One of the popular criticisms of fMRI brain imaging is the tendency for studies to plant flags in the brain. For instance claiming that one area is responsible for religion, and that the so-called “God spot” exists.
Critics say there is more to religious belief than a neural spot, as it involves faith and practice. So wide ranging networks of neurons may behave more like an R&B band, producing numerous melodies, rather than be dedicated solely to one rhythm.
Research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences seems to support this side. Scientists scanned brains while subjects considered religious statements, one about God in our daily lives, “God’s will guides my family.” Another about God’s decrees, “God demands sacrifices.” And God’s emotions, “God is angered by human sin.”
All three types of statements sparked activity in well-known neural networks that also light up when we consider political beliefs, emotions, as well as abstract concepts, and when we understand others’ intentions.
Will we ever capture the idea of God in the brain? Most question this, after all, how does one find the region of soul in a rhythm and blues band?
—Christie Nicholson
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Internet Addiction?
A quiet restaurant. Good wine. An animated conversation. Then, mid-sentence, you catch him steal a quick sideways downward glance at his BlackBerry. And the nickname "CrackBerry" comes to mind. You might think: for some, the Internet is an addiction.
Well, as psychology experts ramp up to publish the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a debate has begun on whether to include Internet addiction in the next big book of mental illness. This month the Canadian Medical Association Journal published an article weighing both sides.
Kimberly Young, director of The Center for Internet Addiction, says that while it might not be a well-defined illness, those who spend excessive amounts of time online suffer the same issues as other addicts, including lost jobs, broken marriages, or financial problems. Young says if it’s the cause of major issues in your life, then you have a problem.
But Vaughan Bell, at the department of neuroscience at King’s College London, says that the Internet is not an activity and so can’t be an addiction. He acknowledges that people can spend excessive time online, perhaps as an escape from depression or anxiety, but to label the use of the Web as the central problem or an addiction does a disservice. His concern is that the focus needs to be on the real illness, not on the “medium of communication.”
Of course, maybe some thought needs to be turned the many different activities one can do on the Web. Pornography and gambling, for instance, are well-known addictions.
In any event both Young and Bell admit that research on Internet addiction is limited and inconsistent, so far. And for that reason Bell says it will be tough to support its addition to the list of new afflictions.
—Christie Nicholson
Well, as psychology experts ramp up to publish the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a debate has begun on whether to include Internet addiction in the next big book of mental illness. This month the Canadian Medical Association Journal published an article weighing both sides.
Kimberly Young, director of The Center for Internet Addiction, says that while it might not be a well-defined illness, those who spend excessive amounts of time online suffer the same issues as other addicts, including lost jobs, broken marriages, or financial problems. Young says if it’s the cause of major issues in your life, then you have a problem.
But Vaughan Bell, at the department of neuroscience at King’s College London, says that the Internet is not an activity and so can’t be an addiction. He acknowledges that people can spend excessive time online, perhaps as an escape from depression or anxiety, but to label the use of the Web as the central problem or an addiction does a disservice. His concern is that the focus needs to be on the real illness, not on the “medium of communication.”
Of course, maybe some thought needs to be turned the many different activities one can do on the Web. Pornography and gambling, for instance, are well-known addictions.
In any event both Young and Bell admit that research on Internet addiction is limited and inconsistent, so far. And for that reason Bell says it will be tough to support its addition to the list of new afflictions.
—Christie Nicholson
Learn To Be Kind
We’re in the midst of a revolution in brain science. The long-held dogma that brain connections are unchangeable after age five, is being usurped with findings that the brain is more plastic than we thought.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison published a study in PLoS One this week, showing that our capacity for empathy can be learned and mastered – as one might learn to play soccer or piano. The skill here comes from meditation.
They studied the fMRI scans of 32 subjects, half were trained meditators including the Olympians of meditation, the Tibetan monks. The others were age-matched novices.
In the brain scanner, all were subjected to emotional sounds (like a baby laughing or woman screaming.)
They found that the insula (the area of the brain responsible for physical feelings of compassion) was highly active in the experts. And the right temporal-parietal juncture (an area connected to understanding anothers’ emotional state) was also much more active in experts than in the novices.
It may not be proof that we can turn a schoolyard bully into Gandhi, but it shows meditative training has a significant impact.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison published a study in PLoS One this week, showing that our capacity for empathy can be learned and mastered – as one might learn to play soccer or piano. The skill here comes from meditation.
They studied the fMRI scans of 32 subjects, half were trained meditators including the Olympians of meditation, the Tibetan monks. The others were age-matched novices.
In the brain scanner, all were subjected to emotional sounds (like a baby laughing or woman screaming.)
They found that the insula (the area of the brain responsible for physical feelings of compassion) was highly active in the experts. And the right temporal-parietal juncture (an area connected to understanding anothers’ emotional state) was also much more active in experts than in the novices.
It may not be proof that we can turn a schoolyard bully into Gandhi, but it shows meditative training has a significant impact.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
To Get Good Grades, Get Good Sleep
You’d think that college students would be experts at sleeping. But odd hours, parties, cramming for tests, personal problems, self-medication with drugs or alcohol and general stress can wreck a student’s sleep habits. Which can be bad for the body and the mind. Texas Tech University is even offering a class called "Improving Your Sleep Habits". People suffering from sleep-deprivation are at an increased risk for obesity, diabetes, psychological problems and car crashes. Students who don’t get enough sleep have poorer attendance and lower grades.
On top of all that, a new study published in the journal Learning & Memory finds that you’re probably better off sleeping than cramming for a test. Two hundred college kids were taught to play a couple of video games that they were unfamiliar with. Subjects who learned the games in the morning lost some skills when they played again 12 hours later. But they did much better the next morning after getting a good night’s sleep. So remember: if you really want to get those A’s, don’t forget to get some zzzz’s.
—Steve Mirsky
How To Keep A Relationship
“When it comes to love, you need not fall but rather surrender,surrender to the idea that you must love yourself before you can love another. You must absolutely trust yourself before you can absolutely trust another and most importantly you must accept your flaws before you can accept the flaws of another.“
~ Philosophy: Falling in Love
Remember the last time you got in a fight or argument with your significant other? Wasn’t it frustrating? Wasn’t it painful? Was it necessary? What can we do to best deal with these situations without ruining our relationships?
Relationships with our spouses and girl/boy-friends can be one of the most rewarding aspects of our lives. We hold a special place for that someone with whom we’ve shared countless moments of joy. Personality differences are inevitable, and what makes us unique as individuals can result in disagreements and conflicts during our relationship.
When these disagreements are not properly understood and managed emotionally, trivial exchanges can stir into full-on battles, and possibly end what we’ve spent months or years to build.
Yes, there are relationships where personalities are mismatched and breakups are beneficial. However, many breakups are unnecessary, as a result of built up anger and destructive cycles. When they happen, we experience a tremendous amount of pain and emotional hurt.
By facing our partners with awareness and a genuine desire for understanding, I believe that we hold the key to wellness in these special relationships
Remember the last time you got in a fight or argument with your significant other? Wasn’t it frustrating? Wasn’t it painful? Was it necessary? What can we do to best deal with these situations without ruining our relationships?
Relationships with our spouses and girl/boy-friends can be one of the most rewarding aspects of our lives. We hold a special place for that someone with whom we’ve shared countless moments of joy. Personality differences are inevitable, and what makes us unique as individuals can result in disagreements and conflicts during our relationship.
When these disagreements are not properly understood and managed emotionally, trivial exchanges can stir into full-on battles, and possibly end what we’ve spent months or years to build.
Yes, there are relationships where personalities are mismatched and breakups are beneficial. However, many breakups are unnecessary, as a result of built up anger and destructive cycles. When they happen, we experience a tremendous amount of pain and emotional hurt.
By facing our partners with awareness and a genuine desire for understanding, I believe that we hold the key to wellness in these special relationships
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