Neuroscience This article is more than 8 years oldScience of screaming: acoustics that trigger our fear centre identifiedThis article is more than 8 years oldStudy on human screaming at New York University reveals how rapid rate of wide unperceived volume changes or ‘roughness’ elicits emotional response
Human screams have a unique acoustic property that triggers the brain’s fear centre more effectively than almost any other sound, scientists have found.
After testing a variety of noises, including human speech and musical instruments, the only other sounds that appeared to activate the brain in a similar way were car alarms and police sirens, the study found – perhaps explaining why they are so unpleasant to listen to and almost impossible to ignore. Read More...
Books blogBooksWhatever happened to What-a-mess?Frank Muir's delightful books about the small, imperfectly formed Afghan hound seem to have disappeared. We really should set about finding them.Creative chaos ... What-a-mess
Frank Muir, the popular comedian and radio presenter who died in 1998, kept Afghan hounds as well as cats. From these tall, elegant, recherché creatures, he drew the inspiration for a character who delighted me when I was just old enough to read alone - the Afghan puppy Prince Amir of Kinjan. Read More...
Brief lettersAgeingLettersFifty is fabulous, so picture the reality Kate Moss at 50 | Vinted’s impact on charity shops | IPP sentences | Pant-throwing prowess I am surprised to see that the feature described on your print front page as “Kate Moss at 50” (‘She keeps us enthralled, like Bowie did’: the magic of Kate Moss, by her photographers, 11 January) appears to be illustrated by an image of Kate Moss at approximately 20. Read More...
