There have been a few times that I wanted to start class... just like this!
Here is what I am reading today:
“Each year, the brains of hundreds of Finnish children, and therefore their future lives, are at risk due to premature birth or intrapartum asphyxia. The brain is a sensitive organ, and merely keeping the baby alive is not enough to save the brain. The latest scientific achievements offer significant improvements in the brain health and lives of infants.”
“New connections between brain cells emerge in clusters in the brain as animals learn to perform a new task, according to a study published in Nature on February 19 (advance online publication). Led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, the study reveals details of how brain circuits are rewired during the formation of new motor memories.”
“Chinese blog Apple Daily claims to have leaked pictures of the iPad 3before Apple officially planned to give its own sneak peek in early March. The unconfirmed photos of the iPad 3 look similar to the iPad 2, but Apple Daily reports the iPad 3 will have a quad-core Apple A6 processor and 4G. The iPad 2 has 3G connectivity and a 1 Gigahertz dual-core Apple A5 processor.”
“When first exposed to cocaine, the adolescent brain launches a strong defensive reaction designed to minimize the drug’s effects, Yale and other scientists have found. Now two new studies by a Yale team identify key genes that regulate this response and show that interfering with this reaction dramatically increases a mouse’s sensitivity to cocaine.”
“The more afraid a person is of a spider, the bigger that individual perceives the spider to be, new research suggests.”
“A compound in citrus fruits may reduce your stroke risk, according to research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. Eating higher amounts of a compound in citrus fruits, especially oranges and grapefruit, may lower ischemic stroke risk. Women who ate high amounts of the compound had a 19 percent lower risk of ischemic stroke than women who consumed the least amount.”
“For some older adults, the online video game World of Warcraft (WoW) may provide more than just an opportunity for escapist adventure. Researchers from North Carolina State University have found that playing WoW actually boosted cognitive functioning for older adults – particularly those adults who had scored poorly on cognitive ability tests before playing the game.”
9 Comments
N8 · February 25, 2012 at 5:39 pm
“curious…the iPad 3”
Rumors always fascinate me. I get quite a kick out of absorbing tech rumors, even though most of them seem a little too difficult to believe. Though this article may have some truth to it or be looking in the right direction, I would venture to guess that Apple probably has more up their sleeve than a few internal upgrades–Apple seems to routinely surprise people and bring in the unexpected with new product releases!
astiers · February 25, 2012 at 5:45 pm
In response to “your teen brain on cocaine”:
We know from our developmental psychology knowledge that experience shapes our neurons and it makes sense that exposure to drugs at a younger age would trigger a defensive response from the body as well as an increased addiction to the drug.
JamesWoodhead · February 25, 2012 at 6:32 pm
In response to “spiders are coming to get you!”
I am more creeped out than afraid of spiders. I really don’t like the look of them so I unintentionally focus on the aspects of the spider I don’t like when I see them. Doing this magnifies those parts of the spider, which could make me perceive them to be bigger. Also, the brain might perceive the spiders to be larger as part of some justification process to be afraid of the spider. The study in this article suggests fear is the biggest driving force behind people’s dislike of spiders and anxiety they feel when seeing a spider. I know a couple people who have arachnophobia and get afraid if I even mention spiders.
cnguyen · February 26, 2012 at 2:10 am
In response to “curious…the ipad 3”
I honestly expected a lot more features to the new ipad. I think there probably is a lot more that it can do, but Apple just doesn’t want to release all of the information yet. However, I must admit that I am a lot more interested in the iphone 5 with those crazy youtube videos I have been seeing of it. Overall, I am now an Apple fan and really loved the first ipad when I got to experiment with it. Sadly as a college student, the ipad is still a bit pricey for me and I’d have to starve myself or save up for months in order to afford one. It really hits me hard when I see my 2 year old niece playing with her Ipad 2 and unwilling to share or give me any attention. So for now I will remain the Ipad-less aunt, but my jealousy has driven me to really save up for that Ipad 3.
cnguyen · February 26, 2012 at 2:22 am
In response to “spiders are coming to get you”
The results of the experiment made sense to me. I would have predicted the same outcome. It’s the same thing when it comes to people who are afraid of heights. The more we fear heights, the farther we think we are from the ground. I think this can also be associated with positive moods. If someone is really excited about something, they tend to exaggerate about the object or experience. It’s difficult to overcome a phobia, but it has been done. I remember watching a talk show that had a guest that was afraid of spiders, but slowly she was exposed to them and somehow overcame her fear. Practice makes perfect I guess.
astiers · February 26, 2012 at 3:25 pm
In response to ” for women, eating citrus helps beat the chances of stroke” :
While this study offers potential health recommendations for women, it still is very ambiguous on what types of foods to eat, how much, etc. The study also did not comment on other factors measured in the study such as exercise, weight and more. I think with more research Flavonoids may become a recommended dietary supplement.
Katie · March 2, 2012 at 9:37 am
In response to “Spiders are coming to get you”
I have a strong feeling that this article reaches a broad audience. Spiders seem to be one of the most prevalent source of phobias! (I wonder why). Story time, here we go. In high school, my family went on a trip to Kauai and it was beautiful. However, I had one night full of nightmares that seemed like hallucinations. In the middle of the night, I was in the wakeful cycle because I hadn’t been able to fall asleep for such a long time, and I hallucinated two spiders the size of footballs crawling around next to my face. Later in the week, the same thing happened but with a creepy little girl walking towards me.
Anyway, I’m curious if our fears/phobias are heightened. I could imagine that to be true, since people also assume stressful situations to be more stressful than they probably are, and little kids in school probably see the bullies as much bigger than they really are. The weird thing for me is that I’m not even that afraid of spiders – strange that I imagined them giant!
Katie · March 2, 2012 at 10:24 am
In response to “brain connections forming in clusters”
Oh, the power of neural networks. This makes so much sense, and it is so interesting. Is it possible for a computer program to be written with just one word? Is it possible for a meal to be made with only one ingredient or utensil? Is it possible for a computer to perform a function without a bunch of collaborating components? Everything functions in a team, especially the neurons in the brain (thoughts, memories, motor functions, etc…).
It was very interesting to learn more about cluster formation in the brain. One thing that surprised me is that the spine grew and that the spine head correlates with the strength of the synapse. I didn’t realize that the spine grew in response to usage kind of like muscles do. The body is so neat (and confusing!).
scasey · March 2, 2012 at 1:12 pm
In response to “curious…the ipad 3”
This product has gotten a lot of attention ever since it first came out and its name was ridiculed. I saw an article about the ipad 3 on CNN’s website today, which probably has a bit more credibility than the Chinese blog. It’s always interesting to hear about the latest developments, even if some of them are just rumors. As far as psychology goes, I think this fascination with the latest and greatest shows a lot about our “need” to always have the newest coolest thing if possible. Personally, I think as consumers we need to be much more aware of the multitude of consequences that our materialism causes.
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