Chocolate Boosts Memory, Study Shows Natural Compound And Exercise Boost Memory In Mice Science Daily A natural compound found in blueberries, tea, grapes, and cocoa enhances memory in mice, according to newly published research. This effect increased further when mice also exercised regularly. "This finding is an important advance because it identifies a single natural chemical with memory-enhancing effects, suggesting that it may be possible to optimize brain function by combining exercise and dietary supplementation," says Mark Mattson, PhD, at the National Institute on Aging. The compound, epicatechin, is one of a group of chemicals known as flavonols and has been shown previously to improve cardiovascular function in people and increase blood flow in the brain. Flavonols are found in some chocolate. Henriette van Praag, PhD, of the Salk Institute, and colleagues there and at Mars, Inc., showed that the combination of exercise and a diet with epicatechin also promoted structural and functional changes in the dentate gyrus, a part of the brain involved in the formation of learning and memory. The findings, published in the May 30 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, suggest that a diet rich in flavonols may help reduce the incidence or severity of neurodegenerative disease or cognitive disorders related to aging. Van Praag and her team compared mice fed a typical diet with those fed a diet supplemented with epicatechin. Half the mice in each group were allowed to run on a wheel for two hours each day. After a month, the mice were trained to find a platform hidden in a pool of water. Those that both exercised and ate the epicatechin diet remembered the location of the platform longer than the other mice. When studying their brains, van Praag and her colleagues found that these mice had greater blood vessel growth in the dentate gyrus and had developed more mature nerve cells, suggesting an enhanced ability of the cells to communicate. Further analysis showed that the epicatechin and exercise combination had a beneficial effect on the expression of genes important for learning and memory, and decreased the activity of genes playing a role in inflammation and neurodegeneration. The researchers found that sedentary mice fed epicatechin showed enhanced memory, blood vessel growth, and gene activity, but these benefits were even more evident in mice that also exercised. "A logical next step will be to study the effects of epicatechin on memory and brain blood flow in aged animals," says van Praag, "and then humans, combined with mild exercise." The work was a supported by a grant from the US Defense Department's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Mars, which markets a flavonol-rich line of chocolate, supplied the epicatechin. See also Dark Chocolate Reduces Stress Viewzone || Comments? || Body Mind Spirit |
Harboring Hostility May Be Linked To Unhealthy Lungs
http://www.viewzone.com/shorttemper.html
Young adults with a short temper or mean disposition also tend to have compromised lung function, says a recent study published in the journal Health Psychology, by the American Psychological Association (APA). This occurred even when asthma and smoking were ruled out as possible causes of lung dysfunction.
In a study of 4,629 Black and White 18-30 year olds from four metropolitan areas (sampled from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in (Young) Adults Study cohort (CARDIA), psychologists examined whether the tendency to be hostile went along with having decreased lung function in otherwise healthy young adults. The results indicated that the more hostile one's personality (characterized by aggression or anger, for example) the lower levels one's lung function even after controlling for age, height, socioeconomic status, smoking status and presence of asthma.
People with higher levels of general frustration predicted statistically significant reductions in pulmonary function for Black women, White women, and Black men. The only marginally strong finding occurred among the White men sampled. The authors speculate that people in lower status roles, Black women, White women, and Black men, who display hostility (and may be pushing against social expectations), elicit stronger social consequences than White men, resulting in higher levels of internalized stress that can make them sick. Further research is required to rule out if environmental toxins such as air pollution may contribute to both higher hostility and lower lung function.
Hostility was measured using the Cook-Medley Questionnaire which is derived from the items on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Pulmonary function was measured while participants were standing and wearing a nose clip, blowing into a machine to measure their lung capacity, which can indicate upper airway obstruction.
"Recent research demonstrates that greater hostility predicts lung function decline in older men. This is the first study of young adults to offer a detailed examination of the inverse link between hostility and pulmonary function," states lead author and psychologist Benita Jackson, PhD, MPH, of Smith College. "It's remarkable to see reductions in lung function during a time of life we think of as healthy for most people. Right now, we can't say if having a hostile personality causes lung function decline, though we now know that these things happen together. More research is needed to establish whether hostility is associated with change in pulmonary function during young adulthood." This research has implications for future research exploring the possible influence of social status on personality functioning and pulmonary health.
http://www.viewzone.com/wideface.html Angry Faces: Facial Structure Linked To According to a report in ScienceDaily, angry words and gestures are not the only way to get a sense of how temperamental a person is. According to new findings in Psychological Science, a quick glance at someone's facial structure may be enough for us to predict their tendency towards aggression. Facial width-to-height ratio (WHR) is determined by measuring the distance between the right and left cheeks and the distance from the upper lip to the mid-brow. A high WHR means the width of the face is greater that the height -- in other words, a wide face. During childhood, boys and girls have similar facial structures, but during puberty, males develop a greater WHR than females. Previous research has suggested that males with a larger WHR act more aggressively than those with a smaller WHR. A good example of this can be seen in the aggressive sport of hockey. Studies have shown that hockey players with greater WHR earn more penalty minutes for fighting and aggression per game than players with lower WHR.
Psychologists Justin M. Carré, Cheryl M. McCormick, and Catherine J. Mondloch of Brock University conducted an experiment to see if it is possible to predict another person's propensity for aggressive behavior simply by looking at their photograph. It makes sense that our brains would evolve to warn us of an aggressive person so that we could adjust our activity or flee the environment and avoid injury. Volunteers viewed photographs of faces of men for whom aggressive behavior was previously assessed in the lab. The volunteers had no idea how the photographed subjects rated on the aggression scale. After viewing the photographs, the volunteer subjects rated how aggressive they thought each person was on a scale of one to seven. They were allowed to view the photographs of each face for either 2000 milliseconds or 39 milliseconds. The photographs were very revealing. The Volunteer subjects estimates of how aggressive the photographed person was agreed with the results of the prior assessment. This was true even if they saw the picture for only 39 milliseconds. Apparently the brain can decide whether a person is aggressive almost instantly! Even more interesting was the fact that the volunteer subjects estimated a higher aggression assessment to photographed faces with higher WHR ratios -- the greater the WHR, the higher the aggressive rating, suggesting that we may use this aspect of facial structure to judge potential aggression in others. These findings indicate that subtle differences in face shape may affect personality judgments, which may, in turn, guide how we respond to certain individuals. What role does this play in "sex appeal"? In a recent article here on viewzone, Dan Eden reported that facial symmetry was a key factor in our appreciation of beauty and attractiveness. Perhaps facial width is also in play here. Could it be that a wide faced woman would be viewed as too aggressive by a male? Could this make her less attractive? Could a thin face on a man be seen as a sign of being timid and a "turn off" to women? It seems entirely logical. The next time you are looking at people, pay attention to their facial width. What do you think? We'd like to hear from you. Thanks Best Regards, Dr. Muhammad Kashif Mahmood. MD / FP Al-Mustafa Medicare E-mail address: dr.mkm12@gmail.com Mobile # +0092-308-7640486 Life is labor, death is rest.
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