Dangling Participles V – a grammatical faux pas        Spitting out hot lava, the ranger took pictures as the volcano exploded.        When in third grade, my aunt went back to college.        Starting out over the ocean, the hurricane force winds were terrifying.        She saw a puppy and a kitchen on the way to the store.        She wore a purple sunhat on her head, which was clearly too large.        The policeman was riding a motorcycle with a broken leg.        Please use caution when hunting pedestrians on walking trails.

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Happy Thankgiving

Quite frankly, I cannot think of much to be thankful about today. The world is in a mess, to say nothing of the US, and Australia and California due to all the fires. Just saying! Well, “Just saying,” I have many things for which to be thankful. I have outlived my parents and am in good health. I am privileged to write and speak, sharing brain function with other brains that can make their lives better—if they practically apply it. I have a wonderful family of choice, and although we cannot all be together on Thanksgiving, I know they are thinking of me and I am definitely thinking of them. My home was not destroyed in the California earthquake or the many fires—although I had to evacuate several times. Everywhere I look there are those less fortunate than I am and on this day I am doing what I can to brighten their day. Are you looking down and back or up and forward? It’s your choice.

Parkinson's and Essential Tremor, 2

Is there a difference between Parkinson’s Disease and Essential Tremor? If so, can they explained in language that a lay person can understand?

Good question. There have been multiple studies and many descriptions of these two conditions. Essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease are both neurological conditions. It so happens that tremors are a characteristic feature of both. One description pointed out that Essential Tremor has an autosomal dominant trait (e.g., a pattern of inheritance in which an affected individual has one copy of a mutant gene and one normal gene on a pair of autosomal chromosomes). Parkinson’s disease appears not to have this pattern of inheritance and is related to dopamine. The characteristic clinical feature of Essential Tremor is bilateral, low amplitude tremor, prominently in the upper limbs. Parkinson’s disease is a movement disorder that can eventually include cognitive impairments as well—especially in the late stages.  The reference below is written in easy-to-understand language.

https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-essential-tremor-and-parkinsons-disease/

Parkinson's and Essential Tremor

Is there anything new about treating these tremors? The medication is killing me and doing little good and my hand shakes so badly I need someone to hold my arm steady just so I can put a pill into my mouth!

Essentially tremor is a challenge that most people have no idea about when they neither have it or know someone with Parkinson’s. Late last year, the FDA reportedly approved a new noninvasive treatment for both types of tremors. Known as Noninvasive Exablate Neuro, it utilizes MRI to guide ultrasound waves directly to the areas of the brain that are most affective. It destroys misfiring brain cells without requiring the opening of the skull or the implanting of electrodes, both of which require opening the skull. You might want to discuss this with your Neurologist and see if you are a candidate for this relatively new procedure.

Brain and Music Recognition

Brain and Music Recognition Does anything different happen in the brain when it hears familiar versus unfamiliar music? Good question. A study showed a couple of things show that the brain has recognized a piece of familiar music. According to the abstract, researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) and pupillometry to reveal the temporal signatures of the brain processes that allow differentiation between a familiar, well liked, and an unfamiliar piece of music. Professor Chait pointed out that the eye pupil dilated within 100-300 milliseconds after the start of a song if the subject recognized a familiar song; and a burst of electrical activity in the brain occurred around 500-800 milliseconds after the start of the song. These effects do not occur when the brain does not recognize familiar music. So, yes, something different does happen in the brain when it recognizes familiar music--especially when it likes the music!

Brain Creativity and Sleep

Someone told me that creative people have sleep disorders. Is that really true? Studies at the University of Haifa found that people who are more creative tend to go to sleep later, get up later, and have worse sleep overall. They studied both visually and auditorily creative subjects. Both reported sleep disturbances during the night. Higher visual creativity was associated with higher sleep disturbance, daytime dysfunction, and lower overall sleep quality. Higher verbal creativity was associated with longer sleep duration and later sleep midpoint. No one knows the reason for this. Conjecture by the study’s authors theorized that a ‘surplus’ of visual creativity might make the individual more alert, and this could lead to sleep disturbances. For the verbally creative individuals, protracted sleep might facilitate processes that support the creative process while they are awake.

Iclandic Horses and Genetics

Are “Genetics” the reason Iceland carefully manages their Icelandic Horses differently from other countries? I do not breed horses so am unfamiliar with policies of different countries. When in Iceland however, I was told that the Icelandic horse breed was developed in Iceland. The horses are not huge, sometimes the size of a pony, but they are beautiful with long manes. They have two gaits in addition to the typical walk, trot, and canter/gallop commonly displayed by other breeds. These horses are said to be long-lived and hardy. In Iceland these Icelandic horses are plagued with very few diseases. I also learned that Iceland has a law that prevents horses from being imported into the country. In addition, if someone exports an Icelandic horse to another country, the animal is not permitted to return to Iceland. The only breed of horse in Iceland, these horses are also popular internationally. Apparently, sizable populations exist in Europe and North America. The breed is still used for traditional sheepherding work in Iceland, as well as for leisure, showing, and racing.