Mind and Consciousness

What did you grow up learning about your “mind” and “consciousness?” Although there are still multiple definitions for the mind (versus the brain), studies are showing a different concept of “mind.” According to work by Lorimer, your mind appears to be a multi-component unit that is not only interacting with the physical environment through demonstrable means, but also has the capacity to communicate with the cosmic universe through non-physical pathways. This certainly is, as the title of his book puts it, a wider science of consciousness.

Brain Hacking

Could your brain be hacked? Yes, theoretically at least. Ivan Martinovic, a computer scientist at the University of Oxford and colleagues just completed just such a study. Twenty-eight (28) participants were shown pictures of numbers, names, logos, and people. Using a program that interfaces with an electroencephalograph (EEG) device, identical to the ones marketed for entertainment and games, researchers analyzed the participant’s brain-wave activity. Researchers were looking for what's called a P300 response, a very distinct brain-wave pattern that occurs when you recognize something (e.g., a picture of your mother, your phone number written out). The results? Rsearchers were able to figure out data 15%-40% more accurately than would have occurred through random guessing. As equipment becomes more sophisticated, the percentages stand to increase.

Know Your Danger Signals

Do you know your own body’s physiological danger signals like you know the back of your hand or your face in a mirror? Hans Selye, sometimes referred to as the father of stress management, once compiled a list of what he considered physiological danger signals. For example, physical signals could include fatigue, headaches, backaches, pounding of the heart, frequent urination, diarrhea, and drying of the mouth. Emotional signals could include hypervigilance, anxiety, emotion tension, and a loss of the love of life. Behavioral signals could include irritability, unusual impulsivity, along with a tendency to overreact, take things personally, or jump to conclusions. Rather that learning to become aware of these danger signals only to perceive them as problems to be overcome, try viewing them as messages to be heeded. Your body is trying to tell you something.

Train Your Brain

You "train your brain" at some level every time you develop a habit or hone a skill. Psychologist Anna Rose Childress and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania used a combination of brain-scanning and feedback techniques to train subjects to move a cursor up and down using only their thoughts. The subjects could perform this task after just five minutes of training. Earlier studies have shown that people can learn to consciously control their brain activity if they're shown their brain activity data in real time—a technique called real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Using this technology people have learned to control chronic pain and depression. Similar feedback methods may be able to help people alter their behaviors in relation to substance abuse.

Fat-Neuron Cell Communication

Did you know about the study showing fat cells and nerve cells talk to each other? A study by Johns Hopkins University scientists: Growing fat cells and nerve cells in the same dish has produced what is believed to be the first demonstration of two-way communication between the cell types. The study, using rat and mouse cells, provides the first clear evidence that signals from fat cells can directly influence neurons outside of the brain. Researchers believe this has implications for understanding the storage and burning of fat, obesity, and related disorders such as diabetes.

Think for Yourself

Do you tend to take the advice of an "expert" (so called) instead of doing your own thinking? With hindsight, some think that the causes of the current global financial meltdown seem obvious, even predictable. Brain imaging has offered one explanation for why so few investors challenged foolhardy fiscal advice. Studies by Berns, a neuroeconomist at Emory University in Atlanta, found that the brains of participants raised few objections when presented with seemingly expert guidance. This suggested that the normal mechanisms people use to evaluate risk and reward are not being used when someone they perceive is an expert is telling them what to do. The conclusion is that people should take expert advice – fiscal, medical or otherwise – more shrewdly. In Berns' opinion, decision-making shouldn't be handed over to anyone, expert or otherwise.
Journal reference: PLoS-ONE (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0004957)

Stress and the Brain

Findings from the National Institute of Mental Health may help to explain the reason females seem to have increased vulnerability to some conditions. The studies looked at the rat brain in relation to stressors. The rat brain is reportedly quite like the human brain in some respects so tends to work well with research studies, the results of which may apply to human brains. Reportedly, when the male brain is under stress, some of the receptors on the cell surface for stress hormones tend to retreat into the cell, making the brain less stress reactive. The opposite happens in the female brain. "Even in the absence of any stress, the stress-signaling system in the female brain appears to be more sensitive from the start." The receptors remain exposed on the cell surface, allowing CRF (corticotropin releasing factor) to persist in its effect. Thus, females may be more vulnerable to at least some stress-related disorders. Learning to manage stressors effectively is important for all brains. Apparently it may even be more important for a female brain.