Aloha all,
I came across a great site *here* for those interested in seeing more visual illusions. They manipulate our perceptual tendencies to produce some very interesting effects. One example is below–note: There is *nothing* moving on the screen at all. …or is there???
The figure makes use of after-images to simulate the perception of the wheels turning…
Naegleria fowleri is the name of the amoeba I mentioned in class today. It is found in warm bodies of fresh water and can cause confusion, hallucinations, coma and ultimately death following an infection of the olfactory bulb and sinus tissue in the nose; from there, it climbs nerve fibers through the floor of the cranium to infect the brain, consuming neural tissue until death occurs within about 2 weeks.
It is extremely rare (responsible for 6 deaths in the U.S. in 2007), but extremely deadly (only 3% of patients have survived once infected). This is a rather gruesome subject, but being able to better identify and protect ourselves (and others) from a variety of disorders and infections is one motivation to learning more about the nervous system.
For those interested, *here* is a relevant news release, and *here* is an information fact sheet regarding N. fowleri from the Centers for Disease Control.
Trouble sleeping? Treating insomnia with drugs can cause serious problems down the road, including impaired functioning, and dependency. Furthermore, after the drug treatment has been discontinued, the problem can worsen. Behavioral interventions for chronic insomnia can be very effective, and benefits may be greater than pharmacologic treatments, because they can persist for a longer period of time (Irsin, Cole, & Nicassio, 2006; Morin, et al., 1999).
You can read a report of the results of Iwin, Cole, and Nicassio’s scientific, statistically-driven review (meta-analysis) of the literature regarding treatments for the elderly here. The bottom line is that there are good alternatives to pharmacotherapy when treating problems in sleeping. Too bad that so many of us seek to solve both psychological and physiological difficulties with a pill, when a little homework and intelligent effort could lead to more healthy and effective long-term solutions. The impact on drug company bank accounts is another matter…
References
Irwin, M., Cole, J.C., & Nicassio, P.M. (2006). Comparative meta-analysis of behavioral interventions for insomnia and their efficacy in adults and in older adults 55 + years. Health Psychology, 25, 3-14.
Morin, C. M., Hauri, P. J., Espie, C. A., Spielman, A. J., Buysse, D. J., & Bootzin, R. R. (1999). Nonpharmocologic treatment of chronic insomina. Sleep, 22, 1-23. [READ THE ARTICLE!!]
Due to flash flooding dangers, classes have been canceled today–News regarding the closing can be found at the UH-Hilo website.
Therefore, topics scheduled for today will be pushed to later in the week. That is, our philosophy of adjustment to unforeseen circumstances will be that rather than skipping great subjects like the question of dualism vs. monism in understanding the nature of the self and the mind-body problem, we’ll cover them in conjunction with other topics scheduled for later on…
Psychology 100 students eager for a head start can peruse such sites as this Guide to the Philosophy of Mind, or this good online introduction. Psychology 313 students should be prepared to begin discussing reliability and validity of specific tests and assessments such as the S-MAST.
Stay safe everyone!