Deric Bownds

LATEST ARTICLES ( 2661 )

• Control of OCD Behavior by Amygdala to Prefrontal Input.

  Sun et al. find a brain circuit in mice regulating OCD behavior that in humans might be susceptible to non drug manipulations such as transcranial magnetic... Read more

  Posted on 07 March 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Long Term Trends in Politics - Trump is Not an Outlier

  A sobering analysis from Jordan et al.: Significance Donald Trump and a small group of emerging leaders around the world have been labeled as outliers in the... Read more

  Posted on 06 March 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Even 10 Minutes of Low Intensity Physical Activity Enhances Executive Function i...

  Petrella et al. (open source) find that executive function in older adults is boosted almost immediately by low intensity exercise as brief as 10 minutes. Read more

  Posted on 05 March 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Our Emotional Reward from Music is Modulated by Dopamine.

  Ferreri et al. present evidence that enhancing or inhibiting dopamine signaling using levodopa or risperidone modulates the pleasure experienced while... Read more

  Posted on 04 March 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Mindfulness + Acceptance Training - Randomized Controlled Trial Shows Prosocial...

  From Lindsay et al.: Significance Loneliness (i.e., feeling alone) and social isolation (i.e., being alone) are among the most robust known risk factors for poo... Read more

  Posted on 01 March 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• A Ketamine Inspired Nasal Spray for Depression.

  I pass on this New Atlas article link on a nasal spray based on ketamine (the party drug PCP or 'angel dust') that is likely to receive FDA approval soon. Read more

  Posted on 28 February 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• New Form of Neural Communication at a Distance.

  The branch of parapsychology that claims subtle sensing and psychological action at a distance might be heartened that they are finding a shred of supportive... Read more

  Posted on 27 February 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• The Neuroscience of ‘Rock-a-Bye Baby’

  I've always wondered why I sleep like a baby when on a boat being slowly rocked by waves, so was intrigued by Friedman's recent piece pointing to work by... Read more

  Posted on 26 February 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Female Brains Are Younger Than Male Brains.

  Fascinating, from Goyal et al. (open source article): Significance Prior work has identified many sex differences in the brain, including during brain aging... Read more

  Posted on 25 February 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Ohmygawd.....warms of Drones with One Distributed Brain.

  

  I have to pass on the scary video below, pointed to by a recent WaPo article. Reminds me of the fighter battles in the Star Wars movies. Read more

  Posted on 22 February 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Watching Social Influence Start to Bias Perceptual Integration as Children...

  From Large et al.: The opinions of others have a profound influence on decision making in adults. The impact of social influence appears to change during... Read more

  Posted on 21 February 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Fighting Social Media Misinformation Using Crowdsourced Judgements

  From Pennycook and Rand: Significance Many people consume news via social media. It is therefore desirable to reduce social media users’ exposure to... Read more

  Posted on 20 February 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Sleeping in Standby Mode

  In the editor's choice section of the current Science Magazine, Claudia Pama points to work by Legendre et al. showing that sleepers process surrounding events... Read more

  Posted on 19 February 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Brain Patterns of Consciousness

  

  A study that is the product of a collaboration across seven countries has identified brain signatures that can indicate consciousness without relying on... Read more

  Posted on 18 February 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• How Brain and Spinal Cord Distinguish Self Touch from the Touch of Others

  I’ve always been struck by how much more effective someone else’s touch is than my own in relaxing tense muscles in my body. Boehme et al. Read more

  Posted on 15 February 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• The Science of Sway in Musical Ensembles.

  I'm passing on this fascinating article that the violinist in my piano trio sent to her musician colleagues. Trainor's group at McMaster University documents ho... Read more

  Posted on 14 February 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Parents Mention Sons More Often Than Daughters on Social Media.

  From Sivak and Smirnov: Significance Parents’ preference for sons is a well-known phenomenon. This study examines whether the use of social media by parents is... Read more

  Posted on 13 February 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Correlations Between Our Gut Microbiota and Mental Health.

  Valles-Colomer et al. note variations in the levels of different groups of gut bacteria that correlate with depression, or with higher quality of life. Read more

  Posted on 12 February 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Oliver Sacks - The Machine Stops

  I want to point MindBlog readers to a wonderful short essay written by Oliver Sacks before his death from cancer, in which he notes the parallels between the... Read more

  Posted on 11 February 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE

• Flash Judgement Based on Appearance.

  

  I want to point to two articles on how we make rapid judgements based on first impressions. Torodov's essay in aeon is a fascinating review of the history of... Read more

  Posted on 08 February 2019 PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE