Explaining emotion in the brain Emotion has become a well-represented, and well-respected, topic of neuroscientific inquiry, as borne out by its exponential increase in citation indices (e.g. increases in publications with the word in their title by 300 in the 1980s, by 900 in the 1990s and by >1600 in the past 6 years according to Science Citation Index). The reasons for this increase lie with advances both in our theoretical understanding of emotions and in the development of new tools for exploring their neural basis—notably functional neuroimaging. These efforts have resulted in important advances also in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological and psychiatric diseases, many of which feature dysfunctional emotions as one of the most disabling components. It is thus timely to take stock of what we have learned, and to publish books that summarize the state of the field. Edmund Rolls' latest book, Emotion Explained, provides such a summary. EMOTION EXPLAINED By Edmund T. Fig. 2.1 Fig. 4.3 © The Author (2006).
Binge eaters' dopamine levels spike at sight, smell of food Monday, February 28, 2011 Brain scans comparing the effects of methylphenidate plus food stimulation to placebo plus neutral stimulation in obese binge eaters and obese control subjects who were not binge eaters. Since the radiotracer competes with the brain’s natural dopamine to bind to receptors, a weaker signal from the tracer (less red) indicates more dopamine in the brain. The decrease in red in the binge eaters exposed to food and methylphenidate (lower right) compared to the placebo/neutral stimulation condition (lower left) therefore indicates that food stimulation triggered a spike in dopamine levels in these subjects. A brain imaging study at the U.S. "These results identify dopamine neurotransmission, which primes the brain to seek reward, as being of relevance to the neurobiology of binge eating disorder," said study lead author Gene-Jack Wang, a physician at Brookhaven Lab and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Results DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory:
A rich club in the human brain Wednesday, November 2, 2011 This image shows the group connectome, with the nodes and connections colored according to their rich-club participation. Green represents few connections. Red represents the most. Credit: Reprinted with permission: Van den Heuvel, et al. The Journal of Neuroscience 2011 Just as the Occupy Wall Street movement has brought more attention to financial disparities between the haves and have-nots in American society, researchers from Indiana University and the University Medical Center Utrecht in The Netherlands are highlighting the disproportionate influence of so called "Rich Clubs" within the human brain. Not all regions of the brain, they say, are created equal. "We've known for a while that the brain has some regions that are 'rich' in the sense of being highly connected to many other parts of the brain," said Olaf Sporns, professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences in IU's College of Arts and Sciences.
Could a brain scan diagnose you as a psychopath? | Chris Chambers | Science Society is intrigued by psychopaths, at least from a distance. Hollywood paints them as powerful and emotionless predators – a small few who have embraced their inner dark passengers. Whether it is Gordon Gekko, Catherine Tramell, or Dexter Morgan, the mythology of the psychopath is captivating. Psychopathy is of course a very real disorder and a lot more complex than portrayed on film. For many years, the gold standard for diagnosing psychopathy has been various forms of behavioural assessment. “I was looking at many scans, scans of murderers mixed in with schizophrenics, depressives and other, normal brains. What Fallon found was his own scan, which appeared to show reduced activity in a part of the brain associated with empathy. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard from Fallon. If all ravens are black then all black birds must be ravens, right? One of the most obvious mistakes in Fallon’s reasoning is called the fallacy of reverse inference. Seek and ye shall find
Children are naturally prone to be empathic and moral Related images(click to enlarge) University of Chicago Children between the ages of seven and 12 appear to be naturally inclined to feel empathy for others in pain, according to researchers at the University of Chicago, who used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scans to study responses in children. The responses on the scans were similar to those found in studies of adults. Researchers found that children, like adults, show responses to pain in the same areas of their brains. "This study is the first to examine in young children both the neural response to pain in others and the impact of someone causing pain to someone else," said Jean Decety, Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Chicago, who reported the findings in the article, "Who Caused the Pain? The programming for empathy is something that is "hard-wired" into the brains of normal children, and not entirely the product of parental guidance or other nurturing, said Decety.
Fossils Of 500 Million Year Old Marine Predator Anomalocaris Discovered | FinestDaily ShareShare A recent discovery in the field of paleontology reveals probably the oldest predator known to man. The fossils found on Kangaroo Island are being studied by scientists from the University of Adelaide, Australia. The fossilized eyes belonged to the 500 million-year-old Anomalocaris, a marine creature believed to be at the top of the food chain in prehistoric times. A full story regarding this subject will be available in December’s issue of Nature. Taking into consideration the studies so far, it seems that the Anomalocaris had extremely acute vision, considered better than any other insects or crustaceans, even by today’s standards. Thanks to the discovery of its eyes, meticulous analysis shows amazing details when it comes to optical design, with some similarities much alike contemporary crabs, flies and kin. These fossils make the Anomalocaris the ancestor of today’s arthropods, alongside other evolutionary implications that affect a lot of species.
100 Very Cool Facts About The Human Body The Brain The human brain is the most complex and least understood part of the human anatomy. There may be a lot we don’t know, but here are a few interesting facts that we’ve got covered. Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles per hour. Hair and Nails While they’re not a living part of your body, most people spend a good amount of time caring for their hair and nails. Facial hair grows faster than any other hair on the body. Internal Organs Though we may not give them much thought unless they’re bothering us, our internal organs are what allow us to go on eating, breathing and walking around. The largest internal organ is the small intestine. Bodily Functions We may not always like to talk about them, but everyone has to deal with bodily functions on a daily basis. Sneezes regularly exceed 100 mph. Sex and Reproduction As taboo as it may be in some places, sex is an important part of human life as a facet of relationships and the means to reproduce. Senses
Microsoft Word Games - Board Game Templates by Dr. Jeff Ertzberger UNC Wilmington Printable Board Games Create your own game board such as "Science Time" or "Ms. Questions Game Board". Then you or your students write down questions to use with them game. Pass out one game board to each group of students. They then use the questions to play the game boards. Download Blank Board Template One Download Blank Board Template Two Download Blank Board Template Three (Patterns) Download Blank Board Template Four (Colors) Question Card Template Car Race Board | Fall Game Board | View Video Tutorial | Purchase More Board Game Templates Now! Want Even More Game Boards? Want more MS Word Board Games? Scrambled Words! I got this idea from watching the programs you can buy where you type in a word or phrase and then it prints out a page that has symbols that you have to decode using a key below. Download Scrambled Words - Webdings Font Download Scrambled Words - Wingdings Font Download Scrambled Words - Symbol Font Download Scrambled Words - Wingdings2 Font
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