Religious Experiences Shrink Part of the Brain The article, “Religious factors and hippocampal atrophy in late life,” by Amy Owen and colleagues at Duke University represents an important advance in our growing understanding of the relationship between the brain and religion. The study, published March 30 in PLoS One, showed greater atrophy in the hippocampus in individuals who identify with specific religious groups as well as those with no religious affiliation. It is a surprising result, given that many prior studies have shown religion to have potentially beneficial effects on brain function, anxiety, and depression. A number of studies have evaluated the acute effects of religious practices, such as meditation and prayer, on the human brain. In this study, Owen et al. used MRI to measure the volume of the hippocampus, a central structure of the limbic system that is involved in emotion as well as in memory formation. This is an interesting hypothesis. Thus, Owen and her colleagues certainly pose a plausible hypothesis.
A mind of one's own Soul Dust: the Magic of Consciousness Nicholas HumphreyQuercus, 288pp, £25 Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain Antonio DamasioWilliam Heinemann, 384pp, £25 The republic of letters is in thrall to an unprecedented scientism. The word is out that human consciousness - from the most elementary tingle of sensation to the most sophisticated sense of self - is identical with neural activity in the human brain and that this extraordinary metaphysical discovery is underpinned by the latest findings in neuroscience. Given that the brain is an evolved organ, and, as the evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky said, nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution, the neural explanation of human consciousness demands a Darwinian interpretation of our behaviour. The differences between human life in the library or the operating theatre and animal life in the jungle or the savannah are more apparent than real: at the most, matters of degree rather than kind.
Peanut Butter is Green Save to del.icio.us — tags food peanutbutter environment Add to Stumbleupon One of the daily decisions we all face is what to eat. How do we eat well and in a way that’s good for the environment — and at the same time have meals that are easy to fix and taste good? One food that fits all this is the simple Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. Eating a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich instead of a grilled cheese or chicken sandwich saves 2.5 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. I bet you didn’t realize that eating three Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches could have the same environmental impact as switching your showers to a low-flow shower head. This is the type of information we want to share. In addition to being better for the environment, they’re also very healthy as long as you don’t eat too much. According to the WebMD article, “It is hard to believe that something so wonderful could also be good for you.” Again, according to Bonci, the serving size is 2 tablespoons. Next Actions:
Sleepy brain waves predict dream recall : Neurophilosophy THE patterns of brain waves that occur during sleep can predict the likelihood that dreams will be successfully recalled upon waking up, according to a new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience. The research provides the first evidence of a ‘signature’ pattern of brain activity associated with dream recall. It also provides further insight into the brain mechanisms underlying dreaming, and into the relationship between our dreams and our memories. Cristina Marzano of the Sleep Psychophysiology Laboratory at the University of Rome and her colleagues recruited 65 students, selected on the basis of their sleeping habits. All of them had a regular sleep ‘routine’, going to bed at around the same time, and sleeping for an average of seven-and-a-half hours, every night. On the second night, the researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure the participants’ brain waves while they slept, and woke them up during specific types of sleep. Marzano, C., et al. (2011).
wiki : The Noosphere and The Gaian Mind The only truly natural and real human unity is the spirit of the Earth.—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin The noosphere can be seen as the "sphere of human thought" being derived from the Greek ("nous") meaning "mind" in the style of "atmosphere" and "biosphere". In the original theory of Vernadsky, the noosphere is the third in a succession of phases of development of the Earth, after the geosphere (inanimate matter) and the biosphere (biological life). The word is also sometimes used to refer to a transhuman consciousness emerging from the interactions of human minds. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin became enthralled with the possibilities for humankind, which he saw as heading for an exciting convergence of systems, an "Omega point" where the coalescence of consciousness will lead us to a new state of peace and planetary unity. To this end, he suggested that the Earth in its evolutionary unfolding, was growing a new organ of consciousness, called the noosphere. See Also
Celsius & Fahrenheit Origins A Straight Dope Classic from Cecil's Storehouse of Human Knowledge December 15, 1989 Dear Cecil: Everybody knows 0 degrees on the Celsius scale is the freezing point of water and 100 degrees is the boiling point. — Leslie, Montreal, Quebec Cecil replies: Researchers have gone to their graves trying to figure out what old man Fahrenheit was up to, Leslie. Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686-1736) was a German instrument maker who invented the first practical mercury thermometer. Romer had decided that the boiling point of water should be 60 degrees, which at least had the strength of numerological tradition behind it (60 minutes in an hour, right?). D.G., simple soul that he was, thought this cockeyed system was the soul of elegance. By and by Fahrenheit got ready to present his scale to London's Royal Society, the scientific big leagues of the day. Later Fahrenheit established that the boiling point of water came in at 212 degrees. Now for a little bonus info. — Cecil Adams
Human echolocation activates visual parts of the brain : Neurophilosophy WE all know that bats and dolphins use echolocation to navigate, by producing high frequency bursts of clicks and interpreting the sound waves that bounce off objects in their surroundings. Less well known is that humans can also learn to echolocate. With enough training, people can use this ability to do extraordinary things. Teenager Ben Underwood, who died of cancer in 2009, was one of a small number of blind people to master it. Very little research has been done on human echolocation, and nothing is known about the underlying brain mechanisms. Psychologist Lore Thaler of the University of Western Ontario and her colleagues recruited two expert echolocators for the new study. The researchers seated their participants in a sealed room, placed various objects in front of them, and asked them to produce echolocation clicks. EB and LB could accurately determine the size, shape, position and movements of objects in both situations. Related: Thaler, L., et al. (2011).
Cosmic consciousness Cosmic consciousness is a book published by Richard Maurice Bucke in 1901, in which he explores the phenomenon of Cosmic Consciousness, "a higher form of consciousness than that possessed by the ordinary man", a consciousness of "the life and order of the universe". History[edit] In 1901 Canadian psychiatrist Richard Maurice Bucke published Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind, in which he explores the phenomenon of Cosmic Consciousness, "a higher form of consciousness than that possessed by the ordinary man", a consciousness of "the life and order of the universe". Bucke discerns three forms or grades of consciousness: Simple consciousness, possessed by both animals and mankind;Self-consciousness, possessed by mankind, encompassing thought, reason, and imagination;Cosmic consciousness, a consciousness of "the life and order of the universe", possessed by few man, but a next step of human evolution, to be reached by all in the future. According to Juan A.
10 Minutes Of Staring at Boobs Daily Prolongs Man's Life by 5 Years Listen, guys, now we know why Pamela Anderson made her transplants: to make us healthier. "Angels of mercy" like Jordan just prolong our life and Hugh Hefner knows it. A German research published in New England Journal of Medicine and Weekly World News said that men staring at women's breasts in fact prolong their lives with years. "Just 10 minutes of staring at the charms of a well-endowed female such as Baywatch actress Pamela Lee is equivalent to a 30-minute aerobics work-out," said author Dr. The team led by Weatherby was made up of researchers at three hospitals in Frankfurt, Germany, and found this results after monitoring for 5 years the health of 200 male subjects, half of whom were asked to look at busty females daily, while the other half had to abstain from doing so. For five years, the boob oglers presented a lower blood pressure, slower resting pulse rates and decreased risk of coronary artery disease. "Sexual excitement gets the heart pumping and improves blood circulation.