Improving law through neuroscience

The insights from brain science has the potential to alter the making and practice of law. But how and why? What is so special about brain science that gives it this potent source of change?
Let’s reverse that question by asking: what is so good about our current models about human thought, motivation and behaviour that [...]

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More on neuroprosthetics

If you downloaded the radio programme on neuroprosthetics that Thomas mentions in a post below, you’ll want to also hear the January 13 version of BBC’s excellent radio show Science Frontier. Here’s the presentation of the programme, to be found at Radio 4’s web-site:
People with nerve or limb injuries may one day be able to [...]

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Meeting of Minds report out

Throughout 2005 126 EU citizens participated in something called the “Meeting of Minds”, learning about neuroscience and debating what to do with our ever increasing knowledge about the brain. Here is how the project is described on its web-page www.meetingmindseurope.org:
Meeting of Minds. European Citizens’ Deliberation on Brain Science is a two-year pilot project led by [...]

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More compassionate through meditation?

Apparently the Dalai Lama is a science buff. For some years now he has lend out munks to Richard Davidson, an expert on emotion, who is currently studying what happens when these monks meditate. In 2004 Davidson and his colleagues published a paper in PNAS showing a difference in neural activity in buddhist monks compared [...]

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Fusiform — not alone

One of the important basic discussions in congitive neuroscience is that of the fusiform face area (FFA). The FFA has been suggested as a part of the fusiform gyrus that is solely dedicated to face perception. The rationale is that faces have been evolutionary special and selected for, and that the FFA is an evolved [...]

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Reward processing and extrovert behaviour

Yesterday I mentioned that brain scientists are actively investigating the neural processes underlying personality differences in behaviour. A very nice example of this research is to be found in the latest issue of Cognitive Brain Research. Michael Cohen and his colleagues linked personality testing, fMRI and genetic analysis to look into how personality may correlate [...]

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Animal personality

Today’s NY Times Magazine has a rather fascinating story about research on animal personality. Although eradicated by behaviourism, the notion that others animals than ourselves display various personality types – timid, bold, aggresive, etc. – is becoming increasingly accepted in the worlds of biology and psychology. Researchers such as Sam Gosling – visit his site [...]

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Critical remarks about art in the brain

An online published paper by John Hyman provides a thorough criticism of two major contributors to the emergent field of neuroaesthetics, V.S. Ramachandran and Semir Zeki.
Art and Neuroscience
From the article:

I want to discuss a new area of scientific research called neuro-aesthetics, which is the study of art by neuroscientists. The most prominent champions of neuro-aesthetics [...]

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iHuman on podcast

There is a most interesting question being posed at the ABC The Science Show:
“What are the implications of the latest advances in neural prosthetics?”
THE SCIENCE SHOW with Robyn Williams – iHuman
Saturday 14 January, Midday, repeat Monday 16 January, 7pm
What are the implications of the latest advances in neural prosthetics, electronic implants and robotics for humankind? [...]

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Men’s vengeful brains

While trying to digest the overwhelming yet so short conference on Imaging Genetics in Irvine, I find myself just tapping into some of the latest headlines. This little piece in New Scientist on sexual differences in revenge sounds interesting.
From the New Scientist article:
Tania Singer of University College London and colleagues used a functional magnetic resonance [...]

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