After a fight with a partner, brain activity predicts emotional. Public release date: 9-Mar-2010 [ Print | E-mail Share ] [ Close Window ] Contact: Amy Lavoieamy_lavoie@harvard.edu 617-496-9982Harvard University Common wisdom tells us that for a successful relationship partners shouldn't go to bed angry.
But new research from a psychologist at Harvard University suggests that brain activity—specifically in the region called the lateral prefrontal cortex—is a far better indicator of how someone will feel in the days following a fight with his or her partner. Individuals who show more neural activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex are less likely to be upset the day after fighting with partners, according to a study in this month's Biological Psychiatry. "What we found, as you might expect, was that everybody felt badly on the day of the conflict with their partners," says lead author Christine Hooker, assistant professor of psychology in Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
. [ Print | E-mail AAAS and EurekAlert! Intelligence amplification. Intelligence amplification (IA) (also referred to as cognitive augmentation and machine augmented intelligence) refers to the effective use of information technology in augmenting human intelligence.
The idea was first proposed in the 1950s and 1960s by cybernetics and early computer pioneers. IA is sometimes contrasted with AI (Artificial Intelligence), that is, the project of building a human-like intelligence in the form of an autonomous technological system such as a computer or robot. AI has encountered many fundamental obstacles, practical as well as theoretical, which for IA seem moot, as it needs technology merely as an extra support for an autonomous intelligence that has already proven to function. Moreover, IA has a long history of success, since all forms of information technology, from the abacus to writing to the Internet, have been developed basically to extend the information processing capabilities of the human mind (see extended mind and distributed cognition). ..
" Research identifies gene that changes the brain's response to st. (PhysOrg.com) -- Brains change.
They change throughout life, responding to developmental but also environmental cues, like stress. Scientists know of several important proteins that play a role in what brains do with new experience. Now they have identified one, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which must be present at a certain level to enable the brain's "adaptive plasticity," particularly in response to stress. Stress can literally warp your brain, reshaping some brain structures that help cope with life’s pressures.
In the short term, the stress response can be helpful — i.e., fight or flight — but over time it leads to a wear and tear that can cause disease in both the brain and other parts of the body. The experiments homed in on the gene for a protein that, among other things, enhances the adaptability of neurons in the hippocampus, a brain region that plays a key role in mood, cognition and memory. More information: Hippocampus online: January 21, 2010. Fluid intelligence, creativity & eye movements. Various studies have looked at the relationship between creativity and intelligence.
Fluid intelligence is defined as the ability to problem solve in novel situations, and creativity involves novelty, so intuitively there is a link. An overview of the literature suggests that certain components of the creative process are indeed related to fluid intelligence levels – but not all components. One component that is related is what is called divergent thinking. This is the ability to generate a lot of diverse ideas – for instance dreaming up unconventional uses for everyday objects such as bricks and newspapers. A recent study (link) has found a correlation of 0.54, which is a strong link.
Elizabeth Shobe and colleagues have provided the first evidence that divergent thinking creativity is boosted by doing something that increases the communication between the two hemispheres of your brain – called ‘hemispheric cross-talk’. Only a few minutes – 3 to 9 minutes!