Have you ever felt overly upset by a social snubbing? Your genetics, not your friends, may be at fault.
Scientists have long known that opium-like painkillers, called opioids, relieve not only physical pain, but also some forms of emotional stress. Now, a new study reviewed by Faculty of 1000 Biology member Markus Heilig shows that small genetic differences in the gene for the opioid receptor can determine the intensity of people's responses to social rejection.
In the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles questioned people about their responses to social rejection, which is a form of emotional stress.
Health & Wellness
Practice makes perfect. But imaginary practice? Elisa Tartaglia of the Laboratory of Psychophysics at Switzerland's Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) and team show that perceptual learning - learning by repeated exposure to a stimulus - can occur by mental imagery as much as by the real thing. The results, published in Current Biology, suggest that thinking about something over and over again could actually be as good as doing it.
"When trained, radiologists are able to detect anomalies on medical images which are extremely hard to detect for untrained people," Tartaglia says. "The results of our study would predict that mental imagery training, hence, repeatedly mentally visualizing the anomalies that one wants to detect, would be sufficient to become able to detect them."
In a series of experiments, the scientists asked some participants to practice identifying which line, the right or the left in a series of parallel lines, a central line was closest to and to identify it by pushing the correct button. In follow-up, "post-training" exercises, these participants improved their baseline performance significantly.
"When trained, radiologists are able to detect anomalies on medical images which are extremely hard to detect for untrained people," Tartaglia says. "The results of our study would predict that mental imagery training, hence, repeatedly mentally visualizing the anomalies that one wants to detect, would be sufficient to become able to detect them."
In a series of experiments, the scientists asked some participants to practice identifying which line, the right or the left in a series of parallel lines, a central line was closest to and to identify it by pushing the correct button. In follow-up, "post-training" exercises, these participants improved their baseline performance significantly.
Slim Fast is recalling every last one of its popular diet drinks over concern they may be contaminated with bacteria that can cause moderate food poisoning. All cans and cartons of ready-to-drink Slim Fast products -- about 10 million of them -- are affected, "regardless of flavor, best-by date, lot code or UPC number," the recall notice reads.
Unilever, which makes Slim Fast, said the recall was prompted by "quality testing" that turned up Bacillus cereus, a toxin that can cause nausea and diarrhea but that is not life-threatening.
A Food and Drug Administration official said the inspection that uncovered the B. cereus was conducted after several consumers complained to the company. The official said FDA has received "a handful of complaints from time to time about this product but not recently."
Unilever, which makes Slim Fast, said the recall was prompted by "quality testing" that turned up Bacillus cereus, a toxin that can cause nausea and diarrhea but that is not life-threatening.
A Food and Drug Administration official said the inspection that uncovered the B. cereus was conducted after several consumers complained to the company. The official said FDA has received "a handful of complaints from time to time about this product but not recently."
Scientists at the University of Montreal launched a search for men who had never looked at pornography - but couldn't find any.
Researchers were conducting a study comparing the views of men in their 20s who had never been exposed to pornography with regular users.
But their project stumbled at the first hurdle when they failed to find a single man who had not seen it.
"We started our research seeking men in their 20s who had never consumed pornography," said Professor Simon Louis Lajeunesse. "We couldn't find any."
Although hampered in its original aim, the study did examined the habits of those young men who used pornography - which would appear to be all of them.
Prof Lajeunesse interviewed 20 heterosexual male university students who consumed pornography, and found on average, they first watched pornography when they were 10 years old.
Around 90 per cent of consumption was on the internet, while 10 per cent of material came from video stores.
Researchers were conducting a study comparing the views of men in their 20s who had never been exposed to pornography with regular users.
But their project stumbled at the first hurdle when they failed to find a single man who had not seen it.
"We started our research seeking men in their 20s who had never consumed pornography," said Professor Simon Louis Lajeunesse. "We couldn't find any."
Although hampered in its original aim, the study did examined the habits of those young men who used pornography - which would appear to be all of them.
Prof Lajeunesse interviewed 20 heterosexual male university students who consumed pornography, and found on average, they first watched pornography when they were 10 years old.
Around 90 per cent of consumption was on the internet, while 10 per cent of material came from video stores.
New findings raise questions about reliability of fMRI as gauge of neural activity
The 18-inch-long Atlantic salmon lay perfectly still for its brain scan. Emotional pictures - a triumphant young girl just out of a somersault, a distressed waiter who had just dropped a plate - flashed in front of the fish as a scientist read the standard instruction script aloud. The hulking machine clunked and whirred, capturing minute changes in the salmon's brain as it assessed the images. Millions of data points capturing the fluctuations in brain activity streamed into a powerful computer, which performed herculean number crunching, sorting out which data to pay attention to and which to ignore.
By the end of the experiment, neuroscientist Craig Bennett and his colleagues at Dartmouth College could clearly discern in the scan of the salmon's brain a beautiful, red-hot area of activity that lit up during emotional scenes.
An Atlantic salmon that responded to human emotions would have been an astounding discovery, guaranteeing publication in a top-tier journal and a life of scientific glory for the researchers. Except for one thing. The fish was dead.
The 18-inch-long Atlantic salmon lay perfectly still for its brain scan. Emotional pictures - a triumphant young girl just out of a somersault, a distressed waiter who had just dropped a plate - flashed in front of the fish as a scientist read the standard instruction script aloud. The hulking machine clunked and whirred, capturing minute changes in the salmon's brain as it assessed the images. Millions of data points capturing the fluctuations in brain activity streamed into a powerful computer, which performed herculean number crunching, sorting out which data to pay attention to and which to ignore.
© C. Bennett/UCSB
A region of a dead Atlantic salmon's brain appeared to glow with activity (red) in response to emotional scenes. Statistical checks corrected the spurious findings.
A region of a dead Atlantic salmon's brain appeared to glow with activity (red) in response to emotional scenes. Statistical checks corrected the spurious findings.
An Atlantic salmon that responded to human emotions would have been an astounding discovery, guaranteeing publication in a top-tier journal and a life of scientific glory for the researchers. Except for one thing. The fish was dead.
A study in the Dec.1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that short, unpleasant, dreamlike mental activity occurs during sleepwalking and sleep terrors episodes, suggesting that people with these sleep disorders may be acting out dreamlike thoughts.
Results show that 71 percent of participants reported at least one incident of dreamlike mental content associated with an episode of sleepwalking or sleep terrors, and the action in the dreamlike thoughts corresponded with the observed behavior. A total of 106 reports of dreamlike mental activity were collected; the mental content was brief, with 95 percent of the reports involving a single visual scene.
These dreamlike thoughts were frequently unpleasant, with 84 percent involving apprehension, fear or terror; 54 percent involving misfortune, in which injury, mishap or adversity occurred through chance or environmental circumstances; and 24 percent involving aggression, with the dreamer always being the victim. Compared with healthy controls, patients with sleepwalking and sleep terrors reported more severe daytime sleepiness and had four times as many arousals from slow-wave sleep.
Results show that 71 percent of participants reported at least one incident of dreamlike mental content associated with an episode of sleepwalking or sleep terrors, and the action in the dreamlike thoughts corresponded with the observed behavior. A total of 106 reports of dreamlike mental activity were collected; the mental content was brief, with 95 percent of the reports involving a single visual scene.
These dreamlike thoughts were frequently unpleasant, with 84 percent involving apprehension, fear or terror; 54 percent involving misfortune, in which injury, mishap or adversity occurred through chance or environmental circumstances; and 24 percent involving aggression, with the dreamer always being the victim. Compared with healthy controls, patients with sleepwalking and sleep terrors reported more severe daytime sleepiness and had four times as many arousals from slow-wave sleep.
Dementia patients with a certain type of changes in their brain's white matter are more likely to be apathetic than those who do not have these changes, reveals a patient study carried out by the Sahlgrenska Academy and Sahlgrenska University Hospital.
Changes in the brain's white matter are common among the elderly and dementia patients, and often appear as blurred patches on CT and MRI images.
"A likely explanation for the changes is that the small blood vessels that supply the white matter are not working as they should," says Michael Jonsson, PhD-student at the Sahlgrenska Academy and consultant psychiatrist at Sahlgrenska University Hospital's memory clinic. "This results in that the long nerve fibres and their fatty sheaths degenerate."
Apathy is one of the most common psychological problems associated with dementia. Just over half of all dementia patents are emotionally blunted and lack motivation and initiative. This new study shows that this apathy is far more common in patients who have the characteristic changes in the brain.
Changes in the brain's white matter are common among the elderly and dementia patients, and often appear as blurred patches on CT and MRI images.
"A likely explanation for the changes is that the small blood vessels that supply the white matter are not working as they should," says Michael Jonsson, PhD-student at the Sahlgrenska Academy and consultant psychiatrist at Sahlgrenska University Hospital's memory clinic. "This results in that the long nerve fibres and their fatty sheaths degenerate."
Apathy is one of the most common psychological problems associated with dementia. Just over half of all dementia patents are emotionally blunted and lack motivation and initiative. This new study shows that this apathy is far more common in patients who have the characteristic changes in the brain.
Two new studies add to the litany:
One study suggests that BPA, may cause sexual dysfunction in men. Another study, reported in Science News, links BPA exposures in early pregnancy to more aggressive behavior in 2-year old girls and more anxious and withdrawn 2-year old boys.
In fruit flies, a low-calorie diet with extra amounts of methionine extends lifespan without harming fertility
Long life may stem from a proper imbalance of dietary nutrients.
A new study in fruit flies suggests that the life-extending properties of caloric restriction may be due not only to fewer calories in the diet, but also to just the right mix of protein building blocks, called amino acids. The study, published online December 2 in Nature, may help explain some of the health benefits of restricted-calorie diets.
Coupled with other data, the new study should prompt researchers to reevaluate whether it is calorie count or the nutrient composition of a diet that is most important for regulating lifespan and health, comments Luigi Fontana of Washington University in St. Louis.
Long life may stem from a proper imbalance of dietary nutrients.
A new study in fruit flies suggests that the life-extending properties of caloric restriction may be due not only to fewer calories in the diet, but also to just the right mix of protein building blocks, called amino acids. The study, published online December 2 in Nature, may help explain some of the health benefits of restricted-calorie diets.
Coupled with other data, the new study should prompt researchers to reevaluate whether it is calorie count or the nutrient composition of a diet that is most important for regulating lifespan and health, comments Luigi Fontana of Washington University in St. Louis.
Children who bully at school are likely to also bully their siblings at home. This is the finding of a study published in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology.
Dr Ersilia Menesini and colleagues at the Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Italy, designed the study to investigate whether the age and gender of a child's siblings predicted whether children were likely to bully, or to become victims of bullying. They also looked for links between sibling bullying and school bullying
A total of 195 children aged between 10 and 12 took part in the study. All of the children had a sibling no more than four years older or younger than them. Children were given questionnaires that asked whether they were a victim of bullying, or bullied their peers at school, and whether they were a victim of bullying by a sibling or bullied a sibling at home.
Dr Ersilia Menesini and colleagues at the Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Italy, designed the study to investigate whether the age and gender of a child's siblings predicted whether children were likely to bully, or to become victims of bullying. They also looked for links between sibling bullying and school bullying
A total of 195 children aged between 10 and 12 took part in the study. All of the children had a sibling no more than four years older or younger than them. Children were given questionnaires that asked whether they were a victim of bullying, or bullied their peers at school, and whether they were a victim of bullying by a sibling or bullied a sibling at home.
