It Wasn’t Me!

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T. gondii bacteria directed the behavior of mice to help the bacteria complete their life cycle. T. gondii is found in as many as 20% of humans.

T. gondii bacteria directed the behavior of mice to help the bacteria complete their life cycle. T. gondii is found in as many as 20% of humans.

A research group from the University of Leeds was able to show that a bacterium, Toxoplasma gondii, found in a large percentage of humans, affects the brains of mice in such a way as to direct the actions and behaviors of the infected rodents.

The researchers were able to show that the bacteria cause the mice to lose their fear of cats and thus make it far more likely they would get eaten, helping the parasitic bacteria to complete their life cycle in their main host.

A Discovery Channel program, The World’s Dirtiest Man, made an interesting statement in this regard (paraphrasing): as many as 90 percent of the cells on our body are actually bacteria, leaving only 10% human.* I was shocked! I had to rewind the old Tivo and catch that again.

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Dwelling On Problems Puts Girls At Greater Risk Of Developing Anxiety And Depression

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Girls who talk very extensively about their problems with friends are likely to become more anxious and depressed.

Girls who talk very extensively about their problems with friends are likely to become more anxious and depressed.

A researcher at the University of Missouri-Columbia has found that girls who talk very extensively about their problems with friends are likely to become more anxious and depressed.

The research was conducted by Amanda Rose, associate professor of psychological sciences in the College of Arts and Science. The six-month study, which included boys and girls, examined the effects of co-rumination – excessively talking with friends about problems and concerns. Rose discovered that girls co-ruminate more than boys, especially in adolescence, and that girls who co-ruminated the most in the fall of the school year were most likely to be more depressed and anxious by the spring.

“When girls co-ruminate, they’re spending such a high percentage of their time dwelling on problems and concerns that it probably makes them feel sad and more hopeless about the problems because those problems are in the forefront of their minds. Those are symptoms of depression,” Rose said. “In terms of anxiety, co-ruminating likely makes them feel more worried about the problems, including about their consequences. Co-rumination also may lead to depression and anxiety because it takes so much time – time that could be used to engage in other, more positive activities that could help distract youth from their problems. This is especially true for problems that girls can’t control, such as whether a particular boy likes them, or whether they get invited to a party that all of the popular kids are attending.”

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More than Global Warming

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A wealth of evidence has shown that small amounts of carbon dioxide can provoke a panic attack (PA) in certain anxiety-prone individuals.

A wealth of evidence has shown that small amounts of carbon dioxide can provoke a panic attack (PA) in certain anxiety-prone individuals.

The Public Library of Science (PLoS ONE) recently published a study showing that inhalation of carbon dioxide (CO2) triggers emotional distress and a panic response in healthy people. The researchers wonder if panic is an inborn survival-oriented response. The results may better our understanding and help prevent some emotional disorders.

A wealth of evidence has shown that small amounts of carbon dioxide can provoke a panic attack (PA) in certain anxiety-prone individuals – like those diagnosed with panic disorders (PD). Panic may be an inborn behavioral response to a metabolic distress – like the triggering of a CO2 level monitor in the brain.

To test whether CO2 effectively controls emotional states, the research team of the Academic Anxiety Center at the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands (Griez et al) conducted a study in healthy volunteers breathing increasing amounts of CO2.

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Pattern Problems

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How quickly and accurately we recognize a pattern could mean the difference between death and survival 20,000 years ago.

How quickly and accurately we recognize a pattern could mean the difference between death and survival 20,000 years ago.

Patterns – it’s the stuff of life. We don’t perceive reality – we literally create it with our assumptions – based on our perception of patterns. We assume a pattern as soon as we “guess” that one exists. After that, we tend to “fill in the blanks” rather than test our hypothesis (our “guess”).

To illustrate my point, consider the following pattern:

1, 2, 3…

Can you predict the next number? Of course you can. You assume it is 4. That’s because you perceive a familiar pattern. But, what if it is not 4. What if it is 5 instead? Is the pattern broken? Maybe – unless you can perceive a new pattern, you will not be able to predict the next or the next number.

Prediction is how we survived on the plains 200,000 years ago when we were considered food by many of the then existing fauna. Correct predictions brought about survival. Incorrect predictions often brought about death. Over the course of millions of years of evolution, prediction has become so ingrained in humans as to make it invisible to us.

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The Power of Altruism

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Our human capacity for rational thought and compassion must win out in the end - or else...

Our human capacity for rational thought and compassion must win out in the end – or else…

Recently a basic tenet of economics was challenged – that people always behave selfishly. Sam Bowles argues in the June 20 edition of Science that economics sometimes gets it wrong. New experimental evidence demonstrates that people often act against their own personal self-interest in favor of the common good – in predictable, understandable ways. Poorly-designed economic programs fail to take advantage of this intrinsic moral behavior and often undermine it.

For example: In one study, six day care centers imposed a fine on parents who picked up their children late. The effect? The rate of tardiness doubled, and stayed high even when the fine was removed. Parents, it seems, stopped seeing lateness as an imposition on teachers, and instead saw it as something that could be purchased with no moral failing. The institution had missed entirely the altruistic nature of humans. Continue reading →

A Worthwhile Conversation

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I'll be nice when it's fair!

I'll be nice when it's fair!

“If you act nice to them, people won’t take you seriously.”

“What the hell do I care?”

“But if it doesn’t help you, why do it?”

“Sometimes it helps me. But don’t you just like being nice to people?”

“Sometimes. But then if they’re not nice back I get mad.”

“Yeah; just skip that part. How often are you nice to people?”

“Not too often. I’m usually waiting for them to do something where they deserve me being nice.”

“Then that’s not being nice. That’s being fair.”

Conrad Cook, Mindlist
onewetsneaker.wordpress.com

The problem with “fairness” is that it’s always lopsided: “balanced” more toward the person doing the judging of such “fairness” – my grandchildren always judge something as fair if they get what they want – and not fair if they don’t get what they want. Being nice, on the other hand is just a simple frame of mind that says, in effect, “I’m a person I respect who does nice things for others just because I can.”

Social Factors in Smoking Cessation

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lastsmokerAccording to a study by Dr. Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School and James Fowler of the University of California, San Diego, reported in the New York Times May 22, 2008, people are much more likely to stop smoking and stay stopped if they belong to a group of like-minded individuals who are also stopping or have stopped already. Further, those in such groups who found it impossible to stop smoking eventually gave in to peer pressure and stopped smoking or were ostracized by the group becoming social outcasts.

Researchers found that to improve odds of stopping smoking, those seeking to quit should seek the company of others wanting to quit or encourage smoking friends to join them in their cessation effort – creating their own social support group.

I’m all about improving the odds. Stopping smoking can be a monumental task. By allying yourself with others wanting to stop, you make the job a whole lot easier. Further, when you do stop, your social group will help you stay stopped. Now that’s a good deal.

Read more about this at the NY Times web site.

And to help you stop smoking and stay stopped, buy my book, You Can Stop Smoking and Stay Stopped Forever – available online at 1derworks.com and Amazon.com.

Eye Movement and the Hypnotic State

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When she entered hypnosis, her eyes became glazed and her blinking rate was significantly reduced.

When she entered hypnosis, her eyes became glazed and her blinking rate was significantly reduced.

A study by an international team of researchers focused on a healthy adult woman who is known to be highly susceptible to hypnosis. Specifically, her eye movements during hypnotic and waking state were measured with a special eye tracking device.

When she entered hypnosis, her eyes became glazed and her blinking rate was significantly reduced. Even more importantly, hypnosis induced dramatic reduction in eye movements that are beyond volitional control in healthy adults. None of thirty tested control subjects could mimic these changes in eye movement patterns.

Eyelid blinking and eye movement DO matter – and can be used to indicate levels of hypnotic induction. Further, it may be possible to induce the hypnotic state via eyelid blinking and eye movement (the reverse position).

The Scotoma Solution

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A scotoma is a mental situation in which one locks on to one idea and excludes all others – known as the “lock on lock out” principle. We all do it – it’s our human way of avoiding overwhelm when faced with too many choices. However, a scotoma can get you into trouble as we shall explore here.

SpongebobIn a Spongebob Squarepants cartoon, Spongebob gets up one morning and thinks he’ll create a fantastic dessert for himself. Unfortunately, his choice of ingredients cause him to have horrific halitosis (bad breath). Spongebob proceeds to go outside, where he meets several people, all of whom scream and run away from him as soon as he opens his mouth and says, “Hello.”

His conclusion – “I must be terribly ugly!”
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