Monthly Archive for July, 2009
Working Overtime May be a Risk for Dementia
Many occupations can make you feel like you are losing your mind, but new evidence suggests that long working hours may actually lead to cognitive decline. Notably, cognitive impairment in midlife is already established as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia. A new report from the Whitehall II Study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology finds that long working hours in midlife are associated with a decline of cognitive function, and possibly dementia.
The Slow-Developing Human – Rationale for a Species of Newborn Motor Morons
Dolphins are born swimming, cattle can walk within hours and lions are able to run within 20 days of birth. Compare this to a human newborn who will require months before he is able to merely sit without support. More advanced skills like running and jumping may take years to develop in a human newborn. As a species, the speed at which our motor skills emerge lags far behind most other species. Despite a slow rate of motor development, we surpass these other animals in intelligence and fine motor skills later in life. What are the reasons for this? Although it may seem paradoxical, our intelligence is exactly the reason for our slow development.
Migraine and Vascular Disease
Migraine is a recurring headache of moderate to severe intensity that is associated with gastrointestinal, neurologic, and autonomic symptoms. As the most common of the chronic headache disorders, migraine affects 18% of women and 6% of men in the United States. More than one-half of all migraine sufferers report significant disability with the migraine. While the pathophysiology of migraine is not completely understood, there is mounting evidence that migraine sufferers are at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and other vascular disorders, including angina, myocardial infarction, coronary revascularization, claudication, cardiovascular mortality, and ischemic lesions in the brain. There is also an increased risk of other cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. Now, the Journal of the American Medical Association reports in a recent study that migraine is associated with pathologic changes in the cerebellum.
The Psychology of Minority Students
A major public policy concern is the well known fact that many minority students under-achieve scholastically. The roots of the discrepancy in performance of some minorities and their white counterparts has been attributed to many causes, such as socioeconomic disparities and poor school systems in minority communities. Many of the explanations, however, focus on the students’ environment, and less attention is paid to the psychology of being a minority student in America. Recent provocative research in social psychology, however, suggests that a large portion of academic performance differences may reflect minority students’ representations of stereotypes surrounding their racial and ethnic identities.
Popular Posts
- The Love Drug
- Women After Sex
- Fatty Acids and Suicide Risk
- Mind Games - Science's Attempts at Thought Control
- Mental Health Disorders Prevalent Among Youth Worldwide
- Is Giftedness Nothing More than Good Genes?
- Risks of Personalized Medicine
- Behind the Masks - The Mysteries of Dissociative Identity Disorder
- The NeuroSocial Network
- Inside Your Brain on Holiday
Future Posts
Latest Posts
- Media Violence Leads to Real Violence
- Intelligence – Are You Holding Back Your Brain?
- Childhood Aggression Predicts Health Care Use Later in Life
- The Brain’s Border Patrol – Blood Brain Barrier
- Risks of Personalized Medicine
- BED-head and Obesity – Food for Thought
- Salvia Divinorum – DEA Control over Magic in the Mint
- Mighty Microglia – The Brain’s Immune Cells Key to Treating Brain Diseases
- Does Personality Play a Role in the Stress of Caregiving?
- Economic Burden of Poor Mental Health
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