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This just in from sciam.com (scientific american); Fact or Fiction: Do People Only Use 10 Percent Of Their Brains?The human brain is complex. Along with performing millions of mundane acts, it composes concertos, issues manifestos and comes up with elegant solutions to equations. It’s the wellspring of all human feelings, behaviors, experiences as well as the repository of memory and self-awareness. So it’s no surprise that the brain remains a mystery unto itself.

New Thoughts On Language Acquisition: Toddlers As Data Miners

New Thoughts On Language Acquisition: Toddlers As Data Miners: “New Thoughts On Language Acquisition: Toddlers As Data Miners
ScienceDaily (Feb. 4, 2008) — Indiana University researchers are studying a ground-breaking theory that young children are able to learn large groups of words rapidly by data-mining.”

(Via .)

What about older children and adults learning a second language? Is this pattern repeated?

Eye Blinks May Help To Identify Children Prenatally Exposed To Alcohol

This article is related to our session this Tuesday on prenatal development. FAS is not easily diagnosed because it varies from mild to severe. So this research, if confirmed, is very helpful.

Eye Blinks May Help To Identify Children Prenatally Exposed To Alcohol: “Not all children prenatally exposed to alcohol show distinctive facial anomalies usually associated with fetal alcohol syndrome. New findings indicate that deficits in eye-blink conditioning can identify children with probable FAS. Eye blink conditioning may also serve to identify alcohol-exposed children who lack distinctive FAS features.

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(Via Clippings.)

New hospital standards needed for pediatric flu vaccines

New hospital standards needed for pediatric flu vaccines: “A new study published in the February 2008 issue of Pediatrics finds that many children hospitalized for influenza have had a recent, previous hospitalization that would have provided an easy, convenient opportunity to receive a hospital-based influenza vaccination. The authors suggest that evaluating and establishing industry standards for flu vaccines for hospitalized children could help prevent additional hospitalizations and complications from influenza.”

(Via EurekAlert! – Breaking News.)

I am curious whether more hospitals will require that child patients be vaccinated so as to prevent lawsuits regarding MRSA infections…

Here is a mindmap for ECE312

This mindmap is in beta and is largely incomplete. You might find it useful as it grows.

Blogged with Flock

What makes a good psychology lecturer?

If you think you know the answer and you fancy the chance to win £250, and possibly even a shiny new Toshiba laptop, then put fingers to keyboard and tap out 1000 words on the subject as invited by this essay competition from the Higher Education Academy, sponsored by the British Psychological Society. Only open to UK psychology students in higher education. Closing date is 28 March. Good luck!

Link to essay competition.

Blogged with Flock

Tags: teaching

Chromosomal Abnormalities Play Substantial Role In Autism

So the question is whether we can (and should) start screening for this. With pre-implantation diagnosis this should be highly feasible. Would parents who already have one autistic child be likely to do this to avoid having a second autistic child?

Chromosomal Abnormalities Play Substantial Role In Autism

Alzheimer’s Molecule Is A Smart Speed Bump On The Nerve-cell Transport Highway

The article below is yet another example of advances in preventing, and perhaps treating, Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimer’s Disease and Autism are probalby the two developmental diseases that are the most active areas of research. Ironic: One at the start of the lifespan and one at the end.

Alzheimer’s Molecule Is A Smart Speed Bump On The Nerve-cell Transport Highway

Rapid effects seen on OCD

Notice how the article below concentrates on “effects” as being brain scan changes. The implication here is that the effects are real because we can see it in pictures. But aren’t symptoms the bottomline?

ScienceDaily (2008-01-22) — In a study that may significantly advance the understanding of how cognitive-behavioral therapy affects the brain, researchers have shown that significant changes in activity in certain regions of the brain can be produced with as little as four weeks of daily therapy in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The discovery could have important clinical implications.

Antidepressants: Should they be used to prevent recurrence?

Here is a summary of an article on antidepressants. The problem with the article (see link to read all of it) is that we DO know that discontinuing antidepressants requires serious planning. Tapering the dose needs to go slowly and gently. You should discuss the significance of this article; what are two implications?

ScienceDaily (2008-01-22) — Apparently it doesn’t help much, according to a new study in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. Maintenance antidepressant (AD) medication is the most commonly used preventive strategy in a highly recurrent disease, i.e. depression. Little is known about the discontinuation of maintenance AD use and the association with recurrence in daily clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to examine the discontinuation rate of maintenance AD in daily clinical practice in recurrently depressed patients and the associated risk of recurrence.

Link http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080117203139.htm#