I’m [not] on a boat

Boats, summer, they go hand in hand, right?  Arr, nay.  As a child, I never experienced ocean nausea, but as an adult, choppy waves absolutely wreck me, and I feel like my stomach is going to empty out its contents the wrong way out.  It’s sad because I love the idea of the salty air rumpling my hair, the boat slicing through the topaz waves, and spotting dolphins here and there.  Store-brand Dramamine has been my pal the times I’ve dragged myself onto a seafaring vehicle, thank goodness for that.

Why do people get seasick?

We have the inner ear to blame.  Well, there are other senses and such to blame, but the inner ear is one culprit.  This doodad works to sense the direction of motion.  In the case of sea sickness, the inner ear is detecting wave movements undetectable to your eyes.  Muscles, pressure receptors, and sensory receptors all take in info about your stance and what’s where and if you’re sitting.  Therefore the central nervous system takes in all these inputs, is confused, and then you get sea sick.

Some tips for battling the seasickness monster

• Go to the top deck or to the front or middle part of the boat.
• Nosh on crackers and sip bubbly beverages.
• Prior: no spicy stuff, no grease fests, and no booze.
• Avoid cigarette smoke like you should always.
• Pop dimenhydrinate (Dramamine if you are name brand fancy) 30-60 minutes before going on the fantastic voyage.  There are also prescription meds you can take (scopolamine).
• As you’ve probably heard before, project laser-focus on the horizon.
• Do not read books/magazines/smartphone/what have you.
• Refrain from headbanging or shaking your noggin all around.
• Try shutting your peepers.
• Deeply inhale scents such as mint, lavender, or ginger (you can consume ginger too).

Did you know?

Dimenhydrinate is an antihistamine?  You can also take Benadryl before setting foot on the vessel?

Women are more likely to be prone to seasickness?

I’m not a big fan of the Lonely Island song I referenced in the title, so instead, here’s the catchier “Boats ‘n Hoes” from the cinematic masterpiece, Step Brothers:

References

• http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2012/chapter-2-the-pre-travel-consultation/motion-sickness.htm
• http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/first-aid-motion-sickness/HQ01099
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000396/
• http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/motion-sickness-000110.htm
• http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/dizzinessMotionSickness.cfm

Beta banded memories from the corner of my mind

An article titled “Rooted Sorrow” published in the April 27, 2009 issue of Newsweek captured my attention.  Ironically, a piece about memory is being lodged in my memory.  As Kylie Minogue would say, I just can’t get [it] out of my head, so I figured, I will write about that.

The original findings around which the article orbits is from a researcher named Karim Nader, presently at McGill.  His conclusion, presented at the Society for Neuroscience in 2001 I’m guessing, was that long term memories, when retrieved, can be altered before they return to storage, aka reconsolidation. 

This theory suggests that memories are like bedsheets.  You know, when you can’t get them back into the packaging exactly like how they were before they were opened?  I’m trying to come up with a better analogy, but that will do for the time being.

The tragic issue is that Newsweek completely failed to mention Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, one of the best movies ever.  All right, it’s mentioned in the online photo gallery, but that doesn’t really count because I was reading the paper edition, and it’s still not mentioned in the story.  Shame on Newsweek.  Here’s an article from Forbes on Nader which came out in 2007 and brings up the movie.  Props to Forbes.

Nader’s recent research is focusing on the use of propranolol to treat individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  When I read about his rat experiments, I was picturing him having a tiny microphone and interviewing the rats on how they felt after trauma.  “So Mr. Sprague, do you feel less upset about recalling me shocking you?  Ms. Dawley, do these memories still bother you?”

As someone with a particularly vivid memory and as someone who has taken a class on memory and as someone who had popped a propranolol or two, I feel as though I am a semi-qualified expert on this matter (or not).

Propranolol, a beta blocker, was developed to help those with high blood pressure.  It works by blocking the beta subtype of adrenergic receptors, thus negating the effects of the hormone epinephrine/adrenaline.  Net results include a slower heartbeat and lowered blood pressure.  Apparently epinephrine works to strengthen emotional memories?  Interesting.  That is why beta blockers are being explored as a viable option, along with painkillers, nausea drugs, and RU-486. 

In these highlighted studies, subjects with PTSD were instructed to write down their trauma in extensive detail, and then for six weeks, these people would pop propranolol before reading the account, with the idea that your body would act calm even though you were reliving a horrible experience.  The results were promising.  I guess it’s hard to really control for these sorts of studies though.  I wonder about using propranolol for years, long term use.  Do these folks have fewer upsetting emotional memories?  Flatter memories?

But hey, anything which can lessen the bad stuff deserves praise.  Though it would be much simpler if lab techs snuck in while you were sleeping and wiped the slate clean.  My brilliant idea is to someday develop a way to excise the unpleasantness, live life, and when ready, have the memory plopped back in if you’d like.  Just like cells frozen in storage.  They’re there if you want ‘em, but they can chill out if you don’t.

References

• http://scienceblogs.com/moleculeoftheday/2009/02/propranolol_adrenalin_armor.php
• http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/beta-blockers/HI00059

When doves cry, when onions cry

Last night I was slicing and dicing my friend the white onion when I started welling up and through the saline, decided that writing about onions was an appropriate blog post. [OMG! Five seconds after I typed "welling up," someone nearby said that exact phrase!]

Why do I cry? Why? Onions, I love you so, but you make me leak from the eyes. I love the smell of raw onions; it’s marvelous. I’ll suffer through the pain for the reward.

In October 2002, Imai et al. published a brief communication in Nature which identified the enzyme (lachrymatory-factor synthase) responsible for the synthesis of syn-propanethial-S-oxide. The latter is the beast which causes the waterworks to start a flowin’ by irritating the lacrimal glands of the eyes, located on the tops of your eyes, away from your nose. Basically what happens is that after slicing the onion, lachrymatory-factor synthase is released into the air, and it begins to convert sulfoxides into sulfenic acid. This unstable substance rapidly becomes syn-ropanethial-S-oxide. And there you go.

Or at least, that’s the organic chemistry (ugh) part of it. Moving on, syn-ropanethial-S-oxide contacts the cornea which is the protective covering of the eye. Corneal nerves are stimulated in the presences of syn-ropanethial-S-oxide and then these guys trigger the ciliary nerve (part of the trigeminal nerve) which alerts the CNS of the situation, and the CNS then calls the lacrimal glands to start the crying.

For the Martha Stewart side of things, the National Onion Association recommends rubbing your hands with lemon juice or salt to remove the onion odor. I’ve had that issue with garlic, not so much onions. And you can sob less if you toss the onion in the fridge for 30 minutes before it hits the chopping block, leaving the root uncut because that’s where all the teary chemicals are concentrated. You can also try using a super sharp knife in order to minimize onion damage, resulting in less syn-propanethial-S-oxide release.

References

• http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/onion.html
• http://www.onions-usa.org/about/faq.php
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/10/07/ST2008100701969.html
• http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=what-is-the-chemical-proc
• http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v419/n6908/full/419685a.html–Imai S, Tsuge N, Tomotake M, Nagatome Y, Sawada H, Nagata T, Kumagai H. 2002. Plant biochemistry: an onion enzyme that makes the eyes water. Nature. 419:685.

See, you really can see. Even if you can’t see.

Greg showed me this video way back when, also known as December of 2008 but only now have I gotten myself in gear to actually write about it. He had first found it on The New York Times, an article called “Blind, Yet Seeing: The Brain’s Subconscious Visual Sense.”

The video mentioned can be seen at these places:

• http://beatricedegelder.com/documents/Filmato.wmv
• http://download.cell.com/current-biology/mmcs/journals/0960-9822/PIIS0960982208014334.mmc2.avi

The NYT article is a made-of-the-masses summary of this scientific journal article:

de Gelder B, Tamietto M, van Boxtel G, Roebel R, Sahraie A, van den Stock J, Stienen BMC, Weiskrantz L, Pegna A. 2008. Intact navigation skills after bilateral loss of striate cortex. Current Biology 18:R1128-R1129.

A physician originally from Africa experienced two strokes which damaged his visual cortices (located at the back of the head). Interestingly enough, the NYT mentions that this subject, TN, is a doctor, while the original article does not. TN’s eyes and circuits are fine though. Oh wait, the NYT stated that the visual cortices were completely damaged and in de Gelder et al., “[b]ecause it was impossible to control his fixation, one could not be certain that absolutely all visual cortex had been destroyed or inactivated. Nevertheless, it is a highly reasonable surmise that this was so….” Lesson learned, go to the source!

Amazingly, TN could navigate the obstacle course without bumping into boxes and furniture. TN was as gobsmacked as the experimenter who was along for the ride since he assumed he’d be stubbing his toes and tripping all over the place.

Echolocation was basically ruled out as a compensatory mechanism. A reference was made to a similar case, though in a monkey named Helen, and her brain lesions were not as widespread as TN’s. So this is a jumping-off point for more studies in this area. The researchers are concluding that there are other mechanisms which rise to the surface when the visual system is damaged. That’s nifty, sort of like a backup system.

I don’t know about you, but this is just hard to fathom. Not that I don’t believe the study, I do, but it’s difficult for those of us with a healthy visual system (more or less) to think about putting on a blindfold and walking down the sidewalk without smashing into poles, people, mailboxes, and so forth. Wow, crazy. Super senses.

Girlfriend in a food coma

Moons ago in college, I took a 1pm class. The combo of dry lectures and it being the time right after lunch was lethal. I craved napping, not learning. It was brutal. I’m particularly prone to the zzzzzs after a heavy lunch, and I’m glad that it’s not just me. What you and I might call “food coma” is referred to scientifically as “post-prandial somnolence.”

Prandial–of or relating to a meal

Somnolence–the quality or state of being drowsy

Basically what happens after a large meal is that the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) kicks into gear. The PNS is the complement of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) which is what is large and in charge during stressful times, aka “fight or flight.” The PNS is more “rest and digest.” Energy is low, food is being digested.

It isn’t only the PNS that is responsible for food coma. Circadian rhythms are also involved, as lunchtime is typically a rest part of this 24 hour sleep-wake cycle. Hormones play a role too. Carb-rich foods are often the culprit because when you gouge on a carbohydrate-filled lunch, the bulky amino acid tryptophan goes right up to your brain where it is converted into serotonin and melatonin, equaling sleepy time! Too bad I don’t live in Spain, hello siesta.

References

• http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/19/business/yourmoney/19career.html
• http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/4876.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_coma
• http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/auto.html

A generous morsel of moral

The September 22, 2008 issue of Newsweek has a nice Health for Life section containing a couple of neuroscience articles. The one which imprinted on my brain the strongest was “Is Morality Natural?” by Marc D. Hauser, PhD. Its opening paragraph uses a real-life example to set the tone for the article’s subject matter.

On Jan. 2, 2007, a large woman entered the Cango caves of South Africa and wedged herself into the only exit, trapping 22 tourists behind her. Digging her out appeared not to be an option, which left a terrible moral dilemma: take the woman’s life to free the 22, or leave her to die along with her fellow tourists? It is a dilemma because it pushes us to decide between saving many and using someone else’s life as a means to this end.

This makes it sound as though the large woman intentionally acted like a murderous cork to trap the tourists in the cave’s Tunnel of Love section, a narrow passageway ranging from about 29 inches to 12 inches. This tourism website even promotes it as a tunnel “where stouter cavers are apt to receive a loving squeeze!” Loving squeeze? More like claustrophobic clasp. Only anorexics need apply? If Cango were a US cave, the operators would have no qualms about draping a measuring tape around your hips and checking if you make the cut or not. There aren’t a whole lot of news stories on the Cango incident, at least from my Googling efforts. This BBC write-up is probably the most informative.

This anecdote more skillfully illustrates selfishness, or that’s probably what I thought the article would be about if I didn’t know it was focusing on morality. If you are warned that you might get stuck in a tourist attraction, why would you go ahead and proceed with it? I would like to understand this woman’s thought process.

In response to this Newsweek article, posters on RichardDawkins.net point out that the large woman situation was not as simple as “Do we kill her or not?” Obviously not since the woman was extracted with some help from parrafin. The other cavers probably wanted to kill her after their ordeal though.

I attempted to take the Moral Sense Test mentioned in Hauser’s article, but I quickly lost interest and wondered why kayaking was capitalized and why Matthew’s name was once spelled “Mathew.” Honestly, I expected more from Harvard. No matter, apparently everyone scores the same, and in theory, people would try to save as many as possible at the expense of as few as possible.

An interesting point from the article is that emotions do not cloud the rational thought process but that they do have clout over actually implementing decision, like killing a human being. And psychopaths can distinguish between right and wrong but do not restrain violent actions since they are unaffected by restraining emotions. The Joker from The Dark Knight is mentioned as an example; funny because I thought of a particular scene from The Dark Knight while reading this article. Luckily very few of us have to realistically consider these types of situations.