This brain balancing act allows consciousness

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Two types of thinking have a time-sharing deal going on in your brain.

  • Your DMN and DAT neural networks cooperate by staying out of each other’s way.
  • FMRI scans reveal a surprising temporal dance.
  • When both systems are at the same activity level, boom, you’re unconscious.

While consciousness remains “the hard problem” — as in what exactly is it? Where is it? — a new study published in Science Advances sheds surprising light on how the brain switches us from conscious to unconscious states and vice versa. It has something to do with an imbalance between two neural systems. In fact, consciousness requires that imbalance.

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This nifty infographic is a great introduction to neuroplasticity

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It’s startling to think about how we’ve got a spaceship billions of miles away rendezvousing with Pluto, yet here on Earth there are major aspects of our own anatomy that we’re almost completely ignorant about. We’ve climbed Everest, sent men to the moon, and invented the Internet — but we still don’t know how our brains work. The positive outlook is that many health, science, and research specialists believe we’re on the precipice of some major neuroscientific breakthroughs.

One example of a recent discovery with major implications is our further understanding of neuroplasticity. Simply put, we used to think our brain was what it was — unchangeable, unalterable. We were stuck with what nature gave us. In actuality, our brains are like plastic. We can alter neurochemistry to change beliefs, thoughts processes, emotions, etc. You are the architect of your brain. You also have the power to act against dangerous impulses such as addiction. The therapeutic possibilities here are endless.

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Body Weight Has Surprising, Alarming Impact on Brain Function

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Higher BMI is linked to decreased cerebral blood flow, which is associated with increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and mental illness, according to a new study in JAD

Amsterdam, NL and Costa Mesa, CA, USA – As a person’s weight goes up, all regions of the brain go down in activity and blood flow, according to a new brain imaging study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. One of the largest studies linking obesity with brain dysfunction, scientists analyzed over 35,000 functional neuroimaging scans using single-photon emission computerized tomography from more than 17,000 individuals to measure blood flow and brain activity.

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Research shows that mindfulness changes the brain.

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Research shows that mindfulness changes the brain. But knowing what mindfulness can do, and helping clients put it into practice often requires skill. That’s why we’ve carefully created this fully online short, focused course with the top experts in the world such as Tara Brach, PhD; Dan Siegel, MD; Jack Kornfield, PhD; and many more. And right now it’s 50% off. 12 CE credits are available at checkout. Take a look ➡ https://www.nicabm.com/program/a2-fb-mindfulness-6/…

Estudo encontra ligação entre o pessimismo e a demência

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Autores do estudo consideram que o pensamento negativo deve ser considerado um fator de risco para a doença.

Se é uma pessoa pessimista, saiba que isso não é bom para o seu cérebro. Um novo estudo descobriu que o pensamento negativo repetitivo pode estar ligado, mais tarde na vida, ao declínio cognitivo e a maiores depósitos de duas proteínas nocivas, responsáveis pela doença de Alzheimer.

“Propomos que o pensamento negativo e repetitivo possa ser considerado um novo fator de risco para a demência”, afirmou a psiquiatra e autora principal do estudo,  Natalie Marchant, à CNN.

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Emotional well-being while home gardening similar to other popular activities, study finds

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As civic leaders and urban planners work to make cities more sustainable and livable by investing in outdoor spaces and recreational activities such as biking and walking, Princeton researchers have identified the benefit of an activity largely overlooked by policymakers — home gardening.

The researchers found that, across the study’s population, the level of emotional well-being, or happiness, reported while gardening was similar to what people reported while biking, walking or dining out, according to a study published in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning. Home gardening was the only activity out of the 15 studied for which women and people with low incomes reported higher emotional well-being than men and medium- and high-income participants, respectively.

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Cuando yo tenía quince años, la Unión Soviética invadió y ocupó Afganistán. Mientras preparábamos arroz pilau poco tiempo después de eso, expresé una cierta ansiedad que había estado por un tiempo creciendo en mi interior. ¿Cómo podía nuestro padre esperar que fuésemos verdaderos afganos cuando habíamos crecido fuera de una comunidad afgana? Al regresar a casa, ¿no seríamos los niños forasteros, extranjeros en nuestra propia tierra? Esperé, y posiblemente deseé, el reconfortante relato de nuestro triunfal y eminente retorno a Paghman. No sucedió. Mi padre se veía cansado y triste. Su respuesta me sorprendió: “Les he dado cuentos para reemplazar una comunidad. Ellos son tu comunidad.”

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Cuando yo tenía quince años

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