Spike activity 09-10-2015

Quick links from the past week in mind and brain news:

How much can you really learn while you’re asleep? Interesting piece that looks at what the research genuinely tells us in The Guardian.

Comedian John Oliver takes on mental health in America with a segment which is both funny and sharp.

Neuroecology has an excellent post looking at the latest mega-paper from the Blue Brain Project.

There’s a good piece on how cognitive biases affect the practice of doing scientific research in Nature. Thankfully, my training has made me immune to these effects, unlike my colleagues.

Braindecoder has some striking artistic renditions of neuroanatomy from artist Greg Dunn.

Is a Liberal Bias Hurting Social Psychology? Excellent piece in Pacific Standard.

BBC News has a good piece on the evidence behind the school shooting ‘contagion’ effect.

“A tumor stole every memory I had. This is what happened when it all came back.” Great piece in Quartz. Don’t get distracted by the inaccurate use of the term dementia. Recommended.