Neuroscience
In case you missed them - 10 of the best psychology links from the past week:
1. Stunning video of a whole mouse brain rendered entirely transparent.
2. Brilliant article by Joseph LeDoux on the benefits to anxious people of "pro-active avoidance". "When avoidance prevents one from dealing with life, it is maladaptive. But when avoidance is proactive and part of active coping and agency, it helps the person control the accelerator, brakes, and the track switches. It is a useful adaptive activity."
3. On the 25th anniversary of Prozac, Will Self on BBC Radio Four investigated whether the drug has helped or harmed us.
4. Power failure! The Digest covered a paper this week that claimed the majority of neuroscience studies are underpowered because they have samples that are too small. It's an important issue and here is some more reaction and coverage: several neuroscientists commented at Ed Yong's blog; Matt Wall on his blog is sceptical about the ability to predict how much power you need; Jon Simons said on his blog he believes it's a landmark paper; and lead author Kate Button wrote a guest post at the Guardian about the problems of low power.
5. Vaughan Bell wrote a thought-provoking column for the Observer about the way genetic studies are shaking up traditional divisive arguments over how to define mental illness.
6. Brain training games "are bogus" claimed an article in the New Yorker. A key meta-analysis mentioned in that article was featured on the Digest in February. Coincidentally, Sue Gathercole, a leading researcher into working memory brain training, was at the British Psychological Society annual conference this week. She acknowledged that so far transferable benefits have proven elusive, but she said the important point was what to do about that. Her team are working on new virtual reality exercises that aim to encourage children to apply their working memory gains flexibly in new contexts.
7. Move Over Extroverts, Here Come the Ambiverts
8. Mo Costandi on the myth of learning styles (a myth that most school teachers believe).
9. Scientific American Mind published an illustrated time-line of our attempts to understand schizophrenia through history.
10. Newly posted TED talk from Dan Ariely - what makes us feel good about our work?
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Looking ahead to next week: Sunday evening in Glasgow, author and psychologist Charles Fernyhough is talking about memory; On Tues, Steve Pinker and Howard Gardner are in conversation at the Harvard Museum of Natural History; On Thurs in London, The University of Westminster has a day of free fun psychology lectures for students featuring Catherine Loveday et al.
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Post compiled by Christian Jarrett (@psych_writer) for the BPS Research Digest.
- Link Feast
Our editor's pick of this week's 10 best psychology and neuroscience links: Why We Should Talk to The Humans Transcript of an inspiring talk by Dan Gilbert on why it is important for psychologists to engage with the public. How to Have a Good...
- Link Feast
In case you missed them - 10 of the best psychology links from the past week: 1. Ferris Jabr for Scientific American on a fascinating study conducted on the streets of New York into people's private conversations with themselves - their...
- Link Feast
In case you missed them - 10 of the best psychology links from the past week: 1. The publishers Wiley have teamed up with TED to present a series of curated neuroscience talks packaged with free teaching and study materials. 2. Differences around...
- Link Feast
In case you missed them - 10 of the best psychology links from the past week (or so): 1. Atlantic published a truly dazzling long-form feature about anaesthesia and consciousness, including instances when people wake during surgery, and the on-going attempts...
- Feast
Tuck into our latest round-up of the best psych and neuro links: In an open-access feature on Toilet Psychology for The Psychologist, Nick Haslam argues that psychologists should stop averting their eyes from the bathroom. "In 30 years of studying the...
Neuroscience
Link feast
1. Stunning video of a whole mouse brain rendered entirely transparent.
2. Brilliant article by Joseph LeDoux on the benefits to anxious people of "pro-active avoidance". "When avoidance prevents one from dealing with life, it is maladaptive. But when avoidance is proactive and part of active coping and agency, it helps the person control the accelerator, brakes, and the track switches. It is a useful adaptive activity."
3. On the 25th anniversary of Prozac, Will Self on BBC Radio Four investigated whether the drug has helped or harmed us.
4. Power failure! The Digest covered a paper this week that claimed the majority of neuroscience studies are underpowered because they have samples that are too small. It's an important issue and here is some more reaction and coverage: several neuroscientists commented at Ed Yong's blog; Matt Wall on his blog is sceptical about the ability to predict how much power you need; Jon Simons said on his blog he believes it's a landmark paper; and lead author Kate Button wrote a guest post at the Guardian about the problems of low power.
5. Vaughan Bell wrote a thought-provoking column for the Observer about the way genetic studies are shaking up traditional divisive arguments over how to define mental illness.
6. Brain training games "are bogus" claimed an article in the New Yorker. A key meta-analysis mentioned in that article was featured on the Digest in February. Coincidentally, Sue Gathercole, a leading researcher into working memory brain training, was at the British Psychological Society annual conference this week. She acknowledged that so far transferable benefits have proven elusive, but she said the important point was what to do about that. Her team are working on new virtual reality exercises that aim to encourage children to apply their working memory gains flexibly in new contexts.
7. Move Over Extroverts, Here Come the Ambiverts
8. Mo Costandi on the myth of learning styles (a myth that most school teachers believe).
9. Scientific American Mind published an illustrated time-line of our attempts to understand schizophrenia through history.
10. Newly posted TED talk from Dan Ariely - what makes us feel good about our work?
--
Looking ahead to next week: Sunday evening in Glasgow, author and psychologist Charles Fernyhough is talking about memory; On Tues, Steve Pinker and Howard Gardner are in conversation at the Harvard Museum of Natural History; On Thurs in London, The University of Westminster has a day of free fun psychology lectures for students featuring Catherine Loveday et al.
_________________________________
Post compiled by Christian Jarrett (@psych_writer) for the BPS Research Digest.
- Link Feast
Our editor's pick of this week's 10 best psychology and neuroscience links: Why We Should Talk to The Humans Transcript of an inspiring talk by Dan Gilbert on why it is important for psychologists to engage with the public. How to Have a Good...
- Link Feast
In case you missed them - 10 of the best psychology links from the past week: 1. Ferris Jabr for Scientific American on a fascinating study conducted on the streets of New York into people's private conversations with themselves - their...
- Link Feast
In case you missed them - 10 of the best psychology links from the past week: 1. The publishers Wiley have teamed up with TED to present a series of curated neuroscience talks packaged with free teaching and study materials. 2. Differences around...
- Link Feast
In case you missed them - 10 of the best psychology links from the past week (or so): 1. Atlantic published a truly dazzling long-form feature about anaesthesia and consciousness, including instances when people wake during surgery, and the on-going attempts...
- Feast
Tuck into our latest round-up of the best psych and neuro links: In an open-access feature on Toilet Psychology for The Psychologist, Nick Haslam argues that psychologists should stop averting their eyes from the bathroom. "In 30 years of studying the...