Vintage psychiatric drug advertising

Category: Brains and Stuff • Popular Culture • Psychology • Sex, Drugs, & Rock and Roll • Weird

This gallery is sweet! The Online gallery of modern and vintage psychiatric drug advertising has a large selection of some pretty scary old drug advertisements and packaging.

Like these:

I wonder what the people of the future are going to say about our current psychiatric system?

HT: Dave

Posted by Steve Higgins at 1:39 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Hippies might have something going with that incense crap

Category: Brains and Stuff • Health • Sex, Drugs, & Rock and Roll

Actually, I'll let you read the press release first and then we'll decide if 'religious leaders' and the damn hippies know something we don't ;)

Religious leaders have contended for millennia that burning incense is good for the soul. Now, biologists have learned that it is good for our brains too. In a new study appearing online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org), an international team of scientists, including researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, describe how burning frankincense (resin from the Boswellia plant) activates poorly understood ion channels in the brain to alleviate anxiety or depression. This suggests that an entirely new class of depression and anxiety drugs might be right under our noses.

"In spite of information stemming from ancient texts, constituents of Bosweilla had not been investigated for psychoactivity," said Raphael Mechoulam, one of the research study's co-authors. "We found that incensole acetate, a Boswellia resin constituent, when tested in mice lowers anxiety and causes antidepressive-like behavior. Apparently, most present day worshipers assume that incense burning has only a symbolic meaning."

To determine incense's psychoactive effects, the researchers administered incensole acetate to mice. They found that the compound significantly affected areas in brain areas known to be involved in emotions as well as in nerve circuits that are affected by current anxiety and depression drugs. Specifically, incensole acetate activated a protein called TRPV3, which is present in mammalian brains and also known to play a role in the perception of warmth of the skin. When mice bred without this protein were exposed to incensole acetate, the compound had no effect on their brains.

"Perhaps Marx wasn't too wrong when he called religion the opium of the people: morphine comes from poppies, cannabinoids from marijuana, and LSD from mushrooms; each of these has been used in one or another religious ceremony." said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "Studies of how those psychoactive drugs work have helped us understand modern neurobiology. The discovery of how incensole acetate, purified from frankincense, works on specific targets in the brain should also help us understand diseases of the nervous system. This study also provides a biological explanation for millennia-old spiritual practices that have persisted across time, distance, culture, language, and religion--burning incense really does make you feel warm and tingly all over!"

According to the National Institutes of Health, major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability in the United States for people ages 15-44, affecting approximately 14.8 million American adults. A less severe form of depression, dysthymic disorder, affects approximately 3.3 million American adults. Anxiety disorders affect 40 million American adults, and frequently co-occur with depressive disorders.

Ok... now that you've read it what do you think? I think they might be onto something but I do have one major complaint, how the hell do we assume that burning something and releasing some smells into the air will get this incensole acetate through the blood brain barrier? And even if the chemical could be taken in well by the body through smoke how much do you need? You might have to smoke the shit like a joint to get enough! Oooooh that's right... hippies - makes sense now.

I'm actually thinking the authors of this paper should study the effects of group hugs. Let me show you why (From the paper):

Transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV) 3 is an ion channel implicated in the perception of warmth in the skin. TRPV3 mRNA has also been found in neurons throughout the brain; however, the role of TRPV3 channels there remains unknown.

I'd like the hypothesize that this receptor is responsible for the good feelings of a group hug and it should thus be renamed the happy feel good group hug ion channel or hfggh channel.

Peace out!

-source-

Posted by Steve Higgins at 11:39 AM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Another brain game that does nothing (well besides look pretty)

Category: Brains and Stuff • Woo

boingboing gadgets has uncovered the most brilliant brain game ever. Not only does this enhance your cognitive abilities with use, it can enhance your emotional intelligence! wow!

Through mindless manipulation of pretty colors and funny shapes you too can be Dr. Phil!

Since I don't think I've had my quota of !!!!'s here are a few more to direct you to the original boingboing post: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Steve Higgins at 1:02 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Genes for music aptitude?

Category: Brains and Stuff • Psychology • Sex, Drugs, & Rock and Roll

Really?! Come on...

Molecular and statistical genetic studies in 15 Finnish families have shown that there is a substantial genetic component in musical aptitude. Musical aptitude was determined using three tests: a test for auditory structuring ability (Karma Music test), and the Seashore pitch and time discrimination subtests. The study represents the first systematic molecular genetic study that aims in the identification of candidate genes associated with musical aptitude.

The identified regions contain genes affecting cell extension and migration during neural development. Interestingly, an overlapping region previously associated with genetic locus for dyslexia was found raising a question about common evolutionary background of music and language faculties. The results show that musical aptitude is likely to be regulated by several predisposing genes/variants.

"The identification of genes/genetic variants involved in mediating music perception and performance would offer new tools to understand the role of music in human brain function, human evolution and its relationship to language faculty", says the leader of the study, Dr. Irma Järvelä from the University of Helsinki.

So... what other cognitive abilities are also directly regulated by this same set of genes? Language? Math?.... What specific aptitudes in music are better - rhythm, melody, stage presence? Come on... I want more!

-via EurekAlert-

Posted by Steve Higgins at 11:11 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Sunday Morning Funnies

Category: Brains and Stuff • Humor

Is that Georgie poo?

-source?-

Posted by Steve Higgins at 6:22 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Orgasms Everywhere!

Category: Brains and Stuff • Health • Sex, Drugs, & Rock and Roll

So what's the story with the big O? Scientific American has the full story. Here's the main points to get you warmed up though:

Principles of Pleasure

* Sexual desire and orgasm are subject to various influences on the brain and nervous system, which controls the sex glands and genitals.
* The ingredients of desire may differ for men and women, but researchers have revealed some surprising similarities. For example, visual stimuli spur sexual stirrings in women, as they do in men.
* Achieving orgasm, brain imaging studies show, involves more than heightened arousal. It requires a release of inhibitions engineered by shutdown of the brain's center of vigilance in both sexes and a widespread neural power failure in females.

Here's the Scientific American article.

Posted by Steve Higgins at 7:11 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

What happens at Vision Science Society stays at VSS (except in the blogging world)

Category: Brains and Stuff • Vision

Well I'm finally done with VSS it was long and stressful... but mostly fun. Here's a couple pictures...

After all this fun I had to get my game face on and do a talk. I've given a lot of talks in classrooms and even at a conference but after I saw the size of the room and how many people were going to be in it I was a weeee bit intimidated. After letting the stress stew for a couple days I finally gave my talk on Wednesday. I think it went well :) At least people complemented me on it. If you're interested in seeing what I presented with no explanation feel free to download the powerpoint presentation.

I'm looking forward to next years conference already.

Posted by Steve Higgins at 6:52 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Huuuuuge sale of science books from Columbia Press

Category: Books

There is a huuuuge sale on science books (and other categories...literature theory, anthro, whatever) at Columbia Press. They are all well above 50% off. It looks like there are a bunch of interesting titles. Check it out!

Posted by Steve Higgins at 9:31 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Announcing the 34th annual meeting of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology

Category: Brains and Stuff • Psychology

Announcing the 34th annual meeting of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology
June 26-29, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Registration is now open; deadline Thursday, June 5 -- 12:00pm EST
Note that early registration is suggested, as the reserved hotel block is likely to fill quickly.

The 2008 conference will feature presentations by:

George Ainslie, Michael L. Anderson, Louise Antony
Peter Carruthers, Louis Charland, Anjan Chatterjee
David Danks, Felipe De Brigard, Michael Devitt
Marthah Farah, Evelina Fedorenko, Owen Flanagan,
Jerry Fodor, Kenneth R. Foster, Lila R. Gleitman (President of SPP)
George Graham, Bryce Huebner, Bertram F. Malle,
Barbara Malt, Christopher Meacham, Dominic P. Murphy
Thomas Nadelhoffer, Kenneth Norman, Mike Oaksford
Erik Parens, Nancy Petry, Jeffrey Poland
Zenon Pylyshyn, Sarah Robins, Paul Rozin,
Laurie R. Santos (the 2008 Stanton Prize winner)
Michael Strevens, Justin Sytsma, Kelly Trogdon
Charles Wallis, Deena Weisberg, Daniel Weiskopf
Fei Xu, Carlos Zednik. . . among many others

On topics including:

-Addiction and Responsibility
-Concepts and Categorization
-Consciousness
-Bayesian Inference and Rationality
-Foundational Issues in the Philosophy of Cognitive Science
-Language & Mental Representation
-Moral Psychology
-Neuroethics
-Theory of Mind

Note that this year the conference will be preceded June 25-26 by a workshop on experimental philosophy
http://www.socphilpsych.org/workshop.html

More information on both the 2008 SPP conference and the Experimental Philosophy Workshop can be found on the website http://www.ircs.upenn.edu/spp/

Posted by Steve Higgins at 9:40 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Superstition at the Exploratorium

Category: Brains and Stuff

Tempt Fate, and Take a Risk
Superstition Obstacle Course Opens Friday, June 13th
Are You Scared?
June 13 - September 1, 2008

For many people, Friday the 13th suggests bad luck -- but is it really
tempting fate or taking a risk to break a mirror? Are you courting disaster
by walking under a ladder? And what really happens if you step squarely on
that crack in the sidewalk? Challenge these and other superstitions at the
Exploratorium's new Superstition Obstacle Course. Experience how your own
superstitions, your own emotions, and your own judgment come into play.
Although none of the beliefs represented have a scientific basis, many
believe such behaviors are taboo and invite bad luck. Regardless of their
truth, superstitions are a part of human culture, and offer a rich source of
understanding why we believe and act as we do.

Go to: http://www.exploratorium.edu/pr/documents/08-6Superstition.html

Thought Graffiti
A Special Interactive Event in Conjunction with the New Mind Exhibition
Saturdays, June 14, June 28, and July 12
Noon-3pm

What do your thoughts sounds like, look like, feel like? Find out what
everyone's thinking in this family-friendly experiment. Come to the
Exploratorium and, using sidewalk chalk, create a giant thought bubble on
the museum floor. Anyone can contribute a thought in words, doodles, or
pictures. Ask a question that comes to mind, respond to your neighbor's
thoughts, or collaborate with a friend. Help contribute to the invention of
-- who knows? For ages 6 and up. Chalk provided.

Go to: http://www.exploratorium.edu/pr/documents/08-6Thought.html

Posted by Steve Higgins at 9:35 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Popping in and out of existence... what I'm doing right now in Florida

Category: Brains and Stuff • Psychology • Vision

Right now I'm about to, or already am, standing at a podium to give a talk at the Vision Sciences Society annual meeting (better known as VSS) in Naples Florida.

Wish me luck!

Here's the exciting abstract:

The human visual system typically tracks the position of objects as they move. However, when disruption occurs (e.g., as objects are occluded and disoccluded, an eye movement occurs, or when objects spontaneously disappear and reappear), we must determine whether or not the objects have moved. In most real-world perception, stable aspects of the surrounding environment provide landmarks for this recalibration process. Previous studies showed that when two objects are briefly viewed and then removed from view, the object reappearing first serves as a landmark for the object reappearing later. This results in the misperception that the second object has moved when, in fact, only the first one (the landmark) actually did. We explored whether this "landmark bias" was due to the objects' abrupt onset/offset by removing and revealing the objects more naturally. If the landmark bias represents a general process in which people treat the first object to reappear as the stable object, then observers should continue to see the second object as having moved. Alternatively, if the landmark bias results from a disrupted initial representation after sudden onset/offset, then the landmark bias should be eliminated. To test this hypothesis, two objects appeared side by side after which a moving occluder entered from one of the four edges of the screen, temporarily covering the objects before exiting. The objects could be occluded simultaneously (top/bottom entrance) or sequentially (left/right entrance), and revealed simultaneously (top/bottom exit) or sequentially (left/right exit) to mimic the traditional landmark test procedure. When the objects disappeared and reappeared more naturally, observers showed no landmark bias to misperceive the second object as having moved. This pattern also held for invisible occluders which provide no location cues, demonstrating that vanishing objects are treated differently than objects that gradually disappear.

Posted by Steve Higgins at 10:28 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Interesting Police Blotter Tidbits: Paranormal Rape

Category: Brains and Stuff • Weird

Delusions are the strangest things...
Once, back in the day, when I was interning in Ted Kennedy's press office we got a call from a woman (this was a pretty usual occurrence) demanding to know why the CIA, et. al. were monitoring her brainwaves. Our quick thinking secretary (a Harvard grad making 16k a year for the privilege of working in the Senate) told her to hold he was going to go check the list. He let her sit for a few minutes, got back on the phone, and told her she wasn't on the list and there must be a mistake. He would have her mind control removed immediately and he was sorry for the mix up. She never did call back from what I heard. Perhaps a new form of therapy?

In any case... here's an entertaining police blotter from Federal Way, Washington:

At 4:02 p.m. April 10, two women went into the Federal Way police station claiming that over the past two years, a paranormal person has been placing sensors on their bodies and visiting them in their house at 28600 block of 25th Place South. They said that the ghost has been having sexual intercourse with them. One woman said that these incidents started in Kent and continued when she moved here. The other woman said that this just started now.

•At 3:36 p.m. April 12, a woman contacted the Federal Way police to report that a person was cutting a large tree down. She was concerned it could fall on her car or on her house located in the 30800 block of 22nd Avenue South. The woman who was trying to cut the tree was contacted and said that she needed to cut the tree because it was hazard.

•At 10:10 a.m. April 11, an unknown person cut the vinyl top of a woman’s car in the 30800 block of 8th Avenue SW, and gained access to the vehicle. All belongings inside the car had been gone and the total damage for the vehicle was about $1,200.

At least not all the crime in Federal Way is odd...

-via boingboing-

Posted by Steve Higgins at 3:27 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Gruesome Japanese Anatomical Illustrations

Category: Brains and Stuff

I love antique anatomical drawings of the brain. I even have a couple in my office that I should probably take a picture of to show off to you guys. These illustrations from Japan are particularly interesting. According to Pink Tentacle:

The Kaibo Zonshinzu anatomy scrolls, painted in 1819 by Kyoto-area physician Yasukazu Minagaki (1784-1825), consist of beautifully realistic, if not gruesome, depictions of scientific human dissection.

Unlike European anatomical drawings of the time, which tended to depict the corpse as a living thing devoid of pain (and often in some sort of Greek pose), these realistic illustrations show blood and other fluids leaking from subjects with ghastly facial expressions.

-via boingboing-

Posted by Steve Higgins at 6:12 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Videos of African Grey Parrots in Cameroon and Congo

Category: Wide World

Cristiana Senni from World Parrots Trust just let me know that their organization has uploaded several movies to YouTube of African Grey parrots in the wild. I live with a Grey, and was absolutely amazed at their vocalizations and behaviors--pretty much exactly like Pepper. Reminds me that while Pepper is tame, he is still just one generation from his wild brethren. Check out their beautiful videos!

Another under the fold...

Read on »

Posted by Shelley Batts at 10:21 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Dalai Lama Speaks in Ann Arbor

Category: Wide World

The Dalai Lama has been making appearances and giving talks in the US, with his most recent talk at the University of Michigan (where I am) yesterday. Although I was unable to attend the actual talk, since the tickets were sold out within an hour of going on sale, his appearance was videotaped and uploaded (check out the movie here.)

According to the press release from UM, the Dalai Lama's talk skirted most of the tough issues that Tibet is now facing, and focused more on environmentalism--a topic certainly near and dear to the inhabitants of Ann Arbor. Check it out.

Posted by Shelley Batts at 12:43 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Anatomically-Correct Brain Cake!

Category: Brains and Stuff

Well folks, sorry I've been so AWOL around here lately. Lets just say there's been a lot of long hours in the basement with the confocal microscope, and I've also been in charge of organizing the U of M Neuroscience Spring Symposium, which is next week. I'm super-excited about the three visiting neuroscientists: Nicholas Gaiano, Ed Boyden, and David Sulzer. So, forgive my temporary absence...although I'm sure Steve is keeping everyone entertained.

Speaking of entertaining, I was emailed this awesome anatomically correct brain cake, recipe which I just had to share. Someone put a lot of love into photographing the entire process of creating something both nerdy and delicious-- even using chocolate chips to create an EEG grid.

Posted by Shelley Batts at 8:56 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

Get off my lawn! Emulating the old fart

Category: Health • Humor • Technology • Weird

A great new piece of technology turns you into old mister Pickard, your pissy, old, get off my damn lawn, next door neighbor.

Carmaker Nissan Motor is using a specialized driver's suit and goggles to simulate the bad balance, stiff joints, weaker eyesight and extra five kilograms (11lbs) that may accompany senior citizenry.

Associate chief designer Etsuhiro Watanabe says the suit's weight and constriction help in determining functionality and accessibility within cars by putting young designers not only in the minds of the mobility-challenged, but also in their bodies.

"Difficulty in walking, back pains, trouble in lifting arms -- we wanted to consider assorted infirmities," said Watanabe of the concept known as universal design.

"It's easy to do this for the young, but we wanted to design for adverse conditions and see what modifications are needed."

An ageing suit was first used by Nissan a decade ago, while Japanese washlet maker Toto uses such suits to simulate bathroom mobility, even including tub water as part of the program.

So... where can I get one of these?

-source-

Posted by Steve Higgins at 2:44 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

How to ship your brain

Category: Brains and Stuff • Weird

Do you have an extra brain sitting around you want to donate? Do you want to trade brains with someone else but they are too far away to do it in person? Is your brain malfunctioning and you need to ship it back to the factory for some repairs or in the worst case - a replacement? If your answer was yes to any of these questions then this is the tutorial for you.

This is what you'll need:

Two clean, dry ziploc plastic bags
(about 22.0 x 30.0 cm)

Plastic bucket with tightly fitting lid
(about 4.0 liters)

Large plastic bag
(about 40.0 x 50.0 cm)

Envelope for documents

Thermosafe polyfoam container
(38.0 x 33.0 x 31.0 cm)

Two refrigerant packs
(17.0 x 10.0 cm)

Wet ice (about 1.0 kg)

Once you have these items just follow these eight straight forward steps and you'll brain will be ready to drop off at your local courier store.

Put the fresh brain (A) in the first ziploc bag.

Ziploc first bag (B).

Place bag (B) in second bag and ziploc it (C).

Place 0.5 kg of wet ice into the bucket and transfer the double-bagged brain onto the ice (D).

Cover double-bagged brain with wet ice (E) and tightly fit the lid on the bucket.

Put big plastic bag into the polyfoam container and place wet ice (about 0.3 kg) into the bag (F).

Transfer sealed bucket into plastic bag of the container, onto the ice and add refrigerant packs (G).

Close plastic bag (H), put polyfoam lid in place, add documents and close cardboard box.

Surprisingly, this post is actually no joke at all. The New York Brain Bank at Columbia University needs brains to do important research on Alzheimer's and many other diseases of the brain. For more information visit their page (including more pictures of brains). Here's their official line:

The New York Brain Bank (NYBB) at Columbia University was established to collect postmortem human brains to meet the needs of neuroscientists investigating specific psychiatric and neurological disorders.

The tasks of the NYBB include:

* Collection and processing of human postmortem brain samples for research.
* Neuropathological evaluation and diagnosis.
* Storage and computerized inventory of brain samples.
* Distribution of brain samples to investigating clinicians and scientists.

The study of human postmortem brain tissue has unveiled structural and biochemical changes that are contributing to the development of drugs. For example, studies using postmortem human brains have led to the development of genetic tests, identification of neurotransmitters essential to Parkinson disease treatment and cytoskeletal abnormalities in Alzheimer disease.

To study the brains of patients with disorders of the central nervous system, brains from individuals without neurological or psychiatric disorders are necessary for comparison. All individuals are encouraged to donate their brains to science with authorization to remove it as soon as possible after death. The identity of each donor will remain strictly confidential.

NYBB will disburse tissue samples to investigating clinicians or scientists, whose research has been approved by their Institutional Review Board (IRB).

HT: Chris

Posted by Steve Higgins at 10:35 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks

How to Sex a Chick

Category: Birds • Psychology • Vision • Weird

Sexing chicks is a very difficult task for naive people. Expert chick sexers are over 98% successful while the naive sexers can only do it with slightly above chance performance. Are you sufficiently confused/pissed yet?

Ok ok... here's what's really going on:

When chickens are born the chicks are examined by experts to determine what sex they are. This important task is performed in order to save money in feed costs and avoid conflict between the male and female chicks (the men are selfish and don't let the females eat or drink). What they do with the male chickens I'm not entirely sure. I would assume they euthanize them.

In any case, this process was discovered by the Japanese and brought to America in the 1920's where a number of chicken sexing schools were setup in Washington and California. According to the industry the skill requires years of practice to master. In fact, the experts are able to classify nearly 1000 chicks per hour with 98% accuracy. The process of sexing the chicken is both interesting and disturbing,

The chicks, only a few hours old, are brought to the sexer in trays of 100. The task requires that the cloaca be everted. The chick is held in the left hand (for a right-handed person) and the fecal contents are squirted into a container to clear the cloaca (see Figure 2). Gentle but firm pressure from the two thumbs and right forefinger are exerted to spread the ventral surface of the colaca upwards to expose the eminence, called the "bead." The eminence is about the size of a pin head. The sexing decision must be made quickly because the chick is at risk from the vent eversion. Females are traditionally place in a tray on the right and males on the left.

Here is an example of how an expert would hold a chick in order to sex it. The chicks eyes have been obscured in order to maintain privacy.

It's pretty amazing what you can sneak into a psychology journal article isn't it?!

ok ok ... Back to the chicken sexing... Here's what the chicken sex organs look like:

Can you figure out what makes one female and one male? I sure can't and neither could a number of experts in visual cognition or any of the subjects in a study by Irving Biederman and Margaret Shiffrar published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition (1987, 13(4), 640-645).

In short, Biederman and Shiffrar discovered that they were able to train novice experiment participants to perform as well as the expert chicken sexers by giving them a short training session that instructed them as to where the non-accidental contrast in shape of chicken organs (concavity vs. convexity) was.

Here's their conclusions:

A contrast in a nonaccidental property can be readily learned and used as the criterion for rapid and accurate classification of complex objects. It is, of course, possible that such contrasts might not be available, in which case classification would have to be accomplished by prototype (or multiple-cue) matching. We suspect that nonaccidental contrasts will be spontaneously used whenever they are obvious. When not obvious because of small size, variability, or embedding in a complex object such as a chick cloaca or tank, a good instructional program is well advised to specify the contrasts rather than hope for their discovery.

-Update-
Check out this Dirty Jobs segment on this exact topic. Ewww!

Report on:
Biederman, I., Shiffrar, M.M. (1987). Sexing Day-Old Chicks: A Case Study and Expert Systems Analysis of a Difficult Perceptual-Learning Task. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cogntion, 13(4), 640-645.

Posted by Steve Higgins at 7:41 AM • 12 Comments • 0 TrackBacks