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Pychology + Marketing

Psych 101: The Importance of Sleep

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William ShakespeareFor as long as humans have existed, the mysteries of sleep have fascinated mankind. For centuries, philosophers, scientists and others have developed theories as to what happens during this state of unconsciousness. Even William Shakespeare mused about sleep in The Tragedy of Macbeth when he wrote, “Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleave of care/The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath/Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course/Chief nourisher in life’s feast.” According to the most recent sleep research, Shakespeare was right; sleep is nourishing, not only physically, but also mentally.

In the Scientific American article “Quiet! Sleep Brain at Work,” authors Robert Stickgold, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Jeffrey M. Ellenbogen, Division of Sleep Medicine, Neurology Department, Massachusetts General Hospital, discuss what really happens when we sleep, as well as the benefits of a full night’s sleep.

Today, researchers agree that while we sleep, our brain is busy processing the day’s activities. It sifts through all of the bits and bytes of information we accumulate while awake, determines what is and isn’t important, organizes everything, and files things away as memories for future use. However, this perspective doesn’t fully explain how a complete night’s sleep contributes to and nourishes learning, memory and creativity.

Sleep Nourishes Learning, Memory & Creativity

According to Stickgold and Ellenbogen, sleep helps us by simultaneously strengthening and stabilizing important memories while dissolving unimportant ones. In addition, sleep helps us uncover hidden relationships, so that we are better able to form conceptual relationships between the things we have learned – helping us to find meaning in the information we’ve accumulated, and creatively solve the problems we were working on while we were awake.

For example, one recent study performed by the pair of researchers demonstrated that people who experienced a complete night’s sleep were better able to recall word pairings than those who stayed awake, even when interference (a second group of word pairings) was introduced. In another example, a Harvard Medical School experiment indicated that people who had a good night’s sleep showed improvement on difficult tasks, such as typing complicated sequences on a keyboard. This leads researchers to suspect that in addition to processing information, our brains actually rehearse difficult tasks while we sleep, improving efficiency while we are awake. And in yet another study performed by Ullrich Wagner at the University of Lubeck in Germany, researchers presented people with a series of complex math problems, which incorporated an easy solution. After a good night’s sleep, most people caught onto the “trick,” proving that sleep often gives us the insight we need to tackle difficult problems. So, the next time you have a difficult problem or task, follow the age-old “sleep on it” wisdom and, chances are, you’ll wake with just the insight you need to rise to the challenge.

Get At Least 6 Hours of Sleep Each Night

The key to the maximizing the benefits of sleep is actually getting enough of it –something that most Americans don’t do. The daily demands of balancing priorities like school, jobs, work and other responsibilities cause most of us to get less than the ideal amount (more than six hours). Another key is getting the right kind of sleep. While any type of sleep is beneficial, we realize the most benefits by getting about 90 minutes of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep each night.

Shakespeare had it right, sleep really is nourishing – to the mind, body and soul!

Austim & the Brain: Mirror Neurons

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Psych 101 Critical Thinking Exercise #3

Philosophers have said that in order to truly understand something, you must experience it. Neurophysiologists at the University of Parma, Italy, were researching the role of simple goal-directed neurons in hand and mouth actions when they made a serendipitous scientific discovery to support this philosophical statement: the same brain neurons fired when a monkey not only performed an action, but also when it observed the same action performed by one of the researchers. Giacomo Rizzolatti, Leonardo Fogassi and Vittorio Gallese describe their experiments, findings, and the implications in the Scientific American article “Mirrors in the Mind.”

The Accidental Discovery of Mirror Neurons

The discovery occurred when the group was performing experiments to study the firing patterns of individual neurons in area F5 of the motor cortex in the brains of macaques. To determine if their accidental finding was accurate, the researcher had to conduct additional experiments. Due to the complexity of the network of mirror neurons in the brain, which spreads through the pre-motor and parietal cortices, the researchers were challenged with developing an experiment that would clarify whether mirror neurons play a role in understanding, and not just visually registering, an action without causing broad cognitive issues. In the end, they conducted two experiments. The first experiment determined if the macaques could recognize actions based on sounds. The second tested if the animals could identify an action when it occurred behind a screen.

Why We Understand… What We Understand

Based upon the results of these studies, which indicated that actions performed by one person can stimulate the same motor pathways in another person, the group proposed that there is a neural basis for our ability to understand, and subsequently, predict actions and emotions based upon visual and aural cues. The researchers also discovered that survival or biological based actions (drinking) were given preference over cultural ones (cleaning). In addition, the group discovered a series of motor actions, serving as proof of a neural chain which may develop as the brain forms “templates” for specific actions. The scientific findings of these researchers ultimately changed “our understanding of what we understand.”

Mirror Neurons Linked to Autism… Or Not?

Because autism is associated with a lack of social and communication skills, including an inability to mimic emotions, scientists began studying the brain’s network of mirror neurons in patients affected with the condition. One study, conducted in 2005 at the University of California, San Diego, determined that mirror neurons do not fire when an action is observed by an autistic patient. The researchers theorized that a dysfunction in the motor neurons caused autism. However, a more recent study, supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, Cure Autism Now, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health, was published in the May 2010 issue of Neuron. In the article, scientists challenged the original theory by arguing that the research was flawed because the experiments did not account for movement-selection actions. Based upon the results of fMRI scan, the researchers concluded that autistic subjects responded normally when the experiment was adjusted to include movement-selective actions. Even more interesting, another University of California, San Diego, study in 2007 by Jaime Pineda, PhD, suggested that the mirror networks in autistic children function differently based upon their relationship with the person performing the observed action.

As humans, our ability to infer intentions is fundamental to our survival. It helps us with everything from avoiding potentially dangerous situations to developing successful interpersonal relationships. Although the research is conflicting at this time, two things are clear… First, mirror neurons play an important role in our ability to understand and interpret actions and emotions, without the need for explicit reasoning. Second, we simply don’t know enough about how mirror neurons function in order to understand how they may or may not be operating differently in a person with autism.

The brain is one of the most complex systems in nature. Therefore, the cause of any condition that affects it (good or bad) is as equally difficult to understand. Although a dysfunction in mirror neurons may not be the exact cause of autism, due to the underlying function of these cells, it is likely that additional research, including how these neurons interact and interrelate with other brain functions, will confirm they are still highly related to autism.

Whether the cause of autism stems from exposure to a foreign chemical or element, as suggested by anti-vaccine supporters, or the development of underlying biological dysfunction in another region of the brain further down the neuron chain that “misinterprets” signals generated by the mirror neurons, continued research into the function of mirror neurons will not contribute not only to a better general understanding of the brain, but also potentially a cure for autism and other conditions that manifest in the form of cognitive problems related to interpreting and reacting to behavior and emotions.

Psychology 101: Exploring Phantom Limb Pain

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Penfield MapIntroduced by American physician Silas Weir Mitchell in 1872, the term “phantom limb” is used to describe the sensation that an amputated limb is still attached to the body. Nearly all amputees report having a phantom limb experience, and for the majority, it is excruciatingly painful. In fact, according to neurologist Vilayanur S. Ramachandran at the Center for the Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego, nearly 70 percent of amputees continue to suffer from intermittent pain in a limb decades after it has been removed. Phantom limb pain can have a debilitating and devastating effect on a patient’s life. Unfortunately, most current treatments are ineffective because the biological basis for the pain is not completely understood.

Exploring the Biological Cause of Phantom Limb Pain

In the Scientific American article “Living with Ghostly Limbs,” Miguel Nicolelis, M.D., Ph.D., a Brazilian professor of neurology and biology at Duke University Medical Center explores the biological cause of and innovative treatments for phantom limb pain. According to Nicolelis, most scientists believe that phantom limb perceptions stem from residual activity in the regions of the neuromatrix formerly assigned to the missing limb. In addition, he suggests that future phantom limb treatments may include brain remapping techniques.

Nicolelis cites the results of several experiments performed on the peripheral nervous system to support the theory that a complex neuromatrix develops and controls our body image, including:

  • Amputees with a severed peripheral nervous system continued to suffer from phantom limb pain, which suggests the source is more likely the brain;
  • When different, but specific, areas of the brain are damaged, a drastic change in body image and perception occurs, which indicates that they are result of a complex, interactive network in the brain, rather than just the function of one localized region;
  • When a person experiences a drastic change in body structure, corresponding changes can be observed in the brain, which supports the theories of neural plasticity and brain remapping.

Understanding the Body Image Neuromatrix

According to Ronald Melzack, Ph.D., of McGill University the body image neuromatrix is composed of four major parts: the somatosensory cortex, regions of the parietal lobe and two neural pathways. Additional research by Ramachandran indicates the likelihood of phantom limb pain is significantly reduced in young children, suggesting that the body image neuromatrix is formed during the first our first eight years of development.

In the past, scientists believed that once the neuromatrix was fully developed, it could not be reconfigured. As a result, treatments ranging from prescription drugs and acupuncture to electric spinal cord stimulation (SCS) were used to treat phantom limb pain – all with marginal success. Based upon experiments that show sensory input activates nearby areas of the Penfield map of the motor cortex after a limb is amputated, scientists now believe that the brain is more flexible, and therefore, the neuromatrix can be reorganized.

Treatment for Phantom Limb Pain

This research and insight into the organizational structure of the brain creates a huge opportunity for a new and exciting treatment for phantom limb pain – illusions. For example, Ramachandran and his colleagues are using mirrors to create the illusion that the phantom limb is real. Their belief is that altering the body image perception triggers remapping in the brain, which dissolved the “pain memories.” Taking this concept one step further, other researchers are beginning to use virtual reality tools to simulate phantom limbs, with the hope of improving the results experienced by Ramachandran.

Because severity of pain before amputation is a major risk factor, the best treatment for phantom limb pain begins before the phenomenon starts. Before surgery, patients should be as pain-free as possible. In addition, special care should be taken to ensure the patient heals quickly and without complications. Finally, if phantom limb pain develops, it may be most effectively treated by reorganizing the brain. While this may currently require the use of rudimentary illusion methods like the mirror box, there is no doubt that a better understanding of the neuromatrix and advancements in technology may enable future treatments like stimulation of specified brain regions and enhanced methods of creating illusions, perhaps by integrating the use of holograms, lasers and things perhaps we can only dream of at this point in time.

Implications for Future Treatment of Phantom Limb Pain

These advancements in treatment of phantom limb pain also have larger implications for science and medicine. The more we understand about the organizational function of the brain, the more effective we will be at treating any disorder, including pain. Eventually, we may also be able to recreate the “system” leading to advancements in limb replacement, robotics and artificial intelligence.

Psychology 101: Split Brains & Approaches to Problem-Solving

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This is the first critical thinking exercise for my Psychology 101 class, which covers the different approaches to problem-solving in left and right brain thinkers, based upon results of experiments performed on people with split brains.

Split Brains in PsychologyIn “Spheres of Influence,” neuropsychologist Michael S. Gazzaniga, Ph.D., discusses the major functions of the left and right hemispheres of the brain, as well as how they interact to provide us with a unified experience of consciousness. To help illustrate how the hemispheres of our brain work, Gazzaniga describes experiments performed on patients who have had their corpus collosum, the part of the brain that connects the two hemispheres, cut to treat severe epilepsy. Although these “split-brain” people typically report no changes in their mental processing, the results of these experiments indicate not only that each hemisphere operates independently and has different abilities, but also that the natural functioning of the left hemisphere may create a unified experience by “interpreting” our circumstances.

What the left & right brain “do”

As the “interpreter,” the left hemisphere is our abstract thinking center. It works to draw logical, linear conclusions by analyzing facts and information. The left hemisphere also controls speech. The brain’s right hemisphere is our concrete thinking center. It processes information differently, on a more holistic, intuitive level. In general, the left hemisphere is thought to be the more dominant (smarter) of the two hemispheres.

The differing functions of the brain hemispheres are revealed most clearly in an experiment in which split-brain people are shown images which only one hemisphere can see. When only the right hemisphere is shown an image, the split-brain person can use their left hand to retrieve a related object. Furthermore, although they are unable to verbalize what they saw and therefore, why they retrieved the object, they will still try to rationally explain their action. This inability to vocalize what the right hemisphere sees confirms that the left center of our brain acts as the language center, as well as suggests that the independent hemispheres achieve a unified consciousness through the left hemisphere’s “explanations” and “theories.”

Approaches to problem-solving in left & right brain thinkers

What I find particularly interesting about this article is that it illustrates how each hemisphere has a different approach to problem-solving. Based on this theory, “right-brained” people should be more intuitive and approach a problem holistically. Thus, right-brainers would be expected to comprehend the “bigger picture” more quickly than left-brained people, who tend to focus more on details.

In another Scientific American article, “Is it true that creativity resides in the right hemisphere of the brain?” the right brain hemisphere is described as, “essential for creativity… although it supplies only a quarter of the thinking needed to realize the full creative process.” While its actual role may be less than what most people expect based on generalizations, it is clear that right brain activity is linked to creativity. With this in mind, the question of how this information can be leveraged within organizations to promote creative problem-solving comes to mind.

Does America need more right brain thinkers in management?

For example, it would seem that by nature, highly right-brained individuals would lack the basic attention-to-detail necessary to thrive in a highly corporate environment. It is probably not by chance that we often find right-brain people working in creative environments, like advertising agencies, where this type of thinking is the norm, rather than the exception. However, these could be exactly the types of individuals large American companies need at the helm in order to remain competitive over time. Unfortunately, unless they master left-brain activities like organization, time management, attention to detail and verbal skills, they may never successfully climb the corporate ladder, leaving corporate American to be led primarily by linear, left-brain thinkers.

Are these creative problem-solvers adequately identified and utilized within large American organizations, where their skills could be used to find “fresh” solutions to problems? Could leveraging these holistic thinkers lead to more advances in technology, or improved ethical decision-making by American corporations? Could a failing business become successful through the purposeful injection of a leader that is a right-brain thinker, or is this type of situation too risky? Furthermore, on a larger level, can geographical hot-spots where creative thinking is encouraged be correlated to an increased likelihood that a business, and the entire community, will thrive?

As an example, technology hot-spots tend to be located on either the East or West Coast. Areas like Silicon Valley (San Francisco), Seattle and greater Miami are known to be creative hotbeds for right-brain artistry, as well as technology. Meanwhile, in conservative Midwestern cities, companies like those in the auto industry are failing miserably. In general, the Midwest has lagged behind the rest of the country in terms of economic development. Could this be in any way attributed to a wide-spread geographic intolerance or lack of appreciation for the more progressive, creative thinking process? Taking this one step further, can it be proven that developing or reviving an artistic sub-culture within a community can be positively linked to economic growth, thereby deeming it not just a good, but also a necessary, investment?

Do Right Brains + Left Brains = Better Results?

Of course, the best approach on any team or community would be to have balance – just the right mix of left and right-brain thinkers. This would help ensure that any solutions developed by right-brainers are properly supported by facts, as well as evaluated for effectiveness and ability to implement, by left-brain thinkers.