Consciousness

Consciousness. It has intrigued me for a long time. As an article in New Scientist put it, how does a kilogram or so of nerve cells conjure up the seamless kaleidoscope of sensations, thoughts, memories and emotions that occupy every waking moment. In Ramachandran's book The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human he put it this way: How can a three-pound mass of jelly that you can hold in your palm imagine angels, contemplate the meaning of infinity, and even question its own place in the cosmos? And Dennett in Consciousness Explained wrote: Human consciousness is just about the last surviving mystery. A mystery is a phenomenon that people don't know how to think about—yet. Well, my brain's opinion is that whether or not we understand it or know how to think about it, conscious awareness is critical to living human life successfully by design. When you can label and describe something, you just might be able to do something about it, to manage it in a way that provides you with positive outcomes. It’s sort of like watching your mind in action and then collaborating with it . . .

http://www.newscientist.com/special/consciousness?prom=6063&intcmp=SUBS-oth-consciousness_pagepushdown

Gongoozle and the Brain

The art of gongoozling has all but disappeared from our modern work-a-day world and I, for one, think it's time we brought it back--to our vocabulary and to our lifestyle. The word gongoozle, according to Wiktionary, may have come from the Lincolnshire dialect (e.g., gawn and goose both mean stare or gape) and suggests some leisurely watching of something or other, originally probably boats going by from the bank of a canal or bridge. The other day I realized that gongoozling is something I love doing whenever I visit my cousin in Victoria, BC. His house is located on the banks of the inside passage and sitting on the deck, steaming cup of hot tea at the ready, it is a delicious treat to watch sea creatures, passing cruise ships, the ebb and flow of the waves, eagles and seagulls circling overhead, the movement of leaves in the breeze . . .nothing and everything.  I often recall that pleasure and look forward to the next opportunity.  Recently I realized there's no reason to gongoozle only when I visit Canada. I can do a bit of gongoozling here at home. There's plenty of opportunity. I just had to look for it. You just might want to add it to your vocabulary and to your lifestyle, too.

Light and the Brain, 2 of 2

Researchers at the University of Montreal and Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital have linked light with cognitive brain function and theorized that light is key to maintaining sustained attention (e.g., the brain’s performance is improved when light is present during tasks). Specialized photoreceptors in the retina (intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells or ipRGCs appear to function even in the brains of individuals who were totally blind. According to senior co-author Steven Lockley, fMRI studies showed that during an auditory working memory task, less than a minute of blue light activated brain regions important to perform the task. These regions are involved in alertness and cognition regulation as well being as key areas of the default mode network. This default network apparently helps to keep a minimal amount of resources available for monitoring the environment when the individual is not actively doing something, which could indicated that light is key to maintaining sustained attention.

http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/jocn_a_00450

Light and the Brain, 1 of 2

Did you know that “light” stimulates cognitive brain activity, even in individuals who are sight-challenged? That’s the result of research from the University of Montreal and Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Senior co-author Julie Carrier reported that light stimulates day-like brain activity, improving alertness and mood, and enhancing performance on many cognitive tasks. More surprisingly, the brain appears to still respond to light in the brains of individuals who have no conscious vision. Their study results showed that their brains could still “see,” or detect, light via a novel photoreceptor in the ganglion cell layer of the retina, different from the rods and cones signted individuals use to see. Known as intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs). These specialized photoreceptors in the retina contribute to visual function in the brain even when cells in the retina responsible for normal image formation have lost their ability to receive or process light.

Aging and Labels Recall

Do you have difficulty recalling names? Do you assume that this is because you are getting older? What are you telling your brain? Recently I was speaking for a group of senior citizens (whatever that term really means). During the Q&A the majority of questions related to a perceived failure to readily recall names and labels. I explained that new research showed that some individuals recall labels very quickly which others are much slower. This difference appeared to relate to the use of differing pathways across the corpus callosum, the largest band of horizontal connecting fibers in the brain (and one of several bridges between the right and left hemispheres).  In addition, since the brain wants "congruence," telling yourself that you cannot recall "such and such"  stimulates the brain to search its memory banks for other instances when you could not recall "such and such." This can not only help the individual to believe he or she is really losing it but also may program the brain to stop trying to recall. What you tell yourself is critically important. When I asked several of these individuals whether they had ever had very fast recall of names and labels, the answer was no. As they aged, however, they began to ascribe the slower recall to aging. Stop it! Tell yourself, "I am recalling the information I need to remember," and then be patient while the brain searches for it. When it does give it to you, thank you brain:  "Good job! Thank you!"

Superfluous Apologies

A recent article by Alison Wood Brooks, Harvard Business School, discussed existing apology research, which has conceptualized apologies as a tool to rebuild relationships following a transgression. She also included information from four studies that discussed something called superfluous apologies, defined as expression of regret for an undesirable circumstance for which the apologizer is clearly not responsible (e.g., heavy traffic, bad weather). This strategy was found to demonstrate empathetic concern for the victim and increase that person’s trust in the apologizer. My understanding of the difference between the words “I’m sorry” (you personally contributed to the event or mishap) versus “I regret” (you are demonstrating empathetic concern for what happened although you are not culpable), plays into this in my opinion. Women sometimes overuse the term “I’m sorry.” Therefore I reserve “I’m sorry” for an apology related to my own actions. I am becoming increasingly comfortable, however, using the words “I regret” to express empathy for an adverse or unfortunate event to which I did not contribute. Empathy is good as reinforced by these studies.

Your Brain's Motion Quotient

A study at the University of Rochester in New York has found that individuals whose brains are better at automatically suppressing background motion perform better on IQ tests. As a person’s IQ increases, so too does his or her ability to filter out distracting background motion, with a correlation of 71 percent. By comparison, research on the relationship between intelligence and color discrimination, sensitivity to pitch, and reaction times have found only a 20 to 40 percent correlation. This is the first purely sensory assessment to be strongly correlated with IQ and may provide a non-verbal and culturally unbiased tool for scientists seeking to understand neural processes associated with general intelligence. However, in life you often give up something to get something. When presented with larger images, the higher a person’s IQ, the slower they were at detecting movement. According to the researchers, the counter-intuitive inability to perceive large moving images is a perceptual marker for the brain’s ability to suppress background motion.