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POPSStates Of Consciousness The third state of consciousness is being awake. This is the state most of us are in most of the time. Measurable brain activity during the waking state of consciousness is quite different when compared with brain activity during both sleep and dreaming. The fourth state of consciousness occurs when we actually glimpse the soul, when we transcend, when we become, even for a fraction of a moment, absolutely still and quiet and become aware of the observer inside us. This state of consciousness occurs during meditation, when we experience the gap, that quiet moment between our thoughts. The fifth state is called cosmic consciousness, the sixth state divine consciousness, and the seventh state unity consciousness. Adapted from The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire, by Deepak Chopra (Three Rivers Press).
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POPSWhy antidepressants don't work for so many people More: The biochemical events that ultimately result in depression actually start in the development and functioning of neurons. "The medications have been focusing on the effect, not the cause," she said. "That's why it takes so long for them to work and why they aren't effective for so many people." Her animal model of depression did not show dramatic differences in the levels of genes controlling neurotransmitters functions. "If depression was related to neurotransmitter activity, we would have seen that," she said. Her findings in depressed rats, she said, are very likely applicable to humans. "The similarities between these regions of the human and rodent brain are remarkable," Redei explained. "The hippocampus and amygdala are part of the so-called ancient lizard brain that controls survival and are the same in even primitive organisms."
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POPSAvatar There is a strong identification with avatars used in games, which is for sure enhanced with avatar customizability. There isn't much to say, so I'll throw a question: Which is the meaning of life and how real do you need it to be to make sense?
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POPSPsychic 'mind-reading' computer Although the results were crude, the technique was able to reproduce the rough shape of a man in a white shirt and the image of a city skyline. Prof Jack Gallant, who carried out the experiment at the University of California, Berkeley, said: 'At the moment when you see something and want to describe it to someone you have to use words or draw it and it doesn't work very well. 'You could use this technology to transmit the image to someone. It might be useful for artists or to allow you to recover an eyewitnesses memory of a crime.' The experiment is the latest in a series of studies designed to show how brain scans can reveal our innermost thoughts.
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POPSWant a brain that bounces back like a super ball? This is looking really good for my running friends - while they may be killing their knees and hips, they are keeping their brains young! (I walk and occasionally job 15 miles a day) One caveat though - the test was done on rhesus monkeys. So if you run a lot, have slightly longer arms than the rest of us and...
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POPSPlacebo effect caught in the act in spinal nerves indeed, the biggest obstacle to establishing the spinal cord's role in placebo pain relief was measuring its activity with fMRI scanning, says Falk Eippert, a neuroscientist at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany, who led the study. FMRI scanning has long been used to image the brain, but the part of the spinal cord that Eippert's team was interested in – the dorsal horn – is minuscule in comparison, and so is harder to image. It also swims around in cerebrospinal fluid, further complicating real-time measurement.
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POPSYou Can Slow Down The Aging Process Research has proven that nutritional health supplements can slow down the aging process. These nutritional health supplements, which contain powerful antioxidants, actually promote brain cell function and sustain energy levels.
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POPSThe Lure of Bette Davis Eyes Two scientists from the University of Bremen have found that groups of brain cells within the temporal lobe of macaque monkeys, are not only dedicated to recognizing facial features, but each cell is responsible for specific sub-sets of facial features, like eye size.
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POPSHappy (belated) 95th birthday to Jack LaLanne! More: The seeming futility of shaping up the world does not daunt him. "I never think about that," LaLanne says. "I think about things that I can improve." One thing he can always improve is himself. LaLanne works out two hours a day, mostly swimming and lifting weights… "I work at living," he says, leaning close and squeezing an arm. "Most people work at dying. Dying's easy." One of LaLanne's most effective sales devices has been his amazing feats of strength. When Arnold Schwarzenegger came to America in 1968 and became an instant sensation on the Southern California muscle scene, LaLanne challenged the kid to a duel at Muscle Beach. The Austrian Oak was 21; the Oakland Oak was 54. "I beat him in chin-ups and push-ups," LaLanne says. "He said, 'That Jack LaLanne's an animal! I was sore for four days. I couldn't lift my arms!' " At age 70, handcuffed, LaLanne towed 70 loaded boats 1.5 miles in Long Beach Harbor.