297 posts · 164,523 views
Brain Blogger covers topics from multidimensional biopsychosocial perspectives. It reviews the latest news and stories related to neuroscience, psychiatry, and neurology. It serves as a focal point for attracting new minds beyond the science of the mind-and-brain and into the biopsychosocial model.
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- September 1, 2008
- 01:51 PM
- 974 views
Laughter is the Best - and Possibly Oldest - Medicine
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
We have all heard the old adage before: laughter is the best medicine. But, it might just be among the oldest medicine. In a report published by the University of Wolverhampton, and commissioned by the British television channel Dave, the world’s oldest joke can be traced back to 1900 BC. Not surprisingly, the list of [...]... Read more »
M. P. Bennett. (2006) Humor and Laughter may Influence Health. I. History and Background. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 3(1), 61-63. DOI: 10.1093/ecam/nek015
M. P. Bennett, & C. Lengacher. (2007) Humor and Laughter May Influence Health: III. Laughter and Health Outcomes. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 5(1), 37-40. DOI: 10.1093/ecam/nem041
- November 2, 2008
- 09:09 AM
- 905 views
Obama and McCain - Friend or Foe of Science?
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
In the last presidential debate there were only a few zingers. One came from John McCain who, after Barack Obama compared him to G. W. Bush, emphatically stated, “If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago.”
Since the debate Obama’s running mate, Joe Bidden, responded to McCain’s implications with, [...]... Read more »
D. Kamerow. (2008) Politics and science: a cautionary tale for the presidential candidates. BMJ, 337(oct14 4). DOI: 10.1136/bmj.a2093
- September 18, 2008
- 07:04 PM
- 835 views
Water - How Much is Too Much?
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
A few years ago, my friend encouraged her father to drink large amounts of water through hot and sultry summer afternoons in India in a bid to sustain hydration in him — with solely good intentions. The next year, he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy — which meant that his heart muscles were not pumping efficiently; [...]... Read more »
Irene Baldoni, Rosanna Cordiali, Mauro Jorini, Mohamad Maghnie, & Fernando M. de Benedictis. (2007) Case 1: An infant with water intoxication. Acta Paediatrica, 96(6), 926-927. DOI: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2007.00312.x
- November 27, 2008
- 09:07 AM
- 829 views
Should Doctors Engage in Racial Profiling?
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
The time was June 2000. Scientists with the Celera Genomics Corporation, in conjunction with the international Human Genome Project, announced that they had successfully derived the entire sequence of the human genome. Furthermore, they noted that humans share 99.9% of their genetic code with one another. This discovery served as the platform for the medical [...]... Read more »
P CARSON, S ZIESCHE, G JOHNSON, J COHN, & FORTHEVASODILATORHEARTFAILURE. (1999) Racial differences in response to therapy for heart failure: Analysis of the vasodilator-heart failure trials1, 2. Journal of Cardiac Failure, 5(3), 178-187. DOI: 10.1016/S1071-9164(99)90001-5
A. V. Chobanian. (2003) Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. Hypertension, 42(6), 1206-1252. DOI: 10.1161/01.HYP.0000107251.49515.c2
- November 18, 2008
- 09:27 AM
- 827 views
Alcohol 101 - the Best Class on Campus
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
Alcohol use by underage college students has increasingly grown as a large issue across the United States. Excessive, or binge drinking among college students is associated with a variety of negative consequences, such as a decrease in academic productivity, unwanted sexual encounters and an increase in violent behavior.
Many colleges have made an attempt to examine [...]... Read more »
John Clapp, & Audrey Shillington. (2001) ENVIRONMENTAL PREDICTORS OF HEAVY EPISODIC DRINKING. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 27(2), 301-313. DOI: 10.1081/ADA-100103711
T OEI, & C JARDIM. (2007) Alcohol expectancies, drinking refusal self-efficacy and drinking behaviour in Asian and Australian students. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 87(2-3), 281-287. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2006.08.019
- November 17, 2008
- 10:21 AM
- 824 views
School Bullies - Is the Amygdala to Blame?
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
Countless studies have focused on the subject of bullying, and the latest even suggest an interesting paradox: is bullying caused by a lack of empathy for others or, surprisingly, by too much empathy? Because, although all of us react in some way to seeing others in pain, we don’t all react in the same way. [...]... Read more »
J DECETY, K MICHALSKA, Y AKITSUKI, & B LAHEY. (2008) Atypical empathic responses in adolescents with aggressive conduct disorder: A functional MRI investigation. Biological Psychology. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2008.09.004
- October 7, 2008
- 07:57 PM
- 814 views
China’s Tainted Reputation
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
Call me paranoid but I am careful about what I allow in my house. When I buy toys for my son I actually look to see where they are made. The same with clothing. And ditto for food items. Although I consider these actions quite sound, there is a kink when it comes to execution.
You [...]... Read more »
J. Parry. (2008) China's tainted infant formula sickens nearly 13 000 babies. BMJ, 337(sep24 1). DOI: 10.1136/bmj.a1802
J. H. Tanne. (2008) Efforts to reduce US trainees' hours were ineffective, study says. BMJ, 337(aug05 2). DOI: 10.1136/bmj.a1140
- September 13, 2008
- 01:42 AM
- 809 views
Physiological Effects of Alcohol Consumption
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
Alcohol (when used commonly refers to ethanol) is consumed widely around the world for numerous reasons. Its properties have been both praised and demonized. In humans it generally acts as a depressant with, conversely, mild stimulating effects of some parts of the brain. At low levels of consumption alcohol has minimal effects on a person; [...]... Read more »
Annlia Paganini-Hill. (2001) Risk Factors for Parkinson’s Disease: The Leisure World Cohort Study. Neuroepidemiology, 20(2), 118-124. DOI: 10.1159/000054770
- November 14, 2008
- 10:18 AM
- 808 views
Electrical Brain Stimulation Improves Hand Motor Skills
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
Since its discovery many years ago, harnessing the power of electricity has been an ongoing endeavor. Benjamin Franklin’s eighteenth century experiments with electricity ushered in the evolution of the modern battery. In the middle of the last century, electricity was introduced as a remedy for difficult psychiatric disorders. “Shock treatment,” as it was known then, [...]... Read more »
Bradley W Vines, Carlo Cerruti, & Gottfried Schlaug. (2008) Dual-hemisphere tDCS facilitates greater improvements for healthy subjects' non-dominant hand compared to uni-hemisphere stimulation. BMC Neuroscience, 9(1), 103. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2202-9-103
- November 29, 2008
- 10:42 AM
- 804 views
How Much Social Capital Do You Have?
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
If you were starting a business, you’d hope to acquire as much capital as you could: property, relevant tools, employees, and so on. As individuals, we strive to improve our human capital, or our economic value. We earn college degrees, take continuing education courses, attempt to expand our knowledge and master our respective fields. The [...]... Read more »
Anne W Taylor, Carmel Williams, Eleonora Dal Grande, & Michelle Herriot. (2006) Measuring social capital in a known disadvantaged urban community – health policy implications. Australia and New Zealand Health Policy, 3(1), 2. DOI: 10.1186/1743-8462-3-2
S Subramanian. (2003) Neighborhood differences in social capital: a compositional artifact or a contextual construct?. Health , 9(1), 33-44. DOI: 10.1016/S1353-8292(02)00028-X
Ching-Hsing Hsieh. (2008) A Concept Analysis of Social Capital Within a Health Context. Nursing Forum, 43(3), 151-159. DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-6198.2008.00107.x
- December 23, 2008
- 11:34 AM
- 804 views
Look Me in the Eyes - From Eye Contact to “Fear Blindness”
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
Eye contact is commonly considered a sign of self-confidence and a means for emotional connection. In contrast, a person who averts their gaze is often considered shy, fearful, embarrassed or lying. Many a self-help manual has touted the power of eye contact, with direct eye contact suggested to help one quickly gain an individual’s attention, [...]... Read more »
MARK R. DADDS, YASMEEN EL MASRY, SUBODHA WIMALAWEERA, & ADAM J. GUASTELLA. (2008) Reduced Eye Gaze Explains "Fear Blindness" in Childhood Psychopathic Traits. Journal of the American Academy of Child , 47(4), 455-463. DOI: 10.1097/CHI.0b013e31816407f1
Kim M Dalton, Brendon M Nacewicz, Tom Johnstone, Hillary S Schaefer, Morton Ann Gernsbacher, H H Goldsmith, Andrew L Alexander, & Richard J Davidson. (2005) Gaze fixation and the neural circuitry of face processing in autism. Nature Neuroscience. DOI: 10.1038/nn1421
N GEORGE, & L CONTY. (2008) Facing the gaze of others. Neurophysiologie Clinique/Clinical Neurophysiology, 38(3), 197-207. DOI: 10.1016/j.neucli.2008.03.001
- March 28, 2009
- 10:00 AM
- 803 views
Curry in a Hurry - The Health Benefits of Turmeric
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
Over the past few decades, the emergence of India as an international superpower has been slow and steady. One of the main staples of Indian cooking, turmeric, has been getting a lot of press recently not for its flavoring prowess, but rather for its health benefits. Presented here is some of the current research regarding this amazing yellow spice.... Read more »
Mann, C., Neal, C., Garcea, G., Manson, M., Dennison, A., & Berry, D. (2009) Phytochemicals as potential chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agents in hepatocarcinogenesis. European Journal of Cancer Prevention, 18(1), 13-25. DOI: 10.1097/CEJ.0b013e3282f0c090
- September 16, 2008
- 11:09 PM
- 797 views
What Does Your iPod Say About You?
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
Right now, I have hundreds of songs on my mp3 player. I listen to everything from heavy metal when I run, to classical when I need to relax, to jazz when I am cooking. I listen to Broadway show tunes, movie soundtracks, and classic rock, depending on my mood. I also have tracks of nursery [...]... Read more »
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, & Adrian Furnham. (2007) Personality and music: Can traits explain how people use music in everyday life?. British Journal of Psychology, 98(2), 175-185. DOI: 10.1348/000712606X111177
Peter J. Rentfrow, & Samuel D. Gosling. (2003) The do re mi's of everyday life: The structure and personality correlates of music preferences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(6), 1236-1256. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.84.6.1236
Peter J. Rentfrow, & Samuel D. Gosling. (2006) Message in a Ballad. The Role of Music Preferences in Interpersonal Perception. Psychological Science, 17(3), 236-242. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01691.x
- October 3, 2008
- 01:11 PM
- 795 views
Writing Away Your Worries
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
I have always been a fan of the written word. Even before I started my professional writing career I wrote. In school yes, but I wrote beyond what was required for classes. I wrote fiction stories and a little poetry but I mainly spent my time filling up diaries and journals. Even though I sometimes [...]... Read more »
G Bolton. (2008) "Writing is a way of saying things I can't say"--therapeutic creative writing: a qualitative study of its value to people with cancer cared for in cancer and palliative healthcare. Medical Humanities, 34(1), 40-46. DOI: 10.1136/jmh.2007.000255
- October 11, 2008
- 12:09 PM
- 790 views
Health Care and Politics II - The Democrats
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
Most Americans are willing to pay higher taxes to make health care reform possible, but, like politicians, they disagree about what reforms should take place.
Should the government mandate a health care plan or should insurance carriers do a better job of providing coverage?
The Democrats, led by Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama, plan to rely on [...]... Read more »
J. Oberlander. (2007) Presidential Politics and the Resurgence of Health Care Reform. New England Journal of Medicine, 357(21), 2101-2104. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp078202
J. Oberlander. (2008) The Partisan Divide -- The McCain and Obama Plans for U.S. Health Care Reform. New England Journal of Medicine, 359(8), 781-784. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp0804659
R. Steinbrook. (2007) Election 2008 -- Campaign Contributions, Lobbying, and the U.S. Health Sector. New England Journal of Medicine, 357(8), 736-739. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp078151
- September 7, 2008
- 05:01 PM
- 783 views
Are You Vegetarian? How Do You Get Enough Protein?
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
If only I had a nickel each time I was asked this question! Well, I am vegetarian, and my meals are balanced and healthy. I have not been diagnosed with deficiencies or malnourishment yet. On the other hand, I feel light and healthy, eat 25% less fat (than meat eaters) on an average, and save [...]... Read more »
C FU, C YANG, C LIN, & T KUO. (2006) Effects of Long-Term Vegetarian Diets on Cardiovascular Autonomic Functions in Healthy Postmenopausal Women. The American Journal of Cardiology, 97(3), 380-383. DOI: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2005.08.057
Liliane Chatenoud, Alessandra Tavani, Carlo La Vecchia, David R. Jacobs, Eva Negri, Fabio Levi, & Silvia Franceschi. (1998) Whole grain food intake and cancer risk. International Journal of Cancer, 77(1), 24-28. DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0215(19980703)77:13.3.CO;2-0
- December 19, 2008
- 09:33 AM
- 782 views
Suicide Rates Could Rise
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
“The sky is falling… the sky is falling!” Well, not exactly… but it certainly might feel like it given current economic circumstances. We are experiencing a financial period that has been likened only to the depression-era of the 1920s and 1930s — but still, a time like no other in history.
As a mental health practitioner, [...]... Read more »
M WRAY, M MILLER, J GURVEY, J CARROLL, & I KAWACHI. (2008) Leaving Las Vegas: Exposure to Las Vegas and risk of suicide. Social Science , 67(11), 1882-1888. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.09.002
- September 8, 2008
- 11:30 PM
- 780 views
Planning for Postnatal Depression
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
Depression is a subtle thing. It can easily take on the disguise of other illnesses or temporary conditions.
Tired? Who isn’t? Sad? Well, the world can be depressing. Worried? Yeah, that’s why we all have grey hairs. Can’t sleep well? Join the club. Aren’t hungry? You’re just too busy. Unfocused? You just need to simplify. Irritable? [...]... Read more »
R. V Reed. (2008) Don't forget children and fathers. BMJ, 337(aug27 1). DOI: 10.1136/bmj.a1414
- December 25, 2008
- 01:16 PM
- 777 views
Happiness is Contagious, If Not For a Fleeting Moment
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
According to a twenty-year longitudinal study of over 4000 individuals, happiness is indeed contagious. Dr. Nicholas Christakis, professor at Harvard University, compared the spread of happiness to a “ripple effect” that could affect others up to three degrees of separation away; a friend of a friend of a friend, so to speak.
The study did [...]... Read more »
J. H Fowler, & N. A Christakis. (2008) Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network: longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study. BMJ, 337(dec04 2). DOI: 10.1136/bmj.a2338
- December 15, 2008
- 09:09 AM
- 776 views
Personal Health Records and Mental Health
by Shaheen Lakhan in Brain Blogger
Personal health records or PHRs are becoming more and more popular these days as health information technology capabilities become more wide-spread. Look at Google Health as one example. The federal government has picked Google Health as one of four components of a Medicare pilot program in Arizona. The other three companies were HealthTrio, NoMoreClipboard.com, and [...]... Read more »
J. Myers, T. R. Frieden, K. M. Bherwani, & K. J. Henning. (2008) Ethics in Public Health Research: Privacy and Public Health at Risk: Public Health Confidentiality in the Digital Age. American Journal of Public Health, 98(5), 793-801. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2006.107706
Alexander S. Young, Edmund Chaney, Rebecca Shoai, Laura Bonner, Amy N. Cohen, Brad Doebbeling, David Dorr, Mary K. Goldstein, Eve Kerr, Paul Nichol.... (2007) Information Technology to Support Improved Care For Chronic Illness. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 22(S3), 425-430. DOI: 10.1007/s11606-007-0303-4
Victor Strecher. (2007) Internet Methods for Delivering Behavioral and Health-Related Interventions (eHealth). Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 3(1), 53-76. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.3.022806.091428
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