between two appealing options. That’s according to a new study on the psychological effects of hand washing in the journal Science. The study builds on past research into a phenomenon known as “the Macbeth effect.” It turns out that Shakespeare was really onto something when he imagined Lady Macbeth trying to clean her conscience by rubbing invisible bloodstains from her hands. A few years ago, scientists asked people to describe a past unethical act. If people were then given... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3556174 Tue, 11 May 2010 16:55:24 +0100 3556174 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4060655&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=34859&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.davemsw.com%2Farchives%2F2010%2F05%2Fthe_two_darts_of_suffering_pain_is_inevitable_suff.php This is the sixth in a series of articles about emotional intelligence for personal growth. In keeping with the idea that emotional intelligence is one of the foundational concepts of mental health, I dedicate this installment to May, Mental Health Month. It is often said that life is suffering. Some of that suffering is unavoidable. Life has a way of throwing us adversity. The pain of physical distress and illness as well as the psychological pain of loss is unavoidable. This is the first "Dart" and might be called pain. Pain serves an adaptive function in human life and allows us to appraise our experience and prepare to act in ways to maintain favorable conditions or to change unfavorable conditions (Egloff et al., 2006). Positive emotions encourage us to maintain that which evoked our... Ψ Dare To Dream... blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4060655 Mon, 10 May 2010 00:36:05 +0100 4060655 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3569912&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=34761&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedblitz.com%2F%7E%2F11638462%2F1e6cz4%2Fneuromarketing%7EA-Better-Brain-in-Four-Days.htm We’d all like to think better, but few of us have the time or desire to, say, spend years in a Tibetan monastery learning to meditate. Past studies have shown that such extended training can indeed improve cognitive functioning. Remarkable new research shows that just four days of meditating for 20 minutes per day produced [...] (Source: Neuromarketing) Neuromarketing blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3569912 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 12:27:48 +0100 3569912 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3502872&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F04%2Falzheimers-disease-nih-conference.html A reminder that tomorrow (Monday) you can watch the conference online. Information, including the programme, can be found at http://consensus.nih.gov/2010/alz.htm.If you tweet, the hashtag for the conference is #NIHAlz (Source: BrainBlog) BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3502872 Sun, 25 Apr 2010 17:03:00 +0100 3502872 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3490742&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FWV_7K2JURAU%2F You may already have read the hundreds of media articles today titled “brain training doesn’t work” and similar, based on the BBC “Brain Test Britain” experiment. Once more, claims seem to go beyond the science backing them up … except that in this case it is the researchers, not the developers, who are responsible. Let’s recap what we learned today. The Good Science The study showed that putting together a variety of brain games in one website and asking people who happen to show up to play around for a grand total of 3-4 hours over 6 weeks (10 minutes 3 times a week for 6 weeks) didn’t result in meaningful improvements in cognitive functioning. This is useful information for consumers to know, because in fact there are websites and compani... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3490742 Wed, 21 Apr 2010 05:50:29 +0100 3490742 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3490740&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fbrain-game-brain-training-games.html From the BBC: The results: Brain training games don't make us smarterRead articleFrom Nature News: Read press releaseWatch (in the UK):"Can You Train Your Brain?" BBC One21st April, 2100 hrs: Description (Source: BrainBlog) BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3490740 Tue, 20 Apr 2010 19:38:00 +0100 3490740 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3482983&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fcomputer-assisted-rehabilitation.html From CBC News:Virtual reality added to soldiers' rehab19 April 2010Read the article (Source: BrainBlog) BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3482983 Mon, 19 Apr 2010 15:25:00 +0100 3482983 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3479740&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F04%2F17%2Fembodied-rationality%2F Barbara Spellman and  Simone Schnall recently posted their fascinating paper, Embodied Rationality, on SSRN.  Here’s the abstract. * * * In the last decade, many cognitive and social psychology researchers have been inspired by the notion of “embodied cognition” – that cognition is grounded in actual bodily states, and that cognition takes place in the service of action. Consider two examples: (1) when wearing a backpack people perceive hills to be steeper than when not wearing one; (2) when holding a cup containing a hot drink people rate another person as more warm and friendly than when holding a cup containing a cold drink. Findings such as these suggest that behavioral law and economics’s emphasis on “irrationality” in decision making could bene... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3479740 Sat, 17 Apr 2010 04:20:27 +0100 3479740 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3456900&cid=t_91887_165_f&fid=37962&url=http%3A%2F%2Fotnotes.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fwelcome-to-first-ever-otnotes-podcast.html Welcome to the First-Ever OTNotes podcast! Featuring Kelly Casey, Occupational Therapist from The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, who is presenting multiple topics at the AOTA Conference. (Get it? That's why we're using the special "speakers-only" badge for this entry) The audio is 22 minutes, please forgive the technical quality and instead focus on the awesome discussion points offered. Here are some links to helpful information in case you're not taking notes: Kelly's Topics: Thu, Apr 29, 9:00 - 10:30 AM Short Course 105 Culture Change In Acute Care: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Creating Respect For Therapies Thu, Apr 29, 1:00 - 3:00 PM Poster 207 Movement Towards The Centennial Vision: Steps Of Post-professional And Entry Level OTDs Fri, Apr 30, 2:00 - 3:... Occupational Therapy Notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3456900 Fri, 09 Apr 2010 18:30:00 +0100 3456900 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3443653&cid=t_91887_87_f&fid=34925&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbestyoucanbe.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fnew-behavioral-intervention-adding.html It's easy to persuade someone who can reason about past and future, and who can connect actions and consequences.It's much harder to influence someone when reward or consequences must instantly follow action, where the past is forgotten and the future is inconceivable.So we would like to make the future more real, more tangible. Something that he can interact with. We need to do it in a way that leverages his skills.How do we do that?We know that despite a quite low IQ he has a relative talent for devices and computers. They are natural to him, more comfortable and familiar than forest or water or rock. He struggles with many things, but not with software. Plan iMac has been successful. He's done well with his mobile phone, and texting seems to have advanced his writing skills.So... Be the Best You can Be blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3443653 Wed, 07 Apr 2010 02:42:00 +0100 3443653 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3440751&cid=t_91887_87_f&fid=34925&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbestyoucanbe.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F04%2Fprosthetic-conscience-for-special-needs.html Some special needs teens and adults may wish to do well, but have a great deal of difficulty modeling the impact of their actions. Impulse disorders, limited abilities to abstract, and autism-associated disabilities may all make a prosthetic conscience useful ...Gordon's Notes: A conscience for robots - and for humans too... Some humans too would benefit from a prosthetic conscience. It might allow persons with disorders of conscience to function more effectively in the modern world. Our prisons are full of low IQ individuals with a limited capacity to model the impacts of their actions on other persons. A prosthetic conscience might allow them to avoid prison, or to have great success after prison life... (Source: Be the Best You can Be) Be the Best You can Be blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3440751 Mon, 05 Apr 2010 17:24:00 +0100 3440751 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3424923&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F03%2F31%2Fjoshua-greene-to-speak-at-harvard-law-school%2F On Thursday, April 1st, the HLS Student Association for Law and Mind Sciences (SALMS) and the Harvard Graduate Mind, Brain, and Behavior (MBB) Steering Committee are hosting a talk by Joshua Greene called “Moral Cognition and the Law.” Joshua Greene is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at Harvard University. He studies emotion and reason in moral judgment using behavioral experiments, functional neuroimaging (fMRI), and other neuroscientific methods.  The goal of his research is to understand how moral judgments are shaped by automatic processes, such as emotional gut reactions, and controlled cognitive processes, such as reasoning and self-control. The event will take place in Pound 101 at Harvard Law School, from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Free Burritos! For ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3424923 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 04:01:25 +0100 3424923 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3416174&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fneuropsychology-abstract-of-day_29.html This article provides an overview of the empirical evidence that methylphenidate has the ability to significantly improve cognitive abilities in healthy individuals, and examines whether the presumed uptake of the drug is either as socially significant as implied or growing to the extent that it requires urgent regulatory attention. In addition, it reviews the evidence of side-effects for the use of methylphenidate which may be an influential factor in whether an individual decides to use such drugs. The primary conclusions are that neither drug efficacy, nor the benefit-to-risk balance, nor indicators of current or growing demand provide sufficient evidence that methylphenidate is a suitable example of a cognitive enhancer with mass appeal. In light of these empirically based conclusions,... BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3416174 Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:13:00 +0100 3416174 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3416177&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fneuropsychology-abstract-of-day-fmri.html Tam F, Churchill NW, Strother SC, & Graham SJ. A new tablet for writing and drawing during functional MRI.Human Brain Mapping. 2010 Mar 24.Writing and drawing are understudied with fMRI, partly for lack of a device that approximates these behaviors well while supporting task feedback and quantitative behavioral logging in the confines of the magnet. Consequently, we developed a tablet based on touchscreen technology that is accurate, reliable, relatively inexpensive, and fMRI compatible. After confirming fMRI compatibility, we conducted preliminary fMRI experiments examining the neural correlates of a widely used pen-and-paper neuropsychological assessment, the trail making test. In two subjects, we found left hemisphere frontal lobe activations similar to the major results of a previous g... BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3416177 Sun, 28 Mar 2010 17:30:00 +0100 3416177 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3416179&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fneuropsychology-abstract-of-day_27.html Bueti D, Bahrami B, Walsh V, & Rees G. Encoding of temporal probabilities in the human brain. Journal of Neuroscience. 2010 Mar 24, 30(12), 4343-4352.Anticipating the timing of future events is a necessary precursor to preparing actions and allocating resources to sensory processing. This requires elapsed time to be represented in the brain and used to predict the temporal probability of upcoming events. While neuropsychological, imaging, magnetic stimulation studies, and single-unit recordings implicate the role of higher parietal and motor-related areas in temporal estimation, the role of earlier, purely sensory structures remains more controversial. Here we demonstrate that the temporal probability of expected visual events is encoded not by a single area but by a wide network that impo... BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3416179 Sat, 27 Mar 2010 17:33:00 +0100 3416179 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3386963&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Ftraumatic-brain-injury-new-cdc-report.html Several days ago, the CDC released a report entitled, "Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Deaths, 2002-2006" - available as a .pdf (and .doc) download.Download the report (Source: BrainBlog) BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3386963 Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:46:00 +0100 3386963 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3366315&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fneuropsychology-abstract-of-day_14.html CONCLUSIONS: A simple, calculated progression rate at the initial visit gives reliable information regarding performance over time on cognition, global performance and activities of daily living. The slowest progression group also survives longer. This baseline measure should be considered in the design of long duration Alzheimer's disease clinical trials.PMID: 20178566 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: BrainBlog) BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3366315 Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:01:00 +0100 3366315 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362480&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fneuropsychology-abstract-of-day_12.html Elfgren C, Gustafson L, Vestberg S, & Passant U. Subjective memory complaints, neuropsychological performance and psychiatric variables in memory clinic attendees: A 3-year follow-up study. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. 2010 Mar 6. [Epub ahead of print]Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, Clinical Sciences, Lund University Hospital, SE-221 85 Lund, Sweden.The aims were to evaluate the cognitive performance and clinical diagnosis in patients ( (Source: BrainBlog) BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362480 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 02:51:00 +0100 3362480 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3362483&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fneuropsychology-abstract-of-day-aging.html CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that SAGE is a reliable instrument for detecting cognitive impairment and compares favorably with the MMSE. The self-administered feature may promote cognitive testing by busy clinicians prompting earlier diagnosis and treatment.PMID: 20220323 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: BrainBlog) BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3362483 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:59:00 +0100 3362483 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3354456&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fneuropsychology-abstract-of-day-new.html Today's recommended reading deals with a very important issue in neuropsychological assessment:Loring DW, & Bauer RM. Testing the limits: cautions and concerns regarding the new Wechsler IQ and Memory scales. Neurology, 2010, 74(8), 685-690.Department of Neurology, Emory University, 101 Woodruff Circle, Suite 6000, Atlanta, GA, USA. 30322The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) are 2 of the most common psychological tests used in clinical care and research in neurology. Newly revised versions of both instruments (WAIS-IV and WMS-IV) have recently been published and are increasingly being adopted by the neuropsychology community. There have been significant changes in the structure and content of both scales, leading to the potential for inaccurate pa... BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3354456 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:33:00 +0100 3354456 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3354457&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fassistive-aid-for-persons-with-memory.html A Little Black Box to Jog Failing MemoryBy YUDHIJIT BHATTACHARJEEThe New York TimesPublished: March 8, 2010"Researchers have tested the Sensecam, which contains a digital camera and an accelerometer, as an aid to people with Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders."Read the full article (Source: BrainBlog) BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3354457 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:39:00 +0100 3354457 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3335475&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fdevelopmental-neuropsychology-infant.html Available from BBC Radio 4:In Our Time: The Infant Brain: Listen Here.Description, from the BBC source link:Melvyn Bragg and guests Usha Goswami, Annette Karmiloff-Smith and Denis Mareschal discuss what new research reveals about the infant brain.For obvious reasons, what happens in the minds of very young, pre-verbal children is elusive. But over the last century, the psychology of early childhood has become a major subject of study. Some scientists and researchers have argued that children develop skills only gradually, others that many of our mental attributes are innate. Sigmund Freud concluded that infants didn't differentiate themselves from their environment. The pioneering Swiss child psychologist Jean Piaget thought babies' perception of the world began as a 'blooming, buzzing con... BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3335475 Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:13:00 +0100 3335475 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3318542&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F02%2Falzheimer-disease-care-project.html From The Times (UK):Fighting Alzheimer's with a touch of beautyA pioneering care project demonstates how literature, music, art and love can improve the lives of dementia sufferers28 February 2010The TimesMargarette Driscoll[snip]"In other words, people who appear to be lost to the world can still be reached through art, literature and music — and love. At Hearthstone, a group of seven homes looking after some 220 people with Alzheimer’s that Zeisel had helped to found in Massachusetts, residents are encouraged to paint and are taken on regular outings to galleries. They have reading circles and a film club.“The development of new drugs to treat Alzheimer’s is helping people live a little bit longer,” says Zeisel. “What we’re asking ourselves is, how do we make that life wort... BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3318542 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 17:11:00 +0100 3318542 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3311763&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F26%2Fvalue-affirmation-and-the-situation-of-climate-change-beliefs%2F On NPR’s All Things Considered, Situationist Contributor Dan Kahan and Donald Braman were interviewed this week by Christopher Joyce regarding their important work on cultural cognition.  Here is an excerpt. * * * Over the past few months, polls show that fewer Americans say they believe humans are making the planet dangerously warmer, and that is despite a raft of scientific reports that say otherwise. And that puzzles many climate scientists, but not social scientists. As NPR’s Christopher Joyce reports, some of their research suggests that when people encounter new information, facts may not be as important as beliefs. CHRISTOPHER JOYCE: The divide between climate believers and disbelievers can be as wide as a West Virginia valley, and that’s where two of them square... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3311763 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 04:01:47 +0100 3311763 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3287805&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F19%2Fthe-situation-of-stereotype-threat%2F Randy Khalil has a nice article, “‘Stereotype threat’ negatively affects students,” in Wednesday’s Daily Princetonian.  Here are some excerpts. * * * Princeton students fall victim to the “stereotype threat,” according to a study led by Adam Alter GS ’09. The “stereotype threat” is the phenomenon in which reminding people of negative stereotypes associated with their group identity can encourage the fulfillment of those stereotypes. “When reminded of their group membership, for example, white people struggle athletically, black people struggle academically, women struggle mathematically and men struggle linguistically,” Alter explained in an e-mail. Alter wanted to find out if the way that people are reminded of their group membership determi... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3287805 Fri, 19 Feb 2010 04:01:37 +0100 3287805 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3272966&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F15%2Fthe-situation-of-scientific-consensus%2F Situationist Contributor Dan Kahan, Hank Jenkins-Smith, and Donald Braman, have just posted another fascinating paper, “Cultural Cognition of Scientific Consensus” on SSRN.  Here’s the abstract. * * * Why do members of the public disagree – sharply and persistently – about facts on which expert scientists largely agree? We designed a study to test a distinctive explanation: the cultural cognition of scientific consensus. The “cultural cognition of risk” refers to the tendency of individuals to form risk perceptions that are congenial to their values. The study presents both correlational and experimental evidence confirming that cultural cognition shapes individuals’ beliefs about the existence of scientific consensus, and the process by which they for... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3272966 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 04:01:09 +0100 3272966 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3269777&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F02%2Fneuropsychology-abstract-of-day_12.html Fish J, Wilson BA, & Manly T. The assessment and rehabilitation of prospective memory problems in people with neurological disorders: A review. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 2010 Feb, 4: 1-19. [Epub ahead of print]MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK.People with neurological disorders often report difficulty with prospective memory (PM), that is, remembering to do things they had intended to do. This paper briefly reviews the literature regarding the neuropsychology of PM function, concluding that from the clinical perspective, PM is best considered in terms of its separable but interacting mnemonic and executive components. Next, the strengths and limitations in the current clinical assessment of PM, including the assessment of component processes, desktop analogues o... BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3269777 Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:05:00 +0100 3269777 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3267005&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F12%2Fthe-broader-situation-a-case-study-of-cop-car-cameras%2F As part of my new commitment to posting more of my work on SSRN, I’ve just put up another forthcoming article that may be of interest to some readers.  It offers a law and mind sciences (situationist / critical realist) perspective on Yale Law School’s Cultural Cognition Project (CCP) using a great recent article by CCP scholars Dan M. Kahan, David A. Hoffman, and Donald Braman as a case study.  That article has been referenced in two recent New York Times pieces (including one that listed it as among the most important ideas of 2009). If your interest is not yet piqued, I should also mention that the new SSRN post also has police chases and scandalous pictures of Angelina Jolie . . . or, well, at least one of those things. The link is here; the abstract is found below. * * * The C... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3267005 Fri, 12 Feb 2010 04:01:51 +0100 3267005 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3254574&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F02%2Famygdala-and-gaming-decisions.html From the BBC:Patients with amygdala injury 'unafraid' to gamble09 February 2010"Californian scientists think they may have discovered the part of the brain which makes people fear losing money."Read the full article (Source: BrainBlog) BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3254574 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:54:00 +0100 3254574 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3239637&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F04%2Fthe-embodied-cognition-bonanza%2F I am excited to be back after a two-month stint guest blogging at Concurring Opinions and I thought I’d jump right in on the matter of “embodied cognition.” Tuesday morning, I opened up the New York Times to find yet another popular article taking up the topic.  While I continue to be happy to see “embodied cognition fever” catching among the nation’s journalists, I worry ever-so-slightly that the rush to bring the fascinating research to the public may ultimately have negative consequences. I have been interested in embodied cognition for a while and have had students in my Law and Mind Science course read some of the work in the field the last two years I taught the seminar.  That led me to present some of my thoughts about the implications of the work for law last year at ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3239637 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:28:43 +0100 3239637 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3220496&cid=t_91887_87_f&fid=34925&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbestyoucanbe.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fspecial-needs-computing-ipad-and.html Interesting developments for providing communications, work, life and cognitive support to persons with cognitive disabilities ...Gordon's Notes: Computing for the rest of us: The iPad and the ChromeBook.... Think about your family. If it's big enough, your extended family will have at least one person who's, you know, poor. They may have cognitive or psychiatric disabilities. Or you may have a family member who, like most of American, can't keep a modern OS running without an on call geek. These people are cut off. They can barely afford a mobile phone, and they won't have both a mobile phone and a landline. They will have little or no net access. They may have an MP3 player, but it's dang hard to use one without a computer.By 2011 the combination of a $400 iPad (and iTouch for less) and ... Be the Best You can Be blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3220496 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:26:00 +0100 3220496 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3212393&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F27%2Fdan-kahan-on-the-situation-of-risk-perceptions%2F Situationist Contributor Dan Kahan was recently interviewed for the National Science Foundation website.  In the interview, which you can watch the on the video below, Kahan discusses how people’s values shape perceptions of the HPV vaccine.  Here’s the abstract. * * * The “cultural cognition thesis” argues that individuals form risk perceptions based on often-contested personal views about what makes a good society. Now, Yale University Law professor Dr. Dan Kahan and his colleagues reveals how people’s values shape their perceptions of one of the most hotly debated health care proposals in recent years: vaccinating elementary-school girls, ages 11-12, against human papillomavirus (HPV), a widespread sexually transmitted disease. * * * * * * For a sam... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3212393 Wed, 27 Jan 2010 04:01:46 +0100 3212393 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3208466&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F26%2Fthe-situation-of-mental-illness%2F From Wikipedia: The Rosenhan experiment was a famous experiment into the validity of psychiatric diagnosis conducted by psychologist David Rosenhan in 1973.  It was published in the journal Science under the title “On being sane in insane places.” The study is considered an important and influential criticism of psychiatric diagnosis. Rosenhan’s study consisted of two parts. The first part involved the use of healthy associates or “pseudopatients” who briefly simulated auditory hallucinations in an attempt to gain admission to 12 different psychiatric hospitals in five different states in various locations in the United States. All were admitted and diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. After admission, the pseudopatients acted normally and told staff that th... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3208466 Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:01:03 +0100 3208466 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3201728&cid=t_91887_87_f&fid=34925&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbestyoucanbe.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fjudo-moves-on-atypical-mind-plan-imac.html If you told me my 13 yo's measured IQ and reading levels 20 years ago I would not have received the news well.Among other things, I might have assumed someone like him would be institutionalized.In reality, things are more hopeful, interesting, and challenging. Whatever level he tests at, he seems to extract the information he is interested in from printed materials -- including newspapers. His reading interests are regrettably focal, but I can work with them.He can barely print and his hand printed spelling is very poor. On the other hand, he's oddly good at old-style dumb-phone texting. There's something about tapping out each character that helps him slow down and process words. So I've given him texting privileges, and, each day, once school is out, I start texting him from my iPhone. ... Be the Best You can Be blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3201728 Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:10:00 +0100 3201728 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3197729&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F22%2Fthe-embodied-situation-of-metaphors%2F In the current issue of  Observer, the magazine of the Association of Psychological Science, Barbara Isanski and Catherine wrote a great article, “The Body of Knowledge” summarizing the growing field of embodied cognition.  Here are some excerpts. * * * The cold shoulder. A heavy topic. A heroic white knight. We regularly use concrete, sensory-rich metaphors like these to express abstract ideas and complicated emotions. But a growing body of research is suggesting that these metaphors are more than just colorful literary devices — there may be an underlying neural basis that literally embodies these metaphors. Psychological scientists are giving us more insight into embodied cognition — the notion that the brain circuits responsible for abstract thinking are closely tied ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3197729 Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:58:11 +0100 3197729 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3185496&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fbrain-game-lumosity-games.html The Telegraph has a link to a series of Lumosity games:Available here (Source: BrainBlog) BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3185496 Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:07:00 +0100 3185496 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3185497&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34755&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneuropsychological.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F01%2Faerobic-exercise-and-neurons.html Start running and watch your brain grow, say scientists• Aerobic exercise triggers new cell growth – study• Region of brain affected linked to recollectionIan Sample, science correspondentThe GuardianMonday 18 January 2010 20.41 GMTRead the article (Source: BrainBlog) BrainBlog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3185497 Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:25:00 +0100 3185497 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3133701&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=35066&url=http%3A%2F%2Fneurodudes.com%2F2009%2F12%2F31%2Fcatalina-vallejos-statement-of-purpose-art%2F I devote my life to the momentary constructions for the purpose of maintaining a regular study of neural biochemistry, processes, patterns, and networks whose effects on a performance installation would successfully present a solution. An example of this is affecting a site’s mood initally set up by a pre-set design, with a resulting performance based upon the affected concentration of biochemicals in each present body. The modulation of mood and perception, as evoked or supressed by the artwork itself. A more specific example of this is the observation of different levels of dehydration which affect the integral effectiveness of body enzymes by varying concentrations. This type of work is relevant since exemplary leading behaviours are that which initiate communication before utterance ... neurodudes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3133701 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:23:25 +0100 3133701 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3129578&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=34736&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FChannelN-PodcastsPoweredByOdiogo%2F%7E3%2FJe3LufxbgFM%2Fnapping.html [Image by mysza831] The Signatures of Sleep In a peppy talk from the Waking Up To Sleep meeting, Sara Mednick answers the question, “Will naps make you smarter, healthier, happier?” Roger Bingham also conducts an interview about napping with UCSD’s Dr. Mednick, available here, recorded in Seattle at Sleep 2009. (Source: Channel N) Channel N blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3129578 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:30:27 +0100 3129578 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3122075&cid=t_91887_87_f&fid=34925&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbestyoucanbe.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fend-of-autism.html No, the problems of suboptimal neurodevelopment are not going away. The concept of "autism" has lasted longer than I'd expected, but the assault continues ...Syndromic autism: causes and pathogenetic pathways. [World J Pediatr. 2009] - PubMed result... Genetic syndromes, defined mutations, and metabolic diseases account for less than 20% of autistic patients. Alterations of the neocortical excitatory/inhibitory balance and perturbations of interneurons' development represent the most probable pathogenetic mechanisms underlying the autistic phenotype in fragile X syndrome and tuberous sclerosis complex. Chromosomal abnormalities and potential candidate genes are strongly implicated in the disruption of neural connections, brain growth and synaptic/dendritic morphology. Metabolic and mitocho... Be the Best You can Be blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3122075 Fri, 25 Dec 2009 19:21:00 +0100 3122075 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3111532&cid=t_91887_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2F0jq6uCe0MLg%2F We are announcing a new session at SharpBrains Summit (and please remember today, December 22nd, is the last date for early-bird registration fees): Monday January 18th, 2010, 3.30-4pm: The Future of Cognitive Health Tech – Intel’s Perspective Two researchers at Intel Corporation and the Technology Research for Independent Living (TRIL) Centre will provide an overview of why and how Intel Corporation is supporting R&D initiatives to help develop home-based automated applications to assess, monitor and help maintain cognition among older adults. They will also share key lessons learned so far, and outline challenges and potential guidelines for the field at large based on ethnographic research and first-hand product development. * Margaret Morris, Senior Researcher, Intel’s Digita... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3111532 Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:00:23 +0100 3111532 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3227842&cid=t_91887_109_f&fid=34761&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedblitz.com%2F%7E%2F4176451%2F11tb0w%2Fneuromarketing%7EBrain-Fitness-Skip-the-Sudoku-Be-a-Volunteer.htm Just-published research in the Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences shows that volunteering and similar social activities are helpful in staving off mental decline in later years, and can actually improve cognition. CommentsComments (Source: Neuromarketing) Neuromarketing blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3227842 Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:14:02 +0100 3227842