What happens inside a bungee jumper‘s brain just before the bungee jumper steps into the abyss? The answer is complicated, but one gross aspect is on exhibit in this new study: “To jump or not to jump – The Bereitschaftspotential required to jump into 192-meter abyss,” Marius Nann, L.G. Cohen, L. Deecke, and Surjo R. […]
Tag: brain
A Look in the Brains of Publication-Hungry Brain Scientists
“The idea that one can study scholar journal publishing behavior by looking at their brain’s fMRI response to the ‘journal impact factor‘ of the journal is, to an academic serials librarian at least, incredibly funny. I suppose this is the serious-professor version of hooking up a child to an fMRI and offering them their favorite candy.” […]
Professor(?) Richard Lynn – a profile
Those who have been watching the scholarly career of Richard Lynn, Professor Emeritus, at the University of Ulster [Note: See item 2 below], there are two recently published items which might be of interest. The first, [1], is a new paper published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, November 2018, Pages 275-277 (written along […]
Neuromarketing for dogs
Developing successful products aimed at dogs might not always be as straightforward as it may seem : “Because dogs cannot speak, traditional behavioral methods may be inadequate to reveal what dogs like or dislike.” But, according to the website of Dog Star Technologies LLC, newly developed methods involving fMRI scanning (combined with machine-learning algorithms) might […]
Hot stuff by Cook & Berns: Why Did the Dog Walk Into the MRI?
The question “Why?” head the menu in this research study served up by Cook and Berns: “Why Did the Dog Walk Into the MRI?” Gregory S. Berns and Peter F. Cook, Current Directions in Psychological Science, vol. 25, no. 5, 2016, pp. 363-369. The authors, at Emery University, explain: “Because he was trained to.” Peter […]
‘My Direct Brain Stimulator has been struck by lightning’ (case report)
Nowadays, many patients with neurological problems are fitted with Direct Brain Stimulation (DBS) devices such as Implantable Pulse Generators (IPGs). However, like any electronic devices, they can be adversely affected by strong electrical and electromagnetic fields. A recent case was brought to light in the Journal of Neurosurgery, describing the plight of a 66-year-old woman […]
Brain Investigation of Crocodiles Listening to Bach
The music of Bach and the brains of crocodiles usher in a new era for explorers who use fMRI [functional magnetic resonance imaging] technology. A study documents this bold new step: “Functional MRI in the Nile Crocodile: A New Avenue for Evolutionary Neurobiology,” Behroozi Mehdi, Brendon K. Billings, Xavier Helluy, Paul R. Manger, Onur Güntürkün, […]
A switch, in the brain, to control impulsive behavior! [Medical study]
Impulsive beliefs that someone has discovered a switch, in the brain, to control impulsive behavior! Such beliefs have impelled many scientists (professional, amateur, and imagined) to report that they have maybe, perhaps, almost-certainly, nearly-without-doubt discovered a switch, in the brain, to control impulsive behavior. A newly published study suggests that a team of scientists has […]
Brain size in birds and their deaths in traffic accidents? (new study)
If a species of bird has a relatively small brain [compared to other avian species] is it likely to be less intelligent ? And, if so, might it be more likely to be involved in a traffic accident? A team from Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Université Paris-Sud, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, France and the House of […]
Haute-Cultural-Scientifical Direct-Brain-Stimulation of a Peak-Cultural (Proustian) Pastime
This newly published study may by the most impressive—in some senses—academic publication of our time: “The ‘Proust Phenomenon’: odor-evoked autobiographical memories triggered by direct amygdala stimulation in human,” Fabrice Bartolomei, Stanislas Lagarde, Samuel Médina Villalon, Aileen McGonigal, and Christian G. Benar, Cortex, epub December 18, 2016. The authors write: Vivid memories triggered by odors were […]