New Neurons

Neurons, thinking cells, are generated in the human brain in the hippocampus every day. However, their production is influenced by a number of different environmental factors. For example, the consumption of alcohol has been shown to retard the generation of new neurons. Studies have shown that rats that exercise regularly can produce twice as many new cells in the hippocampus than those who lead a more sedentary lifestyle. However, unless the rats are cognitively challenged, the new neurons disappear rather quickly and do not survive indefinitely.

(Shors, Tracey J. “Saving New Bain Cells.” Scientific American, p 47-48, march 2009)

Stroke-Weight Risk

Controlling your weight is an important way to lower stroke risk. Excess pounds strain the entire circulatory system and can lead to other health conditions, including high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and obstructive sleep apnea. But losing as little as 5% to 10% of your starting weight can lower your blood pressure and other stroke risk factors.

(Harvard Medical School: healthbeat@mail.health.harvard.edu)

Origin of Phrases, 1

I really enjoy words and learning the history behind them (etymology). Consequently, I was delighted when I received an email with the origin of several phrases. Here are some.

1.      Hot off the press: As the paper goes through the rotary printing press friction causes it to heat up. Therefore, if you grab the paper right off the press, it's hot. The expression means to get immediate information.

2.      Curfew: The word comes from the French phrase ‘couvre-feu’ that means ‘cover the fire.’ It was used to describe the time of blowing out all lamps and candles. It was later adopted into Middle English as ‘curfeu’ that later became the modern ‘curfew.’ In the early American colonies homes had no real fireplaces so a fire was built in the center of the room. In order to make sure a fire did not get out of control during the night it was required that, by an agreed upon time, all fires would be covered with a clay pot called a curfew.

3.      Ironclad: This came about from the ironclad ships of the Civil War. It meant something so strong it could not be broken.

Free 'Wont't'

Recently, neuroscientists at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin devised an experiment to find out. They used a ‘duel’ game between human brains and a brain-computer interface (BCI). The idea was to evaluate whether or not a person could alter a movement after the readiness potential (RP) for a movement has already been triggered. In other words, are humans able to stop planned movements (under conscious control). State-of-the-art measurement techniques revealed that research subjects could control their actions for much longer than previously thought--but that there‘s a ‘point of no return’ in the decision-making process [at about 200 milliseconds after the Readiness Potential], after which cancellation of movement is no longer possible. According to research-team leader, Professor John-Dylan Haynes PhD, a person’s decisions are not at the mercy of unconscious and early brain waves. Humans are able to actively intervene in the decision-making process and interrupt a movement. The key is to become aware of a thought and impulse as quickly as possible and choose ‘yes’ to follow through with it or ‘no’ to make a different choice.

Free Will—or Not

Do you really have ‘free will’ or is that yet another figment of human imagination? Philosophers in many countries have debated that very question for centuries if not eons. Benjamin Libet, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Francisco, conducted an experiment in the 1980’s to assess the nature of free will. Subjects hooked up to an electroencephalogram (EEG) were asked to push a button whenever they liked. They were also asked to note the precise time that they first became aware of the wish or urge to move. According to a report by Kurzweil, Libet’s experiments showed that distinctive ‘readiness potential’ brain activity began, on average, several seconds before study participants became aware consciously that they planned to move. Libet’s conclusion was that the desire to move arose unconsciously, and ‘free will’ could instead only come in the form of a conscious veto of what he called ‘free won’t.’ More to come.

http://www.kurzweilai.net/do-we-have-free-will?utm_source=KurzweilAI+Weekly+Newsletter&utm_campaign=12958e4ec0-UA-946742-1&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_147a5a48c1-12958e4ec0-281999441

Event Boundary

I often get questions about the reason a person decided to retrieve something from another room and, once there, cannot recall what they wanted to retrieve. Enter “Event Boundary.” Psychologists at the University of Notre Dame have discovered that passing through a doorway triggers what's known as an “Event Boundary” in your brain. This ‘boundary’ separates one set of thoughts and memories from the next. It appears that as you move through a ‘doorway’ your brain files away the thoughts you had in the previous room and prepares a blank slate for the new room. So it’s pretty simply—at least it consistently works for my brain. As I walk through the doorway I say aloud what it is I want to retrieve in the next room or garage or whatever. Voila! My brain hangs onto it. Wonderful!

Abuse-Autism Link

Studies found that women who had suffered abuse were 60 percent more likely to have a child with autism. Researchers hypothesize that the long-lasting impact of abuse on a women’s brain and body, including the immune system and stress response system may be responsible for their increased chance of having a child with autism. If the trauma is current and ongoing, seek help immediately to either stop the trauma or remove yourself from it. If it was in the past you can’t change the past. But you can recover and create a healthier future for yourself. 

  (Andrea L. Roberts et al. “Association of Maternal Exposure to Childhood Abuse With Elevated Risk for Autism in Offspring Autism and Maternal Exposure to Childhood Abuse.”)