Neuroscience
I'm Super! The "Superfrontal Gyrus" is the Seat of Self-Awareness!
The New Scientist has a horrible article on a new fMRI study :
Watching the brain 'switch off' self-awareness
. . .
The team conducted a series of experiments to pinpoint the brain activity associated with introspection and that linked to sensory function. They found that the brain assumes a robotic functionality when it has to concentrate all its efforts on a difficult, timed task – only becoming "human" again when it has the luxury of time.
. . .
Goldberg found that when the sensory stimulus was shown slowly, and when a personal emotional response was required, the volunteers showed activity in the superfrontal gyrus – the brain region associated with self-awareness-related function.
But when the card flipping and musical sequences were rapid, there was no activity in the superfrontal gyrus, despite activity in the sensory cortex and related structures.
. . .
Seriously, the "superfrontal" gyrus does not exist, perhaps NewScientist.com writer Gaia Vince meant "superior frontal gyrus." And I doubt that the subjects turned into robots when the card flipping and musical sequences were rapid. I'll read the original paper in Neuron and report back.
This is definitely one for BAD Neuro-Journalism!
Thanks to Elliot for the link.
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Brain Scans And Lie Detection: True Or False?
Now this is a rapidly expanding area of research (and one that's quite well-funded by the DOD). Wired did a piece on this recently (Don't Even Think About Lying), and there's an AP story that appeared in papers around the country (e.g., the...
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Neuropsychology Abstract Of The Day: Route Navigation And Route Knowledge
Landmark sequencing and route knowledge: An fMRI study Cortex. 2011 Dec 16; Nemmi F, Piras F, Péran P, Incoccia C, Sabatini U, Guariglia C Abstract INTRODUCTION: The ability to navigate in a familiar environment mainly relies on route knowledge, that...
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Neuropsychology Abstract Of The Day: Fmri Protocol For Intrinsic Alertness
Revealing the Functional Neuroanatomy of Intrinsic Alertness Using fMRI: Methodological Peculiarities PLoS One. 2011; 6(9): e25453 Clemens B, Zvyagintsev M, Sack A, Heinecke A, Willmes K, Sturm W Abstract Clinical observations and neuroimaging data revealed...
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Abstract Of The Day: Frontal Lobe Functioning
Ardesheer Talati and Joy Hirsch. Functional Specialization within the Medial Frontal Gyrus for Perceptual Go/No-Go Decisions Based on "What," "When," and "Where" Related Information: An fMRI Study. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 2005; 17: 981-993....
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Truth-telling And The Brain
Can brain-imaging technologies show whether we are being truthful or not? A current study, reported by Reuters (as found on the Houston Chronicle website), takes a look:Brain scans can tell who's lying, who's not
Reuters News Service
Nov. 29,...
Neuroscience