The “Clinton Neuron” and why Pamela Anderson should get a cabinet post

Thursday, March 6th, 2008

 
 

The Clinton Neuron
Neurodemocracy, you gotta love it. Branding, celebrity and politics — all evoke neurological responses in primitive brain areas. How can the candidates best position themselves to have the best neurological response in swing voters?
I have some advice. Free! For Senator Clinton, first, promise Pamela Anderson a cabinet post.

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Sick in the head? Maybe fuzzy thinking when you have a cold is caused by high-level immunity.

Thursday, March 6th, 2008

Grandville, J.J., “Métamorphosis du Jour” . . Hypocrite. . .”
A few years ago, with flamingly infected tonsils, I was on a contentious speaker-phone conference call with an adversary when my voice gave out and I couldn’t talk. My adversary was kind enough to at least put his end on mute while celebrating my impending demise. [...]

The Bob Dylan Committee Could Have Been A Delusion Caused By Improper Brain Connectivity

Saturday, March 1st, 2008

Exhibit A: A committee of badly disguised Bob Dylan imposters?
As a child, with “Maggies’ Farm” on the record player, I asked an elder sibling why Bob Dylan looked so different on each of his (vinyl) album jackets. She calmly lied through her teeth, and explained that Bob Dylan was a committee, not a [...]

Brain mitochondria: serotonin transports ‘em, and dopamine messes with ‘em.

Sunday, February 17th, 2008

Wired ran a news report about a Science paper showing how mitochondria are culprits in making heart cells dysfunction. I wondered about brain cells. After all, brain cells need energy too. What about brain cell mitochondria?
Now, the Wired report caught my eye because it was about heart cells, and I generally follow cardiac [...]

Anger management: Dopamine Receptor Allele and Nuclear Receptor Genes Are Associated with Anger and Aggression

Sunday, February 10th, 2008

Everyone knows someone whose “default” emotion is anger. They are like a one-trick pony, they are sad, so they express anger. They are scared, so they act angry. They are frustrated, so they are angry. When in children, it is painful to watch. When in adults, it is scary.

World’s Most Dysfunctional Inspirational Poster [...]

Pathological crying can be caused by brain dysfunction

Tuesday, February 5th, 2008

Ricky, don’t cry! You haven’t been Auf’d! [Swivelchair note: Ricky was auf'd]  I hope you’re OK - you know, the very basic areas of the brain are involved in crying. If you can’t stop, I hope it’s not a tumor (see abstract below).

J Clin Neurosci. 2008 Jan 10 [Epub ahead of print]
Brainstem compression [...]

Neuropeptide Y (”NPY”) - cure for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Friday, January 25th, 2008

Here it is, a substance that prevents brain neuron remodeling in response to stress: Neuropeptide Y, “NPY”. A new report, sponsored in part by Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of Prozac, demonstrates that Neuropeptide Y prevents neurons in the amygdala from remodeling in response to stress, in rodents.
The nomenclature “Neuropeptide Y” always [...]

Genetics: 200 family members having dementia-mutation studied for 13 years

Wednesday, January 16th, 2008

Brain. 2008 Jan;131(Pt 1):72-89. Epub 2007 Dec 7., “The tauopathy associated with mutation +3 in intron 10 of Tau: characterization of the MSTD family,” Spina S, Farlow MR, Unverzagt FW, Kareken DA, Murrell JR, Fraser G, Epperson F,Crowther RA, Spillantini MG, Goedert M, Ghetti B., Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University School [...]

Cure for Alzheimers?

Thursday, January 10th, 2008

Let’s say the day comes when you are told you have pre-Alzheimers. You are told that getting the disease is inevitable. Emotionally, you grieve for your own “lost” personality. Your loved ones prepare for your care taking — or to put you in assisted living at an outrageous expense to someone.
Then this report [...]

Neuroeconomics and neuromarketing: Trust me, I’m your brain

Tuesday, December 25th, 2007

Little American Brown Weasel
The Top Two Inches has an interesting blog post about dating, called, “Dating — Don’t Do It“. Interesting read, and it got me thinking about trust.
Trust is first built in one part of the brain, and then your brain comes to a fork in the road: the “unconditional” trust brain area [...]

Brain scan shows when people think you’re lying

Tuesday, December 18th, 2007

Jury consultants, start your engines
Let’s say your client — the one with the violent past, long rap sheet, and general air of no credibilitiy whatsoever — is on trial for murder.
He tells his story: “The other dude did it!”
You believe him.
Will anyone else believe him? How should he present his story to the jury? [...]

Weight Loss Meds Updates: New Phen-fens and leptin

Monday, November 19th, 2007

Happy pre-Thanksgiving!
On that note, I thought I’d catch up on weight loss abstracts.
1. New Phen-fens without the side effects look good, and they may also be useful in treating diabetes. They may have an “anxiety” type side effect initially.
2. Leptin plus a satiety protein (Amylin’s pramlintide) makes 200+ pound people lose about 25 pounds [...]

Neuropolitics: Campaign advice for Hillary Clinton and Fred Thompson

Monday, November 12th, 2007

The Clinton Neurons, Quian Quiroga et al., “Invariant visual representation by single neurons in the human brain,” Nature 435: 1102-1107 (2005)
Neurodemocracy, you gotta love it. Branding, celebrity and politics — all evoke neurological responses in primitive brain areas. How can the candidates best position themselves to have the best neurological response in swing [...]

Neurological Correlates: Going on Anti-Depressants and Thinking “I’d rather be dead”

Saturday, September 29th, 2007

Cruickshank, George, “Suicide”
“A young woman has jumped from a bridge; two onlookers are standing on the bridge in upper right corner; ship masts are visible in lower left beneath the arch of the bridge through which shines a full moon.”
Regarding suicide - from the US CDC:
• Among young adults ages 15 to 24 years [...]