Psych in the news

• Slate looks at the latest research suggesting that ADD/ADHD may interfere with a child's growth.
• Honda builds a brain-to-robot interface for Asimo. (Boing Boing Gadgets)
• Today's new autism and _____ link: Scientific American reports on a "baffling" connection between autism and vinyl flooring.
• The coolest and grossest photos of brain slicing accompany Jonah Lehrer's story about the Allen Brain Atlas.
  
• Human children vs. apes: who's better at tracking objects and why. (Cognitive Daily)
  
• William Saletan in Slate on homosexuals and the therapists who try to change them.
  
• Calling Phineas Gage: man survives being harpooned in the head. (I wonder if anyone said "Abreu was no longer Abreu...")

Thanks to Chuck for that final entry.

Finally, in the spirit of the day, some breaking news stories from across the Interwebs in case you missed them: here are links for bacon popcorn, Google's AutoPilot (that also emulates ELIZA!), Ben & Jerry's Cyclone Dairy (with milk made from 100% cloned cows!), how to make your Kindle smell like a real book, a trifecta from HowStuffWorks with rechargeable gum, moving the Alps to Dubai and kittens that never grow old and a real honest to goodness one on social psychology. Enjoy!

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Psych in the news

Seriously? There is so much news flying by I'll never catch up. Today's installment is in fast forward with a minimum amount of words, no credits and crammed in every which way.

Calculating very rare events * Do psychologists still use Rorschach tests? * The mental heath of Iraqis after years of war * How ads enhance TV watching * The flexibility of dream interpretation * Does stress cause gray hair? * Older dads linked to lower IQ kids * Single sex classes in public schools * Placebos in teen depression studies * Brain differences between the religious and non-religious (and hear the NPR report) * Psychology and neuroscience on Twitter *

Two longer ones to end on: shark attacks are dropping and the economy's to blame! (Does anyone else use the correlation does not equal causation example of shark attacks and ice cream sales? So now shark attacks and the economy are correlated?)


Finally, a WARNING: this article in the Washington Post magazine on children dying in cars accidentally because they were forgotten by their parents is difficult to read (or at least it was for me -- there are parts I just had to skim through). I add it only because of the questions it raises about memory, inattention, distraction and people being off of their routines which leads to forgetting. There's also a sidebar on ways to prevent these tragedies -- sure, there's some technology, but there are also the simple things like putting something that you need for work (ID badge, briefcase, keys, etc.) in the back with the child. Kids and Cars also has other devices.

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TV alert: The Lobotomist on PBS this Monday

This Monday PBS' American Experience is re-airing the 2008 documentary "The Lobotomist" (check your local listings and the companion web site). The film is partly based on the book of the same name by journalist Jack El-Hai which has its own excellent web site. This is the story of Dr. Walter Freeman, the doctor who performed nearly 3,000 transorbital lobotomies (some with an ice pick) in the 1940s and 1950s. The Washington Post reviewer noted that "as the riveting documentary makes clear, Freeman's operation reflected the neurologist's peculiar combination of zealotry, talent, hubris and, as one of his trainees noted, craziness. Sometimes Freeman, who relished putting on a show, used a carpenter's mallet instead of a surgical hammer during demonstrations of his operation. At other times, he would operate left-handed rather than right-handed."

For the classroom there's an even better option -- the PBS web site also has the full film available, broken down in chunks from 2-7 minutes.

Did anyone see it the first time around and have thoughts to share? Or showed it to students? Please post your reactions, suggestions and other feedback in the comments section.

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