Computational neuroscience: Memory-making is all about the connection

ScienceDaily (Nov. 8, 2012) ? A model that shows how connections in the brain must change to form memories could help to develop artificial cognitive computers

Exactly how memories are stored and accessed in the brain is unclear. Neuroscientists, however, do know that a primitive structure buried in the center of the brain, called the hippocampus, is a pivotal region of memory formation. Here, changes in the strengths of connections between neurons, which are called synapses, are the basis for memory formation. Networks of neurons linking up in the hippocampus are likely to encode specific memories.

Since direct tests cannot be performed in the brain, experimental evidence for this process of memory formation is difficult to obtain but mathematical and computational models can provide insight. To this end, Eng Yeow Cheu and co-workers at the A*STAR Institute for Infocomm Research, Singapore, have developed a model that sheds light on the exact synaptic conditions required in memory formation.

Their work builds on a previously proposed model of auto-associative memory, a process whereby a memory is retrieved or completed after partial activation of its constituent neural network. The earlier model proposed that neural networks encoding short-term memories are activated at specific points during oscillations of brain activity. Changes in the strengths of synapses, and therefore the abilities of neurons in the network to activate each other, lead to an auto-associative long-term memory.

Cheu and his team then adapted a mathematical model that describes the activity of a single neuron to incorporate specific characteristics of cells in the hippocampus, including their inhibitory activity. This allowed them to model neural networks in the hippocampus that encode short-term memories. They showed that for successful formation of auto-associative memories, the strength of synapses needs to be within a certain range: if synapses become too strong, the associated neurons are activated at the wrong time and networks become muddled, destroying the memories. If they are not strong enough, however, activation of some neurons in the network is not enough to activate the rest, and memory retrieval fails.

As well as providing insight into how memories may be stored and retrieved in the brain, Cheu thinks this work also has practical applications. "This study has significant implications in the construction of artificial cognitive computers in the future," he says. "It helps with developing artificial cognitive memory, in which memory sequences can be retrieved by the presentation of a partial query." According to Cheu, one can compare it to a single image being used to retrieve a sequence of images from a video clip.

The A*STAR-affiliated researchers contributing to this research are from the Institute for Infocomm Research.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Eng Yeow Cheu, Jiali Yu, Chin Hiong Tan, Huajin Tang. Synaptic conditions for auto-associative memory storage and pattern completion in Jensen et al.?s model of hippocampal area CA3. Journal of Computational Neuroscience, 2012; 33 (3): 435 DOI: 10.1007/s10827-012-0394-8

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/6Eo184kvYko/121108140847.htm

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4 Dental Care Tips you mustn't disregard | Health and Fitness ...

Dental care ? Enamel is indeed just about the most prominent elements of your body that demonstrate you?re a sense personal hygiene and in what way you hold your individuality. Kids and adults should not overlook the significance about regular appointments with their dental offices to undergo appropriate dental care so that tooth last long. All-around health and well being are significantly reflected simply by healthy the teeth, gums, and also mouths.

Dental care

Vivid shiny enamel, fresh air, and a great smile produce a truly captivating combination. Even though many people think that dentistry solutions should only end up being availed in the case of tooth decay or even mouth microbe infections, these are truly regularly acquired services, simply because once long gone, teeth usually do not erupt once more. Read on to determine some helpful dental care tips for each and every member of the family.

1. Remember to brush Twice a Day Every single day

Brushing at least two times a day is crucial. You must clean in the morning ahead of eating or perhaps drinking anything at all. It helps throughout removing bacteria?s that may block up beneath your tooth over night. Moreover, it will be fantastic if you get the habit of scrubbing your teeth following every meal. It?s a good idea to get this done because foodstuff particles obtain wedged in between the teeth and give start to rot away, cavities, as well as bad breath in the event that left un monitored.

2. The Component of Fluoride

Fluoride is the solitary most effective aspect for enamel as it can be useful for making them better, brighter, along with healthier. However all well-known brands regarding toothpastes along with mouthwashes have fluoride content material, you can also choose oral ingestion in the form of capsules. In some spots, fluoride is a compound in the water provide as well. In case fluoride is provided noisy. Phases regarding development, youngsters will have true strong tooth.

3. Say ?No? in order to Tobacco

Whether it is in any form, cigarette is not helpful at all. Those that smoke are frequently noticed complaining regarding tooth decay, periodontal diseases, stomach problems, and even serious mouth types of cancer. You must prevent tobacco in all forms because it doesn?t damage enamel, gums, and also tongue, in addition, it leads to seriously harmful effects about different system organs.

4. Reduce Sugar Ingestion

Dentist and also experts associated with dentistry companies repeatedly advise low sweets intake mainly because it causes dental carries. Unhealthy enamel and teeth cavities are most commonly described problems on account of eating a great deal of sweets and also foods brimming with sugar content material. Moreover, too much sugar ingestion may lead to diabetes; this makes gum area more vulnerable for you to diseases.

Source: http://mwaves.org/4-dental-care-tips-you-mustnt-disregard.html

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Disney's $4 billion Lucasfilm deal began with lightsabers in Orlando

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co's $4 billion deal to buy George Lucas's Lucasfilm Ltd, Disney's third major entertainment acquisition in seven years, started taking shape in May 2011, when the "Star Wars" creator had to show Disney CEO Bob Iger how to use a lightsaber.

Lucas and Iger were at Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park in Orlando, Florida, brandishing the toys at the grand opening of a 3-D version of the park's Star Tours ride, Iger recalls, and "George had to show me how to use it."

Talks heated up this summer when the 68-year-old Lucas recently decided he wanted to retire from running a business to focus on smaller, more personal film projects. Iger was excited about the prospect of adding marquee properties like Star Wars and Indiana Jones to the stable of brand names he's now spent $15 billion to acquire since becoming CEO in 2005.

"We proved with our Pixar and Marvel acquisitions that we know how to expand the value of a brand," Iger said in an interview. "And brands don't get much bigger than Star Wars."

Lucas is expected to serve as a consultant while Disney revs the producer's entertainment company, which generated $550 million in operating earnings in 2005 when Lucasfilms made the last installment of his franchise, "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith".

Lucas, in a video interview released at StarWars.com, said: "I really wanted to put the company somewhere in a larger entity which could protect it. Disney is a huge corporation. They have all kinds of capabilities and facilities, so that there's a lot of strength that is gained by this."

'NOT HEARING ANY FOOTSTEPS'

Kathleen Kennedy, co-chairman of Lucasfilm, is expected to play a major role in the Star Wars franchise, and Lucasfilm said it would retain operations in Northern California.

Disney intends to make a new Star Wars film every two or three years, Iger said. The company will also use the iconic brand to build theme park rides, produce TV shows and sell Darth Vader action figures.

"This is remarkably attractive for Disney," said Matthew Harrigan, an analyst with Wunderlich Securities. "I almost feel like Lucas really wanted it to be with Walt Disney and almost gave them a sweetheart deal."

Iger's big ticket acquisitions haven't always gotten such rave reviews. When Disney bought Steve Jobs' Pixar animation studio for $7.5 billion in stock in 2006, some analysts said at the time that the company overpaid for the producer of "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo".

Disney has since bought back the stock it issued for that deal, as it did after spending $4.2 billion in stock and cash to buy comic book and action film maker Marvel in 2010, said Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo.

Both of those transactions have paid dividends: Marvel produced "The Avengers" earlier this year, which had worldwide ticket sales of $1.5 billion.

Pixar produced two "Cars" movies, which sold $1 billion in tickets worldwide, and helped Disney design the Cars Land section of its California Adventure theme park in Anaheim.

"I think we made believers of those who supported us back then," said Iger, "and maybe turned some of our critics into believers."

When Disney produces the first of the new "Star Wars" movies in 2015, "Star Wars" and a film based on a Marvel character will account for as much as half the studio's action film slate, Iger said in a conference call. Pixar, with its almost-unblemished record of success at the box office, will continue to make another film each year.

"I'm not looking over my shoulder with any of those acquisitions," said Iger. "In football, there's a term for when a receiver catches the ball and gets hit. It's called 'hearing footsteps'."

With the Lucasfilms deal, the Disney executive said: "I'm not hearing any footsteps."

(Additional reporting By Liana Baker in New York; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Edmund Klamann)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/disneys-4-billion-lucasfilm-deal-began-lightsabers-orlando-013538905--finance.html

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Mark Regnerus, Gay Parenting Study Sociologist, Defends ...

The Texas sociologist who sparked controversy earlier this year with a heavily-criticized study of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) parenting is speaking out about his findings, but whether his remarks truly constitute a defense is questionable.

Mark Regnerus, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin, tells Focus on the Family's Citizen magazine that while he stands behind his work, he would do a few things differently, particularly in terms of language used in the findings, if given the opportunity.

"I?d be more careful about the language I used to describe people whose parents had same-sex relationships," Regenus told the magazine. "I said 'lesbian mothers' and 'gay fathers,' when in fact, I don?t know about their sexual orientation; I do know about their same-sex relationship behavior."

He also noted:

"Finding someone whose parent had some sort of same-sex relationship as they were growing up is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I got taken to task for leaning on young adults? assessments of their parents? relationships. I didn?t ask them whether they thought their mom was a lesbian or if their dad was gay. Because, in part, self-identity is a different kind of thing than behavior, and lot of people weren?t 'out' in that era. I think we can all think of moms and dads when we were growing up that we either knew or suspected were gay or lesbian, but never 'came out of the closet,' so to speak."

You can read the full interview with Regnerus here.

Though criticized by a number of high-profile sociologists, Regnerus' study -- which was partly funded by the Witherspoon Institute, which has ties to the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) -- has received nonetheless received praise from several conservative pundits. Among them was the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer, who noted that news that University of Texas would be conducting an investigation into Regnerus' study was proof that "the homosexual lobby is vicious, they are venomous, [and] they are filled with hatred," according to Right Wing Watch.

Meanwhile, Darren E. Sherkat, a professor of sociology at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, called Regnerus' findings "bullsh*t," noting that the paper's loose definition of "lesbian mothers" and ?gay fathers? should have ?disqualified it immediately,? according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Added Wendy Simonds, a sociology professor at Georgia State University: "Regnerus?s 'data' on gay and lesbian parents are unrepresentative of gay and lesbian parents, and, in my view, are presented so as to advance a homophobic agenda.?

The American Medical Association and the President of the American Sociological Association have also put their names to documents which called Regnerus? methodology scientifically unsound, according to The New Civil Rights Movement.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/31/mark-regnerus-gay-parenting-study-defense_n_2045960.html

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The many heroes of superstorm Sandy

Monday's deadly storm was the most destructive event to strike the northern East Coast in decades, but the resolve and heroism of both those under threat and the many emergency workers have been just as remarkable.

From firefighters in Manasquan, N.J., to the Federal Emergency Management Agency crew that saved NYU's Tisch Hospital in Manhattan, here are some of the best examples of grace under pressure:

The nurses and FEMA crew assigned to NYU's Tisch Hospital

Imagine speeding down a flight of stars in the pitch black, carrying a small child struggling to breathe--and in the middle of a raging storm. Without fail, a FEMA team deployed in New York City, greatly aided by local facilities' workers, faced such challenges efficiently and courageously as they evacuated many of the patients from NYU's Tisch Hospital in the midst of the storm.

Over 200 people, from infants to the elderly, were emptied from the hospital's buildings after power failed (not only had the basement flooded, but the backup generators fizzled). The paramedics and rescue workers, some New Yorkers and others from as far as Kentucky, carried out the job without a single causality.

Emily Rahimi, New York Fire Department's one-woman response team

If it weren't for the efforts of Emily Rahimi, even those New Yorkers who hadn't lost power might have been in the dark. At the helm of the NYFD's official Twitter feed, she made contact with and provided information to those having difficulty reaching 911.? Rahimi also passed on updates from the Mayor's office and urged individuals, through Twitter, not to give up on calling the emergency number, and assuring those waiting that help would come.

Governors Martin O'Malley and Chris Christie

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley refused to be caught unawares by the storm and made sure that power company Pepco, which supplies Washington, D.C., Maryland and the surrounding areas, would provide additional emergency workers from out of state in anticipation of the storm's effects.

As O'Malley put it to the Daily Beast, "We've had our boot up the backside of Pepco to bring in mutual aid help." The thousands of workers are undoubtedly making a difference as they try to rectify the lingering power outages.

In New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie tweeted that he has witnessed "the Jersey Shore of his youth" destroyed. With 2.4 million people out of power and some northern towns of his state flooded--and some areas submerged--Christie has been traveling statewide and issuing public statements to comfort and reinvigorate New Jerseyans.

Appearing on Fox and Friends Tuesday morning, the GOP governor angrily dismissed questions relating to how the storm will play in presidential politics. He declared, "If you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics then you don't know me."

Firefighters across the Northeast

Firefighters fanned out across neighborhoods to put out fires, and to rescue families and individuals whose homes were being destroyed.

In the small village of Lindenhurst, N.Y., for instance, firefighters saved over 100 families and individuals. In Manhattan along 14th Street toward the East River, the NYFD also performed rescue missions in areas that were flooded beyond many expectations by the "perfect" elements of the storm's formation.

Meanwhile, in Breezy Point, Queens, firefighters, at first stymied by flooding, attempted to control an inferno that burnt down some 100 buildings. But with the four-foot high water burying fire hydrants, every moment was met with frustration.

Mayors Cory Booker and Michael Bloomberg

"Just left," tweeted Newark Mayor Cory Booker as he and his team left Penn Station in New York City amid the madness. "We were able 2 convince & transport 32 homeless brothers & sisters 2 shelter RT @bakerb13 many homeless by penn station."

Booker himself set out into his community, driving around Newark and urging residents to be safe and remain inside. He even participated in the relocation of the city's homeless into shelters, and used Twitter to tell people to remain indoors, and to update them on the storm's developments.

In a press conference on the Friday before the storm, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wasn't sure if the storm would meet the worst expectations; but at the first sign of a credible threat to the city, he ordered a taxing but necessary evacuation of Lower Manhattan that averted even greater disaster than what struck residents on Monday night.

Micromanaging the storm has been no easy task, and Bloomberg is earning praise for his handling of a colossal storm in the world's most sprawling city.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/heroes-superstorm-sandy-164837461.html

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Faith: Powerful Medicine? | The Best Life Blog: Fitness, Weight-Loss ...

When people lose weight or overcome a health obstacle, it?s often their hard work that gets them there. But so many are reluctant to acknowledge their role in the accomplishment?instead, they give the credit to God, or some other higher power. Could faith or a belief in something greater have such a significant effect on health? Yes, according to scientific research.

Religious people report feeling happier than non-religious people. They?re healthier, too, according to some studies. Spirituality may help reduce depression, lower blood pressure, boost immunity and promote longevity. What?s the connection between faith and health? According to a study in the International Journal of Existential Psychology and Psychotherapy, faith can help:

1. Increase relaxation. Prayer, meditation and chants all help tame tension, which can reduce blood pressure and may even help improve immune function.

2. Promote healthy behavior. People who follow a religion are less likely to engage in harmful behaviors, such as drinking, smoking, abusing drugs and participating in risky sexual activities.

3. Offer support. Belonging to a faith-based community gives you access to a support network, which has been shown to improve health.

4. Provide meaning. Religion gives life meaning, and a sense of purpose is associated with wellbeing.

5. Serve as a coping mechanism. Religion appears to help reduce depression, and has often been credited as a source of comfort for people who are ill. In one study, more than 40 percent of medical patients in the United States say that religion is the most important factor in helping them deal with their illness.

6. Protects against negative emotions. Fear, anxiety, anger?these are emotions that can harm our health. Spirituality seems to act as buffer against these feelings.

7. Increase adherence. People who follow a belief system tend to be more likely to comply with medical recommendations.

8. Turn the focus on others. Altruism is a major component of most religions, and studies show that people who volunteer to help others may be healthier because they have more social support and less stress than those who don?t.

Fortunately, there are many ways to express your spirituality?from classic approaches, such as attending a service at a church, temple or mosque, praying, and reading religious books and literature to more non-traditional ways, including volunteering to help others, spending time in nature, practicing mindfulness, even participating in a yoga or Tai Chi workout. (Want to nurture your spirit? Start by filling out this contract.) Find a way to express your spirituality?it?s good for your body and soul.

How do you express your spirituality?

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About Bob Greene, Best Life Founder

Bob is an exercise physiologist and certified personal trainer specializing in fitness, metabolism and weight loss and the driving force behind The Best Life. He holds a master?s degree from the University of Arizona and is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Council on Exercise. For 30 years, he has worked with clients and consulted on the design and management of fitness, spa, and sports medicine programs.

Bob has been working as a personal trainer to Oprah Winfrey for more than 15 years. He has since become a contributing editor for O, The Oprah magazine, and writes articles on health and fitness for Oprah.com. He is also the bestselling author of The Best Life Diet Cookbook, The Best Life Diet, The Best Life Diet Daily Journal, Bob Greene's Total Body Makeover, Get with the Program!, The Get with the Program! Daily Journal, The Get with the Program! Guide to Good Eating, Make the Connection and Keep the Connection.

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Source: http://members.thebestlife.com/blog/faith-powerful-medicine/

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