After providing all the funding for The Brain from Top to Bottom for over 10 years, the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction informed us that because of budget cuts, they were going to be forced to stop sponsoring us as of March 31st, 2013.

We have approached a number of organizations, all of which have recognized the value of our work. But we have not managed to find the funding we need. We must therefore ask our readers for donations so that we can continue updating and adding new content to The Brain from Top to Bottom web site and blog.

Please, rest assured that we are doing our utmost to continue our mission of providing the general public with the best possible information about the brain and neuroscience in the original spirit of the Internet: the desire to share information free of charge and with no adverstising.

Whether your support is moral, financial, or both, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Bruno Dubuc, Patrick Robert, Denis Paquet, and Al Daigen





Monday, 23 December 2024
Us versus them: between hope and hopelessness

Phenomena such as racism, sexism and ageism become more understandable in light of our strong biological tendency to divide the world into two groups: the one we belong to, and everyone else. In all primates, including humans, the sight of a stranger causes the brain to activate its “danger” pattern in less than a tenth of a second, especially if that stranger’s skin is a different colour from our own. As humans, we can use language to rationalize why any given group is inferior to our own, and we can attack its members in a wide variety of ways, ranging from verbal microaggression to genocide. The opposite is also true. As many studies on intra-group favoritism have shown, if you get into trouble while attending a sporting event and you’re wearing one of the competing team’s jerseys, that team’s fans are the ones most likely to help you. (more…)

From Thought to Language | Comments Closed