Volume I - Issue 16 - 2nd June 2001
News in Brain and Behavioural Sciences
http://human-nature.com/nibbs/issue16.html
A few of the items in the latest issue
NEWS AND VIEWS
Schizophrenia - Danish scientists want to produce schizophrenic pigs so they
can research how the illness affects humans.
Anthropology - Anthropologists usually don't find the skeletons of long-dead
toddlers when digging into ancient ground. But at Syria's Dederiyah Cave, they
did just that in 1993 and again in 1997.
Clinical neuropsychology - The brain contains infinite space. This is my area
of expertise, yet I feel the awe of ignorance, says Paul Broks.
PAPERS AND COMMENTARY
Neuroscience - Mark A. Mintun and colleagues have discovered that, unlike many
other animals, humans have a reserve of oxygen in the brain. This buffer allows
the brain to adapt to arduous situations without demanding a sharp increase in
blood flow. This finding challenges the previously accepted idea that blood
flow increases occur during tasks such as reading to raise oxygen levels in the
brain.
Birth order - A child's place in the family birth order may play a role in the
type of occupations that will interest him or her as an adult, new research
suggests.
Language acquisition - A series of eight experiments with infants has provided
evidence that even at eight-and-a-half months, they seem sensitive to word
boundaries.
REVIEWS AND DISCUSSION
Fear - Harriet Stewart reviews Phobias: Fighting the Fear by Helen Saul and
Buried Alive: The Terrifying History of Our Most Primal Fear by Jan Bondeson.
Nutrition - To what kind of food are we genetically adapted? Isn't that the
major question when it comes to making decisions about what kind of food to
choose for your body?
Parenting - The first issue of Marc Bornstein's new journal, Parenting: Science
and Practice is now out. The journal should prove to be of interest to a wide
range of researchers and those more interested in applied issues related to
parenting.
Sexuality - Did Starsky have a thing for Hutch? Was Kirk in love with Spock?
What if Bodie got it on with Doyle? These unlikely plots are standard in a cult
literary phenomenon known as 'slash literature': a genre of romance fiction
that pairs heterosexual characters from television and film in fantasy romantic
relationships.
Links and many other items, including an Internet research guide at
http://human-nature.com/nibbs/issue16.html
For daily news visit
The Human Nature Daily Review
http://human-nature.com/nibbs/
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