Push-ups, crunches, gyms, personal trainers — people have many strategies for building bigger muscles and stronger bones. But what can one do to build a bigger brain?
Meditate.
That’s the finding from a group of researchers at UCLA who used high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan the brains of people who meditate. In a study published in the journal NeuroImage and currently available online (by subscription), the researchers report that certain regions in the brains of long-term meditators were larger than in a similar control group. [continue reading…]
Beating the Blues is a computer based interactive programme for the treatment of anxiety and depression. It is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which helps patients to identify and change unhelpful ways of thinking and to learn more effective ways of solving problems.
Tim Lott writes in today’s Guardian about  this computer cognitive behaviour therapy progam prescribed by the NHS in an attempt to meet the growing demand for cost effective mental health treatment. Link to continue reading
Obviously, being schooled by a computer has its drawbacks – you can’t ask in the course of therapeutic conversation about anything you don’t understand, and you often end up dealing with territory that isn’t relevant to you.
Most people with depression need some kind of therapy but can a computer replace face to face counselling with a therapist? We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this
Impulsive behaviour, anger, mood swings, poor concentration, memory loss. A knock to the head that qualifies as a brain injury can transform your behaviour in unexpected ways. Confronting research suggests acquired or traumatic brain injuries – past and recent – are rife in prison populations, with little to no screening or targeted interventions in place.
Like most women I get  preoccupied with my weight. 🙁  Don’t get me wrong… although I obsess, it doesn’t consume me. One of the most popular searched posts (daily) on this blog is Media influence on women’s body image. Recently I have been struck by one young girl in her mid 20’s who uses the same gym as I do. Why? Clearly borderline anorexic she exercises with fanatical zeal, her body disguised in baggy sweats, her shoulders which are visible show bones and no muscle tone. I observe sadly as she weighs herself at least 3 times during the course of each workout! So maybe its not surprising that today in my daily newspaper trawl, both the following articles captured my attention.
In the New York TimesTara Parker Pope looks at how books on anorexia can inadvertently become how-to books for teens struggling with the disease Link to read this article and also the full review of Skin and Bone.
More discussion in The Guardian of how women’s weight issues impact their lives in Decca Aitenkhead’s interviewwith Susie Orbach author of Fat is a Feminist Issue
and new book Bodies: Big Ideas/Small Books Link to read this articleinterview
Can a novel convey, however inadvertently, an allure to anorexic behavior?Are you comfortable with your body? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Push-ups, crunches, gyms, personal trainers — people have many strategies for building bigger muscles and stronger bones. But what can one do to build a bigger brain?
