I’m hoping this is the last of the recent Thursday editions – the end of the semester is getting close, and with it the heavy teaching load I’ve had on Mondays and Wednesdays. But onto the round up – it’s free will, climate change, mind and anthropology this week.

Top of the List

Gretchen Reynolds, Phys Ed: Why Exercise Makes You Less Anxious
Very cool – exercise prepares the brain to deal with stress. Is this the new version of no pain, no gain?

Carlos Reynoso, Ciencia Cognitiva y Antropología del Conocimiento
The summary page for a fascinating seminar on cognitive science and anthropology in Buenos Aires. Fascinating overviews, and lots to download (under Creative Commons license). Que lastima que no pude asistir.

Ed Yong, Travels with Dopamine – The Chemical That Affects How Much Pleasure We Expect
What is dopamine and how does it affect us.

Schott’s Vocab, Weekend Competition: Squiffy, Sozzled, Smashed
“This weekend, co-vocabularists are invited to share the words and phrases they use to describe being drunk, drummed, daffy, decanted, or utterly Dean Martoonied.” Some smashing entries!

Conrad Lee, Is Obesity Contagious? A Review of the Debate over “Network Effects” of Obesity
In-depth analysis and critique, particularly in terms of modeling and statistics, of the work by Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler that obesity is “contagious” and passed through social networks

Free Will

Anil Ananthaswamy, Free Will Is Not An Illusion After All
Libet’s milestone study that alleged to show free will doesn’t exist is now being challenged by new research.

Continue reading “Wednesday Round Up #90”

I’m leading off with an important set of readings on genetics in relation to neuroanthropology, including plastic genes, gene-culture interactions, and critical takes on genetics in society. Then we’ve got some other top reads, followed by a section on applied anthropology that includes a lot of pdfs you can get online. Then the mind and an anthro grab-bag to finish it off.

Genetics

David Dobbs, I’m Not Vulnerable, Just Especially Plastic. Risk Genes, Environment, and Evolution, in the Atlantic
Genes are not bad, they are just sensitive. Dobbs covers his own feature article coming out in The Atlantic, which includes a video interview with Steve Soumi and his rhesus monkeys.

William Dressler et al., Cultural Consonance, a 5HT2A Receptor Polymorphism, and Depressive Symptoms: A Longitudinal Study of Gene × Culture Interaction in Urban Brazil
Abstract for an American Journal of Human Biology 2009 article. Serotonin function and the ability to match society’s ideals create significant interactive effects, including greater depressive symptoms with individuals with a particular polymorphism. “These results are consistent with a process in which genotype moderates the effects of culturally meaningful social experience on depressive symptoms.”

Dr. X, Do Collectivist Cultures Evolve as Buffers to Psychopathology?
Looking at whether collectivist-individualist dimensions of culture coevolve with genetic peril for anxiety and mood disorders. “Here, we demonstrate for the first time a robust association between cultural values of individualism– collectivism and allelic frequency of the serotonin transporter gene, controlling for associated economic and disease factors.” You can even get the full text free online.

Surfdaddy Orca, Making a Smarter Rat
Overexpressing the NR2B gene lets brain cells communicate just a bit longer. Result: a smarter rat.

The Neurocritic, Genomarketing!
Brains are not enough. Now companies are looking at ways to target you based on genetics. Includes a great graphic: the MAOa Card.

Cesar Vallejo, Genes and Human Freedom to a Case
Why an Italian court reduced the punishment of a man found guilty of murder. So is MAOa now a get out of jail free card? Here’s the original Nature report, Lighter sentence for murderer with ‘bad genes’

Cory Doctorow, Love of Shopping is Not a Gene: Exposing Junk Science and Ideology in Darwinian Psychology
But I thought my genes made me do it.

Nicholas Wade, Speech Gene Shows Its Bossy Nature
NY Times write-up of recent results on the FOXP2 gene that has gotten so much press as the “language gene” – but this time it’s about playing around with the chimp version and considering genetic orchestration rather than cause. John Hawks also comments, and links to more reactions to the Nature article.

Continue reading “Wednesday Round Up #89”

A busy week – but now you can peruse some economics, war, NY Times mind, anthro, and blogging mind.

Top of the List

Sandra Kiume, Social Neuroscience
Channel N gives us a great video with John Cacioppo speaking on “Connected Minds: Loneliness, Social Brains and the Need for Community.” Sometimes Channel N didn’t load right for me, so you can also go straight to the RSA page with the Cacioppo video.

Ed Yong, Holy Fellatio, Batman! Fruit Bats Use Oral Sex to Prolong Actual Sex
What a title! Just wait until you see the video.

David Dobbs, “YouTube! That’s Why I Became A Writer!”
Very funny video about a writer talking with his agent about how to promote his new book

Dan Sperber, Grieving Animals
An amazing photo of chimpanzees, and a big question about culture among our primate relatives

Economics and Neuroanthropology

Simeleon Sense, Video: Bribing vs. signalling – Marketplace Dept. of Behavioral Economics
Funny video – surviving the cubicle during the downturn, as seen through the eyes of a nature documentary

Sean Mallin, PBR and “Hip” Consumption
Pabst Blue Ribbon flies under the advertising radar, and builds a niche market during the economic downturn

Continue reading “Wednesday Round Up #88”