Brains On Purpose™

Less than 120 seconds from Amishi Jha on mindfulness, attention, & the myth of multi-tasking

Calmness is the cradle of power.

-- JG Holland

Click to watch neuroscientist Amish Jha talk about her work. The video is a quick take (very short), so it's a nice and tiny reminder for this lovely fall morning. Click to learn more about Dr. Jha.

Dan Siegel: The Human Mind & the Cultivation of Well-Being

Click to watch Dr. Dan Siegel speaking at USC School of Policy, Planning & Development. The presentation's title: "The Human Mind & the Cultivation of Well-Being." Click to go to Siegel's Web site.

Call for book reviewers

Metapsychology Online Reviews has put out a call for book reviewers. The list of books is long; several would be of interest to mediators and other conflict professionals. The call is seeking PhDs or ABDs as reviewers, but I checked with Dr. Christian Perring who issued the call and he said that JDs could also write reviews for their publication. Interested? Here's all the information . . .

From the call:

Metapsychology Online Call for Reviewers September 2011

We are looking for prompt and careful reviewers for Metapsychology Online Reviews, http://metapsychology.mentalhelp.net/

Either a Ph.D. or ABD in Philosophy, Psychology, or other behavioral sciences is preferable.

Ideally reviews should draw connections between the subject of the book and issues in mental health, psychopathology, normality or emotions.

Guidelines at                            
http://alien.dowling.edu/~cperring/revguide.htm

Deadline for receipt of review: January 1, 2012                       
If interested, please e-mail CPERRING@YAHOO.COM with all the following information

 

"The Neuroscience of Decision Making"

The Kavli Foundation has published an interview of three experts on the topic of making decisions. From the Web page:

IN AN ATTEMPT TO PUT MATTER OVER MIND, researchers are beginning to decipher what exactly is happening in our brains when we are making decisions.

Our thoughts, though abstract and vaporous in form, are determined by the actions of specific neuronal circuits in our brains. The new field known as “decision neuroscience” is uncovering those circuits, thereby mapping thinking on a cellular level. Although still a young field, research in this area has exploded in the last decade, with findings suggesting it is possible to parse out the complexity of thinking into its individual components and decipher how they are integrated when we ponder. Eventually, such findings will lead to a better understanding of a wide range of mental disorders, from depression to schizophrenia, as well as explain how exactly we make the multitude of decisions that ultimately shape our destiny.

Recently, three experts in decision neuroscience discussed their work, describing the genesis of this cutting-edge field and why it incorporates several disciplines. They also identified the driving questions in the field and reflected on the potential practical applications of this research. ...

Click to read the rest of "The Neuroscience of Decision Making."

Free & interactive “Human Brain in 3D” tool

Click to access the tool Healthline has posted for learning about the brain.

Free Video Lecture: Memory and the Brain

From the Web page at The Great Courses:

Taught by Jeanette Norden Vanderbilt University Ph.D., Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

It's almost impossible to accurately describe the power and importance of memory. Whether you're fondly reminiscing over an event from a childhood vacation, quickly memorizing a phone number or address, or learning a new skill on the job, memory is so interwoven into our everyday lives that we can sometimes take it for granted. So how does memory actually work?

Click to read the rest and download the video.

November in Sydney: Jeffrey Schwartz, Edward de Bono, Susan Greenfield, Tony Buzan, Mary Helen Immordino-Yang

This year's Mind & its Potential will be held November 7-8. A Masterclass called "Unleash your creative potential" will be held November 6. From the conference Web site:

Change your mind: change your brain

How do we learn? How should we teach? How do we overcome adversity and disability? How should we live our lives? Join world leaders in science, education, psychology and the arts in exploring these profound questions at Mind & Its Potential 2011.

Be motivated and inspired by an amazing gathering of 40+ speakers! Keynotes include leading authority on creative thinking, Dr Edward de Bono, world renowned neuroscientist Baroness Susan Greenfield, Mind Mapping guru Tony Buzan, acclaimed neuroplasticity researcher Dr Jeffrey M Schwartz and learning and the brain expert Dr Mary Helen Immordino-Yang.

Click for more information.

September issue of Mindfulness Research Monthly now available

From the current edition of the monthly newsletter:

In this issue

33 new studies including:

9 Intervention & Application studies

11 Etiology & Association studies

3 Theory & Processes studies

5 Review & Meta-analysis studies

5 Method & Measures studies

1 New NIH Research Trial

"New insight into impulse control"

News release (Vanderbilt University):

How the brain controls impulsive behavior may be significantly different than psychologists have thought for the last 40 years.

That is the unexpected conclusion of a study by an international team of neuroscientists published in the Aug. 31 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

Impulse control is an important aspect of the brain’s executive functions – the procedures that it uses to control its own activity. Problems with impulse control are involved in ADHD and a number of other psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia. The current research set out to better understand how the brain is wired to control impulsive behavior.

“Our study was focused on the control of eye movements, but we think it is widely applicable,” said Vanderbilt Ingram Professor of Neuroscience Jeffrey Schall, co-author of the new study.

Schall directed the study with Vanderbilt Centennial Professor of Psychology Gordon Logan and Associate Professor of Psychology Thomas Palmeri in collaboration with Pierre Pouget from the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), Leanne Boucher, assistant professor of psychology at Nova Southeastern University, and Martin Paré from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada.

Understanding impulse control

There are two sets of neurons that control how we process and react to what we see, hear, smell, taste or