Showing posts with label science blogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science blogs. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Noteworthy Recent Posts on Drugs and the Brain


A few good articles.

Teasing Out the Effects of Environment on the Brain.
By Moheb Costandi

Antidepressants: Are They Effective or Just a Placebo?
By Maia Szalavitz

SSRIs and Suicide.
By Neuroskeptic

Cannabis and mental health – two new studies give the “wrong” results!

Under the Microscope: How does caffeine work?
By Professor Andrew Smith.

Photo Credit: http://degweb.org/

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Friday File


Book and Blog Recommendations


Books

Garrison Keillor, my state’s answer to Mark Twain, often used a signature phrase on his radio show: “Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.” Michael S. Gazzaniga, brain scientist extraordinaire, says that this simple statement explains the essential difference between the cognitive complexity of humans and that of other primates. Put simply, “Other apes don’t have that sentiment.”

A cognitive neuroscientist at the University of California–Santa Barbara, Gazzaniga’s recent book, Human: The Science Behind What Makes Us Unique, looks at how we diverged from our ancestors to become sentient human beings. Hint: It has less to do with tool use and opposable thumbs than you might expect.

Gazzaniga wears his learning lightly and puts forth his ideas in an easy-going style. Though he does not mention them by name, he could have been thinking about PETA when he poses the ultimate question: “Would a chimp make a good date?”

Blogs

Neuroanthropology, a site dedicated to the “greater understanding of the encultured brain and body,” is another interdisciplinary gem of a blog.

In their own words, Neuroanthropology is a “collaborative weblog created to encourage exchanges among anthropology, philosophy, social theory, and the brain sciences. We especially hope to explore the implications of new findings in the neurosciences for our understanding of culture, human development, and behaviour.”

As part of that eclectic mix, Daniel Lende keeps a keen eye on the biology of drugs and alcohol, with a particular emphasis on “biopsychosocial” approaches to addiction.

Some of Neuroanthropology’s more popular posts include “Cultural Aspects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” “Sarah Palin and Language,” “Studying Sin,” and “How Your Brain is Not Like a Computer.” The site also features a great page of Web Resources.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Friday File


Book and Blog Recommendations

Books

A decade ago, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a brain researcher at Harvard Medical School and a national spokesperson for the Harvard Brain Bank, suffered a massive stroke at the age of 37. Unable to walk, talk, read, or write, Dr. Taylor underwent an 8-year recovery and narrates the story of her recovery in her book , My Stroke of Insight.

The book’s jacket copy explains: “As the damaged left side of her brain—the rational, grounded, detail-and-time oriented side—swung in and out of function, Taylor alternated between two distinct and opposite realities: the euphoric nirvana of the intuitive and kinesthetic right brain, in which she felt a sense of complete well-being and peace, and the logical, sequential left brain, which recognized Jill was having a stroke and enabled her to seek help before she was lost completely. “

As reporter Robert Koehler writes: “This book is about the wonder of being human and as such is a plea and a prayer that we strive to be equal to how big we really are. What a piece of work is man — 50 trillion cells functioning in purposeful harmony.”

Stroke patients, victims of brain injuries, medical practitioners, and the general reading public will find invaluable insights and recommendations in this book.

Blogs

The mission of Corpus Callosum, a science blog maintained by an anonymous psychiatrist who works at a community hospital, is “to develop connections between hard science and social science, using linear thinking and intuition; and to explore the relative merits of spontaneity vs. strategy.” The blog intelligently covers a broad range of general-interest topics, including social commentary, neuroscience, politics, and science news.

Corpus Callosum also regularly features excellent graphics and photographs, and is written in a reasoned, straightforward and easy-to-digest style. As a bonus, the site features a deep and high-quality blogroll.
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