sigh... i cant even look at the pictures for more that 5 seconds anymore without feeling guilty...
however, what's done is done... i cannot undo it now... not now...
unless they forgive me and i them...
but i know i just cant remove it in my life... i have to admit i also had my share of fun...
hehehe...
so much for the drama...
hahaha... i just realized something...
and if youre wondering why this blog is not kept to myself and set in a
private mode... i had to admit that i have to let people know so that
they will be aware from now on...
it is quite... ok, may quite is an understatement... known that the sentence: i miss you is one of the most overly used expression of feelings, yes? even i use that often...
sometimes there even comes a time when there will be no words to
explain how much i would miss him or her... however, when that certain
person come and spends a time with, let us say, me... i just think, no,
i think the person easily gets bored with me... moreover, i shudder to
think that that person does not feel that he or she is truly missed...
i do not deny that i easily bore people... i can hardly maintain a
conversation if the meeting is planned, even not... my interests does
not exactly grasp theirs and i am afraid that silence is much longer
than the conversation supposed to be held...
let me begin my account...
me and my sister are the only ones left in the house since my mother
along with my father and brother left for mindanao for some business
that none of you are concerned... i got an unexpected call from my dear
cousin--kuia coly-- telling us that he would be coming... we just
arrived from church and have brought our lunch and dinner... we humbly
told him that we dont have anything to treat him and he told us that we
need not worry because he will treat us for lunch...
oh the joy! we will spare the money! hahahaha!... and so we agreed...
but then we realized that the house is currently in the state of utter
mess! we cleaned every visible "macro"mess leaving the "micro"mess
until the planned cleaning date to prepare quickly for his arrival...
when he arrived, the house was... i dont know what else to say but at
least no macromess was visible... i even sweeped the muddy terrace
leaving few mudtracks on the marble floor.
we went out and ate lunch... when he was paying for our lunches... i
was panicking... im afraid of another:
i-will-certainly-definitely-utterly-bore-him-to-the-next-century
mode... so i asked my sister if he could help me in generating a
topic... at one point i asked him if we (actually it was more of an I, implicitly) bore him and he said that he is usually quiet while eating--so much for the manners, HaLe...
when we went home... my insufferable, cruely left me to my own devices
and proceeded to watching the movies that I BORROWED and I BURNED...
and i was left to rot and entertain my cousin by forcing myself of
topics so that we could talk...
after a while he called his dad and let him talk to me... i called my
mom informing her he was here... then he let me copy some of the
contents of his PSP... then... he slept... he snored... he slept... and
snored some more...
that was more likely 14:00... he cant go home since twas raining and only has a jacket...
i woke him asking if he prefers the bedroom (that i quickly arranged,
checking that there are no undies lying somewhere---youll never
know...) he insisted on the hard, wooden, couch...
we were afraid to leave him alone so we forgot to fetch the laundry... again... mom will be in fits now...
it was getting darker... we "plotted" to have him over for dinner...
and arranged the bed and prepare some clothes in case of emergency...
also prepared a cap and umbrella should he refuse to stay for the
night...
he refused to have dinner... fine... hehehe... the rice was to small
and the dinner was cold because my witty sister shoved it in the
freezer... good thing the fridge was not on...
realization: i realize that when a person is present, i find it more
comfortable and less awkward when i just feel his or her presence...
sometimes not saying anything... or just like this... sleeping...
hehehe...
a bit boring...
no...
bit is another understatement...
i know..
now... it is 21:30... my mom has decided to let him stay for the night...
hehe... i kind of wished for it too...
even though kuia coly has an air or coolness that i could not
describe... i would still miss him... he's family so i guess it is
natural... no? hehehe...
i'll wake him up later to transfer him to the room...
he's still sleeping...
masakit eh... at this stage i often think about those eyes. the look it gave me when we held each other's even for a moment. it was emotionless. cold. and there was something in it i just cant grasp. i saw and i tried to avoid but someone called me back and i didn't know what mad me look into it...
it has been long since i have posted... i just hope no one would understand, or at least that was what i wanted... i dont know why im difficult. why this is difficult. why i can be such a bloody coward... not being able to at least confront all of these... Suan le... but it just dont seem right...
im long ago ashamed of myself... this was what i became... i had to admit now...
im a horrible person... no wonder im alone, some people might say...
kaya siguro di ko matawagan si Rona kasi hindi ko kayang sabihin sa kanya na ganito pala ako... she's my best friend (well aside from the supernatural God)... i had come to terms with that fact, lately... she's the only one that has been able to complete the sentences of my life... im afraid of what will happen and i dont want to be confident with the fact that she isnt like that...
but i wont cry... at least not a living soul would see me cry again... i will not and will ever cry... though im saying this more to my self than here in this blog...
the petty memories came rushing along with the realization that dawned on me when i saw those eyes... for a moment i thought of smiling but it seems that i cant pretend to... it terrifies me every time i remember... but mostly it hurts...
help...
enough...
...that was what the modern Hamlet thought when alas, he couldnt find a decent time to write his thoughts again and post it as a blog...
hehehehe
anyway, since my phonebook is really really really really really really crowded, thanks to my dear friend Rona!!!... i will post the quotes and some corny jokes she sent me to "brighten" my day...
in addition, i will also post something... i hope not too dramatic this time...
hahahaha...
its been a while, yes?
my LJ was terminated!!! sad!!! i wont be able to post more sad, private messages... i just hope no one will view it... arrrggghh!!!
for me, a person does not love another for a reason... you just love them...
i dont even know why i love 'em...
i just do....
or maybe there are no right words to say it...
note: i wanna let them know this so that when they leave, they'll know how i feel about them... its no big deal, really...
yeah... that's right... katangahan ang nangayaring yun... kaya i have learned my lesson: never walk backwards while talking to someone especially when the ground is sloping backwards...
its a good thing because:
1. hindi sa LB nangyari yun because i dont know if i can be able to show my face again there
2. wala si helia and other people i know that would really laugh their lungs out if ever na-witness nila ang scene
3. because there were people really concerned.. i just hope they werent laughing at my back.. although after we arrived at LB, the topic lasted for about a week pero feeling ko the scene is still fresh in their minds
4. buti nalang hanggang hita lang nung right foot ko ang nalaglag...
5. the camera was not damaged although i stink pretty bad [duh!! define IMBURNAL!!]
6. they still allowed me to change at the hotel kahit na double the maintenance price ang binayaran ko, and nasilipan pa ako ng isang guy in my underwear because they forgot to tell me i was changing my pants [stupid git!!!], they apologized...
yun... i wont mention the bad part... look at the bright side... at least meron na akong pampalit sa nangyari sakin five years ago [the mud slide scene].. yeah... great... as if.. T.T
the P-O-T:
hai naku... theyre still teasing me... whatever!!! basta i bought cute little pots at Mines View worth Php 5.00... galing noh!!! i wanna go back... but definitely not the imburnal part...
this was the first time i had a surprise party... im so happy because at least i know that there are people that cares for me... there were others that greeted me and kissed me... that was enough though...
but, the thing na medyo nakakafrustrate is fact that some of the people who were involved in giving me the surprise party will be leaving and i dont know if i can maintain any communication with those person... based on experience, people close to me who left, hindi na masyado ang communication... sometimes feeling ko di na interested yung tao makipag communicate... i just hope it wont come to that... as Prof Dacuma says: "...so that we wont drift apart."
if they think, i am not supporting their decision, theyre wrong... even though i want to stay close to them as possible [kahit na minsan medyo nao-OP, or im left behind], kung saan sila happy, im just there to support.
its just sad because i dont know if we can still hang out like we do... i dont know if we can give surprise parties to them and have occasional dinners... i dont know if we can still have great sem-enders... i dont know if there would still be people saying: "you know that person??!! [he/she's] my crush you know!!" and be proud of them... i dont know when will we be having great photos with real happy faces... i dont know if they will still be there cheering me up or asking me if i want to go out and have some coffee so that i can pour my heart out after a tough exam... i dont know if they can still remember me and the old me... i dont know if i could still hear you guys say: "i love you, HaLe!"
i was a loner and i liked it...
then i had you guys [you know who YOU are], i also liked it...
IF EVER ill return to being a loner, it would still be ok, but i would definitely remember the fun and the love that you have shared with me...
here goes the drama again... wala lang... i just had to write it down... i dont have the courage to say it unless you start... when Renz asked me why would he be the only one when i said: "i will definitely miss you..", there was an interuption but the answer was: "because, i love you because you're part of the legendary I-4L, and i still want to see you eat vegetables!" And this still doesnt mean that i wont miss Ate Rona... i love her too [duh!!]... di ko nasabi yun sa kanila... hmph!! ugh... no beads of tears on the cheek itong drama ko... i just want to pour this out through blog...
finally im going to admit it... i dont have the courage to say to a person what im feeling without the help of modern technology... unless the topic is started by another...
hai naku... still..... people get the wrong idea about me [ALL THE TIME!!!!]...
anyway guys... thank you... i hope next year mas masurprise ako... parang ngayon lang uli ako nag-commemorate ng araw ng pagtanda ko na di ako bitter dahil one year is being added to my age again... and i really really thank God for all the things that he has blessed me and has done for me.
from Insight for Living by Chuck Swindoll
God is Faithful
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Esther 2:10-20.
When God scans the earth for
potential leaders, He is not on a search for angels in the flesh. He is
certainly not looking for perfect people, since there are none. He is
searching for men and women like you and me, mere people made up of
flesh, bone, and blood. But He is also looking for certain qualities in
those people, like the qualities He found in Esther.
What did God see in Esther?
Esther sustained a continually teachable spirit. Our acute need is to
cultivate a willingness to learn and to remain teachable. Learning from
your children. Learning from your friends. Learning even from our
enemies.
Esther remains a sterling
example for women today. Some women are wonderfully gifted teachers.
You may have the ability to stand before a group and to open the
Scriptures. Others may distinguish themselves in public service. You
may be well-traveled and well-educated. But let me ask, has that
changed your teachability? Are you, like Esther, still willing to
listen and learn from others?
The Hebrew word sakal means “instructed.” The sakal person is teachable.
No matter how fast the promotion or how high the exaltation, we are
never to lose our teachability. We never reach a level where we are
above criticism or we no longer need the input of others.
Esther did what Mordecai
told her as she had done when under his care (Esther 2:10, 20). She
stood before the king for one reason: because she knew that the hand of
God was on her life, and through circumstances and Mordecai’s wisdom,
she had been brought to this place for a reason.
Remember, at this time
Esther cannot be more than twenty years old or so, and she could have
been even younger. This is the chance of a lifetime for her to have
whatever she wishes. Instead, she remains true to what she has been
taught and abides by the counsel of Mordecai, believing he knows what’s
best for her.
Esther does not succumb to
the temptation around her—the superficiality, the selfishness, the
seduction and self-centeredness. She knew who she was. She knew where
she was coming from. To use one of my favorite expressions, she had her
stuff together.
Frankly, I’m convinced that
Esther went in to the king without fear because she had no driving
ambition to be queen. Again, she knew that God’s hand was on her life.
If it was His pleasure that she be here, if it was part of His plan,
then she would willingly accept it. If not, she would willingly
relinquish it. She was modest about her own person, she was authentic,
and she was teachable.
What is God looking for? He is looking for men and women whose hearts are completely His—completely.
God gives extraordinary tasks to ordinary people to reveal His
faithfulness. Do you long to please Him in your actions? Do you care
about the motives behind your actions? Do you have a heart for God? Are
you teachable?
Adapted from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville, Tenn.: W Publishing Group, a division of Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2005), 102, 119, 196–197.
from Insight for Living by Chuck Swindoll
It's Not About You
by Charles R. Swindoll
I need to underscore a
foundational fact: God’s goal is not to make sure you’re happy. No
matter how hard it is for you to believe this, it’s time to do so. Life
is not about your being comfortable and happy and successful and pain
free. It’s about becoming the man or woman God has called you to be.
Unfortunately, we will rarely hear that message proclaimed today. All
the more reason for me to say it again: Life is not about you! It’s
about God.
How can I say that with assurance? Because of Paul’s response in 2 Corinthians 12:9–10:
Most |
That’s it! He got it, too. And he went with it for the rest of his days.
When you and I boast of our
strengths, we get the credit, and we keep going under our own head of
steam. But when we boast in what He is doing in the midst of our
brokenness, inability, and inadequacy, Christ comes to the front. His
strength comes to our rescue. He is honored.
Don’t miss that point. The
very things we dread and run from in our lives are precisely what
brought contentment to Paul. Look at the list: I am content when I
lose. I am content when I am weak. I am content with insults. I am
content when I am slandered. I am content in distresses. I am content
with persecutions. I am content with difficulties and pressures that
are so tight I can hardly turn around. Why? “Because when I am weak,
then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). Knowing that brought the
apostle, ablaze with the flaming oracles of heaven, to his knees. What
a way to live your life—content in everything—knowing that divine
strength comes when human weakness is evident.
Paul recommends an attitude
of unselfish humility. Quite remarkably, you never read where Paul said
to his Roman guard, while he was in prison: “I need you to do me a
favor. Next time you happen to be near one of the Emperor’s assistants,
urge him to get me out of this dump. I shouldn’t be here in the first
place. I’ve been here for one year, seven months, four days, five
hours, and nine minutes, and that’s long enough.” Paul’s attitude of
unselfish humility prevented him from keeping meticulous records of the
wrongs done to him in Rome, or anywhere else for that matter. He was in
prison by divine appointment. He willingly submitted to his situation.
Christ modeled the great
emptying-out principle that permeated Paul’s remarkable life. If we
want to learn contentment, developing an attitude of unselfish humility
is the perfect place to begin. Start with your family or neighbors.
Model it before your employees or clients. You won’t believe the impact
that sort of selfless mental attitude will have on the people. You
won’t have to raise flags or pass out tracts. Just demonstrate an
attitude of unselfish humility. The results will amaze you.
Paul exhorts believers to
have an attitude of joyful acceptance. Paul minced no words about how
believers should relate to one another. “Do all things without
grumbling or disputing; that you may prove yourselves to be blameless
and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked
and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world”
(Philippians 2:14–15). He sought an attitude of joyful acceptance, free
of petty disputes and bickering. He pled for authentic joy. Nothing is
more contagious!
Adapted from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives: Profiles in Character from Charles R. Swindoll (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005), 313, 337.
from Insight for Living by Chuck Swindoll
Cultivating a Tender Heart and a Tough Hide
by Charles R. Swindoll
For as long as I have been in the
ministry I have asked the Lord for a balance between a tender heart and
a tough hide. It isn't an easy balance. In fact, the latter is more
difficult to cultivate than the former. In order to be fully engaged in
ministry, job number one is to have a tender heart. The challenge is
developing a tough hide.
Those in ministry are
especially likely to be lightning rods; we are big targets for
criticism. Every passionate pastor, every Christian leader, every
Christian author I know can list a litany of things that have been said
and done against them, many of them unfairly.
What about you? How do you
deal with judgmental remarks, those unkind put-downs made to your face
or, worse, behind your back? When a neighbor mocks your version of
biblical parenting, when that couple in your small group questions
every decision you make, when you find out a fellow Christian that you
thought was your friend has been spreading rumors about you, how do you
respond? Are you tough and tender or do you become brittle and bitter?
Few handle criticism well. But we'd all have to agree, there was one man who handled it with grace and grit.
In Acts 24, Paul is on the
witness stand before Governor Felix while a shady lawyer named
Tertullus pontificates through some trumped-up charges. As you read
along in this chapter, you will notice Paul waits for the smoke to
clear and then calmly steps up to give a defense. Paul's words
illustrate seven ways to maintain a tender heart and a tough hide while
enduring criticism.
Number one: He refused to
be caught up in the emotion of the charges. That's the first mistake we
usually make. Everything in us prefers to lash out, to protest, to cry,
or simply walk out. Paul refused to overreact. His opening line is
disarmingly pleasant, "I cheerfully make my defense."
Cheerfully? By now the man
ought to be blazing with indignation! Even though labeled as "a real
pest" and a ringleader of a cult (see Acts 24:5), Paul graciously
acknowledged the opportunity to make a defense. He refused to let his
emotions take the lead.
When we lower ourselves to
the overcharged emotions of accusers, our anger is unleashed. When that
occurs, straight thinking caves in to irrational responses and
impulsive words. Paul didn't go there.
Number two: He stayed with
the facts. He said, "You can check my record. Twelve days ago I went up
to worship. You can ask those who were there." He reported, "Neither in
the temple, nor in the synagogues, not in the city itself did they find
me carrying on a discussion with anyone or causing a riot. Nor can they
prove to you the charges of which they now accuse me" (Acts 24:11?13).
The apostle never blinked.
He stood his ground with stubborn facts. That strategy not only kept
him on target, it enhanced his credibility in the eyes of Governor
Felix.
Number three: He told the
truth with a clear conscience. Paul stated, "But this I admit to you .
. . I do serve the God of our fathers . . . I also do my best to
maintain always a blameless conscience . . . both before God and before
men" (Acts 24:14?16).
There is nothing like a
clean conscience. It not only helps you sleep well, it keeps you
thinking clearly. You have no fear that some skeleton will rattle when
the investigation begins . . . because there is no skeleton!
Number four: He identified
the original source of the criticism. Few things are more maddening
than shadowboxing when you're dealing with criticism. One of the worst
things you can do is to spread the venom to a number of other
people—your children, your parents, your friends, or a group of other
Christians—rather than going to the original source of contention and
addressing it. You need a tough hide to do that.
Number five: He would not
surrender or quit. I love that about Paul. He's like a pit bull on your
ankle; he won't let go! Take a moment to read 2 Corinthians 11:23?33.
Beaten, bloodied, shipwrecked, harassed, endangered, run out of town,
and falsely accused, Paul didn't give up, let up, or shut up.
Number six: He did not
become impatient or bitter. For two years Paul had been waiting for
this trial. Did you know that? Yet we see no sign of bitterness. No
impatience. No grudges. No ranting against the Roman authorities. Paul
believed God was firmly in control of both people and events.
Number seven: He stood on
the promise of God. You know what flashed through my mind when I read
this passage in Acts 24? A song I've sung in church since I was just a
kid in Sunday school.
Standing on the promises that cannot fail, |
Someone has said that there are over 7,000 promises in the Bible. Have you claimed one this past week? Two? Do I hear five?
How did Paul handle
criticism? He refused to get caught up in the emotion of the charges.
He stayed with the facts. He told the truth with a clear conscience. He
identified the original source of the accusations. He refused to
surrender or quit. He became neither impatient nor bitter. He stood on
the promise of God. Is that great or what? And it's all from the Bible.
You can do every one of those seven. If you want a tender heart and a
tough hide when enduring criticism, you must do them. So must I.
1R. Kelso Carter, "Standing on the Promises" in The Celebratoin Hymnal (Word Music/Integrity Music, 1997), no. 410.
from Insight for living by Chuck Swindoll
A Battle for Integrity
by Charles R. Swindoll
I must tell you that I have
been troubled regarding the face of things in our country and within
the family of God. My major battle has had to do with one word, one
concept. My battle has to do with integrity.
In our nation—and in the
church—there has been a falling away, a breakdown, and a compromise in
integrity. Recent headlines have taught us that the boom of the 1990s
was built on a foundation devoid of integrity. But compromise isn’t
limited to CEOs who greedily sell out their employees or to pork-happy
politicians. All too often we find a moral laxity behind our pews and,
even worse, behind the pulpit.
Let me define what I mean by integrity. Webster’s tells us integrity means “an unimpaired condition.”1 It means to be sound. The Hebrew word for integrity, tom, also means to be complete or solid.
So he shepherded them according to the integrity (tom) of his heart, And guided them with his skillful hands. (Psalm 78:72) |
Integrity is completeness or
soundness. You have integrity if you complete a job even when no one is
looking. You have integrity if you keep your word even when no one
checks up on you. You have integrity if you keep your promises.
Integrity means the absence of duplicity and is the opposite of
hypocrisy. If you are a person of integrity, you will do what you say.
What you declare, you will do your best to be. Integrity also includes
financial accountability, personal reliability, and private purity. A
person with integrity does not manipulate others. He or she is not
prone to arrogance or self-praise. Integrity even invites constructive
and necessary criticism because it applauds accountability. It’s sound.
It’s solid. It’s complete.
Integrity is rock-like. It
won’t crack when it has to stand alone, and it won’t crumble though the
pressure mounts. Integrity keeps one from fearing the white light of
examination or resisting the exacting demands or close scrutiny. It’s
honesty at all costs.
The words of Louis Adamic
seem fitting, “There is a certain blend of courage, integrity,
character, and principle which has no satisfactory dictionary name but
has been called different things at different times in different
countries. Our American name for it is ‘guts.’”2
I like that. Integrity is
having the guts to tell the truth, even if it may hurt to do so.
Integrity is having the guts to be honest, even though cheating may
bring about a better grade. Integrity is having the guts to quote
sources rather than plagiarize.
But there are some things
integrity is not. It is not sinless perfection. A person with integrity
does not live a life absolutely free of sin. No one does. But one with
integrity quickly acknowledges his failures and doesn’t hide the wrong.
Now, in addressing this
crucial mark of character, I could come across as the “white knight,”
but you know me better than that. I fail like everyone else. The sooner
you remember that, the better we’ll get along. But concerning the issue
of integrity, I give you my word. You will know if I have failed or if
Insight for Living has failed in some way. I will tell you. I will not
lead you to believe something is true if it is false. That is the least
I can do as a minister of the Gospel.
Integrity is essential in
the church, in the marketplace, and especially in the home. When you
walk in integrity, you leave it as a legacy for your children to follow
(Proverbs 20:7). It’s what I call the father’s thumbprint. Blessed are
you if you had a father with integrity and a mother with guts.
When you work with
integrity, you honor the Lord. Regardless of your profession, your
character and conduct are methods of ministry. Over 50 years ago, Elton
Trueblood wrote,
It is hard to think of any job in |
Do you put wire in walls? Do
you repair cars? Do you work with numbers? Do you sell clothes? Perhaps
you practice law or medicine. The important thing is not what work you
do, but whether you do your work with integrity. Perhaps you labor
behind the scenes, and your only thanks is the inner satisfaction of a
job done right. Do you cheat on your exams? Are you cheating on your
mate? Some have the audacity to do such things and call themselves
Christians. No wonder the world is confused!
You want to shock the
world? Start here . . . demonstrating the guts to do what’s right when
no one is looking. It takes real guts to stand strong with integrity in
a culture weakened by hypocrisy. Start today.
1Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed. See “integrity.”
2Louis Adamic, A Study in Courage, 1944, as quoted by John Bartlett in Familiar Quotations, 13th ed. (Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown & Co., n.d.), 981.
3Elton Trueblood, as quoted by Charles R. Swindoll in Leadership: Influence that Inspires (Waco, Tex.: Word Books, 1985), 35.
from, The Year In Medicine From A-Z by TIME
a
AIDS
Hoping to sharply cut HIV/AIDS transmission
rates in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
took the unusual step of recommending that doctors ask all patients
from ages 13 to 64 whether they want to be tested for the virus. One in
four Americans living with HIV don't know they are infected; for them,
early diagnosis could mean early treatment and longer lives.
Antiretroviral drug therapy has already saved nearly 3 million years of
life in the U.S. alone. Meanwhile, the number of people living with
HIV/AIDS around the world continues to grow, to 40 million, according
to estimates released last week by the U.N.
ANOREXIA
When
Madrid barred ultrathin models from the city's fashion week in the
aftermath of a model's death, it was clear acknowledgment that culture
can fuel unhealthy body images. But genes play a role too. Researchers
studying 31,406 identical and fraternal twins born in Sweden from 1935
to 1958 found that if one identical twin suffered from anorexia, the
odds were significantly higher that the other did as well. Just because
someone is genetically predisposed to anorexia, however, doesn't mean
she or he will develop the disorder. The next step will be to figure
out which genes are involved and how they affect the brain.
ANTIBIOTICS
Bacteria
are on the march. Researchers found that nearly 75% of serious skin
infections treated at clinics in Atlanta were resistant to the
antibiotics that are normally used to cure such infections. The
bacteria responsible, known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus (MRSA), used to be seen mostly in hospitals but are now turning
up all across the U.S. MRSA can still be treated with other
antibiotics, but the Infectious Diseases Society of America has called
for Congress to pressure the pharmaceutical industry to develop new,
stronger drugs to fight the superbugs.
ASTHMA
Nearly
5,000 deaths a year in the U.S. are attributed to asthma. But on the
basis of a statistical analysis of 19 trials involving some 35,000
patients, researchers believe that 4,000 of these deaths are actually
being triggered by two drugs found in inhalers sold under the names
Serevent, Advair and Foradil. The drugs relieve symptoms but can,
without warning, increase dangerous bronchial inflammation. Asthma, on
the rise since the 1980s, afflicts more than 20 million Americans.
BACON
Bacon
may be a staple of the American breakfast, but it's probably not a
terrific idea to eat it every day. Or sausage or corned-beef hash, for
that matter. Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm
pooled data from 15 studies and found that eating just over an ounce of
these smoked and processed delicacies each day increased the risk of
developing stomach cancer from 15% to 38%. The culprit may be the high
salt content of such meats, which could irritate the lining of the
stomach, or perhaps the nitrate and nitrite additives, which are known
to have cancer-promoting qualities.
BREAST CANCER
Women
who put on pounds as adults have new reason to be worried about breast
cancer. A study of 44,161 postmenopausal women linked adult weight gain
to a higher lifetime risk for all types, stages and grades of breast
cancer, particularly advanced malignancies. The risk for women who
gained more than 60 lbs. was three times as great. Reason:
breast-cancer risk is linked to lifetime levels of the hormone
estrogen. Fat tissue increases circulating estrogen, thereby adding to
the risk.
c
CAVITIES
Cough syrups can
damage children's teeth, and it's not necessarily the sweeteners in
them that do it. Many over-the-counter remedies that contain
antihistamines are slightly acidic in nature, and a new study showed
that this acid can cause cavities in healthy tooth enamel. Fortunately,
fluoride counteracts the problem, so make sure your children brush
their teeth after swallowing cough syrup. Also try giving the
medication with meals, when the body's natural production of saliva
helps protect the teeth.
CELL PHONES
Think you're safer
because you talk on a hands-free cell phone while driving? Think again.
Using either type of phone while trying to drive a car is roughly
equivalent to driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08%,
which is high enough to get you arrested in any of the 50 states and
the District of Columbia for driving under the influence. Folks who use
hands-free cell phones in simulation trials also exhibited slower
reaction times and took longer to hit the brakes than drivers who
weren't otherwise distracted. Data from real-life driving tests show
that cell-phone use rivals drowsy driving as a major cause of
accidents. SUV drivers, it turns out, are more likely to talk on a cell
phone--and to resist wearing their seat belt.
COFFEE
Is
coffee destined to be the next health food? Researchers found more
evidence that drinking coffee--with or without caffeine--decreases the
risk of Type 2 diabetes in those who are prone to develop the
condition, perhaps by boosting the body's metabolism a bit. (Exercise
is, of course, even more effective, but maybe you need that extra jolt
to get yourself moving.) Coffee also seems to decrease slightly the
risk of liver damage in patients with a history of alcoholism, perhaps
because coffee contains lots of antioxidants. But the news isn't all
good. Drinking lots of coffee during pregnancy increases the risk of
having a stillborn child.
COLON CANCER
Nobody looks
forward to a colonoscopy, but there's still no better way to detect and
prevent colon cancer. There may, however, be a less intrusive
alternative to the dreaded test. Researchers at Mount Sinai School of
Medicine in New York City tested a newly improved version of a
noninvasive fecal DNA test to screen for early signs of the deadly
cancer. Fecal samples from 162 patients who had undergone colonoscopies
in the previous 14 days revealed 35 cases of cancer (compared with 40
detected in the colonoscopies). That translates into an impressive 88%
sensitivity rate. The fecal screen, however, also mistakenly indicated
cancer in 22 individuals who had been properly given a clean bill of
health by their colonoscopy. Not perfect yet, but still potentially
lifesaving.
COLORADO
Not only is the
air cleaner in the Centennial State, but the people there also l ive
longer. A Harvard study showed that the seven U.S. counties with the
greatest average life expectancy--81.3 years--were all in Colorado.
(Clear Creek, Eagle, Gilpin, Grand, Jackson, Park and Summit, for those
of you thinking about packing a U-Haul.) Exactly what's so special
about Colorado is not entirely clear, since the study authors
controlled for any bias caused by race or income. Perhaps the
residents' good fortune has to do with the fact that they all live in
mountainous areas, where being physically active is easy, as opposed to
more lowland, sedentary portions of the U.S.
d
DDT
Nearly
30 years after phasing out the widespread use of DDT to control
malaria, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reversed itself. But
instead of authorizing indiscriminate spraying of fields and
ponds--which had a disastrous effect on wildlife--the WHO is focusing
this time on spraying DDT on the inside walls of homes once or twice a
year in malaria-prone areas. Why? DDT is particularly effective at
repelling and not just killing mosquitoes, which helps protect enclosed
spaces. Environmental organizations aren't thrilled by the idea, but
two of the largest have endorsed limited spraying, figuring that some
risk to the environment is justified to save human lives.
DEPRESSION
Researchers
still don't understand why severely depressed teenagers are more likely
than adults to commit suicide while taking antidepressant drugs like
Paxil, but a major study out of UCLA concluded that the drugs do more
good than harm. Starting in the early 1960s, the annual U.S. suicide
rate held fairly steady at 12 to 14 instances per 100,000--until 1988,
when the first of a new generation of antidepressants, the selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors, was introduced. The suicide rate has
been falling ever since, to around 10 per 100,000. The investigators
estimate that nearly 34,000 lives have been saved.
DIABETES
Doctors
have long that an active lifestyle and sensible eating habits can help
keep people who are at high risk of Type 2 diabetes from developing the
condition. But taking diabetes medication before you have symptoms also
helps. A study of more than 5,000 prediabetic men and women found that
treatment with rosiglitazone, a drug that controls blood-sugar levels,
decreased their risk of progressing to diabetes 62%. About half the
participants who were given the drug returned to normal blood-sugar
levels, compared with 30% of those who relied on diet and exercise
alone. About 41 million Americans are thought to be prediabetic.
e
ESTROGEN
Things
got even more confusing for women considering hormone-replacement
therapy. Studies had shown that a combination of estrogen and
progesterone increased the risk of breast cancer, heart attack, stroke
and blood clots. A new study found that estrogen-only treatments appear
safer, with no increase in breast-cancer risk but some increased risk
of stroke or clots. A later study found a breast-cancer risk from
estrogen therapy, however, among some postmenopausal women. If you must
have hormone therapy, get it in small doses for short periods.
EYES
Tired of glasses or contact lenses but too nearsighted for laser
surgery? You might--if you dare--consider implanting a contact lens
directly in your eye. Doctors can now surgically place an artificial
lens in front of the eye's natural one. The lens is approved only for
nearsighted people and works best if you're under 40 and don't need
reading glasses. What's more, while 95% of subjects enjoyed improved
vision, the sample group was small--not the best data when you're
making decisions about your eyesight.
f
FATHERS
The
biological clock may tick louder for men than anyone thought.
Researchers at Columbia University found that pregnant woman are as
much as three times as likely to miscarry when the father is over 35 as
when he's 25 or younger. And a very large study of fathers in Israel
found that the risk of autism among children is up to six times as
great when the father is 40 or older, as opposed to when he is 29 or
younger. In both studies, the mother's age was not relevant. The cause
of the problem, researchers say, probably is changes in sperm that
occur as men grow older.
FISH
People seeking
the heart-protective powers of omega-3 fatty acids in fish have been
warned about the mercury, dioxins and PCBs that they might be consuming
with their meal. But a study from the Harvard School of Public Health
showed that while those contaminants pose a danger, particularly for
women of childbearing age, for most people the benefits of fish
outweigh the risks. Eat modest servings of fish each week--particularly
salmon and bluefish--and you may reduce your risk of coronary heart
disease 36%. Elsewhere, researchers at Louisiana State University
reported that omega-3s can help protect cells in the retina, slowing
the damage caused by such blinding diseases as retinitis pigmentosa and
macular degeneration.
g
GUM
Want to get out of the
hospital quicker? Chew gum. People who undergo abdominal surgery often
suffer from post-op ileus, essentially an intestinal shutdown, leading
to pain, vomiting and other problems. The sooner the digestive engine
gets up and running, the sooner patients can go home. Researchers at
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California found that chewing
sugarless gum can help things along, probably by stimulating nerves and
hormones associated with eating. No word on whether any flavor works
better than others.
h
HEART
News from the
frontiers of heart research was mixed. Researchers discovered two genes
that appear to contribute to early heart attacks, in part by causing
blood to clot abnormally. A small emergency-room study found that drugs
used to break up clots may help revive cardiac-arrest patients when
such methods as CPR and electrical shock have failed. There were
murkier findings regarding people with high levels of homocysteine, an
amino acid linked to heart disease. Folic acid and B vitamins help
bring homocysteine down, but one study cast doubt on whether this
actually improves heart health.
i
INFLUENZA
Science
fought back against avian flu with a successful test of a new vaccine.
In a study of 451 subjects, the preparation caused no significant side
effects and produced antibodies at a level that is usually sufficient
to protect against common strains of flu--a good sign that it will work
against the avian variety too. It's the common strains, of course, that
ought to cause us concern, since avian flu has yet to kill anybody in
the U.S. and the common flu kills 36,000 each year. Girding for this
winter's assault, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new
vaccine against several flu strains likely to cause infections in North
America, bringing to five the number of vaccines in this season's
anti-influenza arsenal.
IVF
Would-be mothers who fear
time is running out can take comfort from a Finnish study that showed
that it's the quality of the embryo--not the age of the woman--that
determines the success of in vitro fertilization. The study found that
the pregnancy rate for women in their late 30s who had a single,
top-quality embryo transfer was as good as that of younger women. What
makes a grade-A embryo? Belgian researchers found that the transplant
of a single fresh (not frozen) Day 5 embryo in infertile women under
age 36 led to pregnancy and delivery in 47% more women than with a less
mature, Day 3 embryo
l
LAUGHTER
We've all
shared in the pain of a bad joke, but can a good laugh help the heart?
Watching 15- to 30-min. clips of comedies--one used by researchers was
There's Something About Mary--increased blood flow to the heart up to
50%, compared with, say, the opening battle scene of Saving Private
Ryan. Watching a funny film was like a jolt of aerobic activity; a sad
film triggered the same vascular response as doing a math problem or
remembering an incident that made one angry.
LUNG CANCER
Doctors
diagnose 173,000 cases of lung cancer in patients each year, 95% of
whom will die from it--more than from breast, prostate and colon cancer
combined. But New York--Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical
Center researchers found that low-dose, spiral-computed-tomography (CT)
screening drastically improved the odds. In a study of 31,567 people,
annual CT screening (about 600 images per scan) detected Stage 1 lung
cancer in 412 patients, and when the cancer was surgically removed
within one month of diagnosis, their 10-year survival rate was an
impressive 92%.
LONELINESS
Americans may be meeting more
people online, but the number we count among our closest friends--the
ones with whom we discuss important matters--shrank over the past 20
years, from three friends to two. At the same time, the number of
Americans who have no one at all to confide in more than doubled, to 1
in 4. Sociologists from Duke University and the University of Arizona
report that we increasingly rely solely on family members (80%) and
spouses (9%). There could be health consequences: other studies link
robust social networks to lower blood pressure, reduced risk of
Alzheimer's disease and greater longevity.
m
MEDITERRANEAN DIET
The
fact that the diet favored by the Greeks is good for the heart seems as
ancient as Greece itself. But now the Mediterranean diet--high in
fruit, vegetables, cereals, fish, olive oil and topped with a glass or
two of wine daily--has been linked to a lower risk for Alzheimer's,
even in patients with vascular disease. When researchers from Columbia
University Medical Center scored the diets of nearly 2,000 subjects on
a 0-to-9 scale--depending on their adherence to a Mediterranean-style
food plan--each additional point on the scale corresponded to a 19% to
24% lower risk of developing Alzheimer's. The one-third of patients
with the best score reduced their risk 68%, compared with the bottom
third.
n
NUTRIENTS
Chocolate
Chocolate in
small quantities is known to be good for the heart and blood vessels,
but in a new biochemical analysis, researchers have identified a
component in cocoa that reduces platelet clumping, helping blood flow
smoothly.
Cinnamon and cloves
Two related studies suggest
cinnamon and cloves can reduce risk factors for diabetes and heart
disease up to 30% by controlling glucose levels in Type 2 diabetics and
reducing inflammation and cholesterol levels.
Fruit juice
Antioxidants
in the skins of fruits and vegetables seem to have reduced risk of
Alzheimer's 76% among Japanese Americans who drank juice more than
three times a week.
Ginger
Known to reduce inflammation
and ease nausea, ginger powder was also found to kill ovarian-cancer
cells in the laboratory at a rate comparable to conventional
chemotherapy drugs.
Turmeric
Turmeric (a spice used in
curry sauces) and phenethyl isothiocyanate (a phytochemical found in
broccoli, kale and cabbage), alone or in combination, significantly
reduced prostate-tumor growth in mice.
o
OBESITY
The
epidemic shows no sign of abatement; in fact, it's spreading. The
Chinese government reports that 60 million Chinese people are
overweight--in a country that never had that problem before. The
culprit: prosperity, which permits Chinese people to eat more fats and
junk food, fewer grains and vegetables. In short, they can now eat just
as irresponsibly as Americans. High blood pressure and diabetes are
also up. In the U.S., the epicenter of the problem, a study in the
Journal of the American College of Cardiology offered the disturbing
news that heart problems can be seen in obese teens, in the form of
reduced pumping ability and coronary enlargement. Another study,
meanwhile, in Annals of Internal Medicine, found that being overweight
at age 18 correlates with a higher risk of early death in young and
middle-age women.
OSTEOPOROSIS
Most women know
that osteoporosis, or thinning of the bones, is a big risk after
menopause. Probably most don't know that drinking cola increases the
risk. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at
1,125 men and 1,413 women ages 29 to 86. Among the women--but not the
men--there was significant loss of bone density in cola drinkers,
whether they drank diet or regular. It's not the first evidence, but
it's the strongest to date linking cola to bone loss.
p
PARKINSON'S
When
Rush Limbaugh accused Michael J. Fox of going off his Parkinson's meds
to make a political ad in favor of embryonic-stem-cell research--and
against Republican candidates who oppose it--the insult backfired. A
pro-stem-cell law passed in Missouri, and Democrat Claire McCaskill was
elected to the Senate in a tight contest. But it isn't just celebrity
endorsements that make people favor embryonic cells as a possible
treatment for Parkinson's (and a long list of other diseases): clinical
results are starting to come in too, including those from a 10-year
study of implanted embryonic cells in human patients. Preliminary
findings suggest the cells can survive, divide and moderate symptoms,
without rejection--although significant clinical trials have yet to be
done.
PLAN B
After years of back-and-forth deliberations,
the FDA finally approved over-the-counter sales of Plan B, a
contraceptive that can be taken after sex to prevent a fertilized egg
from implanting in the uterus. The drug has been available by
prescription since 1999. In a 2003 ruling, the agency refused to change
the drug's status, over the objections of its own scientific advisory
committee. That ruling angered pro-choice groups. The reversal
predictably infuriated right-to-lifers, but those who favor
reproductive rights weren't thrilled either: the FDA allowed
over-the-counter sales only to women over 18. Anyone younger will still
need a prescription. Barr Pharmaceuticals, which makes Plan B, had
proposed prescription-free purchases for girls over 16, and will
challenge the latest ruling.
POLLUTION
You might think
riding in a taxi would expose you to less air pollution than you would
get walking down a city sidewalk, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Researchers at Imperial College London gave volunteers particulate
detectors and had them walk, bike, drive, bus or taxi their way up and
down streets in central London, taking a total of 584 individual trips.
To everyone's surprise, riding in a taxi resulted in the worst
exposure--nearly twice as much as walking. The suggested explanation:
taxis tend to get stuck in traffic surrounded by other
pollution-belching vehicles; pedestrians are a little farther from the
exhaust pipes.
PRAYER
In an attempt to nail down the
question of whether prayer really can heal, six hospitals had strangers
say prayers for 1,800 coronary-bypass patients and then studied the
postoperative complications. Patients who were told they might or might
not be prayed for had roughly the same complication rate, whatever
their prayer status turned out to be. But those who were told for
certain that they were in someone's prayers actually did worse. The
doctors' tentative explanation: people who knew they were being prayed
for might have thought they were sicker than they realized, which could
have made their outcomes worse. But anyone tempted to think this study
disproves the power of prayer should think again. The doctors and
clergy who ran the study had no control over whether friends and family
were also praying for the patients--and they certainly couldn't have
forbidden personal prayers even if they knew about them. Beyond that,
the prayers said by strangers were provided by the clergy and were all
identical. Maybe that prevented them from being truly heartfelt. In
short, the possible confounding factors in this study made it
extraordinarily limited.
r
RESVERATROL
Studies
have suggested that drinking modest amounts of red wine can help the
heart. The key appears to be an antioxidant called resveratrol found in
grape skins (and, in fact, grape juice seems to be just as effective if
not as much fun). Now researchers at Harvard Medical School and the
National Institute on Aging say that high doses of resveratrol fed to
obese mice seemed to prevent problems usually seen in chubby rodents
(and people), including diabetes, liver damage and premature death. But
you would need more than 100 glasses of wine a day to get that much
resveratrol. And even if you took it in supplement form, there's no
proof it would work as well in humans as in mice.
s
SIDS
Nobody
has ever fully explained what used to be called crib death and is now
known as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), but a report in the
Journal of the American Medical Association may point to at least part
of the answer. In a study of 31 babies who died of SIDS and 10 who died
from other causes, the SIDS babies had many more abnormalities among
the neurons in their brain stem than did the other infants. The defects
involved the processing of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that, among
other things, controls arousal from sleep. When SIDS babies get into a
position in which their access to fresh air is blocked, they can fail
to wake up and move.
SMELL
That morning cup of
coffee might smell better after you get up from bed. It has been shown
that lying down can dampen such senses as hearing and spatial
perception, and now researchers have found that reclining can also
smother your ability to pick up odors. More than 60% of test subjects
sniffing rose odor had decreased sensitivity to the smell when
recumbent. The phenomenon could be the body's way of turning off
potential distractions while you're trying to fall asleep, or it might
be the result of fluids that rush through the brain while you're
supine. Either way, the stifling effect may be an important
consideration for reading MRI or PET scans, which take images of the
body while you're lying down.
SMOKING
First, the bad
news. After dropping over the past eight years, rates of smoking in the
U.S. leveled off in 2005 at 1 in 5 adults, according to the CDC. The
good news is that the FDA has approved a new drug--only the second to
get its O.K.--to help smokers quit. This one, Chantix, was designed
specifically to address nicotine cravings that make the habit so hard
to break. Chantix mimics the active ingredient in nicotine and can fool
the brain into thinking it has had its nicotine fix--without nicotine's
addictive qualities or all the damage smoking does to the heart and
lungs. But don't assume that simply popping a few pills will make you
kick the habit; the most successful long-term quitters also
participated in counseling and cognitive behavior therapy.
SPORTS INJURIES
Staying
physically active is a good idea, especially for kids, but too much
exercise can be harmful to young joints and tender muscles,
particularly at the team-sports level. In the first Internet survey of
injuries, sponsored by the CDC, researchers recorded 2.4 injuries for
every 1,000 practices or competitions. That's why Little League
Baseball, for one, instituted new pitching rules for the 2007 season.
Kids 10 years or younger have to stop after 75 pitches, and anytime a
Little Leaguer throws more than 21 times, he has to give his arm at
least one day to recover.
SPINACH
Arnold Schwarzenegger
may soon have a new role on TV and print ads: pitchman for Popeye's
favorite power food. It's part of an effort to bolster the sagging
spinach industry, which got bruised this fall when bags of the leafy
green were found contaminated with E. coli 0157 bacteria. Nearly 200
people became ill-- and three died--after eating the tainted spinach,
which was traced to California-based Natural Selection Foods. The
company is now testing its produce for bacteria, and kids will just
have to start eating their greens again.
STATINS
Statins
have earned a reputation lately as a wonder drug. Not only do they
protect against heart disease by controlling the amount of cholesterol
the liver churns out, but they can also dampen the inflammatory
flare-ups that contribute to everything from arthritis to heart
attacks. Early studies even hint that statins may also work on the
plaques and tangles that cause Alzheimer's disease. But all drugs have
their limits. An analysis of 12 trials found that patients who had
taken statins within two weeks of having a heart attack or angina did
not reduce their risk of dying or having another heart attack or stroke
in the following four months.
STEM CELLS
Using his
first veto since he entered office, President George W. Bush rejected a
bill that would have partially lifted his 2001 ban on the use of
federal funds for human embryonic-stem-cell research. The measure would
have allowed government-funded scientists to use embryos left over from
IVF procedures to generate stem cells, a potential source of new
treatments for everything from diabetes to Parkinson's. At a press
conference this summer, Bush surrounded himself with "snowflake
babies," born after couples adopted frozen embryos, and argued that
such research was morally questionable. Still, U.S. scientists are
pushing ahead, thanks to private funding. Those at Harvard's Stem Cell
Institute began recruiting egg donors for studies that could generate
customized stem cells from individual patients, while Advanced Cell
Technology reported some success in creating stem cells without
destroying embryos.
STENTS
In recent
years, the use of stents has allowed millions of heart patients to put
off open-heart surgery and buy a few more years of life. But reports on
patients outfitted with the latest form of stents, which are coated
with a drug that fights scar formation, show that the tiny pieces of
metal scaffolding may increase the risk of potentially deadly blood
clots in the heart. For now, doctors still believe that the benefits of
the stents outweigh the small chance of clot formation, especially for
patients who have just had a heart attack. Stents inserted in the first
12 hours after an attack (preferably within the first 90 minutes) had
the best chance of restoring blood flow and preserving heart muscle.
STRESS
When
you take your work home with you, the whole family feels the
effects--especially your kids. A Canadian study analyzed the employment
history and psychosocial work conditions of nearly 30,000 sawmill
workers and found that there was a direct correlation between the
stress fathers felt on the job and their children's mental health. The
most striking result: 252 of the approximately 20,000 children in the
survey whose fathers had stressful jobs attempted or committed suicide
from 1985 to 2001. Girls were more likely to attempt suicide when their
fathers had little control over their work; boys when fathers had jobs
that didn't last long and demanded a lot of them psychologically. 252
OF 20,000
Number of children in a survey whose fathers had a stressful job who attempted or committed suicide between 1985 and 2001
SUDAFED
If
you have tried browsing your local drugstore shelf for a box of Sudafed
to clear up those autumn sniffles, you may have discovered that it's
MIA. One of its active ingredients is pseudoephedrine, widely used in
backyard labs to make methamphetamine. Several states had already
ordered pseudoephedrine off pharmacy shelves, but in October the
Federal Government expanded those rules and put them into effect across
the country. Now allergy suffers looking for relief have to ask a
pharmacist or salesclerk for their Sudafed, show photo ID and sign a
logbook. Unfortunately, the most common alternative, phenylephrine,
isn't as effective.
v
VACCINE
In June the FDA
approved a vaccine to protect against cervical cancer, the second most
common cancer in women. The vaccine, called Gardasil, immunizes against
four of the most prevalent strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV),
the most common sexually transmitted infection and the cause of 70% of
cervical-cancer cases. Because the vaccine is most effective when
administered before girls become sexually active, a government
committee recommended that it be given routinely to girls ages 11 and
12--which immediately triggered cries of alarm from pro-abstinence
groups that feared doing so would encourage promiscuity. Some health
advocates were also worried that women might see the vaccine as a
substitute for yearly screenings like Pap smears.
VIRGINITY
Teenagers
aren't exactly forthcoming when it comes to talking about sex--or very
good at avoiding temptation. More than half of adolescents who sign a
virginity pledge--vowing not to engage in premarital sex--recant within
a year, according to a survey of nearly 14,000 adolescents by the
Harvard School of Public Health. Nearly three-fourths of adolescents
who broke their vow denied ever pledging to remain abstinent. But
progress is still being made. Last week the CDC reported that the
teenage birthrate in the U.S. has fallen to the lowest level ever
recorded.
w
WITHDRAWAL
Do babies
feel antidepressant-withdrawal symptoms? Researchers at the Rabin
Medical Center in Israel think they do. A study of 120 newborns found
that among those whose mothers took the antidepressants known as
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), nearly one-third
experienced neonatal-abstinence syndrome--drug withdrawal characterized
by such symptoms as tremors, gastrointestinal distress and sleep
disturbances. Depression will affect between one-tenth and one-fourth
of women and is often exacerbated by pregnancy. Doctors aren't telling
severely depressed mothers-to-be to stop taking antidepressants, but
they should be aware that doing so poses certain risks for newborns.
The researchers recommend that newborns exposed to SSRIs in utero be
monitored for at least 48 hours.
WEALTH
Money can't buy
happiness, but it can buy health. A Princeton University study found
that Americans who make the most money are no happier than those who
make less, but a survey of 335,000 Americans published in the New
England Journal of Medicine reported that the rich are healthier.
Seniors ages 55 to 64 who live below the poverty line were six times as
likely to have a long-term condition that severely limits their
activity as wealthy Americans of the same age whose earnings were at
least seven times as high as the poverty line. In another study, nearly
16% of low-income families included individuals with high levels of an
inflammation marker linked to an increased risk of heart attack,
compared with only 9% of families living above the poverty line.
z
ZZZZZZZZZZZ
Nothing
is more refreshing than a good night's sleep. But what really goes on
when our head hits the pillow? New studies provide several clues.
We
exaggerate Most of us think we are getting more sleep than we actually
are. A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed
that while participants spent an average of 7.5 hr. in bed, they really
slept for only 6.1 hr.
We get depressed A study in the Archives
of Internal Medicine showed a causal relationship between depression
and sleep-related breathing disorders like sleep apnea. Patients with
moderate to severe breathing disorders are 2.6 times as likely to
become clinically depressed as normal sleepers.
Waking up is
hazardous The morning haze you experience when the alarm clock goes off
is known as sleep inertia, and it clouds your brain more than sleep
deprivation. The impairment is most severe in the first 10 minutes but
can linger for up to two hours.
from, My Breakfast Brulee Recipe by TIME
1 cup cooked oatmeal
1/2 cup fresh berries
1 cup plain yogurt
6 tablespoons brown sugar
Preheat oven to 350�. Although you will not use the oven for this
recipe, it will warm up the cold kitchen in the morning. (Remember to
leave oven door open.) Also, I always wanted to start a recipe with
"preheat oven."
Divide the oatmeal between two small, Pyrex bowls. Push the
berries on top of the oatmeal. Pour enough yogurt on top to insulate
the heat of the oatmeal.
Spoon sugar over top of bowls evenly, fully covering. Burn with a créme brûlée torch until solid.
Serves two idiots willing to tolerate your stupid ideas.
from, The Flavor of Memories by TIME
Like just about every one of my contemporaries, I still remember
exactly where I was and what I was doing when John F. Kennedy was shot.
It's so vivid, it's almost like watching a movie: I was home sick from
fifth grade, lying on the couch in the living room. My mother had a
talk-radio station playing. Suddenly a newscaster broke in with the
news that shots had been fired in Dallas and that the President had
been rushed to a hospital. Then a few minutes later came these precise
words, spoken in just the tone you would imagine: "Ladies and
gentlemen, the President is dead," followed immediately by funereal
music. My mother burst into tears, and I, profoundly embarrassed, fled
the room.
That scene, which I have replayed many times since
1963, perfectly illustrates two crucial facts that neurologists have
come to understand in the past few years about the workings of human
memory--facts that have important implications for the treatment of a
variety of mental disorders, from post-traumatic stress to
obsessive-compulsive disorder. The first is that, despite its
movie-like clarity, my memory of J.F.K.'s assassination is almost
certainly wrong in some details, and maybe even some significant ones.
That's because I'm not simply calling up the original memory laid down
in November 1963. I'm recalling the last time I thought about it. Each
time we retrieve and re-store a memory, it can be subtly altered by all
sorts of factors. What goes back into our brains is like the new
version of a text document, overwriting the old.
The second
fact: memory and emotion are intimately linked biochemically, with
hormones like adrenaline actively involved in forming the neurological
patterns we call memories. "Any kind of emotional experience will
create a stronger memory than otherwise would be created," says James
McGaugh, a neurobiologist at the University of California at Irvine.
"We remember our embarrassments, our failures, our fender benders."
On
the face of it, that doesn't seem especially surprising: we feel strong
emotion at important events, which are obviously more memorable than
ordinary moments. But the connection is much deeper than that and dates
back to our deepest evolutionary past. "The major purpose of memory,"
observes McGaugh, "is to predict the future." An animal that can
remember the significance of that large, nasty-looking thing with the
big teeth and sharp claws will survive longer and produce more
offspring.
What happens biochemically, says McGaugh, is that
when faced with an emotion-charged situation, such as a threat, our
bodies release the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Among other
things, these signal the amygdala, a tiny, neuron-rich structure
nestled inside the brain's medial temporal lobes, which responds by
releasing another hormone, called norepinephrine. Norepinephrine does
two important things. First, it kicks the body's autonomic nervous
system into overdrive: the heart beats faster, respiration quickens,
and the muscles tense in anticipation of a burst of physical exertion.
Second,
even as it's kick-starting the body, the amygdala sends out a crackle
of signals to the rest of the brain. Some of them put the senses on
high alert, ready to deal with a threat. But these signals also tell
the neurons that any memories recorded in the next few minutes need to
be especially robust. One piece of evidence for this scenario: Lawrence
Cahill, a colleague of McGaugh's at Irvine, showed subjects emotionally
arousing film clips, simultaneously gauging the activity of their
amygdalae using positron-emission tomography (PET) scans. Three weeks
later, he gave the subjects a surprise memory quiz. The amount of
amygdala activity predicted with great accuracy how well they
remembered the film clips.
Imaging studies also make clear that
it isn't just dangers or tragic events that cement memory formation.
Positive emotions, which are also mediated through the amygdala, have
the same effect. Again, that's a perfectly reasonable evolutionary
development. If eating or having sex makes you happy, you'll remember
that and do it again, keeping yourself healthy and passing on your
genes as well.
This is an oversimplification, of course. Other
neurotransmitters, and even plain glucose--the sugar the brain uses for
energy--may also play a part. And then there's the peculiar case of a
woman who contacted McGaugh because she remembers absolutely
everything. The stress-hormone model does not appear to apply in her
case. Says McGaugh: "At one point I asked if she knew who Bing Crosby
was. She's 40, so Bing Crosby doesn't loom large in her life, but she
knew he died on a golf course in Spain, and she gave me the date, just
like that." Imaging researchers are working to determine whether the
woman's brain is structurally different from everyone else's.
But
aside from such odd cases, virtually no expert doubts the connection
between the hormones of emotion and memory--and nobody doubts that
memory can be enhanced artificially. It's not necessarily a good idea,
though. Give someone a shot of adrenaline, and memory temporarily
improves. But it also drives up the heart rate, so it could be
dangerous for the elderly. Other memory enhancers, like Ritalin or
amphetamines, used by college students to cram for exams, are highly
addictive. And some of the experimental drugs McGaugh is testing in
rats can cause seizures. Unfortunately, he says, for people with truly
serious memory problems, "existing drugs are not yet powerful enough or
nice enough."
For people haunted consciously or unconsciously by
painful memories, there may be hope. Roger Pitman, a professor of
psychiatry at Harvard medical school, is working to understand
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The syndrome, he believes, is
the result of brain chemicals reinforcing themselves in a cerebral
vicious circle. "In the aftermath of a traumatic event," he says, "you
tend to think more about it, and the more you think about it, the more
likely you are to release further stress hormones, and the more likely
they are to act to make the memory of that event even stronger."
That's
consistent with McGaugh's ideas, but there are only a few bits of hard
evidence so far to support it. One bit comes from Israel: researchers
found that of people who showed up at emergency rooms after traumatic
events, those admitted with the fastest heartbeats had the highest risk
of later developing PTSD. Another is the surprising fact that after an
accident there's a much higher rate of PTSD in those with paraplegia
(paralysis of the lower body) than in those who suffer quadriplegia
(paralysis of all four limbs). "It doesn't make any psychological
sense," says Pitman. But it makes physiological sense because
quadriplegia severs the link between the brain and the adrenal glands.
To
test his theory, Pitman went to the the emergency room at Massachusetts
General Hospital in Boston and intercepted patients who had suffered
serious traumas. He gave some of them propranolol, a drug that
interferes with adrenaline uptake. The rest got placebos. He also had
them tape-record accounts of the traumas. When he played back the tapes
eight months later, eight of 14 placebo patients developed higher heart
rates, sweaty palms and other signs of PTSD. None of the patients on
the real drug had such responses.
Encouraged by his results,
Pitman is entering the third year of a much larger trial--one that has
stirred some controversy. The President's Council on Bioethics recently
condemned his study as unethical, saying that erasing memories risks
undermining a person's true identity. Pitman rejects such notions as a
bias against psychiatry. After all, he says, no one suggests that
doctors should withhold morphine from people in acute pain on the
grounds it might take away part of the experience.
Other
researchers are looking at PTSD as well. Michael Davis, a professor of
psychiatry at Emory University in Atlanta, is about to launch a study
of at least 120 soldiers returning from Iraq to see whether a compound
called D-cycloserine could help prevent PTSD. This compound activates a
protein that helps the mind form new, less emotional associations with
the original trauma, letting patients tolerate the memory better.
Studies in rats and humans have shown that it can work--and, says
Davis, "psychologists are very excited by it."
That's because
the theory behind D-cycloserine's action is totally consistent with
old-fashioned talk therapy, and especially with cognitive behavioral
therapy (CBT), currently the most effective nondrug technique dealing
with phobias, PTSD and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The idea behind
CBT--which first appeared in the 1950s, long before neuroscience could
explain such things--is that the patient examines upsetting ideas and
consciously assigns new, more positive associations to them. Even
old-fashioned Freudian psychotherapy might fit in with this model. By
dredging up forgotten memories, it may achieve the same thing, albeit
in a much less efficient way.
Medications like
D-cycloserine may simply streamline the process. Indeed, says Davis, at
least one study showed patients on D-cycloserine getting as much
benefit in two sessions as would normally take about eight. "That's
exactly what they're finding in obsessive-compulsive trials too," he
says. There are, moreover, a number of other brain receptors and
chemicals that show promise in accelerating the formation of new
associations. Says Davis: "People are now working on different targets
because we know so little about the process. What we have now could be
the tip of the iceberg."
And that's hardly surprising. Even
without anything approaching a complete understanding of the
complexities of the human brain, neurologists and psychopharmacologists
have come up with dozens of medications to treat schizophrenia,
depression and other disorders. The next batch of psychoactive drugs
could provide ammunition against the even more mysterious disorders of
memory.
With reporting by
Reported by Dan Cray / Los Angeles
from, 6 Lessons for Handling Stress by TIME
Take a deep breath. Now exhale slowly. You're probably not aware of
it, but your heart has just slowed down a bit. Not to worry; it will
speed up again when you inhale. This regular-irregular beat is a sign
of a healthy interaction between heart and head. Each time you exhale,
your brain sends a signal down the vagus nerve to slow the cardiac
muscle. With each inhale, the signal gets weaker and your heart revs
up. Inhale, beat faster. Exhale, beat slower. It's an ancient rhythm
that helps your heart last a lifetime. And it leads to lesson No. 1 in
how to manage stress and avoid burnout.
NO. 1
REMEMBER TO BREATHE
EVOLUTION
HAS BEQUEATHED TO OUR BRAINS A variety of mechanisms for handling the
ups and downs of life--from built-in chemical circuit breakers that
shut off the stress hormones to entire networks of nerves whose only
job is to calm you down. The problem, in the context of our always
wired, always on-call world, is that they all require that you take
regular breaks from your normal routine--and not just an occasional
weekend trip. You can try to ignore the biological need to periodically
disengage, but there's growing evidence that it will eventually catch
up with you. Insurance claims for stress, depression and job burnout
are now the U.S.'s fastest-growing disability category.
Making
matters worse, Americans tend to cope with stress in all the wrong
ways. A November survey by the advocacy group Mental Health America
found that we frequently deal with chronic stress by watching
television, skipping exercise and forgoing healthy foods. The problem
with these coping mechanisms is that they keep you from doing things
that help buffer your stress load--like exercising or relaxing with
friends or family--or add greater stress to your body. Indeed, using
many of our most cherished time-saving gadgets can backfire. Cell
phones and mobile e-mail devices--to give just two examples--make it
harder to get away from the office to decompress. Working from home
may, in some cases, exacerbate the situation because it isolates
employees while simultaneously blurring the line between work and
leisure.
We also have a lot of misconceptions about who gets
stressed out and why. Twenty years ago, psychologists almost
exclusively blamed job stress on high workloads or lack of control on
the job. More recent studies, says Christina Maslach, a pioneer in
burnout research at the University of California, Berkeley, show that
unfairness and a mismatch in values between employees and their
companies play an increasing role in triggering stress. "Probably one
of the strongest predictors is when there's a vacuum of
information--silence about why decisions were made the way they were,"
Maslach says. "Another is having to operate in conflict with your
values. Do you need to shade the truth to get authorization from the
insurance company? Are you selling things that you know people don't
really need?"
NO. 2
STRESS ALTERS YOUR BLOOD CHEMISTRY
FOR
YEARS PSYCHOLOGISTS HAVE concentrated on the behavioral symptoms of
burnout: lost energy, lost enthusiasm and lost confidence. Now, thanks
to new brain scans and more sophisticated blood tests, scientists can
directly measure some of the effects of stress on mind and body--often
with surprising results.
You are probably
familiar with the signs of an adrenaline surge (racing pulse, hairs on
the neck standing on end), which evolved to help us fight or flee
predators and other immediate dangers. And you may have heard of
cortisol, another stress hormone, which is produced more slowly than
adrenaline and lingers in the bloodstream longer. But did you know that
too little cortisol in your bloodstream can be just as bad as too much?
Or that tucking into comfort foods, while soothing in the short term,
can sabotage your long-term stress response by increasing the number of
inflammatory proteins in your body?
What's emerging is a complex
picture of the body's response to stress that involves several
interrelated pathways. Scientists know the most about cortisol because
until now that has been the easiest part to measure. "But when one
thing changes, all the others change to some degree," says Bruce
McEwen, a neuroendocrinologist at Rockefeller University who has spent
decades studying the biology of stress, primarily in animals. So just
because you see an imbalance in one area doesn't mean you understand
why it is happening. "We're learning that post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD), burnout, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia are
all related in some ways," McEwen says. The next step is to figure out
if there are any genetic predispositions that tip the response to
stress toward one set of symptoms or another.
NO. 3
YOU CAN'T AVOID STRESS
EVEN
GETTING OUT OF BED CAN BE TOUGH ON THE BODY. SEVERAL hours before you
wake each morning, a tiny region at the base of your cerebrum called
the hypothalamus sends a signal that ultimately alerts your adrenal
glands, which sit on top of your kidneys, to start pumping out
cortisol, which acts as a wake-up signal. Cortisol levels continue to
rise after you become conscious in what is sometimes referred to as the
"Oh, s___! It's another day" response. This may help explain why so
many heart attacks and strokes occur between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m.
Because
cortisol is a long-acting hormone, you can dally under the covers a bit
without losing any steam. But your brain is already taking steps to
protect you from the shock of starting a new day. Rising cortisol
levels signal the hypothalamus to stop sounding the alarm. Other parts
of the brain chime in, and eventually the adrenal glands ratchet down
their cortisol production. In other words, the brain's stress response
contains its own off switch.
Most people's cortisol, as measured
by a saliva test, peaks a few hours after waking. Levels then gradually
decline during the course of the day--with a few blips scattered here
and there. That pattern typically changes, however, in people who are
severely depressed. Their cortisol level still rises early in the
morning, but it stays high all day long. It's almost as if their
hypothalamus has forgotten how to turn off the stress response.
(Intriguingly, people who are sleep deprived also exhibit a high, flat
cortisol level.)
Researchers figured something
similar had to be happening in burnout victims. But rather than finding
a prominent cortisol peak, investigators discovered a shallow bump in
the morning followed by a low, flattened level throughout the day.
Intriguingly, such blunted cortisol responses are also common among
Holocaust survivors, rape victims and soldiers suffering from PTSD. The
difference seems to be that people with PTSD are much more sensitive to
cortisol at even these low levels than those with burnout. "We used to
blame everything on high cortisol," says Rachel Yehuda, a neurochemist
and PTSD expert at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
"Now we can blame things on low cortisol as well."
NO. 4
STRESS CAN AGE YOU BEFORE YOUR TIME
SCIENTISTS
HAVE LONG SUSPECTED THAT unremitting stress does damage to the immune
system, but they weren't sure how. Then two years ago, researchers at
the University of California, San Francisco, looked at white blood
cells from a group of mothers whose children suffered from chronic
disorders like autism or cerebral palsy. The investigators found clear
signs of accelerated aging in those study subjects who had cared the
longest for children with disabilities or who reported the least
control over their lives.
The changes took place in microscopic
structures called telomeres, which are often compared to the plastic
wrappers on the ends of shoelaces and which keep chromosomes from
shredding. As a general rule, the youngest cells boast the longest
telomeres. But telomeres in the more stressed-out moms were
significantly shorter than those of their counterparts, making them,
from a genetic point of view, anywhere from nine to 17 years older than
their chronological age.
NO. 5
STRESS IS NOT AN EQUAL-OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
IN
1995, IN A NOW CLASSIC EXPERIMENT, SCIENTISTS AT THE University of
Trier in Germany subjected 20 male volunteers to a situation guaranteed
to raise their stress levels: participating in a mock job interview and
solving arithmetic problems in front of strangers who corrected them if
they made mistakes. As expected, each subject's cortisol level rose at
first. But by the second day of the trial, most of the men's cortisol
levels did not jump significantly. Experience had taught them that the
situation wasn't that bad. Seven of the men, however, exhibited
cortisol spikes every bit as high on the fourth day as the first. Only
by the fifth day did their stress reaction begin to disappear.
More
recently, researchers have found that subjects with low self-esteem are
more vulnerable to stress. Jens Pruessner at McGill University in
Montreal believes that the hippocampus, a finger-size structure located
deep in the brain, is at least partially responsible. It turns out that
the hippocampus, which helps you form new memories and retrieve old
ones, is particularly sensitive to the amount of cortisol flooding your
cerebrum. So when cortisol levels begin to rise, the hippocampus sends
a set of signals that help shut down the cortisol cascade.
Using
several different types of brain scans, Pruessner has shown that people
who test below average on self-esteem also tend to have
smaller-than-average hippocampi. The differences become clear only when
you compare groups of people, Pruessner notes, so you can't look at any
single person's brain scan and determine whether he or she has low
self-esteem. But when you look at overall results, they suggest that a
smaller hippocampus simply has more trouble persuading the rest of the
brain to turn off the stress response.
Still unclear is how the
body goes from having repeated activation of the stress response to
showing the typically blunted cortisol levels of someone suffering from
burnout. "We are still studying this," says Samuel Melamed of Tel Aviv
University in Israel. "But if there is no relief and the cortisol stays
up for long periods of time, the body stops responding and readjusts
the level."
NO. 6
THERE'S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO RELIEVE STRESS
THIS
IS PROBABLY THE TOUGHEST LESSON TO INTERNALIZE BECAUSE when stress
overwhelms the system, your choices often seem more limited than they
are. Behavioral scientists have a name for this psychological reaction.
They call it learned helplessness, and they have studied the phenomenon
closely in laboratory rodents, whose nervous system bears striking
similarities to that of humans.
Here's how the experiment works:
if you provide mice with an escape route, they typically learn very
quickly how to avoid a mild electrical shock that occurs a few seconds
after they hear a tone. But if the escape route is blocked whenever the
tone is sounded, and new shocks occur, the mice will eventually stop
trying to run away. Later, even after the escape route is cleared, the
animals simply freeze at the sound of the tone--despite the fact that
they once knew how to avoid the associated shock.
Obviously,
humans have more intellectual resources at their disposal than mice do,
but the underlying principle remains. When too many of the rules
change, when what used to work doesn't anymore, your ability to reason
takes a hit. Just being aware of your nervous system's built-in bias
toward learned helplessness in the face of unrelieved stress can help
you identify and develop healthy habits that will buffer at least some
of the load (see box).
But the one thing you should not do is
ignore the risks. Animal research has shown that there is a relatively
small window for reversing the physiological effects of chronic stress.
Studies of people are starting to produce similar results. Once a
person's cortisol level gets completely blunted, it seems to stay that
way for years. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones not to let
that happen.
The young women had survived the car crash, after a fashion. In the
five months since parts of her brain had been crushed, she could open
her eyes but didn't respond to sights, sounds or jabs. In the jargon of
neurology, she was judged to be in a persistent vegetative state. In
crueler everyday language, she was a vegetable.
So picture the
astonishment of British and Belgian scientists as they scanned her
brain using a kind of MRI that detects blood flow to active parts of
the brain. When they recited sentences, the parts involved in language
lit up. When they asked her to imagine visiting the rooms of her house,
the parts involved in navigating space and recognizing places ramped
up. And when they asked her to imagine playing tennis, the regions that
trigger motion joined in. Indeed, her scans were barely different from
those of healthy volunteers. The woman, it appears, had glimmerings of
consciousness.
Try to comprehend what it is like to be that
woman. Do you appreciate the words and caresses of your distraught
family while racked with frustration at your inability to reassure them
that they are getting through? Or do you drift in a haze, springing to
life with a concrete thought when a voice prods you, only to slip back
into blankness? If we could experience this existence, would we prefer
it to death? And if these questions have answers, would they change our
policies toward unresponsive patients--making the Terri Schiavo case
look like child's play?
The report of this unusual case last
September was just the latest shock from a bracing new field, the
science of consciousness. Questions once confined to theological
speculations and late-night dorm-room bull sessions are now at the
forefront of cognitive neuroscience. With some problems, a modicum of
consensus has taken shape. With others, the puzzlement is so deep that
they may never be resolved. Some of our deepest convictions about what
it means to be human have been shaken.
It shouldn't be
surprising that research on consciousness is alternately exhilarating
and disturbing. No other topic is like it. As René Descartes noted, our
own consciousness is the most indubitable thing there is. The major
religions locate it in a soul that survives the body's death to receive
its just deserts or to meld into a global mind. For each of us,
consciousness is life itself, the reason Woody Allen said, "I don't
want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it by
not dying." And the conviction that other people can suffer and
flourish as each of us does is the essence of empathy and the
foundation of morality.
To make scientific headway in a topic as
tangled as consciousness, it helps to clear away some red herrings.
Consciousness surely does not depend on language. Babies, many animals
and patients robbed of speech by brain damage are not insensate robots;
they have reactions like ours that indicate that someone's home. Nor
can consciousness be equated with self-awareness. At times we have all
lost ourselves in music, exercise or sensual pleasure, but that is
different from being knocked out cold.
THE "EASY" AND "HARD" PROBLEMS
WHAT
REMAINS IS NOT ONE PROBLEM ABOUT CONSCIOUSNESS BUT two, which the
philosopher David Chalmers has dubbed the Easy Problem and the Hard
Problem. Calling the first one easy is an in-joke: it is easy in the
sense that curing cancer or sending someone to Mars is easy. That is,
scientists more or less know what to look for, and with enough
brainpower and funding, they would probably crack it in this century.
What
exactly is the Easy Problem? It's the one that Freud made famous, the
difference between conscious and unconscious thoughts. Some kinds of
information in the brain--such as the surfaces in front of you, your
daydreams, your plans for the day, your pleasures and peeves--are
conscious. You can ponder them, discuss them and let them guide your
behavior. Other kinds, like the control of your heart rate, the rules
that order the words as you speak and the sequence of muscle
contractions that allow you to hold a pencil, are unconscious. They
must be in the brain somewhere because you couldn't walk and talk and
see without them, but they are sealed off from your planning and
reasoning circuits, and you can't say a thing about them.
The
Easy Problem, then, is to distinguish conscious from unconscious mental
computation, identify its correlates in the brain and explain why it
evolved.
The Hard Problem, on the other hand, is why it feels
like something to have a conscious process going on in one's head--why
there is first-person, subjective experience. Not only does a green
thing look different from a red thing, remind us of other green things
and inspire us to say, "That's green" (the Easy Problem), but it also
actually looks green: it produces an experience of sheer greenness that
isn't reducible to anything else. As Louis Armstrong said in response
to a request to define jazz, "When you got to ask what it is, you never
get to know."
The Hard Problem is explaining how subjective
experience arises from neural computation. The problem is hard because
no one knows what a solution might look like or even whether it is a
genuine scientific problem in the first place. And not surprisingly,
everyone agrees that the hard problem (if it is a problem) remains a
mystery.
Although neither problem has been solved,
neuroscientists agree on many features of both of them, and the feature
they find least controversial is the one that many people outside the
field find the most shocking. Francis Crick called it "the astonishing
hypothesis"--the idea that our thoughts, sensations, joys and aches
consist entirely of physiological activity in the tissues of the brain.
Consciousness does not reside in an ethereal soul that uses the brain
like a PDA; consciousness is the activity of the brain.
THE BRAIN AS MACHINE
SCIENTISTS
HAVE EXORCISED THE GHOST FROM THE MACHINE NOT because they are
mechanistic killjoys but because they have amassed evidence that every
aspect of consciousness can be tied to the brain. Using functional MRI,
cognitive neuroscientists can almost read people's thoughts from the
blood flow in their brains. They can tell, for instance, whether a
person is thinking about a face or a place or whether a picture the
person is looking at is of a bottle or a shoe.
And
consciousness can be pushed around by physical manipulations.
Electrical stimulation of the brain during surgery can cause a person
to have hallucinations that are indistinguishable from reality, such as
a song playing in the room or a childhood birthday party. Chemicals
that affect the brain, from caffeine and alcohol to Prozac and LSD, can
profoundly alter how people think, feel and see. Surgery that severs
the corpus callosum, separating the two hemispheres (a treatment for
epilepsy), spawns two consciousnesses within the same skull, as if the
soul could be cleaved in two with a knife.
And when the
physiological activity of the brain ceases, as far as anyone can tell
the person's consciousness goes out of existence. Attempts to contact
the souls of the dead (a pursuit of serious scientists a century ago)
turned up only cheap magic tricks, and near death experiences are not
the eyewitness reports of a soul parting company from the body but
symptoms of oxygen starvation in the eyes and brain. In September, a
team of Swiss neuroscientists reported that they could turn out-of-body
experiences on and off by stimulating the part of the brain in which
vision and bodily sensations converge.
THE ILLUSION OF CONTROL
ANOTHER
STARTLING CONCLUSION FROM the science of consciousness is that the
intuitive feeling we have that there's an executive "I" that sits in a
control room of our brain, scanning the screens of the senses and
pushing the buttons of the muscles, is an illusion. Consciousness turns
out to consist of a maelstrom of events distributed across the brain.
These events compete for attention, and as one process outshouts the
others, the brain rationalizes the outcome after the fact and concocts
the impression that a single self was in charge all along.
Take
the famous cognitive-dissonance experiments. When an experimenter got
people to endure electric shocks in a sham experiment on learning,
those who were given a good rationale ("It will help scientists
understand learning") rated the shocks as more painful than the ones
given a feeble rationale ("We're curious.") Presumably, it's because
the second group would have felt foolish to have suffered for no good
reason. Yet when these people were asked why they agreed to be shocked,
they offered bogus reasons of their own in all sincerity, like "I used
to mess around with radios and got used to electric shocks."
It's
not only decisions in sketchy circumstances that get rationalized but
also the texture of our immediate experience. We all feel we are
conscious of a rich and detailed world in front of our eyes. Yet
outside the dead center of our gaze, vision is amazingly coarse. Just
try holding your hand a few inches from your line of sight and counting
your fingers. And if someone removed and reinserted an object every
time you blinked (which experimenters can simulate by flashing two
pictures in rapid sequence), you would be hard pressed to notice the
change. Ordinarily, our eyes flit from place to place, alighting on
whichever object needs our attention on a need-to-know basis. This
fools us into thinking that wall-to-wall detail was there all along--an
example of how we overestimate the scope and power of our own
consciousness.
Our authorship of voluntary
actions can also be an illusion, the result of noticing a correlation
between what we decide and how our bodies move. The psychologist Dan
Wegner studied the party game in which a subject is seated in front of
a mirror while someone behind him extends his arms under the subject's
armpits and moves his arms around, making it look as if the subject is
moving his own arms. If the subject hears a tape telling the person
behind him how to move (wave, touch the subject's nose and so on), he
feels as if he is actually in command of the arms.
The brain's
spin doctoring is displayed even more dramatically in neurological
conditions in which the healthy parts of the brain explain away the
foibles of the damaged parts (which are invisible to the self because
they are part of the self). A patient who fails to experience a
visceral click of recognition when he sees his wife but who
acknowledges that she looks and acts just like her deduces that she is
an amazingly well-trained impostor. A patient who believes he is at
home and is shown the hospital elevator says without missing a beat,
"You wouldn't believe what it cost us to have that installed."
Why
does consciousness exist at all, at least in the Easy Problem sense in
which some kinds of information are accessible and others hidden? One
reason is information overload. Just as a person can be overwhelmed
today by the gusher of data coming in from electronic media, decision
circuits inside the brain would be swamped if every curlicue and muscle
twitch that was registered somewhere in the brain were constantly being
delivered to them. Instead, our working memory and spotlight of
attention receive executive summaries of the events and states that are
most relevant to updating an understanding of the world and figuring
out what to do next. The cognitive psychologist Bernard Baars likens
consciousness to a global blackboard on which brain processes post
their results and monitor the results of the others.
BELIEVING OUR OWN LIES
A
SECOND REASON THAT INFORMATION MAY BE SEALED OFF FROM consciousness is
strategic. Evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers has noted that people
have a motive to sell themselves as beneficent, rational, competent
agents. The best propagandist is the one who believes his own lies,
ensuring that he can't leak his deceit through nervous twitches or
self-contradictions. So the brain might have been shaped to keep
compromising data away from the conscious processes that govern our
interaction with other people. At the same time, it keeps the data
around in unconscious processes to prevent the person from getting too
far out of touch with reality.
What about the brain itself? You
might wonder how scientists could even begin to find the seat of
awareness in the cacophony of a hundred billion jabbering neurons. The
trick is to see what parts of the brain change when a person's
consciousness flips from one experience to another. In one technique,
called binocular rivalry, vertical stripes are presented to the left
eye, horizontal stripes to the right. The eyes compete for
consciousness, and the person sees vertical stripes for a few seconds,
then horizontal stripes, and so on.
A low-tech
way to experience the effect yourself is to look through a paper tube
at a white wall with your right eye and hold your left hand in front of
your left eye. After a few seconds, a white hole in your hand should
appear, then disappear, then reappear.
Monkeys experience
binocular rivalry. They can learn to press a button every time their
perception flips, while their brains are impaled with electrodes that
record any change in activity. Neuroscientist Nikos Logothetis found
that the earliest way stations for visual input in the back of the
brain barely budged as the monkeys' consciousness flipped from one
state to another. Instead, it was a region that sits further down the
information stream and that registers coherent shapes and objects that
tracks the monkeys' awareness. Now this doesn't mean that this place on
the underside of the brain is the TV screen of consciousness. What it
means, according to a theory by Crick and his collaborator Christof
Koch, is that consciousness resides only in the "higher" parts of the
brain that are connected to circuits for emotion and decision making,
just what one would expect from the blackboard metaphor.
WAVES OF BRAIN
CONSCIOUSNESS
IN THE BRAIN CAN BE TRACKED NOT JUST IN SPACE but also in time.
Neuroscientists have long known that consciousness depends on certain
frequencies of oscillation in the electroencephalograph (EEG). These
brain waves consist of loops of activation between the cortex (the
wrinkled surface of the brain) and the thalamus (the cluster of hubs at
the center that serve as input-output relay stations). Large, slow,
regular waves signal a coma, anesthesia or a dreamless sleep; smaller,
faster, spikier ones correspond to being awake and alert. These waves
are not like the useless hum from a noisy appliance but may allow
consciousness to do its job in the brain. They may bind the activity in
far-flung regions (one for color, another for shape, a third for
motion) into a coherent conscious experience, a bit like radio
transmitters and receivers tuned to the same frequency. Sure enough,
when two patterns compete for awareness in a binocular-rivalry display,
the neurons representing the eye that is "winning" the competition
oscillate in synchrony, while the ones representing the eye that is
suppressed fall out of synch.
So neuroscientists are well on the
way to identifying the neural correlates of consciousness, a part of
the Easy Problem. But what about explaining how these events actually
cause consciousness in the sense of inner experience--the Hard Problem?
TACKLING THE HARD PROBLEM
TO
APPRECIATE THE HARDNESS OF THE HARD PROBLEM, CONSIDER how you could
ever know whether you see colors the same way that I do. Sure, you and
I both call grass green, but perhaps you see grass as having the color
that I would describe, if I were in your shoes, as purple. Or ponder
whether there could be a true zombie--a being who acts just like you or
me but in whom there is no self actually feeling anything. This was the
crux of a Star Trek plot in which officials wanted to reverse-engineer
Lieut. Commander Data, and a furious debate erupted as to whether this
was merely dismantling a machine or snuffing out a sentient life.
No
one knows what to do with the Hard Problem. Some people may see it as
an opening to sneak the soul back in, but this just relabels the
mystery of "consciousness" as the mystery of "the soul"--a word game
that provides no insight.
Many philosophers, like Daniel
Dennett, deny that the Hard Problem exists at all. Speculating about
zombies and inverted colors is a waste of time, they say, because
nothing could ever settle the issue one way or another. Anything you
could do to understand consciousness--like finding out what wavelengths
make people see green or how similar they say it is to blue, or what
emotions they associate with it--boils down to information processing
in the brain and thus gets sucked back into the Easy Problem, leaving
nothing else to explain. Most people react to this argument with
incredulity because it seems to deny the ultimate undeniable fact: our
own experience.
The most popular attitude to the Hard Problem
among neuroscientists is that it remains unsolved for now but will
eventually succumb to research that chips away at the Easy Problem.
Others are skeptical about this cheery optimism because none of the
inroads into the Easy Problem brings a solution to the Hard Problem
even a bit closer. Identifying awareness with brain physiology, they
say, is a kind of "meat chauvinism" that would dogmatically deny
consciousness to Lieut. Commander Data just because he doesn't have the
soft tissue of a human brain. Identifying it with information
processing would go too far in the other direction and grant a simple
consciousness to thermostats and calculators--a leap that most people
find hard to stomach. Some mavericks, like the mathematician Roger
Penrose, suggest the answer might someday be found in quantum
mechanics. But to my ear, this amounts to the feeling that quantum
mechanics sure is weird, and consciousness sure is weird, so maybe
quantum mechanics can explain consciousness.
And then there is
the theory put forward by philosopher Colin McGinn that our vertigo
when pondering the Hard Problem is itself a quirk of our brains. The
brain is a product of evolution, and just as animal brains have their
limitations, we have ours. Our brains can't hold a hundred numbers in
memory, can't visualize seven-dimensional space and perhaps can't
intuitively grasp why neural information processing observed from the
outside should give rise to subjective experience on the inside. This
is where I place my bet, though I admit that the theory could be
demolished when an unborn genius--a Darwin or Einstein of
consciousness--comes up with a flabbergasting new idea that suddenly
makes it all clear to us.
Whatever the solutions to the Easy and
Hard problems turn out to be, few scientists doubt that they will
locate consciousness in the activity of the brain. For many
nonscientists, this is a terrifying prospect. Not only does it strangle
the hope that we might survive the death of our bodies, but it also
seems to undermine the notion that we are free agents responsible for
our choices--not just in this lifetime but also in a life to come. In
his millennial essay "Sorry, but Your Soul Just Died," Tom Wolfe
worried that when science has killed the soul, "the lurid carnival that
will ensue may make the phrase 'the total eclipse of all values' seem
tame."
TOWARD A NEW MORALITY
MY OWN VIEW
IS THAT THIS IS backward: the biology of consciousness offers a sounder
basis for morality than the unprovable dogma of an immortal soul. It's
not just that an understanding of the physiology of consciousness will
reduce human suffering through new treatments for pain and depression.
That understanding can also force us to recognize the interests of
other beings--the core of morality.
As every student in
Philosophy 101 learns, nothing can force me to believe that anyone
except me is conscious. This power to deny that other people have
feelings is not just an academic exercise but an all-too-common vice,
as we see in the long history of human cruelty. Yet once we realize
that our own consciousness is a product of our brains and that other
people have brains like ours, a denial of other people's sentience
becomes ludicrous. "Hath not a Jew eyes?" asked Shylock. Today the
question is more pointed: Hath not a Jew--or an Arab, or an African, or
a baby, or a dog--a cerebral cortex and a thalamus? The undeniable fact
that we are all made of the same neural flesh makes it impossible to
deny our common capacity to suffer.
And when you think about it,
the doctrine of a life-to-come is not such an uplifting idea after all
because it necessarily devalues life on earth. Just remember the most
famous people in recent memory who acted in expectation of a reward in
the hereafter: the conspirators who hijacked the airliners on 9/11.
Think,
too, about why we sometimes remind ourselves that "life is short." It
is an impetus to extend a gesture of affection to a loved one, to bury
the hatchet in a pointless dispute, to use time productively rather
than squander it. I would argue that nothing gives life more purpose
than the realization that every moment of consciousness is a precious
and fragile gift.
Steven Pinker is Johnstone Professor of
Psychology at Harvard and the author of The Language Instinct, How the
Mind Works and The Blank Slate
