Electrical stimulation of areas deep within the brain could improve memory, early research suggests.
A team of doctors in Canada stumbled upon the finding while attempting to treat a morbidly obese man through deep brain stimulation (DBS).
The electrical stimulation caused the patient to experience vivid memories.
The findings, reported in the Annals of Neurology, potentially pave the way for electrical stimulation to treat disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.
"We hope it might provide benefit to patients with memory disorders" -- Andres Lozano, Toronto Western Hospital
Lead researcher Professor Andres Lozano, of the Toronto Western Hospital, said: "This is a single case that was totally unexpected.
"We knew immediately this was important. We are sufficiently intrigued to see if this could help people with memory disorders."
The team had been trying to help a 50-year-old obese man with type 2 diabetes and sleeping disorders who had failed to respond to diet, medications and psychological help.
He had refused gastric surgery, and doctors decided deep brain stimulation, although experimental, was his best option.
DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION
* Electrodes are implanted in the brain under local anaesthesia, with the patient awake so their responses can be monitored
* The electrodes are stimulated by a "pacemaker" stitched into the chest
It has been used for more than a decade to treat tremor, and more recently to treat Parkinson's disease, chronic pain and depression
* Side effects can include apathy, hallucinations, depression, and even compulsive gambling - but often they are temporary
It has been found to have an impact on appetite in animal tests, but has not been widely tested as a treatment for obesity in humans.
However, it has been used to treat Parkinson's disease, chronic pain, severe cluster headaches and even depression with some success.
The technique involves implanting electrodes into the brain: in this case into an area in the limbic system called the hypothalamus, which is thought to control the appetite.
When the electrodes were stimulated by electrical impulses the patient began to experience feelings of deja vu.
He then had a sudden perception of being in a park with friends.
He felt younger, thought he was around 20-years-old, and his girlfriend of the time was there. He was an observer, and saw the scene in colour.
As the intensity of the stimulation increased, details in the scene became more vivid.
Memory tests
Following surgery, the patient recovered for two months. But later when the electrodes were stimulated for a second time, he experienced a similar effect.
After three weeks of constant electrical stimulation the patient performed better in memory tests than he had previously done.
A year later he again performed well in memory tests when the electrodes were stimulated, but less well when they were switched off.
The results suggest it might be possible to use deep brain stimulation directly to boost memory.
"We hopefully have found a circuit in the brain which can be modulated by stimulation, and which might provide benefit to patients with memory disorders," said Professor Lozano.
Professor Lozano is now leading a pilot study into whether deep brain stimulation can help people with early Alzheimer's disease. They are initially testing six patients.
Susanne Sorensen, of the Alzheimer's Society, said: "As it is difficult to experiment on the living human brain, big leaps in understanding have occasionally been made from unexpected results when treating something unrelated or observations from rare genetic diseases and unusual lesions.
"The observations of memories recovery made during this attempt to treat extreme obesity, could be just such a 'stroke of luck'."
Rebecca Wood, Chief Executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, welcomed the move but said further work was clearly needed.
She said: "It will be interesting to see whether this method offers any benefit to people with Alzheimer's.
"With the number of people with Alzheimer's forecast to double within a generation, we urgently need to find ways to tackle this awful disease, but research is hugely under-funded."
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7213972.stm
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Good grades pay off — literally
By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY
Teachers have long said that success is its own reward. But these days, some students are finding that good grades can bring them cash and luxury gifts.
In at least a dozen states this school year, students who bring home top marks can expect more than just gratitude. Examples:
•Baltimore schools chief Andres Alonso last week promised to spend more than $935,000 to give high school students as much as $110 each to improve their scores on state graduation exams.
•In New York City, about 9,000 fourth- and seventh-graders in 60 schools are eligible to win as much as $500 for improving their scores on the city's English and math tests, given throughout the school year.
•In suburban Atlanta, a pair of schools last week kicked off a program that will pay 8th- and 11th-grade students $8 an hour for a 15-week "Learn & Earn" after-school study program (the federal minimum wage is currently $5.85).
In most cases, the efforts are funded privately through corporate or philanthropic donors.
The most ambitious experiment began in September, when seven states — Arkansas, Alabama, Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington — won spots in an Exxon/Mobil-funded program that, in most cases, pays students $100 for each passing grade on advanced placement (AP) college-prep exams.
It's an effort to get low-income and minority students interested in the courses, says Tommie Sue Anthony, president of the Arkansas Advanced Initiative for Math and Science. "We still have students who are not sure of the value, who are not willing to take the courses," she says. "Probably the incentives will make a difference with those students."
Gregg Fleisher of the National Math and Science Initiative, which runs the seven-state program, says the effort is modeled on a program adopted by Dallas in the 1995-96 school year that saw AP course-taking jump substantially. That program is now statewide.
While many educators would blanch at offering kids cash for good grades, Fleisher and others say the idea is simple: "It's an incentive to get them to basically make the right decision and choose a more rigorous class," he says. "This teaches them that if they work at something very hard and have a lot of support, they can do something they didn't think they could do."
An analysis of the Texas program last month by Cornell economist C. Kirabo Jackson found that it linked to a 30% rise in the number of students with high SAT and ACT scores and an 8% rise in college-going students.
But a few critics say the payouts amount to little more than bribes, undermining kids' motivation to do high-quality work when they're not being paid.
"It's a strategy that helps only around the edges," says Thomas Toch of the Education Sector, a Washington think tank. Most students in AP classes "are already internally motivated, and the opportunity to earn college credits for passing AP tests is a bigger motivator than small cash awards."
Bob Schaeffer of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, a watchdog group, is more blunt: "Bribing kids for higher test scores — or paying teachers bounties for their students' work — is similar to giving them steroids," he says. "Short-term performance might improve but the long-term effects can be very damaging."
At Northeast Health Science Magnet High School in Macon, Ga., principal Sam Scavella says he's trying lots of different incentives for doing the right thing. If students attend Saturday study sessions, they qualify for an iPod, movie tickets or a dinner for two, among other prizes.
Jessie Humphrey, a sophomore at Northeast, is one of 25 students who made the school's All-A Honor Roll. That entitled her to a slot in a special drawing Thursday. When it was over, she walked away with a 26-inch, flat-screen television set, which now sits in her room.
An honor roll student most years, Jessie, 15, says she usually pulls As and Bs, but this semester, "I got lucky and got all As."
Scavella says the incentives seem to be making a difference — only 10 students made the All-A Honor Roll this time last year.
"We have to reward the behavior we expect," he says. "I don't see it as a way of paying students to do well — it's a reward. If you do well in school, then life will pay you well. If you do well in school , you can afford a lifestyle that will pay you well."
The two-year New York City experiment, begun last September, essentially pays students monthly to do their best on skills tests. If it seems like an economist's dream, that's because it's the brainchild of wunderkind Harvard economist Roland Fryer, who also serves as the schools' chief equality officer. He came up with the idea while trying to figure out how to make school "tangible" for disadvantaged kids with few successful role models. "I just thought that giving them some short-term incentives to do what's in their long-term best interests would be a good way to go."
While teachers talk about success, he says, it's not enough to tell a kid that, in the long term, hard work will pay off. "We're asking them to look down a path that they have probably never seen anyone go down … and then to have the wisdom and the fortitude to wait for their reward."
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-01-27-grades_N.htm
Teachers have long said that success is its own reward. But these days, some students are finding that good grades can bring them cash and luxury gifts.
In at least a dozen states this school year, students who bring home top marks can expect more than just gratitude. Examples:
•Baltimore schools chief Andres Alonso last week promised to spend more than $935,000 to give high school students as much as $110 each to improve their scores on state graduation exams.
•In New York City, about 9,000 fourth- and seventh-graders in 60 schools are eligible to win as much as $500 for improving their scores on the city's English and math tests, given throughout the school year.
•In suburban Atlanta, a pair of schools last week kicked off a program that will pay 8th- and 11th-grade students $8 an hour for a 15-week "Learn & Earn" after-school study program (the federal minimum wage is currently $5.85).
In most cases, the efforts are funded privately through corporate or philanthropic donors.
The most ambitious experiment began in September, when seven states — Arkansas, Alabama, Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington — won spots in an Exxon/Mobil-funded program that, in most cases, pays students $100 for each passing grade on advanced placement (AP) college-prep exams.
It's an effort to get low-income and minority students interested in the courses, says Tommie Sue Anthony, president of the Arkansas Advanced Initiative for Math and Science. "We still have students who are not sure of the value, who are not willing to take the courses," she says. "Probably the incentives will make a difference with those students."
Gregg Fleisher of the National Math and Science Initiative, which runs the seven-state program, says the effort is modeled on a program adopted by Dallas in the 1995-96 school year that saw AP course-taking jump substantially. That program is now statewide.
While many educators would blanch at offering kids cash for good grades, Fleisher and others say the idea is simple: "It's an incentive to get them to basically make the right decision and choose a more rigorous class," he says. "This teaches them that if they work at something very hard and have a lot of support, they can do something they didn't think they could do."
An analysis of the Texas program last month by Cornell economist C. Kirabo Jackson found that it linked to a 30% rise in the number of students with high SAT and ACT scores and an 8% rise in college-going students.
But a few critics say the payouts amount to little more than bribes, undermining kids' motivation to do high-quality work when they're not being paid.
"It's a strategy that helps only around the edges," says Thomas Toch of the Education Sector, a Washington think tank. Most students in AP classes "are already internally motivated, and the opportunity to earn college credits for passing AP tests is a bigger motivator than small cash awards."
Bob Schaeffer of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, a watchdog group, is more blunt: "Bribing kids for higher test scores — or paying teachers bounties for their students' work — is similar to giving them steroids," he says. "Short-term performance might improve but the long-term effects can be very damaging."
At Northeast Health Science Magnet High School in Macon, Ga., principal Sam Scavella says he's trying lots of different incentives for doing the right thing. If students attend Saturday study sessions, they qualify for an iPod, movie tickets or a dinner for two, among other prizes.
Jessie Humphrey, a sophomore at Northeast, is one of 25 students who made the school's All-A Honor Roll. That entitled her to a slot in a special drawing Thursday. When it was over, she walked away with a 26-inch, flat-screen television set, which now sits in her room.
An honor roll student most years, Jessie, 15, says she usually pulls As and Bs, but this semester, "I got lucky and got all As."
Scavella says the incentives seem to be making a difference — only 10 students made the All-A Honor Roll this time last year.
"We have to reward the behavior we expect," he says. "I don't see it as a way of paying students to do well — it's a reward. If you do well in school, then life will pay you well. If you do well in school , you can afford a lifestyle that will pay you well."
The two-year New York City experiment, begun last September, essentially pays students monthly to do their best on skills tests. If it seems like an economist's dream, that's because it's the brainchild of wunderkind Harvard economist Roland Fryer, who also serves as the schools' chief equality officer. He came up with the idea while trying to figure out how to make school "tangible" for disadvantaged kids with few successful role models. "I just thought that giving them some short-term incentives to do what's in their long-term best interests would be a good way to go."
While teachers talk about success, he says, it's not enough to tell a kid that, in the long term, hard work will pay off. "We're asking them to look down a path that they have probably never seen anyone go down … and then to have the wisdom and the fortitude to wait for their reward."
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-01-27-grades_N.htm
Sunday, January 27, 2008
"Technology overload" can ruin relationships
Wed Jan 23, 4:28 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Technology might be just as addictive as alcohol and drugs and could also wreak havoc with personal and work relationships, a leading expert said.
John O'Neill, the director of addictions services at the Menninger Clinic in Houston, Texas refers to it as "technology overload" when he sees addiction-like behavior in his patients using cell phones or emails.
"I think they share some of the same components as people who become addicted to alcohol and drugs in that we start to see that someone cannot really put it down and cannot stop the use of it even when there are some consequences," he said in a telephone interview.
"We can become overloaded by technology and suffer consequences in our relationships," he added.
O'Neill's observations are backed up by psychologists who have classified technology addiction as an impulse disorder that can be as socially damaging as alcoholism, gambling and drug addiction.
The Internet/Computer Addiction Services in Redmond, Washington, which runs treatment programs and provides therapy, estimate that 6 to 10 percent of the approximately 189 million Internet users in the United States have a dependency on technology.
O'Neill said it's all about teaching people how to manage their behavior in a healthy way.
"How do you learn to set limits, develop boundaries, how do you make some sense out of what does it mean to healthily use the technology, or to healthily enter into a relationship with someone," O'Neill said.
He added that warning signs that someone may be sliding into an unhealthy relationship with technology include using text messages, email and voice mail when face-to-face interaction would be more appropriate, or limiting time with friends and family to tend to your email, return phone calls or to surf the Internet.
An inability to leave home without a cell phone, to relax without constantly checking email or to stop using the Internet are also worrying signs.
When the Internet becomes a more powerful draw than spending time with family or friends, or when someone pays more attention to gadgets than what is happening in real life are more danger signs.
But O'Neill said there is no reason to become alarmed about daily use of texting or emails.
"We've spent a lot of time and a lot of years talking about what does it mean to healthily use something, what does it mean to healthily drink a glass or two of wine as opposed to drinking a bottle.
"I think some people are drinking a bottle of technology and some people are able to drink a glass."
The Menninger Clinic is an international specialty psychiatric center that provides treatment, research and education.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080123/lf_nm_life/gadgets_dc_3;_ylt=AtQKrNeTCMIm8NQ9fWN8dNLSMZA5
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Technology might be just as addictive as alcohol and drugs and could also wreak havoc with personal and work relationships, a leading expert said.
John O'Neill, the director of addictions services at the Menninger Clinic in Houston, Texas refers to it as "technology overload" when he sees addiction-like behavior in his patients using cell phones or emails.
"I think they share some of the same components as people who become addicted to alcohol and drugs in that we start to see that someone cannot really put it down and cannot stop the use of it even when there are some consequences," he said in a telephone interview.
"We can become overloaded by technology and suffer consequences in our relationships," he added.
O'Neill's observations are backed up by psychologists who have classified technology addiction as an impulse disorder that can be as socially damaging as alcoholism, gambling and drug addiction.
The Internet/Computer Addiction Services in Redmond, Washington, which runs treatment programs and provides therapy, estimate that 6 to 10 percent of the approximately 189 million Internet users in the United States have a dependency on technology.
O'Neill said it's all about teaching people how to manage their behavior in a healthy way.
"How do you learn to set limits, develop boundaries, how do you make some sense out of what does it mean to healthily use the technology, or to healthily enter into a relationship with someone," O'Neill said.
He added that warning signs that someone may be sliding into an unhealthy relationship with technology include using text messages, email and voice mail when face-to-face interaction would be more appropriate, or limiting time with friends and family to tend to your email, return phone calls or to surf the Internet.
An inability to leave home without a cell phone, to relax without constantly checking email or to stop using the Internet are also worrying signs.
When the Internet becomes a more powerful draw than spending time with family or friends, or when someone pays more attention to gadgets than what is happening in real life are more danger signs.
But O'Neill said there is no reason to become alarmed about daily use of texting or emails.
"We've spent a lot of time and a lot of years talking about what does it mean to healthily use something, what does it mean to healthily drink a glass or two of wine as opposed to drinking a bottle.
"I think some people are drinking a bottle of technology and some people are able to drink a glass."
The Menninger Clinic is an international specialty psychiatric center that provides treatment, research and education.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080123/lf_nm_life/gadgets_dc_3;_ylt=AtQKrNeTCMIm8NQ9fWN8dNLSMZA5
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Best Buy Sold Infected Digital Picture Frames
By GREGG KEIZER, Computerworld, IDG
Published: January 23, 2008
Best Buy Co. Inc. sold digital picture frames during the holidays that harbored malicious code able to spread to any connected Windows PC, the big box retailer has confirmed. It is not recalling the frames, however.
What Best Buy called "a limited number" of the 10.4-in. digital frames sold under its in-house Insignia brand were "contaminated with a computer virus during the manufacturing process," according to a notice posted on the Insignia site last weekend. The frame which went by the part number NS-DPF10A has been discontinued, and all remaining inventory pulled, Best Buy added.
But that didn't happen until after some of pre-infected frames were sold to customers.
Best Buy did not specify the number of virus-loaded frames that had ended up in customers' hands, but said in a second notice posted today that it is continuing to investigate and is "connecting with our customers who may have been impacted."
The malware packed with the frame is an older virus that Best Buy claimed would be easily detected by any up-to-date anti-virus software. It did not, however, specify the malware or narrow the scope of the danger by confirming that it was say, a non-replicating Trojan rather than a self-propagating worm.
Only Windows PCs are vulnerable, said Best Buy's notices, and then only if the picture frame were to be connected to the computer via the included USB cable. Frames like digital cameras are designed to connect to PCs so that images can be downloaded from the machine to the frame.
Best Buy recommended users running a current anti-virus program plug the frame into the PC so that the security software can scan the frame and delete the malware. Other customers should call a special toll-free number for help.
"We apologize for the inconvenience that has been caused as a result of this incident," said Best Buy.
Best Buy's public relations team did not respond to a call for comment.
The frame snafu is only the latest in a tradition of factory-infected hardware. Last November, Seagate Technology LLC admitted that an unknown number of its 500GB Maxtor Basics 3200 hard drives left an Asian manufacturing plant with Trojan horses designed to steal online gaming passwords. The year before that, Apple Inc. had to warn Windows users that some of its iPod music players had been infected with a factory virus.
At the time, an Apple vice president made light of the iPod incident, telling Macworld UK: "We are upset at Windows for not being more hardy against such viruses, and even more upset with ourselves for not catching it."
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_002570DE00740E18002573D9007CF01E.html?em&ex=1201323600&en=0f4358ac4c5481a2&ei=5087%0A
Published: January 23, 2008
Best Buy Co. Inc. sold digital picture frames during the holidays that harbored malicious code able to spread to any connected Windows PC, the big box retailer has confirmed. It is not recalling the frames, however.
What Best Buy called "a limited number" of the 10.4-in. digital frames sold under its in-house Insignia brand were "contaminated with a computer virus during the manufacturing process," according to a notice posted on the Insignia site last weekend. The frame which went by the part number NS-DPF10A has been discontinued, and all remaining inventory pulled, Best Buy added.
But that didn't happen until after some of pre-infected frames were sold to customers.
Best Buy did not specify the number of virus-loaded frames that had ended up in customers' hands, but said in a second notice posted today that it is continuing to investigate and is "connecting with our customers who may have been impacted."
The malware packed with the frame is an older virus that Best Buy claimed would be easily detected by any up-to-date anti-virus software. It did not, however, specify the malware or narrow the scope of the danger by confirming that it was say, a non-replicating Trojan rather than a self-propagating worm.
Only Windows PCs are vulnerable, said Best Buy's notices, and then only if the picture frame were to be connected to the computer via the included USB cable. Frames like digital cameras are designed to connect to PCs so that images can be downloaded from the machine to the frame.
Best Buy recommended users running a current anti-virus program plug the frame into the PC so that the security software can scan the frame and delete the malware. Other customers should call a special toll-free number for help.
"We apologize for the inconvenience that has been caused as a result of this incident," said Best Buy.
Best Buy's public relations team did not respond to a call for comment.
The frame snafu is only the latest in a tradition of factory-infected hardware. Last November, Seagate Technology LLC admitted that an unknown number of its 500GB Maxtor Basics 3200 hard drives left an Asian manufacturing plant with Trojan horses designed to steal online gaming passwords. The year before that, Apple Inc. had to warn Windows users that some of its iPod music players had been infected with a factory virus.
At the time, an Apple vice president made light of the iPod incident, telling Macworld UK: "We are upset at Windows for not being more hardy against such viruses, and even more upset with ourselves for not catching it."
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_002570DE00740E18002573D9007CF01E.html?em&ex=1201323600&en=0f4358ac4c5481a2&ei=5087%0A
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Mass. clinic launches fertility test that measures egg supply
Mass. clinic launches fertility test that measures egg supply
Boston Business Journal
Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - 9:32 AM EST
A Massachusetts clinic claims it will be the first in the northeast to offer a fertility test that measures how many eggs a woman has.
Fertility center Boston IVF of Waltham, Mass., said on Tuesday that it will begin to sell Repromedix's Plan Ahead test, a blood test that uses a variety of elements to measure a woman's egg supply. The test is intended to help women who are planning to have children after their late twenties, by measuring three ovary-related hormones.
A woman's ability to have children by natural conception depends on having enough eggs, a supply of which declines as a woman ages.
Repromedix is also Massachusetts-based; Its headquarters are in Woburn.
Boston IVF is one of a select number of fertility centers who will offer the $350 test. It's expected to launch in major markets through 2008.
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2008/01/21/daily17.html
Boston Business Journal
Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - 9:32 AM EST
A Massachusetts clinic claims it will be the first in the northeast to offer a fertility test that measures how many eggs a woman has.
Fertility center Boston IVF of Waltham, Mass., said on Tuesday that it will begin to sell Repromedix's Plan Ahead test, a blood test that uses a variety of elements to measure a woman's egg supply. The test is intended to help women who are planning to have children after their late twenties, by measuring three ovary-related hormones.
A woman's ability to have children by natural conception depends on having enough eggs, a supply of which declines as a woman ages.
Repromedix is also Massachusetts-based; Its headquarters are in Woburn.
Boston IVF is one of a select number of fertility centers who will offer the $350 test. It's expected to launch in major markets through 2008.
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2008/01/21/daily17.html
Monday, January 21, 2008
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