A new issue of 'News in Brain and Behavioural Sciences' is available at:
http://human-nature.com/nibbs/issue15.html

Selected items:

NEWS

Post-traumatic stress disorder - Doctors 'have nothing to gain from claims that
the pervasive and interminable personal disaster that is post-traumatic stress
disorder is not a disorder,' according to Arieh Y Shalev .

Schizophrenia - A New Zealand psychologist says there is evidence to show a
link between child abuse and some people who develop schizophrenia later in
life.

Genetics - Each of us has a "genotype" and a "phenotype." Actually we have
several. Genotype simply means our genetic makeup. Phenotype is the physical
manifestation of genes, behavior and environment.

Sexual dimorphism - Music at work can increase productivity, but Reinhard
Leichner says the choice of music depends on whether men or women are doing
most of the work. In another study women were found to be ill more often
than men even though they live an average of five years longer. Yet
another study has found that the cause of a private plane crash is usually
closely related to the gender of its pilot.

RESEARCH

Impulsivity - Scientists at Cambridge University believe they have discovered
the part of the brain associated with impulsive behaviour.

Placebo response - An exhaustive analysis of 114 medical studies published over
a 53-year span has concluded in most cases, placebos are no more effective than
no treatment at all.

Face recognition - Women beat men hands down when it comes to recognising
faces, according to an Internet-based experiment conducted in Sweden. The
finding could mean that employers may have to rethink their hiring strategies
in hitherto male-dominated industries such as security.

Information - The more information people have, the happier the world can be,
according to Yi-Cheng Zhang. People and companies benefit socially and
economically from having as much data as possible, his calculations show.

REVIEWS

Serious Shopping: Essays in Psychotherapy and Consumerism by Ed Adrienne Baker

The Evolution Explosion: How Humans Cause Rapid Evolutionary Change by Stephen
R. Palumbi.

Nine Crazy Ideas in Science by Robert Ehrlich.

A Mind So Rare: The Evolution of Human Consciousness by Merlin Donald.

Sexual Chemistry: A History of the Contraceptive Pill by Lara V. Marks

Links and many other items, including an Internet research guide at
http://human-nature.com/nibbs/issue15.html

The Human Nature Daily Review
http://human-nature.com/nibbs/