I have collaborated with Savant Learning Systems to produce video lectures for John Cacioppo and my new edition of “Discovering Psychology — the Science of Mind”
Read more: http://www.savantlearningsystems.com
Here is what I am reading today:
“When Yanomamö men in the Amazon raided villages and killed decades ago, they formed alliances with men in other villages rather than just with close kin like chimpanzees do. And the spoils of war came from marrying their allies’ sisters and daughters, rather than taking their victims’ land and women.”
“Ever wonder how biologists use RNA sequencing from cytoplasm to decode a cell’s stress response? Or how about how astronomers use heterodyne arrays with superconducting mixers to observe the birth of stars? Rather than reading a paper about it, why not watch a dance? A ballet and a modern dance on those very topics have made it into the finals of this year’s “Dance Your Ph.D.” contest.
It was a tight race among this year’s 21 Ph.D. dance submissions. The previous winners of the contest scored each of them on their scientific and artistic merits, and these 12 finalists made the cut.”
“The study involved a small group of healthy people aged in their late 20s to early 30s who rode exercise bikes. They were monitored for changes in the brain immediately after the exercise and again 15 minutes later.
“We saw positive changes in the brain straight away, and these improvements were sustained 15 minutes after the exercise had ended,” says research leader Associate Professor Michael Ridding.”
“Using a high-resolution, one-of-a-kind microscope, Daniel A. Dombeck and Mark E. J. Sheffield peered into the brain of a living animal and saw exactly what was happening in individual neurons called place cells as the animal navigated a virtual reality maze.”
““Dopamine is a ubiquitous molecule in the brain that signals ‘mission accomplished.’ It serves as the key indicator during almost all aspects of learning and the formation of new memories,” said David Kleinfeld professor of physics at UC San Diego, who directed the work. “Disruptions to dopamine signaling lie at the heart of schizophrenia and addiction.” Kleinfeld also holds appointments in neurobiology, and electrical and computer engineering.”
“Richard G. M. Morris developed the water maze that bears his name as an alternative for the radial arm maze. The radial arm maze had been used for many decades prior to Morris’s first use of the water maze in 1981.
The radial arm maze provides limited information about cues other than the immediate visual environment. Because Morris was interested in an array of cues, including audition and olfaction, he needed to find another way to study spatial learning.
See: Morris (1981)”
“Dr Shelley Gorman, of the Telethon Kids Institute and lead author of the study, said: “Our findings are important as they suggest that casual skin exposure to sunlight, together with plenty of exercise and a healthy diet, may help prevent the development of obesity in children.”
“These observations further indicate that the amounts of nitric oxide released from the skin may have beneficial effects not only on heart and blood vessels but also on the way our body regulates metabolism,” Dr Martin Feelisch, Professor of Experimental Medicine and Integrative Biology at the University of Southampton, added.”
John Cacioppo and I have worked hard to update our text to reflect the many discoveries that have affected the wonderfully dynamic field we call Psychology! Questions?? feel free to contact me: laura (AT) laurafreberg.com
24 Comments
josephdaddabbo · October 28, 2014 at 6:32 pm
I read the article about exercising your brain for 30 minutes. I actually think I can agree with it. I’ve noticed that when I exercise before class I tend to retain information better when I learn in class. One reason for me is I feel like it just starts my day fresh. I get work out of the way and I get a nice runners high so Im feeling happy for the rest of the day. I wonder if the reason I learn and retain more when I exercise is because Im comparing it to other groggy days where I barely get up for class.
aflor · October 29, 2014 at 12:07 pm
The article that I found very interesting to read was “Real Time Readout of Neurochemical Activity.” It amazes me how the use of technology could allow us to discover how things around us and in our bodies function. Two professors developed CNiFERs, which are engineered cells that help reveal changes in the brain and body due to dopamine levels. Dopamine has a role in learning, reward, and addiction. The researcher that they did on mice was interesting, in how it related to classical conditioning. I would love to read more in terms of how they are able to measure the changes in neural signaling. More specifically, how these engineered cells measure such a study and how their discovery can affect us in the future.
savannamurphy · October 29, 2014 at 1:45 pm
I read the article about sunlight helping to slow the weight gain process. It was intriguing because classically we are told to stay out of the sunlight for the fear of cancer (and wrinkles) and its interesting to wonder where the happy medium lies if sunlight does in fact have benefits for weight. I have never heard of nitric oxide, which is supposedly the culprit in this metabolical process but exactly why it happens is what I still want to know. Upon a little research I found that nitric oxide is actually emitted during lightning storms as an electrical product. I also read that in small amounts it helps to protect organs, like the liver. That may explain why after a friday night some college kids enjoy soaking up the sun at the beach!
jorgiewu · October 30, 2014 at 9:35 am
I read the article “Exercise Your Brain for 30 Minutes a Day!” I have always been aware that exercise is good for our overall well-being because it releases “good endorphins.” However, this is all I’ve known about the effects of exercise on the brain. I was surprised to read that exercise actually makes the brain immediately more plastic. I would be interested in reading more studies about the relationship between memory and exercise.
jorgiewu · October 30, 2014 at 10:03 am
I found the article “Culture Influencing Violence” to be extremely fascinating. I think growing up in America oftentimes makes it difficult for us to understand other cultures and customs. For the Yanomamö, I wonder how many of their killings are motivated purely by cultural conformity and how many are motivated by “true” love. This brings up the question of what it even means to love in other cultures. The Yanomamö must have a very different idea of marital love in comparison to Americans. In addition, all humans are born and raised following the same moral law- it is bad/immoral to kill, steal, lie, etc. I wonder if this moral law is something that is constructed by culture and society.
ACapanna · October 30, 2014 at 12:47 pm
First of all, congratulations Dr. Freberg on the 3rd edition of the textbook! The University of Adelaide study that found increased plasticity in the brain after exercise was very interesting. Primary schools ought to take studies such as this seriously when they question how much time and funding should be allocated to physical education programs. This also is a validation of the use of some our tuition going towards the ASI Recreation Center. As a student with a lot of time consuming responsibilities, it is good to be aware of the academic benefits that can be gained by taking the time to enjoy physical activity. I look forward to further studies that will tell us more about exercises’ benefits to the brain.
josephdaddabbo · October 30, 2014 at 6:36 pm
I read the article about Dance your PH.D. I found it quite humorous. I think stuff like this needs to be on TV more than Jersey Shore. It’s hilarious and informative. I wonder what Laura Freberg’s dance would be… Maybe something to do with neuron firing…. set to legend of zelda music.
rqlam · October 31, 2014 at 3:08 pm
I read the article about exercising being beneficial for your brain. I’ve always been aware of how good exercising is for your overall health and I’ve experienced being more alert and just generally more happy with myself after exercising but I never knew it actually triggers changes in your brain that helps with memorization and retention. Reading this article has definitely made me appreciate the P.E classes that I took in middle and high school.
rqlam · October 31, 2014 at 3:21 pm
The “exercise your dendrites?” article was really interesting to me because as a college student I’ve often wished I had photographic memory so I can remember what I’ve read. Reading this article certainly explains a lot about why we might remember some things over others but what I’m really interested in is what we have to do to make sure we remember something. In other words is there something we can do to activate the dendrites and commit whatever we want to memory?
ksomasek · October 31, 2014 at 7:12 pm
The article “Just 30 minutes of exercise has benefits for the brain” was especially interesting for me because it was related to aerobic exercise, which is something I have recently prioritized to fit my daily schedule. The article elaborated on a study that revealed results stating that a mere 30 minutes of vigorous exercise led to more brain plasticity. Although it is commonly known that exercise positively influences our health, this specific study revealed that a “stand-alone session of exercise” is responsible for these positive changes. Plasticity is extremely critical in learning, memory, and motor coordination therefore any positive change in plasticity is beneficial. This study also opened new doors in therapy since plasticity is also a vital component in brain damage and can assist in furthering research in such therapy.
ksomasek · October 31, 2014 at 7:20 pm
I read the article “Sunshine may slow weight gain, diabetes onset, study suggests” and was intrigued by the overall concept that sunshine exposure can slow obesity and diabetes. The exposure to UV light experienced by the mice in the experiment was initially seemed very skeptical to me because I had always related exposure to UV light to negative consequences, like cancer. The sun’s rays here however proved to be of advantage as it improved health in regards to blood vessels, heart, and overall metabolism with the release of nitric oxide from the skin. The article does address the general public notion that sun exposure can lead to skin cancer and states that people should find a balance of such exposure.
allisonstoner2 · November 1, 2014 at 7:15 pm
I read the article “Sunshine May Slow Weight Gain” and found it very interesting. Initially, I was thinking there could easily be an association between being in sunlight and exercising. The study being done on mice, though, clearly proves it to be more objective than that. I found it intriguing that the sun may provide interesting benefits that are not yet fully understood. It proves that, like with all things, there can be extreme benefits or side effects, and that’s why moderation is so important.
cmc4 · November 2, 2014 at 10:55 pm
In the article “Just 30 Minutes of Exercise Has Benefits for the Brain” scientists share that as little as 30 minutes of exercise a day can help improve brain plasticity. I thought this article was extremely interesting and very good information to publicize, because I think it is very important for people to get out and exercise. This is just another reason that exercise is important. Research has been done in the past to show that physical activity, in general, is good for the brain, but these new studies show that even a short 30 minute session a day is good, too. This type of activity helps to improve memory and coordination of motor skills. Scientists saw positive changes in the brain immediately after the exercise that sustained 15 minutes after the exercise ended. There is now evidence that shows that aerobic exercise positively affects the brain at cellular, molecular, and architectural levels. Physical exercise is not only good for your body and health, but also your brain. Improvements in brain plasticity are important for recovery from brain damage so scientists are now going to be looking into ways that exercise can be used as a therapeutic treatment for patients. I look forward to more information like this in the future.
sarahdelossantos · November 2, 2014 at 11:00 pm
I read the article about how culture influences violence. As a sociology major, I’ve learned to be wary of any theories that blame genes/biology for different cultures’ positives and negatives. It is interesting that this article proposed a new model for culture-enforced violence. According to the study, humans, more than any other organism, cooperate in their violent tendencies. I was especially interested by the fact this article appeared on your psychology blog! This feels more in the arena of sociology or anthropology, since there is no scientific explanation for this change in behavior model, besides “adaptive benefits”. I suppose what I really took away from this article is an appreciation for how interconnected different disciplines can be. Psychology was one of the majors I considered before eventually choosing sociology, and I find it interesting to see how the two are connected through studies like this one.
aflor · November 9, 2014 at 4:12 pm
I really enjoyed reading the article, “Dance Your Ph.D.” Now that it is past November 3rd, I wonder who the winner of this contest was. These were very amusing and fascinating to watch. It comes to show that anything one learns in science can be taught in a fun and silly way. I really enjoyed watching these videos and learning about their topics since they were very entertaining. My favorite were the one’s about biology. I honestly feel like videos like these should be shown more often in class. I feel like it helps in the visual aspect of learning. I have actually enjoyed some of my classes that have made us create a video for a certain topic taught in class. It helps learn the material as well as learning how topics could be represented in different ways.
evaschung · November 9, 2014 at 10:30 pm
I read the article “Just 30 minutes of exercise has benefits for the brain”. This article was very interesting because I did not expect as little as thirty minutes of exercise could increase brain activity and plasticity. It is no wonder why many physicians tell their patients to try to get at least thirty minutes of exercise in a few times a week. I wonder if the reason for the increase for brain activity is a result of an increase of oxygen delivered to the body and brain tissues. It is common knowledge that tissues require oxygen for energy and working out leads to an increased uptake of oxygen. Perhaps this is the cause for increased brain function.
evaschung · November 9, 2014 at 10:44 pm
I watched and read the article “Dance your PhD”. I thoroughly enjoyed all the unique and humorous dances that were highlighted. My favorite was the chemistry dance involving emulsification of fat. I believe that this was the most entertaining dance. The creators behind this dance put in the most effort, creating a song, adding humor, and creating outfits for their specific numbers. Although I was disappointed when I watched the videos and not one video focused on neuroanatomy. That would be fun if the contestants had created one.
camandrew · November 15, 2014 at 4:53 pm
I read the article “Sunshine may slow weight gain”. This article was interesting because I assumed that there was a strong correlation. I assumed that people who just went outside more tend to be more active so they don’t gain as much weight. Reading the article showed that their may be evidence that the real hero is UV light which is linked to nitric oxide. Nitric oxide in turn helps curb weight gain. I’m curious to see if the benefits of UV light exposure, such as slow weight gain, exceeds the negative effects of UV light such as skin cancer.
emilyventimiglia · November 16, 2014 at 8:48 pm
I read the article “Just 30 minutes of exercise has benefits for the brain.” It doesn’t come as a surprise that exercise helps our brain focus since even I have experienced that. I wish the article stated more information about how long our brain will be more flexible and focused for. It states at even 15 minutes after the effects are still felt from the exercise. Does that mean an hour after exercise the affects aren’t still felt? I also wonder if the idea of working out and the motivation it takes to convince oneself to go to the gym or on a run also has to do with the incresase in plasticity. I wonder how much is mindset and how much is the actual physical exercise.
emilyventimiglia · November 16, 2014 at 9:15 pm
I read the article “Sunshine may slow weight gain.” I have never heard of idea that sunlight/UV light can play a role in ceasing weight gain. With technology keeping people inside all day watching TV, being on computers, looking at cell phones, etc… it makes me wonder if this has a link to obesity. It could play a part in childhood obesity since many kids in the past decade have begun replying on electronics to entertain them instead of outside physical play. I think it’s very important to stress the significance of being outside at a young age not just for the weight gaining factor, but also because fresh air and exercise come hand in hand with being in the sun and those are just as important.
cmc4 · November 16, 2014 at 9:32 pm
The article “Real Time Readout of Neurochemical Activity” was really interesting. It’s fascinating to see research done on how mammals learn and store memory. This research was done on mice to see if they could associate a sound to a reward. While this is interesting enough on its own, they’ve added the insertion of modified cells into the brains of mice to observe signaling while they conducted their research. It’s amazing that these types of cells were created because they are furthering us into fully understanding how our brains work. With the use of these cells, scientists can now track, in real time, the brain activity of mice as they learn to associate the sound to the reward. It will be interesting to see other ways that this research advances our knowledge of the brain.
cmc4 · November 16, 2014 at 10:45 pm
I thought the concept behind the research being done in the article “Activity in Dendrites is Critical in Memory Formation” was absolutely intriguing. Scientists are figuring out reasons why we remember some things and not others. They believe that dendrite activity along with neuron activity create the most effective means of memory retention. There is evidence that shows that memory wasn’t stored when the neurons were active by themselves. The example they used in the article was that people who commute to work have millions of neurons that are active during their commute but they’d have a hard time remembering what happened during said drive. The reason was that dendrites weren’t active along with neurons. I thought the means to get to this conclusion was really interesting. I also thought it was great to read that scientists are going to try to find ways to use this knowledge for therapeutics against Alzheimer’s disease.
srvaldez · November 22, 2014 at 7:02 pm
I read the article about culture influencing violence. I have learned and researched quite a bit about culture, biology, and violence and it always amazes me how humans fall on this “tandem” as they said in the article. The Yanomamö men may have a biology tendency to be more violent since their fathers were most likely successful killers, however, culture plays an extremely large role. The sons of the Yanomamö men grow up aware of the culture of extreme killing and that may make them more likely to accept killing as being part of life just as much, if not more than the effect of biology. We could test this biology/culture effect more if we removed some of the children in early age from this circle of violence and place them in a non-violent family setting. It would be interesting to see how much aggression, violence, and other bad behaviors would be seen in these children. I really respect this research and the decades of time Macfarlan and Chagnon put into looking into their cultures, it opens our eyes to look at violence in a different way with this unconventional group of people.
srvaldez · November 22, 2014 at 10:54 pm
I read the article about sunshine slowing weight gain, which brought up an interesting perspective that those UV rays some fear may actually help us metabolize quicker. According to the research, humans and mice release nitric oxide from their skin in response to sunlight, which helped the mice be less likely to have diabetes or other abnormalities in blood sugar. I am very intrigued about whether or not these findings apply to humans because we could have another helpful instrument in helping people lose weight and prevent diabetes. However, numerous sunburns and skin cancer could be unfortunate side effects if this new weight loss strategy is used incorrectly. For this to be ethically practiced in our everyday lives, researchers would need to find the proper amount of sunlight and precise other lifestyle changes for this strategy to work. Even still, the question remains if the preventing of diabetes is worth the potential of getting skin cancer.