readings in psychology for october 8th 2010

(left) Turkey fish and (right) nautilus as from my visit to the San Diego zoo

Here are a couple of stories I found interesting today:

• sounds of nature eases the pain

“As the song says, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, and now researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that the sights and sounds of chirping birds, ribbiting frogs and water trickling downstream can ease the substantial pain of bone marrow extraction in one of five people who must endure it.”

• brain changes with concussions

“A study by researchers at Purdue University suggests that some high school football players suffer undiagnosed changes in brain function and continue playing even though they are impaired.”

• psychology beyond the brain

“The brain has long enjoyed a privileged status as psychology’s favorite body organ. This is, of course, unsurprising given that the brain instantiates virtually all mental operations, from understanding language, to learning that fire is dangerous, to recalling the name of one’s kindergarten teacher, to categorizing fruits and vegetables, to predicting the future. Arguing for the importance of the brain in psychology is like arguing for the importance of money in economics.”