Sarah+Jacobson

Sarah J's Current Events [|Perfectionism works for some diabetics, but not for new moms]

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 * Definition of Perfectionism || **Perfectionism**, in psychology, is a belief that perfection can and should be attained. In its pathological form, perfectionism is a belief that work or output that is anything less than perfect is unacceptable. At such levels, this is considered an unhealthy belief, and psychologists typically refer to such individuals as //maladaptive// perfectionists.
 * Perfectionism may help people live longer under certain circumstances. || NOT the case for pregnant woman. It will more likely lead to postpartum depression.

IT IS the case for perfectionist seniors who develop diabetes for the first time. Those with perfectionist qualities have a tendency to live longer than those with less exacting qualities.

This is an unexpected finding because suspicions were that death might come more quickly for the perfectionists. ||
 * Recent Investigations || Fry’s team tracked 385 seniors, ages 65 and older, for 6.5 years. Participants were recruited in 2001 at Canadian health clinics. All had received a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes within the previous two years and displayed no intellectual or brain impairments.

30% of the total died during the study.

Among seniors who scored high on the "self-oriented perfectionism"... nearly 3/4 survived. Compare to the 62% who survived among the lowing scoring perfectionists. ||

[|Tanning bed use linked to melanoma risk]


 * "People who tried indoor tanning had a 74 percent greater risk of developing melanoma than did those who avoided it, the researchers calculated."

Research shows that people who have tanned indoors have a 74% greater increase of developing melanoma versus those who avoid it.

Early use of tanning beds connection to melanoma is not evident. BUT cancer may take a while to develop, so the effects could appear in the future. || ||

[|​Eureka, brain makes real mental leaps]


 * [[image:http://www.wiredtowinthemovie.com/images/hotspots/level04prefrontalcortex.jpg]] || 

The green highlights the prefontal cortex of a human brain. This is the area of the brain involved in making executive decis ions. Daniel Durstewitz and his colleague Jeremy Seamans studied the brains of rats and tracked activity where "learning new things" or the aha! moment take place. || Durstewitz and Seamans set up an experiment where they allowed the rats to become accustomed to a task. The task was to hit the lever when the light went on in order to get a pellet of food.
 * [[image:http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/dishing/rat.jpg width="240" height="213"]] || 

Then, they changed the rules of the task in hope for an aha! moment. Now, when the light about one of the two levers went on, the food pellet didn't necessarily come out of that side.

The aha! moment would come once they connected this fact... || Aha! ||  "When each rodent figured out the new system, its aha moment could be seen as a change in brain activity. Electrodes implanted in the rats’ prefrontal cortexes recorded a sudden across-the-board change in the pattern of firing neurons; dimly firing cells amped up, while previously hyper cells calmed down. " ||
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