In the 1950’s, psychologist Milton Rokeach conducted an experiment where he brought together three psychiatric patients who all claimed to be Jesus.
The Sentry (Bob Reynolds) and the Brain
Optogenetics. It sounds like genes being lit up in neon colors, like a flashy Las Vegas sign. But what is it really? Optogenetics is a technique that takes advantage of proteins found in certain algae species that respond to different wavelengths of light. This algal response to the wavelengths includes opening a channel (called a … Continue reading The Sentry (Bob Reynolds) and the Brain
Manic Monday: The Monster Experiment
Dr. Johnson he thought that labelling of children as stutterers could make them worse, and in some cases cause children to start stuttering. To prove his point, he thought up an experiment that today is called the ‘Monster Study’
Findings Friday: Super brain
Everyone's been talking about the effects of meditation on the brain. Since it is such a healthy part of daily living and can work wonders on cognitive skills, including learning, memory, and creativity, I do think it is important to give a brief overview of the benefits meditation has on cognition. The meditation to be … Continue reading Findings Friday: Super brain
Technique Thursday: Computational Modeling
With neuroscience and computer science bleeding into one another, there are a number of ways that computer programming can help in understanding the brain. This can be achieved via computational modeling. Computational modeling is the intersection of math, physics, and computer science that is used to study the behavior of complex systems via computer models. … Continue reading Technique Thursday: Computational Modeling
Manic Monday: BoBo dolls and little kids
"Pow, right in the nose, boom, boom." "Suckeroo..stay down".
Seance Sunday: A Mechanical model of human learning and memory Part 1
This week's Séance Sunday will be on a paper by D. E. Broadbent. The paper begins with the proposition that people hate model building. The paper's purpose is to describe a very basic model of the human perceptual system. The above figure is the simple model for attention. Needed are a Y-shaped tubes and some … Continue reading Seance Sunday: A Mechanical model of human learning and memory Part 1
Findings Friday: Lucid Dreamers
Who wouldn't want to lucid dream,--be aware of oneself when dreaming, and able to control the dream? I sure would. I experienced it once, and needless to say, the experience left me craving more. There are techniques to enable yourself to lucid dream. They will be discussed in a future article. This article, however, will focus … Continue reading Findings Friday: Lucid Dreamers
Techniques Thursday: Memory Sleuth: How to tell a memory is false
In light of an earlier article I wrote on the vulnerability of memories, and how false memories can be planted in our minds, I decided to write an article on how to tell a memory is false. Consider Madrigal (yes, it's the name of a book character, from Dreams of Gods and Monsters if you … Continue reading Techniques Thursday: Memory Sleuth: How to tell a memory is false
Manic Monday: Loftus lost in the Mall
We've heard about how false memories can be "planted" in someone's mind. For example, people can be convinced they committed a crime they never did commit--in just a few hours! Others have been convinced they were raped, or molested as children. In 1999, Dr. Elizabeth F. Loftus conducted a study that greatly impacted our understanding of … Continue reading Manic Monday: Loftus lost in the Mall