The Bob Dylan Committee Could Have Been A Delusion Caused By Improper Brain Connectivity

Saturday, March 1st, 2008

Exhibit A: A committee of badly disguised Bob Dylan imposters?
As a child, with “Maggies’ Farm” on the record player, I asked an elder sibling why Bob Dylan looked so different on each of his (vinyl) album jackets. She calmly lied through her teeth, and explained that Bob Dylan was a committee, not a [...]

(corrected) Neuro-movie review: Wordplay and brain hemispheres

Monday, February 25th, 2008

In honor of the Oscars®, here is a neuro-movie review about a movie that came out in 2006 — Wordplay (here’s the link to the official site, and the link to the Rotten Tomatoes site). (Yes, it was out in 2006, so I’m a year late. ) This post will ultimately be about hemispheric [...]

Neuropeptide Y (”NPY”) - cure for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Friday, January 25th, 2008

Here it is, a substance that prevents brain neuron remodeling in response to stress: Neuropeptide Y, “NPY”. A new report, sponsored in part by Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of Prozac, demonstrates that Neuropeptide Y prevents neurons in the amygdala from remodeling in response to stress, in rodents.
The nomenclature “Neuropeptide Y” always [...]

White matter month: Rehab dating

Saturday, January 5th, 2008

Chanraud S, Martelli C, Delain F, Kostogianni N, Douaud G, Aubin HJ, Reynaud M, Martinot JL., Brain morphometry and cognitive performance in detoxified alcohol-dependents with preserved psychosocial functioning, Neuropsychopharmacology. 2007 Feb;32(2):429-38. Epub 2006 Oct 18 PMID: 17047671
Continuing “White Matter Month” — should you date someone you met at Rehab? Or should they [...]

Neuroeconomics and neuromarketing: Trust me, I’m your brain

Tuesday, December 25th, 2007

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 [...]

Brain scan shows when people think you’re lying

Tuesday, December 18th, 2007

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? [...]

Neurological Correlates: Apathy

Saturday, September 29th, 2007

Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2007 Sep 25; [Epub ahead of print]

Striatal dopamine transporter levels correlate with apathy in neurodegenerative diseases A SPECT study with partial volume effect correction.
David R, Koulibaly M, Benoit M, Garcia R, Caci H, Darcourt J, Robert P.
Centre Mémoire de Ressource et de Recherche, CHU Nice, France.
OBJECTIVES: The aim of the [...]