Hearing voices that are not there was once thought to be a core symptom of schizophrenia and signify severe mental illness. It has been increasingly acknowledged that people with no other symptoms of schizophrenia or psychosis do hear voices [1]. There are several theories about what causes these auditory hallucinations. For example, there is good evidence that hearing voices can be linked to trauma [2]. Attempting to understand the phenomenon is not only scientifically interesting but also relates to how society views people with these experiences and if and how they may be treated. A search for how these experiences are associated with brain function is ongoing. New research published in the journal Human Brain Mapping suggests that the predisposition to hearing voices may relate to abnormal functioning of the brain whilst at rest [3].
Distinct patterns of activity, which may indicate a predisposition to care for infants, appear in the brains of adults who view an image of an infant face, even when the child is not theirs, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and in Germany, Italy, and Japan. Seeing images of infant faces appeared to activate in the adult’s brains circuits that reflect preparation for movement and speech as well as feelings of reward.
Welcome to the 58th edition of Encephalon, where we highlight some of the best neuroscience and psychology blog posts from around the blogosphere. This edition includes 20 articles on a variety of interesting topics, including intelligence, belief, neurodegeneration, multi-tasking, memory, grief and consciousness.
There’s a revolution occurring on the Web: those “authoritative” articles written on traditional, static websites are being replaced with blogs, wikis and online social networks. In the sphere of health, medicine and information technology, this “real-time Web” consists of many who are professionals in the field; their posts are listed below.
In the digital age, these are the characteristics of new media: recent, relevant, reachable and reliable.
This edition of Encephalon coincides with the historic 44th U.S. Presidential election. As with every election, voters had to decide which candidate for whom to cast their ballot. Although a recent brain-imaging study found that voting decisions are more associated with the brain’s response to negative aspects of a politician’s appearance than to positive ones [1], many other sources of information come into play when we make important and complex decisions. Indeed, studies have shown that decision making is largely an unconscious process [2], in which a set of attributes, including needs, preferences, values and emotions, shape our response to sensory input.
Will there be engaging and thought-provoking articles below? Will each of us learn something new as we read through the posts? Will this edition of Encephalon be successful?
Let’s move through each of the attributes and shape our response to these questions.
Health Highlights is a biweekly summary of particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.
Health Highlights is a biweekly summary of particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.
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New Pew Study Shows Patients Turn to Internet for Health Information; Now Can We Get Docs to Do The Same? | The Health Wisdom Blog
The internet is changing the way patients not only get information but the way they interact with doctors and their families. Unity Stoakes discusses one of the major healthcare challenges today – lack of a credible online resource for physicians to recommend to their patients.
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Introducing . . . The Digital Health Revolution | HealthCareVox
Fard Johnmar introduces a new bi-weekly program he’s hosting that will chronicle how the Internet, computers, mobile phones and other technologies are impacting health globally, with a major emphasis on social media (blogs, podcasts, social networks).
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The e-Patient Revolution | HealthDot @ ScribeMedia.Org
One of the first episodes of The Digital Health Revolution featuring Susannah Fox of the Pew Internet & American Life Project discussing the e-patient revolution.
To view all episodes, visit the Digital Health Revolution home page.
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Ability to email Your Doctor Improves Care | Comments on the e-Patient Revolution
Charlie Smith MD writes about a recent study in Pediatrics showing that patients who were allowed to email their doctors improved their perceptions of care.
- Medical 2.0 – A new health 2.0 directory for all of you | Medical 2.0
Uri Ginzburg introduces a new directory resource that aggregates medical and life science applications, platforms and websites that are based on web 2.0 tools.
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The first Journal dedicated to Personalized Genetics? | ScienceRoll
Berci Mesko writes about BMC Medical Genomics, a new open access journal that will publish original peer-reviewed research articles on functional genomics, genome structure, genome-scale population genetics, epigenomics, proteomics, systems analysis and pharmacogenomics in relation to human health and disease.
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Why Do People Enjoy Being Frightened? | Dr. Val and the Voice of Reason
Next week is Halloween. Dr. Val discusses the reasons why people enjoy being frightened. Boo!
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