Encephalon 31

I became fascinated with the brain and brain behavior at a young age.


I recall sitting in front of the television console watching the Star Trek episode, "Spock's Brain," and hearing one of the characters ask,

"Brain brain, what is brain?"

The phrase forever stuck, and here I am forty years later still asking that question.

So without any further adieu, here is the 31st edition of the brain science blog carnival Encephalon .











Fitbuff brings a fascinating post from the journal Science , in which two papers describe the first lab-induced out-of-body experiences. This begs the question: Are out-of-body experiences supernatural, or simply logical and explainable occurrences, resulting from neurological activity in the brain?

Primate Diaries offers a truly interesting view on the evolution of Schizophrenia. In the blogpost, "schizophrenia is the perfect metaphor for how our evolutionary history is not a well ordered and implemented design, but is rather full of twists and turns and ill-adapted consequences that are best explained through the contingencies of natural selection." Beautifully written, I think.











Neurobiotaxis blogs about MacLean's “Triune Brain Theory" and the brain regions responsible for emotional and cognitive processing. It's like a guided tour of the working brain regions and their roles. Map recommended.


Over at Sharp Brains is a collection of in depth interviews with eleven Neuroscientists and Cognitive Psychologists about the benefits of brain training. No gym towel needed for these workouts.

Distributed Neuron educates us about "Nootropics" - medications that can improve various aspects of cognitive function and other diseases . Piracetam is specifically regarded in the blogpost.


















Psy Blog posts about kissing secrets between the sexes, and about how specific kinds of compliments can lead to greater tipping behavior. These are two separate posts, so get your mind out of the gutter.

Primate Diaries presents the recent scientific findings connecting morality and monogamy - and explains pair bonding and the evolution of the social brain.

Mind hacks cites the psychology behind the believability of news reports even when wrong information is retracted. The bottom line here is that first media impressions *do* count. The post eloquently reminds us to keep this fact in mind "when evaluating public information."







Brain research - and research of all kinds - rely on stringent statistical outcomes for reliable and valid results. Cognitive Daily informs us that we need to learn about the statistical outcome called Killeen's p rep.


And along a similar line, Advances in the History of Psychology reports that fewer than 2 in 5 submissions are ever published in the American Psychological Association The History of Psychology .














Neurophilosophy blogs about different types of synaethesia , an extraordinary neurological experience where numbers, letters and music can elicit the sensation of specific colors. When I see numbers, letters or listen to music, I get a great chocolate sense. I wonder if that falls into the phenomenon?

Healthline Connection brings a timely post about the neurobiology of the male Warrior Archetype and the tendency toward violence.

GNIF Brain Blogger poignantly writes about neurodiversity and the pressing issues of stigma and acceptance.

And in closing, today September 10th, is World Suicide Prevention Day and I offer this article for those interested in understanding the neuroscience of suicide .












Encephalon will be hosted by Grrrl Scientist at Living the Scientific Life on September 24th. You can beam up submissions here . Many thanks to Neurophilosopher for the invitation. I hope the carnival was a good ride!


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