Did I turn off the stove, or did I just imagine it? Memory isn't always reliable. Psychological scientists have discovered all sorts of ways that false memories get created, and now there's another one for the list: watching someone else do an action can make you think you did it yourself...
9 Vote(s)
September 18, 2010
Gene limits learning and memory in mice
Deleting a certain gene in mice can make them smarter by unlocking a mysterious region of the brain considered to be relatively inflexible, scientists have found. Mice with a disabled RGS14 gene are able to remember objects they'd explored and learn to navigate mazes better than regular mice, suggesting that RGS14's presence limits some forms of learning and memory.
10 Vote(s)
10 Vote(s)
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September 16, 2010
Scientists pave way for improved teamwork on collaborative research efforts
Tackling today's complex scientific questions often requires work from interdisciplinary collaborative research teams -- and working in those teams can create its own problems. Now a group of researchers from around the country has published a commentary outlining a new field of study that will help resolve problems facing interdisciplinary research teams.
9 Vote(s)
9 Vote(s)
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September 10, 2010
Mental maturity scan tracks brain development
Five minutes in a scanner can reveal how far a child's brain has come along the path from childhood to maturity and potentially shed light on a range of psychological and developmental disorders, scientists have shown.
13 Vote(s)
13 Vote(s)
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September 8, 2010
New gene for memory identified in fruit fly; May shed light on human neurological disorders
Scientists have identified a new gene that is required for memory formation in Drosophila, the common fruit fly. The gene may have similar functions in humans, shedding light on neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease or human learning disabilities.
11 Vote(s)
11 Vote(s)
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August 25, 2010
Cephalopod Consciousness Part 2: The Case for Animal Consciousness
In this second post of the series “Cephalopod Consciousness”, I’ll talk about the methods that scientists have used to attempt to study consciousness in animals. For perhaps the first time in the history of this blog, I’ll write about science without making any specific reference to cephalopods – I’m saving that for part 3. Here [...]... BAARS, B. (2005
21 Vote(s)
21 Vote(s)
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August 17, 2010
Special Issue Of Current Directions In Psychological Science Focuses On Schizophrenia Research
It has been nearly a century since the term "schizophrenia" was first used to describe what was then considered a hopeless and incurable disorder of thought and emotion. Schizophrenia is still baffling to both scientists and the general public, but it is no longer considered hopeless...
14 Vote(s)
14 Vote(s)
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August 11, 2010
Immoral Behavior Deemed Funny But Only If Benign
What makes something funny? Philosophers have been tossing that question around since Plato. Now two psychological scientists think they've come up with the formula: humor comes from a violation or threat to the way the world ought to be that is, at the same time, benign. Most older theories of humor all come up short in one way or another, says A...
5 Vote(s)
5 Vote(s)
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August 4, 2010
Placebos: All you never wanted to know (Part 2) - Theories
Welcome back to this, the second post in my review of placebos. Now, to the fodder that makes us scientists, theories about the placebo. This is important as a good theory can both account for our data and predict new data, while also giving us something to falsify, which is apparently how science progresses. Steve Stewart Williams (all round good guy) reviewed the state of placebo theorising in
18 Vote(s)
18 Vote(s)
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