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These two metaphors—brain as computer and brain as muscle—share some key assumptions. To wit: the mind is a discrete thing that is sealed in the skull; this discrete thing determines how well people are able to think; this thing has stable properties that can easily be measured, compared, and ranked.
Annie Murphy Paul • The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain
In one study of brain-damaged patients by University of Iowa neurologist Steven Anderson, pathological collectors did not differ from a group of noncollectors (who had been assessed for the purposes of comparison) on a range of normal abilities, but all the extreme collectors had suffered damage to the mesial prefrontal areas of the brain. This
... See moreSam Gosling • Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You
Like many other diagnoses in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association, the criteria are descriptive and somewhat arbitrary, representing professional opinion and consensus. Describing disorders through checklists of symptoms can distort the complexity of clinical realities and comorbidities. From a
... See moreRichard M. Scheffler • The ADHD Explosion: Myths, Medication, Money, and Today's Push for Performance
Nobody knows how consciousness works – but top researchers are fighting over which theories are really science
Tim Baynetheconversation.com
Neuroscience bits
Chloe Addison • 2 cards
Beyond Evolutionary Psychology: How and Why Neuropsychological Modules Arise (Culture and Psychology)
amazon.com
Those beautiful color-dappled images are actually representations of particular areas in the brain that are working the hardest—as measured by increased oxygen consumption—when a subject performs a task such as reading a passage or reacting to stimuli, such as pictures of faces.
Sally Satel • Brainwashed: The Seductive Appeal of Mindless Neuroscience
