It was the environmental whackos

Over 100 brains have been stolen from the University of Texas psychology department. Social media had lots of theories. One theory was that Abby Normal may have taken it.

However, this sign was spotted on N. Lamar near MLK, just southwest of the campus.

I don't think there is any truth to the rumor that Taylor Swift may have stolen them as ingredients for her cat's hair conditioner.

Ralph K.M. Haurwitz of the American-Statesman Staff writes:

Human brains missing from a University of Texas collection were disposed of in “approximately 2002” because their poor condition rendered them unsuitable for research or teaching, the university said Wednesday.

UT said in a statement that its preliminary investigation also found “no evidence” that any of the brain specimens came from Tower shooter Charles Whitman, “though we will continue to investigate those reports.” Whitman’s 1966 rampage eventually took 16 lives, including those of his mother and wife, whom he stabbed to death before climbing the Tower.

The preliminary investigation found that UT environmental health and safety workers, in conjunction with a biological waste contractor, disposed of 40 to 60 jars, some containing multiple brains. A pathologist at the state hospital collected the brains from autopsies of deceased mental patients.

Read more here.
Thanks to Christopher Buckley

It's a very long road, that we've just begun

There is one good thing about Seattle. It is the home to blogger Gerard Vanderleun. Gerard posts this video today at American Digest.

Different, but complementary!

There is a fascinating post here on the differences in the male and female brains. Here is a graphic from the article.

Steve Conner writes at The Independent,

Researchers found that many of the connections in a typical male brain run between the front and the back of the same side of the brain, whereas in women the connections are more likely to run from side to side between the left and right hemispheres of the brain.

This difference in the way the nerve connections in the brain are “hardwired” occurs during adolescence when many of the secondary sexual characteristics such as facial hair in men and breasts in women develop under the influence of sex hormones, the study found.

“These maps show us a stark difference - and complementarity - in the architecture of the human brain that helps to provide a potential neural basis as to why men excel at certain tasks, and women at others,” said Ragini Verma, professor of radiology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Conner writes,

The only part of the brain where right-left connectivity was greater in men than in women was in the cerebellum, an evolutionary ancient part of the brain that is linked with motor control.

Men tend to outperform women involving spatial tasks and motor skills - such as map reading - while women tend to better in memory tests, such as remembering words and faces, and social cognition tests, which try to measure empathy and “emotional intelligence”.

A separate study published last month found that the genes expressed in the human brain did so differently in men and women. Post-mortem tests on the brain and spinal cord of 100 individuals showed significant genetic differences between the sexes, which could account for the observed gender differences in neurological disorders, such as autism, according to scientists from University College London.

For instance, one theory of autism, which is affects about five times as many boys as girls, is that it is a manifestation of the “extreme male brain”, which is denoted by a failure to be able to show empathy towards others.

Practicing gratitude

Today, while standing in line at the supermarket, I picked up a copy of Prevention Magazine. On the front cover, it had something about discovering joy. I turned to the article, and was glad I did, because it talked about what Ann Voskamp writes about daily: gratitude. Of course, Ann writes about gratitude from the perspective of a Christian. The article was written from the perspectives of research psychologists.

"Advanced gratitude" is the ability to identify and appreciate the bad events in your life because of what you've gained from them. The article mentions the need to establish a "gratitude baseline." Like Ann Voskamp, the researchers recommend keeping a journal of things you are grateful for. It doesn't have to be daily; maybe three times a week, so it doesn't become something you feel bad about forgetting.

The researchers write about the need to retrain our brains. Our brains are on the lookout for trouble to avoid. We want to retrain our brains to bask in warm feelings of gratitude. That means practicing gratitude with considerable emotional intensity, lasting a while.

Lastly, the researchers recommend we remember the hard stuff. Compare the blessings of today with the sad or difficult times of loss or trauma we have experienced. The contrast provides a fertile ground for gratitude to develop.