background preloader

The Science of Stress, Orgasm and Creativity: How the Brain and the Vagina Conspire in Consciousness

The Science of Stress, Orgasm and Creativity: How the Brain and the Vagina Conspire in Consciousness
“The more closely we analyze what we consider ‘sexy,’” philosopher Alain de Botton argued in his meditation on sex, “the more clearly we will understand that eroticism is the feeling of excitement we experience at finding another human being who shares our values and our sense of the meaning of existence.” But in his attempt to counter the reductionism that frames human sexuality as a mere physiological phenomenon driven solely by our evolutionary biology, de Botton overcompensates by reducing in the opposite direction, negating the complex interplay of brain and biology, psychology and physiology, that propels the human sexual experience. That’s precisely what Naomi Wolf, author of the 1991 cultural classic The Beauty Myth, examines in Vagina: A New Biography (public library) — a fascinating exploration of the science behind the vastly misunderstood mind-body connection between brain and genitalia, consciousness and sexuality, the poetic and the scientific. Wolf writes:

Personality Types Whether you are searching for the ideal date or marriage partner or just someone to work for you part-time, identifying ideal personality traits is key to successful relationships. Listen to the words below and consult a dictionary if you need a definition. Write a sample sentence for each word to learn how it is used in context. [ Other Audio Options: Play RealMedia | Play Window Media ] ambitious - unmotivated generous - stingy hardworking - lazy honest - dishonest humble - bigheaded independent - dependent kind - inconsiderate nervous - calm open-minded - close-minded optimistic - pessimistic outgoing - shy punctual - late reliable - unreliable talkative - quiet unselfish - self-centered I like someone who is ___________ because ________. Now, complete the sentences below with the best answer: Think of three things to describe the ideal boss, roommate, and partner.

On the Origin of Truly Innovative Ideas Last week, I wrote about increasing innovation in your company. This week, in Part 2, we'll talk about how to create the right environment and incentives for innovation to flourish. Today's post outlines a few key ideas and strategies I've found to be extremely effective. Fear of Failure = Fear of Innovation The day before something is truly a breakthrough, it's a crazy idea. But few companies actually try crazy ideas — especially the most successful ones. Fear of failure paralyzes creativity, stops risk-taking, and ultimately slows innovation down to a halt. Why do people fear failure? Three principal reasons… Fear impacting their reputation: “If I fail, I won’t get the promotion.”Fear of losing time: “I’ve invested two years of my life, we can’t fail now!” How do you minimize fear of failure? The right environment and the right incentives. The 5-5-5 Program Here's the basic idea: Teams of 5: Break your company (division, group, etc.) into teams of five people. Why 5 people? Peter Diamandis Dr. Dr.

Free stress help, mental health, self-help, depression, anxiety, online counseling, internet counseling, free counseling, CBT, REBT, Rational Emotive Therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, ABC worksheet, herbal supplements, herbs depression, anger managme Artists 'have structurally different brains' 17 April 2014Last updated at 05:35 ET By Melissa Hogenboom Science reporter, BBC Radio Science Brain scans revealed artists have more grey matter in parts of their brains Artists have structurally different brains compared with non-artists, a study has found. Participants' brain scans revealed that artists had increased neural matter in areas relating to fine motor movements and visual imagery. The research, published in NeuroImage, suggests that an artist's talent could be innate. But training and environmental upbringing also play crucial roles in their ability, the authors report. As in many areas of science, the exact interplay of nature and nurture remains unclear. Lead author Rebecca Chamberlain from KU Leuven, Belgium, said she was interested in finding out how artists saw the world differently. In their small study, researchers peered into the brains of 21 art students and compared them to 23 non-artists using a scanning method called voxel-based morphometry. Alice Shirley - artist

Philosophy of perception Do we see what is really there? The two areas of the image marked A and B, and the rectangle connecting them, are all of the same shade: our eyes automatically "correct" for the shadow of the cylinder. The philosophy of perception is concerned with the nature of perceptual experience and the status of perceptual data, in particular how they relate to beliefs about, or knowledge of, the world.[1] Any explicit account of perception requires a commitment to one of a variety of ontological or metaphysical views. Categories of perception[edit] We may categorize perception as internal or external. Internal perception (proprioception) tells us what is going on in our bodies; where our limbs are, whether we are sitting or standing, whether we are depressed, hungry, tired and so forth.External or Sensory perception (exteroception), tells us about the world outside our bodies. The philosophy of perception is mainly concerned with exteroception. Scientific accounts of perception[edit] See also[edit]

Our Brains on Art | Patricia Leavy, PhD I am a sociologist by training. I come from academic world, reading scholarly articles on topics of social import, but they’re almost always boring, dry and quickly forgotten. Yet I can’t count how many times I’ve gone to a movie, a theater production or read a novel and been jarred into seeing something differently, learned something new, felt deep emotions and retained the insights gained. I know from both my research and casual conversations with people in daily life that my experiences are echoed by many. The arts can tap into issues that are otherwise out of reach and reach people in meaningful ways. The turn by many scholars to arts-based research is most simply explained by my opening example of comparing the experience of consuming jargon-filled and inaccessible academic articles to that of experiencing artistic works. Natalie Phillips (2012) used the fiction of Jane Austen in a study about how reading affects the brain. Research on other art forms has similar implications.

What is the Stress Response Stress is a biological and psychological response experienced on encountering a threat that we feel we do not have the resources to deal with. A stressor is the stimulus (or threat) that causes stress, e.g. exam, divorce, death of loved one, moving house, loss of job. Sudden and severe stress generally produces: Increase in heart rateIncrease in breathing (lungs dilate)Decrease in digestive activity (don’t feel hungry)Liver released glucose for energy Firstly, our body judges a situation and decides whether or not it is stressful. If the situation is judged as being stressful, the hypothalamus (at the base of the brain) is activated. The hypothalamus in the brain is in charge of the stress response. These short term responses are produced by The Fight or Flight Response via the Sympathomedullary Pathway (SAM). The Hypothalamic Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) System The adrenal cortex releases stress hormones called cortisol. Sympathomedullary Pathway (SAM) Evaluation Strengths Weakness References

Don’t Scan So Close To Me: Scanning Sting’s Musical Brain – Neuroscience News Summary: New imaging technology allowed researchers to map how Sting’s brain organizes music. Source: McGill University. What does the 1960s Beatles hit “Girl” have in common with Astor Piazolla’s evocative tango composition “Libertango”? Probably not much, to the casual listener. But in the mind of one famously eclectic singer-songwriter, the two songs are highly similar. That’s one of the surprising findings of an unusual neuroscience study based on brain scans of the musician Sting. The paper, published in the journal Neurocase, uses recently developed imaging-analysis techniques to provide a window into the mind of a masterful musician. “These state-of the-art techniques really allowed us to make maps of how Sting’s brain organizes music,” says lead author Daniel Levitin, a cognitive psychologist at McGill University. Lab tour with a twist The research stemmed from a serendipitous encounter several years ago. Daniel Levitin showing Sting his cerebellum. Unexpected connections Abstract

Related: