Author Archives: Allie

The Power of Touch

There are many different ways in which couple sleep. Back to back, facing each other, cuddling, or not even remotely close to each other. It may not seem like a big deal, I mean we cannot really help the way in which we move once we are already asleep, but research has shown that the position that people sleep in relates to their relationship and personality.

Psychologist Professor Richard Weisman from University of Hertfordshire conducted a study in which he asked, “… over 1,000 people to describe their preferred sleeping position and to rate their personality and quality of their relationship.” The findings were that couples who spent the night touching in some way were generally happier. 94% of couples who slept in a position that involved touching reported being happier than 68% of couples who did not touch. The further apart the couples slept, the worse their relationship. The study found that 42% of couples sleep back to back, 31% sleep facing the same direction, and 4% sleep facing each other. Only a mere 2% of couples sleep over 30 inches apart and 12% of couples sleep less than an inch apart. It was also found that a more extroverted person is more likely to sleep close to their partner, and creative people tend to sleep on their left side.

I think the most important thing to take out of this study was the power of touch. The couples who slept closely to each other reported being happiest. Studies have shown that “touch” can be viewed as a language, and there is an understanding between people when using touch. Holding hands, cuddling, and hugging are all examples of touch, and are all proven to relieve stress. Based on this, maybe the couples who are in contact while sleeping are happier because whilst sleeping, they are relieving stress.

courtesy of www.shape.com

                   courtesy of www.shape.com

Say Yes to Coffee

As an avid coffee drinker, I have always been told that caffeine is not good for you and to avoid it at all costs. Have I listened to the countless lectures? No, I have to stay awake somehow. But, all the negative things about caffeine made me wonder, are there any positives to this addictive substance other than putting pep in the steps of people throughout the world? In a few separate studies, coffee and caffeine have been found to actually benefit people’s health. The studies were connected to coffee and diabetes, and coffee and Parkinson’s disease.

Three separate studies from Brigham and Women’s Hospital including 48,464 women (1986-2006), 47,510 women from the Nurse’s Health Study II (1991-2007), and 27,759 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2006) based on linkage between coffee and type two diabetes were looked at by The Harvard School of Public Health. The studies conducted were based off of the evaluation of the diets of participants via questionnaires every 4 years. Using questionnaires may not have been the best choice considering the patients could easily give false information. Participants in the study who had type 2 diabetes, 7,269 people, filled out additional questionnaires.  “The researchers found that the participants who increased their coffee intake by more than one cup a day (on average, an increase of 1.69 cups per day) over a 4-year period had an 11% lower type 2 diabetes risk over the subsequent 4 years, compared with people who did not change their intake.” Actually, it was also found that people who decreased their daily intake of coffee by more than one cup increased their risk of type 2 diabetes by 17%. If the risk of developing type 2 diabetes goes up by decreasing the intake of coffee, I think it would be beneficial to drink coffee. If a person already drinks coffee, I see no point in stopping.

coffee

            courtesy of www.dailytimesgazette.com

The next study conducted measures the effects of caffeine on people with Parkinson’s Disease. McGill University Health Centre researchers conducted an experiment involving an experimental group and a placebo control group of people with Parkinson’s Disease. With a total of 61 people in the study, the control group was given a placebo caffeine pill, and the experimental group was given a “…100 mg dose of caffeine twice a day for 3 weeks and then 200 mg twice a day for another three weeks.” It was found that people in the experimental group who were given the caffeine saw an improvement in their motor symptoms. Furthermore, research also shows that coffee drinkers have a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s in the first place. Since the study was only conducted on 61 people, Dr. Postuma claims that a larger scale study over a longer period of time should be carried out but caffeine should definitely be explored further. as a treatment for Parkinson’s.

After always being told that caffeine is bad, it is refreshing to hear that it may not be as bad as we think. Since there are flaws in both studies, such as the size of the study and also the compilation of data via questionnaire, I personally think that it is still questionable whether both studies are 100% accurate, but since both studies are consistent with the positive side effects of coffee and caffeine, I think that it is all up to the consumer on whether they would like to drink coffee. Sure, there are going to be health risks with almost anything that we consume, but the overall risks of drinking coffee have both negative and positive sides.

Academic Success Judged by Raisins

Preterm babies are babies born before 37 weeks of gestation. Each year there are 15 million babies born prematurely. Prematurely born children are sometimes more susceptible to learning disabilities than a child born full term. Children born early are often late to talk, and sometimes cannot understand or comprehend what they hear. Assuming that prematurely born children could be born with a learning disability over a child who was born at full gestation, this might affect their learning abilities later in life. A study conducted at the University of Warwick predicts how a toddler who was born at full gestation vs. a toddler born early will perform academically when they are 8, all by using a raisin.

The study looks at the self control the child possesses, and correlates it to how successful they will be academically. In the study, the toddlers are given a raisin placed under an opaque cup and told to not touch until 60 seconds had passed; then they could eat the raisin. The study found that toddlers who were born prematurely were more likely to take the raisin before 60 seconds had elapsed. This is called the Bavarian Longitudinal Study which began in Germany in 1985. 558 children who were born at 25-41 weeks gestation were tested at 20 months on how much self control they possessed. By using such a large group of toddlers, the credibility of the study is increased because there should be less bias or possibility for error. Then after the testing was complete, they split up the data into groups of prematurely born toddlers and toddlers born at full gestation. The data was consistent with premature toddlers not having as much self-control. Once that group of children turned 8, they were evaluated by psychologists and pediatricians. By using the same group of children, it keeps the data consistent and leaves little room for error. By using standardized tests, the children were judged on mathematics, reading, and spelling/writing. The findings were consistent with the toddlers who could not wait 60 seconds to touch the raisin, and lower standardized test scores at age 8.

So, the children born early were less likely to show self control as a toddler, and are more likely to show lower academic achievement at 8 years old. This does not mean that every single baby born at a lower gestational age will achieve lower academic scores than a child born at a normal gestational age, but the findings are consistent with the beginning hypothesis. This discovery can be used to aid in the findings of cognitive issues early in a child’s life which will ultimately help them in the long run. Finding issues sooner rather than later will make it easier to develop ways in which learning can become more effective in fitting their needs.

Languages and Learning

Communication has been, and always will be, a vital part of the world we live in. Communication is just as important to everyone, no matter what language you may speak. But what influences the way our brains work when developing a language? Furthermore, what if you speak more than one? Researchers from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and the Montreal Neurological Institute have discovered that, “…even brief, early exposure to a language influences how the brain processes sounds from a second language later in life.” So what this means is, if an individual was born in Germany and spoke German, even for only 3 years for example, and then began speaking English, the way that they learned the new language and the way their brain interpreted it would be influenced by their previous language.

To conduct this study, researchers used 3 groups of children ages 10-7 with different linguistic backgrounds. The three groups consisted of a group born and raised in unilingual French-speaking families, a group adopted from China into a French family before the age of 3 who began speaking French instead of Chinese from that point on, and lastly, a group who spoke both Chinese and French fluently. The kids were asked to identify “French pseudo-words” and when they responded, “…the researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging to look at which parts of their brains were being activated.” The researchers then found that each group could complete the task, but different parts of the brain were activated. Children who were not exposed to Chinese linguistics and only spoke French had activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus and interior insula. Both groups who spoke Chinese and French, even the group that stopped speaking Chinese at age 3 or younger, activated the right middle frontal gyrus, left medial frontal cortex, and bilateral superior temporal gyrus. These findings establish the connection that although a person may stop speaking a language at a very young age, their brain still recognizes the language and their brains still function similarly to bilingual people. Furthermore, children who adopt a new primary language process it differently due to their previous background in another language.

So what does this mean? These findings help scientists understand, “…how the brain becomes wired for language, but also about how that hardwiring can change and adapt over time in response to new language environments.” Knowing this, different forms of education could develop for people of all linguistic backgrounds. Better understanding the ways that the brain adapts to language will help the world in many areas, especially in the areas of language studies and language classes.

Thoughts and ideas

                    www.afsusa.org 

I think this study will genuinely help many schools, and people around the world, considering many people are bilingual. Understanding the differences in brain activation through people’s previous and current languages could also maybe help people learn more languages based on their primary language. I think it would be interesting to know how the brain is activated for people who are not fluent in another language, but are currently learning a new language. I found this study interesting because there are many bilingual people here at Penn State and knowing that each person has a unique brain pattern and activation based off of their previous and current languages, is pretty cool if you ask me.

 

Works Cited:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151201115233.htm

Could older mothers be causing depression?

According to Healthline.com there are currently 350 million people worldwide who suffer from depression. Along with these statistics, it has been shown that women are more likely to become diagnosed with depression than men. Actually, in recent studies there have been links to depression in the daughters, not sons, of women who had them over the age of 30. What evidence has been linked to make this claim? Furthermore, does this claim apply to all daughters whose mothers had them at the ages of 30 and above?

Jessica Tearne is a doctoral student at the University of Western Australia and also the lead author in this study. The “…study suggests that older maternal age is associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress in young adult females.” This study is also published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology. Data was collected from 1989 – 1991 of pregnant women recruited into the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study. They provided psychological and demographic information which made for a wide range of women in the study. After the women gave birth, their daughters were psychologically assessed for the next 23 years. The assessments were preformed at different ages over time; this produces credibility in the study because with assessments during various ages there is more data to consider or pull from.

The study used 1,200 of the offspring at age 20. The researchers looked at their, “… self-reported levels of various symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress…” This study was observational since no experiments were actually conducted. Observational studies are generally less expensive than experiments. After the various symptoms were reported, they were then compared with the ages of the mother and father at the time they were born. The finding was that, “Daughters whose mothers were age 30 – 34 when they gave birth reported significantly higher levels of stress and those whose mothers were over age 35 at the time of birth had significantly higher levels of stress, depression and anxiety compared with daughters whose mothers were under the age of 30.” This study is interesting because the cause of depression in general is really unclear and can be caused by many factors, and the correlation of this study is unclear as well; remember, correlation does not equal causation!

Since this study has not concluded a direct correlation for the findings, they have made some possible explanations for the data. Tearne says, “One hypothesis is difficulties may occur in the mother – daughter relationship because of a large age difference between the two.” She states that the age gap may cause “…tensions in the relationship, leading to stress, worry and sadness in the child, particularly during the transition to young adulthood.” This conclusion seems like a stretch and does not offer much scientific data whereas it does offer some psychological findings. The second hypothesis Tearne offers is that since women who were older when giving birth will be older as the child grows up, the health problems experienced while aging may cause stress in the children. Other studies have suggested that daughters rather than sons are more likely to be affected by their mother’s health. This supports the aim at daughters instead of sons.

The conclusion of the study takes into consideration that the daughters were not clinically diagnosed, they just were studied based off of the symptoms reported. Since the symptoms were just reported there could be errors or misdiagnoses which makes the study less credible. The study does not present a direct correlation to depression, anxiety, and stress in daughter whose mothers gave birth at the age 30 -35, but the statistical findings are consistent with that hypothesis. Yes, the offspring of older mothers could be at risk for those symptoms, but it is not definite that they will have a “…diagnosable mental disorder.” I think that this study was actually a very interesting topic seeing as depression is so prevalent in the world today. Although I believe that this study had some limitations such as maybe some 3rd variables that could cause the daughters to be depressed, and no clear conclusion, I think that this study would be great for further observation. While researching the facts about the study, the important lesson we learned in class that correlation does NOT equal causation was extremely important to remember.

Multivitamins: Good or Bad?

Taking a multivitamin has become a part of many people’s daily routine, especially considering the elements students like us face in college. Being in such close quarters and living in a dorm room has definitely taken its’ toll on many student’s health, and some people might suggest taking a multivitamin to support their immune system and overall health. Unlike individual vitamin capsules or supplements, multivitamins contain many different vitamins in one supplement. “Basic commercial multivitamin supplement products often contain the following ingredients: vitamin C, B1, B2, B3, B6, Folic Acid (B9), B12, B5 (pantothenate), H (biotin) A, E, D3, K1, potassium iodide, cupric (sulfate anhydrous, picolinate, sulfate monohydrate, trioxide), selenomethionine, borate (s) zinc, calcium, magensium, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, betacarotene, and iron.” But this poses a question, are these over the counter multivitamins really helping our overall health? Furthermore, are these vitamins essential for preventing health problems currently and later on in life?

Doctors Eliseo Guallar, Saverio Stranges, Cynthia Mulrow, Senior Deputy Editor; Lawrence J. Appel, and Edgar R. Miller III report in the Annals of Internal Medicine on studies conducted by several researchers and specialists in which they used random control groups and placebos. The three studies were conducted to research the use of vitamin supplements in “preventing the occurrence or progression of chronic diseases.” Each study was based off of different factors such as whether the subjects were healthy, the age of the subjects, and men and women with previous myocardial infarction. By using subjects from all demographics with different medical backgrounds, it provides a wide range of data to gather a conclusion.

In one study conducted by Grodstein and his coworkers, 5947 men who were 65 years of age or older were evaluated on the effects of a daily multivitamin in the prevention of cognitive decline. This study uses a large sample size which makes the study credible and able to generalize the data. The sample size has two groups, a group of placebo vitamins, and a control group actually taking a multivitamin. The study concluded that, “there were no differences between the multivitamin and placebo groups in overall cognitive performance or verbal memory”. The findings were consistent with the hypothesis that “…of 12 fair – to – good quality trials hat evaluated dietary supplements, including multivitamins, B vitamins, vitamins E and C, and omega – 3 fatty acids, in persons with mild cognitive impairments or mild dementia” a daily multivitamin did not improve cognitive function over a course of 12 years.

multivitamin

Nature’s Way Adult Multivitamin Gummies

The next study conducted was on 1708 men and women with previous myocardial infarction who were participating in Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy. In this study they are testing the benefits of a “…high dose, 28-component multivitamin supplement…” The study followed up after 4.6 years and found that there was no difference worth noting in “…recurrent cardiovascular events with multivitamins compared with placebo.” This study has a 95% confidence interval which ultimately means there is only a 5% possibility that these results were due to chance. So, considering the wide range of men and women and the extensive period of time, a 5% possibility of chance is not that detrimental to the findings of the study which leads us to believe that the study was conducted correctly and the results are credible. But, this trial was limited due to nonadherance and dropouts which may cause some speculation.

This next study is more applicable in daily life assuming that people are getting nutrients directly from their diet. Fortmann and his colleagues reviewed trial evidence so they could better recommend vitamin supplements for “primary prevention in community-dwelling adults with no nutritional deficiencies.” This means that they are getting enough nutrients from their daily diet, and really have no need for vitamins other than prevention.  After reviewing studies of more than 400,000 randomly assigned people taking multivitamins, “… authors concluded that there was no clear evidence of a beneficial effect of supplements on all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, or cancer.” These factors are hard end points, as we learned in class.

To counteract the above studies, Fox News states that most people cannot get the vitamins and minerals needed through food consumption alone. According to the January 2015 edition of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, around 40% of adults do not get enough vitamin A, C, D, E, calcium and magnesium. Since these findings, one might suggest that a multivitamin is needed for disease prevention and overall health maintenance. Along with overall health, a study published in Postgraduate Medicine says that, “68,000 cancers per year would be prevented with daily multivitamin use.” The study only uses men as subjects. I think that this is a flaw in the study because men and women have different hormone levels and health factors, so the study should not be strictly limited to men. How could they be sure that women would produce the same results as men? Although the study did show that taking a multivitamin daily decreased cancer risk by 27% among men with a history of cancer and by 8% of men never having the disease, I believe that this study is limited due to the use of just men as subjects. The results could have varied if women were included in the study.

Taking the evidence away from the first set of studies which concluded that taking multivitamins has no benefits and could also actually cause harm to some individuals “… U.S. adults from 30% between 1988 to 1994 to 39% between 2003 to 2006, while overall use of dietary supplements increased from 42% to 53%.” The industry of multivitamins continues to grow, and in 2010 it reached a sale of $28 billion. It is a common misconception that multivitamins are needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle which causes consumers to continue to spend money on an unneeded product, resulting in an inflated industry. To refute the study concluding that vitamins ARE beneficial, the concluding factors of the first study were that multivitamins are not beneficial in the treatment or prevention of hard end points such as chronic diseases, heart conditions, or cancers. It was also found that, “B-carotene, vitamin E, and possibly high doses of vitamin A supplements are harmful.” So, yes taking a multivitamin may be part of people’s daily routines, but they are not essential or the best way to maintain overall health and prevention. A healthy balanced diet should be the main factor in successful vitamin consumption. In the end, it all comes down to the risk factors of taking a daily multivitamin. The ratio is 1 over 1 considering it is one person whose choice it is to take the vitamin, and the comparison of the number of people in the study who the multivitamin had no effect on. It ultimately is concluded that taking a multivitamin will not benefit a person, so if it is something a person wants to do, that is their prerogative and decision if it is worth the risk.

How do you study?

For many college freshman, balancing the work load with extra-curricular activities can be tough. For those coming from smaller high-schools where little opportunity to get involved was present, it can be overwhelming. But many times the answer isn’t as simple as just following the study rules; Set a specific time to study, don’t procrastinate and use good time management. Even with all those things, for me I just couldn’t seem to make the connection, leaving me to wonder what I was doing wrong.  I was a great student in high school. I did my homework, got good grades and thought I had great study habits. All I needed to do was take notes, read the material and the rest came easily.  My parents never forced me to do homework, I had self-discipline and things came seemingly easy to me.  I never really considered learning style and how that would impact my success or how I study.

The bottom line is knowing who you are as a learner. There are 3 basic learning styles; Auditory, Visual and Tactile. There is no right or wrong style, but understanding who you are as a learner could be the difference in success or failure, when you are putting together a studying game plan. There are dozens of articles touting the right habits to adopt if you hope to be successful in college, but really it comes down to a personal decision on how YOU learn, how YOU study best and the reality is, we may have never even made the connection between how we learn and how we study.

Some people need absolute quiet and uninterrupted thought, some like a little background noise, some can study with music blasting, completely oblivious to the noise. For some people writing notes is the only way to go, while others can listen and retain easily.   So what tips and techniques can you take away to match your learning style with your study habits? And can this actually help to improve your grades?

Students learn in a variety of ways like seeing, hearing and experiencing and for most students one of the three methods stands out. Research has shown that students can perform better on tests by changing their study habits to match their own learning style.

The concept is brilliant, it makes perfect sense, why hadn’t I thought of this before? Of course the person who is visual would do better if they developed a colorful outline of test topics than simply listening to or recording the lecture. Those visual clues, multi-colored highlighting, pictures are what helps connect the material to the visual learner’s brain.

Visual learners take notes, make outlines, like charts and make lists. If you are a visual learner try things like organizing confusing information into a chart or table, creating an outline or making a mind map which represents a visual picture of your thoughts. Some people call this a “brain dump” where you dump all your thoughts about a topic onto paper, connecting them to concepts or thoughts through connections, circles, underlines etc.

Tactile or Kinesthetic learners learn by doing.  A tactile learner may become bored or disengaged when studying notes or reading because they are not engaged in doing. They often remember difficult or complicated instructions simply by doing them once. If you are kinesthetic, no amount of forcing yourself to sit and study quietly will ever connect the dots for you. You’d be better off with the following tips; study in short blocks, role-play or act out the difficult topics, take classes that offer labs or hands-on practice, use memory games or flash cards to study.    Oh and by the way? You have my permission to crank your music up and fidget and doodle away during your study session. For tactile people like you, the act of doodling or tapping your pen/foot actual connects the material to your brain.

The auditory learner on the other hand, loves a good lecture. Don’t ask this learner to read chapters 1-10 as this will be a painful task, but if they can find the lecture on audio it may just sink in. The auditory learner will typically be good at things like grammar and foreign language, remembers names and speaks out during class as this is all a part of his/her learning experience. These learners will have a great knack for the spoken word, being able to explain things well.  For this learning style, studying in groups with lots of discussion about the topic will be a huge benefit. Try using word association, create songs or skits to help remember difficult concepts and repeat key concepts aloud with your eyes closed.

So there is no one style that is better than any other, or guaranteed success in the future. However, understanding how you learn says a lot about what study habits you should adopt, which classes you should take and sometimes even which major is right for you. Cracking the code of your own individual learning style or personality could make all the difference in your future success.

As for me, I’m going to practice the right study habits for me and recognize that like so many things in college, the answer is a very individual thing.

To figure out your own learning style is, check out this quiz on Educationplanner.org, you won’t regret it.

http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles-quiz.shtml

Is the Freshman 15 Inevitable?

It seems impossible to me, after spending my first few months walking everywhere, that I would be susceptible to the dreaded Freshman 15. I have literally done more walking in 2 months than I’ve done in the past two years (other than the treadmill of course). Still, it’s a warning that all freshman receive, from well-meaning family members to friends who have gone away to school only coming back to a wardrobe they can no longer wear. So why, if we know all about it, is the freshman 15 still a thing?

We know better than to overeat, make bad choices, binge eat or drink or let our guard down, and yet many of us will come home at the end of the semester with a noticeable few pounds to show for our efforts.  Could it be that we are powerless against the dreaded curse of the Freshman 15? Some researchers think we are.

Many would say the availability of fast food on campus, late night pizza, ice cream or chicken nuggets or even adopting a party life style is the biggest factor. But simply having access to the “wrong” food does is not an indicator that you will eat it. Okay, so the average weight gain is actually somewhere between 3lbs and 7lbs for a college freshman according  but this statistic is still 11% higher than typical weight gain for a healthy person ages 17-18.

Going away to college is stressful, you are on your own for possibly the first time in 17-18 years. Away from your family and friends, as well as the access to the super healthy green smoothie your mom made you for breakfast each morning!! You may be eating at odd times during the day or night, skipping meals, overeating at other meals and being faced with an abundance of choices you may not have had at home. Your routine is no longer a routine, you sleep and eat when you can, and pulling all-nighters to study or catch up on homework, as you dig your hand deep into the chip bag to help you stay awake. College is hard. College is stressful. College can make you fat. But why?  Is it in your brain? Could you be destined to gain the Freshman 15?

A Dartmouth study  looks at signals in your brain and claims to be able to predict which freshman girls would gain weight in their first year of college. The study uses fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) to study brain waves when each subject viewed a picture containing food. Although the subjects thought they were looking for people in the pictures, some of the control group had a stronger response when food was actually featured in the photo. While most of the students registered a response when viewing food, the study showed that those with a bigger response, whose brain “lit up” more during the food photos actually gained more weight. A lead researcher of the Dartmouth study indicates control issues may be the culprit.  Students whose brain reward regions are wired to use food as a reward response are less likely to have self-control or willpower, leading them to use food as comfort or reward during their first year of school and throughout their lives.

This article  sites the study and its future impact. While there is no clear answer on how to fix this phenomenon, signs clearly show that willpower and the ability to resist temptation is something that carries over well past freshman year and will help to frame your life. Those with stronger self-control and willpower had better health, higher incomes and fewer problems in their adult life.  So if I’m one of those unfortunate souls whose eyes (and brain) light up when I see pizza, how can I avoid the Freshman 15?  Start by being conscious and aware of what you eat. Consider a Fit Bit or other tracker to help you keep aware of not only your food intake but you’re your activity level.  Train your brain to love salad as much as you love pizza. Experiment with healthy salad toppings like avocado, grilled chicken, lots of veggies. Try considering food as fuel for your body and not a reward/comfort mechanism. Find a new way to reward yourself. Track not only your food intake but also your activity throughout the day. Sure it seems like you are more active than ever, but keep in mind it takes 3500 excess calories to gain one pound, and it would take a 33 mile walk to burn that many calories, so the walks to class are clearly not cutting it.   Be aware of the mindless calories you consume even in one day; a cup of ben and jerry’s ice cream = 500 calories, Cheeseburger and medium fries = 700 calories, 1 slice pepperoni pizza =300 calories, large Latte = 200 calories.

This is definitely food for thought. I think I’ll go for a walk, past all the fast foods to the great big salad bar… and then sprint back to my dorm.

Is there a cure for Thyroid issues?

The thyroid is located in the front of the neck, and is shaped sort of like a butterfly. It is a gland, and produces hormones that control metabolism. People can develop hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. These thyroid diseases are marked by whether the thyroid is underactive or hyperactive. People can take medications to regulate the effects of these diseases. Thyroid cancer, although it is rare, effects 20,000 to 200,000 people in the US per year.

Hyperthyroidism is defined as, “a condition in which your thyroid gland produces too much of the hormone thyroxine. Hyperthyroidism can accelerate your body’s metabolism significantly, causing sudden weight loss, a rapid or irregular heartbeat, sweating, and nervousness or irritability.Hypothyroidism is, “a condition in which your thyroid gland does not produce enough of certain important hormones”. Hypothyroidism is more likely to occur in women over the age of 60. In early stages it rarely causes symptoms, but if it goes untreated it could cause, obesity, joint pain, infertility, and heart disease. Adults and children suffer from these issues everyday. Just like in any other medical issue, scientists and doctors are always trying to find a cure.

Investigatthyroidors from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Boston University School of Medicine have discovered something that may help to develop a “cell-based regenerative therapy to restore thyroid function in patients with cancer who have had their thyroids surgically removed and children born with congenital hypothyroidism.” The investigators figured out its’ “natural differentiation process” and then duplicated it in the laboratory. To do this, they added proteins called growth factors into the fluid holding the stem cells. After this, they used “murine pluripotent stem cells to regenerate thyroid function in a murine model of hypothyroidism.” This is then applied to children’s stem cells who have congenital hypothyroidism, a defect that hinders the development of the thyroid. Medicine is used to control diseases, but cannot give people the full use of their thyroid. By discovering this, it is likely that patients could get full thyroid function from the stem cell transplant.

In another experiment, Sabine Costagliola, a molecular embryologist at the Free University of Brussels, studies the thyroid gland and its’ development. Her research has concluded that in mice, the function of the thyroid can be restored even after the gland has been destroyed. “If the same technique could be applied to humans, it would help the roughly 1 in 3,000 babies born with deficient thyroid activity…” Costagliola and her colleagues engineered embryonic stem cells that contained 2 proteins, NKX2-1 and PAX8. In the petri dish with a thyroid stimulating hormone, they developed thyroid cells. The cells even shaped into the three-dimensional shape needed for the organization and productivity of thyroid cells. After making the thyroid cells, they used mice to experiment. The injected the mice with radioactive iodine that made the thyroid tissue “wither away”. Then, after 4 weeks, once the mice had been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, they were given a graft of the thyroid follicles. Eight of the nine mice showed a full recovery with fully functioning thyroid glands.

I found these discoveries so fascinating because thyroid issues have been a prominent part of my family’s life. My grandmother has thyroid issues, and so does my mother. They both suffer from hypothyroidism. Seeing how it has been treated, and then reading that article, I think it is amazing what science can do. It would be life changing to be able to give a person a functioning part of their body that they have been living without, or little of, for so long.

Why Do We Procrastinate?

Procrastination. We all do it. Some people are procrastinators out of habit, but in some cases, procrastination really might have to do with neuropsychology. This takes procrastination past the point of just cognition, emotion, and personality, and digs deeper into what causes procrastination, and why humans do it. Procrastination can also be linked to anxiety, and how it causes people to fall into the trap of procrastination.

The executive functioning part of the brain, the frontal part that deals with activities like problem solving, planning, and self-control have started to be studied on in connection with procrastination. Laura Rabin of Brooklyn College says that no one had ever examined this connection before. Rabin says, “Given the role of executive functioning in the initiation and completion of complex behaviors, it was surprising to me that previous research had not systematically examined the relationship between aspects of executive functioning and academic procrastination — a behavior I see regularly in students but have yet to fully understand, and by extension help remediate”. For the experiment, Rabin used a sample of 212 students ande monitored them for procrastination, and then impulsivity, self-monitoring, planning, organization, activity shifting, task initiation, task monitoring, emotional control, working memory, and overall orderliness. Rabin reported in 2011 that they found a link between procrastination and all nine of the other attributes. Although correlations were found, Rabin says the work was limited. The findings were correlative, so it is not exactly clear that procrastination was caused by the subsets of executive functioning. In conclusion, Rabin states that, procrastination might be an “expression of subtle executive dysfunction”, but people who this may apply too still may be neurologically healthy. In another case, Siriois and Pychyl tried to correlate the emotional side of procrastination with the temporal side. They made a two-part theory that connects “short-term, mood-related improvements with long-term, time-related damage.” The idea that they proposed concludes that, “…procrastinators will comfort themselves in the present with the false belief that they’ll be more emotionally equipped to handle a task in the future.”

In an article from Psychology Today, 6 reasons why anxiety causes procrastination are listed. The first reason is the memory being overwhelmed. You have assignments due in every class, a paper for English, soccer practice, and your room is a mess. Generally, this would make people feel overwhelmed; so they push things off and avoid responsibilities until the last minute. The next reason is the “Intolerance of Uncertainty”. People feel unsure of what they want to do, so they hold it off and avoid making a decision. People with this issue get too worked up to commit to an answer or decision, and instead just don’t make one at all. The third issue is that people overestimate the number of tasks they can achieve in the amount of time given. People can experience both negative and positive cognitive biases. Taking on a heavier work load than you can handle is an example of a positive cognitive bias. The 4th reason for anxiety induced procrastination is having an “all or nothing” mentality. You might think you need to write 7 pages for your English class in one night, instead of writing a page a day for a week. Or cleaning your room for 4 hours because it was so messy, instead of picking up after yourself each day. The 5th reason people struggle with procrastination is predicting a negative outcome. The final reason anxiety can impact procrastination is having an “uneven cognitive profile”. When people have difficulties with planning, sequencing, or initiating, it may be difficult for them to complete a task regularly, or make decisions quickly about a task. A person’s anxiety could make cognitive processes much more difficult.

I found it really interesting reading about procrastination, and how it may not be just due to the lack of motivation, or not wanting to complete a task. Certainly, this does not count as an excuse to not complete assignments, but I hope that more research goes into the neuropsychology of procrastination in the near future.  Whether it is due to cognitive abilities, or anxiety, I think that procrastination effects a lot of students, and adults alike, and it would be very beneficial to know more about it.

What’s Your Favorite Color?

Throughout my 18 years, I have had inkling that women have a better eye for color coordination, matching, home decorating, and other things involving design and color hues. But why is this? This is because women really do see colors differently; women see colors in tints, and in more detail than men for a variety of reasons such as differences in genetic make up and differences in neuron development.

In 2007, an experiment  to find how men and women differ their perception of color was conducted by Dr. Anya Hurlbert and Dr. Yazhu Ling. In the experiment, a color spectrum was split into two groups. Group one was red-green colors, and the second group was blue-yellow colors. Different colors were then removed from the spectrum and put into rectangles. The rectangles were then flashed onto a computer screen in groups of two. The subjects were asked to select which colored rectangle they preferred. The result of the experiment was that both men and women preferred blue, and when asked to choose from mixed colors, women chose colors on the red end of the spectrum, relatable to colors such as pink. The experiment also concluded that women lean more towards “soft” colors and men were more likely to gravitate towards bright ones. Men also like more achromatic colors, ones with no hue, like black, white, and grey. A tint is a color with white added. Tints are softer. A shade is a color with black added; they are much darker than tints. In a McInnis and Shearer experiment, it was found that women prefer tints more than shades. Men are also more likely to use generalizations when it comes to color. They would say just “red” instead of maraschino, cayenne, maroon, red-orange.

A researcher at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, Brian Verrelli, has been collaborating on a study that suggests natural genetic selection has given women the ability to tell the difference between colors better than men. In the experiment, the DNA of 236 random men from “geographically diverse populations” were studied. The researches used computer analysis to crate scenarios that proved the level of variation was not purely random, and definitely had something to do with genetics. The research was based off of the gene that allows people to see red, a gene that is only found on the X chromosome. The study found that this gene maintains an unusual amount of variation, about three times that of other genes. The variation happens when the genetic material is exchanged with another gene that detects green. Women have two X chromosomes, while men only have one. Because women have two, they can receive one chromosome with the “red vision” gene, and one variant. This combination, which the researchers say only occurs in about 40% of women, is what provides better red-orange color vision. Since men are only given one X chromosome, “any variation in the single red gene that they receive reduces their ability to distinguish between red and green.” The study concluded that the variation occurred 80% of the time.

But how did this all come about? According to National Geographic, Brooklyn College psychology professor, Israel Abramov led a study to find out why women see colors differently than men. As stated before from the 2007 experiment, women were more likely to refer to different tints. Abramov and researchers concluded that, “males require a slightly longer wavelength than do females in order to experience the same hue.” Warmer colors are linked to longer wavelength, which is why a color may seem deeper to a man (remember that tints are softer whereas shades are darker.) While conducting the study, researches found that men were quicker in detecting details, like flashing or blinking lights. The study also inferred that since neuron development in the visual cortex is, “boosted by masculine hormones” and men obviously have more testosterone than women, they are born with 25% more neurons in the visual cortex than women. This is what helps them react more quickly to blinking or flashing lights. The researchers say that this all can relate back to prehistoric times of gender roles. Men were the hunters, and women were the gatherers. Men had to watch for any quick movements or flashes of color to know whether they should hunt the animal. Women had to pay attention to colors of plants like berries so their knack for color could be related to how closely they were exposed to different colors.

The research all suggests ways in which women have been more inclined to have a better sense of color judgment than men, and why this has happened. From genetics, hormones, or adaptations from prehistoric times. No matter what the reason may be, I think it is apparent that women have more of an eye for the variations in colors, shades, details, and tints than men.

Addicted to Social Media

Tweet. Post. Like. Comment. Login. It’s an addiction, but is this social media obsession a real mental disorder? Most people in older generations will say, “When i was a kid, we didn’t have the resources and connections through the internet like you kids” or, “You’re so attached to your phones.” And the truth is, we DO have a ton of connections through the internet, and we ARE attached to our phones. In some cases, this might not be an issue, but in others, our generations addiction could be a serious case of addiction.

Addiction is being attached or dependent on a substance, thing, or activity. When people think of addiction, they usually think of an addiction to drugs or alcohol. But, Merriam Webster’s dictionary also defines it as, “an unusually great interest in something or a need to do or have something”. In studies at University of Albany, there has been a correlation between the excessive use of online social networking and its’ effects almost reflecting that of other control disorders, including substance abuse. A psychologist at The University of Albany, Julia Hormes, conducted the study using undergraduate students, ages 18 and up. The way she conducted this study was in comparison to the way someone would study substance addiction. They were asked specific questions about the way that Facebook made them feel. It was found that a notification or “like” was instant gratification or a “reward” for the user. I mean how many of you have been excited when you’ve reached over 100 likes on an Instagram picture? Exactly. It feels good to have your followers like your picture, literally and figuratively. The students used in the study reported cravings and irritability when the website was not accessible. Think about how helpless you feel when your phone dies. This is common with addiction withdrawals. People in the study who were found to have an addiction to social media also had problems with their emotions, and impulse control.

A study at Harvard University has shown that posting about oneself on social media activates the part of the brain that is associated with the sensation of the pleasures that humans get from eating food, getting money, or having sex. During the experiment, the researchers put people in an MRI machine and asked them about their and other’s opinions about certain subjects. They found that when the subjects were talking about themselves, the part of the brain related to reward was engaged more so than when they were talking about others. They then found that when people could share their thoughts with their friends or family, the reward section was engaged versus being told they had to keep their thoughts to themselves. All in all, this study shows why people love social media so much. They love it because people love talking about themselves, and love when other people view it, or comment on it.

There are 1,320 million users on Facebook, 343 million on Google+, 300 million users on Linkedin, 271 million on Twitter, and 230 million users on Tumblr. The doesn’t really seem like THAT many people, but how often are people using social media a day? Users between ages 15-19 spend at least 3 hours a day on social media, an users 20-29 are on social media at least 2 hours a day. 16% of people rely on Twitter or Facebook for their morning news, 5 million images are uploaded on Instagram daily, and more than 500 MILLION tweets are posted PER DAY!!

I think it is still up in the air whether social media addiction is a real mental disorder, but I definitely think that there is strong evidence that it could be. I see now  that our generation is more reliant on social media and the internet than people were in previous years, but it is just the social norm in today’s society. If you don’t have Twitter, or Instagram, or even Facebook, well first of all, you definitely get your homework done faster, but how do you stay connected? In a way, it is a little sad that face to face conversations are becoming less and less prominent, and texting, “I’m here” instead of knocking on the front door is considered normal, but how do we change it? Is it possible to even change our society’s so-called addiction?

Accents: why do we have them?

Many refer to an accent as how you sound when you speak. Accents are inevitable, whether you think you have one or not. Those who speak English as a second language have what many regard as “foreign” accents. But even people who speak English as their first language have some sort of accent. Some are barely noticeable. Most of the time, you do not realize you have an accent because you are familiar with the way people sound in your hometown or city. There are many causes to why people have accents such as, nurture over nature, melting pots of culture and carrying on the traditions from family.

Dr. Orville Jenkins believes the root of accents are because each individual is unique in the way they produce the complex combinations of sounds which make up words and word sequences. Everyone has an accent in their native form of speech. People develop “Regional” accents because our brain and nervous system develop the same or similar motor skills and cognitive patterns for the language we first hear and learn around us.

Since I am from Buffalo, New York, many people tell me that I have a strong accent, and sometimes that I sound Canadian. I think it is so interesting to think about why people sound the way they do, and where their pronunciation of words, and their forming of sounds came from. Coming to such a large university, I have heard many accents, a lot of Jersey ones to be exact. But, I think that the diverse culture and experiences here have made the first few weeks of my freshman year pretty interesting.

Listen Up

In multiple recent academic studies on classical music, researchers have concluded that 
listening to classical music benefits the brain, sleep patterns, the immune system, and stress levels. All of these benefits are in areas where many college students are lacking.

There have been several studies by French Universities and they have found evidence that
students who listened to a one-hour lecture where classical music was played in the background 
scored significantly higher in a quiz on the lecture compared to students who did not have music played in the background during their lecture. The researchers believe that, the music put students in a heightened emotional state, therefore making
 them more receptive to information being taught in the lecture.

For many college students “Test Anxiety” is a reoccurring problem, and to some students it can even cause sleepless nights which could result in a poor grade on the assessment. In a study by a team of researchers at the University of Toronto, they’ve concluded that classical music can have profound effects on Insomnia. This team found that turning on your iPod, Pandora, Spotify, or any other music player/website, and tuning into classical music before bedtime helped people fall asleep quicker and stay asleep longer periods of time. The researchers stated that works by classical composers, Brahms, Handel, Mozart, Strauss, and Bach were highly effective sleep aids because of the rhythms and tonal patterns that create a meditative, or calm mood, which in turn slow brainwaves and make it easier for one to fall asleep.

In 2005 there was a study published in “Psychology of Music” that uncovered that workers who listened to music while working had a higher productivity rate than those who did not listen to music. The study’s authors speculate that music boosts mood and improves motivation. The authors say that listening to music while working is most effective among students. They speculate such because often times students struggle to remain motivated to complete their assignments. Thus, music might provide an escape from the stress and exhaustion of studying and motivate them to work harder.

I know that when I sit down at my desk and do my homework, I always have my headphones in listening to some music, usually one of my favorite artists, Vance Joy. Listening to soothing or “chill” music has always been a good way to relax.  I have never tried listening to classical music while studying, or before falling asleep, so I will have to try this out. If anyone has tested this theory, or has opinions on it, comment below!

Blog About Dogs

The use of dogs for therapy is a very up and coming field. In this field, dogs are used to help people recover from, or better cope with health problems, such as heart disease, cancer and mental health disorders. Additionally, it is not only the patient suffering from these health problems that therapy dogs help; therapy dogs are great for the families, friends and hospital staff around the patient. Often times, patients and family members even grow attached to the dog.

During a study preformed in 2007, Scientists compared a doctor’s visit with a dog present, to a visit without a dog. The usual care in the hospital was used as control conditions among adults hospitalized with heart failure, which can be seen as a naturally occurring stressor. The result of this study was that the subjects brain’s contained significantly lower epinephrine and norepinephrine levels, during and after the appointment when the dog was included in the visit. The study showed that having human-animal interaction (HIA), reduced stressed, calmed anxiety, and gave the patients a more positive outlook on their treatment and recovery. Rebecca A. Johnson, Ph.D,  is the director of the Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction at the University of Missouri. She says that, “The vagus nerve that runs from brain to gut is stimulated when you see, hear, touch, and smell the dog,”. This is what causes the relaxation in the patient.

Therapy dogs have taken our country by storm in the past 20 years. 20 years ago there were only 700 therapy dogs certified to provide Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT). 20 years later and now there is said to be 10,000 dogs certified. This shows that therapeutic dogs and their ample health benefits have caught on nationwide. Personally, I love dogs, and being around them greatly improves my mood, and relieves stress. Dogs are proven to be one of the greatest kinds of “medicine” that science can offer.

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This is a picture of me and Whitney, the cutest dog in the World! She loves to cuddle, and always makes my day brighter

Is chocolate milk unhealthy?

You walk into the store to grab some milk, do you go for the chocolate or white? Most people believe that chocolate milk is more unhealthy than white milk, but is that true? Many kids turn to sugary drinks like, juices, soda, or energy drinks anyway. But, when deciding what type of milk to drink, which should we choose?

There are many benefits to consuming milk. It is good for your teeth, bones, muscles, and overall health. Milk is really a staple in a balanced diet. Children and teens ages 9-18 should consume 3 servings of milk a day. But, since most kids aren’t a fan of non flavored milk, is it better to give them chocolate milk? Although it has more calories, chocolate milk has the same 16 nutrients as white milk, so essentially, it is just as healthy for you as non flavored milk. Although it has more sugar, studies shows that children who drink chocolate milk are less likely to drink unhealthy drinks such as, soda, and other drinks higher in sugar, and they are consuming more nutrients in the long run. By drinking more milk, even though it is chocolate milk, kids are still consuming more calcium and vitamins than kids who do not drink milk at all. Since it contains cocoa, many people believe that chocolate milk causes hyperactivity in children, but in a study done by the Dietitians of Canada, there is no direct link between the sugar from cocoa and hyperactivity.

Chocolate milk has also been found to be a good workout recovery drink. After working out, some people turn to post-workout drinks, or sports recovery drinks, which are high in sugar. After working out, drinking chocolate milk provides your body with double the carbohydrates and proteins which will help replenish your muscles better than any other drink.

Drink comparison

Courtesy of Shamrock Farms

According to healthyeating.org, only one in ten school-age girls and four in ten boys meet their calcium requirements. So, drinking chocolate milk, is generally better than drinking no milk at all. If you’re a picky eater and do not like unflavored milk, chocolate milk will still give you the nutrients needed to maintain a healthy and balanced diet.

Are you a psychopath?

I don’t know about you, but my favorite thing to watch on Netflix are documentaries about serial killers. I’m sure you have all heard of at least a few, such as, Dennis Rader, also known as the BTK killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Ted Bundy. What these people did was completely horrific, but it also makes me wonder why, and how they morally did it. How can someone brutally and sadistically kill another human; what in their brain allows them to do this and feel no remorse? Is it in their bodies, chemically, a part of nature?

Psychopathy is defined as a personality disorder characterized by enduring antisocial behavior, diminished empathy and remorse, and disinhibited or bold behavior. A common characteristic of a serial killer is psychopathy. Basically, a serial killer does not feel remorse for what he or she has done. Ted Bundy, a serial killer who would pose with an injury or disability to seem harmless, would lure women in and then proceed to abuse and kill them. He committed around 30 sadistic murders from 1974 to 1978. Ted Bundy once said, “I don’t feel guilty for anything. I feel sorry for people who feel guilt.” His lack of remorse and is inability to feel guilt, is linked to psychopathy. But, do psychopaths brains function differently than someone who is not a psychopath?

Psychology Today states that in a study done at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, there is a correlation between psychopathy and brain abnormality. In this study, at University of Wisconsin, Madison they scanned the brain of 20 psychopaths in a prison, and then the brains of 20 non psychopaths, also in the prison. They found that in the brain of a psychopath, there is a reduced connection between the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex, which is the part of the brain that makes someone feel remorse or guilt when they have done something bad, and the Amygdala, which makes fear and anxiety less prominent in the affected person. Along with the findings of imbalances in the brain, structural issues were also found. Images collected during the study found that there were “reduced structural integrity” and “less coordinated activity” between the white fibers between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. From this case study, the researchers were able to find a direct link between psychopathy, and connectivity in the brain.

Most often, serial killers portray themselves as normal, everyday people, and they usually have a normal childhood. Although nature vs. nurture may pose an argument to whether it is the makeup of the brain, or the upbringing of a child, so far, studies have shown that psychopathy is indeed a matter of brain abnormalities. Most studies will conclude that a serial killer is born, not made.

brain scan

Courtesy of Dr. James Fallon

Here is a video of an Interview with Jeffrey Dahmer.

(all sources are hyperlinked)

Initial Blog Post

Hello everyone! My name is Allie Sauers, and I am a freshman from Buffalo, New York. I live about 25 minutes from Canada, and Niagara Falls. It is a really interesting place to visit; i love adventuring at Devil’s Hole, and the Niagara Gorge.

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In this picture at the Niagara Gorge, Canada is right across the water. Of course I am wearing a Penn State shirt!

Aside from my hometown, I am a political science major, hoping to attend law school after i graduate. I played soccer in high school, and cheered on a competitive cheerleading team my whole life. I am a cheerleader at Penn State as well; I am so thankful that I was able to continue pursuing my passion in college. I cannot wait to be out in Beaver Stadium cheering on our football team! As you can tell, I love it here, and I want to experience all that Penn State has to offer, which is why i took this class. I was a little skeptical of taking a science class at first, because it was not my best subject in high school, but after sitting through Andrew’s class, i realized that this might turn out to be really fun. So, while I’m satisfying my Gen Eds, I’m going to be having fun, and learning a lot of new things. I can’t wait for my future at Penn State!