


Archive for January, 2011
 
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on September 25, 2010
Impulsivity is often considered a part of someone’s personality, perhaps a trait that can’t be changed. However, scientists at Queen’s university have discovered that impulsive behavior can be helped with training and that when these behaviors improve, a mechanism change occurs in the frontal lobe.
Everyone deals with controlling impulses every day, such as not eating that second piece of chocolate cake. However, some people struggle far more with impulsivity and on a much broader scale than the typical person.
Professor Cella Olmstead, the lead investigator in the study, notes that impulsivity is a major feature in many disorders, including ADHD, obsessive compulsive disorder, addiction and gambling. Children who have a hard time controlling their impulses often continue having behavioral problems into adulthood.
“In the classroom, kids often blurt out answers before they raise their hand. With time, they learn to hold their tongue and put up their hand until the teacher calls them. We wanted to know how this type of learning occurs in the brain,†says Mr. Hayton, a PhD student at the Centre for Neuroscience Studies at Queen’s.
“Our research basically told us where the memory for this type of inhibition is in the brain, and how it is encoded.â€
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/09/25/impulse-control-findings-may-lead-to-adhd-addiction-treatments/18586.html
 
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on September 25, 2010
Scientists have long wondered why people with anxiety often seem paralyzed when it comes to decision-making. Â Â A new study reveals that people with anxiety have decreased neural inhibition in their brain, a process in which one nerve cell suppresses activity in another.
For the study, researchers wanted to test the theory that neural inhibition in the brain plays a big role in decision-making. So they developed a computer model of the brain called a “neural network simulation.â€
“We found that if we increased the amount of inhibition in this simulated brain, our system got much better at making hard choices,†said Hannah Snyder, a psychology graduate student who worked with the researchers on the study.
“If we decreased inhibition in the brain, then the simulation had much more trouble making choices.â€
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/09/25/why-anxious-minds-cant-think-right/18743.html
 
MONDAY BRIEFS: Quick mussing on child related research.
Editor’s note: Monday’s briefs are usually brief posts, but the topic today resulted in a longer than usual philosophical discussion of corporal punishment.
The most recent issue of the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics included a report on the use of physical violence as a form of discipline (aka “spankingâ€) and its relation to intimate partner violence. The study examined a large sample of close to 2,000 families participating in a nationally representative study of families across the USA. The authors were interested in examining whether the use of spanking in 3 year old children was associated with physical violence between the parents.
The results were not surprising:
1. 65% of 3-year-old children are spanked at least once by their parents during the previous month.
2. The odds of using physical punishment doubled in households where parents used aggression against each other. This is not surprising, since physical punishment is a form of interpersonal aggression.
3. Maternal stress significantly increased the odds of using physical punishment. This is also not surprising since physical punishment is more likely to be used by parents who are angry.
4. Maternal depression significantly increased the odds of using physical punishment.
5. The odds using of physical punishment were not associated with maternal education, but when the father had a college degree, both the father and the mother were significantly less likely to use physical punishment. I am curious to hear my readers thoughts on this interesting finding.
The authors concluded (CP = Corporal Punishment; IPAV = Intimate Partner Violence):
Despite American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendations against the use of CP, CP use remains common in the United States. CP prevention efforts should carefully consider assumptions made about patterns of co-occurring aggression in families, given that adult victims of IPAV, including even minor, non physical aggression between parents, have increased odds of using CP with their children.
Yes, the American Academy of Pediatrics unequivocally recommends against the use of aggression as a discipline method. Why? Because the research on physical punishment is clear: It is unnecessary and is associated with a long list of NEGATIVE consequences. For example, although proponents of “spanking†argue that if you don’t spank, the child will not learn to behave properly, the research actually suggests the opposite. Children who are spanked, when compared to their non-spanked peers, are, among many others:
1. more likely to use aggression against their peers
2. less likely to internalize rules
3. more likely to engage in criminal activity during adolescence
4. more likely to engage in domestic abuse as adults
5. more likely to suffer from depression
and on and on and on.
For those who want to read more about the science behind the negative effects of corporal punishment, visit the research library of Project No Spank; http://nospank.net/resrch.htm
 
In the Parents Magazine article, “Mommy Isn’t Feeling Well Today,†Sarah Mahoney interviews many experts: professionals, parents who have chronic illness and sometimes, as in my case, people who are both. I was honored to be among them.
The article is impressive in how it covers many of the challenges parents face every day rearing their children while their health is seriously compromised.
Below, I summarize the article’s most salient points and add my comments:
1. “Handling chronic illness is about learning to live in balance,†said Rosalind Doran, Psy.D.
Many of us learn the hard way that if we don’t pay attention to what and how much we do in all spheres of our lives we can quickly over-do. The result is the same as when the tires on our car are out of balance. We’re in for a very bumpy ride.
2. “You can’t dwell on questions like. ‘Why is this happening to me?’ or ‘What if it gets worse?’ It’s important to focus on feeling well and to maintain a positive outlook.â€
Yes, this is more easily said then done but this is an important point and one I’ve made before. If you have a chronic illness, and I do, there is a danger that we will over-identify with being a sick person. We are not our illness and it really does matter that we make the effort to see the cup half full.
3. The first hurdle is revising expectations of family life.
“Of course, you can still be a loving parent, but some adjustments will have to be made. Your family will not look the way you imagined it would. That’s a loss, and it hurts a lot.â€
In order to move on, down a new path, we need to let go of what may have happened if we had gone down another. If we hold on to, “What would my life have been like if I wasn’t sick?†we deny ourselves the opportunity to create a real and satisfying present.
4. A chronic illness may change your plans about having more children.
That may mean imagining a life with fewer kids, considering adoption or even remaining childless. I had to accept the very real possibility that I would not be able to have kids. As anyone who has been through such an agonizing reality, there is a mourning process, a grieving that takes place. For many women there is also a feeling of guilt (could I have done something to avoid this?) that must be let go.
5. Fighting fatigue and dealing with the cycle of ‘good days’ and ‘bad days’.
For many, this is one of the most difficult stresses when coping with chronic illness. When my illness was active, I woke up thinking, “What kind of day will this be?†Simultaneously, I mentally did a full body check. If everything ached so much I didn’t want to move, I moved anyway, knowing that, like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz, if I didn’t move I would be stuck there forever.
6. Learning to put your needs ahead of your child and husband.
Another tough one but absolutely necessary. We are here, committed to the long haul, therefore we need to be cognizant of how we care and maintain ourselves to last.
7. Ask for help. Re-create a sense of extended family. Support groups.
There’s a man in the article who developed a group of Dad substitutes for his children in case he died before they were grown. That took guts and true friends.
Read in Full:Â http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/09/27/10-challenges-for-parents-with-chronic-illness/

 
Article Date: 28 Sep 2010 – 0:00 PDT
Healthcare professionals are still not receiving the appropriate training and support they need to help people who self-harm and this can result in negative attitudes and inadequate levels of care.
Those are the key findings of a research review carried out by mental health specialists from the University of Nottingham, UK, and published in the October issue of the Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing.
Staff nurse Jo McHale and lecturer Anne Felton studied 19 papers from the UK, Australia, Sweden and Ireland, dating from 1998 to 2009 and covering the views of 1,300 nurses, other healthcare professionals and service users. These included all aspects of self-harm, from patients who cut themselves to those that try to commit suicide.
Read in Full:Â http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/202628.php

by Jonathan Rottenberg, Ph.D.
Jan
22
 
Mary Colley created and ran the London based Neurodiversity and Dyspraxia charity DANDA. She died of breast cancer last Wednesday, September 22, 2010. Mary was greatly loved and admired by those who knew her and by those familiar with her work. She truly made a significant difference in the lives of many, campaigning nationally and up to the highest levels of British government. Sincere condolences to Mary’s family and to all who knew and loved her. Â
Mary Colley R.I.P
Mary passed away last week and from her many friends in Ireland we send her family and friends our deepest sympathy .
Â
Mary was a great supporter of the Dyspraxia Association of Ireland and the Adult Group with Mark Daly .
We will all miss a truly wonderful person .
Â
Mary Colley found out that she had developmental dyspraxia as well as AD(H)D and dyslexia in her mid forties. She helped set up the Dyspraxia Foundation Adult Support Group and also achieved a Diploma in Specific Learning Difficulties at the Hornsby Centre in 1997.
Â
Mary co-ordinated the Dyspraxia foundation Adult Support Group for about 6 years, running a helpline and organising workshops and conferences on adult dyspraxia. In 2000, her book Living with Dyspraxia – A guide for adults with dyspraxia was published with much help from the rest of the group.
Â
Mary has worked hard to raise awareness of dyspraxia not only in print – but also via radio programmes and newspaper articles. She has spoken widely on adult dyspraxia to college and university teachers, careers officers and occupational therapists and psychologists – particularly the former. Lately, she has also spoken on neuro-diversity.
Â
She and others became aware how frequently the different specific learning difficulties overlapped, and as a result set up DANDA – Developmental Adult Neuro-Diversity Association – a charity working for adults with dyslexia, dyspraxia, Asperger’s Syndrome and AD(H)D and related conditions in 2003. She sits on the National Aimhigher AchieveAbility Steering Group – which aims to get more students with dyspraxia, dyslexia and dyscalculia into university; and the Best Resources for Achievement and Intervention re Neurodiversity in Higher Education (BRAINHE) chaired by Dr David Pollak of De Montfort University.
Â
She was also on the Neuro-Diversity/Autism Action and Advisory Group of the Disability Rights Commission.
Â
Read More …Â http://www.dyspraxiaireland.com/news_biog_marycolley.php
![]()
Message From DANDA …
It is with great sadness that we let you know of the death of Mary Colley, National Co-ordinator of DANDA. In due course we will pay full and proper tribute to Mary and her work but meanwhile our thoughts and sympathies are with Peter and her family.
Â

 
Article Date: 23 Sep 2010 – 1:00 PDT
Using digital evolution techniques that give scientists the ability to watch evolution in action, Michigan State University researchers have shed new light on what it is that makes species altruistic.
Defined as the ability to sacrifice yourself for the sake of others, altruism has been a bit of a genetic mystery. Understanding why altruism evolves is one of the fundamental challenges in evolutionary theory.
However, a paper published online in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society by researchers affiliated with MSU’s BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action has shed new light on the subject. This study marked the first time that scientists have been able to test such generalizations of kin selection theory.
“The ability to conduct research in digital systems enabled us to learn nuances of kin selection theory that may have been difficult to discover via evolutionary experiments in natural systems,” said team member Charles Ofria.
Read in Full:Â http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/202092.php
 
Electronic devices that interface directly with the brain are now being produced by labs around the world but each new device tends to work in a completely different way. An article in Technology Review argues that we need an agreed neural operating system so brain-machine interfaces can more easily work together.
Although current devices tend only to measure brain activity or stimulate cortical areas, it won’t be very long before devices typically do both – detecting and reacting to neural states – possibly forming a dynamic network of electronic devices that regulate brain activity.
Read in Full:Â http://mindhacks.com/2010/09/23/towards-an-operating-system-for-brain-hacking/



