In this number
In the Woody Allen movie The Jade Scorpion Spell, a fakir hypnotizes people during his shows and makes them steal jewels, without them remembering anything the next day. Lina doesn’t need to be hypnotized. One evening she writes an assignment for school, and the next day she finds the text all ready on her desk, without remembering to have written it. She did it under a different personality.
The phenomenon of psychic dissociation began with hypnosis and hysteria one hundred and fifty years ago; today it has taken on a new form with dissociative identity disorder, which can bring together dozens, even hundreds of personalities in the same individual. How ? This is revealed by the first brain imaging studies which reveal the neurons concerned. So have a good trip to the heart of the “dissociated” brain, to better understand also what makes the unity of our personality…
News
Behavioral psychology
A good bond with their mother soothes stressed teens
The more complicity, sharing and cohesion there is between an adolescent and his mother, the better he is able to cope with the stress related to his social relationships.
animal psychology
Why is your cat scratching your sofa?
An amazing factor predicts a cat’s tendency to scratch furniture: love for it!
Medicine
Sing against the long Covid
Months after the onset of the illness, long Covid patients still report intense pain and fatigue. Singing would be likely to relieve them significantly, according to a British study.
Social Psychology
This guy, I feel good…
We are unconsciously influenced by the smell of others and become more friendly with those who “smell like us”, says a study.
Psychology
Why is God in heaven?
Our brain spontaneously associates what is good with what is above and evil with what is below. An implicit link measurable by specific tests, and which would have its roots in our distant evolutionary past…
Neurology
Cerebellum: a new “social” function?
Our “little brain”, the cerebellum, has many more roles to play in our behavior than expected: it would be essential in particular for socialization.
Neurobiology
The surprise birthday molecule…
When something unexpected happens, the brain releases a burst of norepinephrine, a neuromodulator that changes our future planning capabilities.
Neurodegenerative diseases
Parkinson’s: a new non-invasive treatment?
French researchers may have found a way to eliminate the side effects associated with the treatment of Parkinson’s disease: stimulate the cerebellum!
Discoveries
Work psychology
Leadership: the perverse effects of dominance
Strong leaders, even charismatic ones with a strong sense of ethics, would foster a so-called “zero-sum” state of mind among their employees. That is to say the idea that one can only progress by lowering others.
Artificial intelligence
The neuron, the biggest computer in the world?
According to a recent experiment, it would take about a thousand artificial neurons to account for the complexity of a single biological neuron. Our brain may not soon be overtaken by artificial intelligence…
Behavioral psychology
When numbers alter our memories
Just after witnessing a road accident, you are told that you will have to testify. But at that moment, an individual appears and asks you to draw a card for a lottery. Without knowing it, the number you will shoot will influence your memory of the speed of the vehicle during the accident…
Neuroscience
How our brain simulates the world
Contrary to what has long been assumed, the brain does not forge its representation of the world by passively receiving stimuli which are imprinted in its neurons. It produces spontaneous, incessant neural activities, which are compared to the reality around it, and which validate or not a model of the latter.
Everyday life
Psychology
The science of niac
More than talent or intelligence, the key to success would be… niaque. But what exactly do we mean by that? The first measurement tools are emerging, as well as development programs focused on this quality.
school of brains
Regulate your emotions to progress
Anguish, anger, excitement… When emotions get carried away, the student can lose his concentration and fail. The parade ? Develop what is called the automatic regulation of emotions, which allows you to dedicate yourself entirely to the task requested.
question of the month
Are the mentally ill dangerous?
It is often believed that people with a mental disorder, such as schizophrenia, are dangerous. But it’s not all that simple… Properly detected and taken care of, they have almost no more risk than the general population of being violent.
Neuroscience
35°C, sleep of neurons
It’s a sudden drop in temperature that seems to cause our brains to sleep. This slight hypothermia would be necessary to repair the damage suffered by the neurons during the day. But in order to be able to work, it must put our consciousness on pause…
Brain & Psycho n°146 – September 2022 – Multiple personalities