Mindlinks March 2015
Every month we bring you the latest news from the world of Psychology! Here is my collection of links that I found most exciting the last month. Feel free to add your favorite news in the comment section!
- Simulating an entire brain in a supercomputer? That sounds a bit sci-fi, doesn’t it? However, this is the aim of the Human Brain Project that has been launched 18 months ago. Since then, many criticisms arose. The mediation committee published a report and calls for changes.
- Transcranial direct-current stimulation is in its early stages of development. Some researchers hope to use it to improve learning, vigilance, intelligence, and working memory, as well as for treating chronic pain and the symptoms of depression, Parkinson’s, and schizophrenia. There are no conclusive effects. However, experiencing tDCS can be quite adventurous.
- The cognitive abilities of persons who suffer from dementia are impaired. One of the consequences is a change in personality, but one of the main difficulties is to remember even the simplest things. This is why it is amazing that a dementia patient learned to play saxophone and even outperformed others in his class!
- Imagine you went through some tough days, full of worries and fear. But suddenly you wake up and experience false happy memories out of the blue. This is exactly what happened to some mice after their brains were manipulated during their sleep.
- A new technique has been developed that uses magnetic nanoparticles neurons to stimulate neurons. No need for wires and implants! This might be useful for the treatment of many medical conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease.
- Have you ever interacted with a robot and didn’t like it? Trusting a robot causes discomfort in many of us. Researchers are trying to figure it out. A new study provides insight into some of the reasons
NOTE: Image by Arkady Amiragov
Hanna Lembcke is a third-year student in the International Psychology Bachelor programme in Groningen and takes part in the University’s Honours College. Her interests lie in clinical-, cognitive- and neuropsychology. After finishing her high school degree in Germany, she worked with people with mental disorders and her interest in psychology grew enormously as did the wish to help people in a clinical setting. She became very interested in research during her research internship in the department for cognitive psychology at the RUG. As a student editor of Mindwise, she is eager to make knowledge about psychological research accessible to a broad audience, especially students.
Hanna, with this column, are you inviting all Groningen psychology researchers to share their latest publications as well? Here is one on how eating with others may change how you behave towards them: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938415001523. I mostly liked this study because it made me curious if people with eating disorder diagnoses would behave differently in this context from people without eating disorder diagnoses.