Altering Beliefs

According to Neurotheologians such as Andrew Newberg, MD, even what constitutes a proof about something is itself a form of belief. Beliefs are susceptible to alterations especially in the presence of authoritarian as well as family and/or peer-group pressure. If the pressure becomes to great some “run away” from the environment. They may leave a specific culture behind for another part of the world or relocate in order to join a specific culture. The human brain, especially the left frontal lobe of the cerebrum, is always trying to come up with reasons for things and is very susceptible to deceptions and illusions. Studies have shown that neither child nor adult brains have a well-developed capacity to distinguish the accuracy of their beliefs; adults are particularly vulnerable in terms of maintaining self-deceptive beliefs. Therefore, in addition to identifying your beliefs, it is important to know your reasons for keeping, altering, or discarding a belief.

 A new video is posted every Saturday morning

https://www.youtube.com/@braingurutaylor/videos

Health & Beliefs

Someone told me recently that with my “bizarre beliefs” I could expect my health to deteriorate. Does that have any basis in fact?

Your biology (body) adapts to your beliefs, especially in relation to health. What you "believe" will happen (e.g., "I'm going to catch that cold!") often tends to happen. In fact, your beliefs may even impact your genetic potential. Estimates are that your genetic inheritance impacts about 30% of how well and how long you live—up to 70% of how long and how well you live is in your hands. Once embraced and acted upon, beliefs can take on a life of their own and run in the background, as it were, much like apps run in the background on your mobile phone. Although it can be a challenge to bring your beliefs to conscious awareness it is important to do so because you can manage (and maintain, change, or discard) only what you can consciously identify, label, and describe.

Beliefs & Epigenetics

According to Dr. Bruce Lipton, arguably the foremost current living authority on Epigenetics, how environment impacts your genetics and cellular memory, has pointed out that beliefs act like camera filters, changing the way you see the world. Some inclination for beliefs may be hard-wired into the brain and/or to cellular memory from biological ancestors. In addition, emotions bind your brain’s perceptions to your beliefs making them seem even more real. And depending on the specific emotion: joy, anger, fear, or sadness, they can lock that belief into cement, in a manner of speaking. Bill Wilson, creator of the 12-Step program for alcoholics said: “No one can make much of a life until self-searching has become a regular habit." Therefore, it may be critically important to examine your beliefs—especially those related to race, cultural, sexual, health, religious, and political beliefs. 

Thank you for subscribing to my YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/@braingurutaylor/videos

Origin of Beliefs

Where do beliefs come from anyway?

Your brain and the mind it created are at the root of your beliefs—based on what you are taught and what you learn (which are often very different), cellular memory—a type of epigenetics whereby memories of biological ancestors and their behaviors as far back as at least three or four generations are retained in your cells that have a nucleus. These subconscious memories may be filed on protein strands in the cell nucleus and may tend to push you toward specific behaviors although they don’t hold a gun to your head metaphorically to force you to embrace and exhibit the behavior(s). Your brain also creates beliefs based on the role-modeling of older siblings and of adults around you and within your environment; from the script you were metaphorically handed at birth, from what you watch on television and movies, and from your own life experiences and observations.

Belief Systems

Recently I was asked how many belief systems exist on Planet Earth. Since every brain is different and beliefs are a brain’s own opinion, then in a sense each brain has its own belief system, which means there are seven billion plus belief systems (give or take a few) on this planet. To put it another way, each brains only has its own opinion. People talk about soft science and hard science, for example, as if hard science, so called, comes from some absolute authority. Human brains planned every research project, analyzed the data, and developed a conclusion. Everything is filtered through someone’s brain . . . Therefore,  often preface a statement by saying “My brain’s opinion is . . .” or “In my brain’s opinion,” because I am clear that’s what it is. No matter that it may be based on research or empirical observation and experience, my brain filters everything as does every other functional brain on earth.

 Please subscribe to my YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/@braingurutaylor/videos 

Bias to Belief

An unmanaged brain bias can turn into a belief—a semi-automatic or automatic habit and response to which you give little if any conscious or analytical thought. A belief is a tacit acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists. Think of it as a label for your brain’s opinion about something (e.g., politics, religion, culture, gender, or you name it). It is a state of mind in which you perceive the likelihood of something being true (with or without empirical—experiential or observational—evidence), which means that since every brain is unique every brain has different beliefs. The behaviors and practices you exhibit tend to be based on your beliefs—in combination with your values; what you personally deem to be of paramount importance to yourself personally and to your family, friends, school, work, country and so on.

A new video is posted every Saturday morning

https://www.youtube.com/@braingurutaylor/videos

What Bias Does

Your brain’s bias (to paraphrase some definitions) might tell you that those who are more like you in gender, appearance, and age, are more likely to be “safer” as compared to those you do not know. Therefore, a healthy ability to discriminate based on healthy and functional bias assessments is likely to help keep you safe. Unmanaged bias, however, or a warped bias can turn into learned bigotry, racism, and prejudice—all of which can become ingrained beliefs that tend to prompt and influence all your actions and behaviors. In fact, your beliefs can become semi-automatic or automatic habits and responses to which you give little if any conscious or analytical thought.

Your Safety Bias

Your built-in bias is designed to help keep you safe. Well, safer. Your brain’s bias (to paraphrase some definitions) might tell you that those who are more like you in gender, appearance, and age, are more likely to be “safer” as compared to those you do not know. Therefore, a healthy ability to discriminate based on healthy and functional bias assessments is likely to help keep you safe. Unmanaged bias, however, or a warped bias can turn into learned bigotry, racism, and prejudice—all of which can become ingrained beliefs that tend to prompt and influence all your actions and behaviors. In fact, your beliefs can become semi-automatic or automatic habits and responses to which you give little if any conscious or analytical thought.

 Thank you for subscribing to my YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/@braingurutaylor/videos

Built-in Bias

The human brain appears to be born with a “built-in bias” specifically related to a sense of safety. Some say this built-in bias constitutes the fastest decision the brain ever makes. It appears that no brain is completely unbiased, notwithstanding that many brains claim they have no bias or are completely unbiased. In reality, it is what you don’t even know you don’t know that can cause you problems. When does the brain activate this bias? It makes a lightning-fast decision about safety every time it encounters someone or something for the first time.

If it is a person, the brain evaluates “Is this person like me? If not, what are the differences, and am I SAFE?”

If it is a thing, the brain evaluates: “Have I seen this something before and am I SAFE?” 

Brain & Bias

Our group got into a bit of a row over dinner last night because a rather opinionated guest said that anyone who was biased against (such-and-such) was an unmitigated idiot. How does the brain deal with bias?

Merriam-Webster dictionary describes the noun “bias” as a tendency to believe that some people, some ideas, etc., are better than others, which usually results in treating some people unfairly. Wikipedia puts it this way: Bias is an inclination or outlook to present or hold a partial perspective, often accompanied by a refusal to consider the possible merits of alternative points of view. When the word bias is used as a verb, one definition puts it this way: to feel or show inclination or prejudice for or against someone or something. Interestingly enough, it appears that the human brain comes with a specific built-in bias. 

Please subscribe to my YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/@braingurutaylor/videos

Homographs & Heteronyms

 Will you please repost your blogs about why English can be such a challenging language to master? Explain them again, too. I enjoy them so much.

 Homographs are words that are spelled the same but that have more than one meaning. Heteronyms are homographs that are spelled the same but that are pronounced differently. English is my native language. I have often wondered what it would be like to learn it as a second language. Have fun with these. I’ll include more in other posts.

• To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
• The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
• The bass player credits his competence to his love of poached bass.

 A new video is posted every Saturday morning

https://www.youtube.com/@braingurutaylor/videos

Long-term Memory

Long-term memory is designed to store information for long periods of time. It may be until the end of a quarter or semester or the entire school year until you can get through the tests, or in some cases for as long as the brain is alive. The hippocampus, your brain’s “browser” plays a role in storing the information as well as attempting to retrieve the stored information upon request. The transfer process appears to make actual physical changes to neurons and their connections. Recent studies are suggesting that long-term memories are stored diffusely in the synapses, the space between neurons. When you want to pull up a long-term memory, the hippocampus gets busy collecting or retrieving the bits that constitute the memory. The process helps to explain how sometimes part of the memory may be missing. When this occurs, the brain may try to reconstruct the missing piece in ways that may change the original memory somewhat. This means that memories can change over time and may not be completely reliable. 

Working Memory

Working memory appears to develop later and at a slower pace than short-term memory. It is related to temporary activation of neurons in the brain allowing you to “hold in temporary memory” information that is needed for longer periods of time than short-term memory. For example, information that is needed for a wide range of cognitive tasks involved with reasoning, manipulation of information, decision-making and behaviors. For example, repeating numbers in the same order they were presented (e.g., a phone numbers) would be a short-term memory task, while repeating the numbers backwards would be a working memory task. Working memory can be impaired by alcohol abuse and by acute and chronic psychological stress. The bad news: the more stress in one's life the lower the efficiency of working memory in performing simple cognitive tasks. The good news: study participants who performed exercises that reduced the intrusion of negative thoughts showed an increase in their working memory capacity.

 Thank you for subscribing to my YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/@braingurutaylor/videos

Short-term Memory

Short-term memory is involved in hanging onto information for short periods of time. For example, 30 seconds during which you can jot down or punch in a phone number, or remembering the three items you need purchase at the grocery story, or where you parked your car, especially if you stopped long enough to tie the location of your car to a visual landmark. Some large stores such as Walmart have placed numbers at the end of each parking row to help shoppers avoid “losing” their cars.” Short-term memory is believed to involve primarily in the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex. Short-term memory loss may be observed when a brain cannot recall what happened 15 minutes ago. Insufficient supplies of oxygen to the brain can negatively impact short-term memory along with alcohol and drug abuse, concussions, traumatic brain injuries, and other medical conditions such as seizures, epilepsy, and depression. 

Memory

Are different parts of the brain involved in different types of memory?

It appears that this is true. Short-term memory, working memory, and long-term memory all differ somewhat from each other, although there is some debate and perhaps some overlap. Different types of memory do appear to involve different parts of the brain. Each type appears to engage different neural subsystems within the prefrontal cortex, the parietal lobes, the hippocampus, and the synapses or spaces between the neurons. Exposure to chronic stress can lead to profound memory deficits along with atrophy of the dendrites that fan out around the cell body and that pull information into the cells. 

 Please subscribe to my YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/@braingurutaylor/videos

Oniomania & Serotonin

Compulsive shoppers have been shown to be deficient in serotonin, a brain substance that impacts mood. Kellet and Bolton have described compulsive buying as the experience of having an irresistible–uncontrollable urge that results in excessive, expensive, and time-consuming retail activity. Typically, it is prompted by a negative affect and the shopping and buying is an attempt to raise one’s mood. Some have called it ‘retail therapy.’ If no compulsivity is involved it may be a mood lifter. But like the use of opioids, it can be either a therapy or an addiction, depending on whether it is adaptive or maladaptive. Unfortunately, oniomania can results in gross and often overwhelming social, personal, and/or financial difficulties.

 A new video is posted every Saturday morning

https://www.youtube.com/@braingurutaylor/videos 

Oniomania

My daughter told me she has just been diagnosed with oniomania. What in the world is that? She was rather vague.

Oniomania is a medical term for an addictive, obsessive disorder that involves a need to buy things. Another name for oniomania is compulsive buying. It is a disorder that has begun to receive more attention from researchers in recent years. Estimates are that this disorder affects up to 8% of the general adult population in the US. About 90% of those affected are female. Onset occurs in the late teens or early twenties, and the disorder is generally chronic. There is window shopping and there is compulsive shopping where the individual purchases something due to a compulsion to “buy something” whether or not the person needs the item. Comorbidity is frequent, particularly mood, anxiety, substance use, eating and personality disorders. Treatment may involve individual and group psychodynamic psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy and 12-step programs. 

Nomophobia Symptoms

Nomophobia, the fear of being out of cell-phone contact, may be becoming the new ‘normal’ (meaning commonly occurring and not necessarily healthy or desirable). An article by Carol W. Berman MD ‘One Patient’s story’ published in Scientific American MIND Dr. Carol W. Berman wrote: “For clinicians like me, the true test of whether mental illness is present is the degree to which the individual’s daily life is impaired.” The signs and symptoms seen in nomophobia cases include anxiety, respiratory alterations, trembling, perspiration, agitation, disorientation,  depression, panic, fear, dependence, rejection, low self-esteem, loneliness, and tachycardia or heart palpitations..

Thank you for subscribing to my YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/@braingurutaylor/videos 

Brain & Nomophobia

Nomophobia (no mobile phone phobia) involves a fear of being out of cell-phone contact. The term came from a study by the United Kingdom Post Office in 2008. The objective was to evaluate the possibility of anxiety disorders occurring because of the overuse of mobile phones. The study reported that approximately 58% of males and 47% of females suffered from mobile phone anxiety when their mobile phones were switched off. A comparison of stress levels reported that the anxiety level was equal to “wedding day jitters.” Some believe that the term “phobia” may be misleading. In actuality, nomophobia appears to be an anxiety disorder, anxiety being a type of fear. It has been called an “over-connection syndrome,” perhaps due to the fact that an excessive use of mobile phones itself reduces the percentage of actual face-to-face interactions. For some, nomophobia may escalate into an obsession.  Reportedly, differentiating between nomophobia and OCD can be difficult. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD is believed to involve a dysregulation of the neurotransmitter serotonin, different from an anxiety disorder related to overuse of mobile phones.

Heavy Mobile Phone/Computer Use

 Technology provides many benefits to individuals and society, but it is not without its down side. Sara Thomée, doctoral student, and colleagues at the University of Gothenburg’s Sahlgrenska Academy conducted four studies to evaluate the effects of heavy computer and cell phone by young adults on sleep quality, stress levels, and general mental health. The studies found that those who make particularly heavy use of mobile phones and computers run a greater risk of sleep disturbances, stress, and symptoms of mental health. 

·       Frequent computer use without breaks was found to increase the risk of stress, sleeping problems, and depressive symptoms in women

·       Males who use mobile phones / computers extensively without breaks were more likely to develop sleeping problems.

·       Regularly using a computer late at night was associated not only with sleep disorders but also with stress and depressive symptoms in both men and women

Adequate sleep is related to cognitive performance and is independently linked with longevity. The artificial light from TV and computer screens and smart phones affects melatonin production and throws off circadian rhythms, preventing deep, restorative sleep. 

Please subscribe to my YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/@braingurutaylor/videos

Optimism and Cognition, 2

Studies on adults ages sixty-five and older have provided some scientific endorsement of cognitive benefits associated with optimism. A national survey by the US National Institute of Aging linked an optimistic mindset about the future with better problem-solving abilities and fewer memory problems. Optimism is also associated with individuals taking better care of themselves, as well as a reduced risk of heart attacks and strokes. Other studies have shown that gratitude is an antidote to fear, and fear can trigger downshifting of the brain and less ready access to some of the complex executive functions of the brain. According to Deepak Chopra, by adopting gratitude as your default position, you tell your brain that positive input far outweighs negative input. Therefore, if you want to hang onto your memory and other cognitive abilities, optimism and gratitude may be invaluable strategies. Due to the brain’s penchant for congruence, more optimism and gratitude tend to lead to higher levels of optimism and gratitude.

A new VIDEO podcast is posted every Saturday morning

https://open.spotify.com/show/3uYHO9ryZiBXDNMnUFgu3e 

https://www.youtube.com/@braingurutaylor/videos