Secondhand smoke has a direct, measurable impact on the brain similar to
what’s seen in the person doing the smoking, according to a new study. The
finding highlights the importance of limiting exposure to secondhand smoke in
cars and other enclosed spaces.
...
A team led by Dr. Arthur Brody of the University of California, Los Angeles,
set out to study how secondhand smoke affects the human brain. They used an
imaging technique to visualize when nicotine occupies brain nAChRs. The method
depends on a special tracer molecule that binds specifically to nAChRs and can
be detected by positron emission tomography (PET). Nicotine displaces the tracer
molecule at the receptor, so the more nicotine that binds to nAChRs, the lower
the tracer signals.
...
The researchers found that about 1 in 5 nAChRs in the brains of both smokers
and non-smokers became occupied by nicotine after 1 hour of exposure to
secondhand smoke. The smokers also had a significant increase in craving
following exposure to secondhand smoke.
“These results show that even limited secondhand smoke exposure delivers
enough nicotine to the brain to alter its function,” says NIDA Director Dr. Nora
D. Volkow. “Chronic or severe exposure could result in even higher brain
nicotine levels, which may explain why secondhand smoke exposure increases
vulnerability to nicotine addiction.”
This is a summary of Albert Bandura's book 'Self-efficacy: the exercise of control', which outlines the author's ideas about how self-efficacy affects many aspects of life. The summary is hosted by Emory University in the United States and was produced by Gio Valiante. It should be useful for teachers, students and researchers.
This article, hosted by the US-based website Learnativity.com, provides an overview of educational psychology and the theories that underpin it, including the behaviourist, humanist, cognitive and constructivist viewpoints. The article provides links to further resources. It should be useful for students and teachers.
This is an episode of the BBC Radio Four series 'In Our Time'. In it, the broadcaster Melvyn Bragg discusses our knowledge of the developing infant brain. The psychologists Usha Goswami, Annette Karmiloff-Smith and Denis Mareschal contribute to the discussion, which includes the theories of Sigmund Freud, Jean Piaget and Noam Chomsky. The programme is 45 minutes in length and should be useful for students and teachers.
This is an episode from the BBC Radio Four series 'In Our Time', hosted by Melvyn Bragg, in which the contribution of twentieth century neuroscience to our conceptions of the mind is considered. Joining the discussion are academics Steven Rose and Dan Robinson. The programme is forty five minutes in length and available as a Real Media audio file. It should be useful for students and teachers.
This article is published by the US-based SEED magazine, a science periodical. The article is written by Dave Munger and concerns the difference between actual and perceived risks in the use of alcohol. It contains links to related resources. The article should be useful for students and teachers
The subject of the 2003 Reith Lectures was The Emerging Mind.
Vilanyanur S. Ramachandran, Director of the Centre for Brain and
Cognition at the University of California delves into the mysteries of
the mind, exploring questions of neuroscience and philosophy.
What is the relationship between the brain and music? That very
question animates the Library of Congress' Music and the Brain series,
and their website allows interested parties to listen in on some of the
conversations, lectures, and symposia. Noted psychologist Kay Redfield
Jamison chairs the initiative, and the programs bring together
physicians, theorists, composers, and performers. Visitors can listen
to some of these recent conversations via this website, and they can
also sign up to receive new podcasts via iTunes. Currently, there are
five different podcasts available. They include talks with Dr. Charles
J. Limb ("Your Brain on Jazz"), Jessica Krash ("Dangerous Music"), and
Dr. Aniruddh D. Patel on "The Music of Language and the Language of
Music". http://www.loc.gov/podcasts/musicandthebrain/index.html[KMG]From The Scout Report
Brain physiology talks These videos, hosted by the US-based Columbia 250 neuroscience
symposium, comprise a series of talks on aspects of brain physiology.
Topics include neuropathology, potassium channels, neural circuits,
perception, memory, psychosis, developmental disorders, and addiction.
The talks are presented in Real Media format. Slides are available
separately. The videos should be useful for students and researchers.
From: Intute.ac.uk http://c250.columbia.edu/c250_events/symposia/brain_mind/brain_mind_vid_archive.
Whether you are a
specialist in the field of neuropsychology or just love reading about
how the human brain works, there are plenty of interesting blogs on the
Internet to help you find out more. In order to make it easier to for
you to discover great blogs, the following list is categorized for easy
browsing. With blogs by psychiatrists, scientists, psychologist, and
even those dealing with mental disorders, you will find many thoughtful
and thought-provoking blogs to keep your brain stimulated. http://oedb.org/library/features/101_fascinating_brain_blogs
From Freud to the mysteries of the human brain (part one) This video, presented by Charlie Rose and hosted by the American PBS,
provides an overview of Sigmund Freud, psychoanalytic theory,
information processing theory, learning, memory, perception, thinking,
emotions, and behaviour. Charlie Rose is joined on the programme by the
academics Paul Nurse, Eric Kandel, Aaron Beck, Steven Roose, Peter
Fonagy, Nancy Kanwisher, Nora Volkow, Rebecca Saxe and Liz Phelps. The
video is available as an embedded Adobe Flash object is one hour in
length. This site should be useful for students and teachers.
Intute.ac.uk http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2006/10/31/1/part-one-of-the-charlie-rose-scien
Let your brain alone This article, written by the American psychologist and philosopher Jerry Fodor, and published in the London Review of Books, provides a polemical perspective on the growing trend towards placing faith in brain imaging data as an indicator of mental processing. The article should be useful as a teaching aid. Intute.ac.uk http://www.lrb.co.uk/v21/n19/fodo01_.html
This is an episode of the BBC Radio Four series 'In Our Time', hosted
by Melvyn Bragg. In this episode, Bragg discusses how explanations of
the function of the brain have changed over time. He examines
Hippocrates, Aristotle, Descartes, and more recent thinkers. The
academics who take part in the show are Vivian Nutton, Jonathan Sawday,
and Marina Wallace. The show is available in Real Media format and
lasts for 43 minutes. It should be useful for students and teachers.
From Intute.ac.uk
The human brain responds to being treated fairly the same way it
responds to winning money and eating chocolate, UCLA scientists report.
Being treated fairly turns on the brain's reward circuitry... By Stuart Wolpert 4/21/2008 UCLA Newsroom
The MIT OpenCourseWare website provides free access to lecture notes,
exams, and other teaching resources from more than 1800 courses
spanning MIT's entire curriculum. This resource provides access to the
Harvard-MIT Department of brain and cognitive sciences courseware for
both the undergraduate and graduate courses. There are currently
(January 2008) more than 100 courses available and each one provides
information on the audience level and a course description. If special
software is required for downloading or viewing, this is mentioned.
From Intute.ac.uk http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Brain-and-Cognitive-Sciences/
• The Secret Life of the Brain - PBS Nova http://www.pbs.org/wnet/brain/ Includes excerpts from the series (each with links to relevant resources), and web-only features like history of the brain, mind illusions, 3-D brain anatomy, and scanning the brain.
