Tag Archive for brain

News and Beliefs

August 17, 2020 Comments Off on News and Beliefs

As I watch the news, I’m struck by the subtle ways that prejudice is spread. Nobody notices, but our brains do. So we accept it, coming to believe that what has been hinted at is true.

Two examples: 1) A suspect in an assault is referred to as “a homeless man,” but never “a man who lives on Gregory St. in San Jose.” 2) The person who vandalized is “a Black man,” but you don’t hear that the person was “a White man.”

The result is that our brains think, Of course, because Black men are dangerous and homeless people don’t care about anything or anyone.

It doesn’t seem right to me. It DOES seem like we need to filter what we hear before its implications get lodged in our brains.

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Screen Time–Report

December 17, 2018 Comments Off on Screen Time–Report

People (especially parents and their kids) go back and forth on how much screen time (including phones) is healthy for kids. The National Institute of Health followed 11,000 subjects age 9/10 into adulthood. It was a landmark study, costing $300 million and spanning many years.  Here is some of what they reported:

When the child has spent 7 or more hours a day of screen time, their cerebral cortex, which is the area of the brain that processes sensory information, shows premature thinning. With 2 or more hours a day they were less successful on thinking and language tests. In other words, it seems that screen time is changing our children’s brains.

Granted, this is only a preliminary study. They’re doing more research to determine a solid cause/effect relationship, if there is one, as data seems to indicate right now. Even so, I think it makes sense for us to be aware of it and be on the safe side by following guidelines set by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The Academy suggests no screen time at all for 18 – 24 months. Then, for age 2 – 5, no more than an hour a day, but of high quality programming that you watch with your child. Sounds like a reasonable precaution to me.

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Be a Stroke Hero

May 16, 2016 Comments Off on Be a Stroke Hero

That’s what the American Heart Assn. is inviting us to do during May, which is American Stroke Month. It’s simple.  They explain how you can brush up on the warning signs, advocate, learn the 5 must-know facts about stroke, find out about your own numbers, and learn what else you can do.

For the sake of yourself and your loved ones–for everyone, in fact–check out all the information they provide about this “brain attack” at “You’re the Cure” (https://yourethecure.org/aha/advocacy/details.aspx?BlogId=1&PostId=4998).

[Thanks to Theresa Rieve for this information.]

 

 

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Breakthrough on Alzheimer’s Disease

April 21, 2015 Comments Off on Breakthrough on Alzheimer’s Disease

Wonderful news!  A study by Duke University may have found a new cause of Alzheimer’s Disease: problems with the immune system.  The study suggests that cells in the immune system gobble up an important nutrient, arginine, while trying to protect the brain.  Researchers were able to block this process in mice.

Read more about this study and note at the bottom this statement: This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (AG031124, AG031845, T32-GM007171), the Alzheimer’s Association (IIRG-07-59802), and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation.  In other words, a whole bunch of experts in the field believe that Duke researchers are onto something.  To any of us who have a friend or loved one with Alzheimer’s Disease, this means new hope.

 

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