24 posts · 8,750 views

I am a psychologist by training. I am a blogger in my spare time. | I am young, my CV is short: 09/2010 – present The University of Amsterdam, Netherlands Master of Brain and Cognitive Sciences | 09/2006 – 06/2010 The University of Glasgow, United Kingdom Master of Arts (Honours) in Psychology, First class

Brain's Idea
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July 29, 2013
04:31 PM
238 views

How blind people see

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

Blind people have revolutionised our view on vision. Biology text books still teach us that vision functions roughly as light hitting the eyes where special cells – rods and cones – turn it into neural signals. These travel to the back of the head, the visual cortex, for brain processing leading to something we experience […]... Read more »

Czeisler CA, Shanahan TL, Klerman EB, Martens H, Brotman DJ, Emens JS, Klein T, & Rizzo JF 3rd. (1995) Suppression of melatonin secretion in some blind patients by exposure to bright light. The New England journal of medicine, 332(1), 6-11. PMID: 7990870

Trevethan CT, Sahraie A, & Weiskrantz L. (2007) Can blindsight be superior to 'sighted-sight'?. Cognition, 103(3), 491-501. PMID: 16764848

Vandewalle G, Collignon O, Hull JT, Daneault V, Albouy G, Lepore F, Phillips C, Doyon J, Czeisler CA, Dumont M.... (2013) Blue Light Stimulates Cognitive Brain Activity in Visually Blind Individuals. Journal of cognitive neuroscience. PMID: 23859643

Weiskrantz L, Warrington EK, Sanders MD, & Marshall J. (1974) Visual capacity in the hemianopic field following a restricted occipital ablation. Brain : a journal of neurology, 97(4), 709-28. PMID: 4434190

July 1, 2013
04:22 AM
268 views

Music training boosts IQ

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

There are more and more brain training companies popping up which promise the same deal: improved intelligence. While there are doubts about their results, another sort of brain training has existed since the beginning of humanity: music. The evidence for its effectiveness is surprisingly strong. . . Over the years, researchers have noticed that people […]... Read more »

Bialystok E, & Depape AM. (2009) Musical expertise, bilingualism, and executive functioning. Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance, 35(2), 565-74. PMID: 19331508

Corrigall KA, Schellenberg EG, & Misura NM. (2013) Music training, cognition, and personality. Frontiers in psychology, 222. PMID: 23641225

Corrigall, KA, & Trainor, LJ. (2011) Associations Between Length of Music Training and Reading Skills in Children. Music Perception: An Interdisciplinary Journal,, 29(2), 147-155. DOI: 10.1525/mp.2011.29.2.147

Ho YC, Cheung MC, & Chan AS. (2003) Music training improves verbal but not visual memory: cross-sectional and longitudinal explorations in children. Neuropsychology, 17(3), 439-50. PMID: 12959510

Hughes CM, & Franz EA. (2007) Experience-dependent effects in unimanual and bimanual reaction time tasks in musicians. Journal of motor behavior, 39(1), 3-8. PMID: 17251166

Kaviani H, Mirbaha H, Pournaseh M, & Sagan O. (2013) Can music lessons increase the performance of preschool children in IQ tests?. Cognitive processing. PMID: 23793255

Roden, I, Grube, D, Bongard, S, & Kreutz, G. (2013) Does music training enhance working memory performance? Findings from a quasi-experimental longitudinal study. Psychology of Music. DOI: 10.1177/0305735612471239

Schellenberg EG. (2004) Music lessons enhance IQ. Psychological science, 15(8), 511-4. PMID: 15270994

Schellenberg, EG. (2006) Long-Term Positive Associations Between Music Lessons and IQ. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(2), 457-468. DOI: 10.1037/0022-0663.98.2.457

Schellenberg EG. (2011) Examining the association between music lessons and intelligence. British journal of psychology, 102(3), 283-302. PMID: 21751987

Vaughn, K. (2000) Music and Mathematics: Modest Support for the Oft-Claimed Relationship. Journal of Aesthetic Education,, 34(3/4), 149-166. DOI: 10.2307/3333641

June 6, 2013
07:16 AM
283 views

Did genes shape my mother tongue?

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

Intuitively, one is inclined to answer with a resounding ‘no’. Of course not, had I been adopted by Thai parents, I would speak Thai. But I was not. My parents and my mother tongue are German. Still, there is a growing opinion that genes do nonetheless play a role. Before looking at this opinion, it […]... Read more »

Baronchelli A, Chater N, Pastor-Satorras R, & Christiansen MH. (2012) The biological origin of linguistic diversity. PloS one, 7(10). PMID: 23118922

Pagel M, Atkinson QD, & Meade A. (2007) Frequency of word-use predicts rates of lexical evolution throughout Indo-European history. Nature, 449(7163), 717-20. PMID: 17928860

Dediu D. (2011) Are languages really independent from genes? If not, what would a genetic bias affecting language diversity look like?. Human biology, 83(2), 279-96. PMID: 21615290

May 28, 2013
02:53 AM
220 views

Feeling someone else’s sensation of touch – the neural background, the examples, and you

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

Touch is the only sensation which we cannot share with another person. The immediacy of touch differentiates it from the distant impressions which sight and audition can give us. However, modern neuroscience is currently revising this picture: you can touch at a distance. One just doesn’t notice it. Can we find people who do? A […]... Read more »

Keysers C, Wicker B, Gazzola V, Anton JL, Fogassi L, & Gallese V. (2004) A touching sight: SII/PV activation during the observation and experience of touch. Neuron, 42(2), 335-46. PMID: 15091347

Ramachandran VS, & Brang D. (2009) Sensations evoked in patients with amputation from watching an individual whose corresponding intact limb is being touched. Archives of neurology, 66(10), 1281-4. PMID: 19822785

Schaefer M, Heinze HJ, & Rotte M. (2012) Close to you: embodied simulation for peripersonal space in primary somatosensory cortex. PloS one, 7(8). PMID: 22912698

April 24, 2013
12:39 PM
302 views

Are some languages easier than others?

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

‘Long time no see’ is something I heard repeatedly in Britain even though it totally violates all the English grammar I learned at school. Clearly, Brits should correct this expression originating from Chinese Pidgin English rather than adopt it. The reason it entered common usage anyway is at the heart of why you might find [...]... Read more »

Bentz C, & Winter B. (2013) Languages with more second language learners tend to lose case. Language Dynamics and Change. info:/

Lupyan G, & Dale R. (2010) Language structure is partly determined by social structure. PloS one, 5(1). PMID: 20098492

March 28, 2013
05:36 PM
295 views

The biological basis of orchestra seating

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

Many cultural conventions appear like the result of historical accidents. The QUERTY – keyboard is a typical example: the technical requirements of early typewriters still determine the computer keyboard that I write this text on, even though by now technical advances would allow for a far more efficient design. Some culturally accepted oddities, however, appear [...]... Read more »

Deutsch, D. (1999) Grouping Mechanisms in Music. The Psychology of Music, Second Edition, 299-348. DOI: 10.1016/B978-012213564-4/50010-X

Schneider P, Sluming V, Roberts N, Bleeck S, & Rupp A. (2005) Structural, functional, and perceptual differences in Heschl's gyrus and musical instrument preference. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 387-94. PMID: 16597790

January 22, 2013
02:32 AM
264 views

What lies behind the mystery of being born with a phantom penis?

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

Like a magician our mind tricks us into believing what we see and feel. We only notice that something strange is going on when our expectations are betrayed during the prestige – when the white rabbit is drawn out of the empty hat. Psychology sometimes works in much the same way. After the mind has made us believe in the ordinary, it creates strange cases which point to something bigger going on behind the scenes. One of the most extraordinary illusions is the one of our body. At the final pre........ Read more »

Brugger P, Kollias SS, Müri RM, Crelier G, Hepp-Reymond MC, & Regard M. (2000) Beyond re-membering: phantom sensations of congenitally absent limbs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 97(11), 6167-72. PMID: 10801982

Mitchell, W. (1871) Phantom limbs. Lippinscott's Magazine, 563-569. info:/

January 7, 2013
02:19 AM
322 views

delaying dementia without pills

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

‘What’s this? A potato?’ asked my friend’s grandfather during lunch. As always, he used his charming grin and characteristically loud voice. Even though the entire conversation was in Argentine Spanish – which I had learned only a short while before – I understood the oddity of the situation at once. Instead of a potato, the [...]... Read more »

Akbaraly, T., Portet, F., Fustinoni, S., Dartigues, J., Artero, S., Rouaud, O., Touchon, J., Ritchie, K., & Berr, C. (2009) Leisure activities and the risk of dementia in the elderly: Results from the Three-City Study. Neurology, 73(11), 854-861. DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181b7849b

Bickel H, & Kurz A. (2009) Education, occupation, and dementia: the Bavarian school sisters study. Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders, 27(6), 548-56. PMID: 19590201

Hall CB, Derby C, LeValley A, Katz MJ, Verghese J, & Lipton RB. (2007) Education delays accelerated decline on a memory test in persons who develop dementia. Neurology, 69(17), 1657-64. PMID: 17954781

Hall CB, Lipton RB, Sliwinski M, Katz MJ, Derby CA, & Verghese J. (2009) Cognitive activities delay onset of memory decline in persons who develop dementia. Neurology, 73(5), 356-61. PMID: 19652139

Kemppainen NM, Aalto S, Karrasch M, Någren K, Savisto N, Oikonen V, Viitanen M, Parkkola R, & Rinne JO. (2008) Cognitive reserve hypothesis: Pittsburgh Compound B and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in relation to education in mild Alzheimer's disease. Annals of neurology, 63(1), 112-8. PMID: 18023012

Rentz DM, Locascio JJ, Becker JA, Moran EK, Eng E, Buckner RL, Sperling RA, & Johnson KA. (2010) Cognition, reserve, and amyloid deposition in normal aging. Annals of neurology, 67(3), 353-64. PMID: 20373347

Scarmeas, N., Albert, S.M., Manly, J.J., & Stern, Y. (2005) Education and rates of cognitive decline in incident Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery , 77(3), 308-316. DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.2005.072306

Valenzuela MJ, & Sachdev P. (2006) Brain reserve and cognitive decline: a non-parametric systematic review. Psychological medicine, 36(8), 1065-73. PMID: 16650343

December 18, 2012
07:02 AM
356 views

How Long Should a Scientific Publication be?

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

In one word: short. In two words: it depends. A neuroscience expert faces the challenge of 100 new neuroscience articles being published on a daily basis. S/he will never be able to read all that. So, what can be done to get your own publication known to the community? . 1) Know the reader and [...]... Read more »

Haslam, N. (2010) Bite-Size Science: Relative Impact of Short Article Formats. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(3), 263-264. DOI: 10.1177/1745691610369466

Ledgerwood, A., & Sherman, J. (2012) Short, Sweet, and Problematic? The Rise of the Short Report in Psychological Science. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7(1), 60-66. DOI: 10.1177/1745691611427304

Renear AH, & Palmer CL. (2009) Strategic reading, ontologies, and the future of scientific publishing. Science (New York, N.Y.), 325(5942), 828-32. PMID: 19679805

Krzysztof Zbigniew Stanek. (2008) How long should an astronomical paper be to increase its Impact?. arXiv. arXiv: 0809.0692v1

December 9, 2012
07:27 AM
293 views

When to switch on background music

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

Some things of our daily lives have become so common, we hardly notice them anymore. Background music is one such thing. Whether you are in a supermarket, a gym or a molecular biology laboratory, you can constantly hear it. More than that, even in quiet environments like the office or the library people get out their mp3-players and play background music. Is this a form of boosting one’s productivity or are people enjoying music at the cost of getting things done? Research on the effect of bac........ Read more »

Avila, C., Furnham, A., & McClelland, A. (2012) The influence of distracting familiar vocal music on cognitive performance of introverts and extraverts. Psychology of Music, 40(1), 84-93. DOI: 10.1177/0305735611422672

Kampfe, J., Sedlmeier, P., & Renkewitz, F. (2011) The impact of background music on adult listeners: A meta-analysis. Psychology of Music, 39(4), 424-448. DOI: 10.1177/0305735610376261

October 25, 2012
05:10 AM
399 views

Obama should pray for sun – Psycho-meteorological effects on government approval

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

Romney should pray for rain because rain improves a conservative’s chances of getting elected. Having covered this ‘Republican rain advantage’ in my last post, I will turn to a second reason why the presidential candidates should monitor the election day weather in this post. It turns out that the weather influences how well the government is perceived. Could this be exploited by the candidates?... Read more »

Cohen, A. (2011) The photosynthetic President: Converting sunshine into popularity. The Social Science Journal, 48(2), 295-304. DOI: 10.1016/j.soscij.2010.11.007

Mutz, M., & Kämpfer, S. (2011) …und nun zum Wetter: Beeinflusst die Wetterlage die Einschätzung von politischen und wirtschaftlichen Sachverhalten?. Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 40(4), 208-226. info:/

October 21, 2012
11:57 AM
399 views

Romney should pray for rain – psycho-meteorological effects on GOP vote share

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

I would not be surprised if Mitt Romney was going through the weather forecast for November 6th, the date of the next US presidential election. As the Republican candidate, he will know that his chances of being elected are higher if people are faced with pouring rain upon leaving for the ballot box. Research supports this opinion but the underlying reasons could give the Obama campaign a strategy to undo this Republican rain advantage.... Read more »

Carlson M, Charlin V, & Miller N. (1988) Positive mood and helping behavior: a test of six hypotheses. Journal of personality and social psychology, 55(2), 211-29. PMID: 3050025

Cunningham, M. (1979) Weather, mood, and helping behavior: Quasi experiments with the sunshine samaritan. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(11), 1947-1956. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.37.11.1947

Keller MC, Fredrickson BL, Ybarra O, Côté S, Johnson K, Mikels J, Conway A, & Wager T. (2005) A warm heart and a clear head. The contingent effects of weather on mood and cognition. Psychological science, 16(9), 724-31. PMID: 16137259

Eisinga R, Te Grotenhuis M, & Pelzer B. (2012) Weather conditions and political party vote share in Dutch national parliament elections, 1971-2010. International journal of biometeorology, 56(6), 1161-5. PMID: 22065127

Gomez, B., Hansford, T., & Krause, G. (2007) The Republicans Should Pray for Rain: Weather, Turnout, and Voting in U.S. Presidential Elections. The Journal of Politics, 69(03), 649-663. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2508.2007.00565.x

October 16, 2012
05:47 PM
519 views

The mysterious appeal of too loud music

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

At 39km above planet earth, would you have made Felix Baumgartner’s step off the platform? It was very dangerous, no doubt. But is this the reason why you wouldn’t have? People engage in many dangerous things. And I am not talking about skydiving. I mean the ordinary, every day kind of danger. Surely, some dangers can hardly be avoided, say road traffic (which is the leading cause of death for people in my age group). For others there is no obvious non-dangerous equivalent. But what if there........ Read more »

Dean, R.T., Bailes, F., & Schubert, E. (2011) Acoustic intensity causes perceived changes in arousal levels in music: an experimental investigation. PloS one, 6(4). PMID: 21533095

Lamont, A. (2003) Toddlers' musical preferences: musical preference and musical memory in the early years. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 518-9. PMID: 14681176

Russo, F.A., Ammirante, P., & Fels, D.I. (2012) Vibrotactile discrimination of musical timbre. Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance, 38(4), 822-6. PMID: 22708743

Todd, N.P. McAngus, & Cody, F.W. (2000) Vestibular responses to loud dance music: A physiological basis of the ‘rock and roll threshold’?. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 107(1), 496-500. DOI: 10.1121/1.428317

Zhao, F., Manchaiah, VK., French, D., & Price, S.M. (2010) Music exposure and hearing disorders: an overview. International journal of audiology, 49(1), 54-64. PMID: 20001447

October 2, 2012
01:07 PM
520 views

Is ADHD different around the globe? The role of research cultures

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

An illness is an illness wherever you are. Perhaps this is true for organic diseases but the cultural background can play a tremendous role in the progression and even diagnosis of mental disorders. However, what has been neglected is an appreciation of how culture affects the research underlying the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders. As a consequence, our view on the disorder can change.... Read more »

Hodgkins P, Arnold LE, Shaw M, Caci H, Kahle J, Woods AG, & Young S. (2011) A systematic review of global publication trends regarding long-term outcomes of ADHD. Frontiers in psychiatry / Frontiers Research Foundation, 84. PMID: 22279437

Polanczyk G, de Lima MS, Horta BL, Biederman J, & Rohde LA. (2007) The worldwide prevalence of ADHD: a systematic review and metaregression analysis. The American journal of psychiatry, 164(6), 942-8. PMID: 17541055

September 26, 2012
07:13 PM
395 views

canine confirmation confound – lessons from poorly performing drug detection dogs

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

Intuitively, the use of police dogs as drug detectors makes sense. Dogs are known to have a better sense of smell than their human handlers. Furthermore, they cooperate easily. Still, compared to the generally good picture sniffer dogs have in the public eye, their performance as drug detectors in real life is terrible. The reason why scent dogs get used anyway holds important lessons for behavioural researchers working with animals or humans.... Read more »

Beran, M.J. (2012) Did you ever hear the one about the horse that could count?. Front. Psychology, 357. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00357

Doyen S, Klein O, Pichon CL, & Cleeremans A. (2012) Behavioral priming: it's all in the mind, but whose mind?. PloS one, 7(1). PMID: 22279526

Hickey S, McIlwraith F, Bruno R, Matthews A, & Alati R. (2012) Drug detection dogs in Australia: More bark than bite?. Drug and alcohol review, 31(6), 778-83. PMID: 22404555

Lit L, Schweitzer JB, & Oberbauer AM. (2011) Handler beliefs affect scent detection dog outcomes. Animal cognition, 14(3), 387-94. PMID: 21225441

NSW Ombudsman. (2006) Review of the Police Powers (Drug Detection Dogs) Act 2001. Sydney: Office of the New SouthWales Ombudsman. info:other/

September 16, 2012
01:23 PM
465 views

Risk vs. Opportunity across the life-span: Risky choices decline with age

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

Risk taking is somewhat enigmatic. On the one hand, risky choices in every day life – like drug abuse or drink driving – peak in adolescence. Never again in life is the threat to die from easily preventable causes as great. On the other hand, in laboratory experiments this risky choice peak in adolescence is absent. Instead, the readiness to take a gamble simply goes down the older you are. How can we explain this paradox? Perhaps, we should look at a tribe in the Amazon rain forest for answ........ Read more »

Everett, D. (2008) Don't sleep, there are snakes. London: Profile Books. info:/

Paulsen, D.J., Platt, M.L., Huettel, SA, & Brannon, E.M. (2012) From risk-seeking to risk-averse: the development of economic risk preference from childhood to adulthood. Frontiers in psychology, 313. PMID: 22973247

September 9, 2012
09:27 AM
346 views

Improving Eye-Witness testimony by undoing false memories

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

Do you remember August 31st, 15 years ago? Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a car crash in Paris along with her partner Dodi Fayed and others. Do you remember seeing the video of the crash? If so, you share that memory with 44% of the participants James Ost and colleagues recruited in 2002 in Britain.

This memory is false.

[...]... Read more »

Greenberg, D.L. (2004) President Bush’s False ‘Flashbulb’ Memory of 9/11/01. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 363-370. DOI: 10.1002/acp.1016

Oeberst, A., & Blank, H. (2012) Undoing suggestive influence on memory: The reversibility of the eyewitness misinformation effect. Cognition. DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2012.07.009

Ost, J., Vrij, A., Costall, A., & Bull, R. (2002) Crashing Memories and Reality Monitoring: Distinguishing between Perceptions, Imaginations and ‘False Memories’. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 125-134. DOI: 10.1002/acp.779

September 1, 2012
08:53 AM
405 views

Extreme neural adaptation – how musical ability is lost through focal dystonia

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

‘There was a question of not having a purpose in life. Just floundering’. Leon Fleischer was a true musical prodigy. By the age of sixteen he performed with the New York Philharmonic. He was called ‘the pianist find of the century’. Suddenly, in 1964, he lost control over his right hand. His fingers would simply [...]... Read more »

Burman, D.D., Lie-Nemeth, T., Brandfonbrener, A.G., Parisi, T., & Meyer, J.R. (2009) Altered Finger Representations in Sensorimotor Cortex of Musicians with Focal Dystonia: Precentral Cortex. Brain Imaging and Behavior, 10-23. DOI: 10.1007/s11682-008-9046-z

Elbert, T., Candia, V., Altenmüller, E., Rau, H., Sterr, A., Rockstroh, B., Pantev, C., & Taub, E. (1998) Alteration of digital representations in somatosensory cortex in focal hand dystonia. Neuroreport, 9(16), 3571-3575. PMID: 9858362

Zheng, ZZ., Pan, PL., Wang, W., & Shang, HF. (2012) Neural network of primary focal dystonia by an anatomic likelihood estimation meta-analysis of gray matter abnormalities. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 51-55. DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2012.01.032

August 25, 2012
08:32 AM
392 views

Who dunnit? The avoidable crisis of scientific authorship

by Richard Kunert in Brain's Idea

This year, Germany’s highest court reached a damning verdict concerning academic pay. It is so low that it is in breach of the constitution. Why do research then? One reason is that it gives you prestige – which often precedes money. Brain areas are still talked about in terms of Brodmann areas and not Smith [...]... Read more »

Eggert, L.D. (2011) Best practices for allocating appropriate credit and responsibility to authors of multi-authored articles. Frontiers in psychology, 196. PMID: 21909330

Seeman, J.I., & House, M.C. (2010) Influences on authorship issues: an evaluation of receiving, not receiving, and rejecting credit. Accountability in research, 17(4), 176-197. PMID: 20597017

Wislar, J.S., Flanagin, A., Fontanarosa, P.B., & Deangelis, C.D. (2011) Honorary and ghost authorship in high impact biomedical journals: a cross sectional survey. BMJ. PMID: 22028479

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