Weird Science that Makes You Wonder

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Rare condition makes James Bond theme music ‘orgasmic’ for man who suffered stroke

Sharon Kirkey, Postmedia News | 13/07/30 | Last Updated: 13/07/31 9:49 AM ET
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'Orgasmic': The sound of high-pitched brass instruments — specifically, the theme music from the James Bond films — elicited feelings of euphoria in this anonymous patient.
YouTube/St. Michael's Hospital'Orgasmic': The sound of high-pitched brass instruments — specifically, the theme music from the James Bond films — elicited feelings of euphoria in this anonymous patient.

Canadian researchers are reporting only the second-known case of a patient who developed synesthesia after a stroke — a bizarre brain phenomenon where stimulation of one sense triggers others.

Nine months after suffering a stroke in the summer of 2007, the 45-year-old Toronto man began noticing that words printed in a sky blue typeface revolted him; words written in yellow were only mildly better.

The sound of high-pitched brass instruments — specifically, the theme music from the James Bond films — elicited feelings of euphoria that the patient described as “orgasmic,” as if he could “ride the music.”

news.nationalpost.com/2013/07/30/rare-condition-makes-james-bond-theme-music-orgasmic-for-man-who-suffered-stroke/

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Harvard creates brain-to-brain interface, allows humans to control other animals with thoughts alone

Researchers at Harvard University have created the first noninvasive brain-to-brain interface (BBI) between a human… and a rat. Simply by thinking the appropriate thought, the BBI allows the human to control the rat’s tail. This is one of the most important steps towards BBIs that allow for telepathic links between two or more humans — which is a good thing in the case of friends and family, but terrifying if you stop to think about the nefarious possibilities of a fascist dictatorship with mind control tech.

www.extremetech.com/extreme/162678-harvard-creates-brain-to-brain-interface-allows-humans-to-control-other-animals-with-thoughts-alone

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Spiders May Have Personalities, and Some Are Bolder Than Others

By Nadia Drake
07.30.13
8:56 PM

Color-coding spiders helps scientists study their personalities. Photo: Lena Grinsted

Armed with branch cutters, pillowcases, and a vibrator, a team of scientists has discovered how social spiders in India assign chores within their colonies – and they say it has to do with spider personalities.

Big and bold? Go get that grasshopper! Slightly more timid? Maybe stay home, take care of the brood, and clean the nest or something.

“Bolder individuals were the ones that engaged in prey attack,” said Lena Grinsted, now a postdoc at the University of Sussex, and coauthor of the study describing the spiders that appeared July 30 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. ”We hypothesize that the ones who don’t participate in prey attack participate in brood care, but it’s something we haven’t tested yet.”

The researchers say their findings support the idea that spiders have personalities. Sure, they’re not as complex as human personalities, but they’re defined by behavior differences that are consistent over time and context.

www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/07/social-spiders/?mbid=social10320094

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Researchers Uncover Cellular Mechanisms for Attention in the Brain

Farran Briggs, PhD

Hanover, N.H.—The ability to pay attention to relevant information while ignoring distractions is a core brain function. Without the ability to focus and filter out "noise," we could not effectively interact with our environment. Despite much study of attention in the brain, the cellular mechanisms responsible for the effects of attention have remained a mystery... until now.

geiselmed.dartmouth.edu/news/2013/06/27_briggs/