readings in psychology for september 22nd 2010

I always love listening to students and faculty alive with new ideas

Here are a few stories in today’s news:

• new anti-obesity drug dismissed by FDA

“The troubled path of diet drugs continues to look challenging, especially after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel recommended Thursday that the agency not approve a new anti-obesity medication—the second of three to come up for evaluation this year. “

• US Teen hearing loss is lower than reported

“New research from University of Minnesota hearing scientists shows that fewer than 20 percent of teenagers in the United States have a hearing loss as a result of exposure to loud sounds, thus offering a different analysis of data reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in August.”

• Brain cell communication is fast! Why?

“Billions of brain cells are communicating at any given moment. Like an organic supercomputer they keep everything going, from breathing to solving riddles, and “programming errors” can lead to serious conditions such as schizophrenia, Parkinson’s Disease and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.”

• even bugs have PERSONALITY

“Individual insects and bugs may all look alike to human eyes, but each and every one is unique and possesses its own personality, suggests new research that also helps to explain how personality arises in virtually all organisms.”

• where is the brain’s impulse control center??

“A research team led by neuroscience PhD student Scott Hayton has pinpointed the area of the brain that controls impulsive behavior and the mechanisms that affect how impulsive behavior is learned. The findings could have a significant impact on the diagnosis and treatment of several disorders and addictions, including ADHD and alcoholism.”

• Brain uses energy to stop thinking

“Mathematicians at Case Western Reserve University may have part of the answer. They’ve found that just as thinking burns energy, stopping a thought burns energy — like stopping a truck on a downhill slope.”