About – NeuroKitchen Arts Collective

Woo-woo neo-pseudoBuddhism.  But it’s got “Neuro” in the title!

Source: About – NeuroKitchen Arts Collective

The funniest, best-sung song by an epigenetic neuroscientist ever!

The singer, Dr. Rachel Yehuda showed that the gene expression of pregnant Holocaust & 9/11 survivors were altered by the experiences, as were those of their children. But here she’s just having fun!

#Neuroscience has proved that #porn is literally making #men’s #brains more childish. Seriously. | Blogs | LifeSite

‘Adult entertainment’ may be the ultimate misnomer.

[This is a great example of an article having little to so with neuroscience save the use of the word.]

Two hundred years ago in the U.K., if you said you were going to a “gentleman’s club,” it was understood you were going to a private upper-class establishment where you could relax, read, play parlor games, get a meal, and gossip with others of your class. Today, in the U.S., if you said you were going to a “gentleman’s club,” it is assumed you will be paying to see a striptease in a low-lit bar.

Is this really what should typify a “gentleman”?

Pornography is often classified, along with other sexually oriented businesses, as “adult” entertainment—something for “mature” audiences. If this meant that these kinds of entertainment are “not suitable for children” then few would protest.

The very thing in the brain that is the mark of adulthood and maturity is the thing that is eroded as we view more porn. It is as if the brain is reverting, becoming more childlike. “Adult” entertainment is actually making us more juvenile.

That said, it would be foolish to use this as an argument that pornography is suitable for adults. Heroin and methamphetamines are also “not suitable for children,” but this does not mean, ipso facto, that they are healthy for those over the age of 18.

 

Source: Neuroscience has proved that porn is literally making men’s brains more childish. Seriously. | Blogs | LifeSite

Virtual Hair Cut (Amazing sound effect) – YouTube

Believe or not this is also a delightful example and explanation of how brains handle sounds.

#Neuroplasticity and Training the Older Brain #neuroscience #seniorsrock

Neuroplasticity is the brain and nervous systems ability to evolve and to repair deficits.

At a basic level it represents the ability to learn and develop a structural and functional system to interact with the environment.

The brain’s neuroplasticity is maximized during childhood and adolescence. This adaptability wanes with age. However, some neuroplasticity ability persists in the older brain.

This persistence was highlighted in a study from Hong Kong recently published in the journal Neural Plasticity.

Natalie Leung and colleagues studied a group of older adults with an average age of 70 years. Two hundred nine older adults were randomized to a cognitive training protocol or a control video education intervention.

The cognitive training protocol involved three one-hour training sessions for 13 weeks (39 hours total cognitive training). The training in this protocol was adapted from the Brain Fitness Program of Posit Science. Elements including tasks focusing on reaction time, visual discrimination, verbal memory, attention and working memory. All subjects completed neuropsychological assessment at baseline and at the end of the 13-week trial.

The active training groups demonstrated significant improvement in a variety of cognitive domains compared to the control group including:

• Higher sustained attention scores on the Seashore Rhythm Test
• Better performance on working memory digit span tasks
• Better performance on visual-spatial cognition 

This study did not include a brain imaging component. However, the author’s note their findings suggest sensitive imaging tools might complement their results and provide better understanding of structural and functional elements of neuroplasticity in the older brain.

 

The role of brain training in modifying the effects of aging on the brain is still in early stages of research. However, the current study supports the ability of elderly individuals to respond to cognitive training interventions.

Individuals with more interest in this study can access the full free-text manuscript by clicking on the PMID link below.

Screenshot of frontal lobes in brain is from the iPad Brain Tutor app.

Can You Get Smarter? – The New York Times

YOU can increase the size of your muscles by pumping iron and improve your stamina with aerobic training. Can you get smarter by exercising — or altering — your brain?

This is hardly an idle question considering that cognitive decline is a nearly universal feature of aging. Starting at age 55, our hippocampus, a brain region critical to memory,shrinks 1 to 2 percent every year, to say nothing of the fact that over 40 percent of Americans age 74 and older have Alzheimer’s disease. The number afflicted is expected to grow rapidly as the baby boom generation ages. Given these grim statistics, it’s no wonder that Americans are a captive market for anything, from supposed smart drugs and supplements to brain training, that promises to boost normal mental functioning or to stem its all-too-common decline… read more: Can You Get Smarter? – The New York Times

#Neuroscience of #Chicago #Cubs Fans – YouTube

C2ST Artist in Residence Aaron Freeman pretends to interview Stanford University Neurobiology professor Robert Sapolsky on the difference between the brains of Chicago Cubs fans and those of lesser beings.  According to Sapolsky part of the difference may have  to do with higher sustained levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Banned TED Talk: The Science Delusion – Rupert Sheldrake at TEDx Whitechapel – YouTube

Can you feel the stare of someone behind you? I can’t say that I do but people in front of me sometimes seem to.

“YOU WON’T BELIEVE YOUR EYES!” – Smarter Every Day 142 – YouTube

Best Day of My Life in Italian w/#neuroscience! – YouTube

The fusiform gyrus if famed for facial recognition. Certain faces fill us with joy and inspire us to shout our delight!

When I threatened to shoot Chicago Police #blacklivesmatter

All lives matter. This is a story from long, long ago.

I’ve never shot or shot at any human being. This is the tale of a threatening phone call my mom told me to make in 1969 when I was 13 years old.

I LOVE the police, especially the ones here in Highland Park and Highwood Illinois. I get scared when I see a light top car in my rear view mirror. But when on my front porch with my bride I am reassured to see a marked car cruise by. We always smile and wave.

Wikipedia – Rage – http://go.shr.lc/1KyXKdd
The Amygdala in 5 Minutes w/Prof Joseph LeDoux http://go.shr.lc/1KyXKdd
The Physiology of Anger – http://go.shr.lc/1KyXYkB

Why #Neuroscience Needs Hackers

By Daniel Goodwin | Aug 18, 2015 – There was a time when neuroscientists could only dream of having such a problem. Now the fantasy has come true, and they are struggling to solve it. Brilliant new exploratory devices are overwhelming the field with an avalanche of raw data about the nervous system’s inner workings. The trouble is that even starting to make sense of this bonanza of information has become a superhuman challenge.

Just about every branch of science is facing a similar disruption. As laboratory-bench research migrates into the digital realm, programming is becoming an indispensable part of the process. At the same time, previously dependable sources of financial support are drying up. The result has been a painful scarcity of jobs and grants—which, in turn, is impelling far too many gifted researchers to focus on their narrow areas of specialization rather than investing time and energy into acquiring new, computer-age skills. In fields where data growth is especially out of control, such as neuroscience, the demand for computer expertise is growing as quickly as the information itself.

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Two New Studies Explore the #Neuroscience of Negative Emotions #Iwishicouldforget

We’ve all had experiences we’d prefer not to remember. That’s especially true for people who have gone through a traumatic event such as childhood abuse, combat-related PTSD, or a bad accident. But there may be positive health applications for identifying, predicting, and retrieving negative emotions in the brain, according to two new studies.

In the first, Luke Chang, assistant professor of psychology and brain sciences at Dartmouth, identified a brain pattern under fMRI imaging that can predict a “neural signature of negative emotion.” In the study, recently published in PLOS Biology, Chang and his fellow researchers showed 183 participants pulled from the general population negative photos ranging from bodily injuries to human feces, as well as neutral photos. Thirty additional participants were subjected to painful heat.

Researchers identified the different networks in the brain that all work together during a participant’s negative emotional experience, which they call a “brain signature.” Then, they used machine-learning algorithms to find global patterns of brain activity that best predicted the participants’ responses. “What we’re calling a ‘brain signature’ is basically a configuration—a brain pattern that is predictive of a state,” Chang tells mental_floss. He compares the process to the way that Netflix predicts who is watching a certain type of show based on the watcher’s choices in programming. READ MORE

#BenCarson tied with #Trump in latest Iowa Poll. Here’s what he has to say about #evolution

The #Neuroscience of the Virginia Shooting – YouTube

Chicago Council on Science and Technology (c2st.org) Artist in Residence Aaron Freeman muses on the neurobiology underpinning the murders of Virginia newspeople Allison Parker and Adam Ward by should-have-been mental patient Vester Lee Flannagan (aka Bryce Williams) via the introductory lecture of Professor Robert Sapolsky’s Stanford University course Human Behavioral Biology.

Using fMRI to explore how dogs love us. Happy #NationalDogDay #neuroscience

What Does Mindfulness Meditation Do to Your Brain? – SciAmBlog #motivationmonday

As you read this, wiggle your toes. Feel the way they push against your shoes, and the weight of your feet on the floor. Really think about what your feet feel like right now – their heaviness.

If you’ve never heard of mindfulness meditation, congratulations, you’ve just done a few moments of it. More people than ever are doing some form of this stress-busting meditation, and researchers are discovering it has some quite extraordinary effects on the brains of those who do it regularly.

Originally an ancient Buddhist meditation technique, in recent years mindfulness has evolved into a range of secular therapies and courses, most of them focused on being aware of the present moment and simply noticing feelings and thoughts as they come and go.

via What Does Mindfulness Meditation Do to Your Brain? – Guest Blog – Scientific American Blog Network.

Dopamine Jackpot! Sapolsky on the Science of Pleasure – YouTube #mondaymotivation

via Dopamine Jackpot! Sapolsky on the Science of Pleasure – YouTube.

To rebuild takes optimism – How Dopamine Enhances an Optimism Bias in Humans #katrina #neuroscience

When predicting financial profits [1], relationship outcomes [2], longevity [3], or professional success [4], people habitually underestimate the likelihood of future negative events (for review see [5]). This well-known bias, termed unrealistic optimism [6], is observed across age [7], culture [8], and species [9] and has a significant societal impact on domains ranging from financial markets to health and well being

How Dopamine Enhances an Optimism Bias in Humans.

‘Still sexual’ paralyzed bride strips away stereotypes

‘Paralyzed Bride’ uses sexy photos to challenge attitudes about disability – TODAY.com.