NeuroNotes

Spaced Out: The Sun, Music and Metacognition

Very small changes in the activity of the Earth’s magnetic field due to alterations in solar activity can affect all human beings. These direct effects are primarily upon the subtle but complex electromagnetic fields that interact with everyone’s consciousness due to the marked similarity of the characteristics of our brains and our genetic history.

This creates the potential for the function of every person’s brain activity to be changed without their awareness. Continue reading →

Invisible Wounds of War

Summary of Veterans Statistics for PTSD, TBI, Depression and Suicide. There are over 2.3 million American veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (compared to 2.6 million Vietnam veterans who fought in Vietnam; there are 8.2 million “Vietnam Era Veterans” (personnel who served anywhere during any time of the Vietnam War) At least 20% of … Continue reading →

When Ads Add Up & Divide

In the most recent issue of the journal Sex Roles, psychologists from the University of Manitoba examined the prevalence of hypermasculinity – the ideology of exaggerated male traits as the epitome of masculine identity – in advertisements in popular men’s magazines including Maxim, Playboy, Game Informer, Fortune, Esquire and Wired. Continue reading →

Cultish Leadership in the Mainstream

Joe Navarro is a former FBI Agent. He worked as a special agent and supervisor in the area of counterintelligence and behavioral assessment for 25 years. He is one of the founding members of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Program. The former agent studied cults and cult leaders during his time with the FBI. In … Continue reading →

Preying in the Name of God

Exorcism, Deliverance, and Neurological Disorders TRIGGER WARNING – Suicide – EXPLICIT CONTENT Since her first night home from the hospital, K had kept everyone up nearly every night. V and her mother, who was visiting from out-of-town, were in the living room reminiscing while V lovingly cradled K, her eleven day old daughter. V’s husband, … Continue reading →

Trust, Traditions & Trespasses

Generally speaking, criticizing cultural practices that arise from religious belief can be considered inappropriate, so it’s possible that some readers may feel offended by this post. My intentions are not to offend but to offer some fuel for thought. Most people of faith address their god as though God has a gender? I’ve read numerous … Continue reading →

The Sun Giveth – The Sun Taketh Away

Humans are affected by space weather, and not just astronauts. Every day, 24/7, NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (part of the National Weather Service), monitors and sends out space weather alerts, watches, warnings. and forecasts about solar and geophysical events which impact satellites, power grids, communications, navigation, and many other technological systems. What I hope … Continue reading →

The Science of Connection – Oxyt♥cin

One of the things I love about WordPress is the community. I have met some pretty awesome people here. People with compassion and empathy. People who support one another. People who understand the importance of connection and nurture those connections. These attributes are not only prosocial but have something in common. Oxytocin; a hypothalamic … Continue reading →

Harming Half Harms the Whole

The National Review Online posted this suggesting a repeal of the 19th Amendment. The 19th Amendment prohibits any United States citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex. This is the 21st century and yet there are some who have yet to evolve beyond the Iron age. This is not an isolated … Continue reading →

Death By Plastic – A Real Tearjerker

Yesterday, my friend shared a 4 minute video with me. I was stunned. About three years ago he brought “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch” to my attention, which he’s been monitoring for some time now. Ever heard of it? I’ll wager very few are aware of this man-made island of floating garbage. I did some … Continue reading →

Infrasound Can Mess With Your Head

Last week I watched an interview about a young girl who was allegedly saved by a baby elephant during the devastating 2004 tsunami, caused by a powerful megathrust earthquake in the Indian Ocean. The eight-year-old, vacationing with her parents on an island in Thailand, was riding the elephant on the beach supervised by the elephant’s … Continue reading →

Defaulting to Earth’s Frequencies?

The following are excerpts from a paper by behavioral neuroscientist, Todd Murphy, with evidence suggesting geology and the geomagnetic fields play a role in hallucinations, emotional cycles, and more. The paper also presents fascinating studies by cognitive neuroscientist, Michael Persinger. I recommend reading the full paper from the link provided at the end of this … Continue reading →

Frequencies & the Human Antenna

There exists no definite border between the electromagnetic fields that are maintained by the body’s metabolism and those that exist in the environment. | Dr. Neil Cherry | Low frequency electric and magnetic fields induce weak electric currents in humans and animals. The dotted lines in the image below show the directions of the induced … Continue reading →

Relying on Human Goodness

Oppression never occurs between equals. Tyranny always arises from the belief that some people are more human than others. | An insightful article by Margaret Wheatley. | We have a great need to rely on the fact of human goodness. Human goodness seems like an outrageous “fact.” Everyday we are confronted with mounting evidence of … Continue reading →

Wars, Revolts Linked to Solar Cycles

As early as 1915, some scientists were beginning to recognize connections between solar activity and human behavior. This work began with Russian scientist Alexander Chizhevsky, who observed that mass changes in human behavior correlated to sunspot cycles. In the 1930s, Professor Raymond Wheeler, a historian at the University of Kansas, took this observation one step … Continue reading →

The Psychology of Male Domination

“What sane species would treat half of its members — and the very half which gives birth to the whole species — with such contempt and injustice? Despite their high level of testosterone, the men of many ancient and indigenous cultures revered women for their life-giving and nurturing role, so why don’t we? The oppression of … Continue reading →

The Three R’s – Religion, Recognition, Reward

This analysis is quite interesting and serves to challenge us about the subconscious motives behind religious beliefs. Studies show that cultural and behavioral predispositions are linked to chemicals in our brain, such as dopamine. One of the most important functions of dopamine is in the reward system of the brain, the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). … Continue reading →

Semantic Dehumanization and Violence

Listed here are many scriptures of dehumanization and violence against women. What’s behind this behavior, and other forms of dehumanization and violence towards the female gender? A comprehensive study, by William Brennan, Ph.D, exposes a dark history of beliefs, practices, and attitudes that continue to prevail throughout many cultures in the 21st Century. Female Objects … Continue reading →

It’s Not the ‘Bad Apples’ – It’s the Barrel

The basic paradigm to be presented illustrates the relative ease with which “ordinary,” good men and women are induced into behaving in “evil ways” by turning on or off one or another social situational variable. This body of research demonstrates the under-recognized power of social situations to alter the mental representations and behavior of individuals, … Continue reading →

Neurobiology of Religious Terrorism

| Todd Murphy, Behavioral Neuroscientist | Understanding the mind of a suicidal terrorist is a special challenge in psychology. Not only do their actions show a highly aggressive personality, but their motivations seem to outweigh even the imperative for self-preservation. The profile of the suicide bomber is not at all simple. We think of them … Continue reading →

Wired for Violence or Peace?

In much the same way as consistent practice will literally alter your DNA, we’ve hardwired our nation against peace. The brain shapes and changes itself based on your daily actions. The dangerous rhetoric that makes media money, or wins political points – also illustrates the progress of an acquired taste. Now tone toxins have evolved … Continue reading →

Like Baboons, Elected Leaders Addicted To Power–Dopamine?

| Ian Robertson, Ph.D. — The Winner Effect: How Power Affects Your Brain. | Democracy, the separation of judicial powers and the free press all evolved for essentially one purpose – to reduce the chance of leaders becoming power addicts. Power changes the brain triggering increased testosterone in both men and women. Testosterone and one … Continue reading →

What Culture Can Do To The Brain

Is it true that our biology has become mismatched to the world that surrounds our biology? Are we no longer a well-adapted organism, and therefore natural selection dooms us as a species? The following are excerpts by Norman Holland, Ph.D., from an article he wrote for Psychology Today. | We Humans Have a Fatal Biology … Continue reading →

Rethinking Human Nature

In his book, “The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis”, Jeremy Rifkin, President of the Foundation on Economic Trends, wrote: The Empathic Civilization is emerging. A younger generation is fast extending its empathic embrace beyond religious affiliations and national identification to include the whole of humanity and the vast … Continue reading →

Child Abuse A Danger to World Stability

Physical as well as psychological abuse of the child is not only harmful but highly dangerous. Not only for the individual but under certain circumstances for whole nations. ~ A. Miller, Ph.D Watch (Warning – video contains graphic material) It is now clear that what a child experiences in the first few years of life … Continue reading →

Are We Entering An Age of Empathy?

Jeremy Rifkin, a prolific writer, and advisor to the European Union since 2002, and principle architect of the Third Industrial Revolution, describes in his new book, The Empathetic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World of Crisis, how the Age of Reason during The Enlightenment triumphed over the Age of Faith in the … Continue reading →

Dopamine Jackpot – Anticipating Reward

Robert Sapolsky, professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University, compares dopamine levels in monkeys and humans. Unlike monkeys however, humans keep those dopamine levels up for decades waiting for the reward. Full video here US Copyright Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107

Hormone from Hell?

| 1K pharm | Dopamine is a small molecule. Nothing too complicated really. Two neighboring hydroxy groups on a benzene ring with an amino group just around the corner. But, oh! What a molecule. It is a neurotransmitter produced in various parts of the brain and has five known target receptors. According to the Wikipedia … Continue reading →

Media, Children & Novelty Seekers

Dopamine addiction is an overlooked problem.. Dopamine is the most addictive substance on the planet, a neurotransmitter produced in our own body. This TEDx video (Media and Children), by Dimitri Christakis, a pediatrician, parent, and researcher, shows young mice taking risks after being exposed to TV, 6 hours a day, for 42 days. The mice continued … Continue reading →

TV & Brain Development in Children

| Dr. Sheikh Arshad Saeed | Children, aged 11 to 15, now spend 55 per cent of their waking lives — 53 hours a week, seven-and-a-half hours a day — watching TV and computers. More than half the three-year-olds now have a TV set in their bedrooms. However, biological sciences are fast becoming the … Continue reading →

Protect the Brain – Change the World

Specific brain injuries greatly contribute to suicide and many social ills. The United States is renowned for having one of the most sophisticated judicial systems in the world, yet the system remains far behind the research with regard to behavior. Character is judged and punishment is the outcome. It’s an archaic system. Violence experts … Continue reading →