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Scientific American

June 14, 2011

Editor’s Selections: Methodology, Autistic Pigs, Invasive Brains, and OCD

Here are my Research Blogging Editor’s Selections for this week. “Most neuroscientists would subscribe to the sensorimotor hypothesis, according to which brains mainly evaluate sensory input to compute motor output,” writes Bjorn Brembs.

By Jason G. Goldman

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

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Here are my Research Blogging Editor's Selections for this week.

  • "Most neuroscientists would subscribe to the sensorimotor hypothesis, according to which brains mainly evaluate sensory input to compute motor output," writes Bjorn Brembs. But is it possible that the sensorimotor hypothesis is just the result of some laboratory artifacts?

  • "What happens to a pig if it has a gene for autism?" This is the question that Neuroskeptic addressed earlier this week. Do Pigs Get Autism?

  • What is it that makes an invasive species so successful at invading a new ecosystem? At NeuroDojo, Zen Faulkes asks if the brain could be involved. "Normally, we think of invaders as being able to turn out lots of babies, or having defenses that natives don't, or all sorts of other factors. But could invaders be winning because they are smarter?"

  • How are OCD behaviors formed? Historically, it was thought that there was no physiological basis for this mental illness, but this week at B Good Science, Ben Good discussed some new research that sheds some light on the biological etiology for OCD.

That's it for this week... Check back next week for more great psychology and neuroscience blogging!

Jason G. Goldman is a science journalist based in Los Angeles. He has written about animal behavior, wildlife biology, conservation, and ecology for Scientific American, Los Angeles magazine, the Washington Post, the Guardian, the BBC, Conservation magazine, and elsewhere. He contributes to Scientific American's "60-Second Science" podcast, and is co-editor of Science Blogging: The Essential Guide (Yale University Press). He enjoys sharing his wildlife knowledge on television and on the radio, and often speaks to the public about wildlife and science communication.

More by Jason G. Goldman