tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/neuropsychology-4358/articlesNeuropsychology – The Conversation2023-11-06T13:35:07Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2160582023-11-06T13:35:07Z2023-11-06T13:35:07ZWhat’s your chronotype? Knowing whether you’re a night owl or an early bird could help you do better on tests and avoid scams<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557337/original/file-20231102-21-hyagg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C1994&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Owl chronotypes function better at night, while lark chronotypes are more energized in the morning.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/blue-owl-royalty-free-image/1164845949">The Photo Matrix/Moment, nomis_g/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Timing is everything. For early risers and late-nighters alike, listening to your internal clock may be the key to success. From the classroom to the courtroom and beyond, people perform best on challenging tasks at a time of day that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916231178553">aligns with their circadian rhythm</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/your-body-has-an-internal-clock-that-dictates-when-you-eat-sleep-and-might-have-a-heart-attack-all-based-on-time-of-day-178601">Circadian rhythms</a> are powerful internal timekeepers that drive a person’s physiological and intellectual functioning throughout the day. Peaks in these circadian rhythms vary across individuals. Some people, known as larks or morning chronotypes, peak early and feel at their best in the morning. Others, known as owls or evening chronotypes, peak later in the day and perform best in the late afternoon or evening. And some people show neither morning nor evening preferences and are considered neutral chronotypes.</p>
<p><a href="https://psychology.cofc.edu/about/faculty-and-staff/may-cynthia.php">As a researcher</a> seeking ways to improve cognitive function, I’ve explored whether your chronotype affects your mental performance. Understanding the kinds of mental processes that vary – or remain stable – over the course of a day may help people schedule their tasks in a way that optimizes performance. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Your brain has an internal clock that influences how your body functions over the course of a day.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Why your chronotype matters</h2>
<p>Chronotype can be measured with a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1027738/">simple questionnaire</a> that assesses things like your perceived alertness, preferred rising and retiring times and performance throughout the day. Even without a questionnaire, most people have a sense of whether they are a lark or an owl or fall somewhere in between. Do you wake up early, without an alarm, feeling sharp? Are you mentally drained and ready for pj’s by nine? If so, you are likely a morning type. Do you sleep late and wake feeling sluggish and foggy? Are you more energized late at night? If so, you are likely an evening type. </p>
<p>People perform best on many challenging mental tasks – from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(90)90056-W">paying attention</a> and <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/pag0000199">learning</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00320-3">solving problems</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iree.2021.100226">making complex decisions</a> – when these actions are synchronized with their personal circadian peaks. This is known as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1993.tb00573.x">synchrony effect</a>. Whether you are an air traffic controller scanning the radar, a CFO reviewing an earnings report or a high school student learning chemistry, synchrony can affect how well you perform.</p>
<p>Much of the evidence for synchrony effects comes from lab studies that test both larks and owls early in the morning and late in the day. People with strong chronotypes are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0088820">more vigilant</a> and better able to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24885-0">sustain attention</a> at their peak relative to off-peak times. Their memories are sharper, with <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01764">better list recall</a> and more success in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13825585.2016.1238444">remembering “to-do” tasks</a> like taking medication.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557340/original/file-20231102-17-6nvix8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Hand reaching out under bedsheets towards a blue alarm clock on a nightstand" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557340/original/file-20231102-17-6nvix8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557340/original/file-20231102-17-6nvix8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557340/original/file-20231102-17-6nvix8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557340/original/file-20231102-17-6nvix8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557340/original/file-20231102-17-6nvix8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557340/original/file-20231102-17-6nvix8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557340/original/file-20231102-17-6nvix8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When you feel the urge to hit snooze may tell you something about your circadian rhythm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/early-morning-royalty-free-image/626952608">eggeeggjiew/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
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<p>People are also less prone to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.57536">mind wandering</a> and less distracted at their optimal time. For example, a study I conducted gave participants three weakly related cue words (such as “ship,” “outer” and “crawl”). They were tasked to find another word that linked all three (such as “space”). When my team and I presented misleading words alongside the cue words (such as “ocean” for ship, “inner” for outer and “baby” for crawl), those who were tested at synchronous times were <a href="https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03210822">better at ignoring the misleading words</a> and finding the target solution than those who weren’t.</p>
<p>Synchrony also affects high-level cognitive functions like persuasion, reasoning and decision-making. Studies on consumers have found that people are more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.01.021">discerning</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-013-9247-0">skeptical</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20169">analytical</a> at their peak times. They <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2008.04.002">invest more time and effort</a> in assigned tasks and are more likely to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2009.08.002">search for important information</a>. Consequently, people make <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2021.106165">better investment decisions</a>, are less <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1990.tb00226.x">prone to bias</a> and are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-013-9247-0">more likely to detect scams</a>. </p>
<p>At off-peak times it takes people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00320-3">longer to solve problems</a>, and they tend to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.10.031">less careful</a> and more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1990.tb00226.x">reliant on mental shortcuts</a>, leaving them <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-013-9247-0">vulnerable to flashy marketing schemes</a>. Even ethical behavior can be compromised at non-optimal times, as people are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614541989">more likely to cheat</a> at their off-peak times.</p>
<h2>In the classroom and the clinic</h2>
<p>The basic mental abilities that are affected by synchrony – including attention, memory and analytical thinking – are all skills that contribute to academic success. This connection is especially significant for teens, who <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.2010.535225">tend to be night owls</a> but typically start school early.</p>
<p>One study randomly assigned over 700 adolescents to exam times in the early morning, late morning or afternoon. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0748730414564786">Owls had lower scores</a> relative to larks in both morning sessions, but this disadvantage disappeared for owls taking the exam in the afternoon. Early start times may put student owls a step behind larks.</p>
<p>Time of day may also be a consideration when conducting assessments for cognitive disorders like attention-deficit disorder or Alzheimer’s disease. Scheduling time may be particularly significant for <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00003">older adults, who tend to be larks</a> and often show <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17470210902834852">larger synchrony effects</a> than young adults. Performance is better at peak times on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13825585.2015.1028326">several key neuropsychological measures</a> used to assess these conditions. Failing to consider synchrony may affect the accuracy of diagnoses and subsequently have consequences for clinical trial eligibility and data on treatment effectiveness.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557341/original/file-20231102-27-tovoh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Person writing on a piece of paper on a clipboard with a pen" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557341/original/file-20231102-27-tovoh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557341/original/file-20231102-27-tovoh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557341/original/file-20231102-27-tovoh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557341/original/file-20231102-27-tovoh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557341/original/file-20231102-27-tovoh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557341/original/file-20231102-27-tovoh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557341/original/file-20231102-27-tovoh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">What time of day you take a cognitive test may influence your results.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-hand-writing-on-clipboard-with-a-pen-royalty-free-image/1434437996">Violeta Stoimenova/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Of course, synchrony doesn’t affect performance on all tasks or for all people. Simple, easy tasks – like recognizing familiar faces or places, dialing a close friend’s phone number or making a favorite recipe – are unlikely to change over the day. Furthermore, young adults who are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07420528.2023.2256843">neither larks nor owls</a> show less variability in performance over the day.</p>
<p>For those who are true early birds or night owls, tackling the toughest mental tasks at times that align with their personal circadian peaks could improve their outcomes. When small improvements in performance offer an essential edge, synchrony may be one secret to success.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216058/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cindi May received funding from the National Institute on Aging. She currently serves on the board for Disability Rights South Carolina.</span></em></p>Synchronizing your daily activities to your circadian rhythm could help you improve your performance on a variety of cognitive tasks − and even influence diagnosis of cognitive disorders.Cindi May, Professor of Psychology, College of CharlestonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2054012023-05-16T02:59:48Z2023-05-16T02:59:48ZIllegal, occasionally deadly, and not much fun. What is the frog toxin Kambô and why do people use it?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526073/original/file-20230515-175760-zv2sde.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=58%2C0%2C6463%2C4305&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Kambô is an oozy substance harvested from the defensive skin secretions of the Amazonian giant monkey tree frog. In the traditional medicine of <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.89.22.10960">some indigenous peoples of the Amazon</a>, Kambô is applied to superficial burns on the skin of participants to produce an intense purging effect. </p>
<p>In the past decade, Kambô use has also been <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/amazonian-tree-frogs-poison-part-latest-super-cleanse/story?id=46431345">on the rise</a> in neo-shamanic or complementary medicine in Western countries. Many users say they experience positive after-effects, but bad outcomes ranging from prolonged vomiting to seizures and even death have also been reported.</p>
<p>In Brazil, it’s <a href="https://www-bbc-com.translate.goog/mundo/noticias/2016/04/160425_salud_kambo_veneno_sapo_amazonico_medicina_polemica_lv?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp">illegal to sell or market Kambô</a>. In Australia, where <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/13/alternative-reality-two-kambo-deaths-spark-soul-searching-in-australias-counter-culture-capital">two deaths after Kambô rituals</a> have led to coronial inquests, it was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/oct/06/kambo-a-lethal-frog-mucous-used-in-shamanic-rituals-banned-by-tga-after-reports-of-deaths">listed by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in 2021 as a Schedule 10 poison</a>: “a substance of such danger to health as to warrant prohibition of sale, supply and use”.</p>
<p>Despite government bans and several fatalities, Kambô use in Western countries still seems to be going strong. So what does Kambô do, and what do users get out of it?</p>
<h2>The Kambô ritual</h2>
<p><a href="https://journals.openedition.org/pontourbe/2384">Kambô comes from the giant monkey tree frog</a> (<em>Phyllomedusa bicolor</em>) which lives in the Upper Amazon rainforest. The frogs are captured and their limbs are tied with thread to four vertical twigs, to enable harvesting of their secretions by gentle scraping. The frogs are then released, physically unharmed.</p>
<p>The clear mucus-like secretion is typically spread onto bamboo sticks and air-dried for storage and transport. The Kambô is then prepared by reconstituting with water before application.</p>
<p>Kambô contains a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/23978473221085746">range of biologically active molecules</a> that most likely provide the frogs with defences against predators.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526064/original/file-20230515-167825-t81es0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photo showing a frog stretched out between some sticks while a person runs another stick along its body." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526064/original/file-20230515-167825-t81es0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526064/original/file-20230515-167825-t81es0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526064/original/file-20230515-167825-t81es0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526064/original/file-20230515-167825-t81es0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526064/original/file-20230515-167825-t81es0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526064/original/file-20230515-167825-t81es0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526064/original/file-20230515-167825-t81es0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">To harvest Kambô, the defensive secretions of the frog are scraped off before the frog is released, unharmed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>In the ritual, superficial burns are first made on the recipient’s skin, then Kambô is applied to the burns using a short length of rainforest vine. Next, the thick red sap of the “dragon’s blood” tree (<em>Croton lechleri</em>) is applied to the burns as an antiseptic.</p>
<p>Traditionally, among the indigenous Amazonian tribes that use Kambô, there is virtually no ceremony involved. It plays more of a role in their traditional medicine and hunting practices than in informing their cosmology.</p>
<p>In Kambô rituals catering to Westerners, the practice is often carried out in a ceremony involving songs, musical instruments, burning of incense, and prayers.</p>
<p>Traditionally, three to five small burns are made with a smouldering stick on the upper arm or lower leg of the recipient. </p>
<p>In Western neo-shamanic practice, however, Kambô is often applied to a larger number of burns. The burns may be located elsewhere on the body, including the neck, upper back, chest, and the Yogic chakra locations.</p>
<h2>What Kambô does to the body</h2>
<p>Following introduction via the small burns, the active ingredients of the Kambô pass rapidly into the body. They move through the lymphatic system – essentially the body’s drainage system, running parallel to the blood circulatory system – and thence into the bloodstream.</p>
<p>As a result, participants experience a short, intense purgative experience. The <a href="https://www.clinmedjournals.org/articles/iacp/international-archives-of-clinical-pharmacology-iacp-4-017.php?jid=iacp">physiological effects are complex</a>, rapid and sometimes paradoxical.</p>
<p>Typically, the first symptoms reported are an initial rush of heat and redness of the face. Nausea and vomiting are often experienced within several minutes, accompanied by general malaise, racing heart, dizziness and swelling of the face, and sometimes an urge to defecate.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526065/original/file-20230515-163795-uqhdtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photo of a person's shoulder with four dark dots on a patch of reddened skin." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526065/original/file-20230515-163795-uqhdtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526065/original/file-20230515-163795-uqhdtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526065/original/file-20230515-163795-uqhdtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526065/original/file-20230515-163795-uqhdtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526065/original/file-20230515-163795-uqhdtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526065/original/file-20230515-163795-uqhdtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526065/original/file-20230515-163795-uqhdtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kambô is typically applied to superficial burns, which are then covered with an antiseptic sap.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.peertechzpublications.com/articles/OJPM-2-107.php">Further effects</a> include the feeling of a lump in the throat or difficulty swallowing, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, runny nose and tears, swollen lips, eyelids or face, and occasionally a swollen tongue or throat.</p>
<p>These physiological effects are generally expected, and indeed sought, by those performing and undergoing the Kambô ritual.</p>
<p>Aside from the range of physiological effects discussed above, Kambô is not regarded as exerting any direct psychedelic or hallucinogenic effects. Nor is it known to be used by anyone for this purpose.</p>
<h2>What can go wrong?</h2>
<p>The duration of the physical effects is usually 15–30 minutes. However, individual responses vary considerably and, on occasion, the symptoms may last several hours.</p>
<p>Kambô has caused harm in only a very limited number of documented cases, although the documented harms <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1556-4029.13641">have included death</a>. A handful of case reports describe incidents of hepatitis, psychosis, prolonged vomiting, hyponatremia (low blood sodium), seizure, rupture of the oesophagus and cardiac arrest.</p>
<p>Those extreme consequences are particularly few relative to the presumably large number of administrations globally, in both the traditional indigenous and the recent Western contexts.</p>
<p>Accurate figures about usage are impossible to obtain, but <a href="https://neip.info/texto/o-kambo-na-rede-divulgacao-de-uma-pratica-tradicional-indigena-na-internet/">one academic source</a> notes over 6,000 members of various closed Facebook groups devoted to Kambô, and the International Association of Kambô Practitioners’ Facebook page has over 2,500 followers.</p>
<h2>What are the perceived benefits of Kambô?</h2>
<p>Despite the documented harms, the great majority of users of Kambô <a href="https://juniperpublishers.com/jojcs/JOJCS.MS.ID.555739.php">anecdotally report</a> positive physical, emotional and spiritual after-effects.</p>
<p>In Western societies, including Australia, the use of Kambô for healing or wellness has risen rapidly in recent years. The rise has coincided with the emergence of a subculture that questions the merits of the Western medical model and embraces alternative modes of health and medicine.</p>
<p>However, there is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-78527-4">limited evidence</a> of the directly measurable health benefits of Kambô in the peer-reviewed academic literature. The putative benefits claimed by the Kambô community largely remain to be substantiated by clinical research.</p>
<p>The actual or potential health benefits conferred by Kambô treatment can be difficult to distinguish from the anticipated or perceived benefits related to psychological effects. These psychological effects in turn may relate to the belief or faith systems that may be involved.</p>
<p>One important aspect of the Kambô experience is purging, particularly by way of vomiting but also defecation. </p>
<p>Many advocates see purging as representing a means of personal transformation through cleansing or detoxification. Purging may also be thought to expel various harmful, negative or generally undesirable aspects of both an emotional and a spiritual nature.</p>
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Read more:
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</p>
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<p>Participants may also feel a benefit from the overall “ordeal” or “challenge”. In this regard, significant parallels may be drawn between the purging elicited by Kambô and that associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112532">the psychoactive brew ayahuasca</a>.</p>
<p>To understand what people gain from Kambô, we may need to move into the domain of philosophical speculation. However, the concepts of personal transformation and spiritual growth are very real to many adherents, and their role in Kambô’s perceived benefits should not be discounted.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205401/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin Williams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>People have died after taking the banned frog secretion Kambô, and even when things go right there’s a lot of vomiting.Martin Williams, Research fellow, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2031562023-04-06T21:39:37Z2023-04-06T21:39:37ZTikTok may be bad for privacy, but is it also harming our cognitive abilities?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519909/original/file-20230406-20-mdf5s9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=447%2C0%2C4494%2C2961&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Attention isn't a single mechanism, but rather the result of a number of different mechanisms across various areas of the brain.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The United States government is <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-the-us-ban-tiktok-can-it-a-cybersecurity-expert-explains-the-risks-the-app-poses-and-the-challenges-to-blocking-it-202300">considering a national ban of TikTok</a>, a social media application used by <a href="https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/150-m-us-users">over 150 million Americans</a>. Although the primary reason for the ban is privacy concerns, it presents an opportunity to consider other potential risks. </p>
<p>It is well known social media apps can negatively impact mental health outcomes, a fact even <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58570353">acknowledged by Facebook’s leaked internal research</a>. The impact social media use may have on our cognitive abilities, however, is less well known.</p>
<p>As an attention researcher, I study all the different processes our brains use to focus and maintain attention. Attention isn’t a single mechanism, but rather the result of <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=FNJI0Hu9-YIC&oi=fnd&pg=PA11&dq=klein+and+lawrence+attention&ots=5bvyAHCXzh&sig=m7M_bG_dNVwDZnvkLkTje3q76Ww&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=klein%20and%20lawrence%20attention&f=false">a number of different mechanisms across various areas of the brain</a>. </p>
<p>One of these mechanisms is <a href="https://dictionary.apa.org/executive-functions">executive functioning</a>, defined as our ability to focus on the task at hand and filter distractions. However, not all tasks are created equal: it’s easier to focus when the object of our attention is engaging and entertaining. </p>
<h2>Designed with attention in mind</h2>
<p>In order to keep you entertained, social media companies are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-algorithm-recommendation-get-bored-close-app-new-york-times-2021-12">constantly tracking the content you engage with</a>. This not only means the content you “like,” but also how long you spend on each piece of content. By doing this, the app methodically presents you with related content, to keep you on its platform as long as possible.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A section of a smartphone screen showing the TikTok logo" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519910/original/file-20230406-24-8n6yrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519910/original/file-20230406-24-8n6yrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519910/original/file-20230406-24-8n6yrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519910/original/file-20230406-24-8n6yrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519910/original/file-20230406-24-8n6yrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519910/original/file-20230406-24-8n6yrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519910/original/file-20230406-24-8n6yrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Social media apps methodically present related content, with the aim of keeping viewers on their platforms for as long as possible.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The way social media apps present content is crucial, as many apps now use an endless scroll feature in which users simply swipe upwards to view the next piece of content. Having a continuous stream of content is meant to absorb users into what researchers refer to as a “<a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16142612">flow state</a>.” </p>
<p>We experience flow states when we are so deeply engaged in an activity that we lose our sense of time. Flow states can be highly advantageous in a work setting, as they help us stay focused and increase efficiency in completing relevant tasks. However, social media apps try to elicit flow states to make it more difficult to leave their platform.</p>
<p>To put it briefly, companies are constantly tracking our attention and leveraging this data to keep us hooked.</p>
<p>With a majority of social media users <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/04/07/social-media-use-in-2021/">logging in at least once a day</a>, and one-third of teenagers using these apps “<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/08/10/teens-social-media-and-technology-2022/">almost constantly</a>,” it raises the question of whether social media is hurting our attention abilities. </p>
<h2>The cost of task-switching</h2>
<p>Throughout the day, many individuals multitask by alternating between work-related activities and using social media platforms. According to a study conducted on middle and high school students, teenagers spend, on average, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.12.001">less than six minutes on a task</a> before switching to social media or texting. </p>
<p>While some forms of multitasking are harmless, like walking and chewing gum at the same time, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43152412">it is not possible to effectively multitask on activities that share cognitive mechanisms</a>. Instead, we engage in “task-switching,” which involves alternating between two related activities. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman wearing glasses sits at a laptop while looking at a smartphone and wearing a smart watch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519911/original/file-20230406-217-m1u4uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519911/original/file-20230406-217-m1u4uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519911/original/file-20230406-217-m1u4uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519911/original/file-20230406-217-m1u4uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519911/original/file-20230406-217-m1u4uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519911/original/file-20230406-217-m1u4uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519911/original/file-20230406-217-m1u4uz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">it is not possible to effectively multitask on activities that share cognitive mechanisms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Think of trying to read while simultaneously engaging in conversation: it’s not possible without disengaging from one of these activities, since they both involve language processing. Social media and most forms of work fall into this category.</p>
<p>One of the problems with task switching lies in “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(03)00028-7">switch costs</a>,” a term used to describe the negative effect that re-engaging with a task has on your cognition. This means every time you open social media while studying for school or working at your job, you will be slower and more error prone for a period of time when getting back to work. </p>
<p>Not surprisingly, people who typically engage with multiple forms of media at once show general decreases in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.06.035">sustained attention</a>, or the ability to maintain focus. It is much better to block off time for work: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10656219.2016.1191926">20 continuous minutes of work</a> is significantly better than four five-minute blocks separated by brief social media breaks.</p>
<h2>What about executive functioning?</h2>
<p>There is limited research measuring the impact of social media use on the various aspects of executive functioning, but researchers do know a bit about how <a href="https://doi.org/10.2466/02.09.18.PR0.110.2.501-517">social media addiction</a> may impact cognition. </p>
<p>Social media addiction was determined based on a developed questionnaire which asks questions on how social media impacts mood, whether the person experiences withdrawal, and whether it negatively impacts different areas of their life. If the person scores high enough on this scale, they are considered to meet the criteria for social media addiction.</p>
<p>Those who meet that criteria tend to be more impulsive than non-addicted social media users, as measured by a <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100010428">risk-assessment task</a>, in which those addicted to social media tend to make more risky choices associated with long-term losses. </p>
<p>People in the study were also more impulsive after being exposed to social media during the testing session, compared to when they were tested without exposure. However, overall, individuals with social media addiction functioned normally on many of the other cognitive assessment tasks, so it appears impulsivity is the main component of cognition being impacted with problematic social media users.</p>
<p>It’s not all bad news, though: there are possible cognitive benefits associated with social media use for some people. Researchers found social media use in middle-aged and older adults can help improve executive functioning because of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106388">the increased access to social connection it provides</a>. This offers a support channel to individuals who are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.5174">at risk for cognitive decline due to social isolation or loneliness</a>.</p>
<h2>Internet trends as a measure of attention</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Students in a lecture hall all looking at their phones" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519912/original/file-20230406-20-77rm56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519912/original/file-20230406-20-77rm56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519912/original/file-20230406-20-77rm56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519912/original/file-20230406-20-77rm56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519912/original/file-20230406-20-77rm56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519912/original/file-20230406-20-77rm56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519912/original/file-20230406-20-77rm56.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A new TikTok trend of putting multiple media in one video suggests a growing preference for content that demands less attentional effort.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Until there is more research on social media use and its effects on attention, we can look at alternate sources of data to make some early predictions. </p>
<p>One group of scientists looked at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09311-w">how long hashtags spend on the top 50 charts</a> as a measure of attention span. Researchers found that in 2013, a hashtag stayed in the top 50 for an average of 17.5 hours. This number gradually decreased to 11.9 hours by 2016. This may reflect how our capacity to engage our attention shrinks as more content becomes available.</p>
<p>More recently, there has been a trend on TikTok of <a href="https://kotaku.com/subway-surfers-tiktok-corecore-video-collage-psychology-1850061976">using split-screening to display multiple videos at once</a>. This is a new development that reflects the desire to multitask media, where a viewer can shift their eyes to another stream of content as soon as any level of boredom arises. While further research is needed to determine potential cognitive costs associated with this new style of media, the trend suggests a growing preference for content that demands less attentional effort.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203156/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Colin McCormick receives funding from an NSERC CGS-D award. </span></em></p>With most social media users logging in at least once a day, and one-third of teens using these apps almost constantly, it raises the issue of whether social media is hurting our attention abilities.Colin McCormick, PhD Student in Cognitive Science, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1978702023-01-18T19:00:01Z2023-01-18T19:00:01ZClimate change trauma has real impacts on cognition and the brain, wildfire survivors study shows<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504515/original/file-20230113-20-o70w2a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C40%2C6720%2C4426&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The 2018 Camp Fire killed 85 people and destroyed 20,000 buildings in and around Paradise, Calif.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/michael-john-ramirez-hugs-his-wife-charlie-ramirez-after-news-photo/1062031052">Marcus Yam /Los Angeles Times via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Psychological trauma from extreme weather and climate events, such as wildfires, can have long-term impacts on survivors’ brains and cognitive functioning, especially how they process distractions, my team’s <a href="https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000125">new research shows</a>.</p>
<p>Climate change is increasingly affecting people around the world, including through extreme heat, storm damage and life-threatening events like wildfires. In <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1487">previous research</a>, colleagues and I showed that in the aftermath of the 2018 fire that destroyed the town of Paradise, California, chronic symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression were highly prevalent in the affected communities more than six months after the disaster.</p>
<p>We also found a graded effect: People whose homes or families were directly affected by fire showed greater mental health harm than those where who were indirectly effected, meaning people who witnessed the event in their community but did not have a personal loss.</p>
<p>In the <a href="https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000125">new study</a>, published Jan. 18, 2023, our team at the <a href="https://neatlabs.ucsd.edu/index.html">Neural Engineering and Translation Labs</a>, or NEATLabs, at the University of California San Diego, wanted to understand whether the symptoms of climate change-related trauma translate to changes in cognitive functioning – the mental processes involved in memory, learning, thinking and reasoning.</p>
<p>We evaluated subjects’ cognitive functioning across a range of abilities, including attention; response inhibition – the ability to not respond impulsively; working memory – the ability to maintain information in mind for short periods of time; and interference processing – the ability to ignore distractions. We also measured their brain function while they performed cognitive tasks, using brain wave recordings obtained from electroencephalography, or EEG.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man at a keyboard with a cap that has nodes on it." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504508/original/file-20230113-20-ncujzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504508/original/file-20230113-20-ncujzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504508/original/file-20230113-20-ncujzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504508/original/file-20230113-20-ncujzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=240&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504508/original/file-20230113-20-ncujzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504508/original/file-20230113-20-ncujzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504508/original/file-20230113-20-ncujzg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=301&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A wireless EEG cap records brain activity as a person responds to cognitive tests. The image on the right shows significant differences in electrical brain activity recorded on the scalp between people directly exposed to wildfires and a control group, with greater activity in left frontal cortex (red) for the group directly exposed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/970598">Grennan et al., 2022, PLOS Climate</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The study included three groups of individuals: people who were directly exposed to the fire, people who were indirectly exposed, and a control group with no exposure. The groups were well matched for age and gender.</p>
<p>We found that both groups of people exposed to the fire, either directly or indirectly, dealt with distractions less accurately than the control group.</p>
<p>We also found differences in the brain processes underlying these cognitive differences. People who were exposed to the wildfire had greater frontal lobe activity while dealing with distractions. The frontal lobe is the center for the brain’s higher-level functions. Frontal brain activity can be a marker for cognitive effort, suggesting that people exposed to the fires may be having more difficulty processing distractions and compensating by exerting more effort.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>With climate change fueling more disasters, it is incredibly important to understand its impacts on human health, including mental health. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-022-01477-6">Resilient mental health</a> is what allows us to recover from traumatic experiences. How humans experience and mentally deal with climate catastrophes sets the stage for our future lives.</p>
<p>There are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-022-01477-6">strategies people can use</a> to help reduce the stress. Psychosocial research suggests that <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/mindfulness">practicing mindfulness</a> and developing healthy lifestyles, with regular exercise and enough sleep, can protect mental well-being in these scenarios, along with <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07448481.2022.2047706">developing strong social bonds</a>. </p>
<h2>What’s next?</h2>
<p>There is much work to be done to understand if the effects we found are replicable in large sample studies. In this work, we focused on a total of 75 study participants. Scientists also need to understand how these effects evolve as climate disasters like wildfires <a href="https://theconversation.com/atmospheric-rivers-over-californias-wildfire-burn-scars-raise-fears-of-deadly-mudslides-this-is-what-cascading-climate-disasters-look-like-197563">occur more often</a>.</p>
<p>We are also pursuing research with community partners to implement interventions that can help alleviate some the impacts we observed on brain and cognitive functioning. There is no one-size-fits-all solution – each community must find the resiliency solutions that work best in their environmental context. As scientists, we can help them understand the causes and point them to solutions that are most effective in improving human health.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197870/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jyoti Mishra received funding from the Tang Prize Foundation for this research. She is director of the NEATLabs at University of California (UC) San Diego and the Co-director of the UC Climate Change and Mental Health Initiative at the UC Center for Climate, Health and Equity.</span></em></p>A new neuropsychology study on California wildfire survivors found chronic cognitive problems in addition to anxiety and PTSD.Jyoti Mishra, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San DiegoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1809872022-04-13T14:04:40Z2022-04-13T14:04:40ZCannabis: how it affects our cognition and psychology – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457938/original/file-20220413-18-9vrqt0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=57%2C182%2C6432%2C4063&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Agave Photo Studio</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/trippy-cannabis-leaf-psychedelic-marijuana-containing-1878250624">Agave Photo Studio/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Cannabis has been used by humans for thousands of years and is one of the most popular drugs today. With effects such as feelings of joy and relaxation, it is also legal to prescribe or take in several countries.</p>
<p>But how does using the drug affect the mind? In three recent studies, published in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/02698811211050548">The Journal of Psychopharmacology</a>, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-022-01316-2">Neuropsychopharmacology</a> and the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ijnp/article/24/11/859/6291328?login=true">International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology</a>, we show that it can influence a number of cognitive and psychological processes. </p>
<p>The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported that, in 2018, approximately 192 million people worldwide aged between 15 and 64 used cannabis recreationally. Young adults are particularly keen, with <a href="https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_2.pdf">35% of people</a> between the ages of 18 and 25 using it, while only 10% of people over the age of 26 do.</p>
<p>This indicates that the main users are adolescents and young adults, whose <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/npp2014236">brains are still in development</a>. They may therefore be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763413000821">particularly vulnerable to the effects of cannabis use</a> on the brain in the longer term.</p>
<p>Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive compound in cannabis. It acts on the brain’s “endocannabinoid system”, which are receptors which respond to the chemical components of cannabis. The cannabis receptors are densely populated in prefrontal and limbic areas in the brain, which are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306452296004289?casa_token=9N2NfCLjBcYAAAAA:dW7OiYLQwO9KRg_yEPyFiWibvbLhsQURPqPCoz3M9FVa51ZngM-Hh4Uv8v25C2UZuKX4JkrGGsc">involved in reward and motivation</a>. They regulate signalling of the brain chemicals dopamine, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate. </p>
<p>We know that dopamine is involved in motivation, reward and learning. GABA and glutamate play a part in cognitive processes, including learning and memory.</p>
<h2>Cognitive effects</h2>
<p>Cannabis use can affect cognition, especially in those with cannabis-use disorder. This is characterised by the persistent desire to use the drug and disruption to daily activities, such as work or education. It has been estimated that <a href="http://repository.poltekkes-kaltim.ac.id/657/1/Diagnostic%20and%20statistical%20manual%20of%20mental%20disorders%20_%20DSM-5%20%28%20PDFDrive.com%20%29.pdf">approximately 10% of cannabis users</a> meet the diagnostic criteria for this disorder.</p>
<p>In our research, we tested the cognition of 39 people with the disorder (asked to be clean on the day of testing), and compared it with that of 20 people who never or rarely used cannabis. We showed that participants with the condition had significantly worse performance on memory tests from the <a href="https://www.cambridgecognition.com/">Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB)</a> compared to the controls, who had either never or very rarely used cannabis. It also negatively affected their “executive functions”, which are mental processes including flexible thinking. This effect seemed to be linked to the age at which people started taking the drug – the younger they were, the more impaired their executive functioning was. </p>
<p>Cognitive impairments have been noted in mild cannabis users as well. Such users tend to make <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3242860/">riskier decisions than others</a> and have more problems with planning.</p>
<p>Although most studies have been conducted in males, there <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34261559/">has been evidence</a> of sex differences in the effects of cannabis use on cognition. We showed that, while male cannabis users had poorer memory for visually recognising things, female users had more problems with attention and executive functions. These sex effects persisted when controlling for age; IQ; alcohol and nicotine use; mood and anxiety symptoms; emotional stability; and impulsive behaviour.</p>
<h2>Reward, motivation and mental health</h2>
<p>Cannabis use can also affect how we feel – thereby further influencing our thinking. For example, some previous research has suggested that reward and motivation – along with the brain circuits involved in these processes – <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34509513/">can be disrupted</a> when we use cannabis. This may affect our performance at school or work as it can make us feel less motivated to work hard, and less rewarded when we do well. </p>
<p>In our recent study, we used a brain imaging task, in which participants were placed in a scanner and viewed orange or blue squares. The orange squares would lead to a monetary reward, after a delay, if the participant made a response. This set up helped us investigate how the brain responds to rewards. We focused particularly on the ventral striatum, which is a key region in the brain’s reward system. We found that the effects on the reward system in the brain were subtle, with no direct effects of cannabis in the ventral striatum. However, the participants in our study were moderate cannabis users. The effects may be more pronounced in cannabis users with more severe and chronic use, as seen in cannabis use disorder.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Image of fMRI brain scan pictures." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457950/original/file-20220413-9289-f5ndvs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457950/original/file-20220413-9289-f5ndvs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457950/original/file-20220413-9289-f5ndvs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457950/original/file-20220413-9289-f5ndvs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457950/original/file-20220413-9289-f5ndvs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457950/original/file-20220413-9289-f5ndvs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457950/original/file-20220413-9289-f5ndvs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Brain scans can help investigate how people respond to rewards.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/scan-film-mri-466075553">toysf400/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is also evidence that cannabis can lead to mental health problems. We have shown that it <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ijnp/article/24/11/859/6291328?login=true">is related to higher “anhedonia”</a> – an inability to feel pleasure – in adolescents. Interestingly, this effect was particularly pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. </p>
<p>Cannabis use during adolescence has also been reported as a risk factor for developing psychotic experiences as well as schizophrenia. One study showed that cannabis use moderately increases the risk of psychotic symptoms in young people, but that it <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/330/7481/11.full.pdf?casa_token=PjjvgM0oqsYAAAAA:t1S-G9g2X1fVGG1NdVSwQjaPQFovGLDBa7I6bn-S4IqJNR4tUoUusX18IpTk0K-DR7IoFxSz26UP">has a much stronger effect</a> in those with a predisposition for psychosis (scoring highly on a symptom checklist of paranoid ideas and psychoticism).</p>
<p>Assessing 2,437 adolescents and young adults (14-24 years), the authors reported a six percentage points increased risk – from 15% to 21% – of psychotic symptoms in cannabis users without a predisposition for psychosis. But there was a 26-point increase in risk – from 25% to 51% – of psychotic symptoms in cannabis users with a predisposition for psychosis. </p>
<p>We don’t really know why cannabis is linked to psychotic episodes, but hypotheses suggests dopamine and glutamate <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6953551/">may be important</a> in the neurobiology of these conditions.</p>
<p>Another study of 780 teenagers suggested that the association between cannabis use and psychotic experiences was also <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31326579/">linked to a brain region called the “uncus”</a>. This lies within the parahippocampus (involved in memory) and olfactory bulb (involved in processing smells), and has a large amount of cannabinoid receptors. It has also previously been associated with schizophrenia and psychotic experiences. </p>
<p>Cognitive and psychological effects of cannabis use are ultimately likely to depend to some extent on dosage (frequency, duration and strength), sex, genetic vulnerabilities and age of onset. But we need to determine whether these effects are temporary or permanent. One article summarising many studies has suggested that with mild cannabis use, the effects may weaken <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6137521/">after periods of abstinence</a>. </p>
<p>But even if that’s the case, it is clearly worth considering the effects that prolonged cannabis use can have on our minds – particularly for young people whose brains are still developing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180987/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian receives funding from the Leverhulme Trust and the Lundbeck Foundation. Her research work is conducted within the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Mental Health and Neurodegeneration Themes and the NIHR MedTech and in vitro diagnostic Co-operative (MIC). She consults for Cambridge Cognition.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christelle Langley is funded by the Leverhulme Trust.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martine Skumlien receives funding from the Aker Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tianye Jia receives funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.</span></em></p>Cannabis use is linked to poorer memory, attention and mental health.Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian, Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology, University of CambridgeChristelle Langley, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Cognitive Neuroscience, University of CambridgeMartine Skumlien, PhD Candidate in Psychiatry, University of CambridgeTianye Jia, Professor of Population Neuroscience, Fudan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1708632021-12-08T18:46:43Z2021-12-08T18:46:43ZJunk food and the brain: How modern diets lacking in micronutrients may contribute to angry rhetoric<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431386/original/file-20211110-25-1wi438n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C268%2C5190%2C3718&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research reveals links between the irritability, explosive rage and unstable moods that have grown more common in recent years, and a lack of micronutrients that are important for brain function.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Emotional, non-rational, even explosive remarks in public discourse have escalated in recent years. Politicians endure insults during <a href="https://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/braid-jansen-stuns-legislature-by-reading-out-explicit-anti-female-slurs">legislative discussions</a>; scientists receive emails and tweets containing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.acx9488">verbal abuse and threats</a>.</p>
<p>What’s going on? This escalation in angry rhetoric is <a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/why-social-media-makes-us-so-angry-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/">sometimes attributed to social media</a>. But are there other influences altering communication styles?</p>
<p>As researchers in the field of nutrition and mental health, and authors of <a href="https://thebetterbrainbook.com"><em>The Better Brain</em></a>, we recognize that many in our society experience brain hunger, impairing their cognitive function and emotion regulation. </p>
<h2>Ultra-processed products</h2>
<p>Obviously, we are not deficient in macronutrients: North Americans tend to get sufficient protein, fats (though usually not the best fats) and carbohydrates (usually not the good complex carbs). But we are being cheated of micronutrients (minerals and vitamins), particularly in those whose food choices are dominated by ultra-processed products. </p>
<p>Ultra-processed products include things like soft drinks, packaged snacks, sweetened breakfast cereal and chicken nuggets. They generally contain only trivial amounts of a few micronutrients unless they are fortified, but even then, only a few at higher amounts. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A plate of chicken nuggets and fries" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431460/original/file-20211111-17-7h2spi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431460/original/file-20211111-17-7h2spi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431460/original/file-20211111-17-7h2spi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431460/original/file-20211111-17-7h2spi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431460/original/file-20211111-17-7h2spi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431460/original/file-20211111-17-7h2spi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431460/original/file-20211111-17-7h2spi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ultra-processed products contain only trivial amounts of vitamins and minerals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pixabay)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Three published analyses from the 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey and the 2018 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey revealed these sobering statistics: in Canada, in 2004, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.11.006">48 per cent of the caloric intake across all ages</a> came from ultra-processed products; in the United States <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.10238">67 per cent of what children aged two to 19 years</a> consumed and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqab305">57 per cent of what adults consumed</a> in 2018 were ultra-processed products.</p>
<p>Most of us are aware that dietary intake is a huge issue in physical health because diet quality is associated with chronic health conditions such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13349">obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease</a>. The public is less aware of the impact of nutrition on brain health. </p>
<h2>Micronutrients and mental health symptoms</h2>
<p>Given that our society’s food choices have moved so strongly toward ultra-processed products, we need to learn about the substantial scientific evidence proving that micronutrient intake influences mental health symptoms, especially irritability, explosive rage and unstable mood.</p>
<p>The scientific evidence base for this statement is now vast, though it is so rarely mentioned in the media that few in the public are familiar with it. A dozen studies from countries <a href="https://doi.org/10.17269/cjph.104.3845">like Canada</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/s1368980011001856">Spain</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/s1368980020001548">Japan</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09060881">and Australia</a> have shown that people who eat a healthy, whole foods diet have fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety than people who eat a poor diet (mostly ultra-processed products).</p>
<p>Correlational studies cannot prove that nutritional choices are the cause of mental health problems: for that we turn to some compelling prospective longitudinal studies in which people with no apparent mental health problems enter the study, are evaluated for their health and dietary patterns, and are then followed over time. Some of the results have been astonishing. </p>
<p>In a study of about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.112.114793">89,000 people in Japan</a> with 10-15 years of followup, the suicide rate in those consuming a whole foods diet was half that of those eating less healthy diets, highlighting an important new direction not yet covered in current suicide prevention programs. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-3307">Here in Canada</a>, similarly powerful findings show how children’s dietary patterns, as well as following other health guidelines on exercise and screen time, predicted which children aged 10 to 11 years would be referred for diagnosis of a mental disorder in the subsequent two years. It follows that nutrition education ought to be one of the first lines of treatment for children in this situation.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431461/original/file-20211111-6783-wkr3qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Foods typical of Mediterranean style diet, including fish, grains, fruits, vegetables and beans" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431461/original/file-20211111-6783-wkr3qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431461/original/file-20211111-6783-wkr3qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=770&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431461/original/file-20211111-6783-wkr3qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=770&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431461/original/file-20211111-6783-wkr3qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=770&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431461/original/file-20211111-6783-wkr3qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=968&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431461/original/file-20211111-6783-wkr3qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=968&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431461/original/file-20211111-6783-wkr3qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=968&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Mediterranean-style diet is typically high in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, seafood and unsaturated fats such as olive oil.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Irritability and unstable mood often characterize depression, so it’s relevant that multiple independent studies have found that teaching people with depression, who were consuming relatively poor diets, how to change to a whole foods Mediterranean-style diet resulted in significant improvements. A <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-mediterranean-diet-and-why-is-it-good-for-you-12656">Mediterranean-style diet</a> is typically high in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, seafood and unsaturated fats such as olive oil. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-017-0791-y">one such study</a>, about one-third of the people who changed to a whole foods diet in addition to their regular treatment found their depression to be in remission after 12 weeks. </p>
<p>The remission rate in the control group using regular treatment but no diet changes was fewer than one in 10. The whole foods diet group also reported a cost savings of about 20 per cent in their weekly food budget. This final point helps to dispel the myth that eating a diet of ultra-processed products is a way to save money. </p>
<p>Important evidence that irritability, explosive rage and unstable mood can be resolved with improved micronutrient intake comes from studies evaluating micronutrient supplements to treat <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12113394">mental health problems</a>. Most public awareness is restricted to the ill-fated search for magic bullets: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.5.747">studies of a single nutrient at a time</a>. That is a common way to think about causality (for problem X, you need medication Y), but that is not how our brains work. </p>
<p>To support brain metabolism, <a href="https://www.helpguide.org/harvard/vitamins-and-minerals.htm">our brains require at least 30 micronutrients</a> to ensure the production of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, as well as breaking down and removing metabolic byproducts. Many studies of multi-nutrient treatments have found improved mood regulation and reduced irritability and explosive rage, including in placebo-controlled randomized trials of children with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12817">attention deficit hyperactivity disorder</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2021.07.005">mood dysregulation</a>.</p>
<p>The evidence is clear: a well-nourished population is better able to withstand stress. Hidden brain hunger is one modifiable factor contributing to emotional outbursts, aggression and even the loss of civility in public discourse.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170863/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bonnie Kaplan receives funding from no organization currently, because she is retired. But during her career she received many grants from private foundations (donor funds) and from provincial funding competitions. Her only current affiliation is as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the John W. Brick Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia J Rucklidge receives or has received research funding from Health Research Council (NZ), Waterloo Foundation, Vic Davis Memorial Trust, University of Canterbury Foundation, Canterbury Medical Research Foundation, GAMA Foundation, and the Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care.</span></em></p>Ultra-processed foods high in sugar, fat and empty carbs are bad for the mind as well as the body. Lack of micronutrients affects brain function and influences mood and mental health symptoms.Bonnie Kaplan, Professor Emerita, Cumming School of Medicine, University of CalgaryJulia J Rucklidge, Professor of Psychology, University of CanterburyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1655112021-09-15T12:15:15Z2021-09-15T12:15:15ZBrain scans of Black women who experience racism show trauma-like effects, putting them at higher risk for future health problems<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417239/original/file-20210820-27-ph2m0i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C0%2C5184%2C3430&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Your experiences affect your brain – and your brain affects your health.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/hundreds-of-demonstrators-walk-to-gracie-mansion-the-news-photo/1219619719">John Lamparski/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Black women who have experienced more racism throughout their lives have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.1480">stronger brain responses to threat</a>, which may hurt their long-term health, according to a new study I conducted with clinical neuropsychologist <a href="https://psychiatry.emory.edu/faculty/fani_negar.html">Negar Fani</a> and other colleagues.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=RbBF5IgAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">I am part of a</a> <a href="http://gradytraumaproject.com/">research team</a> that for more than 15 years has studied the ways stress related to trauma exposure can affect the mind and body. In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.1480">our recent study</a>, we took a closer look at a stressor that Black Americans disproportionately face in the U.S.: racism.</p>
<p>My colleagues and I completed research with 55 Black women who reported how much they’d been exposed to traumatic experiences, such as childhood abuse and physical or sexual violence, and to racial discrimination, experiencing unfair treatment due to race or ethnicity.</p>
<p>We asked them to focus on a task that required attention while simultaneously looking at stressful images. We used <a href="https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/functional-mri-imaging-the-brain">functional MRI</a> to observe their brain activity during that time.</p>
<p>We found that Black women who reported more experiences of racial discrimination had more response activity in brain regions that are associated with vigilance and watching out for threat – that is, the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/middle-occipital-gyrus">middle occipital cortex</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/ventromedial-prefrontal-cortex">ventromedial prefrontal cortex</a>. Their reactions were above and beyond the response caused by traumatic experiences not related to racism. Our research suggests that racism had a traumalike effect on Black women’s health; being regularly attuned to the threat of racism can tax important body-regulation tools and worsen brain health.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expneurol.2020.113331">Other trauma research shows</a> that this kind of continuous response to threat can increase the risk of mental health disorders and additional future brain health problems.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Black Americans continue to suffer from health disparities, including being at disproportionately <a href="https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=28">greater risk for stroke</a>, cognitive decline and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2013.1353">neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease</a>, compared with white Americans. Although research has consistently demonstrated that the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579416000894">chronic stress of racism</a> can get under the skin and leave a biological residue of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000788">enduring health consequences</a> for Black Americans over time, little research has explored the impact of racism on brain function and health. </p>
<p>There is a large and well-established history of research connecting traumatic experiences, such as childhood maltreatment, physical assault and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2018.05.013">changes in brain functioning</a> that lead to negative health outcomes. Our study is one of the first to consider how the brain might respond to experiences of racial discrimination above and beyond other traumatic stressors.</p>
<p>Black women may be particularly vigilant about threats within their environment because they have had to adapt to living in societal spaces that perpetuate racism. Knowing this could be a step forward in research and advocacy efforts aimed at reducing health inequity.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Our research findings demonstrate that Black people’s experiences of racism can influence how the brain responds and adapts, which deserves greater research attention. My colleagues and I believe that neurobiology research is just beginning to appropriately investigate the effect that racism has on the health disparities seen in this population. Our study provides a preliminary glimpse into the need to consider the traumatic nature of racism in Black lives.</p>
<p>More research is needed across all stages of life, including in childhood, to understand how and when some Black people develop highly elevated vigilance to threats related to racial discrimination, and how that affects their health.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>I plan to do more research inspired by the results from this study. </p>
<p>Fear puts strain on the body, but it also can serve a protective purpose. I hope to get a better understanding of the costs and benefits of fear to threats in a context of chronic oppression for some Black Americans. </p>
<p>I’m also interested in how Black people describe, experience and address potential threats when the threat originates from individuals in positions of power who are expected to protect and serve.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165511/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sierra Carter receives funding from the National Cancer Institute (R01CA220254-02S1). Additional funding for the completion of this study included funding from the National Institutes of Mental Health (MH101380, MH119603, HD071982, MH-071537 and MH094757). </span></em></p>New research points to a biological way that racism can lead to health disparities.Sierra Carter, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Georgia State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1605652021-05-11T15:43:12Z2021-05-11T15:43:12ZCurious Kids: Why do people with synaesthesia link senses, and how does it work?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399455/original/file-20210507-19-eg8oam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If you hear the sound of a colour or see a colour each time you feel a particular texture on your skin, that could be synaesthesia</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/FtZL0r4DZYk">MI PHAM on Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en">FAL</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Why do people with synaesthesia link senses, and how does it work? – Zenah, age 11, Bristol, UK</em></p>
<p>Look around you – what does the world feel like? Some of it – like the colours – feels like it’s coming in through your eyes. You can’t hear the colours, or smell them, right? You can see them. </p>
<p>Eyes are for seeing, ears are for hearing sounds, noses and mouths are for smelling and tasting, and your fingertips are for touching. But what would happen if you could hear with your eyes? Or see with your ears? This is what it means to have <a href="https://www.syntoolkit.org/">synaesthesia</a> (pronounced sinna-STEE-zia).</p>
<h2>What is synaesthesia?</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A father holds a baby on his knee while drawing with coloured pens" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399473/original/file-20210507-25-g65ezw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399473/original/file-20210507-25-g65ezw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399473/original/file-20210507-25-g65ezw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399473/original/file-20210507-25-g65ezw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399473/original/file-20210507-25-g65ezw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399473/original/file-20210507-25-g65ezw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399473/original/file-20210507-25-g65ezw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">If a child is a syneasthete, chances are, so are their parents.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/jrOPyEXA8DE">Humphrey Muleba on Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en">FAL</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://repository.uel.ac.uk/download/fb8ad894401ec566d5c54938d3fb8df9fffc86f0ccc6404354a6e16adb6c256f/330025/fpsyg-05-01414.pdf">Synaesthesia</a> is a long word with a hard spelling that even adults get wrong. (It doesn’t help that it’s often spelled slightly differently, “synesthesia”, in the US.) It’s a word that describes a special way of sensing the world – a merging or a linking of the senses. </p>
<p>There are lots of <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/basics/synesthesia#the-different-types-of-synesthesia">different ways</a> to have synaesthesia. Some people <a href="http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/13707/">can see colours</a> when they hear music. Other people <a href="http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/82843/">can taste flavours</a> in their mouth when they read words. And others <a href="https://www.city.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2018/03/why-do-some-people-hear-silent-flashes">can hear sounds</a> when they look at bright colours, or watch silent, moving objects. We think there are over 100 ways of experiencing it, but <a href="http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/14073/">only a small number</a> of people in the world who do.</p>
<h2>How can you hear a colour?</h2>
<p>You might think your senses are separate from one another, that colours can only be seen by your eyes or sounds only be heard by your ears. But in fact, the brain is actually the big boss of everything. It’s the only one doing the seeing, the hearing, the tasting, and so on. </p>
<p>When you see a red rose, the colour is just the rose bouncing a certain part of the sun’s light into your eyes. This in turn makes your eyes send an electrical signal to your brain, much like a current down an electrical wire. </p>
<p>The actual feeling of redness only happens once that signal reaches a special part of your brain, called the <a href="https://kids.kiddle.co/Occipital_lobe">occipital cortex</a>. This is the part of your brain that sees. When it receives a signal from the eyes, it kind of springs into action (neuroscientists say it “<a href="https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/what-is-brain-activation-on-fmri">activates</a>”), and this is when you feel the colour red. </p>
<p>So redness is not something on the rose, but something in your brain. It is a feeling that happens when you activate a specific part of your brain. And the same is true for other feelings: coldness or <a href="https://www.brainfacts.org/thinking-sensing-and-behaving/hearing/2020/how-hearing-works-011020">loudness</a> or <a href="https://dana.org/article/how-our-brains-respond-to-texture/">prickliness</a> all have their own brain activations too.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A transparent 3D model of a human skull with the brain and other internal structures" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399474/original/file-20210507-23-1bky2ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399474/original/file-20210507-23-1bky2ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399474/original/file-20210507-23-1bky2ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399474/original/file-20210507-23-1bky2ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399474/original/file-20210507-23-1bky2ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399474/original/file-20210507-23-1bky2ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399474/original/file-20210507-23-1bky2ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The brain is the only one doing the seeing, the hearing, the tasting.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/rmWtVQN5RzU">jesse orrico on Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en">FAL</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How does synaesthesia happen?</h2>
<p>We’re all different right? Some people look different. And some people think differently. And different people have their brains wired in different ways too. People with synaesthesia have tiny differences in their brain which means the seeing part can sometimes become activated by a signal from the ears. Or the tasting part can become activated by a signal from the eyes.</p>
<p>They might experience a <a href="https://jov.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2134057">feeling of colour</a> from something they hear. Or a <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1748-6653.2011.02013.x">feeling of taste</a> from something they see. They have <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1748-6653.2011.02006.x">connections across the senses</a> that other people <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/content/30/18/6205.full">don’t have</a>, which, while uncommon is completely normal. It’s also pretty cool.</p>
<h2>What if I have synaesthsia?</h2>
<p>If you have synaesthesia you’re called a synaesthete. And you are not alone. You might want to ask your mum and dad if they have it, as it’s <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002929709000196">often hereditary.</a>. </p>
<p>You could ask your friends in class too. On average, there are likely to be <a href="https://academic.oup.com/brain/article/132/1/57/2847869">two to five</a> other children in your school with synaesthesia.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A child's hands are seen from above, working with glue and paper and scissors to make art" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399471/original/file-20210507-19-vrghvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399471/original/file-20210507-19-vrghvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399471/original/file-20210507-19-vrghvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399471/original/file-20210507-19-vrghvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399471/original/file-20210507-19-vrghvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399471/original/file-20210507-19-vrghvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399471/original/file-20210507-19-vrghvz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Having synaesthesia can lead to more creative thinking, better memory and a keen ability to picture things in your mind.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/TJxotQTUr8o">Sigmund on Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en">FAL</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Over the last 20 years as a neuropsychologist, I’ve heard from thousands of people with different kinds of synaesthesia. One common type is when you have colours for letters and numbers. So if you’ve known since you were little the exact colour of the letter A, or the colour of the number 7, then – congratulations! – you probably have what we call <a href="https://www.syntoolkit.org/teacher">grapheme-colour synaesthesia</a>: your brain makes connections between letters or numbers and colours. (Common associations are A=red, O=black or white, S=yellow, 1=black or white.)</p>
<p>Synaesthetes’ experiences can be <a href="https://vimeo.com/11649675">interesting</a> and <a href="http://tblayden.com/comparing-the-shape-of-sounds/4592477347">creative</a>, so I wish I had synaethesia too. Researchers have even been <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-you-learn-to-taste-and-smell-the-letter-b-28482">trying to find out if you can be trained</a> to have synaesthetic abilities. </p>
<p>It might be rare, but having synaethesia makes you a special person. It also comes with <a href="https://theconversation.com/seeing-music-or-tasting-numbers-heres-what-we-can-learn-from-people-with-synaesthesia-71758">certain advantages</a>. Synaesthetes tend to have <a href="http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/88329/">better memories</a> and be better at <a href="http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/57033/">picturing things</a> in their minds. They even do better at <a href="http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/95444/">some school subjects</a>, like spelling.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160565/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia Simner receives funding from the European Research Council, the Misophonia Research Fund, and the Kavli Foundation.</span></em></p>If you can “hear” colours or “taste” words then your brain is being activated in unusual ways.Julia Simner, Professor of neuropsychology, University of SussexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1209812020-01-20T01:41:22Z2020-01-20T01:41:22ZWhat makes a good psychologist or psychiatrist and how do you find one you like?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307303/original/file-20191217-124027-10vmjfi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We all struggle from time to time, but many people benefit from seeing a therapist.</span> </figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>Hi, I have mental health issues and I would like to know what makes a good or bad psychiatrist, psychologist or neuropsychologist.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Key points</h2>
<ul>
<li><p>Understanding the different roles of psychologists and psychiatrists, and how they align with your needs, will help you decide what type of therapist to see</p></li>
<li><p>find a therapist you feel safe and secure with, even if that means trying a few before finding one you like</p></li>
<li><p>find out how much they charge in advance. If cost or access are issues, or if it would make you more comfortable, consider going online for help.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/i-need-to-know-66587"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290837/original/file-20190904-175686-polw3q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=90&fit=crop&dpr=2" width="100%"></a></p>
<h2>Who does what in mental health care?</h2>
<p>Each type of mental health worker will have a different area of speciality, as well as different qualifications, training and experience. </p>
<p>In your question, you talked about psychologists and different areas of specialisation like clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists and psychiatrists, all of whom play a role in the assessment and treatment of mental health conditions. </p>
<p>Understanding the role of each and how it aligns with your needs may help you in your decision. </p>
<p><strong>Psychologists in general</strong></p>
<p>Psychologists provide assessment and therapy to clients, either through individual or group format and aim to enhance a person’s well-being. </p>
<p>A psychologist typically completes a minimum of six years of training, including university and practical experience, and is required to be registered with the <a href="https://www.psychologyboard.gov.au/">Psychology Board of Australia</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Clinical psychologists</strong></p>
<p>Clinical psychologists provide a range of psychological services to people across their life. Services typically focus on the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. </p>
<p>Clinical psychologists complete additional supervision in the practice of clinical psychology beyond their six years of university. </p>
<p><strong>Clinical neuropsychologists</strong></p>
<p>Clinical neuropsychologists assess and treat people with brain disorders that affect memory, learning, attention, reading, problem-solving and decision-making. </p>
<p>Like clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists complete those six years and receive additional supervision in the practice of clinical neuropsychology.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307305/original/file-20191217-123987-41ce7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307305/original/file-20191217-123987-41ce7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307305/original/file-20191217-123987-41ce7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307305/original/file-20191217-123987-41ce7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307305/original/file-20191217-123987-41ce7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307305/original/file-20191217-123987-41ce7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307305/original/file-20191217-123987-41ce7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Psychologists and psychiatrists have different backgrounds but both assess and treat mental illness.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/P3kPTq5x_7s">Kaleidico</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Psychiatrists</strong></p>
<p>Psychiatrists are doctors who are experts in mental health. They diagnose and treat people with mental illness and prescribe medications, if appropriate. </p>
<p>Psychiatrists typically complete four to six years of an undergraduate medical degree before undergoing general medicine training within a hospital. Then they complete several years of specialist training in psychiatry and must be registered with the <a href="https://www.ahpra.gov.au/">Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency</a>.</p>
<h2>You might need to try a few therapists to find the right one</h2>
<p>Therapy requires a person to feel safe and secure and establish trust with another person. So the fit between the two of you matters. </p>
<p>In the same way you may try a few hairdressers or GPs before you feel in safe hands, you may need to try out a few therapists before you find the right one. </p>
<p>Try not to feel disheartened; your persistence in this area will pay off.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thinking-of-seeing-a-psychologist-heres-how-to-choose-the-therapy-best-for-you-114294">Thinking of seeing a psychologist? Here's how to choose the therapy best for you</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Ideally, you should select a therapist who is appropriately qualified but also, one you can connect and engage with. To test this, you should leave the first session with a sense of hope, even in the face of challenges. </p>
<p>This is not to say therapy will always be a comfortable process. It will be your therapist’s job to encourage and support you in making uncomfortable changes, so there may be times where you feel challenged or uncomfortable. It’s helpful to communicate this openly with your therapist and allow space to explore this with their support. </p>
<h2>Ask your community for recommendations</h2>
<p>Word of mouth can be an excellent tool when sourcing a good therapist. Consider asking your GP, family, friends or local community who they recommend. </p>
<p>Once you have some names, do your homework. Look up their qualifications, read about them if you can, and make sure that they practise in the area that you need. </p>
<p>Mental health is a broad term and as such, therapists may choose to focus on particular areas within it. If the therapist you’ve chosen doesn’t practise in your area, don’t worry – just ask them if they have a referral suggestion for you.</p>
<h2>Find out how much they charge</h2>
<p>In Australia, there are a lot of different ways to access mental health support. Some options include private practitioners working in clinics or schools, community services and public mental health services. Each of these settings will have a different fee or access structure associated. </p>
<p>For example under Medicare, a person may be eligible for up to ten sessions (individual and/or group) with a registered psychologist per calendar year with a referral from their GP. </p>
<p>These sessions may be bulk billed (with no out-of-pocket expense), or there may be a fee associated and rebates available. Fees can vary greatly, however <a href="https://www.psychology.org.au/for-the-public/about-psychology/what-it-costs">the Australian Psychological Society recommends</a> a fee of A$251 per 50-60 minute session. Medicare rebates range from <a href="http://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/fullDisplay.cfm?type=item&qt=ItemID&q=80110">A$86</a> (for psychologists) to <a href="http://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/fullDisplay.cfm?type=item&q=80011&qt=item">A$126.50</a> (for clinical psychologists and neuropsychologists). This would leave you out of pocket A$124.50 or A$165. </p>
<p>Out-of-pocket costs for private psychiatrists also vary. They may be bulk billed, or charge a fee. An initial consultation <a href="https://www.yourhealthinmind.org/getmedia/47ab2215-38e7-4184-9515-2e1f1237e215/Cost-to-see-psychiatrist-YHIM.pdf.aspx?ext=.pdf">may cost around A$400</a>, with a Medicare rebate of <a href="http://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/fullDisplay.cfm?type=item&qt=ItemID&q=296">A$201.35</a>, leaving you out of pocket A$178.65.</p>
<p>Mental health services at <a href="https://headspace.org.au/young-people/how-headspace-can-help/">headspace</a> are either free or low cost. And some schools also offer free psychological services.</p>
<p>Ask your GP about the specific costs and rebates when you discuss referral options. </p>
<h2>Consider going online</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307306/original/file-20191217-124004-1fme77n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/307306/original/file-20191217-124004-1fme77n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307306/original/file-20191217-124004-1fme77n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307306/original/file-20191217-124004-1fme77n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307306/original/file-20191217-124004-1fme77n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307306/original/file-20191217-124004-1fme77n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/307306/original/file-20191217-124004-1fme77n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Online therapy will be a good fit for some young people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teen-surfing-net-bedroom-288897185">Will Rodrigues/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While there is much to be gained from the personal experience of therapy, access can be a problem in some regional and remote area of Australia. </p>
<p>Thankfully, there are a number of excellent online resources available:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au">Centre for Clinical Interventions</a> provides online resources and self-directed therapy modules for bipolar, anxiety, depression, eating disorders and other mental health conditions</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://beyondblue.org.au">Beyond Blue</a> provides support for anxiety, depression and suicide prevention</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au">Black Dog Institute</a> is dedicated to understanding, preventing and treating mental illness. It has a range of resources, particularly for depression and anxiety</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.brave-online.com">Brave</a> supports young people to overcome anxiety.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Remember, we all struggle from time to time. For many, therapy plays an important role in improving their mental health and setting them back on their path. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/online-therapies-can-improve-mental-health-and-there-are-no-barriers-to-accessing-them-111357">Online therapies can improve mental health, and there are no barriers to accessing them</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120981/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jade Sheen is a recipient of an Australian Government Office and Learning and Teaching grant and several Department of Health and Ageing grants.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Dudley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>You might need to visit a few therapists to find one you can connect and engage with. If cost or access are issues, you might even like to go online.Jade Sheen, Associate Professor, School of Psychology, Deakin UniversityAmanda Dudley, Psychologist and Lecturer, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1261602019-11-14T22:59:55Z2019-11-14T22:59:55ZStudent violence in classrooms: How teacher crisis intervention training can help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301848/original/file-20191114-26211-kq875v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C61%2C4656%2C2676&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As teachers attempt to meet the diverse educational, mental health, and behavioural needs of their students, they face high rates of burnout.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recently, the news has been filled with stories about <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/education/article-as-teachers-report-more-violent-incidents-in-schools-boards-struggle/">the level of violence in</a> school classrooms in Canada, leading to lost instructional time and injured <a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/rising-rate-of-sick-leave-emerges-as-key-issue-as-school-strike-looms">or stressed teachers</a>. Some parents and teachers are worried about what this means for kids in schools and school safety. </p>
<p>Last year, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE) conducted a <a href="https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/violence-in-schools-on-increase-says-report-by-canadian-teachers-federation">review of research</a> completed by member organizations about experiences with violence in schools. Their study included surveys from across the country, each with different design and sampling techniques and definitions. Violence was defined as ranging from verbal harassment or swearing to physical threats or assault. </p>
<p>CTF/FCE reported that <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/classroom-violence-on-the-rise-teachers-tell-canadian-teachers-federation-1.4739869">between 41 and 90 per cent of surveyed teachers (depending on the jurisdiction)</a> had experienced or witnessed violence directed toward teachers from students or parents, with most violence being verbal violence. </p>
<h2>Burnout</h2>
<p>If our society <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-31810-001">expects teachers to meet the increasingly complex needs of students</a> and to address students’ <a href="https://casel.org/">social and emotional learning</a>, we need to provide them with the training to support students with <a href="https://www.ctf-fce.ca/Research-Library/StudentMentalHealthReport.pdf">mental health and behavioural challenges</a>. There are evidence-based school interventions to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2017.11.022">support students with more intense needs</a>, but they require adequate supports to be implemented effectively. Teachers cannot implement these independently.</p>
<p>When teachers have too many students with high needs and not enough resources, this is a recipe for problems. As they attempt to meet the diverse educational, mental health and behavioural needs of their students, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-31810-001">they face high rates of burnout</a>. </p>
<p>At the policy level, long-term visioning and securing adequate resources for educational assessments and supports should be part of a solution. For teachers in their everyday classrooms, short-term strategies, such as using de-escalation and crisis intervention techniques, can help to meet student needs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301693/original/file-20191114-77291-5pllf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301693/original/file-20191114-77291-5pllf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301693/original/file-20191114-77291-5pllf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301693/original/file-20191114-77291-5pllf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301693/original/file-20191114-77291-5pllf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301693/original/file-20191114-77291-5pllf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301693/original/file-20191114-77291-5pllf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Resources for educational assessments should be part of a solution.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>The needs are not wrong</h2>
<p>Through my experience as a former school psychologist and a researcher in school-based mental health and in applying neuropsychological principles in schools, I have learned that it is important to spend time understanding that <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781452243931.n4">student behaviour is an attempt to meet a need</a>. The need is not wrong, but students sometimes have skill deficits that result in behaviours that are problematic in classrooms. </p>
<p>When educators can figure out what those needs are, they can often reduce the likelihood of the violent behaviour by changing aspects of the environment. They can also teach students skills they are missing to help them more effectively meet their needs.</p>
<p>Most <a href="https://www.ccpa-accp.ca/making-functional-behaviour-assessments-accessible-for-teachers/">school psychologists have training to support</a> functional behavioural assessments and positive behaviour support plans — this can be an asset in supporting teachers. </p>
<p>While there are students who need a different level of support than what can be provided by a general education teacher with a class filled with students who have diverse needs, many students can be supported in regular classrooms. </p>
<h2>De-escalation approaches</h2>
<p>For example, when potentially violent situations arise, there are steps teachers can take to prevent or de-escalate potential problems early in the process. </p>
<p>Aggressive and violent behaviour by children builds up, and there are early signals that something is escalating: increased volume, more aggressive language, increased energy level and movement.</p>
<p>Here are some common strategies <a href="https://www.crisisprevention.com/en-CA/What-We-Do">discussed in crisis prevention and intervention</a>: </p>
<p><strong>Stay calm and non-confrontational:</strong> Avoid arguing or trying to reason with a student who is showing signs of escalation.</p>
<p><strong>Give choices:</strong> Clearly, and using non-emotive language, give the student a choice of behaviour with clear consequences. “You can return to your seat so that we can finish our work and go to recess; if you choose not to return to your seat, you will be asked to leave the classroom.” Make sure that you allow time for students to consider their choices and to respond.</p>
<p><strong>Acknowledge feelings:</strong> As students escalate, they often make claims about what is happening and perhaps that things are not fair to them. While their perceptions of fairness may not be accurate, you can always acknowledge that they are frustrated, disappointed or angry and make them feel heard. For example, a teacher might say: “I see that you are disappointed that you are not the line leader today.”</p>
<p><strong>Provide space:</strong> Give the child space, reduce interactions between the student and the rest of the class and if it appears likely that verbal de-escalation may be unsuccessful, make sure that the rest of the class has a clear exit route. </p>
<p>There should be a plan for incidents that escalate in spite of efforts to prevent them. A school team, rather than individual teachers, should be involved in creating and implementing this plan as inadequate support increases the chances of violence.</p>
<p><strong>Debrief the situation:</strong> After an incident, both teachers and students need an opportunity to debrief with someone on the team. Experiencing violence in the classroom can be a traumatic experience, so it is important to provide an opportunity to discuss the situation. </p>
<p>This can often be accomplished through school teams, but it may sometimes require access to an outside mental health professional. This process is especially important as students who have had a violent incident need to have teachers who can treat each day as a clean slate. This can be exceptionally difficult emotionally for teachers who have experienced violence from students. </p>
<p>We need to take steps to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2018.06.006">ensure the safety of teachers and students</a>, so that students can focus on learning and developing the skills they will need to be successful adults, and teachers can focus on teaching their students.</p>
<p>[ <em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/newsletters?utm_source=TCCA&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=youresmart">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126160/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabrielle Wilcox does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Providing teachers with training in crisis intervention is one short-term strategy to help them meet the increasingly complex needs of students.Gabrielle Wilcox, Associate Professor, Werklund School of Education, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1217112019-08-12T14:55:19Z2019-08-12T14:55:19ZBeing left-handed doesn’t mean you are right-brained – so what does it mean?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/287689/original/file-20190812-71909-1c4xhk5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/left-handed-man-writing-on-notebook-1463607707">Wachiwit/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There have been plenty of claims about what being left-handed means, and whether it changes the type of person someone is – but the truth is something of an enigma. Myths about handedness appear year after year, but researchers have yet to uncover all of what it means to be left-handed.</p>
<p>So why are people left-handed? The truth is we don’t fully know that either. What we do know is that only <a href="https://www.livescience.com/19968-study-reveals-lefties-rare.html">around 10% of people</a> across the world are left-handed – but this isn’t split equally between the sexes. About 12% of men are left-handed but <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2008-11487-004?doi=1">only about 8% of women</a>. Some people get very excited about the 90:10 split and wonder why we aren’t all right-handed. </p>
<p>But the interesting question is, why isn’t our handedness based on chance? Why isn’t it a 50:50 split? It is not due to handwriting direction, as left-handedness would be dominant in countries where their languages are written right to left, which it is not the case. Even the genetics are odd – only about <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-childrens-brains-develop-to-make-them-right-or-left-handed-55272">25% of children</a> who have <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1993-98645-005">two left-handed parents</a> will also be left-handed.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-childrens-brains-develop-to-make-them-right-or-left-handed-55272">How children's brains develop to make them right or left handed</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>Being left-handed has been linked with all sorts of bad things. Poor health and early death are often associated, for example – but neither are exactly true. The latter is explained by many people in older generations being <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/002839329390156T">forced to switch</a> and use their right hands. This makes it look like there are less left-handers at older ages. The former, despite being an appealing headline, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2398212818820513">is just wrong</a>. </p>
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<p>Positive myths are also abound. People say that left-handers are more creative, as most of them use their “right brain”. This is perhaps one of the more persistent myths about handedness and the brain. But no matter how appealing (and perhaps to the disappointment of those lefties still waiting to wake up one day with the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278262604000612">talents of Leonardo da Vinci</a>), the general idea that any of us use a “dominant brain side” that defines our personality and decision making <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0071275">is also wrong</a>.</p>
<h2>Brain lateralisation and handedness</h2>
<p>It is true, however, that the brain’s <a href="https://courses.lumenlearning.com/waymaker-psychology/chapter/the-brain-and-spinal-cord/">right hemisphere controls the left side of the body</a>, and the left hemisphere the right side – and that the hemispheres do actually have specialities. For example, language is usually processed a little bit more within the left hemisphere, and recognition of faces a little bit more within the right hemisphere. This idea that each hemisphere is specialised for some skills is known as brain lateralisation. However, the halves do not work in isolation, as a thick band of nerve fibres – called the corpus callosum – connects the two sides.</p>
<p>Interestingly, there are some known differences in these specialities between right-handers and left-handers. For example, it is often cited that around 95% of right-handers are “left hemisphere dominant”. This is not the same as the “left brain” claim above, it actually refers to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09647049609525672">the early finding</a> that most right-handers depend more on the left hemisphere for speech and language. It was assumed that the opposite would be true for lefties. But this is not the case. In fact, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01128/full">70% of left-handers</a> also process language more in the left hemisphere. Why this number is lower, rather than reversed, is as yet unknown.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-life-left-handed-the-answer-is-in-the-stars-44862">Why is life left-handed? The answer is in the stars</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Researchers have found many other brain specialities, or “asymmetries” in addition to language. Many of these are specialised in the right hemisphere – in most right-handers at least – and include things such as face processing, spatial skills and perception of emotions. But these are understudied, perhaps because scientists have incorrectly assumed that they all depend on being in the hemisphere that isn’t dominant for language in each person. </p>
<p>In fact, this assumption, plus the recognition that a small number of left-handers have unusual right hemisphere brain dominance for language, means left-handers are either ignored – or worse, actively avoided – <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn3679">in many studies of the brain</a>, because researchers assume that, as with language, all other asymmetries will be reduced.</p>
<p>How some of these functions are lateralised (specialised) in the brain can actually influence how we perceive things and so can be studied using simple perception tests. For example, in my research group’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1357650X.2019.1652308">recent study</a>, we presented pictures of faces that were constructed so that one half of the face shows one emotion, while the other half shows a different emotion, to a large number of right-handers and left-handers. </p>
<p>Usually, people see the emotion shown on the left side of the face, and this is believed to reflect specialisation in the right hemisphere. This is linked to the fact that visual fields are processed in such a way there is a bias to the left side of space. This is thought to represent right hemisphere processing while a bias to the right side of space is thought to represent left hemisphere processing. We also presented different types of pictures and sounds, to examine several other specialisations. </p>
<p>Our findings suggest that some types of specialisations, including processing of faces, do seem to follow the interesting pattern seen for language (that is, more of the left-handers seemed to have a preference for the emotion shown on the right side of the face). But in another task that looked at biases in what we pay attention to, we found no differences in the brain-processing patterns for right-handers and left-handers. This result suggests that while there are relationships between handedness and some of the brain’s specialisations, there aren’t for others.</p>
<p>Left-handers are absolutely central to new experiments like this, but not just because they can help us understand what makes this minority different. Learning what makes left-handers different could also help us finally solve many of the long-standing neuropsychological mysteries of the brain.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121711/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Karlsson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>10% of people are left-handed but we still haven’t uncovered how this changes the way their brains work.Emma Karlsson, Postdoctoral researcher in Cognitive Neuroscience, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1166632019-08-08T20:06:35Z2019-08-08T20:06:35ZCurious Kids: why do I sometimes forget what I was just going to say?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286868/original/file-20190805-117861-1tte4c9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C0%2C6211%2C4147&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Everyone forgets things sometimes. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cute-little-asian-boy-feel-strain-784533127?src=sW4Ng_XroqbHx9blIK7FZw-1-18&studio=1">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au.</em> </p>
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<blockquote>
<p><strong>Why do I sometimes forget to say something mere moments before I say it? - Labib, aged 12, Irvine, CA.</strong></p>
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<hr>
<p>That’s an interesting question, Labib.</p>
<p>Forgetting to do or to say things happens to all of us sometimes. </p>
<p>Have you ever walked into a room and realised you can’t remember what you were looking for? We tend to do this more when we are thinking of a few things at once or doing two things at the same time.</p>
<p>Some people call this “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual-task_paradigm">dual-tasking</a>”. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-do-adults-think-video-games-are-bad-76699">Curious Kids: Why do adults think video games are bad?</a>
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<p>Have you ever crossed the road while chatting to a friend at the same time, or walked across a room while tapping away on a tablet or phone? That’s dual-tasking.</p>
<p>Everyone does it and we <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40279-015-0369-9">tend to get better</a> at it as we get older and learn new skills.</p>
<p>But while our brain is a truly amazing computer – more powerful than any real computer – it can only use so much mental energy at one time. </p>
<h2>Your brain is a power station</h2>
<p>Think of your brain as a power station, providing electricity to a number of cities. </p>
<p>If some cities cry out for a lot of energy (by having all their light switches on), other cities would have less power to work with. There’s only so much electricity to go around. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286864/original/file-20190805-117866-aoy5et.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/286864/original/file-20190805-117866-aoy5et.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286864/original/file-20190805-117866-aoy5et.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286864/original/file-20190805-117866-aoy5et.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286864/original/file-20190805-117866-aoy5et.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286864/original/file-20190805-117866-aoy5et.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/286864/original/file-20190805-117866-aoy5et.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Our brain is like a power station, providing energy to lots of different tasks we might be trying to do.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/artificial-intelligence-concept-electric-brain-people-1135626104?studio=1">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>In the same way, your brain only has so much energy to share around at any one time. Younger kids have small brains and have less mental energy available than older kids. In the same way, a teenager’s brain is less mature than an adult brain. </p>
<p>Now, this brings us back to the question of forgetting things. </p>
<p>An older (and more experienced) brain means more mental energy to share between tasks. </p>
<p>For young kids, dual-tasking is possible. However, some studies suggest that it can be a little more <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40279-015-0369-9">difficult for younger kids</a> compared with older kids.</p>
<p>Why? The power station in their brain is a little smaller and is not producing quite the same amount of energy as older kids. </p>
<h2>Practise makes perfect</h2>
<p>The more we practise our skills (like riding a bike, playing a sport, or baking a cake), the better we are at doing another task at the same time.</p>
<p>For a very skilled sportsperson (like a footballer), juggling a football while having a chat with a friend would be easy. </p>
<p>Their football skills are so automatic that they don’t need much mental energy to do it, leaving more for other things.</p>
<p>However, for someone who is just learning, juggling a ball may require a lot of mental energy just by itself. There is not much leftover for holding a conversation.</p>
<p><img width="100%" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/S7EOVjt13qKJcatWqG/source.gif"></p>
<h2>So, why do I sometimes forget to say something before I say it?</h2>
<p>The answer is you are likely to have been “dual-tasking” just before speaking. </p>
<p>It might have been because you were thinking about the words you wanted to say and something else at the same time. Or maybe you were concentrating on listening while trying to think of what to say.</p>
<p>Sometimes, your brain just can’t do two complicated things at once. You might not have enough mental energy in that moment. </p>
<p>Forgetting things is normal for everyone and can happen when you are doing too many things at once.</p>
<p>When it happens to you, take a deep breath and relax! </p>
<p>Perhaps those words will come back to you later when you clear your head and re-energise.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-much-does-a-brain-weigh-112000">Curious Kids: how much does a brain weigh?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Have you got a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116663/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Wilson receives funding from The Australian Research Council (ARC). </span></em></p>Have you ever walked into a room and realised you can’t remember what you were looking for? We tend to do this more when we are thinking of a few things at once or doing two things at the same time.Peter Wilson, Professor of Developmental Psychology, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1047132018-10-19T10:24:42Z2018-10-19T10:24:42ZEmotions: how humans regulate them and why some people can’t<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241211/original/file-20181018-41144-1vh8so4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/girl-holds-changes-her-face-portraits-400796335?src=7OAD-1GjlsLsJJ0lniB1Ow-1-98">Gearstd/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Take the following scenario. You are nearing the end of a busy day at work, when a comment from your boss diminishes what’s left of your dwindling patience. You turn, red-faced, towards the source of your indignation. It is then that you stop, reflect, and choose not to voice your displeasure. After all, the shift is nearly over. </p>
<p>This may not be the most exciting plot, but it shows how we as humans can <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c9a9/a1e13031c6548c7e52e45ed9b69edc6a4921.pdf">regulate our emotions</a>. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=hcgBAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=emotion+regulation+conceptual+foundations&ots=cgMw_6WuaJ&sig=FFPDahopHjVFFwQuZ_Yjj2UTCm8#v=onepage&q=emotion%20regulation%20conceptual%20foundations&f=false">regulation of emotions</a> is not limited to stopping an outburst of anger – it means that we can manage the emotions we feel as well as how and when they are experienced and expressed. It can enable us to be positive in the face of difficult situations, or fake joy at opening a terrible birthday present. It can stop grief from crushing us and fear from stopping us in our tracks. </p>
<p>Because it allows us to enjoy positive emotions more and experience negative emotions less, regulation of emotions is incredibly important for our <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2003-05897-016.html">well-being</a>. Conversely, emotional dysregulation is associated with <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1468-2850.1995.tb00036.x">mental health</a> conditions and psychopathology. For example, a breakdown in emotional regulation strategies is thought to play a role in conditions such as depression, anxiety, substance misuse and <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/fccb/bd33f74e9a4685e248b5d33a2720631a456e.pdf">personality disorders</a>.</p>
<h2>How to manage your emotions</h2>
<p>By their very nature, emotions make us feel – but they also make us act. This is due to changes in our autonomic nervous system and associated hormones in the endocrine system that anticipate and support emotion-related behaviours. For example, adrenaline is released in a fearful situation to help us run away from danger.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241057/original/file-20181017-41153-im87h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241057/original/file-20181017-41153-im87h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241057/original/file-20181017-41153-im87h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241057/original/file-20181017-41153-im87h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241057/original/file-20181017-41153-im87h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241057/original/file-20181017-41153-im87h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241057/original/file-20181017-41153-im87h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Changing moods.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-boy-teen-select-between-positive-387530503?src=EJaqW8kaFGBWiAyjEUnRUg-1-64">Oksana Mizina/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Before an emotion arises there is first a situation, which can be external: such as a spider creeping nearer, or internal: thinking that you are not good enough. This is then attended to – we focus on the situation – before we appraise it. Put simply, the situation is evaluated in terms of the meaning it holds for ourselves. This meaning then gives rise to an emotional response. </p>
<p>Psychologist and researcher James Gross, <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e729/3b6be5a7cbf36498d5dcc6554a85b699296e.pdf">has described</a> a set of five strategies that we all use to regulate our emotions and that may be used at different points in the emotion generation process: </p>
<p><strong>1. Situation selection</strong></p>
<p>This involves looking to the future and taking steps to make it more likely to end up in situations that gives rise to desirable emotions, or less likely to end up in situations that lead to undesirable emotions. For example, taking a longer but quieter route home from work to avoid road rage.</p>
<p><strong>2. Situation modification</strong></p>
<p>This strategy might be implemented when we are already in a situation, and refers to steps that might be taken to change or improve the situation’s emotional impact, such as agreeing to disagree when a conversation gets heated. </p>
<p><strong>3. Attentional deployment</strong></p>
<p>Ever distracted yourself in order to face a fear? This is “attentional deployment” and can be used to direct or focus attention on different aspects of a situation, or something else entirely. Someone scared of needles thinking of happy memories during a blood test, for example.</p>
<p><strong>4. Cognitive change</strong></p>
<p>This is about changing how we appraise something to change how we feel about it. One particular form of cognitive change is reappraisal, which involves thinking differently or thinking about the positive sides – such as reappraising the loss of a job as an exciting opportunity to try new things.</p>
<p><strong>5. Response modulation</strong></p>
<p>Response modulation happens late in the emotion generation process, and involves changing how we react or express an emotion, to decrease or increase its emotional impact – hiding anger at a colleague, for example. </p>
<h2>How do our brains do it?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn4044">mechanisms</a> that underlie these strategies are distinct and exceptionally complex, involving psychological, cognitive and biological processes. The cognitive control of emotion involves an interaction between the brain’s ancient and subcortical emotion systems (such as the periaqueductal grey, hypothalamus and the amygdala), and the cognitive control systems of the prefrontal and cingulate cortex. </p>
<p>Take <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006322307005926">reappraisal</a>, which is a type of cognitive change strategy. When we reappraise, cognitive control capacities that are supported by areas in the prefrontal cortex allow us to manage our feelings by changing the meaning of the situation. This leads to a decrease of activity in the subcortical emotion systems that lie deep within the brain. Not only this, but reappraisal also changes our physiology, by decreasing our heart rate and sweat response, and improves how we experience emotions. This goes to show that looking on the bright side really can make us feel better – but not everyone is able to do this. </p>
<p>Those with emotional disorders, such as depression, remain in difficult emotional states for prolonged durations and find it difficult to sustain positive feelings. It has been suggested that depressed individuals show <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/content/27/33/8877.short">abnormal activation patterns</a> in the same cognitive control areas of the prefrontal cortex – and that the <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/content/30/47/15726.short">more depressed they are the less able</a> they are to use reappraisal to regulate negative emotions. </p>
<p>However, though some may find reappraisal difficult, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02699931.2017.1295922">situation selection might be just a little easier</a>. Whether it’s being in nature, talking to friends and family, lifting weights, cuddling your dog, or skydiving – doing the things that make you smile can help you see the positives in life.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104713/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leanne Rowlands receives funding from EU Social fund through the Welsh Government.</span></em></p>Managing your feelings takes more than just turning that frown upside down.Leanne Rowlands, PhD Researcher in Neuropsychology, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/916082018-02-09T23:10:00Z2018-02-09T23:10:00ZCanada’s unsung female heroes of life sciences<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205770/original/file-20180209-51713-ighgwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Former governor general David Johnston invests Toronto scientist Janet Rossant as a Companion of the Order of Canada during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa in 2016. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.un.org/en/events/women-and-girls-in-science-day/">International Day of Women and Girls in Science</a> is Feb. 11. To mark the occasion, let’s look back at some of Canada’s women life scientists. They’ve been pioneers in providing a foundation of knowledge through the sheer force of their world-class talent —going back more than a century. </p>
<p>Their legacy has established a knowledge foundation that represents the impact of real science. </p>
<p>Largely unknown by Canada’s decision-makers in government, industry and even the general public, their work is unheralded by ribbon-cutting ceremonies. Their relative obscurity in Canada, then and now, appears to be the preoccupation of how budgetary decisions are made as opposed to a consideration of talent and merit.</p>
<p>It’s high time to give them their due:</p>
<h2>Maud Menten</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205763/original/file-20180209-51716-1jnuap1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205763/original/file-20180209-51716-1jnuap1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=982&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205763/original/file-20180209-51716-1jnuap1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=982&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205763/original/file-20180209-51716-1jnuap1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=982&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205763/original/file-20180209-51716-1jnuap1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1234&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205763/original/file-20180209-51716-1jnuap1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1234&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205763/original/file-20180209-51716-1jnuap1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1234&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Maud Leonora Menten. Undated photo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Smithsonian Institute)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the turn of the century, University of Toronto medical graduate Maud Menten was barred from doing independent research in Canada as part of the accepted sexism of the day.</p>
<p>Her discovery in Berlin in 1913 provided the first insight into how chemical reactions in every cell of our body are regulated by enzymes. The discovery enabled enzymes to be purified, modified and targeted for drug therapy for disease. </p>
<p>Today enzymes serve as targets for about a third of all drugs in clinical use.
<br><br><br><br><br><br></p>
<h2>Maude Abbott</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205765/original/file-20180209-51697-oprili.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205765/original/file-20180209-51697-oprili.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=851&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205765/original/file-20180209-51697-oprili.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=851&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205765/original/file-20180209-51697-oprili.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=851&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205765/original/file-20180209-51697-oprili.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1070&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205765/original/file-20180209-51697-oprili.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1070&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205765/original/file-20180209-51697-oprili.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1070&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Maude Abbott.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">McGill University</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Maude Abbott was a world-renowned scholar, Bishop’s University medical graduate (1894) and a McGill University medical museum curator and pathology lecturer. </p>
<p>Her work in 1905 on congenital heart disease is critical to modern surgery. Abbott’s stunning pathology dissections are preserved today at the McGill Maude Abbott Medical Museum and remain unsurpassed to this day.
<br><br><br><br><br></p>
<h2>Brenda Milner</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205766/original/file-20180209-51727-lj2w7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205766/original/file-20180209-51727-lj2w7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205766/original/file-20180209-51727-lj2w7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205766/original/file-20180209-51727-lj2w7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205766/original/file-20180209-51727-lj2w7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205766/original/file-20180209-51727-lj2w7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205766/original/file-20180209-51727-lj2w7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dr. Brenda Milner is seen in the House of Commons among other laureates of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in February 2002.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(CP PHOTO/Jonathan Hayward)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the middle of the 20th century, McGill’s Brenda Milner, a renowned scholar and founder of the field of neuropsychology, discovered that memory in humans is multiple and stored in several different parts of the brain. </p>
<p>Her discoveries in 1957 led to better treatments for a variety of brain disorders including trauma, degenerative and psychiatric diseases.</p>
<h2>Annette Herscovics</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205768/original/file-20180209-51713-1yadvc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205768/original/file-20180209-51713-1yadvc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=764&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205768/original/file-20180209-51713-1yadvc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=764&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205768/original/file-20180209-51713-1yadvc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=764&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205768/original/file-20180209-51713-1yadvc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=960&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205768/original/file-20180209-51713-1yadvc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=960&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205768/original/file-20180209-51713-1yadvc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=960&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Annette Herscovics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">McGill University</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At McGill, Annette Herscovics discovered in 1969 that thyroglobulin, a precursor to thyroid hormone, undergoes carbohydrate modifications.</p>
<p>This was one of the first discoveries of a class of proteins known today as “glycoproteins.” Carbohydrate addition to proteins is today known as the most abundant protein modification for all life forms on the planet. </p>
<p>At Harvard in 1974, Herscovics then discovered the exact mechanism for carbohydrate addition that is a universal mechanism for all organisms with nucleated cells. </p>
<p>Upon returning to McGill in 1981, she discovered how these modifications are relevant to human disease, including cancer. </p>
<h2>Rose Johnstone</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205769/original/file-20180209-51703-f1d5bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205769/original/file-20180209-51703-f1d5bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=870&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205769/original/file-20180209-51703-f1d5bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=870&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205769/original/file-20180209-51703-f1d5bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=870&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205769/original/file-20180209-51703-f1d5bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1093&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205769/original/file-20180209-51703-f1d5bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1093&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205769/original/file-20180209-51703-f1d5bh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1093&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rose Johnstone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">McGill University</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Herscovics’s PhD supervisor was Rose Johnstone, who made a monumental discovery at McGill in 1983. </p>
<p>She discovered exactly how red blood cells in our body are made from precursor cells through a previously unknown structure she named “exosomes.” </p>
<p>Exosomes are now recognized as a universal protein delivery mechanism used by all cells in our body. They’re actively studied by academics and industry for the understanding and treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.</p>
<h2>Morag Park</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205771/original/file-20180209-51723-28jrdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205771/original/file-20180209-51723-28jrdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205771/original/file-20180209-51723-28jrdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205771/original/file-20180209-51723-28jrdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205771/original/file-20180209-51723-28jrdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205771/original/file-20180209-51723-28jrdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205771/original/file-20180209-51723-28jrdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Morag Park.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">McGill University</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the U.S. National Cancer Institute in 1986, Morag Park’s work on mutant <a href="https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/MET">“MET” gene</a> association with several different cancers led to international prominence. </p>
<p>Today, Park is head of the McGill Cancer Research Centre, and has extended her discoveries to breast cancer and the importance of the surrounding normal cells in tumour progression.</p>
<h2>Janet Rossant</h2>
<p>Janet Rossant discovered the mechanisms used by embryos to generate organs and tissues with direct relevance to childhood diseases. </p>
<p>Her talent was first recognized at Brock University in 1977 and was followed by recruitment to the Lunenfeld Institute in Toronto. She was then director of the Research Institute of the Hospital for Sick Kids, and is now president and scientific director of the <a href="http://gairdner.org/">Gairdner Foundation.</a></p>
<h2>Mona Nemer</h2>
<p>Mona Nemer is currently Canada’s Chief Scientific Adviser discovered in Ottawa how genes that regulate the development of the heart help understand heart disease.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205772/original/file-20180209-51719-1bd8ffd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205772/original/file-20180209-51719-1bd8ffd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205772/original/file-20180209-51719-1bd8ffd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205772/original/file-20180209-51719-1bd8ffd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205772/original/file-20180209-51719-1bd8ffd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205772/original/file-20180209-51719-1bd8ffd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205772/original/file-20180209-51719-1bd8ffd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dr. Mona Nemer is introduced as Canada’s new Chief Science Advisor on Parliament Hill in September 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Nada Jabado</h2>
<p>The discoveries of <a href="http://www.thechildren.com/departments-and-staff/staff/nada-jabado-md-phd-pediatric-hemato-oncologist">Nada Jabado</a>, a McGill physician scientist and paediatric cancer specialist, focus on how proteins are modified in cancer via the epigenome that mark the DNA in our genes to change the function of the gene. </p>
<h2>Heidi McBride</h2>
<p>McGill cell biologist <a href="http://mcbridelab.org/about/">Heidi McBride</a> has made transformative discoveries on the role of mitochondria (the energy factory in our cells) in cancer and neurological diseases, including Parkinson’s disease.</p>
<h2>Freda Miller</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.sickkids.ca/AboutSickKids/Directory/People/M/Freda-Miller.html">Freda Miller</a> at the Hospital for Sick Kids in Toronto has deciphered the mechanisms used to generate neuronal circuits during development from a thin sheet of non-neuronal precursor cells.</p>
<h2>Anne Claude Gingras</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.lunenfeld.ca/researchers/gingras">Anne Claude Gingras</a> of the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Toronto is a specialist in “quantitative proteomics.” It’s led to enormous advances in our understanding of cell organization with direct application to disease.</p>
<h2>Andrews, Arrowsmith and Edwards</h2>
<p>Brenda Andrews, Cheryl Arrowsmith, and Elizabeth Edwards are internationally renowned for their discoveries at the University of Toronto. </p>
<p><a href="http://sites.utoronto.ca/andrewslab/">Andrews</a> defines the new field of systems biology to understand cell organization using robots and Artificial Intelligence and its application to disease. </p>
<p><a href="http://nmr.uhnres.utoronto.ca/arrowsmith/">Arrowsmith’s</a> discoveries focus on cellular protein structure resolved at the atomic level to understand how chemical modifications regulate gene expression and their relevance to disease. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.chem-eng.utoronto.ca/faculty-staff/faculty-members/elizabeth-a-edwards/">Edwards’</a> work on “bioaugmentation” through anaerobic microbes to detoxify environmental pollutants is of direct relevance to the nightmare of toxic industrial and municipal waste accumulation.</p>
<h2>Impressive display of talent</h2>
<p>Taken together, these discoveries represent an impressive display of talent for real science that rivals scientists anywhere in the world.</p>
<p>Whatever country recognizes and establishes a genuine priority to enable real science by talented women scientists, and helps them thrive in discovery research, will be rewarded enormously. </p>
<p>Discovery research institutes such as the Crick Institute in the U.K. gather the most talented scientists, men and women, early in their careers, when discoveries are usually made. That assures a critical mass and merit-based value system that then provides the best of the discovery researchers to go out to populate universities, research institutes and industry. </p>
<p>A Canadian model could — and should —focus on women scientists, since they now may be Canada’s most talented. And also its most undervalued.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>John Bergeron gratefully acknowledges Kathleen Dickson as co-author.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91608/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Bergeron does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Canada’s female scientists are superstars in their fields yet most Canadians have never heard of them. On International Day for Women in Science, it’s time to give them the recognition they deserve.John Bergeron, Emeritus Robert Reford Professor and Professor of Medicine, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/749522017-03-23T13:05:39Z2017-03-23T13:05:39ZThe generous psychology of giving to Comic Relief<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162165/original/image-20170323-3520-16be5uf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is clearly something very funny about <a href="https://www.rednoseday.com">Red Nose Day</a>. The biennial event of the charity <a href="https://www.comicrelief.com">Comic Relief</a> raises vast sums of money for good causes. It also attracts millions of television viewers keen to watch famous people make them laugh – and donate cash. Red Nose Days have so far <a href="http://www.comicrelief.com/who-we-are/history/highlights">raised over £1billion</a>.</p>
<p>So how does Comic Relief achieve such feats of fund raising? Whether they realise it or not, the organisers have managed to tap in to several factors which, research shows, boost our desire to give. </p>
<p>To begin with, big events such as Comic Relief benefit from their own success, in that donating becomes a behavioural “normality”. We have a sense that everyone else around us – at home, at work, in our social lives – is doing it. When an act is widely considered to be morally desirable, as with giving to charity, there is also a strong sense that people close to you would approve of you donating. This is known as <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/casp.906/full">an “injunctive norm”.</a></p>
<p>But as well as being influenced by the actions and opinions of our friends, family and colleagues, we are also swayed by the behaviour of people or organisations we don’t know. This is particularly true if we <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042814029127">trust</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFdCzN7RYbw">like them</a>. The celebrities and brands involved with Comic Relief may increase donations through this mechanism, too. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rg2940lQlCo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Celebrities in particular are often well liked, so their opinions are considered <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042814029127">trustworthy and valuable</a>. Large, well established and popular charities such as <a href="http://www.oxfam.org.uk">Oxfam</a> supporting (and benefiting from) Red Nose Day adds an element of expertise, building the idea that giving to Comic Relief is a genuinely good way to help others.</p>
<p>The sense that everyone else is getting involved can also lead to people asking “Why not donate?” instead of “Why should I donate?” This change in the framing of the question we ask ourselves is more likely to result in the behaviour taking place. If we need to find a reason <em>not</em> to donate, giving becomes the default response. </p>
<p>Once we have decided to go ahead and donate, other people can influence how much we give. By regularly announcing (to cheers from the studio audience) the fund raising totals of individuals or companies, Comic Relief presenters provide a benchmark for others to base their donations on. They develop a sense of friendly competition over who can raise the most.</p>
<p>Obviously, it wouldn’t be Comic Relief without the comedy. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-015-9672-2">Some research</a> suggests being in a good mood, in this case from laughing, leads to people feeling more generous and making larger donations. But even if the link is not so straightforward, it’s likely that mixing hard hitting appeals with comedy prevents viewers from experiencing empathy fatigue or “burn-out” and emotionally (or literally) switching off.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162172/original/image-20170323-3520-k0ja4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162172/original/image-20170323-3520-k0ja4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162172/original/image-20170323-3520-k0ja4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162172/original/image-20170323-3520-k0ja4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162172/original/image-20170323-3520-k0ja4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162172/original/image-20170323-3520-k0ja4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162172/original/image-20170323-3520-k0ja4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Feel good giving.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s an established finding from <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/103/42/15623.abstract">neuroscientific research</a> that giving to charity activates areas of our brain which respond positively to rewards such as food, suggesting it simply feels good to give. Feeling a warm glow from giving could be enhanced if we are also in a good mood from our favourite celebrities doing something amusing. If we attribute this pleasant feeling to making a donation, it makes us more likely to give again in future.</p>
<h2>Raising money is funny</h2>
<p>One key reason for giving to charity is to have a positive impact on the people who receive the donation. It makes sense then, that the bigger the impact, the more we are inclined to give. A single donation to charity can sometimes feel like a drop in the ocean. But Comic Relief may also benefit from the fact that because they raise such a large sum of money, each person contributing feels like they are part of something bigger which will really make a difference. </p>
<p>This sense of making a difference is even stronger when we hear individual people’s stories, something Comic Relief does very powerfully with their moving filmed appeals. Having so many people in need could be overwhelming if it weren’t for the vast amounts of money being raised, which makes the viewer optimistic that the people featured in these films can actually be supported.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y7e_s6huf9Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>And supported they have been – for over 30 years. Pointing out the psychological mechanisms behind our generosity is not meant to seem uncharitable. In reality, everything we do or think has an underlying psychological explanation – it’s just that most of the time we are not aware of it. </p>
<p>Giving to charity is something most people believe is a good thing to do. But for much of the year, our daily lives and worries get in the way of remembering the people who need our help. If behavioural norms, some comedy and a nudge of positive feelings can motivate me to actually pick up my smartphone and donate, then personally I’m more than happy to be influenced by all those funny red noses.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74952/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Cutler receives funding from the ESRC. In the past, Jo has volunteered for several charitable organisations which could benefit indirectly from this piece through donations to Comic Relief.</span></em></p>Here’s the recipe that makes Red Nose Day such a successful fundraising event.Jo Cutler, PhD Candidate in Psychology, University of SussexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/639032016-09-30T01:18:03Z2016-09-30T01:18:03ZThe curious origin of the double-conk theory for curing amnesia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139498/original/image-20160927-30419-n6mxpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-93019000/stock-vector-head-bandage-vintage-engraved-illustration-manuel-des-hospitalire-et-des-garde-malaldes-edited-by-librairie-poussielgue-paris-1907.html?src=VVEj3_tBFYLcKRLVIV6m_w-3-62">Image of head bandage engraving via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You’re probably familiar with the TV or movie plot device where a character is conked on the head, loses memory or identity and then gets conked again and memory is restored. Classic examples are in the 1951 Tom and Jerry Cartoon <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2i35s0">Nit-Witty Kitty</a> and the movie “Clean Slate.”</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uDdyuKdbCQ8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Trailer for ‘Clean Slate,’ 1994.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This “double-conk” myth is so far off from neurological fact that it is laughable to scientists and physicians. It’s never a good idea to hit someone on the head as a cure for any type of concussion or brain injury. Yet surveys of the public find that around 40 percent believe that <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0887-6177(03)00025-8">a second blow to the head</a> can help someone recover forgotten memories.</p>
<p>I’m a clinical neuropsychologist and I study memory and memory disorders. In the classroom, I use movies to demonstrate how brain science and neuro-myths are depicted in popular film. Amnesia is a popular theme. In fact, there have been <a href="http://www.neuropsyfi.com/movies.html">more amnesia movies made</a> than for any other type of neurological disorder and many of them depict the myth of the “double-conk.” </p>
<p>So I wanted to find where this idea first came from. Did it just emerge from the mind of a creative Hollywood writer or filmmaker? I was surprised to find the origins of this particular myth <a href="http://www.neurology.org/content/86/24/2291.abstract">go back to the early 19th century</a>. </p>
<h2>Back to the early 19th century</h2>
<p>I went through troves of old movies and books, tracing the myth back to the silent movies of the early 20th century and late 19th-century fiction, including novels published in serialized form in newspapers.</p>
<p>In my research I also uncovered what I would call “pop psychology” newspaper stories about memory, many of which are wildly inaccurate, but reflected what was being written for the public. Then I tried to align the emergence of the double-conk story theme with both scientific and popular writings about brain and memory functioning from the 19th century. </p>
<p>To my surprise, I found what I believe may be the first “scientific” endorsement of a “double-conk” cure in the writings of French physician Francois Xavier Bichat, published after his death in 1802. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138887/original/image-20160922-25473-2qmr2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138887/original/image-20160922-25473-2qmr2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=795&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138887/original/image-20160922-25473-2qmr2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=795&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138887/original/image-20160922-25473-2qmr2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=795&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138887/original/image-20160922-25473-2qmr2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=998&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138887/original/image-20160922-25473-2qmr2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=998&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138887/original/image-20160922-25473-2qmr2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=998&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Portrait of Francois Xavier Bichat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APortrait_of_Marie_Francois_Xavier_Bichat_(1771-1802)_Wellcome_L0011401.jpg">Wellcome Images, via Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Bichat was a young up-and-coming anatomist who believed that the two brain hemispheres were identical in structure and function. In a healthy brain, he reasoned, the hemispheres are in balance with each other and therefore in symmetry. Therefore, if a person is hit on one side of the head, the brain can lose balance, causing confusion or mental derangement. </p>
<p>The cure, in Bichat’s opinion, was a blow to other side. He wrote that “observations so frequently repeated of an accidental blow upon one side of the head having restored the intellectual functions, which had long remained dormant in consequence of a blow received upon the other side.” </p>
<p>My suspicion is that Bichat’s endorsement of a double-conk cure is based on folklore idea because he doesn’t cite or explain any individual cases to support his claim, while implying that a second blow restoring function is a common occurrence. He then uses this example, without question, to support his ideas of brain symmetry and balance. </p>
<h2>Bichat’s idea fit prevailing views of brain injury</h2>
<p>To a modern scientist, it’s easy to wonder why anyone would think a double-conk cure is reasonable. We now know that hitting the brain, or even shaking it, can cause temporary or permanent structural damage to neurons. </p>
<p>But, in the early 19th century the thinking was that concussion, or any brain injury, did not cause permanent structural or neuronal damage but a general “commotion” or “derangement” of the brain. It was generally thought that concussions, or any imbalance in the brain, could cause problems in thinking and memory, and could also lead to insanity. So Bichat’s proposal of brain symmetry and a second blow helping to “rearrange” the problems caused by a first blow fit into the prevailing view about concussions.</p>
<p>Later on Victorians also thought that any type of “nervous shock” caused a physical effect on the nervous system. Electricity could provide a nervous shock, as could terror, grief or a blow to the head. All physical or emotional shock was considered to have the same effect on the brain and nervous system.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138884/original/image-20160922-25457-5v4bq9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138884/original/image-20160922-25457-5v4bq9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138884/original/image-20160922-25457-5v4bq9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138884/original/image-20160922-25457-5v4bq9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138884/original/image-20160922-25457-5v4bq9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=643&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138884/original/image-20160922-25457-5v4bq9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=643&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138884/original/image-20160922-25457-5v4bq9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=643&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Victorians thought of the brain as a machine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-147446807.html?src=download_history">Brain mechanism image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many problems were thought to be the result of an unbalanced brain. Indeed, several early and mid-19th-century practitioners believed shocks, whether physical or emotional, could be useful to bring someone out of coma, or a stupor. Hysteria, a catch-all diagnosis often given to women for a wide variety of “nervous” symptoms, was sometimes treated by slapping the patient. </p>
<p>Considering that many Victorians saw the brain as a machine it may have appeared reasonable to them to “knock some sense” back into someone. A shock to the system would get the cogs moving again and bring the brain back in balance, like someone hitting a machine on the side to get it working again. </p>
<h2>What about amnesia?</h2>
<p>So how did all of this become connected to amnesia? While Bichat wrote only generally about “intellectual” problems, it had been known since ancient times that traumatic brain injury could cause memory problems. However, there was another prevailing myth circulating at the time that memories could never be lost. This was also was reinforced by “pop psychology” writers of the 19th century.</p>
<p>Many of us have had the experience of a “memory jog,” or a cue that brings up a long forgotten memory. Perhaps because our own experiences serve as powerful evidence to us, this also reinforces the myth that all memories are forever stored in the brain and only need some sort of jolt to come back.</p>
<p>It’s hard to know exactly how the double-conk myth became intertwined with the myth of memory restoration, but forgetting and amnesia were also popular themes in Victorian novels. If memory could be restored with a shock, a second conk could provide that jolt. </p>
<p>It wasn’t until the middle of the 19th century that a few scientists studying memory began to fully realize that a blow to the head might destroy some memory abilities completely. A second blow wasn’t likely to jump start the brain, they realized, but create further damage. </p>
<p>But the double-conk myth was already in circulation by then. The fact that the myth was originally supported by some scientists and physicians probably lent it some credence even as evidence that it wasn’t true mounted. It’s hard to change a myth with a 50-year head start.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63903/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mary Spiers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The myth that a blow to the head can both cause and cure amnesia – a common one on TV and in the movies – may have begun during the 19th century.Mary Spiers, Associate Professor of Psychology, Drexel UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/547502016-03-23T10:16:40Z2016-03-23T10:16:40ZMemory loss: it’s not all amnesia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114949/original/image-20160314-11288-1p2qp73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Psychogenic fugue -- when you can't remember anything from your past.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&searchterm=memory&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=291653849">www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Short-term memory, long-term memory, amnesia, dementia, Alzheimer’s – people often use these terms incorrectly. The reason is partly because memory is one of the most complex mental abilities. It involves experiencing the current moment through the five senses, holding that experience for a fraction of a second, filtering just a proportion of this through to the next stage, consciously holding this information for perhaps 90 seconds, and then either losing the experience or somehow successfully making enough of an impression in the mind that it can be evoked at a later time. </p>
<h2>Classical amnesia</h2>
<p>When people complain of having terrible short-term memory, they are usually referring to not being able to hold onto information for more than a couple of weeks. This difficulty is actually to do with the information not having been stored very efficiently in long-term memory, resulting in rapid forgetting. Real short-term memory is literally what you can hold onto in your consciousness. They can last for just seconds: you’re in a lift, for example, and remember that you’ve already hit the button to go to the floor you need. You won’t recall this for any longer than you need to.</p>
<p>The most famous memory-impaired person ever studied, <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/175747/permanent-present-tense/">Henry Molaison</a> (referred to as “HM” in the medical literature) had a part of his brain called the hippocampi surgically removed to try and alleviate the devastating epilepsy he suffered from. Following the operation, Molaison did not create a single new long-term memory until he died 50 years later. </p>
<p>Despite this profound impairment, if Molaison was given a string of digits and asked to recall them in the same order, he would have remembered the same number (about seven) that you and I could, and that was because in “classical amnesia” short-term memory is fully intact. </p>
<h2>Post-traumatic amnesia</h2>
<p>The amnesia that Molaison suffered from is very different to the post-traumatic amnesia that can result from head trauma. This tends to be solely for a period of minutes or hours (sometimes days) following a blow to the head. </p>
<p>With post-traumatic amnesia, even if information is transferred successfully into long-term memory, it is still fragile and susceptible to forgetting if the brain’s normal “house-keeping” procedures are disrupted by a physically traumatic event. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114952/original/image-20160314-11274-1810udh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114952/original/image-20160314-11274-1810udh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114952/original/image-20160314-11274-1810udh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114952/original/image-20160314-11274-1810udh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114952/original/image-20160314-11274-1810udh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114952/original/image-20160314-11274-1810udh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114952/original/image-20160314-11274-1810udh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=491&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">House-keeping temporarily disrupted.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&search_tracking_id=jYHXH7UqU_2UPv6YTi_a6w&searchterm=knockout%20&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=67024219">www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Psychogenic fugue</h2>
<p>Different still is a “psychogenic fugue”. This is when a person is unaware of their own identity. It’s as if their entire personal memory has been wiped clean. Despite this, they are perfectly able to create new memories. </p>
<p>This little-understood condition is probably caused by an emotionally-traumatic event which causes the personal “psyche” to do a “systems-shutdown”, making access to any personally-relevant information impossible. Examples of this include the “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/may/16/stevenmorris">Piano Man</a>” who was found on the Kent coast without any awareness of who he was, despite remembering how to play the piano, and the recent case of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/12/canada-man-missing-amnesia-edgar-latulip">Edgar Latulip</a> who hadn’t known who he was for 30 years but then suddenly seemed to recover his memories. </p>
<p>Given the current lack of understanding of the condition, a neuropsychologist or a neuropsychiatrist can have a difficult job trying to ascertain how genuine the amnesia is. This is especially the case when there is a suspicion that the person might be malingering or faking the memory loss for some sort of gain, for example financial compensation. </p>
<p>A famous example was that of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk/canoe">John Darwin</a> who had disappeared after going out canoeing on his own and had been presumed to have drowned. A number of years later, a man walked into a police station and said that he thought he might be John but he didn’t have any knowledge of who he was. While this could have been a case of psychogenic fugue, when recent photos emerged of him and his wife in Panama, it became obvious that his death had been staged for a big life insurance claim, allowing the couple to move to Panama.</p>
<h2>Dementia</h2>
<p>Equally complex is dementia, which is a group of degenerative disorders of which Alzheimer’s is the best known. Each type of dementia has a unique impact on a person’s abilities. While the gradual erosion of both creating new memories and retrieving old ones is an aspect that people associate with dementia, this is simply because the brain abnormality will be affecting quite diverse regions. This will sometimes include areas that are involved in memory storage and retrieval. </p>
<p>However, the signature of each dementia will depend on where these other areas are and what those areas specialise in. For example, in <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/frontotemporal-dementia/Pages/Introduction.aspx">frontotemporal dementia</a>, memory is largely unaffected but the change is in personality and behaviour. But in semantic dementia, the problems are more linguistic and cause difficulty recognising family and friends. </p>
<p>Given the huge complexity of human memory, it is unsurprising that there is so much confusion among the public regarding different types of memory. Sometimes even the professionals get it wrong.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54750/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashok Jansari does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>People lose their memory in many different ways. A neuropsychologist explains the lingo.Ashok Jansari, lecturer, Goldsmiths, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/555452016-03-03T19:13:16Z2016-03-03T19:13:16ZAre you a true altruist or driven by self-interest? Brain scan may give verdict<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113702/original/image-20160303-9463-xezlzl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What motivates us to help others?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The reason why we <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-to-become-a-really-effective-altruist-53684">help others at a cost to ourselves</a> has long presented a puzzle for scientists. Why do some of us do it more than others? And are we doing it because we are truly moved by the suffering of others or simply because we feel we ought <a href="https://theconversation.com/behavioural-study-shows-that-rats-know-how-to-repay-a-favour-37994">to return a favour</a> or even get something in return? Looking at behaviour alone, it can be hard to tell. Both empathy and the principle of reciprocity – giving to return a favour or expecting others to do so – are proposed explanations for altruism which have been impossible to separate until now. </p>
<p>Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which measures blood flow changes in the brain, <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi/10.1126/science.aaf4688">a new study</a> suggests that specific differences in connectivity between brain regions can predict whether someone is an empathy-driven altruist, a reciprocity-driven altruist – or just selfish. </p>
<p>In the experiment, 34 female participants were divided into two groups. Those in the “empathy” group witnessed an actor receive painful electric shocks – and received shocks themselves (so they knew it hurt). In the “reciprocity” group, participants were paired up with actors who kindly paid money so the participant received fewer shocks (although both groups received the same number of shocks overall).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113698/original/image-20160303-9466-18b6m6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113698/original/image-20160303-9466-18b6m6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=257&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113698/original/image-20160303-9466-18b6m6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=257&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113698/original/image-20160303-9466-18b6m6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=257&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113698/original/image-20160303-9466-18b6m6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113698/original/image-20160303-9466-18b6m6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113698/original/image-20160303-9466-18b6m6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ulterior motive or clean conscience?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Chris Yarzab/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Next, their brains were scanned. During the scanning, participants were asked to split a sum of money between themselves and another person. For the empathy group, the other person receiving the money was sometimes the partner they saw shocked. In the reciprocity group, the person was sometimes the partner who paid for the participant to receive fewer shocks. At other times, participants were simply asked to split the cash between themselves and a neutral person who neither received shocks nor did anything nice. The researchers could therefore divide the participants into those empathy-driven altruists and reciprocity-driven altruists based on the first part of the experiment. They could also use the way participants split the money in the second part to identify selfish individuals among these participants.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, the initial analysis showed that participants gave, on average, larger sums of money to the empathy and reciprocity partners than to the neutral partner – and that both groups were equally generous. Those that most regularly chose splits involving more money for themselves than the other were classified as “selfish”. But this was just the starting point. The researchers used a complex and sophisticated follow-up to gain deeper insight.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113724/original/image-20160303-9463-1pstyfy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113724/original/image-20160303-9463-1pstyfy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=733&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113724/original/image-20160303-9463-1pstyfy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=733&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113724/original/image-20160303-9463-1pstyfy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=733&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113724/original/image-20160303-9463-1pstyfy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113724/original/image-20160303-9463-1pstyfy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113724/original/image-20160303-9463-1pstyfy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ventral striatrum and anterior cingulate.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By looking at the timing of activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (known for a host of functions from pain and conflict to learning), the anterior insula cortex (associated with arousal and emotion) and the ventral striatum (associated with rewards and learning), the researchers created models of how information was passed between these areas. Then a computer algorithm tried to guess, based on these models, whether an individual’s altruistic decision had been motivated by empathy or by reciprocity. The high accuracy of these guesses at 77% shows the two groups of participants had brain activity patterns that differed enough to classify. </p>
<p>In empathy-driven altruism, the anterior insula (emotion and arousal) and ventral striatum (rewards) showed a lower than average connectivity, while reciprocity-driven altruism showed increased connectivity between these regions. Connectivity in this sense can be imagined as how much one area is “talking to” another. Although the functions of these areas are broadly known, the meaning of changes in connectivity is still difficult to interpret.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113709/original/image-20160303-9470-3lz1ar.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113709/original/image-20160303-9470-3lz1ar.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113709/original/image-20160303-9470-3lz1ar.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113709/original/image-20160303-9470-3lz1ar.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113709/original/image-20160303-9470-3lz1ar.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113709/original/image-20160303-9470-3lz1ar.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113709/original/image-20160303-9470-3lz1ar.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Insular cortex.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The results also showed differences in brains of those who had been classified as selfish or altruistic based on their decisions. Selfish individuals showed lower than average connectivity from the anterior cingulate cortex to the anterior insula whereas altruists had increased connectivity between these regions.</p>
<h2>Can we learn to be more altruistic?</h2>
<p>When it comes to implications, the differences between primarily selfish or primarily altruistic participants may be the most important finding. Inducing empathy, by seeing someone shocked, increased giving and associated neural connectivity for selfish individuals – they were more generous to the shocked partners than to the neutral person. The altruistic people, however, shared just as much with the neutral person as the shocked partner. The opposite was true for the reciprocity effect: increased giving to the partner who paid to prevent their shocks was seen in altruistic but not selfish participants. </p>
<p>One could speculate that this implies that altruistic participants are already giving because of empathic motivation, so increasing empathy makes no difference – they are at their “empathy capacity”. Similarly, selfish participants may already be acting due to motivations more likely to benefit themselves too, such as reciprocity.</p>
<p>Research on altruism regularly <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811914008696">concludes that people have an empathetic motivation</a> but this paper suggests potential for future studies to check whether this is the case for each individual participant. The authors also open doors to more specific measures and targets for further research on reciprocity and empathy. </p>
<p>The paper shows the importance of analysing subtle differences in brain communication <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811912000390">rather than overall activity</a>. Looking at different brain regions working together, rather than in isolation, can identify previously elusive psychological concepts, such as underlying motivations.</p>
<p>Future research is needed on whether these increases in altruism and neural connectivity could last, perhaps with ongoing training. For example, if the techniques used to induce empathy in the study could be employed in some sort of treatment for antisocial behaviour. </p>
<p>However, charities can already make the most of the current findings. They suggest empathy-inducing appeals may be most effective for new supporters, who are not yet “altruistic enough” to donate. Existing supporters, who are already altruistic, may respond more to receiving a token gift they feel they can reciprocate by increasing their donations. The effectiveness of these techniques, already used by many charities, may be explained by the findings. But with limited resources, new insight into cognitive processes that might be harnessed by appeals could help society be a bit more generous.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55545/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Cutler receives funding from the ESRC. Jo is a member of several charitable and political not-for-profit organisations, none of which will benefit directly from this piece.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dan Campbell-Meiklejohn does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Can a study into the neural basis of altruism help us be better people?Jo Cutler, PhD student in Psychology, University of SussexDan Campbell-Meiklejohn, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, University of SussexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/422892015-06-23T09:58:24Z2015-06-23T09:58:24ZDoes Inside Out accurately capture the mind of an 11-year-old girl? A child psychologist weighs in<p>Pixar’s new film Inside Out provides an interesting spin on how to understand what’s going on in the mind of an 11-year-old girl. The bulk of the action takes place inside protagonist Riley’s head, where a group of emotions (Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger) work together (or not) to direct her behavior.</p>
<p>The film’s primary conflict is a compelling one: it depicts Riley’s response to a major, life-changing event – a cross-country move. But from the perspective of a practicing clinical child psychologist with 30 years of experience, it’s only partly successful in accurately depicting <em>why</em> children react the way they do.</p>
<p>Most tweens would have difficulty with a cross-country move at the start of middle school, and Riley is, understandably, sad, angry, disgusted and fearful. She loses interest in things she used to like to do. The fact that her parents are also stressed, making it difficult for them to pick up on her angst until it is almost too late, also rings true. </p>
<p>Riley’s life appears to be run by her emotions. The character Joy is chief among them: it’s a core part of who she is, and a great deal of energy is expended to keep her feeling and acting in positive ways. Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger all have roles, and their order of appearance makes sense, developmentally. </p>
<p>Joy not only tries to keep the other emotions in check, but she’s also in charge of making sure that the core memories – which seem to define key areas of Riley’s functioning – are intact. A lot of time is devoted to trying to keep Sadness away, since she could taint these happy memories. </p>
<p>But the notion that memories can be preserved unaltered is not in line with most current research thinking. Childhood traumatic events <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810084710166">can be remembered accurately or inaccurately</a>, while the field of eyewitness testimony is <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/lhb/4/4/261/">rife with examples</a> of memories that are moderated by perception or time. </p>
<p>Furthermore, the emotions and behaviors of Riley are depicted using the same framework that adults often use to interpret their emotions. This misses the mark. </p>
<p>Children aren’t simply little adults; as developmental psychologists like Urie Bronfenbrenner <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/dev/22/6/723.html">have noted</a>, it’s important to take into account the extent to which children are embedded in systems like family and school, where parents and teachers play a huge role in teaching children Riley’s age how to mediate their feelings. </p>
<p>Most 11-year-olds can tell you that they have feelings – and can name a few (though most would not name Disgust) – but more often than not, these feelings can overwhelm them. Adults, then, help them understand and make sense of their feelings, which is a gradual process.</p>
<p>In the end, the different characters for the emotions are altogether too mechanistic. It might be a nice way to show children that they have feelings, but it’s not really the way feelings work.</p>
<p>The film does have some signature strengths. The most authentic aspect of the film was the portrayal of conversations among Riley and her parents. Seeing her mother’s and then her father’s “inner emotions” react (like Riley, the parents also have characters assigned to their emotions) was a wonderful mapping of the kind of patterns that we see whenever families interact. </p>
<p>For example, at the dinner table, Mom gives Dad a look that’s intended to signal that he needs to take her side during an argument with Riley. </p>
<p>Dad’s emotions frantically discuss what she might mean. (“I wasn’t paying attention.” “Did we leave the toilet seat up again?” “Wait for her to do it again.”) Meanwhile, Mom’s (annoyed) emotions decide that she would have been better off with a former suitor. The humor with which it was handled was truly refreshing. </p>
<p>Similarly, one of the best aspects of the film is that Joy realizes that she must work with Sadness to enrich Riley’s emotional life. This is an age-appropriate realization; increased empathy in girls, especially, <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1997-05622-003">occurs at around Riley’s age</a>.</p>
<p>Riley has a lot of experiences coming her way, as evidenced by the installation of the new control console at the end of the film with a red button labeled “puberty.” Like most adolescents, she will experience highs and lows, as her friends become more central and she discovers romantic feelings. </p>
<p>And it also sounds like groundwork being laid for a sequel centered on Riley’s pubescent years.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/seMwpP0yeu4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The trailer for Pixar’s Inside Out.</span></figcaption>
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<p><em>To read about whether or not Inside Out accurately depicts how memory works, click here.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42289/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Timmons-Mitchell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In some ways, it’s spot-on. In others, not so much.Jane Timmons-Mitchell, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology, Case Western Reserve UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/430112015-06-10T05:18:25Z2015-06-10T05:18:25ZCaffeine may reduce stress – but it won’t solve your problems<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84374/original/image-20150609-10713-ehneqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">That menu suddenly looks very affordable!</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/publicplaces/7497483734/in/photolist-cqwyGW-9kWUH8-71ZfW6-9wxhus-5DbaNS-887JXd-69jioP-5ZzVMu-cS5Yub-4YMQRb-34MHE-6F47u5-njXKZA-9kWUNr-bSS99-ryxhQk-67Biyp-o8y11t-9kZYZ5-9kWUjH-7F46BM-qiaK6b-aGPN9i-78GPF-boWrPe-8ZLTiv-d6c5a-brqgLg-9dzaug-g4fKjy-9bPUa3-kAoCde-dkwVr7-7q7wJn-mgGU2-jSsHH6-5bFMUW-nkGncz-eorrsP-pa8N1i-AHdYS-6dd9qR-e2D2vd-asXfFW-5DiJVM-5qii8m-8rTddt-6yduDw-7abZW9-7X3Z79">David Hodgson/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Coffee addicts have been saying it for years – now an <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/06/03/1423088112.abstract">experiment on mice</a> has found that caffeine does indeed help one stay cool in stressful situations – and has pinpointed the neurochemical pathways involved in the process. The researchers even suggest that the study may one day lead to medical therapies for stress-related illnesses in humans. </p>
<p>But while the research itself is important, we must not forget that stress is a normal human reaction to events rather than brain chemistry. The last thing we need is another psychiatric drug that ignores the root of the problem.</p>
<p>Previous research has shown a number of positive effects of caffeine, for instance on <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15059266">preventing depression</a>. This study is the first to uncover the neurochemical pathways that enable caffeine to prevent some of the negative effects of stress on the brain. </p>
<p>Caffeine is known to <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20164566">inhibit receptors in the brain for the chemical adenosine</a>. The researchers found that these receptors also control the negative effects of chronic stress and that stress-induced behaviour can be reversed by blocking the receptors. </p>
<p>The results are important, as we do indeed know that chronic stress affects people very badly. In mice, the (rather unpleasant) stressful situations in this experiment included as damp bedding, sharing living space with others, food and water deprivation, cold baths and cages tilted at 45°. And these poor mice unsurprisingly showed the behavioural and neurological consequences of this stress. </p>
<p>In humans, chronic stress can also have disastrous consequences. For example, my colleagues have shown that the economic crisis in the years between 2008 and 2010 can be blamed for as many as <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/345/bmj.e514">1,000 people in the UK taking their own lives</a>. We do, absolutely, need to understand how stress affects us. And we definitely need to find ways to help people (and mice) affected by stress.</p>
<h2>Handle with care</h2>
<p>But I do have a nagging concern. The paper suggests that a drug blocking this particular receptor could be used to treat illnesses stemming from chronic stress such as depression or anxiety.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84378/original/image-20150609-10685-dt758e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84378/original/image-20150609-10685-dt758e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84378/original/image-20150609-10685-dt758e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84378/original/image-20150609-10685-dt758e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84378/original/image-20150609-10685-dt758e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84378/original/image-20150609-10685-dt758e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/84378/original/image-20150609-10685-dt758e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Yummy molecule.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gregrodgers/7523488962/in/photolist-csPR9W-5yC33Q-6X64cW-7B3a8v-brNZn-51LrPC-7QdpRP-5aFbDK-4Yr5SM-4Yr5bZ-7PASFZ-a5KgQf-51pHdS-fKA6Kq-4wJX7V-7n9p2Y-4oiMrb-dmWPr1-dWRPKy-6an9fd-q1ThE9-pmFtP8-qinRuh-q1ZNhc-q1ZNcT-a93yAe-4WEBaQ-EqXNQ-7gdwG9-diX6z8-8d5a53-bZudRJ-2bPRJo-jHpUrc-59Gk9R-28cbS-bJHFwF-qoaJsm-51dUon-8YPhNx-6eXSCu-5zQHdK-EF3h-86yLhr-3qHzv-adhWFg-q8iwjb-4oGyF1-jPpPBp-4kdfzG">Greg Rodgers/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s this that I question. While I don’t doubt that the study has revealed something fascinating about how the brain responds to chronic stress, it’s a little less certain that the research tells us anything about “disorders”. The mice seemed to respond normally to an abnormal – stressful – situation. It would be unfortunate to extrapolate that understanding to infer that such a response is a sign of abnormality, especially in humans.</p>
<p>Stressful events make us stressed, emotionally and physically; they have negative cognitive, emotional, physical and behavioural consequences. Given that we process information in the brain using neurotransmitters, it’s obvious that there will be a neurological route or pathway behind stress-induced behaviour. It’s great to know more about that pathway – and maybe that will even help us become more resilient or recover faster from stressful life events.</p>
<h2>Swerves and steering wheels</h2>
<p>An analogy might help. If a driver swerves and crashes a car, we don’t usually regard the steering wheel as the “cause” of the crash. The steering wheel was absolutely necessary (almost certainly the steering wheel was a necessary part of the causal chain), but it didn’t “cause” the crash. OK, we can imagine a weird scenario where a fault in the steering wheel (grease on the grip, perhaps) might be to blame. But such scenarios are vanishingly rare. Essentially, the wheel is a part of a mechanism whereby the cause (the driver’s swerve) translates into the crash.</p>
<p>It’s fantastic that this research has been conducted. It’s genuinely important – and potentially useful. As a scientist and I believe passionately that knowledge (and depth of knowledge) can help us understand the full implications of the embodied human experience. That includes understanding how the brain works and the neurochemical pathways of our response to stress. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that these molecular pathways are the “cause” of psychological distress. It’s probably better to think of them as enabling our normal human responses, not causing them. </p>
<p>This is important. The unfortunate tendency to label undesirable emotions as “symptoms” of “illness” may well<a href="http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/a-prescription-for-psychiatry-peter-kinderman/?K=9781137408709"> cause us to treat people with less empathy</a> than we should, to ignore the root causes of distress and to turn to inappropriate medical treatments. I’m all in favour of understanding how our brains work. I’m slightly less keen on mistaking mechanisms for causes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43011/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Kinderman receives funding from NIHR (the National Institute for Health Research) and ESRC (the Economic and Social Research Council. He is President-Elect of the British Psychological Society.</span></em></p>There’s great news for coffee lovers. A study has found that caffeine can help combat stress.Peter Kinderman, Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/407312015-04-23T18:07:12Z2015-04-23T18:07:12ZHere’s what it feels like to be invisible – less anxious<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79148/original/image-20150423-25525-c77dvm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nothing can get to me now</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/90490.php">Staffan Larsson/Karolinska Institutet</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recent advances with so-called meta-materials have shown that a <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/330/6011/1622">practical invisibility cloak</a> might one day be possible. But a new study has approached the scenario from the other direction, asking <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/2015/150423/srep09831/full/srep09831.html">what it would feel like to be invisible</a>. The answer, it turns out, is it would make us feel more confident. </p>
<p>The research was carried out using an extension of the classic <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v391/n6669/full/391756a0.html">rubber-hand illusion</a>. In this experiment, a participant views a dummy hand being stroked with a brush, while also feeling a similar brush stroking their real hand, which is hidden behind a curtain. If the brush-stroking they are viewing on the rubber hand is synchronised with the stokes on their real hand, a powerful illusion can be produced; that the dummy hand is their own hand. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sxwn1w7MJvk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Rubber hand experiment.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A number of interesting variations on this basic experiment have been demonstrated. For instance researchers at Royal Holloway have shown that inducing this sense of ownership of a darker-skinned hand subsequently <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3750641/">reduces implicit racial biases</a> in Caucasian participants. A further elaboration of this basic effect uses <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0010564">virtual-reality goggles to change the visual perspective</a> of a participant, so as to induce the sensation that their entire body has been “swapped” with a mannequin, or even another person.</p>
<h2>Powerful illusion</h2>
<p>The illusion works because of the way that the brain integrates information from different senses, and the powerful role that sensory information can have in guiding perception. The <a href="http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223%2810%2900826-7/abstract?cc=y">effect can be boosted</a> by the use of drugs such as ketamine, which can lead to very powerful sensations of ownership of the rubber hand. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79145/original/image-20150423-25527-1ohye5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79145/original/image-20150423-25527-1ohye5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79145/original/image-20150423-25527-1ohye5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79145/original/image-20150423-25527-1ohye5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79145/original/image-20150423-25527-1ohye5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79145/original/image-20150423-25527-1ohye5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79145/original/image-20150423-25527-1ohye5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">I fee calm as a cucumber.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/garryknight/5559407567/in/photolist-9tgqbB-6mDC2k-ojr9AE-81cLfd-ctAbmU-9UHtmN-fCVdRF-7dtda5-p4jgWS-4YTefA-6iGd3u-dyGzWb-oHunB-nsLCe-5Wp8zm-gmyygn-JAxXy-gmye9N-gmy21i-gmxPSA-gmyxPF-92EnPJ-5bWHP1-64KEh8-gmywWZ-gmxN5N-292FSu-6vy7rR-7jTzqj-6XXPm2-nT7zFU-9aHx77-5oZGg3-66nTka-7LdDpv-4YP5Xn-fhbtRn-oaXkyu-5KEAZs-8f2L4d-CrRPs-53buTE-4xPZU7-f9HafQ-6YxQs9-nEQP8c-NnUoG-b59bmc-7SaSax-6sQYoE">Gary Knight/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the new study, participants wore virtual-reality goggles which gave them the perspective of a mannequin placed opposite them. An experimenter then used two brushes to synchronously brush the participant’s and the mannequin’s stomach region, and the participants looked down at theirs and the mannequin’s stomach as the brushing occurred. With this procedure they successfully induced the illusion that the mannequin’s body was the participants own. </p>
<p>To create the sense of being invisible, the mannequin was then removed, and the participants were shown the visual perspective of a camera mounted on the wall, in the same position as the mannequin’s head had been. The experimenter then brushed empty space (as well as the participant’s own stomach), and this successfully produced the sensation that the participant had an “invisible” body.</p>
<h2>Invisibility in treating social anxiety?</h2>
<p>The researchers were also interested in looking at how having an invisible body would affect social behaviour. To test this, they placed the participant in front of an audience of serious-looking people. The participants reported significantly less stress and anxiety when they were “invisible” compared to when they had a visible (mannequin) body. </p>
<p>These results contribute to a general hot topic in psychology and neuroscience right now: embodied cognition. For many years researchers have been content to study the brain and mind as a discrete system, divorced from the body in which it’s housed. However, recently there has been a growing awareness that brain and psychological function is heavily influenced in a variety of ways by physical effects on the body. </p>
<p>This latest experiment elegantly demonstrates that changes in our body perception can have wide-ranging influences on our emotional and social behaviour, and raises the possibility that virtual-reality procedures like those used in the new study may even find an application in the clinical treatment of social and emotional disorders.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40731/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matt Wall does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Researchers have created an experiment that gives participants the illusion of being invisible.Matt Wall, Researcher in Brain Imaging, Imperial College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/385312015-03-24T09:45:13Z2015-03-24T09:45:13ZHow music helps resolve our deepest inner conflicts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75736/original/image-20150323-17716-1dre6c6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Music unifies the world into a whole. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/192/477100921_fb691cb234_o.jpg">Feliciano Guimarães/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Billions of people enjoy music; many feel that they can’t live without it. </p>
<p>Why? </p>
<p>It’s a question that has puzzled scientists and philosophers for centuries. 2,400 years ago Aristotle <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/5967.html">wondered</a>, “Why does music, being just sounds, remind us of the states of our soul?” </p>
<p>In the 19th century Darwin tried to decipher if our ability to create music evolved by natural selection. Of all human faculties, only music seemed beyond understanding; flummoxed, he came to the <a href="http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Descent_of_Man_and_Selection_in_Rela.html?id=LYEQAAAAYAAJ">conclusion</a> that “music is the greatest mystery.” </p>
<p>More than 200 years ago, Kant declared music <a href="http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/1217">useless</a>. And near the end of the 20th century, celebrated psychologist Steven Pinker – also unable to comprehend its purpose – called music <a href="http://www.amazon.com/How-Mind-Works-Steven-Pinker/dp/0393334775/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427121760&sr=1-1&keywords=how+the+mind+works">“auditory cheesecake.”</a> </p>
<p>A few years ago, the respected journal Nature published a <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/focus/scienceandmusic/">series of essays</a> about music. Their conclusion? That it’s impossible to explain what music is and why it affects us so strongly – and that it’s <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v453/n7193/pdf/453287a.pdf">not even clear</a> if music can serve “an obvious adaptive function.”</p>
<p>But my <a href="http://msx.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/05/22/1029864912448327">recent</a> <a href="http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00179/full">research</a> suggests otherwise: music <em>is</em> an evolutionary adaptation, one that helps us navigate a world rife with contradictions.</p>
<h2>The crippling effect of cognitive dissonance</h2>
<p>Music’s effect on our brains is closely related to what’s been dubbed “the greatest discovery in social psychology” of the 20th century: cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is the idea that people experience unpleasant feelings when they either possess contradictory knowledge, or are confronted with new information that opposes existing beliefs.</p>
<p>One way we alleviate dissonance is through suppressing or rejecting this contradictory knowledge. </p>
<p>Aesop’s fable “The Fox and the Grapes” illustrates this common human response. In the tale, the fox is distressed over the fact that he can’t reach a bunch of grapes. Even more unpleasant is the dissonance he experiences: the grapes are so tempting and so close – yet unattainable.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75734/original/image-20150323-17680-hbzefx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75734/original/image-20150323-17680-hbzefx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=977&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75734/original/image-20150323-17680-hbzefx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=977&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75734/original/image-20150323-17680-hbzefx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=977&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75734/original/image-20150323-17680-hbzefx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1228&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75734/original/image-20150323-17680-hbzefx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1228&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75734/original/image-20150323-17680-hbzefx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1228&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘If I can’t have it, I don’t want it’: the fable ‘The Fox and the Grapes’ illustrates cognitive dissonance, a core human response to conflicting information.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/The_Fox_and_the_Grapes_-_Project_Gutenberg_etext_19994.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a result, the fox attempts to alleviate the dissonance by rationalizing, “Oh, you aren’t even ripe yet! I don’t need any sour grapes.”</p>
<p>During the 20th century hundreds of experiments <a href="http://www.psych.nyu.edu/amodiolab/Publications_files/Harmon-Jones_Advances_2009.pdf">confirmed</a> this common psychological response. When faced with dissonant thoughts, children, teens and adults all responded the same way: <em>if I can’t have it, then I don’t need it.</em> </p>
<p>A manifestation of cognitive dissonance is the rejection of new knowledge. Even some great scientific discoveries have had to wait decades for recognition and acceptance, because they contradicted existing beliefs that people didn’t want to surrender. For example, Einstein didn’t receive a Nobel Prize for his Theory of Relativity – now considered one of the greatest discoveries in the history of mankind – because it contradicted our core beliefs about space and time.</p>
<h2>Music helps us grapple with dissonance</h2>
<p>So if people are willing to deceive themselves or ignore new information, how has human culture evolved? After all, the foundation of culture is the accumulation of new knowledge – much of which contradicts existing knowledge. </p>
<p>Consider language: when language emerged in our species, every new word was a nugget of new information that contradicted an existing idea or belief. A powerful mechanism of the mind must have evolved to enable our ancestors to overcome these unpleasant dissonances that split their world, and allowed them to keep contradictory knowledge – to absorb new words rather than immediately discarding them. </p>
<p>Could it be that this ability was <a href="http://www.frontiersin.org/cognitive_science/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00179/full">enabled by music</a>?
While language splits the world into detailed, distinct pieces, music unifies the world into a whole. Our psyche requires both. </p>
<p>Several experiments have proven music’s ability to help us overcome cognitive dissonances and retain contradictory knowledge.</p>
<p>For example, in <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/2013/130619/srep02028/full/srep02028.html">one experiment</a>, an experimenter gave a group of four-year-old boys five popular Pokemon toys. Playing with each boy individually, she had them rank, one by one, their preferences for the five toys. Then the experimenter told each subject that she needed to leave for few minutes, and asked him not to play with his second-ranked toy. When she returned, she re-initiated play and found that the formerly second-ranked toy was entirely ignored. When confronted with conflicting information (“I like this toy, but I shouldn’t play with it”), each boy apparently rejected his initial preference for it. </p>
<p>But when the experimenter turned on music when leaving, the toy retained its original value. The contradictory knowledge didn’t lead the boys to simply discard the toy. </p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166432813000557">another experiment</a>, we gave a group of fifteen-year-old students a typical multiple choice exam, and asked them to record the difficulty of each question, along with how much time it took them to answer each one.</p>
<p>It turned out that more difficult questions were answered faster (and grades suffered), because students didn’t want to prolong unpleasant dissonance of choosing between difficult options. However when Mozart’s music played in the background, they spent more time on the difficult questions. Their scores improved.</p>
<h2>Life’s big choices become more informed</h2>
<p>Beyond multiple choice tests, we’re constantly confronted with choices in our day-to-day lives – from the mundane (what to buy for lunch), to the major (whether or not to accept a job offer). We often use both intuition and pragmatism when evaluating complex situations, but we also incorporate emotion. </p>
<p>And then there are choices related to two universal themes of our existence – love and death – which are inherently steeped in contradictions. </p>
<p>With love, we’d like to fully trust it. But we know that to fully trust is dangerous – that we can be betrayed and disappointed. With death, one of the most difficult contradictions of all is our longing to believe in spiritual eternity and our knowledge that our time on Earth is finite.</p>
<p>Is it any coincidence, then, that there are so many songs about love and betrayal? Or that we are drawn to sorrowful songs in times of mourning?</p>
<p>The idea is that music – which can convey an array of nuanced emotions – helps us reconcile our own conflicted emotions when making choices. And the more diverse, differentiated emotions we possess, the more well-founded our decisions become. Whether it’s choosing to play with a toy or deciding to propose to a boyfriend or girlfriend, our research shows that <a href="http://www.iiisci.org/Journal/CV$/sci/pdfs/iCK872YO.pdf">music can enhance our cognitive abilities</a>. </p>
<p>Thus, because we constantly grapple with cognitive dissonances, we created music, in part, to help us tolerate – and overcome – them. </p>
<p>This is the universal purpose of music.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38531/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leonid Perlovsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>According to recent research, music is an evolutionary adaptation that helps us navigate a world rife with contradictions.Leonid Perlovsky, Visiting Scholar, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/375162015-02-13T03:02:12Z2015-02-13T03:02:12ZDarling, I love you … from the bottom of my brain<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71900/original/image-20150212-13186-1nadvsf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's time for lovers to exchange images of the organ really responsible for their emotions on Valentine’s Day.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Emil Jeyaratnam/The Conversation</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In William Shakespeare’s comedy <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Merchant_of_Venice">Merchant of Venice</a>, the play’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portia_%28The_Merchant_of_Venice%29">heroine Portia</a> sings:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Tell me where is fancy bred,<br>
Or in the heart or in the head.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If you look at Valentine’s Day cards, it’s clear fancy is bred in the heart and not in the head; all the cards have red hearts on them. But they’re all wrong. Love does, in fact, live in the brain.</p>
<p>The irrelevance of the heart to love has been amply demonstrated by cardiac transplant surgeons. Heart transplant recipients do not fall in love with the lovers of the dead donors, Hollywood notwithstanding. Surely this proves that wherever else love may reside, in the heart it does not. </p>
<p>Further support for love’s actual home comes from neuroscience. This shows that <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20807326">love is a complex function</a>, which includes appraisal, goal-directed motivation, reward, self-representation and body image – none of which can be found in the heart.</p>
<h2>On the right track</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71913/original/image-20150213-13203-ktlaur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71913/original/image-20150213-13203-ktlaur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71913/original/image-20150213-13203-ktlaur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71913/original/image-20150213-13203-ktlaur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71913/original/image-20150213-13203-ktlaur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71913/original/image-20150213-13203-ktlaur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71913/original/image-20150213-13203-ktlaur.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hippocrates’ view on the bodily origin of feelings could be taught in any neuroscience department today.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/edenpictures/8278213840">Eden, Janine and Jim/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Historically, the erroneous attribution of love to the heart can be traced to the ancient Egyptians of the third millennium BC. They considered the heart to be the seat of thought, memory, will and emotion. Hearts, stomachs and intestines were considered important for afterlife, but not the brain. Before burial, the ancient Egyptians heedlessly discarded the brain, so for millennia pharaohs arrived brainless for their afterlife. </p>
<p>The problem with the brain is that, unlike the heart, it doesn’t flutter when lovers kiss. </p>
<p>The scientist credited with the discovery of the relationship between the mind and the brain was Alcmaeon (circa 520-450 BC; possibly a student of Pythagoras) who lived in the Greek-speaking colony of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotone">Kroton</a> (Crotone of today’s southern Italy). It’s thought Alcmaeon was led to his astonishing conclusion by observing that all senses are connected to the brain through channel-like structures. Today, we call them nerves.</p>
<p>Alcmaeon’s concept is thought to have passed on to the island of Kos, where Hippocrates (460-370 BC), the most significant physician of antiquity, worked. Hippocrates expressed an amazingly modern view:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Men ought to know that from the brain, and from the brain only, arise our pleasures, joys, laughter and jests, as well as our sorrows, pain, griefs and tears. Through it, in particular, we think, see, hear and distinguish the ugly from the beautiful, the bad from the good, the pleasant from the unpleasant…</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Hippocrates’ view could be taught in any neuroscience department today.</p>
<h2>A backwards step</h2>
<p>Then things went downhill for the brain for a long while. Plato (429-347 BC) retained the primacy of the brain and attributed to it the seat of the rational, immortal soul. But, in his tripartite division of the soul, he confused matters and attributed to the heart the emotional soul. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71914/original/image-20150213-13223-1k7w02c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71914/original/image-20150213-13223-1k7w02c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=785&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71914/original/image-20150213-13223-1k7w02c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=785&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71914/original/image-20150213-13223-1k7w02c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=785&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71914/original/image-20150213-13223-1k7w02c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=987&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71914/original/image-20150213-13223-1k7w02c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=987&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71914/original/image-20150213-13223-1k7w02c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=987&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">While Plato retained the primacy of the brain for emotions, his student Aristotle placed the seat of the soul in the heart.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/11304375@N07/2769553173">Image Editor/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The worst blow to the brain came from Aristotle (384-322 BC), who was Plato’s student, the greatest classical biologist and first anatomist. Aristotle observed that humans have the largest brain for their body size, but strangely he attributed to the brain the pedestrian function of literally cooling the blood. He placed the seat of the soul in the heart.</p>
<p>Aristotle’s views were dismissed as absurd by Galen (130-201 AD), who was an admirer of Hippocrates and served as physician to the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. Galen proposed the psychic pneuma (mind) resided in the ventricles of the brain and, via the nerves, was in receipt of sensory information and controlled the muscles.</p>
<p>The cardiocentric (heart-centred, Aristotle) and encephalocentric (brain-centred, Galen) theories of the psyche/mind/emotions battled one another until the dawn of modern science. </p>
<h2>Technology and the truth</h2>
<p>Modern science has not only rejected the heart as the seat of love, but is making progress in identifying specific structures in the brain involved in the erotic, cognitive, emotional and behavioural components of love. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11117499">first major work on the subject</a> was published in 2000. Researchers studied the brain activity of people who were deeply in love via <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-medical-imaging-magnetic-resonance-imaging-mri-15030">functional MRI</a> while the subjects viewed pictures of their partners (compared to viewing friends of similar age and sex). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71918/original/image-20150213-13211-1mbmlhb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71918/original/image-20150213-13211-1mbmlhb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71918/original/image-20150213-13211-1mbmlhb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71918/original/image-20150213-13211-1mbmlhb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71918/original/image-20150213-13211-1mbmlhb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71918/original/image-20150213-13211-1mbmlhb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71918/original/image-20150213-13211-1mbmlhb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The cardiocentric and encephalocentric theories of the psyche/mind/emotions battled one another until the dawn of modern science.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ohhbetty/4487197017">Soffie Hicks/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The caudate/putamen (brain area receiving dopamine and involved with reward), medial insula (a multi-sensory area involved in the allocation of attention and control of the heart rate) and the anterior cingulate (an area involved in autonomic regulation, emotion and obsessive-compulsive behaviour) were activated. The amygdala (an area involved in fear) was deactivated. </p>
<p>Researchers have since extended these observations by showing that sexual desire and love <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2012.02651.x/abstract">recruit some common brain structures</a> that promote bodily sensations, reward expectation and social cognition.</p>
<p>The notion that love doesn’t reside in the heart but in the brain is now as well established as the theory of anthropogenic global warming. Clearly, it’s time the fallacious cardiocentric theory of love is abandoned and on Valentine’s Day lovers exchange images of the organ really responsible for their emotion, whose shape is every bit as beautiful as that of the heart.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/37516/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>George Paxinos receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Research Council and the National Institute of Health (NIH, USA)</span></em></p>In William Shakespeare’s comedy Merchant of Venice, the play’s heroine Portia sings: Tell me where is fancy bred, Or in the heart or in the head. If you look at Valentine’s Day cards, it’s clear fancy…George Paxinos, Visiting/Conjoint Professor of Psychology and Medical Sciences, UNSW & NHMRC Australia Fellow, Neuroscience Research AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/297932014-07-29T05:15:07Z2014-07-29T05:15:07ZHow to think slow and fight the fear of flying<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/55035/original/sgn4864s-1406546514.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Don't be nervous.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Malaysia_Airlines_B777-200ER.jpg">Altair78</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Fears about air travel are common and entirely understandable. Human beings have not evolved to fly (beyond the fact that we have evolved brains sophisticated enough to invent aircraft). In an alien environment, suspended above nothing but air, and especially when strapped into a passenger seat entirely dependent on the aircraft crew (rather then being personally at the controls), it’s almost normal to be a little bit anxious. And, from a psychological perspective, it makes sense that recent crashes will cause people to have a heightened anxiety about flying.</p>
<p>Most anxiety – even rather odd or very severe phobias – is <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-New-Laws-Psychology-Behaviour/dp/1780336004">explicable</a> if we take the time to understand where a person is coming from. Certainly, being apprehensive of flying in a thin-skinned metal tube, supported only by air pressure (and the furious energy of potentially fallible jet engines) several kilometres above the unyielding earth is a pretty understandable anxiety. </p>
<p>We live in an uncertain world and anxiety is a <a href="http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/22152639">necessary survival strategy</a>. Loud noises could signal danger, animals of all shapes and sizes could pose a threat. Children are, for obvious reasons of survival, likely to be nervous of unusual stimuli until they learn to navigate the world in safety. </p>
<p>And, for various reasons, we may learn to remain anxious. As we grow up, we learn of new dangers – from the cancerous rays of the sun to microscopic bugs that live on our skin. Occasionally we experience events that heighten our fear. Occasionally our parents can instil a more anxious (or a more confident) approach to life’s challenges. Emotional and physical responses to stimuli can also cause people to suffer from a range of anxieties.</p>
<p>So, in general, anxieties – even so-called phobias – are explicable. They are even meaningful (if perhaps extreme) consequences of understandable (if not necessarily entirely proportionate) ways of making sense of what is happening. </p>
<h2>The ‘availability heuristic’</h2>
<p>As well as merely reacting to the physical stimuli of air travel, people are making judgements about their situation when they have concerns about flying. They are evaluating their likelihood of safety. So when there are high profile tragedies, as there have been recently, it’s not surprising that these fears are exacerbated. </p>
<p>In part, this is down to what’s called the “availability heuristic”. Psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky have described how many of our judgements about quite important things in life are the <a href="http://www.apa.org/monitor/dec02/nobel.aspx">product of “rules of thumb”</a>, rather than detailed logical deductions. If we spent all our lives collecting systematic data on issues about which we need to make decisions, and then subjected that data to rigorous logical deductions, well, we would never get round to deciding anything. So we live by simple, rapid, rules of thumb. </p>
<p>So things we’ve seen (or heard about recently) tend to be seen as more common or more likely (even if that’s statistically not true). We can see this when there are high profile crimes; people’s fears about being themselves a victim of crime rises, even though, logically, such crimes must happen on a pretty regular basis and even if, logically, we know that the risk of crime is low and falling.</p>
<p>With air travel – an activity that is inherently slightly anxiety-provoking – a quick succession of major tragedies means our anxiety is naturally heightened. We are very much aware of the dangers of air travel, the risks are at the forefront of our consciousness and we are consequently more nervous.</p>
<h2>Learning to ‘think slow’</h2>
<p>So what can we do about it? Daniel Kahneman would probably encourage us to “think slow”. This means we should be aware that we tend to use these rapid ways of thinking, and the possible consequences of that; the errors we could make. Then, he might argue, we should take a mental step backwards, and weigh up, more objectively, the likelihood of something bad happening. </p>
<p>Objectively – statistically – we might conclude that air travel is very safe. It’s still <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/after-air-algerie-ah5017-incident-statistical-look-probability-chances-dying-plane-crash-1638206">more likely</a> that we are involved in an accident driving to the airport than in an incident involving the flight itself. Given recent circumstances, we may also remind ourselves that our planned route does not cross disputed international territories or known war zones. </p>
<p>When on the plane, all the noises and incidents of flight may trigger anxiety. We hear the buzzing and clicking and thumping of machinery: flaps, wheels retracting etc. When that happens, again, we need to slow our thoughts. Rather than leaping to the unnecessary conclusion that we’re about to fall out of the sky, we can remind ourselves that the thump is the undercarriage deploying. When we hear a “ping”, we could turn our minds from assuming that something terrible has happened and remind ourselves that the cabin crew are probably just warming up dinner.</p>
<p>I’m planning to fly myself in a week’s time. I will not be particularly nervous. But I may just check the proposed flightpath of my route.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29793/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Kinderman has received funding from a variety of sources, including Research Council grants, but has no potential conflicts of interest in respect to this article.</span></em></p>Fears about air travel are common and entirely understandable. Human beings have not evolved to fly (beyond the fact that we have evolved brains sophisticated enough to invent aircraft). In an alien environment…Peter Kinderman, Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/286692014-07-16T04:33:05Z2014-07-16T04:33:05ZBody doubles and alien replicants: Capgras delusions explained<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53745/original/t9sksbkw-1405316986.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hi Mum ... or should I say ... impostor?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/aarontait/4838674414">Aaron Tait/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the film <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077745/">Invasion of the Body Snatchers</a> aliens invade earth by replicating individuals. While the idea that we could be duped by shape-shifting aliens is a great idea for a film, the story echoes a bizarre appeal playing out around Senate elections in the United States. </p>
<p>Senate candidate <a href="http://www.timothyraymurray.com/">Timothy Ray Murray</a> has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com.au/timothy-ray-murray-isnt-a-robot-2014-6">reported</a> that he believes that his political opponent, Senator Frank Lucas, is dead and being impersonated by a body double.</p>
<p>Actually, in what initially seems more like a pitch for an episode of the TV series <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058805/">Get Smart</a> than an alien invasion, Candidate Murray claimed that Senator Lucas died in 2007. He was then replaced by a body double. </p>
<p>Subsequently – Murray claims – that body double was hanged in the Ukraine in 2011 before being replaced by a body double <em>double</em>. </p>
<p>While it is tempting to think that Candidate Murray may be on to something – the idea that governments are populated by emotionless aliens carries considerable intuitive appeal – it is more likely that Candidate Murray may be suffering a <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/trouble-in-mind/201208/the-capgras-delusion-you-are-not-my-wife">Capgras delusion</a>.</p>
<h2>Capgras delusions</h2>
<p>Described first in 1923 by French psychiatrist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Capgras">Joseph Capgras</a> and his colleague Jean Reboul-Lachaux, Capgras delusions are characterised by the belief that someone known to us – a friend, spouse, child, parent or whomever – has been replaced by a physically identical impostor.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53748/original/mhkscvsw-1405317388.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53748/original/mhkscvsw-1405317388.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53748/original/mhkscvsw-1405317388.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53748/original/mhkscvsw-1405317388.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53748/original/mhkscvsw-1405317388.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53748/original/mhkscvsw-1405317388.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53748/original/mhkscvsw-1405317388.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Jamaican me out to be some kind of alien …’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/liberato/159597227">Ricardo Liberato/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If that sounds familiar, or if a dearly loved elder has accused you of not being whom you claim to be, it is because these types of delusions are not uncommon. </p>
<p>Indeed, Capgras delusions are part of a larger group of misperceptions known as <a href="http://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/284856">delusional misidentification syndrome</a>.</p>
<p>More common in females than males by a ratio of three to two, Capgras delusions can occur in patients with paranoid schizophrenia or with neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia. </p>
<p>They can arise also as a result of traumatic brain injury, diabetes, or hypothyroidism. Capgras delusions have been <a href="http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/56/4/416.full.pdf">reported</a> even in association with migraine headaches.</p>
<p>Treatments can be successful, depending on the cause. Anti-psychotics can alleviate Capgras delusions, as can some drugs that treat <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/B42C804645A11AAECA257BF0001E7283/$File/ch2.pdf">comorbidities</a>. </p>
<p>What is clear is that Capgras delusions arise as the result of some type of neural dysfunctioning.</p>
<h2>Divide, conquer and perceive</h2>
<p>Clues to how Capgras delusions arise come from understanding how brains generate perceptions of the world.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53749/original/cxftrb4v-1405317670.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53749/original/cxftrb4v-1405317670.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53749/original/cxftrb4v-1405317670.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53749/original/cxftrb4v-1405317670.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53749/original/cxftrb4v-1405317670.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53749/original/cxftrb4v-1405317670.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53749/original/cxftrb4v-1405317670.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The way we perceive things gets divvied up to different parts of our brain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/brittanygreene/5048007321/in/photolist-8G5mGZ-3ETPMb-q6tJA-9funPn-7SqziC-d9NGiY-2otYLn-49t9ZX-64UQxA-4UyYZ-65rorC-bdyvf-4VgC5Z-e7KuCr-fFUea-5EaRRK-aVQ5P6-eFY85c-Dtfjg-jKKJW8-aQF6a-6Kaevd-4mzyP8-7QRpfs-4TDru4-c6vAj-nBvSoQ-9NzcL-5RGgKm-dx3bqz-bDSh3z-chyZJs-4HZAYi-SiFF-5nWn6B-uWkwv-6HDHtk-riDDb-7XFb85-6jcnsn-2pNJge-DdA2j-8Vixoq-e543U-7RT2Vy-6LHEg6-92A8s-bVQH33-2V2Aup-aCMMhn">Brittany Greene/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When confronted with high-value but complicated cues, brains have evolved a simple solution: divide up information and process different types of information separately.</p>
<p>For example, our visual system processes information about what is out there (objects) separately from information about what is happening to those objects (actions); that is, colour and shape are processed separately from motion, direction and location.</p>
<p>If that seems hard to believe, it’s because our everyday experience is not of those qualities being separate. A quick look around reveals an integrated experience with coloured objects moving around us. </p>
<p>Pathologies do arise, however, that confirm the “separateness” of the underlying mechanisms. Some individuals can see objects but not how they move in a condition called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akinetopsia">akinetopsia</a>. </p>
<p>Conversely, individuals with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosia">agnosia</a> report being able to tell where something is and what it is doing, but not what it is that they see.</p>
<h2>Theories of mind</h2>
<p>When it comes to people – perhaps the most high value targets we have ever to process – the same type of strategy applies. </p>
<p>Information about how someone looks and sounds, even how they move, is processed by brain mechanisms separate from those that help us form what is known as a <a href="http://www.iep.utm.edu/theomind/">theory of mind</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53751/original/mrnwt26p-1405318238.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53751/original/mrnwt26p-1405318238.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=808&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53751/original/mrnwt26p-1405318238.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=808&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53751/original/mrnwt26p-1405318238.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=808&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53751/original/mrnwt26p-1405318238.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1015&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53751/original/mrnwt26p-1405318238.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1015&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53751/original/mrnwt26p-1405318238.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1015&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Capgras delusions mark a disconnect between different brain processes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/shadows_and_light/57490786">Jari Schroderus/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We form a theory of mind about almost everyone with whom we interact. Very often we may be left wondering what someone was thinking. For those people closest to us, though, our theories are detailed. </p>
<p>They help us understand who someone really is: how they feel, what they think, their beliefs, thoughts, loves, fears and so on.</p>
<p>In healthy brains, those two process are seamlessly integrated into coherent perceptions of others. Via mechanisms we don’t quite understand, an individuals appearance is matched with our theory of mind about the other person, and we recognise them for who they are.</p>
<p>In some cases, though, the integration processes break down. When it does, someone can look and sound right but will not “seem” right in terms of their personality, in terms of who they really are.</p>
<p>This obviously is unsettling for the sufferer, confronted with someone they recognise but who seems not to be the person they remember. </p>
<p>In an attempt to reconcile that dilemma the brain comes up with a simple solution: the person is not who they claim to be, but rather an impostor, a <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086984/">body double</a>.</p>
<p>This account might explain Timothy Murray’s issues with Senator Lucas. If not – if the neuroscience is wrong – it might be time to call the Men in Black.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/28669/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ricky van der Zwan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In the film Invasion of the Body Snatchers aliens invade earth by replicating individuals. While the idea that we could be duped by shape-shifting aliens is a great idea for a film, the story echoes a…Ricky van der Zwan, Associate Professor in Neuroscience and Psychology, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.