Tag Archives: brain

At-Home Electroshock Therapy Sounds Scary

Kate Torgovnick/Kate-Book.comDecember 3, 2010 //

You know what sounds like a terrible idea? At-home electroshock therapy. But according to The Daily Beast, this isn’t as terrifying as it sounds. Writer Casey Schwartz decided to test the Fisher Wallace Cranial Stimulator, which claims to target the limbic system and stimulate the release of dopamine and serotonin. The thing looks like a remote control with two electrodes you attach to your forehead, and could potentially help with depression, anxiety, insomnia, OCD, drug addictions, and post-traumatic stress disorder. And interestingly, Casey kind of liked the device. Keep reading »

Menstrual Cramps Not Only Cramp Your Style, But Maybe Your Brain, Too

Jessica WakemanAugust 12, 2010 //

Severely painful menstrual cramps may alter your brain‘s grey matter, according to researchers at the Institute of Brain Science at National Yang-Ming University in Taipei, Taiwan. Business Week reports that IBS’ brain scans suggest “repeated bouts of excruciating aches make the brain unusually sensitive to pain — in effect, making the experience of pain worse.” The scans revealed decreased activity in the areas of the brain that probably handle pain processing, pain modulation, and emotional regulation, among other things. In this way, the pain of severe cramps can alter your brain in the same way doctors suggest chronic pain does. Keep reading »

Meet The Doctor Who Studies Female Orgasms For A Living

Jessica WakemanApril 23, 2010 //

Plenty of guys fancy themselves a Doctor of Luv, but Dr. Barry Komisaruk of Rutgers University in a bonafide pioneer in studying the female orgasm. Dr. Komisaruk, 68, is a neuroscientist who uses brain imaging to study how our noggins function leading up to and during an orgasm. Female study subjects — who are paid $100 for their “labor” — must enter an fMRI machine and have their heads strapped down so they don’t move during the brain imaging. It takes an hour to map out which parts of a woman’s genitals correlate to which parts of her brain. Luckily, then the study subject is eventually allowed to bring herself to orgasm — using her own toy of choice, of course! The entire time, Dr. Komisaruk and his fellow researcher, grad student Nan Wise, 52, examine her brain responses onscreen in another room. They’ve watched over 200 orgasms this way so far.

First question: can we do this, please? Second question: what does the good doctor know about female orgasms that we should know, too? Keep reading »

Hops For Your Health

SimchaMarch 17, 2008 //

It’s St. Patrick’s Day- the annual drinking holiday! While it might not seem like a good idea to pound back a bunch of green brew, a new study found that beer is the best alcohol for your brain. Just in time for today’s festivities, researchers from Germany’s Göttingen University published their claim that the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory and spatial tasks, is 10% smaller in wine and liquor drinkers than in beer drinkers. The study’s scientists believe that the B vitamins and folate found in lager lowers levels of hymocysteine, which is known to cause heart disease, strokes, and dimentia. So ask your doctor if beer is right for you. Side affects may include puking, flashing, and bad dancing. Cheers! [Dethroner] Keep reading »