Neurological Correlates

Cheap Trick has been around since the ’70’s and ’80’s, and I never thought about being a fan. Through a friend’s cousin’s friend, I snagged a free ticket — a V.I.P. free ticket — to a show last night.
(Cell phone photos to come as soon as I find that little thing for the [...]

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In the ovarian lottery, we are born human babies ready to adapt to our surroundings.

Dr. Vitelli at Proventia posted on how child abuse - sexual, physical, emotional, verbal, witnessing the abuse of others — affects brain development. (This was way back in November — I’ve been meaning to post on this.) The post [...]

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Which is better, for genes to change or for them to stay the same?
Is it better to evolve or devolve?
According to new hapmap data, evolution is accelerating with increasing human density and migration. We are evolving more quickly since the Pleistocene, according to a recent report in PNAS by Hawkes et al. Most of [...]

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Given the gender-iffic diva in Parle a Ma Main, this paper just seems to fit.
“The myth of the alpha male: A new look at dominance-related beliefs and behaviors among adolescent males and female,” Patricia H. Hawley, Todd D. Little, and Noel A. Card International Journal of Behavioral Development, Jan 2008; 32: 76 - 88.
http://jbd.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/32/1/76.pdf

(Right [...]

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From Prato-Previde E, Marshall-Pescini S, Valsecchi P., Istituto di Psicologia, Università di Milano, Via T. Pini 1, 20134, Milan, Italy, emanuela.pratoprevide@unimi.it., Anim Cogn. 2008 Jan;11(1):167-74, “Is your choice my choice? The owners’ effect on pet dogs’ (Canis lupus familiaris) performance in a food choice task”.
 

Luncheon Menu, 31st Annual Dog Show, Westminster [...]

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Fatal Bazooka Feat Yelle - Parle a Ma Main(Addendum: This is a Gwen Stefani satire — adult theme, but hilarious, imo. It’s in French — English translation after the jump (via Babelfish, so not that great))
Happy 2008! Pure fluff!
Enjoy!

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Little American Brown Weasel
The Top Two Inches has an interesting blog post about dating, called, “Dating — Don’t Do It“. Interesting read, and it got me thinking about trust.
Trust is first built in one part of the brain, and then your brain comes to a fork in the road: the “unconditional” trust brain area [...]

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Neuron — Dölen et al.
New report: Potential relief for Fragile X sufferers.
Fragile X can be simulated in a mouse if you knock out a gene (FMR1). If you further block a receptor — called mGlu5 (metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 or MGR5) — the behavioral symptoms can altered. In the mouse model, the could genetically [...]

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Jury consultants, start your engines
Let’s say your client — the one with the violent past, long rap sheet, and general air of no credibilitiy whatsoever — is on trial for murder.
He tells his story: “The other dude did it!”
You believe him.
Will anyone else believe him? How should he present his story to the jury? [...]

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More on psychopaths. I was watching a tv show last night where an FBI criminal profiler provided running commentary to Charles Manson’s interview from some time ago. Basically, she (the FBI profiler) was interpreting Manson’s 1987-on camera statements in light of what is known about the way a psychopath thinks.
What a show. [...]

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Grandville, Metamorphosis, “Un mariage de raison…pour raison.”
I’m always amazed that psychopaths get as far as they do in corporations, with no backstop. The Grandville cartoon is an illustration of my explanation: they make sure their watchdogs are lame.
Multiple hat tips to the blog “The Top Two Inches” and Dr. Steve, who posts regularly on “sub-criminal” [...]

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More on some of the mechanisms of the neurological correlates of appetite. When lab rats starved, they took a look at the dopamine receptors in their brain– the receptors bloomed. More dopamine receptors means more wanting, more craving, more choc-o-holism.
Lots more and full abstracts after the jump

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