Monthly Archive for July, 2007

Neuroscience & Neurology | By July 29, 2007 | By Sudip Ghosh, MD | 3 Comments

Ah, Looks Familiar! Deja Vu and the Dentate Gyrus

The human brain recognizes “patterns” as a natural way of looking at places and things. The feeling of deja vu is the result of such a pattern match; although we might not actually have been in a similar situation, the brain thinks it has, and produces a feeling of familiarity.

New research published online in Science reveals that specific neuronal pathways in the learning and memory center of our brain, the hippocampus, is crucial for rapidly “comparing” two scenarios based on visual cues, thus identifying similar contexts. In turn, this can lead to the feeling of familiarity we often get in odd places and circumstances, termed deja vu. Read more →

Genetic Discrimination: A Real Threat? | July 27, 2007 | 8 Comments

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) of 2007 finally overcame the republican opposition in recent years, and got through the House of the Representatives. With a change in the recent composition of the senate, there is a good chance it would get through there as well. In the recent hearing... Read more →

Meditation for Troubled Minds: Can the Mind Heal the Mind? | July 24, 2007 | 13 Comments

Can the mind cure the mind, working on itself? Well, although the entire self-help psychology industry survives on an assumption that it does — with various techniques, young and old, aimed at self-therapy, scientific research on the subject is still in its early stage. Mindfulness meditation,... Read more →

Curb Domestic Violence/Abuse and Slash the Incidence of Mental Disorders | July 21, 2007 | 1 Comment

A new study presented by the World Health Organization points to the international community’s efforts to curb interpersonal violence and its mental and physical consequences. This past week nearly 200 experts on violence prevention assembled in Scotland for “Milestones 2007,” a gathering... Read more →

Death from Broken Hearts and Octopus Traps | July 18, 2007 | 2 Comments

It is now established beyond any doubt that women in particular can die of a broken heart. The good news is that if you can make it to hospital, your chances of survival are pretty high. First described in 2005 in Japan, the Tako-tsubo syndrome (or the “broken heart syndrome”) is being increasingly... Read more →

Brain Blogging, Thirteenth Edition | July 16, 2007 | 3 Comments

Welcome to the thirteenth edition of Brain Blogging — a semi-monthly blog carnival that aims to review posts “related to the brain and mind that go beyond the basic sciences into a more human and multidimensional perspective.” Read more → Read More →

“Sick” - Jonathan Cohn’s Book on the Healthcare Crisis | July 13, 2007 | 1 Comment

Nearly 43 million Americans are without health insurance and the number is rising, as the average cost of a family’s healthcare insurance is about $12,000. America pays 16% of its national income for healthcare, more than any other country, yet its position on the health chart among developed... Read more →

New Tool to Diagnose Adolescent Depression | July 11, 2007 | 1 Comment

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that between 1992 to 2004, the rate of hospitalization for depression has increased approximately 81% for females and 30% for males aged 5-19 years. In 2004, more than 5,000 US children and adolescents committed suicide and an additional... Read more →

Metrosexuality: A Personality Disorder? | July 05, 2007 | 8 Comments

It isn’t simply about paying nearly obscene sums for your haircut, or ordering your theta meditation-delta sleep system pack from Amazon.com. It’s about creating an image of yourself as an exceptionally groomed specimen, dressed and odored to kill. Nothings wrong with that at a personal level.... Read more →

Brain Blogging, Twelfth Edition | July 02, 2007 | 6 Comments

Welcome to the twelfth edition of Brain Blogging - a semi-monthly blog carnival that aims to review posts “related to the brain and mind that go beyond the basic sciences into a more human and multidimensional perspective.” Read more → Read More →