News Day!
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Alcohol’s Effects Tough on the Brain - Explain to patients who ask that alcohol in moderation is thought to be protective against heart disease and stroke, but this study suggests that heavy drinking may accelerate the decline in brain volume normally seen with aging. The clinical significance of this finding is uncertain, but may suggest greater risk for cognitive decline in heavy imbibers.
Scientists Find the Gene That Decides How Long We Live - Scientists have come a step closer to understanding the secret of a long, healthy life with the discovery of a gene that plays a central role in the ageing process. The gene appears to be critical in extending the lifespan of animals that are subjected to a calorie-restricted diet - when they are slightly starved of high-calorie food but are given all the other nutrients they need.
Mental Health Checkups Important, says Margaret Trudeau - “We ignore sometimes that we may not be functioning as we used to, that we may be going through a problem,” Trudeau, the ex-wife of the late prime minister Pierre Trudeau, told CBC Newsworld. People will go to a dentist when they chip a tooth or to a doctor when they feel ill. Mental health is as important as physical health, but is often ignored, Trudeau said.
Persuasion: War of the Words - How to argue effectively, convince others you are right and win every time. An interesting book review on Thank You for Arguing by Jay Heinrichs (Three Rivers Press).
How To Fight—and How Not To - Arguments aren’t inherently bad. Conflict is often how we sort out what we really want from what we’re willing to compromise on. In good arguments, the terms may not exactly be kind and gentle, the language not always respectful and there may not be closure, but the argument has a beginning and an end.
Hear Me Out - Not getting what you’d like out of your interpersonal dealings? How to make win-win relationships at work and home. If you aren’t getting what you’d like out of your interpersonal dealings, or your relationships are suffering from the strain of conflict, you might be using ineffective negotiating strategies. Better negotiation skills can make you happier at home, more successful at the office, and more personally effective in any group situation. It doesn’t come naturally to everyone, but anyone can learn to be a more effective negotiator.
Phantom Pregnancy - In pseudocyesis, the mind tricks the body, and vice versa. Doctors think it develops when a woman obsesses over pregnancy out of desire or fear. (Queen “Bloody” Mary I of England famously suffered false pregnancy under pressure to continue the royal line.) A woman may stop menstruating, or her stomach may become distended due to stress or constipation. But her brain interprets the signs as pregnancy, which triggers the pituitary gland to secrete hormones like prolactin to prepare the body to carry a child. She gains more weight around the midsection, and her breasts swell and might even lactate. Many false pregnancies end when the woman goes into labor and delivers nothing.
mental and emotional health, alcohol, alcoholism, alcohol abuse, American Academy of Neurology 2007 Annual Meeting, genetics, calorie restriction, Salk Institute, PHA-4, Foxa, Louisiana State University, mental health, Margaret Trudeau, Pierre Trudeau, CBC Newsworld, medical checkups, persuasion, arguing, Thank You For Arguing, Jay Heinrichs, Three Rivers Press, book reviews, how to fight, conflict, education, interpersonal dealings, negotiating strategies, negotiation skills, phantom pregnancy, pseudocyesis, pregnancy, news
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May 10th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
I’m such a nerd, I just left myself a comment!