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Who Are You? Identity and Dementia
The Huffington Post: Phineas Gage is arguably the most famous case study in the history of neuroscience. Gage was a railroad worker who in the autumn of 1848 was helping to prepare a new roadbed near Cavendish, Vermont, when an accidental explosion sent a three-foot tamping iron through his head. The missile entered the left side of his face, passed behind his left eye, and exited through the top of his skull. Gage, remarkably, lived to tell about the mishap. But friends said he had changed -- that he was "no longer Gage" -- and this is what has intrigued psychological scientists.
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How Did Humans Learn to Count? Baboons May Offer Clues
Learning to count comes early in life for humans. Most kids know how to count before they enter formal schooling and the ability to understand basic quantities is fundamental to everyday life. Researchers at the University of Rochester wanted to know whether the cognitive underpinnings for this important ability might be found in some of our close cousins: baboons. "Nonhuman animals do not use words like one, two, and three, or numerals like 1, 2, and 3, to “count” in the way that humans do. Nonetheless, it is well established that monkeys and other animals can approximate quantities without these symbolic labels," researcher Jessica Cantlon and colleagues write.
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Pride and Prejudice: Reducing LGBT Discrimination at Work
Employers are likely to abide by laws barring discrimination against gay workers not because they are necessarily afraid of being punished for violating the law, but because these laws send a clear message about acceptable moral behavior in the community, a study suggests.
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Who Are You? Identity and Dementia
Phineas Gage is arguably the most famous case study in the history of neuroscience. Gage was a railroad worker who in the autumn of 1848 was helping to prepare a new roadbed near Cavendish, Vermont, when an accidental explosion sent a three-foot tamping iron through his head. The missile entered the left side of his face, passed behind his left eye, and exited through the top of his skull. Gage, remarkably, lived to tell about the mishap. But friends said he had changed—that he was “no longer Gage”—and this is what has intrigued psychological scientists. Formerly industrious and conscientious and amiable, he became irreverent and profane, incapable of returning to his former job.
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Windshield Devices Bring Distracted Driving Debate to Eye Level
The New York Times: In a widely watched YouTube video, a man is driving around Los Angeles when his phone rings. On a small screen mounted on the dashboard, an image of the caller, the man’s mother, appears. But there’s an optical twist: The image actually looks to the driver as if it’s floating just at the front edge of the car, right above the roadway. The man answers the call with a gesture of his hand. “Hi,” his mother says over the car speakers. “I just wanted to say I love you.” “I love you,” the man responds, and then, before signing off, “I’m making a video right now.” Read the whole story: The New York Times
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ESCOP Journal’s ‘Best Paper’ Shows How Collaboration Influences Memory
A study led by Hae-Yoon Choi, a PhD candidate from Stony Brook University in the United States, is being recognized with the 2014 Journal of Cognitive Psychology Best Paper Award. The award, conferred on the basis of scientific excellence and broad interest, includes a prize of €250 courtesy of the European Society of Cognitive Psychology (ESCOP). How Collaboration Influences Memory Choi and her research mentor APS Board Member Suparna Rajaram, also from Stony Brook, collaborated with Helena M. Blumen of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and Adam R.
