As far as pejorative barbs are concerned, the term “bleeding heart” is not particularly insulting. In fact many people who work within activist and social justice circles – liberal or conservative – wear such a distinction like a badge of pride. However, the implication of the term remains. A “bleeding heart” activist or politician is someone regarded as too softhearted to work pragmatically within civic affairs, because they are perceived as too emotional to
June 16, 2012
In some ways this is very exciting news. There is an emerging body of evidence leading to the theory that intelligence depends on the brain’s ability to integrate information. This information is gathered from verbal, visual, spatial, and executive processes. Furthermore, there is ongoing exploration into how the brain, genes, nutrition and environment interact to shape our continued evolution. I was hoping for a more simplified, concrete location and definition of intelligence; of course, this is not how our brains
April 18, 2012
Stress has long been denoted as the ‘fight or flight’ syndrome which produces cortisol, a hormone proven to be destructive to overall health. In this article, further research is indicating that there are actually key regions in the brain which are being directly affected by the level of stress we experience in our lives. Talking therapy has been proven to reduce stress. In addition, medicine is also showing that meditation, yoga, and cardiovascular exercise can greatly assist in lowering the
April 14, 2012
In the 1940’s, Anna Freud described adolescence as ‘developmental psychopathology.’ Parents of teenagers frequently will describe their sweet children as having become alien. This article provides additional insight into this developmental period by exploring the interactional parts of the brain. One of the most potent lines, “If you think of the teenage brain as a car, today’s adolescents acquire an accelerator a long time before they can steer and brake” brings us up to date with current adolescents and