CHESTER, PA - SEPTEMBER 23: Calen Carr #3 of the Houston Dynamo gets the ball through the defending
CHESTER, PA - SEPTEMBER 23: Calen Carr #3 of the Houston Dynamo gets the ball through the defending of Ramon Gaddis #28 and Amobi Okugo #14 of the Philadelphia Union at PPL Park on September 23, 2012 in Chester, Pennsylvania.
Photo By Chris Gardner/Getty Images
Related Article: Dynamo drop 'game in hand' against Union 3-1
White matter, old dogs, and new tricks at DartmouthPublic release date: 24-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Amy Olson amy.d.olson@dartmouth.edu 603-646-3274 Dartmouth College
Most people equate "gray matter" with the brain and its higher functions, such as sensation and perception, but this is only one part of the anatomical puzzle inside our heads. Another cerebral component is the white matter, which makes up about half the brain by volume and serves as the communications network.
The gray matter, with its densely packed nerve cell bodies, does the thinking, the computing, the decision-making. But projecting from these cell bodies are the axonsthe network cables. They constitute the white matter. Its color derives from myelin--a fat that wraps around the axons, acting like insulation.
Alex Schelgel, first author on a paper in the August 2012 Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, has been using the white matter as a landscape on which to study brain function. An important result of the research is showing that you can indeed "teach old dogs new tricks." The brain you have as an adult is not necessarily the brain you are always going to have. It can still change, even for the better.
"This work is contributing to a new understanding that the brain stays this plastic organ throughout your life, capable of change," Schlegel says. "Knowing what actually happens in the organization of the brain when you are learning has implications for the development of new models of learning as well as potential interventions in cases of stroke and brain damage."
Schlegel is a graduate student working under Peter Tse, an associate professor of psychological and brain sciences and a coauthor on the paper. "This study was Peter's idea," Schlegel says. "He wanted to know if we could see white matter change as a result of a long-term learning process. Chinese seemed to him like the most intensive learning experience he could think of."
Twenty-seven Dartmouth students were enrolled in a nine-month Chinese language course between 2007 and 2009, enabling Schlegel to study their white matter in action. While many neuroscientists use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in brain studies, Schlegel turned to a new MRI technology, called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). He used DTI to measure the diffusion of water in axons, tracking the communication pathways in the brain. Restrictions in this diffusion can indicate that more myelin has wrapped around an axon.
"An increase in myelination tells us that axons are being used more, transmitting messages between processing areas," Schlegel says. "It means there is an active process under way."
Their data suggest that white matter myelination is precisely what was seen among the language students. There is a structural change that goes along with this learning process. While some studies have shown that changes in white matter occurred with learning, these observations were made in simple skill learning and strictly on a "before and after" basis.
"This was the first study looking at a really complex, long-term learning process over time, actually looking at changes in individuals as they learn a task," says Schlegel. "You have a much stronger causal argument when you can do that."
The work demonstrates that significant changes are occurring in adults who are learning. The structure of their brains undergoes change.
"This flies in the face of all these traditional views that all structural development happens in infancy, early in childhood," Schlegel says. "Now that we actually do have tools to watch a brain change, we are discovering that in many cases the brain can be just as malleable as an adult as it is when you are a child or an adolescent."
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White matter, old dogs, and new tricks at DartmouthPublic release date: 24-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Amy Olson amy.d.olson@dartmouth.edu 603-646-3274 Dartmouth College
Most people equate "gray matter" with the brain and its higher functions, such as sensation and perception, but this is only one part of the anatomical puzzle inside our heads. Another cerebral component is the white matter, which makes up about half the brain by volume and serves as the communications network.
The gray matter, with its densely packed nerve cell bodies, does the thinking, the computing, the decision-making. But projecting from these cell bodies are the axonsthe network cables. They constitute the white matter. Its color derives from myelin--a fat that wraps around the axons, acting like insulation.
Alex Schelgel, first author on a paper in the August 2012 Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, has been using the white matter as a landscape on which to study brain function. An important result of the research is showing that you can indeed "teach old dogs new tricks." The brain you have as an adult is not necessarily the brain you are always going to have. It can still change, even for the better.
"This work is contributing to a new understanding that the brain stays this plastic organ throughout your life, capable of change," Schlegel says. "Knowing what actually happens in the organization of the brain when you are learning has implications for the development of new models of learning as well as potential interventions in cases of stroke and brain damage."
Schlegel is a graduate student working under Peter Tse, an associate professor of psychological and brain sciences and a coauthor on the paper. "This study was Peter's idea," Schlegel says. "He wanted to know if we could see white matter change as a result of a long-term learning process. Chinese seemed to him like the most intensive learning experience he could think of."
Twenty-seven Dartmouth students were enrolled in a nine-month Chinese language course between 2007 and 2009, enabling Schlegel to study their white matter in action. While many neuroscientists use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in brain studies, Schlegel turned to a new MRI technology, called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). He used DTI to measure the diffusion of water in axons, tracking the communication pathways in the brain. Restrictions in this diffusion can indicate that more myelin has wrapped around an axon.
"An increase in myelination tells us that axons are being used more, transmitting messages between processing areas," Schlegel says. "It means there is an active process under way."
Their data suggest that white matter myelination is precisely what was seen among the language students. There is a structural change that goes along with this learning process. While some studies have shown that changes in white matter occurred with learning, these observations were made in simple skill learning and strictly on a "before and after" basis.
"This was the first study looking at a really complex, long-term learning process over time, actually looking at changes in individuals as they learn a task," says Schlegel. "You have a much stronger causal argument when you can do that."
The work demonstrates that significant changes are occurring in adults who are learning. The structure of their brains undergoes change.
"This flies in the face of all these traditional views that all structural development happens in infancy, early in childhood," Schlegel says. "Now that we actually do have tools to watch a brain change, we are discovering that in many cases the brain can be just as malleable as an adult as it is when you are a child or an adolescent."
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
On Sunday afternoons during the NFL season, I?m sitting in my house with three TVs showing games in one room, plus another game showing on my iPad, with my laptop at the ready to check scores and stats. I have the Sunday Ticket package and I watch the Red Zone channel and the Game Mix channel, and I?m the fastest draw in the West when I need to change the channel. My wife brings me snacks so I don?t have to get up for even a minute. If anyone should be able to keep up with every single thing that happens on an NFL Sunday, it?s me.
And as this Sunday?s nine early games came to the late fourth quarter, even I couldn?t keep up with it all. What an amazing Sunday afternoon.
Don?t you wish we could see Sunday?s highlights as edited by Steve Sabol? Sabol, the NFL Films president who died of brain cancer on Tuesday, would have told an amazing story with the material the NFL gave him on Sunday. The nine early games featured three overtimes, three other games decided by a touchdown or less, a shocking upset by the Vikings, a tremendous defensive effort by the Bears and a Bills-Browns game that was, well . . . let?s just say there were eight really good games.
My choice for the best game of the day was that insane finish in Tennessee, where the Lions came back from 14 points down with 18 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime, only to end up losing 44-41. But the Chiefs-Saints battle was also lots of fun, and every time I looked at the Bengals? 38-31 win over the Redskins I saw one of the league?s bright young stars (either Cincinnati?s A.J. Green or Washington?s Robert Griffin III) making a big play. There was no shortage of greatness on display on Sunday.
These are the days when you sit there on your couch and just say, This is why I love football. What a great day.
Here are my other thoughts from Week Three in the NFL:
The replacement officials need to pick up the pace. Games are simply taking far too long. Heading into this week the average length of games was about five minutes longer this season than last season, and maybe that doesn?t sound like much. But those delays while the officials are sorting things out are making some games really drag. The Steelers-Raiders game, in particular, felt like it was taking forever. If Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski had missed his game-winning field goal and the game had gone into overtime, it?s entirely possible that it still would have been going on into the start of Sunday Night Football.
The NFL needs to fine Bill Belichick heavily. I don?t care how bad the officials are ? and they were bad during Sunday night?s Patriots-Ravens game ? you simply cannot put your hands on an official. Belichick put his hands on an official. A fine of $100,000 might be enough to send the message that that simply cannot happen.
Still, the Belichick story shouldn?t overshadow the larger issue. The quality of the officiating in the NFL right now simply isn?t acceptable. The NFL has to fix it.
How did Matt Schaub get cleared so quickly? NFL teams are supposed to have an excess of caution about players suffering concussions, taking the time to have the medical staff check anyone who takes a hard hit to the head, and only clearing players to return to the field if everything is OK. So something seemed suspicious about Texans quarterback Matt Schaub missing only one play after taking a brutal and illegal helmet-to-helmet hit, a hit that had him crumpling to the ground and grabbing his head. I hope I?m wrong to be skeptical, but it sure didn?t seem like Schaub was out long enough to get the kind of thorough examination that a hit like that would warrant.
Jason Hanson should be a Hall of Famer some day. Hanson, the Lions? 21-year veteran kicker, is the oldest player in the NFL at age 42, and has played 314 games with the Lions, the most games any player has played with one team in NFL history. But Hanson doesn?t just have longevity on his side, he has one of the most impressive kicking legs the game has ever seen. On Sunday against the Titans he went 4-for-4 on field goals, making kicks from 47, 53, 33 and 26 yards. That 53-yard field goal was the 51st field goal of his career from 50 yards or farther, the most any kicker has made in NFL history. Oh, and when Lions punter Ben Graham went down, Hanson stepped in and punted flawlessly, averaging 39.3 hards a punt and landing one of them inside the 20-yard line. Hanson probably won?t make it to the Hall of Fame because kickers are remembered for big field goals in big games, and the Lions haven?t been in many big games in Hanson?s career. But the Hall of Fame is supposed to be about individual greatness, and there?s been no greater kicker in NFL history than Jason Hanson.
Jamaal Charles is in very good company. Charles, the Chiefs? starting running back, had 233 rushing yards and 55 receiving yards in Sunday?s win over the Saints, joining Jim Brown as the only players in NFL history with at least 225 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards in the same game. Charles and Brown are also the only NFL players with more than 230 rushing yards in two different games. And if Charles keeps running at his career 6.0 yards-per-carry average and gets 196 more rushing attempts, he?ll break Brown?s record for the highest yards-per-carry average of any running back in NFL history with at least 750 carries. For half a century, Brown has been the gold standard for NFL running backs. It?s amazing that Charles is putting himself in Brown?s company.
Greg Schiano is right in the kneeldown controversy. Schiano, the Buccaneers coach who angered Giants coach Tom Coughlin last week by instructing his players to try to force a fumble while the Giants were kneeling down to run out the clock, did it again on Sunday against the Cowboys. Coughlin might not like it, but I do. Schiano coaches football the right way: Play hard until the game is over.
A few weeks ago LifeHacker posted the ?Top 10 Simple Things Every Computer User Should Know How to Do? to its LifeHacker Top 10 collection.
I had this post on my list to post personally and for LAWPRO and practicePRO?s follower?s today, but decided I would give it a mention on SLAW as I think that the advice in it is just so critical to every computer user.
This is a must read post. The steps mentioned are simple to do and they will save your bacon in the event you experience one of the more common computer or technology nightmares ? and don?t fool yourself ? you will at some point.
The instructions are easy to understand as they are in plain English and there are loads of supplemental links for more information on the specific steps it recommends. Those steps are:
Keep Your Personal Information Safe and Secure
Easily Find Your Lost or Stolen Gadgets
Instantly Share a File Between Two Computers
Keep Your Computer in Tip Top Shape with Regular Maintenance
Access Your Home Computer From Anywhere
Keep Your Batteries Lasting as Long as Possible
Set Up Your Network (and Fix Wi-Fi Problems)
Protect Yourself From Viruses
Do Everything Faster with Shortcuts
Set Up a Simple Backup System
Please read this post and follow its recommendations. You will thank me one day.
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Appearing on 60 Minutes Sunday night after a rocky week on the campaign trail, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney defended paying a relatively low effective rate on his federal income taxes, arguing that it is fair for people to pay lower rates on capital gains.?
Although the interview was filmed before the?Romney campaign released the candidate's 2011 tax returns on Friday,?the first questions focused on Romney's tax plans, and on his own individual income tax rate. Romney, who makes most of his income from capital gains,??paid an effective tax rate of just 14.1 percent last year.?
"It?is a low rate," Romney told CBS' News Scott Pelley. "One of the reasons why the capital gains tax rate is lower is because capital has already been taxed once at the corporate level, as high as 35%."?
Pressed on whether it is fair that he pays a lower effective rate than people who earn much less than he does, Romney replied affirmatively.?
"I think it's?the right way to encourage economic growth ? to get people to invest, to start businesses, to put people to work," he added.?
Romney went on to reiterate that, under his tax plan, income tax rates would be cut by 20 percent across the board, and families earning less than $200,000 a year would no longer be taxed on interest, dividends, and capital gains. The loss in revenue, he said, would be offset by eliminations in loopholes and deductions in the tax code, especially for those making over $200,000. But he would not divulge what specific deductions would be eliminated.?
"That's something Congress and I will have to work out together," he said, adding later: "The devil's in the details. The angel is in the policy, which is creating more jobs."?
Sports New Media (SNM) is something of a curiosity. Combining both media management and a technology platform, it works with athletes, sports agents, sporting associations and sport governing bodies to manage their social media activity, especially on Facebook. SNM has become the only Facebook Preferred Marketing Developer in the world, in part because its platform, Syocial, allows it to manage, moderate, analyse and publish to over 100 million fans across thousands of Facebook pages. So it's a sort of hybrid agency, but it's somewhat more than that, since Syocial can be used by any business as well. And now IMG, the global sports, fashion and media company says it has acquired a minority equity stake in SNM (terms were not disclosed). IMG Worldwide is a global sports, fashion and media business, operating in 30 countries around the globe.
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike on Israel if it was sure the Jewish state were preparing to attack it, a senior commander of its elite Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, made the comments to Iran's state-run Arabic language Al-Alam television, according to a report on the network's website.
"Iran will not start any war but it could launch a pre-emptive attack if it was sure that the enemies are putting the final touches to attack it," Al-Alam said, paraphrasing the military commander.
Hajizadeh said any attack on Iranian soil could trigger "World War Three".
"We cannot imagine the Zionist regime starting a war without America's support. Therefore, in case of a war, we will get into a war with both of them and we will certainly get into a conflict with American bases," he said
"In that case, unpredictable and unmanageable things would happen and it could turn into a World War Three."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made increasing hints that Israel could strike Iran's nuclear sites and has criticized U.S. President Barack Obama's position that sanctions and diplomacy should be given more time to stop Iran getting the atomic bomb.
Tehran denied it is seeking weapons capability and says its atomic work is peaceful, aimed at generating electricity.
(Reporting by Zahra Hosseinian and Rania El Gamal; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
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Public release date: 24-Sep-2012
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