Neuroscience In The News On Feb 22

These are articles that I found of interest relating to news about Neuroscience.  In this issue, I have highlighted articles about human behavior and the brain, moral decision making, sleep and memory, and how mothers pass on a brain wired for depression.  Please check out the article links below and feel free to comment with other information related to these subjects.  I enjoy learning as much as I can about the brain and passing this information on to everyone else that shares these passions.

This is for the week beginning February 22, 2016.

Please come back each week and hopefully I will have some more highlights.  Feel free to share with me ones that you have found and I may highlight those as well.

Collapse Of Freud and Marx On Cognitive Science

Perhaps Wolfe’s most astute observation was cultural: how the collapse of Freud and Marx had pushed people into using the language of cognitive science for explanations of human behavior. He also noticed that the link between the actual science and the conclusions people drew from it were often tenuous, and his article foreshadowed an explosion of dubious media stories about brain centers for infidelity, neural circuits for political orientation, and chemical imbalances for mental illness.

Article Link:

• Neuroscience And The Premature Death Of The Soul
• By Vaughn Bell

Intention and Permissiability in Moral Decision Making

The ability to distinguish between the effects an agent intended versus those that were side-effects are critical in general for social cognition  and  in  particular  for  assigning  responsibility and assessing moral permissibility. Our goal here is to understand these processes in computational terms.

Article Link:

• Interference of Intention and Permissibility In Moral Decision Making
• Max Kleiman-Weiner, Tobias Gerstenberg, Sydney Levine, Joshua B. Tenebaum

Best To Sleep On It

The new discoveries, made by researchers from Bristol's Centre for Synaptic Plasticity, provide further evidence for the benefits of a good night's sleep. Patterns of brain activity that occur during the day are replayed at fast-forward speed during sleep.  Replay of brain activity during sleep is dependent on the emotional state of the person when they are learning.

Article Link:

• Best To Sleep On It:  Brain Activity Patterns During Sleep Consolidate Memory
• University Of Bristol Research Team

Mothers May Pass On Wired Brain For Depression

Mothers may pass on vulnerability to depression in much the same way they give their daughters green eyes or curly hair – girls might inherit a brain structure that’s predisposed to mood disorders, a small U.S. study suggests.  Previous behavioral health studies have pointed to a strong link between psychiatric problems in mothers and similar mood disorders in their daughters, Hoeft and colleagues note in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Article Link:

• Mothers May Pass Daughters A Brain Wired For Depression
• Dr. Fumiko Hoeft of the University Of California, San Francisco 

Objective Truth In Science

This is a debate that has raged on for centuries and I'm sure what I write will barely move the meter much at all.  I come from a science background.  I've done research.  I have a degree in science, so if you discount what I'm saying, at least understand this much.

There are those that claim if it cannot be proved by science, discard it and dump it in the river.  They feel that it is either science that proves absolutely everything or nothing at all.  As soon as they make this clear, then go into their tirades against religion, alternative thoughts, and anything that doesn't agree with them.

Unfortunately even when the same people want to claim that belief has nothing to do with science, it is obvious that they don't realize that claim is nothing more then their own belief system.  Sure, they have some facts to back things up, but so do others that see the world through different eyes.  If you believe science has the answers, that is your belief system.  To fail to understand that is ignorance.

There are things that science cannot prove today as 100% fact or not 100% fact.  There are things in the past that science claimed was true, but were woefully ignorant and wrong.  Science is based upon theory that has facts to support it, but it does not account for everything we know or we think we know.

Even though religion thinks it has all the facts, it is woefully mistaken.  Religion uses belief based upon some (limited) facts of what really happened.  Through that belief, all truth is derived.  It is often at odds with science and I'm not here to give it validation or justification.

There are things we don't understand and in fact there is so much we don't understand.  Yet, we claim that science has all the answers.  Most of the time, I would agree but there are situations and circumstances that science is not able to prove that which we can see and experience.

Maybe science has not caught up to the time we are in.  Maybe science just doesn't know yet how to make sense of that which is before our eyes.  Does this mean science is not enough?  It may in the moment, but it could change in the future.  We don't need to shun science, but we need to put more effort into it, so that we can prove or disprove the unknowns.

To form such a rigid thought process of either religion or science having all the answers is ignorant at best.  To see the validity of both sides is to be an individual with a higher consciousness of thoughts.  You can't claim everyone that believes differently than you are wrong while claiming you don't have your own belief system called science.  You may be fooling yourself, but you're not fooling everyone.

Some latch on to what some say without question and gulp it down as if they have the ultimate set of facts and truth.  This is a recipe for missing what may be standing in front of their eyes.  I believe (it is my opinion) that in another 100 years or 1000 years, what we thought was ridiculousness now, may be a normally accepted truth based upon science.

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Truth That Is Now Foolish

Throughout the ages, we have had moments in our history where the church or other leaders came along and stated that we must believe a certain way regarding various issues. From the beginning of time, what was not understood became part of a belief system to explain it. The belief systems did not evolve and so concepts that we now know to be true were at one time considered evil and wrong.

Here are a few examples to consider as we ponder what we hold dear to our belief system and how maybe we need to allow our belief system to evolve.

In the 1500's, the Catholic Church essentially felt that the earth was the center of the universe and there was really nothing beyond it. Copernicus came along and like others, discovered that the earth was not the center of the universe. The discovery by Copernicus conflicted with the Catholic Church. In fact, a paper on his work was not published until after he died to avoid him being persecuted by the church. (1)

Around the 1600's, Galileo also made the discovery of the sun being the center of the universe. He wrote a book called "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems" which was an attempt to help convince the church to change its view on the solar system. While he was a friend of the pope, some of his eloquent writings angered very influential people in the church. In 1633, he was found guilty of heresy and his book was banned. In addition, he was forced to claim that he was wrong and that the earth did not move. Galileo was placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life. (2)

Sir Issac Newton made many scientific discoveries including that of gravity. However, the royal and church leaders of the day were very much against anything that went against their beliefs. They were often fearful of that which they could not understand. In 1685, Newton and several others were brought by the Monarch to the high court on trumped-up charges, only to be dismissed later. The stress of this trial brought on a nervous breakdown for Newton. (3)

Around the 1600's, Claudius Galen was considered to be one of the most influential medical authorities. William Harvey's discoveries came into conflict with Galen which incited considerable controversy at the time. Galen believed that the heart produced heat while the arteries and its fluid cooled the blood. In addition, he believed that the lungs fanned and cooled the heart. According to Galen, dilation of the arteries sucked in air and contraction discharged vapors through pores in the flesh and skin. However, William Harvey was the first person to accurately describe the systemic circulation of the blood. At the time, doctors stated they would rather err with Galen than proclaim the truth with Harvey. (4)

At one time in the United States, women, African Americans, Native Americans and various other groups were denied the right to vote. In those times, these people were considered to be less than by the leaders and establishment of our country. It took a great deal of pain and suffering by many to overturn these laws and create freedom for all. (5)

At various times throughout our history in this country and in the world, we have attempted to believe certain things and found explanations, laws and religious practices to force these things upon the rest of society. Yet, now as we can clearly look back at history, we see just how foolish some of these things were. Yet, many were found guilty of horrible crimes and sentenced to death for not going along with the status quo or the belief system of the day.

Today, we are still doing that whether it is through what we believe from the churches, or our governments or in our societies. When it comes to medicine, we believe that the doctor holding the pill, medical procedure or test knows best and so we subscribe to the thinking that this is the only thing there is. When it comes to how we view others, it is more through the mindset of what media pundits and others tell us we should believe. Instead of learning to love and respect one another, we draw division lines and stand opposed.

We are all much more than we currently are aware of. What we know and understand today may most likely be found to be foolish tomorrow. The important part is that we need to continue evolving as a species and becoming more aware and more conscious of who we are. The greatest gift we can give to the world is by becoming all that we possibly can become. Anything less makes us part of a belief system and someone that breathes oxygen rather than someone who advances our civilization along.

When you're tempted by the media and the medical establishment and the politicians to accept the status quo as gospel truth, step back for a moment and look at the bigger picture. Think of the times from early history where we have been narrow focused on problems of the day and compare or contrast those to what we now know. Knowledge and discovery should not stop and be content where it is at. We should constantly strive to learn, discover and understand more about what we already know.

Yes, I do realize that fear, ego and power have much to do with holding us in the belief systems we allow society to impose upon us. However, we are all humans holding a brain that has unlimited potential. Let no one come along and tell us that we are less than or we do not know and understand what it is we feel inside. Let no one come along and dictate to us, how we should think and perceive all that is around us. May we all have ah ha moments every day and may we grow in ways that we cannot even fathom right now in this moment. For growth is life and the pursuit of life that when we embrace it, gives us freedom, purpose and courage.



Sources Of Information
1) The Church And Copernicus
2) Galileo And The Church
3) Sir Isaac Newton, A Scientific Genius
4) Wikipedia, William Harvey
5) Voting Rights In The United States


Further Reading
1) Fundamentalist Brainwashing
2) US Health Care Costs Skyrocket
3) Burn The Books
4) What Do You Really See?



Blog Post & Images (c) 2/22/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

The Power Of Emotions

Through Deeper Layers

Have you ever looked through a microscope at something? I remember in high school and college during science classes looking at all kinds of things from little bacteria to all kinds of objects. Through the naked eye, we were able to see something much different than through the microscope. Even with the various power adjustments of the microscope, we could see many layers of whatever it was we were looking at. More powerful microscopes allowed us to look even deeper into an object.

Just like looking deep into an object through a microscope, the same could be said that this is exactly what healing is all about. It is going through the layers and then when you think you've seen everything, you adjust the power and go deeper yet. As you go deeper, you see things that you were not even aware of or realize existed. Yet, they are there.

So go deeper than you have gone so far! See what all there is to see in your life and find that which you do not know exists. Than see just how far down the rabbit hole you can go.