The journal 'Cortex'

[Dr B]

{note - I have moved this thread from elsewhere as it seems relevant to this new area}

The Journal 'Brain' has a special issue coming out soon on the cognitive neuroscience of strange experience. It will be a full issue dedicated to serious research into various aspects of the strange experience.

I think it will be edited by Peter Brugger. it was too late for me to contribute...

Ah well.....anyway - it would be a good one to read as it is a respected journal. I dont know exactly when it is coming out - just 'soon'

[Admin]

Where do we get this journal?

Is it next to Heat magazine in the newsagents?

It sounds like just the sort of journal we need to look at.

Erm... the Brain journal, not Heat!!

[Dr B]

Its here

http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/current.dtl

You might need more than a cup of tea to wade through it though

Note - it has an overall impact factor of around 7 and for neurosciences, this rises to around 12.

If you dont know about this - the higher the impact factor the more prestigious the journal and the more highly regarded the papers are. It is also more difficult to publish in them as they are of such a high standard. Now 7 is really high (and 12 even more). Journals like Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Science, etc have impact factors often ranging from 12 - 16 - 22, etc but this is inflated by journalism (as they read those short report journals for headlines etc).

The scale is a little misleading as a 4 is not necessarily 1 better than a 3 (I know this sounds like Spinal Tap ). Top class international journals are generically classed as being around 2 and above - so most researchers look to that standard and above. Anything below 0.4 is not really worth the paper its written on :D

The reason I am going into all this is that I think it is great that a Journal of this standing has decided to do this. Who says science is 'embarassed' by these experiences and research. Humbug I say..... :o

[Admin]

Has it not been published yet? ???

I couldn't see it.

I'm not sure that we can read the full articles without paying though. :(

[Dr B]

No its not out yet.....it will be a while I imagine - but will keep and eye out.

[Dr B]

Correction - the upcoming journal is actually called "Cortex" not "Brain" - however, I still dont think its out yet.....will keep you all posted.

[Admin]

the upcoming journal is actually called "Cortex" not "Brain"

They ought to make their Mind up - boom boom :D

OK I'm outta here :eek:

[Dr B]

Here is the link to special issues of Cortex

http://www.cortex-online.org/cortex....es&folderID=86

[Allo Allo]

Has it not been published yet? ???

I'm not sure that we can read the full articles without paying though. :(

You seem to be able to read any archived material free and in full - hope so!

M

[Allo Allo]

You seem to be able to read any archived material free and in full - hope so!

M

Very interesting stuff in Cortex - avaliable free and full.

I found this experiment on Magical Thinking interesting. I reminds one not to be too harsh on some Magical Thinkers! RELATIVE SUPPRESSION OF MAGICAL THINKING: A TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION STUDY(scroll down for the paper)

This should be there too.....soon? Dr B ?

Forthcoming Special Issue NEUROPSYCHOLOGY OF "PARANORMAL" EXPERIENCE AND BELIEFS
Guest Editors: Peter Brugger and Christine Mohr Cognitive and neuronal underpinnings of beliefs are not only hotly debated in the popular media, but are on the verge of becoming a respected research topic in cognitive neuroscience and evolutionary psychology. The planned special issue of Cortex will primarily address the foundations of paranormal beliefs (i.e. beliefs in abilities like extrasensory perception, "mind over matter" and the belief in a causal determination of coincidences), but would also consider experimental contributions on the bases of religious beliefs. By paranormal experiences we mean perceptual or cognitive phenomena in healthy persons hitherto mainly discussed in the parapsychology literature and not typically considered a neuropsychological subject. Examples include out-of-body experiences, the loss of control over motor actions, and encounters with aliens, the deceased or the holy.

[Dr B]

Bump....

There are now two issues of Cortex from 2009 that cover anomalous cognition and another one covering OBEs. Chrigeli may know more about the volume and issue numbers than me (dont have them to hand at the moment).

For the serious researcher, the papers represent the very latest research from world leading scientists - and should be read by anyone interested in looking into this area. The papers are very comprehensive and very useful.

The one on anomalous cognition covers Prof Chris French's Project Haunt pilot study which some of us here were involved in.

[chrigeli]

Yes, Cortex has this special section on OBEs, the content is listed below. the issue contains clinical and experimental studies on the role of multisensiry integration in the generation of OBEs, but also new ideas on how to classify OBEs more carefully in different categories (e.g. with or without visual components, sleep paralysis). The latter are large online studies, and the authors might be happy to pass on the full report if kindly asked (Cheyne and Todd on sleep paralysis, Terhune on vision).

Peter Brugger and Christine Mohr: Out of the body, but not out of mind
J. Allan Cheyne and Todd A. Girard: The body unbound: Vestibular–motor hallucinations and out-of-body experiences
Sally Easton, Olaf Blanke and Christine Mohr: A putative implication for fronto-parietal connectivity in out-of-body experiences
Leila S. Overney, Shahar Arzy and Olaf Blanke: Deficient mental own-body imagery in a neurological patient with out-of-body experiences due to cannabis use .
Devin B. Terhune: The incidence and determinants of visual phenomenology during out-of-body experiences

Nicholas J. Wade: Beyond body experiences: Phantom limbs, pain and the locus of sensation
Thomas Metzinger: Why are out-of-body experiences interesting for philosophers? The theoretical relevance of OBE research