It has long been assumed that sleep deprivation can play havoc with our emotions.
This is notably apparent in soldiers in combat zones, medical residents and even new parents. Now there's a neurological basis for this theory, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley, and Harvard Medical School.
In the first neural investigation into what happens to the emotional brain without sleep, results from a brain imaging study suggest that while a good night's rest can regulate your mood and help you cope with the next day's emotional challenges, sleep deprivation does the opposite by excessively boosting the part of the brain most closely connected to depression, anxiety and other psychiatric disorders.
"It's almost as though, without sleep, the brain had reverted back to more primitive patterns of activity, in that it was unable to put emotional experiences into context and produce controlled, appropriate responses," said Matthew Walker, director of UC Berkeley's Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory and senior author of the study, which will be published Oct. 22 in the journal Current Biology.
"Emotionally, you're not on a level playing field," Walker added.
Philosophers and scientists have long been interested in how the mind processes the inevitability of death, both cognitively and emotionally. One would expect, for example, that reminders of our mortality--say the sudden death of a loved one--would throw us into a state of disabling fear of the unknown. But that doesn't happen. If the prospect of death is so incomprehensible, why are we not trembling in a constant state of terror over this fact?
Psychologists have some ideas about how we cope with existential dread. One emerging idea--"terror management theory" --holds that the brain is hard-wired to keep us from being paralyzed by fear. According to this theory the brain allows us to think about dying, even to change the way we live our lives, but not cower in the corner, paralyzed by fear. The automatic, unconscious part of our brain in effect protects the conscious mind.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning some drugs used for impotence may cause sudden hearing loss.
Erectile dysfunction including Viagra, Levitra Cialis and the blood pressure medication Revatio will now carry new warning labels about the potential risk of sudden hearing loss, reported WebMD.
Peter Griffiths Reuters UK Mon, 22 Oct 2007 09:30 UTC
Parents of severely overweight children in Britain could be sent letters warning them about the health dangers of obesity, the government said on Monday.
Letters could be sent after children are routinely weighed at primary school at the ages of five and 10.
With the latest advances in treatment, doctors have discovered that they can successfully neutralise the HIV virus. The so-called 'combination therapy' prevents the HIV virus from mutating and spreading, allowing patients to rebuild their immune system to the same levels as the rest of the population.
To date, it represents the most significant treatment for patients suffering from HIV.
Professor Jens Lundgren from the University of Copenhagen, together with other members of the research group EuroSIDA, have conducted a study, which demonstrates that the immune system of all HIV-infected patients can be restored and normalised. The only stipulation is that patients begin and continue to follow their course of treatment.
The Gardasil program by Merck Pharmaceuticals to vaccinate females between ages nine and 26 has generated much criticism. In the U.S., individual states are disputing whether the drug should be mandatory.
However, it appears, in both the U.S. and Canada parents can opt out their child for religious or ethical considerations. This fall Ontario, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador and P.E.I. began HPV vaccinations of young girls. B.C. plans to begin vaccinations of all Grade 6 girls next September.
Nina Lakhani Independent Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:37 UTC
Thousands of patients are dying each year as a result of side effects from pills prescribed by GPs and hospital doctors. And while the number of deaths from suspected adverse reactions to prescription drugs has more than doubled in the past 10 years to 973 last year, medical experts warn that as few as one in 10 deaths and other serious complications are being reported.
Seeing through a child's eyes can help parents better introduce new words to young toddlers, according to research from Purdue University.
"This new research shows that as young toddlers learn language, they are more likely to focus on objects rather than parts," said George Hollich, an assistant professor of psychological sciences. "Because of this bias, children automatically assume you are talking about an object. So, when labeling more than just an object, adults need to do something special such as pointing at the part while saying its word or explaining what the item does."
Dr. Mercola Mercola.com Sat, 20 Oct 2007 15:39 UTC
Many of you believe watching TV is a harmless, entertaining activity worthy of your attention, but the video below will give you some eye-opening things to consider.
In just under four minutes you'll learn why television is essentially a platform for elite advertisers to peddle their wares, and how the steady stream of images could be making your life in reality seem dull and slow in comparison.
If you watch TV, you owe it to yourself to watch this video.
Genes responsible for our 24 hour body clock influence not only the timing of sleep, but also appear to be central to the actual restorative process of sleep, according to research published in the online open access journal BMC Neuroscience. The study identified changes in the brain that lead to the increased desire and need for sleep during time spent awake.
"We still do not know why we benefit from sleep, or why we feel tired when we are 'lacking' sleep, but it seems likely that sleep serves some basic biological function for the brain such as energy restoration for brain cells or memory consolidation." Explains Dr Bruce O'Hara of the University of Kentucky, one of the neuroscientists who conducted the research. "We have found that clock gene expression in the brain is highly correlated to the build-up of sleep debt, while previous findings have linked these genes to energy metabolism. Together, this supports the idea that one function of sleep is related to energy metabolism."
"We have about 50% of the world's wealth but only 6.3% of its population. This disparity is particularly great as between ourselves and the peoples of Asia. In this situation, we cannot fail to be the object of envy and resentment. Our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern of relationships which will permit us to maintain this position of disparity without positive detriment to our national security. To do so, we will have to dispense with all sentimentality and day-dreaming; and our attention will have to be concentrated everywhere on our immediate national objectives. We need not deceive ourselves that we can afford today the luxury of altruism and world-benefaction."
~ US State Department, 1948
- George Kennan
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