The Neuroscience of Social Media: An Unofficial History
In conclusion, we predict that the observed patterns of brain activity will be dependent on the nature of the Twitter material being read. These distinct neural networks are expected to reflect the cognitive, emotional, and visceral processes underlying the rapidly changing content of digital media, which ultimately results in "rewiring" of the brain.Back to the present post...Not too far off, eh?Although the TICS piece mentioned that seven social media neuroscience articles have been published to date1 (none quite like that one), it didn't review them. Bloggers have covered some of these (e.g., The Facebook Brain and More...
Source: The Neurocritic - November 15, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
Obesity Is Not Like Being "Addicted to Food"
Credit: Image courtesy of Aalto UniversityIs it possible to be “addicted” to food, much like an addiction to substances (e.g., alcohol, cocaine, opiates) or behaviors (gambling, shopping, Facebook)? An extensive and growing literature uses this terminology in the context of the “obesity epidemic”, and looks for the root genetic and neurobiological causes (Carlier et al., 2015; Volkow & Bailer, 2015).Fig. 1 (Meule, 2015). Number of scientific publications on food addiction (1990-2014). Web of Science search term “food addiction”. Figure 1 might lead you to believe that the term “food addiction” was inve...
Source: The Neurocritic - November 9, 2015 Category: Neuroscience Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
Against Initiatives: "don't be taken in by the boondoggle"
...or should I say braindoggle...I've been reading The Future of the Brain, a collection of Essays by the World's Leading Neuroscientists edited by Gary Marcus and Jeremy Freeman. Amidst the chapters on jaw-dropping technical developments, Big Factory Science, and Grand Neuroscience Initiatives, one stood out for its contrarian stance (and personally reflective tone). Here's Professor Leah Krubitzer, who heads the Laboratory of Evolutionary Biology at University of California, Davis:“From a personal rather than scientific standpoint, the final important thing I've learned is don't be taken in by the boondoggle, don...
Source: The Neurocritic - January 31, 2015 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
This Blog Is Brought to You by the Number 9 and the Letter K
The Neurocritic (the blog) began 9 years ago today.I've enjoyed the journey immensely and look forward to the years to come, by Nodes of Ranvier (the band — not the myelin sheath gaps).Node of RanvierAnd now a word from our sponsors, Episode 3979 of Sesame Street...The Number 9The Letter kThank you for watching! (and reading). (Source: The Neurocritic)
Source: The Neurocritic - January 27, 2015 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
Is it necessary to use brain imaging to understand teen girls' sexual decision making?
“It is feasible to recruit and retain a cohort of female participants to perform a functional magnetic resonance imaging [fMRI] task focused on making decisions about sex, on the basis of varying levels of hypothetical sexual risk, and to complete longitudinal prospective diaries following this task. Preliminary evidence suggests that risk level differentially impacts brain activity related to sexual decision making in these women [i.e., girls aged 14-15 yrs], which may be related to past and future sexual behaviors.”-Hensel et al. (2015) Can the brain activity of adolescents predict whether they are likely to ma...
Source: The Neurocritic - January 26, 2015 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
Interfering With Traumatic Memories of the Boston Marathon Bombings
The Boston Marathon bombings of April 15, 2013 killed three people and injured hundreds of others near the finish line of the iconic footrace. The oldest and most prominent marathon in the world, Boston attracts over 20,000 runners and 500,000 spectators. The terrorist act shocked and traumatized and unified the city.What should the survivors do with their traumatic memories of the event? Many with disabling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) receive therapy to lessen the impact of the trauma. Should they forget completely? Is it possible to selectively “alter” or “remove” a specific memory? Studies in rodents a...
Source: The Neurocritic - January 18, 2015 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
The Incredible Growing Brain!
The Incredible Grow Your Own Brain (Barron Bob)Using super absorbent material from disposable diapers, MIT neuroengineers Ed Boyden, Fei Chen, and Paul Tillberg went well beyond the garden variety novelty store "Grow Brain" to expand real brain slices to nearly five times their normal size.Boyden, E., Chen, F. & Tillberg, P. / MIT / Courtesy of NIHA slice of a mouse brain (left) was expanded by nearly five-fold in each dimension by adding a water-soaking salt. The result — shown at smaller magnification (right) for comparison — has its anatomical structures are essentially unchanged. (Nature - E. Callaway)As cov...
Source: The Neurocritic - January 10, 2015 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
The Futility of Progesterone for Traumatic Brain Injury (but hope for the future)
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a serious public health problem that affects about 1.5 million people per year in the US, with direct and indirect medical costs of over $50 billion. Rapid intervention to reduce the risk of death and disability is crucial. The diagnosis and treatment of TBI is an active area of preclinical and clinical research funded by NIH and other federal agencies. But during the White House BRAIN Conference, a leading neurosurgeon painted a pessimistic picture of current treatments for acute TBI. In response to a question about clinical advances based on cellular neurobiology, Dr. Geoffry Manley noted ...
Source: The Neurocritic - January 2, 2015 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
Eliciting Mirth and Laughter via Cortical Stimulation
Ho ho ho!“Laughter consists of both motor and emotional aspects. The emotional component, known as mirth, is usually associated with the motor component, namely, bilateral facial movements.”-Yamao et al. (2014)The subject of laughter has been under an increasing amount of scientific scrutiny. A recent review by Dr. Sophie Scott and colleagues (Scott et al., 2014) emphasized that laughter is a social emotion. During conversations, voluntary laughter by the speaker is a communicative act. This contrasts with involuntary laughter, which is elicited by external events like jokes and funny behavior.One basic idea ab...
Source: The Neurocritic - December 25, 2014 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
Go to Bed Early and Cure Your Negative Ruminations!
This study of hype in press releases will change journalismFootnotes1 Chronotype was dichotomously classified as evening type vs. moderately morning-type / neither type (not a lot of early birds, I guess). And only 75 students completed questionnaires in this part of the study.2 It's notable that the significance level for these correlations was not corrected for multiple comparisons in the first place.ReferencesNota, J., & Coles, M. (2014). Duration and Timing of Sleep are Associated with Repetitive Negative Thinking. Cognitive Therapy and Research DOI: 10.1007/s10608-014-9651-7Sumner, P., Vivian-Griffiths, S., ...
Source: The Neurocritic - December 21, 2014 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
Hipster Neuroscience
According to Urban Dictionary,Hipsters are a subculture of men and women typically in their 20's and 30's that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter. ... Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions, tight-fitting jeans, old-school sneakers, and sometimes thick rimmed glasses.by Trey Parasuco November 22, 2007 Makes them sound so cool. But we all know that everyone loves to complain about ...
Source: The Neurocritic - December 8, 2014 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
The Humanities Are Ruining Neuroscience
Photo illustration by Andrea Levy for The Chronicle ReviewInflammatory title, isn't it. Puzzled by how it could possibly happen? Then read on!A few days ago, The Chronicle of Higher Education published a piece called Neuroscience Is Ruining the Humanities. You can find it in a Google search and at reddit, among other places. The url is http://chronicle.com/article/Neuroscience-Is-Ruining-the/150141/ {notice the “Neuroscience-Is-Ruining” part.}Oh wait. Here's a tweet.Neuroscience Is Ruining the Humanities http://t.co/OtimMp7rHI— Chronicle (@chronicle) November 21, 2014At some point along the way, without explanation, ...
Source: The Neurocritic - November 24, 2014 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
Public Health Relevance Statements vs. Actual Translational Potential
“Research on the brain is surging,” declared the New York Times the other day:Yet the growing body of data — maps, atlases and so-called connectomes that show linkages between cells and regions of the brain — represents a paradox of progress, with the advances also highlighting great gaps in understanding.So many large and small questions remain unanswered. How is information encoded and transferred from cell to cell or from network to network of cells? Science found a genetic code but there is no brain-wide neural code; no electrical or chemical alphabet exists that can be recombined to say “red” or “fear”...
Source: The Neurocritic - November 12, 2014 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
Fright Week: Fear of Mirrors
When I was a kid, I watched this scary TV show called One Step Beyond. It was kind of like The Twilight Zone, except the stories were more haunting and supernatural.An especially frightening episode was called The Clown. Everyone loves the circus. Everyone loves a clown.1John Newland, the show's narrator: "Laughter is an international language, and the clown, the prince of laughter.""Look, a clown!"A jealous husband behaves in a physically and verbally abusive fashion towards his young wife any time she's near another man. Why, he's even jealous of Pippo the Clown, a simple and silent entertainer who brings balloons and jo...
Source: The Neurocritic - November 1, 2014 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
Fright Week: The Stranger in the Mirror
In the mirror we see our physical selves as we truly are, even though the image might not live up to what we want, or what we once were. But we recognize the image as “self”. In rare instances, however, this reality breaks down.In Black Swan, Natalie Portman plays Nina Sayers, a ballerina who auditions for the lead in Swan Lake. The role requires her to dance the part of the innocent White Swan (for which she is well-suited), as well as her evil twin the Black Swan — which is initially outside the scope of her personality and technical abilities. Another dancer is favored for the role of the Black Swan. Nina's drive ...
Source: The Neurocritic - October 30, 2014 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs
