The Dopaminergic Mind in Human Evolution and History

The Dopaminergic Mind in Human Evolution and History

Author: Fred H. Previc

Date: May, 2009.

What does it mean to be human? There are many theories of the evolution of human behavior which seek to explain how our brains evolved to support our unique abilities and personalities. Most of these have focused on the role of brain size or specific genetic adaptations of the brain. In contrast, Fred Previc presents a provocative theory that high levels of dopamine, the most widely studied neurotransmitter, account for all major aspects of modern human behavior. He further emphasizes the role of epigenetic rather than genetic factors in the rise of dopamine. Previc contrasts the great achievements of the dopaminergic mind with the harmful effects of rising dopamine levels in modern societies and concludes with a critical examination of whether the dopaminergic mind that has evolved in humans is still adaptive to the health of humans and to the planet in general.

Various Cause Effects Of Video Games Psychology Essay

The most successful aspect of video games is that they provide a huge amount of human interaction through imagery and audio, thus encouraging the player to think and act quickly(Wolf, 2001, p15). This aspect makes video games different from any other forms of non-interactive media like television or radio. Video games give clear instructions about actions to be performed to reach particular levels in the game and instils a level of confidence and spirit of victory in its players. They also serve academic purposes and can be utilised as a powerful medium for educating children and youth in a very interesting and powerful manner. For example, video games involving driving can be used as a medium to teach players the traffic rules and penalties imposed if the rules are violated. Puzzle based video games give valuable practice lessons of time management, helps to sharpen specific skills needed to succeed in the game, encourages critical analysis and thought and improves cognitive abilities (Wolf, 2001, p17; Seller, 2006, p20).

Social

Video games have a part in influencing the social behaviour of young players especially children. The interactive gaming gives a virtual environment involving the player and his opponent which is essentially the computer system. In addition to promoting a level of healthy competition among players, the penalties imposed help to give due respect to fellow participants and encourages sportsman spirit to a great extent. Games which involve military contents can help to inculcate patriotism in youngsters as they are made to believe that they are protecting their country from rival attacks. Though there has been criticisms regarding the effect of video games in sparking criminal behaviour among youth, Jenkins (n.d.) observes that the hostile factors contributing to these acts are coming from unsound minds and disrupted families rather than interactive media. In fact, James Gee’s work highlights the benefits of using video games as effective media for logical problem solving and continuous improvement, thus improving the qualitative skills (Gee, 2001).

Psychological

Apart from providing relaxation and enjoyment, video games boost the player’s confidence level and raises curiosity as in most games, each level is exciting and cannot be seen unless the players pass all the previous stages. In children, the level of psychological development obtained leads to sharpening of memory and logical skills, increased mental development and simulation, making them tougher to face the challenges of the real world.

Vices

Contrary to the popular belief that video game players are just youngsters, Entertainment Software Association(ESA) has shown that 49% of game players are in the age range of 18-49 while the demographic statistics give 52% male and 48% female players (ESA, 2009, p3). The revenue obtained by video game sales in US was $11M in 2008 with Wii console games at the top according to NPD statistics (ESA, 2009, p10).

Though the video game industry has flourished and sales figures have been accelerating over the last few decades, a lot of negative publicity has affected the popularity of interactive games to a large extent. Though there are many pros, the bad effects are so obvious and derogatory that they outweigh the advantages to a large extent.

Medical

The increasing popularity of video games is making more and more youngsters spend considerable amount of time and money in front of the gaming console or computer which has harmful medical effects arising due to addiction (Gunter, 1998, p31). The addiction can lead to childhood obesity as children will find no time for outdoor games which are healthy and provides relaxation and exercise to brain, mind and body. The strain caused by continuous exposure to harmful radiation from television affects a significant number of youngsters by ending up having problems with their eyes. The adult players are even more in danger as the addiction causes a change in lifestyle which trigger a variety of fatal illnesses from high cholesterol to heart attacks in addition to causing spinal alignment problems due to wrong posture.

Psychological

Most of the video games depict violence and the motto is to kill and succeed. Young minds are particularly interested in games involving violent attacks, abusive language and homicide. Different researches have been conducted in psychological aspects due to violent video games. Anderson et al. (2007, p12-39, p40-60) has described about the different kinds of aggressive behaviour exhibited by children based on which an aggression model is created. 

The effects of violence can arise from thefts for buying video games to thrills obtained from imitation of the shootings and attacks on innocent subjects. Continuous exposure to violent media has a profound influence on the mental balance of the young player, giving a very wrong impression that ‘killing is winning’.

Social

Recent reports have shown that an average time spent by a child playing console, arcade or home video games is almost 11-13 hours/week (Gentile, 2004, p1; Olson et al.,2007, p1). It means that they get little time for social interactions, academic reading and outdoor games. 

Decrease in peer association hinders development of social etiquettes, family ties and character. The social and emotional commitments are disrupted by over indulgence in interactive media leading to a set of humans devoid of emotions, respect or self-esteem. The increasing amount of violence and destruction involved in most games and the lonely atmosphere provided acts as detrimental to good social conduct. Stromberg (n.d.) has shown that almost 50% of popular games depict either fantasy or human violence to the extent that they encourage players to become less caring and friendly. According to Gentile & Anderson (2003, p131-152), the tendency of aggressive behaviour is affected by repeated game play which often reward the players for violence.

Critical Analysis

Wirth et al. (2003) has given that the virtual environment created by video games is essential to establish a spatial presence. But the impression of world as given by games has very little relation with the original real circumstances or actions. The violence and plan of action depicted in these scenarios, if practised in actual circumstances give horrendous repercussions for both the doer and the society. Some researches show video game learning as better to classroom learning in terms of memory retention (Moreno & Meyer, 2000, p724) but it does not in any way substitute the knowledge obtained from books, classrooms or other interactive learning techniques but just complements them.

The reason for success of video games has been described as the level of “active control” involved (Greenfield, 1984, p102). Active control often enables the player to decide on the course of action to be taken to fight the circumstances which gives them an uneven control and pseudo confidence that may urge them to enact similarly in a real situation. Moreover, the points gained during shooting or killing tends to glorify the violence depicted in games. The addiction to video games often leads to fits of anger and rows between the children and parents. The first rehabilitation centre for teenagers addicted to video games has been set up in London following the urge of parents (Taylor, 2010, p9).

Parents have expressed concerns on the influence on video games on the psychological and social behaviour of children (Gunter, 1998, p35). Most video games have parental control through which the type, intensity and mode of play can be controlled by parents. But recent research has shown that only one-fifth of the parents are exercising their control over purchase of video games, with 55% of stores educating them on ratings (Walsh et al. 2003).

Lee et al. (2009, p562) have put forward that the technological aspect has an influence on violent psychological behaviour in a way that a game played using less sophisticated graphics and audio do less harm. But here also, time is the deciding factor as continuous exposure to the virtual world even in low resolution graphics can cause psychological imbalance and health problems.

Even though clear correlation between violent shooting attacks by teenagers and interactive gaming has not been established in all cases, the increase in vocal abuse and insensitiveness towards crime itself are appalling. American Health Association’s research has given results stating that time spend by teenagers belonging to lower socio-economic status playing games was almost five fold than those of their educated and rich counterparts (ScienceDaily, 2008). This shows that education, and not money is the judging factor for use of technology.

Read more: http://www.ukessays.com/

Diego, el primer niño robot que combina neurociencia, visión, psicología y aprendizaje

antena3.com  |  Madrid  | Actualizado el 30/03/2013 a las 16:46 horas
Diego es el primer proyecto multidisciplinario que incluye robótica, neurociencia, visión, psicología y aprendizaje y que se dirige hacia la robótica emocional. Es lo que se denomina "robótica emocional". El robot ve a la gente, sus gestos, expresiones y, gracias a la inteligencia artificial, aprende de los humanos como haría un bebé.

Más vídeos en Antena3

Neuroimagen y trastorno bipolar

Los jóvenes con riesgo genético de sufrir trastorno bipolar muestran una reducción en la actividad de una región cerebral relacionada con las emociones.
19.12.2012. investigacionyciencia.es

Los jóvenes con un riesgo genético de sufrir trastorno bipolar, aunque sin signos clínicos de la enfermedad, presentan una reducción en la actividad de una región cerebral relacionada con las emociones, en concreto, la circunvolución frontal inferior.

A esta conclusión han llegado en fecha reciente investigadores de la Universidad de Nueva Gales del Sur y del Instituto Black Dog, en Sidney, mediante técnicas de neuroimagen. El trastorno bipolar se caracteriza, entre otros factores, por las fluctuaciones extremas y a menudo impredecibles del estado de ánimo y los cambios conductuales (conducta desinhibida, agresividad y depresión severa). Esta sintomatología influye de manera destacada en la vida diaria de los afectados.

Menos respuesta a las emociones

«Hemos encontrado que los jóvenes con un padre o un hermano con trastorno bipolar mostraban respuestas cerebrales reducidas ante rostros emotivos, en especial ante las cara que expresaban miedo», indica Philip Mitchell, de la Universidad de Nueva Gales del Sur y autor principal del estudio. «Sabemos que el trastorno bipolar es principalmente una enfermedad biológica con una influencia genética fuerte, pero existen desencadenantes que todavía no se han entendido», añade.

A través de imágenes por resonancia magnética funcional, los científicos observaron la actividad cerebral de 47 probandos entre los 18 y 30 años con al menos un familiar de primer grado que padecía dicha psicopatología; también de 49 sujetos de control (dentro del mismo rango de edad, pero sin una historia familiar de trastorno bipolar u otras enfermedades mentales graves). A todos ellos se les mostraron fotografías de rostros felices, temerosos o neutros (en calma). Los resultados revelaron que las personas con un riesgo genético de trastorno bipolar manifestaban una reducción de la actividad en una parte específica del cerebro que regula las respuestas emocionales: la circunvolución frontal inferior.

«Nuestros resultados muestran que el trastorno bipolar puede estar relacionado con una disfunción en la regulación emocional», indica Mitchell. Según prevén los autores, la identificación precoz de este trastorno mental podría mejorar la evolución de la enfermedad y permitiría implementar programas de intervención temprana. «Esperamos que la identificación temprana mejorará de manera relevante los resultados para las personas que van a desarrollar el trastorno, e incluso permita prevenir su aparición en algunos individuos», apunta Mitchell.

Más información en Biological Psychiatry

Fuente: Universidad de Nueva Gales del Sur / EurekaAlert!

9 Holiday Depression Busters.

By Therese J. Borchard.

PsychCentral. Dec. 2012.

It’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year — but not if negative emotions take hold of your holidays. So let’s be honest. The holidays are packed with stress, and therefore provoke tons of depressionand anxiety.

But there is hope. Whether I’m fretting about something as trite as stocking stuffers or as complicated as managing difficult family relationships, I apply a few rules that I’ve learned over the years.

These 9 rules help me put the joy back into the festivities — or at least keep me from hurling a mistletoe at Santa and landing myself on the “naughty” list.

1. Expect the Worst

Now that’s a cheery thought for this jolly season. What I’m trying to say is that you have to predict bad behavior before it happens so that you can catch it in your holiday mitt and toss it back, instead of having it knock you to the floor. It’s simple math, really. If every year for the last decade, Uncle Ted has given you a bottle of Merlot, knowing full well that you are a recovering alcoholic and have been sober for more years than his kids have been out of diapers, you can safely assume he will do this again. So what do you do? Catch it in your “slightly-annoyed” mitt. (And maybe reciprocate by giving him a cheese basket for his high cholesterol.)

2. Remember to “SEE”

No, I don’t mean for you to schedule an appointment with an ophthalmologist. SEE stands for Sleeping regularly, Eating well, andExercising. Without these three basics, you can forget about an enjoyable (or even tolerable) holiday. Get your seven to nine hours ofsleep and practice good sleep hygiene: go to bed at the same time every night, and wake up in the same nightgown with the same man at the same time in the same house every morning.

Eating well and exercise are codependent, at least in my body, because my biggest motivator for exercising is the reduction in guilt I feel about splurging on dessert. Large quantities of sugar or high fructose corn syrup can poison your brain. If you know your weak spot–the end of the table where Aunt Judy places her homemade hazelnut holiday balls — then swim, walk, or jog ten extra minutes to compensate for your well-deserved treat. Another acronym to remember during the holidays is HALT: don’t get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired.

3. Beef Up Your Support

If you attend Al-Anon once a week, go twice a week during the holidays. If you attend a yoga class twice a week, try to fit in another. Schedule an extra therapy session as insurance against the potential meltdowns ahead of you. Pad yourself with extra layers of emotional resilience by discussing in advance specific concerns you have about X, Y, and Z with a counselor, minister, or friend (preferably one who doesn’t gossip).

In my life with two young kids, this means getting extra babysitters so that if I have a meltdown in Starbucks like I did two years ago — before I knew the mall was menacing to my inner peace — I will have an extra ten minutes to record in my journal what I learned from that experience.

4. Avoid Toxic People

This one’s difficult if the toxic people happen to be hosting Christmas dinner! But in general, just try your best to avoid pernicious humans in December. And if you absolutely must see such folks, then allow only enough time for digestion and gift-giving. Drink no more than one glass of wine in order to preserve your ability to think rationally. You don’t want to get confused and decide you really do love these people, only to hear them say something horribly offensive two minutes later, causing you to storm off all aggravated and hurt. (This would also be a good time to remember Rule #1.)

5. Know Thyself

In other words, identify your triggers. As a highly sensitive person (as described in Elaine Aron’s book, “The Highly Sensitive Person”), I know that my triggers exist in a petri dish of bacteria known as the Westfield Annapolis Mall. Between Halloween and New Years, I won’t go near that place because Santa is there and he scares me with his long beard, which holds in its cute white curls every virus of every local preschool. Before you make too many plans this holiday season, list your triggers: people, places, and things that tend to trigger your fears and bring out your worst traits.

6. Travel With Polyester, Not Linen

By this, I do not mean sporting the polyester skirt with the red sequined reindeer. I’m saying that you should lower your standards and make traveling as easy as possible, both literally and figuratively. Do you really want to be looking for an iron for that beautiful linen or cotton dress when you arrive at your destination? I didn’t think so — life’s too short for travel irons.

I used to be adamantly opposed to using a portable DVD player in the car to entertain the kids because I thought it would create two spoiled monsters whose imaginations had rotted courtesy of Disney. One nine-hour car trip home to Ohio for Christmas, I cried uncle after six hours of constant squabbling and screaming coming from the back seat. Now David and Katherine only fight over which movie they get to watch first. If you have a no-food rule policy for the car, I’d amend that one during the holidays as well.

7. Make Your Own Traditions

Of course, you don’t need the “polyester” rule if you ban holiday travel altogether. That’s what I did this year. As the daughter/sister who abandoned her family in Ohio by moving out east, it has always been my responsibility to travel during the holidays. But my kids are now four and six. I can’t continue to haul the family to the Midwest every year. We are our own family. So I said this to my mom a few weeks ago: “It’s very important that I spend time with you, but I’d like to do it as a less stressful time, like the summer, when traveling is easier.” She wasn’t thrilled, but she understood.

Making your own tradition might mean Christmas Eve is reserved for your family and the extended family is invited over for brunch on Christmas Day. Or vice versa. Basically, it’s laying down some rules so that you have better control over the situation. As a people-pleaser who hates to cook, I make a better guest than host, but sometimes serenity comes in taking the driver’s seat, and telling the passengers to fasten their seatbelts and be quiet.

8. Get Out of Yourself

According to Gandhi, the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in service to others. But that doesn’t necessarily mean holding a soup ladle. Since my name and the word “kitchen” have filed a restraining order on each other, I like to think there are a variety of ways you can serve others.

Matthew 6:21 says “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In other words, start with the things you like to do. For me, that is saying a rosary for a depressed Beyond Blue reader, or visiting a priest-friend who needs encouragement and support in order to continue his ministry, or helping talented writer friends get published. I’d like to think this is service, too, because if those people are empowered by my actions, then I’ve contributed to a better world just as much as if I had dished out mashed potatoes to a homeless person at a shelter.

9. Exercise Your Funny Bone

“Time spent laughing is time spent with the gods,” says a Japanese proverb. So, if you’re with someone who thinks he’s God, the natural response would be to laugh! But seriously folks, research shows that laughing is good for your health. And, unlike exercise, it’s always enjoyable! The funniest people in my life are those who have been to hell and back, bought the t-shirt, and then accidentally shrunk it in the wash. Humor kept them alive — physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Remember, with a funny bone in place — even if it’s in a cast — everything is tolerable.

My “9 Holiday Depression Busters” are also featured in a Beliefnet gallery. You can get to it by clicking here.

Listen to the sounds of the human mind: Remixed brain scans reveal our inner music

• Researchers suggest it could potentially lead to to advances useful for clinical diagnosis or biofeedback therapy

By DAMIEN GAYLE

PUBLISHED: 17:18 GMT, 16 November 2012 | UPDATED: 17:32 GMT, 16 November 2012
Dailymail.co.uk

Scientists have combined and translated two kinds of brain waves into music, offering a unique insight into the functional activity of our minds. Researchers used electroencephalography scans to create the pitch and duration of notes and functional magnetic resonance imaging scans to control the intensity of the music.

The study, published in the open access journal PLoS ONE, reveals an improved method to reflect the physiological processes of the scale-free brain in music. Previous research published in PLoS ONE by the same group has described how EEG amplitudes and waveforms may be converted to music. In the past, researchers at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate have also explored the possibility of a form of neuro-training called 'Brain Music'.

This uses music created from an individual's brain waves to help the individual move from an anxious state to a relaxed state. But this new study by Jing Lu and colleagues from the University of Electronic Science and Technology, China, uses simultaneous EEG and fMRI recordings to better represent the activity of the brain in musical notes.

According to the researchers, this brain music 'embodies the workings of the brain as art, providing a platform for scientists and artists to work together to better understand the links between music and the human brain.' The authors also suggest that combining EEG and fMRI data may produce music that better reflects the functional activity of the brain, potentially leading to advances useful for clinical diagnosis or biofeedback therapy.

Los humanos se pueden comunicar a través del olor.

Un nuevo experimento demostró que las emociones de miedo y enojo pueden ser traspasadas al sudor, provocando el mismo sentimiento en las personas que lo huelen.

Un nuevo estudio publicado en la revista Psychological Science señala que el sudor proveniente de individuos que sienten un cierto sentimiento desencadena el mismo sentimiento en aquellos que lo huelen.

El Dr. Gun Semin de la Universidad de Utrecht señaló que anteriores investigaciones habían demostrado que mirar una expresión de miedo en otra persona nos hacía respirar más por la nariz y se aceleraba el movimiento de los ojos. De manera similar, las señales de enojo hacen que frunzamos la nariz y bajemos nuestras cejas en respuesta a una posible amenaza.

Semin y sus colegas pensaron que la misma reacción podría producirse por las reacciones químicas del cuerpo, tales como el sudor. "Específicamente, las personas que inhalaban señales químicas asociadas con el miedo podrían tener expresiones de miedo y mostrar señales de adquisición sensorial, mientras que las personas que inhalaban señales químicas asociadas con enojo adoptarían una expresión de enojo y mostrarían señales de rechazo sensorial".

Los investigadores recolectaron muestras de sudor mientras que grababan las expresiones faciales de las personas que las olían.

Las mujeres que eran expuestas a señales químicas del sudor de miedo adoptaban expresiones faciales de miedo, mientras que las mujeres que fueron expuestas a las señales químicas del sudor de enojo adoptaron expresiones faciales de enojo.

La exposición a sudor de miedo y enojo también alteraron otros sentidos de las mujeres, tales como sus patrones de respiración y el movimiento de los ojos.

De acuerdo a Semin, este descubrimiento es importante porque contradice la creencia popular de que las comunicaciones entre las personas se limita al lenguaje y a las señales visuales".

De acuerdo al experto, los resultados sugieren además que estas señales químicas actúan fuera de la conciencia, pues las mujeres no se daba cuenta de lo que estaban inhalando ni tampoco se daban cuenta de su propia reacción.

Este fenómeno también podría explicar el "contagio de emociones" que tienen las personas cuando se encuentran en multitudes.

Brain Abnormalities in Schizophrenia Due to Disease, Not Genetics

By TRACI PEDERSEN Associate News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on August 3, 2012

The brain differences found in people with schizophrenia are mainly the result of the disease itself or its treatment, as opposed to being caused by genetic factors, according to a Dutch study.

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that significantly affects cognition and usually contributes to chronic problems with behavior and emotion. Along with a breakdown of thought processes, the disorder is also characterized by poor emotional responsiveness, paranoia, auditory hallucinations and delusions.

People with schizophrenia are likely to have additional conditions, including major depression and anxiety.

The strong familial link of schizophrenia is thought to be as high as 81 percent, and researchers have suggested that schizophrenia-related brain abnormalities may be present in unaffected relatives, a notion that has been supported by several studies.

For the current study, Heleen Boos and a team from University Medical Center Utrecht performed structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) whole-brain scans on 155 patients with schizophrenia, 186 of their non-psychotic siblings, and 122 healthy controls (including 25 sibling pairs).

Researchers used the images to measure volume, cortical thickness and to map the brain anatomy in order to evaluate group differences.

Compared with healthy controls, participants with schizophrenia had strong reductions in total brain, gray matter, and white matter volumes, and significant increases in lateral and third ventricle volumes after taking into account age, gender, intracranial volume, and left or right handedness.

However, there were no significant differences in brain volume between unaffected siblings and healthy controls.

Schizophrenia patients also showed cortical thinning compared with healthy controls, and had decreased gray matter density. Again, this was not found in unaffected siblings and healthy controls.

“Our study did not find structural brain abnormalities in nonpsychotic siblings of patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy control subjects, using multiple imaging methods,” the team says.

“This suggests that the structural brain abnormalities found in patients are most likely related to the illness itself.”

Source:  University Medical Center Utrecht 

Neurociencia del incienso: virtudes psicoactivas de este ingrediente ritual

Por. Luciano Montlune. Pijamasurf. Mayo 2012.
A pesar de que muchas personas utilizan el incienso como una metafora mística, investigadores confirman que esta sustancia posee bondades psicoactivas que actúan en forma fáctica contra la ansiedad y la depresión.

Desde hace milenios distintas tradiciones místicas han utilizado el incienso como un catalizador de manifestaciones etéreas así como una especie de facilitador sensorial para entablar conexiones entre el mundo de la materia y el del espíritu. Sin embargo, como suele ocurrir, la ciencia había prestado poca atención a los posibles efectos neurológicos de estas sustancias. Tal vez por eso el estudio que realizaron conjuntamente investigadores de la Universidad Johns Hopkins y de la Universidad Hebrea de Jerusalén resultó particularmente innovador. 

Utilizando como muestra resina de Boswellia, árbol bastante popular en ciertas regiones de África y Arabia que ha sido tradicionalmente utilizado para extraer resina que posteriormente se quema para cobijar con su humo recintos religiosos, los investigadores comprobaron que al entrar en contacto con una persona este incienso activa canales iónicos del cerebro. El resultado de esta interacción es un estado de relajación neurológica –debilita sensaciones ligadas a la depresión y a la ansiedad.

Raphael Mechoulam, co-autora del estudio, enfatiza en el efecto neurológico del incienso, una sustancia que muchos utilizan contemplando exclusivamente su papel metafórico:

“A pesar de la información contenida en antiguos textos, la psicoactividad de los componentes de la Bosweilla no han sido investigados. Comprobamos que el acetato de incienso, un componente de resina de Bosweilla, cuando probado en ratones reduce la ansiedad y provoca un comportamiento anti-depresivo. Aparentemente en la actualidad la mayoría de los usuarios asume que el quemar incienso solo tiene un significado simbólico”. 

 Para determinar los efectos de esta resina sobre el sistema nervioso los científicos administraron acetato de incienso a los ratones y comprobaron que ciertas áreas de su cerebro, aquellas ligadas a los circuitos nerviosos y al manejo de emociones, respondían significativamente al estímulo –específicamente activó una proteína llamada TRPV3 que se presenta en el cerebro de todo mamífero y esta relacionada a la percepción de temperatura.

“El estudio también provee una explicación biológica a las prácticas religiosas que se han preservado a lo largo de milenios, atravesando el tiempo, la distancia, la cultura, la religión. El quemar incienso realmente te ofrece una sensación de calor y hormigueo alrededor del cuerpo” afirma emocionado el entonces Editor en Jefe de The FASEB Journal, Gerald Weissmann. 

Algo que me resulta especialmente interesante es el concebir este estudio realizado en 2008 como un episodio más de un fenómeno apasionante: la ciencia llegando a conclusiones que de algún modo las tradiciones místicas manejaban ya desde hace siglos o incluso milenios. Para entender mejor esta relación consideremos la siguiente analogía.

Podemos percibir a la ciencia y a la magia como dos hermanas que caminaban juntas. Una de ellas que manifiesta como virtudes distintivas la serenidad y la claridad se mantiene sobre el sendero cristalino mientras que la otra, inquieta y caprichosa, decide separarse para tomar otro camino, el cual resultará largo y tedioso. Miles de años después ambas se reencuentran en su destino original, y mientras que la magia arribó con milenios de anticipación, aguardando pacientemente a su ‘otra yo’, la ciencia decidió rodear el camino, lo cual le implicó múltiples tropiezos en buena medida detonados por su soberbia y su desconfianza –pero al parecer ese era su ineludible destino. 

No deja de ser curioso como la ciencia celebra cuando comprueba metódicamente un postulado místico, olvidando que durante siglos se dedicó a descalificarlo. Si hace un par de décadas hubiésemos intentado explicar a un científico que el incienso tiene propiedades que van más allá de la estética sensorial, y que de manera inexplicable, pero también innegablemente, inducen condiciones propicias para la oración, el rezo, o la meditación, muy probablemente nuestra afirmación habría sido discriminada. Sin embargo hoy, luego de cinco mil años de uso del incienso en contextos espirituales –recordemos que en China hay indicios de esta práctica que datan del neolítico– celebra el haber confirmado propiedades psicoactivas de este ingrediente ritual.

Pero más allá de observar este divertido retraso científico no deja de ser reconfortante para nuestras mentes, a fin de cuentas educadas en contextos racionales, confirmar que esa seducción metafísica que hemos mantenido durante años frente al incienso en realidad responde a un tangible estímulo neurológico que favorece nuestro diálogo con el espíritu. Dejemos pues, con aún más confianza, que la efímera y ágil silueta de su humo siga abrazando nuestros espacios (como el río acaricia la tierra que atraviesa sin detener su marcha). 

Twitter del autor: @paradoxeparadis / Lucio Montlune  

Ritalin use for ADHD children soars fourfold

Pupils as young as three are at risk from untested drug cocktails, warn experts as prescriptions soar.

More youngsters are being prescribed Ritalin for ADHD despite clinical guidelines to the contrary, say child psychologists.

Jamie Doward and Emma Craig. The Observer, May 2012. The Guardian U.K.

Prescriptions of Ritalin for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have quadrupled in a decade, prompting fears it is being pushed on childrenat the expense of alternative treatments and without appreciation of long-term effects.

Figures released by the NHS business services authority to the Liberal Democrat MP Tessa Munt reveal the number of prescriptions of methylphenidate hydrochloride, the generic name for Ritalin, rose in England from 158,000 in 1999 to 661,463 in 2010.

Ritalin is a psychostimulant drug most commonly approved for treatment of ADHD in children. It is also used to treat conditions such as narcolepsy and in certain cases may also be prescribed for lethargy, depression and obesity.

The Association of Educational Psychologists said its members were reporting an increase in children with behavioural difficulties being prescribed the drug in conjunction with antidepressants, despite the fact there was "little to no evidence about the effect which these cocktails ofdrugs are having on the development of children's brains".

The association claims clinical studies show the "beneficial effects of psychostimulant medication are not sustained over the long term, necessitating stronger and stronger dosages to be prescribed over time" and that it is "becoming a common practice for children to be prescribed stronger dosages than recommended in the morning as a 'top-up' or 'kickstart' dose so that medication lasts the full school day".

Munt, who until recently sat on the education select committee, said there were natural alternatives that could help combat ADHD. She highlighted a report commissioned by the RSPB that suggested activities in a natural environment appear to improve children's symptoms by 30% compared with urban outdoor activities, and threefold compared to playing indoors. But Munt said many young people were prevented from enjoying the outdoors because of reasons such as lack of school playing fields and the distractions posed by video games, smartphones and social networking.

"It is extremely alarming that in the decade up to 2010, prescriptions for Ritalin quadrupled," she said. "Statistics show that 90% of prescriptions for this powerful drug in 2004 were used to combat behavioural problems in school-age children. I am shocked that there has been such a huge explosion in use."

ADHD is believed to affect between 5% and 10% of schoolchildren in the UK. Symptoms include overactive and impulsive behaviour and difficulty paying attention. The increase in Ritalin prescriptions appears to mirror the US where there was an 83% increase in sales of the drug between 2006 and 2010.

How many children are being prescribed the drug is difficult to quantify from official data. Munt said: "Unless the Department of Health collects vital statistical data about prescribing habits, no one will know what is happening.

"We hear teachers tell of their students' lack of ability to concentrate, from police about increasingly disruptive and antisocial behaviour, and from parents unable to control the actions of young family members. We need to show young people how to deal with the normal stresses and strains of growing up. Resorting to powerful drugs only stores up trouble for the future."

The Association of Educational Psychologists said it believed guidelines were not being followed. The guidelines recommend that ADHD medication should not be prescribed to pre-school children for the long term.nor in isolation from other therapeutic interventions, without consultation But the association said it was aware of a substantial increase in the number of children aged under six, and in some cases as young as three, being prescribed ADHD drugs. It said an informal survey of educational psychology practitioners across the West Midlands had revealed there were more than 100 children under six on the medication in the area. "This is reaffirmed across the country by our members," the association said.

Prosopagnosia: Whose face is that?

Prosopagnosia: Whose face is that?
Published on April 15, 2012 by Jenni Ogden, Ph.D. Psychology Today.
How many of you find movies and TV shows confusing because the same blonde woman appears to be both the murderer and the murdered? And then she appears again as the detective! If this is a common problem for you, and your partner is constantly having to explain who is who, you may have a mild form of prosopagnosia

Until quite recently, it was thought that this was a rare neurological disorder that occurred only after brain damage or disease, usually to the occipital (visual) lobes at the back of the brain, or to the adjacent temporal lobes. But it is now a matter of scientific record that mild forms of developmental or congenital prosopagnosia occur in the normal, healthy population. Oliver Sacks, the neurologist and author of so many amazing books about brain damaged patients, has quite a severe case of congenital prosopagnosia. He describes his symptoms in his book, “The Minds Eye,” in the chapter called “Face-Blind.” For example, on one occasion he was to meet his personal assistant of six years in his publisher’s office. He sat in the waiting room without realizing that the young woman also sitting there and smiling at him was his assistant! After about five minutes she told him who she was; she’d been testing him to see how long he took to recognize her. Like many people with prosopagnosia, Sacks also has a problem with recognizing places: he can go for a walk around the block his house is in, and then be unable to find it: he walks past it time and again. 

Sacks’s difficulties are at the severe end of the spectrum of congenital face and place recognition problems. Most non brain-damaged people with prosopagnosia will be much less affected. Probably people very well known to them will be readily recognized, and it is only when they meet people they don’t see very often that they have difficulty. If your only problem is keeping track of who is who in movies, then your prosopagnosia is at the very mild end of the spectrum, and would likely not even be significant enough to earn the prosopagnosia label .
Congenital face-blindness appears to be inherited, and affects around 1 in every 50 people. So if this is you, you are not alone: in the USA you join a group of more than 6 million. It behoves film makers to make their characters as different as possible, especially in those complex murder mysteries! If you think you might have this problem you can test yourself by signing on at www.faceblind.org/facetests/

My association with prosopagnosia has been with the rare, acquired form of the disorder, following brain damage. These cases are fascinating—at least to the researcher! Most patients with acquired prosopagnosia have damage to both occipital lobes, often extending to the pathways to the temporal “memory” lobes as well. I have a patient, Michael, who crashed his motorcycle and was in a coma for many months. On regaining consciousness, he was found to be totally blind, a consequence of damage to the visual cortex of both his occipital lobes. But, to everyone’s amazement, many years later Michael began to see dim lights, and an intensive rehabiitation programme was begun to try and bring back his sight. He slowly began to improve and soon could see quite well, but in his central vision only; his peripheral sight was lost. However, although he could describe the shapes of what he was seeing, and even copy pictures reasonably accurately (although painstakingly slowly), he had no idea what he was seeing or drawing. He had visual object agnosia; an inability to know what an object was on sight. He also had no idea whose face he was looking at. Show him a picture of a cat’s face and his mother’s face and he couldn’t tell them apart.


In stark contrast, he could read letters and words. In these rare cases of acquired prosopagnosia it has been found that some prosopagnosics also have dyslexia; that is they cannot recognize words (but can recognize objects), and other prosopagnosics have visual object agnosia (but can recognize words). One theory is that this depends on which occipital lobe is most severely damaged: if it is the right one, in the “‘visuospatial” hemisphere, then the patient will have visual object agnosia, and if it is the left one, in the language hemisphere, the patient will have dyslexia.


Prospagnosia and visual object agnosia are purely visual disorders. If Michael’s mother spoke, he immediately recognized her. If I showed him a bunch of keys, he didn’t know what they were, but if I jangled them or put them in his hand, he immediately recognized them.


Michael had other even rarer visual disorders; he couldn’t recognize colors or even imagine them from his past memories of what color an object or animal was. He said a sparrow—a common, nondescript brown bird— was blue. He had also lost his ability to form or "see" visual images: he had lost his mind’s eye. Related to this, he insisted he never dreamed, at least in visual images. But his most disabling problem was his loss of his entire past life: he could not remember any personal event that had ever happened to him, including his 21^st birthday, a large gathering with all his friends, with a live band, dancing, a feast, and an enormous birthday cake, just three years before his accident. After many experiments I finally concluded this dramatic autobiographical memory loss was a consequence of how he had stored his pre-accident memories; predominantly as visual images. Thus when he tried to recall them, because he had no visual imagery, it was as if he had no memory of the event. This theory was supported by the fact that he could remember sounds from his past; for example when he woke up from his coma, he was able to identify boats in the harbor nearby the hospital from the sounds of their individual fog horns (he had worked previously as a seaman).  He also remembered songs from his past, found the smell of motorcycles intoxicating and nostalgic, and told me he could remember what making love felt like (but had no recall of with whom he had made it)!


So what about his ability to form new memories? His brain damage did result in some separate problems with learning new information, but these were mild. For example, if I phone him out of the blue, perhaps years after we last talked, he immediately recognizes my voice and recalls many of our past experiments. He is able to store and recall new events, but they are non-visual memories, similar, I imagine, to the memories of a blind person. This is the way he described a barbeque he shared with friends four days earlier. “I had a ball. It was a beautiful, sunny day after all that rain we’ve been having. They had some really good spicy sausages and of course I got drunk later in the evening.” No amount of coaxing could bring forth any visual descriptions.


Michael had physical problems as well; he had lost an arm in the accident, and because of multiple fractures in his legs he walked with a severe limp. He had every excuse to lead an isolated, miserable existence, but there was never any chance of that. He proved a wonderful research participant; he loved participating in experiments and testing himself. He lived in his own small house, with a helper coming in daily, and his faithful friends took him places he couldn’t have managed by himself. A highlight was an overseas trip from New Zealand to the USA. With Michael in the sidecar, his friend Lou drove his Harley-Davidson the length of Route 66, including a few side trips. On their return, Lou gave him a photograph album to remind Michael of their trip, but then realized that was no use; Michael couldn’t recognize the pictures. So he put together a series of musical CDs beginning with “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” and including many songs like “New Orleans,” “Needles and Pins” (a reference to Michael’s numb backside when they’d been travelling for a long time), and “Grand Canyon.” The CD finished, of course with “Harley-Davidson Blues.”

Psychological Testing May Predict Success in Soccer

ScienceDaily (Apr. 5, 2012) — Measuring what are known as 'executive functions', which reflect the cognitive ability to deal with sudden problems, may make it possible to predict how good an elite soccer player will become in the future. This has been shown by a new study from Karolinska Institutet. Scientists believe for the first time that they have found the scientific key to what has previously been described as 'game intelligence' in successful soccer players.

It has long been known that physical ability and ball sense are not enough to become really good at soccer. A third vital component has often been mentioned: game intelligence, which is the ability to 'read' the play, to be always in the right place at the right time, and steal goals. Many people have regarded game intelligence to be almost a magical ability, something that is impossible to measure.

The scientists at Karolinska Institutet, however, claim that game intelligence is hardly mystical, and that it can be understood from a scientific perspective. It is, rather, an example of something that cognitive scientists call executive functions, which encompass the ability to be immediately creative, to be able to see new solutions to problems, to change tactics rapidly and to revise previous behaviour that has proved not to work.

"Our brains have specific systems that process information in just this manner, and we have validated methods within cognitive research to measure how well the executive functions work in an individual," says Dr Predrag Petrovic at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience.

Predrag Petrovic and his colleagues report in one study, to be published in the on-line scientific journal PLoS ONE, tests of certain executive functions in soccer players in Allsvenskan (the highest Swedish league) and in Division 1 (the league under Allsvenskan), a total of 57 elite soccer players. The scientists found that soccer players in both groups performed much better in tests of executive functions than the general population. And they found that players in Allsvenskan achieved much better results in these tests than players in Division 1.

The study then compared the test results with the performance of the players on the field. The scientists followed several of the soccer players for some years and recorded the number of goals and the number of assists each player made. In this way, each player was awarded points related to his or hers performance on the field. A clear correlation appeared between the results of the tests of executive functions and the number of points obtained on the soccer field (when corrected for such factors as a player's position and age).

It was thus shown that the best players had also performed best on the tests of executive functions. These results are unique, since they are based on scientifically standardised tests. Previously, researchers have used either specific tests from which it has not been possible to generalise the results, or studied specifically how heading the ball can cause cognitive abilities to deteriorate.

"We can imagine a situation in which cognitive tests of this type become a tool to develop new, successful soccer players. We need to study whether it is also possible to improve the executive functions through training, such that the improvement is expressed on the field. But there is probably a hereditary component, and a component that can be developed by training," says Torbjörn Vestberg, psychologist and a member of the research group that carried out the study.

Cyber Bully & Cyber Bullying: The Child iPredator

Cyber Bully & Cyber Bullying: The Child iPredator. Those interested in or studying forensics or criminal psychology, posted here is Dr. Nuccitelli's recently published new theoretical concepts called iPredator and Dark psychology.
More info: http://darkpsychology.co/

Cyber Bully & Cyber Bullying: The Child iPredator

Conocer el cerebro para la excelencia en la educación

‘Conocer el cerebro para la excelencia en la educación’ es un manual editado en el 2010 por Innobasque y escrito por Nieves Maya (directora del Colegio Carmelitas de Vitoria y miembro del Ícaro Think Tank) y Santiago Rivero (consejero de Human Management Systems y patrono de NSF), bajo la dirección científica de F.C. Rubia, cuyo objetivo es ‘es conocer, en líneas generales y en la medida en que puede tener un interés para la docencia, el estado de las investigaciones científicas relacionadas con el conocimiento del cerebro: su fisiología y funcionamiento; el análisis de la medida en que existen, o no, prácticas inspiradas en dichos conocimientos; y la identificación de iniciativas que se perciban como prometedoras, en lo referente a expectativas de desarrollos futuros relativos a la aplicación de la neurociencia para la mejora de la docencia’.

Conocer el cerebro para la excelencia en la educación

Como bien afirma Luis María Ullibarri en la introducción a este trabajo ‘que todo agente educativo conozca y entienda cómo aprende el cerebro, cómo procesa la información, cómo controla las emociones, los sentimientos, los estados conductuales, o cómo es frágil frente a determinados estímulos, llega a ser un requisito indispensable para la innovación pedagógica y transformación de los sistemas educativos’.

Y es que como nos recuerda el Sr.Rubia ‘Conceptos antiguos como memoria o inteligencia han quedado obsoletos al entender que estas facultades se descomponen en diversos tipos que hay que tener en cuenta. La memoria o la inteligencia ya no son unitarias y dependiendo del tipo de que se trate cada uno de ellos debe ser desarrollado adecuadamente. Por eso es importante conocer primero las disposiciones de cada alumno para poder tratarlo de acuerdo con sus facultades. No hay que olvidar que nada se aprende mejor que sobre lo ya conocido y en este sentido al igual que estamos cerca de una medicina personalizada, también en educación nos encaminamos cada día más a una enseñanza que tenga en cuenta las predisposiciones de cada individuo’.

Si bien el avance de todo tipo de ciencias constituye un logro digno de la mayor consideración, los objetivos a los que apunta la neurociencia y los logros que se empiezan a conseguir, junto con futuros descubrimientos que ya se atisban, permiten concebir la esperanza de conocer, en un tiempo no demasiado lejano, las claves para el óptimo desarrollo del potencial intelectual de las personas.

El manual se organiza en torno a cuatro partes, de la siguiente manera:

En la primera parte del trabajo se recogen algunos aspectos interesantes relacionados con el cerebro: estructuras, funcionamiento y aspectos que inciden en el mismo.

En la segunda parte, se hace referencia a aspectos relacionados con la evolución cerebral, su capacidad de aprender, la influencia de la educación y del entorno para el desarrollo y la activación de la misma, el aprendizaje de cuestiones como las matemáticas y el lenguaje, y otros aspectos, en los que se relaciona la anatomía cerebral con su incidencia en los procesos de aprendizaje.

En la parte tercera se incluye una relación de personas y organizaciones que están involucradas en la aplicación de la neurociencia a la mejora de las prácticas educativas y otras cuestiones relacionadas con ésta.

La cuarta parte hace referencia a la situación actual de la neurociencia, la deseable interacción con los profesionales de la educación y qué cabe esperar de esta interdisciplinariedad neurociencia-educación. Asimismo se indican cuáles son las líneas de trabajo que se considera interesante acometer con el fin de sacar un máximo rendimiento de la aplicación de la neurociencia a la educación y el desarrollo de las capacidades de las personas.

Hoy resumimos los contenidos de la primera de las partes donde los descubrimientos sobre los aspectos emocionales tienen un papel preponderante.

Y es que hoy la ciencia afirma que todos los procesos de aprendizaje que se realizan en el cerebro tienen una base emocional. Las emociones positivas ayudan a la motivación mientras que las emociones negativas obstaculizan cualquier intento por aprender. A su vez, el uso de las emociones positivas para el desarrollo cognoscitivo es de especial importancia en la autoestima del alumno, ya que aprende a no asociar el fallo al fracaso o a emociones negativas.

Por esta misma razón los estados de estrés o miedo perjudican al aprendizaje. Mientras un moderado nivel de estrés resulta positivo para el mantenimiento del estado de alerta y de la atención, lo que a su vez permite al cerebro estar en las condiciones óptimas para tratar la información, más allá de eso puede resultar nefasto ya que se segrega cortisol, una sustancia química que produce efectos negativos en el aprendizaje y en la memoria.

Aquí radica la importancia de controlar las emociones. La inteligencia emocional generalmente es referida a la habilidad de autorregularse, es decir, de controlar los impulsos e instintos inmediatos, pero no podemos olvidar que también se refiere a la cooperación, esto es, truncar una satisfacción personal para ayudar o satisfacer al prójimo. Aprender a retrasar la gratificación y a cooperar con el grupo es un buen método para formar alumnos emocionalmente inteligentes.

Quisiéramos destacar de los contenidos de esta primera parte una serie de acciones probadas que contribuyen al ‘buen funcionamiento’ de nuestro cerebro y que podemos poner en práctica en nuestra vida cotidiana, pero especialmente entre nuestros/as jóvenes:

1. El desayuno es esencial para el cerebro, ya que proporciona una ingesta de glucosa importante sin la cual muchas funciones cerebrales se resienten. Es importante a su vez que durante el día se cuide el aporte necesario de agua, nutrientes y glucosa, ya que estos elementos vitales no son producidos por el cuerpo y por lo tanto, han de ser ingeridos

2. El cerebro está constituido en, más de un 80%, por agua; por lo tanto, debemos prevenir la deshidratación, ya que podría dañar funciones cerebrales como la concentración y la memoria.

3. Recientes investigaciones indican que el ejercicio es beneficioso para mejorar la función cerebral y el estado de ánimo e incrementar el aprendizaje.

4. Unos buenos hábitos de sueño y dormir las horas recomendadas pueden tener efectos muy positivos en el aprendizaje, ya que ayudan a consolidar los conceptos aprendidos y se regeneran neuronas necesarias para seguir comprendiendo y entendiendo el medio que nos rodea, a la mañana siguiente.

5. Finalmente que el ambiente en el que se muevan los/as niños/as sea lo más relajado y tranquilo aumenta sus posibilidades de concentración y de mejora de sus capacidades cognitivas. El estrés disminuye la función del hipocampo (neurogénesis), reduce la plasticidad cerebral y aumenta en exceso la actividad de la amígdala sobre el hipocampo, lo que da origen a una disminución del control de las emociones (emociones poco controladas).