Stray thoughts

The folks at Poetry-Free-For-All don't pull any punches when it comes to criticism. Man. But submitting there is helping me progress in my writing. That I can say without a doubt.

The Superbowl! Yes! And then... how many months until football season?

I pick Tampa Bay, mainly because I've been impressed with their defense all season; and because I like picking underdogs. I like Oakland, and of course the stadium will be packed with their fans, because it's geographically closer. Tampa might suffer from lack of vocal support. But I'll be connected to them through the ether of the television.

I have to say. When you're trying to lose weight, the munchies really suck. Really, really suck.

I've been thinking.( Read more... )

Hmm.

( 4 is my favorite number )

Fedback brainwaves....

Computer Boosts Memory by 10%

Scientists believe they may have found a way to improve our memory by as much as 10%.

Researchers at Imperial College London have used a technique called neurofeedback to train people to remember more clearly.

It works by showing people their own brainwaves on a computer screen, and teaching them how to control them.

Doctors believe it could one day be used as a treatment for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, epilepsy and other similar conditions affecting the brain.

[...] Dr David Vernon tested the technique on 40 people. They each had a memory test before and after their neurofeedback session.

They were presented with a series of words which related to specific categories. They were then given the categories and asked to recall related words.

Those who underwent neurofeedback were able to recall 82% of the words after their session. This compares to just 71% prior to the treatment.

In comparison, a group of people who did not undergo neurofeedback saw their recall rate increase from 73% to just 75%.

Dr Vernon said: "Previous research has indicated that neurofeedback can be used to help treat a number of conditions including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, epilepsy and alcoholism by training particular aspects of brain activity.

"But this is the first time we have shown a link between the use of neurofeedback, and improvements in memory."

Flicker!

Our Brain Sees Screen Flicker, Even If We Don't

Television and computer screens update images many times a second. While we may not be conscious of this "screen flicker," new research suggests that certain regions of our brains register these tiny image alterations.

The fact that we see the image as steady, and not oscillating, suggests that the brain regions that acknowledge screen flicker do not send that information to the rest of the brain.

"We hypothesize that the brain operates as a kind of filter for this excess of useless visual information," Drs. Pierre Krolak-Salmon and Marie-Anne Henaff of the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale Unite in Lyon, France, told Reuters Health.

The researchers noted that these findings offer a reason why some people with epilepsy have seizures while watching television or playing video games.

"For this particular population of patients, computer screen flicker may represent a danger," they said. "Our findings emphasize that the brain processes this kind of very rapid unperceived stimulus, which may represent an overload for the nervous system."

[...] Previous research has suggested that people have less discomfort with higher frequencies--such as 100Hz--but most televisions in France flicker at around 50Hz, and computer screens at 60Hz to 85Hz, the authors explained.

[...] Experts have shown that seizures can be triggered by lights flashing or flickering at certain frequencies, or the geometric patterns in the video display of computer games. This condition, known as photosensitive epilepsy, is more common in children and adolescents and becomes less frequent with age.

The current study findings, reported in the January issue of Annals of Neurology, are based on results from three patients with epilepsy that did not respond to drugs and were considering surgery to remove the portion of their brain inducing seizures.

Before surgery, doctors implanted electrodes in their brains to home in on the specific area originating the seizures, and monitored the activity in these brain regions for two weeks.

The authors found that patients showed increased brain activity when exposed to screen flicker in regions of the brain involved in processing visual information, indicating that portions of their brains were "seeing" screen flicker.

People can sidestep side effects of screen flicker by watching plasma screens, which have no flicker, Krolak-Salmon and Henaff said.

Dabbling

Every day
I provoke
a poem from me:

a priest
performing an exorcism,
flicking robes, flinging

recalcitrant spirits
onto the page. The paper

traps the crooked strokes
in a linen lake of fire.