My daughter Karla drew this sweet draing of me off to the Western Psychological Conference in San Francisco! I have students presenting three posters.
Here is what I am reading today:
“It’s sort of conventional folk wisdom, if someone in a crowd starts staring at something, soon someone else will too. Eventually the whole crowd will start staring, even if they don’t know what they are supposed to be looking at. The problem is, the whole idea is wrong, at least that’s what a group of researchers found when filming crowds and using gaming software to track the gaze of people who happen across someone staring at something. They find, as they describe in their paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that following the gaze of others is far less pervasive than has been generally thought.”
“When we meet new people, we assess their character by watching their gestures and facial expressions. Now a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA suggests that those nonverbal cues are communicating the presence of a specific form of a gene that makes us more or less responsive to others’ needs”
“Add this to the list of reasons not to take cocaine: Chronic use of the drug may speed up the aging process. According to a new imaging study, cocaine abusers in their 30s and 40s show brain changes more commonly seen in people over 60. The finding also calls attention to the special medical needs of older drug users—a group that, until now, hasn’t garnered much notice. “
“When his 10-year-old son, Akian, started getting into trouble at school, Stuart Chaifetz was stunned. The notes from Horace Mann Elementary School in Cherry Hill, N.J., said that Akian, who has autism, was having violent outbursts and hitting his teacher and his aide — behavior that the boy had never exhibited before. “
8 Comments
alimgarrison · April 29, 2012 at 11:35 am
I read “Cocaine May Age the Brain” and it was very informative. I have known some people that did cocaine and now I wonder even more about the benefits since the costs are so drastic. After reading this, I cannot believe that anyone would participate in drug activity because I for sure do not want to grow older faster, especially with my health.
slboman · April 29, 2012 at 2:22 pm
After reading “response to gaze” it is apparent how many people look to others for cues of “normal” behavior. People looked up when they thought that the person whom they were copying could not see them. People are also conditioned to go along with the majority and norms, in this case: continue walking and not notice what others are looking at. I think if there had been a group of actors looking up that more people would have joined in. The more normal the act seemed, the more people may have participated
slboman · April 29, 2012 at 2:37 pm
In response to “slight genetic variations and how others see you”. I find it very interesting that one gene can be responsible for such an important part of our mental processing. The ability to be able to empathize is something that many people take for granted. I wonder if science progresses enough to be able to differentiate and isolate the variations of the gene which controls oxytocin, will we soon find a cure for autism?
christucker · April 29, 2012 at 9:22 pm
I watched the 17 minute video on 4/26 about a little boy, Akian, with autism who gets bullied by his teachers. After reading the title I absolutely couldn’t believe it. Doubts rushed into my head as possibly the parents might have gotten out of hand because what kind of teacher could actually do something like that?
Well, after watching the video, I was utterly shocked. Akian’s dad had attached a mike to Akian to hear what was going on in school since he was getting reports of causing trouble. Real recordings proved that the teacher was verbally abusing Akian (even using foul language), talking about sex and getting drunk in front of students, punishing Akian for not doing anyting, etc. It was horrifying to see what she was doing and thinking about the kind of impact this could have on Akian as he continues to develop. To me, this story really demonstrated an absolute immorality that haunts our world today.
Amir Tadros · April 30, 2012 at 9:54 am
I’m surprised to see the long term effects of cocaine abuse on the brain. We are all aware of the effects that cocaine has on the human body. However, I was under the impression that the body is able to recover completely after stopping the use of the drug, but I guess I was wrong about that.
As the baby boomer generation enters retirement while medical costs are on the rise, I’m interested to see how the results of this study will affect the health care system.
fnmagno · April 30, 2012 at 12:30 pm
After reading about the “autistic child bullied by teacher” article, I was disgusted by the fact that teachers, individuals who we are to look up to and provide us with a safe environment..those who are supposed to prevent bullying…would do such a thing! While what Akian’s father did may have violated the privacy of the teacher’s he deserves the right to know what his son goes through.
fnmagno · April 30, 2012 at 12:38 pm
After reading, “are you aging your brain?” it is no surprise to learn that cocaine is causing your brain to age, another reason why people should abstain from using cocaine. Along with other terrible side effects, this tops it off. The brain is very fragile and valuable and the last thing we need is a prematurely aging brain.
anguye15 · May 7, 2012 at 7:23 pm
After reading the article about the Autistic child who was emotionally and verbally abused by his teachers, it is incredible to see how things like this go on–often without knowledge. As this article showed, Akian’s father had to go through some unusual lengths to even come to the discoveries that he did. As an individual who has an Autistic brother and two nephews, this is definitely a disturbing piece of news to come across. When I was younger, I stayed involved in my brother’s educational realm as I often accompanied my mom to parent/teacher conferences for my brother, stayed in constant contact over journals, knew the school bus drivers, etc.–and from this article I have come to appreciate the great people that our family has been fortunate enough to have had to support my brother. On that note, it is beyond me to even try to fathom that any one of those people could mistreat him, or act in the manner that the teachers did in this featured article.
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