Trained Dogs Can Help In Treating Veterans With PTSD

NPR: Veterans Say Trained Dogs Help With PTSD, But The VA Won't Pay

At a warehouse near Dallas, a black Lab named Papi tugs on a rope to open a fridge and passes his trainer a plastic water bottle with his mouth.

Service dogs are often trained to help veterans with physical disabilities. Now, a growing number are being trained to meet the demand from vets with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues.

Those dogs learn extra tricks — how to sweep a house for intruders, for example, so a veteran feels safe.

"We teach them something called perimeter, where they go into the house and they check, they just touch all the doors and all the windows," says Cheryl Woolnough, training director at Patriot PAWS, a nonprofit in Rockwall, Texas, that provides service dogs.

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CSN Editor: Everyone who has had a dog in his or her life knows how much of a support they can be during difficult times. But for veterans who are suffering PTSD .... their needs are different, and this is where a trained dog can provide a valuable service. Unfortunately .... dollars and cents are the priority here, and not taking of care of the patient.

Has A Cure For PTSD Been Found?

DEA

PsyPost: PTSD-related study finds a single dose of MDMA helps conditioned fear go extinct

Researchers have discovered that MDMA — commonly known as ecstasy or molly — speeds up the extinction of the conditioned fear response in mice. The findings help explain why the psychedelic drug is of benefit to people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Clinical studies have found that using MDMA as an aid during psychotherapy resulted in long-lasting improvements in PTSD symptoms. But Matthew Young of Emory University and his colleagues wanted to understand the psychological mechanism behind these results.

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CSN Editor: A reader of this blog sent me this link a few days ago. I forgot his name (sorry about that), but I kept the link and I have only gotten the chance to read it now. Wow .... I hope this works. I know a lot of people who are suffering from PTSD, and it will be Godsend to the many soldiers and families who are suffering because of it.

Hot To Spot A Psychopath

Like Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, (played by Christian Bale, pictured) psychopaths can be intelligent and charming, while hiding a lack of empathy. Now a self-confessed psychopath has shared how he generally behaves to gain the trust of others and then use them to his own advantage

Daily Mail: How to spot a psychopath: Expert reveals the traits to look out for in others and how to tell if YOU have the personality disorder

* Self-professed psychopath Jacob Wells posted his advice on Quora
* He described how he befriends people then uses them to his advantage
* Description matches psychopathic traits such as charm and manipulation

Like Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, psychopaths can be intelligent and charming, while hiding a lack of empathy.

So given their ability to manipulate others, how easy it is for you to spot one?

Self-professed psychopath Jacob Wells has revealed how he behaves in different situations and has listed questions that may help others identify whether they have any psychopathic traits - as well as recognise them in others.

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CSN Editor: Scary stuff here.

There Is A Scientific Reason Why New Year's Eve Is Generally Terrible

The Independent: New Year’s Eve: The scientific reason why it is generally terrible

Those who plan to have a great time on New Year's Eve are likely to be the most miserable of all.

In the movies, New Year’s Eve is always full of excitement and intrigue, attractive people in sparkly outfits, and surprise kisses at midnight. So why does real-world New Year’s Eve always seem to consist of losing your friends in a crowded bar, standing in line forever for drinks, and waiting an hour in the cold for a ridiculously priced Uber?

Research done by a team of psychologists and economists on how we experience happiness actually offers an explanation. In a 1999 study called “The pursuit and assessment of happiness can be self-defeating,” Jonathan Schooler, now of the University of California Santa Barbara, Dan Ariely of Duke University and George Loewenstein of Carnegie Melon offer evidence that those who plan to have a great time on New Year's Eve are likely to be the most miserable of all.

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CSN Editor: Yup .... it always comes down to high expectations that never pan out.

On A Sinking Ship It Is Everyman (Not Woman) For Himself

A scene from the 1997 film 'Titanic' directed by James Cameron Photo: Reuters

Every Man For Himself On Sinking Ships -- The Telegraph

As torrents of freezing water gushed onto the Titanic, its male passengers selflessly shepherded women and children to the few available lifeboats in what was described as a typically British act of chivalry.

But although their gallantry was hailed as an example of a moral code shared by all mariners, a new study suggests the situation on board the Titanic, where female survivors outnumbered men three to one, was something of an exception.

Although convention dictates that men should step aside and put "women and children first", history shows that the male attitude is better summed up as "every man for himself".

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My Comment: And then we have stories like this one.

Why Does Rock Music 'Bring Out The Animal In Us'?

Why Rock Music 'Brings Out The Animal In Us' -- The Telegraph

Rock music such as Jimi Hendrix-style electric guitar excites us because it recreates the sound of primal distress calls and "brings out the animal in us", scientists claim.

Sudden, jarring changes in pitch and frequency play on the same emotional mechanisms as the signals which animals use to alert one another of danger, a study found.

When animals cry out in distress they force a large amount of air through their voice box very quickly, producing a discordant effect designed to grab the attention and provoke an emotional response in other animals.

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My Comment: What does Justin Beiber bring out?

Women And Swimsuits

Image Credit olly / Shutterstock

Why Do Women Cringe At The Thought Of Trying On Swimsuits? -- Red Orbit

Swimsuit season may not entirely be starting yet, but women all over the world are feeling the effects of it. It is intimidating for any girl to wear a bathing suit in public, but even more so in private dressing rooms. Dressing rooms can be cramped with bad lighting, making females unknowingly put more pressure on themselves through self-scrutiny. This idea of self-reflection through a variety of forms of clothing, from swimsuits to jeans and a sweater, was recently highlighted in an experiment by psychologists at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia.

The study, which will be published in the May issue of the journal Sex Roles, focuses on the idea of “self-objectification.”

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My Comment: Yup .... there are some things that some of us guys can never out.

Is This The Perfect Face?

Is This the Perfect Face? -- Discovery News

What would a scientifically perfect face look like?

England thinks it would mirror Florence Colgate's. The 18-year-old student recently won a competition to find Britain's most naturally beautiful face. Although the final test came down to an opinion poll, science backs up Colgate's perfection, according to the Daily Mail.

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My Comment: What's my take .... beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

People Are Becoming More Selfish

Newer Generations Increasingly About “Me,” Study Finds -- Courtesy of the American Psychological Association and World Science Staff

oung Amer­i­cans care less and less about the the en­vi­ron­ment, pol­i­tics, and the world around them in gen­er­al, a study has found; even the idea of seek­ing a mean­ing­ful life is out of fash­ion.

In­stead, mon­ey, im­age and fame are the idols of our time.

“Pop­u­lar views of the mil­len­ni­al genera­t­ion, born in the 1980s and 1990s, as more car­ing, com­mun­ity-oriented and pol­i­tic­ally en­gaged than pre­vi­ous genera­t­ions are largely in­cor­rect, par­tic­u­larly when com­pared to ba­by boomers and Genera­t­ion X at the same age,” said the stu­dy’s lead au­thor, Jean Twenge, a psy­chol­o­gist at San Die­go State Uni­vers­ity and au­thor of the book Genera­t­ion Me. “These da­ta show that re­cent genera­t­ions are less likely to em­brace com­mun­ity mind­ed­ness and are fo­cus­ing more on mon­ey, im­age and fame.”

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My Comment: I am old enough to concur with these observations and results.

The Psychological Impact Of Holding A Gun

U.S. Army Pfc. Samuel Corsolini uses his weapon's scope to provide security as a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter takes off after unloading U.S. and Afghan troops during a vehicle interdiction to disrupt Taliban activities as part of Operation Pranoo Verbena in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, March 16, 2012. Corsolini is a gunner assigned to the Company F, 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Daniel Schroeder

Holding A Gun Makes You Think Others Are Too -- Science Blog

Wielding a gun increases a person’s bias to see guns in the hands of others, new research from the University of Notre Dame shows.

Notre Dame Associate Professor of Psychology James Brockmole, who specializes in human cognition and how the visual world guides behavior, together with a colleague from Purdue University, conducted the study, which will appear in an upcoming issue of Journal of Experimental Psychology: Perception and Performance.

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My Comment: We have been conditioned to expect the worse when we see guns .... holding it into our hands will probably only reinforce this impression.

Why Taking A Vacation Is Good For You

The Benefits Of Taking Time Off -- US News And World Report/Inside Science

Taking a vacation may not only make you happy, but increase your job performance.

(ISNS)—Rae and Bruce Hostetler not only work very hard, they also relax just as well. Numerous vacations help the suburban Indianapolis couple to maintain their health and emotional well-being—and it's no surprise to health care professionals.

"Rest, relaxation, and stress reduction are very important for people's well-being and health. This can be accomplished through daily activities, such as exercise and meditation, but vacation is an important part of this as well," said primary care physician Natasha Withers from One Medical Group in New York. Withers lists a decreased risk of heart disease and improved reaction times as some of the benefits from taking some time off.

"We also know that the mind is very powerful and can help with healing, so a rested, relaxed mind is able to help the body heal better," said Withers.

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My Comment: How can I disagree with that.

Will We Now Be Able To Control Fear?

A) Schematic cross-section of a mouse brain showing the distribution of CRHR1 gene activity and the associated neurotransmitter specificity. B) Glutamatergic neuron of the hippocampus. (Credit: © MPI of Psychiatry)

Control of Fear in the Brain Decoded: Emotional Balance Is Regulated by Molecular Factors Behind Stress Response, Study Finds -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (Sep. 7, 2011) — When healthy people are faced with threatening situations, they react with a suitable behavioural response and do not descend into a state of either panic or indifference, as is the case, for example, with patients who suffer from anxiety.

With the help of genetic studies on mice, scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry have discovered two opposing neuronal regulatory circuits for the generation and elimination of fear.

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My Comment: I can see many applications from this science.

A Link Between Dietary Omega-3 And Depression?

Salmon is high in omega 3 fatty acids. How maternal essential fatty acid deficiency impact on its progeny is poorly understood. Dietary insufficiency in omega-3 fatty acid has been implicated in many disorders. Researchers have now studied mice fed on a diet low in omega-3 fatty acid. They discovered that reduced levels of omega-3 had deleterious consequences on synaptic functions and emotional behaviours. (Credit: iStockphoto)

Deficiency of Dietary Omega-3 May Explain Depressive Behaviors -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (Jan. 31, 2011) — How maternal essential fatty acid deficiency impact on its progeny is poorly understood. Dietary insufficiency in omega-3 fatty acid has been implicated in many disorders. Researchers from Inserm and INRA and their collaborators in Spain collaboration, have studied mice fed on a diet low in omega-3 fatty acid. They discovered that reduced levels of omega-3 had deleterious consequences on synaptic functions and emotional behaviours.

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My Comment: That's why I like my eggs being Omega-3 certified and my fish always fresh.

Religion And Health: Is There A Link?

From ABC News:

Just Changing Churches May Be Harmful to Your Health, Study Claims.

Many scientific studies in recent years have sought to prove a link between religion and health, and they usually ended up contending that faith may be very good medicine. But new research attempts to look at the opposite side of that coin: What happens when a person loses faith, or even switches from one religious group to another?

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Veterans With PTSD Suffer More Medical Illnesses

U.S. Army Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division cross a bridge to Al Zunbria, Iraq, Dec. 29, 2007, during operations to secure the area south of their area of operation. Credit: Spc. Angelica Golindano

From Live Science:

Military veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq with troubled mental health may also suffer the burden of more medical illnesses, according to a sweeping study.

Female veterans in particular seem hard hit by the one-two combination of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and additional medical conditions, such as headaches and lower-back disorders.

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Falling In Love Costs You Friends

From The BBC:

Falling in love comes at the cost of losing two close friends, a study says.

We probably all know that a passionate new relationship can leave you little time for others, but now science has put some numbers on the observation.

Oxford University researchers asked people about their inner core of friendships and how this number changed when romance entered the equation.

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The Porsche Effect: Why Racy Women Turn A Man To Racy Cars

Racy: The sight of an attractive woman sparks a man's interest in luxury goods from designer watches to flash cars such as Porsches and Ferraris

From The Daily Mail:

Ladies, if the man of your dreams becomes distracted by a passing sports car while talking to you, do not despair.

It means he likes you.

If, however, he starts talking about towels or toasters, he is just not interested.

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Finding A Bargain Feels As Good As Sex

Photo: Eddie Mulholland

From The Telegraph:

Retail therapy is often said to make up for a poor love life – and now new research has shown why.

A study has discovered that shoppers get the same level of emotional excitement from special offers as they do from sexual arousal.

Researchers have found that bargains make us so deliriously happy that the brain is turned on to the same level excitement that it gets from sex.

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NASA Team To Trapped Miners: No Alcohol Or Cigarettes

Workers stand next to a special drill, the Xtrata 950, which will dig an escape hole for the miners who are trapped underground in a copper and gold mine, as it is transported to the top of a hill at Copiapo, some 725 km (450 miles) north of Santiago August 27, 2010.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

From Live Science:

After spending almost a week in Chile, a team of NASA personnel sent to provide nutritional advice and psychological support to 33 trapped miners reported Tuesday that the efforts of the Chilean government have been outstanding so far, and the focus needs to be on long-term strategies that will allow the men to live sustainably underground as a community.

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Money Can Buy You Happiness – Up To A Point

From New Scientist:

CAN money buy you happiness? The answer, it appears, depends on what you mean by "happiness". High earners are generally more satisfied with their lives, it seems, but a person's day-to-day emotional wellbeing is only influenced by money up to a certain point.

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