Slashdot | Brain Scans to Identify Liars?

The Washington Post ran an article on using fMRI to figure out when people are lying. Here's the discussion on Slashdot:

Slashdot | Brain Scans to Identify Liars?

Newswise | Meditation, Relaxation Work Equally Well for Anxiety Disorders

A study comparing transcendental meditation with relaxation techniques and biofeedback has found that all three are approximately equally effective in reducing stress and anxiety.

Newswise | Meditation, Relaxation Work Equally Well for Anxiety Disorders

MIRROR NEURONS AND THE BRAIN IN A VAT By V.S. Ramachandran

MIRROR NEURONS AND THE BRAIN IN A VAT By V.S. Ramachandran

Wired 14.02: Buddha on the Brain

Richard Geirland in Wired has a very balanced story on the Dalai Lama's dalliance with neuroscience (and vice versa). There is some interesting research on meditation and brain activity, cited in this story. (For more details, see Richard Goleman's interesting overview of a scientific conference with the Dalai Lama, Destructive Emotions.)

The Dalai Lama wants to use meditation as a scientific tool for understanding how consciousness works, since it can provide a way of doing controlled first-person experimentation. Likewise, he's interested in what science can tell us about brain physiology and how the brain works. But Geirland cuts to the heart of the conflict: Scientists who cozy up to a religious leader like the Dalai Lama run the risk of tainting the objectivity of their work.

The fact that many of the neuroscientists protesting the Dalai Lama's appearance at a recent conference are Chinese adds another layer to the controversy.

Wired 14.02: Buddha on the Brain

The Impact of Emerging Technologies: Your Brain on Booze - Technology Review

The Impact of Emerging Technologies: Your Brain on Booze - Technology Review: "a new technology, known as Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), is allowing researchers to examine how alcohol affects [the brain's] fine-scale wiring."

When Bad People Are Punished, Men Smile (but Women Don't) - New York Times

When Bad People Are Punished, Men Smile (but Women Don't) - New York Times: "In the study, when male subjects witnessed people they perceived as bad guys being zapped by a mild electrical shock, their M.R.I. scans lit up in primitive brain areas associated with reward. Their brains' empathy centers remained dull."

A Shocker: Partisan Thought Is Unconscious - New York Times

A Shocker: Partisan Thought Is Unconscious - New York Times: "Using M.R.I. scanners, neuroscientists have now tracked what happens in the politically partisan brain when it tries to digest damning facts about favored candidates or criticisms of them. The process is almost entirely emotional and unconscious, the researchers report, and there are flares of activity in the brain's pleasure centers when unwelcome information is being rejected."

Apples are good for your brain.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away -- but the equivalent of 2-4 apples a day helps protect brain cells from oxidizing (in mice anyway) and improves mental performance -- especially in older brains.

Newswise | Age-Related Memory Improvement Linked with Consumption of Apple Products: "Supplementation by apple juice fully protected the aged mice from the oxidative stress caused by the nutrient-deficient diet. In addition, stronger mental acuity resulted when the aged mice consumed the human equivalent of 2-3 cups of apple juice or approximately 2-4 apples per day. “We believe that this effect is due to the apple’s naturally high level of antioxidants,” states Shea. Previous research with his colleagues also determined that it is not the sugar and energy content of the apple juice, but the antioxidant attributes of apple juice that are responsible for the positive effects."

Here's the abstract.

Immune system may also help brain -- Newsday.com

Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel have discovered that the immune system may play a role in stimulating the growth of brain cells. According to the researchers, immune cells called T-lymphocytes can help stimulate the growth of neurons in the brain.

"T-lymphocytes normally enter the brain to patrol for signs of infection. But scientists have discovered that these immune cells recognize a normal brain protein as foreign and mount an immune response by pumping out activated microglia, cells that produce inflammation. These microglia support the birth of new neurons in these brain regions."

Immune system may also help brain -- Newsday.com

Here's the press release:


WEIZMANN INSTITUTE SCIENTISTS SUGGEST THAT IMMUNE CELLS HELP TO MAINTAIN COGNITION AND BRAIN CELL RENEWAL

MRI: Like the Invention of the Telescope

Technology Review has a feature on brain imaging techniques that could improve the way doctors diagnose and treat psychiatric ailments. Part I is online today: Finding Bipolar Disorder with MRI

Part 2 has some information on MRI spectroscopy, a new technique.

Part 3: Scientists use MRI to detect brain abnormalities in premature infants

The feature looks to be a good overview of MRI and its impact on brain science. Although MRI technology is now about 15 years old, it is only now--with the recent introduction of fMRI--beginning to revolutionize the field. One telling quote:

MRI has become, says Robert Desimone, director of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, "the most powerful tool for studying the human brain. I liken it to the invention of the telescope for astronomers." Desimone notes that the arrival of the telescope did not immediately revolutionize the scientific understanding of the universe. That took time, as researchers learned how to use their new tool.