Professors are people,too! You can never tell what we do when we aren’t teaching, researching and advising!
Here’s what I am reading today:
“After 31-year-old Zac Vawter lost part of his leg in a motorcycle accident, a team of doctors set out to create a new kind of prosthetic limb: one whose motions he could manipulate with his mind, by “flexing” a foot that was no longer there. The method is similar to one already tried in people who have lost an arm: The doctors at Northwestern University and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago removed nerves from damaged muscle in Vawter’s amputated leg and connected them to hamstring muscle in his thigh, which had been left intact.”
“”The study underscores that obesity and other eating disorders have a neurological basis,” said senior study author Garret Stuber, PhD, assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and department of cell biology and physiology. He’s also a member of the UNC Neuroscience Center. “With further study, we could figure out how to regulate the activity of cells in a specific region of the brain and develop treatments.””
“Thousands of North Texans are asking, “What are those long, silky strings floating in the air?” Turns out they’re the webs of spiders in their annual migration to better hunting grounds, and surprising a lot of people.
“I thought it was weird; I’d never seen it before,” said Myrna Olivas, who first noticed it driving in her car;”
“One theory about autism is that it may start in the gut, because some children with the disorder also suffer from gastrointestinal problems. Many are put on strict gluten-free diets in the hopes that avoiding wheat proteins will improve their behavior.
“Studies have not really shown that this works, but it is a common belief,” said Dr. Daniel Coury, chief of developmental-behavioral pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
The new study, which was published online Sept. 25 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, offers the most definitive proof yet that many autistic kids don’t benefit from restrictive, wheat-free diets.”
“Inconcievable!”
“University of Sussex neuroscientists took fMRI scans of champion ‘mental calculator’ Yusnier Viera during arithmetical tasks that were either familiar or unfamiliar to him and found that his brain did not behave in an extraordinary or unusual way.
The paper, published this week (23 September 2013) in PloS One, provides scientific evidence that some calculation abilities are a matter of practice. Co-author Dr Natasha Sigala says: “This is a message of hope for all of us. Experts are made, not born.””
““I also shattered illusions of my immortality. I was paralyzed from here”—she hold her hands at her hips—“down. No movement and no sensation.” That life changed radically for her right then is difficult to dispute. But Boxtel eventually embraced a road to recovery. “It took time to turn wounds into wisdom. It took guts. This is a cruel injury. It is so much more than not being able to walk,” she tells us.”
“Peter Turchin, a population dynamicist at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, and his colleagues set out to understand why social institutions came about when they were costly for individuals to build and maintain. “Our model says they spread because they helped societies compete against each other,” says Turchin. The results are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences1.”
12 Comments
Sarahvais · October 4, 2013 at 11:57 am
In relation to the post walking…again
The beginning of this really hit home. My uncle has a head injury and it has lead me to question a lot of medical decisions. He had to completely learn how to walk, eat, and function normally again. It is amazing that even though he too has a brain injury he can make such dramatic progress.
agarman · October 19, 2013 at 1:15 pm
I read the article ‘Yawning is Contagious’ and while it’s not too surprising that the chimpanzees develop a yawn contagion, it did surprise me that dogs do too, a bit thrown in at the end of the article. It does make sense that humans, chimps and dogs would develop a yawn contagion within their own species for the purpose of deepening emotional closeness with one another. Humans, chimps and dogs alike seem to represent a species that survived because of the group dynamic and dependency. In order to survive in groups though we would need to have ways in which we could strengthen the emotional bond with each other and ‘yawn contagion,’ which is probably one of these processes, helped to increase the ability to empathize. Very cool that chimps and dogs can develop cross-species yawn contagion, Im going to observe and experiment my own animals!
agarman · October 19, 2013 at 2:02 pm
Wow, just read “Walking ….again’ and I had no idea about these exo-skeletons for humans. I will be looking into this without a doubt and have to admit its a little frustrating living in such a small town where things like this are more available to those who live in large cities. Its amazing at how fast my memory has faded away from remembering ‘how to walk.’ I try to pick a memory from right before my car accident and try to remember what walking felt like but its getting harder and harder. It is amazing to live in this time period where adaptive technology and research is producing real life equipment and results. This bionic suit will just keep improving from this point on and I feel blessed to be amongst a species whose brain has evolved into an incredibly creative and intelligent one. Great article find Dr. Freberg!
bcolli05 · October 19, 2013 at 2:53 pm
The article “why we overeat” was extremely interesting to me. It talked about how having a certain part of the brain malfunction can contribute to eating disorders. One of my closest friends in high school had an eating disorder and so many of her doctors always told her she needed to just retrain her brain to allow her to eat correctly. This, however, is not exactly an easy task and from what the article says, may actually be impossible. If they know specifically which part of the brain is causing the eating disorders and are able to develop a drug that can help correct this problem, just think about how many people could be affected by this discovery. It was a really interesting article to read!
bcolli05 · October 19, 2013 at 3:02 pm
In response to “replacing a phantom limb”: I am extremely interested in the phantom limb phenomenon. It is amazing to me that after losing a limb people can still feel pain and sensation where the limb used to be. In this case, the man who lost his leg had a new kind of prosthetic made that allowed him to control his “new leg” by flexing the foot he no longer has. It’s crazy to me that this is possible and the phantom limb phenomenon is something i want to learn more about. I wonder what part of the brain is responsible for allowing this to occur even though the limb is no longer there.
neirani · October 20, 2013 at 7:26 pm
In response to “why we overeat”. I find it very interesting that there is more of a focus on the mental aspects behind overeating. A lot of the medical solutions today seem to be centered around treating the causes of obesity versus trying to prevent it from the beginning. For example even the solutions to reverse obesity seem to be around physical solutions like lapbands that purely prevent you from being able to overeat. It makes perfect sense that the moderation reward issues would be involved with a basic reward like food. With medical issues surrounding eating disorders and disorders them self increasing, its refreshing to read an article that explores different solutions.
agarman · October 27, 2013 at 3:09 pm
I read the article “Study shows math experts are made, not born,” and would have to say that I feel better about myself after reading it! The big take away here is that thanks to imaging techniques, neuroscientists at Sussex University were able to conclude that expertise is an “…result of long term practice and motivation.” Brain scans of the “mental calculator,” also known as Yusnier Viera, suggest that this math whiz has adapted an ability to create a short cut to answer questions by “storing information in the middle part of the brain specialized for long-term working memory.” The article continues that this study further supports Darwin’s belief that intellectual ability is due mostly to ‘zeal and hard work’ rather than inherent ability. I for one am thrilled by this study, especially as a college student. I can now store this information and use it as the motivational tool to propel me forward into continuing to believe I can do whatever I set my mind too!
daniellezezoff · October 27, 2013 at 6:22 pm
I read the article “Walking… again” and found it was amazing that someone who was completely paralyzed was able to walk again with the 50 pound machine. I also found it interesting that we haven’t been able to design a more sleek machine with today’s technology that would be able to be worn more often and give the patients more flexibility in their everyday life. I have also heard about technology with prosthetic limbs that somehow connect to neurons and the person is able to move the limbs just by thinking about moving their hand that is no longer there. It will be interesting if this technology will one day be able to work with spinal cord injuries, or if it is not possible due to permanent nerve damage. Prosthetics and other devices to help with spinal cord injures and loss of limbs have come a long ways in the past twenty years and it will be interesting to see how advanced they will be in the next twenty years.
Alina Parga · October 27, 2013 at 6:44 pm
I read the article “Brain circuitry that triggers overeating identified” and I definitely feel hope for the friends and family I have that have eating disorders. Jennings and his colleagues were able to identify a neural circuit that plays a role in feeding behavior of mice. Senior study author, Garrett Stubter, PhD, and his team used a opogentic technique that showed that, “…. faulty wiring in BNST cells could interfere with hunger or satiety cues and contribute to human eating disorders, leading people to eat even when they are full or to avoid food when they are hungry.” This really influences my opinion as to why some people can’t stop eating from a lack of will power perspective to a biological perspective.This is a huge breakthrough that can eventually lead to drugs that can treat patients with eating disorders.
Alina Parga · October 27, 2013 at 7:04 pm
In response to the article ” Seeing Photos of Food Males Actually Food Less Tasty” I can easily say that it has happened to me. This dilemma scientists call “sensory boredom” is the reason why looking at social networking sites like Pinterest and Instagram is not a good idea before you go out to eat. When I see people post pictures of food like an In and Out Hamburger and I drive all the way to get the same thing, it seems to never taste as good as it looked like in the picture. Researchers compared salty foods and sweet foods and they had different results. Meaning that if I saw a picture of candy and I ate something salty my degree of appeal would not be affected.
agarman · October 27, 2013 at 9:00 pm
I read the article ‘Regulators weigh benefits of three-parent fertilization,’ and find myself in an undecided opinion among this matter. Being a quadriplegic and hoping for stem cell research to find a cure for paralysis leans me in the direction to favor science and its intervention. On the other hand, it seems like a very slippery slope to intervene with the human process of fertilization and the consequences of having three parents and three sets of DNA should impose great concern. The developmental biologist, Mitalipov, who is pushing for the ok in clinical trials seems to have a counter argument against those who identify problems associated with the procedure and the possible defects that may occur. The article identifies multiple Doctors in the Sciences who have raised safety concerns against his research but Mitalipov says he will move his research to the UK if it allows the procedure first. His research may or may not end up helping to eliminate genetic fatal developmental conditions but it sends a red flag to my head if such a dr. is in such a hurry to start a project with such large ethical implications. Albeit there will always those in favor vs. those against such research and my thoughts in this point in time are to slow down and debate and reflect on these ethical implications further.
lfarr · November 19, 2013 at 5:48 pm
In response to “Why We Overeat”:
This article sheds light on what may be a future preventative or treatment regimen for people with eating disorders. It’s interesting how the BNST connects the amygdala with the lateral hypothalamus. It’s no wonder that when people feel emotional (both positive and negative) have this compulsion to eat or drink as reward. The human relationship with food is interesting because we started out with needing it to survive, but now our bodies have to learn to control itself with the abundance of food we have. The human brain responds to food as both survival and is also connected to reward centers. I hope that the BNST can be further researched to discover a way to help people with their eating disorders. The US population may be a healthier country (though more exercise and maintaining good nutrition should be included in the use of this potential drug as well).