Friday, January 22, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Rose-Coloured Glasses
A University of Toronto study provides the first direct evidence that our mood literally changes the way our visual system filters our perceptual experience suggesting that seeing the world through rose-coloured glasses is more biological reality than metaphor.
"Good and bad moods literally change the way our visual cortex operates and how we see," says Adam Anderson, a U of T professor of psychology. "Specifically our study shows that when in a positive mood, our visual cortex takes in more information, while negative moods result in tunnel vision. The study appears in the Journal of Neuroscience.
The U of T team used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine how our visual cortex processes sensory information when in good, bad, and neutral moods. They found that donning the rose-coloured glasses of a good mood is less about the colour and more about the expansiveness of the view.
The researchers first showed subjects a series images designed to generate a good, bad or neutral mood. Subjects were then shown a composite image, featuring a face in the centre, surrounded by "place" images, such as a house. To focus their attention on the central image, subjects were asked to identify the gender of the person's face. When in a bad mood, the subjects did not process the images of places in the surrounding background. However, when viewing the same images in a good mood, they actually took in more information - they saw the central image of the face as well as the surrounding pictures of houses. The discovery came from looking at specific parts of the brain - the parahippocampal "place area" - that are known to process places and how this area relates to primary visual cortical responses, the first part of the cortex related to vision. Images from the experiment are at the Affect & Cognition Lab website.
"Under positive moods, people may process a greater number of objects in their environment, which sounds like a good thing, but it also can result in distraction," says Taylor Schmitz, a graduate student of Anderson's and lead author of the study. "Good moods enhance the literal size of the window through which we see the world. The upside of this is that we can see things from a more global, or integrative perspective. The downside is that this can lead to distraction on critical tasks that require narrow focus, such as operating dangerous machinery or airport screening of passenger baggage. Bad moods, on the other hand, may keep us more narrowly focused, preventing us from integrating information outside of our direct attentional focus."
The research is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Canada Research Chairs program.
Source:
Christine Elias
University of Toronto
"Good and bad moods literally change the way our visual cortex operates and how we see," says Adam Anderson, a U of T professor of psychology. "Specifically our study shows that when in a positive mood, our visual cortex takes in more information, while negative moods result in tunnel vision. The study appears in the Journal of Neuroscience.
The U of T team used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine how our visual cortex processes sensory information when in good, bad, and neutral moods. They found that donning the rose-coloured glasses of a good mood is less about the colour and more about the expansiveness of the view.
The researchers first showed subjects a series images designed to generate a good, bad or neutral mood. Subjects were then shown a composite image, featuring a face in the centre, surrounded by "place" images, such as a house. To focus their attention on the central image, subjects were asked to identify the gender of the person's face. When in a bad mood, the subjects did not process the images of places in the surrounding background. However, when viewing the same images in a good mood, they actually took in more information - they saw the central image of the face as well as the surrounding pictures of houses. The discovery came from looking at specific parts of the brain - the parahippocampal "place area" - that are known to process places and how this area relates to primary visual cortical responses, the first part of the cortex related to vision. Images from the experiment are at the Affect & Cognition Lab website.
"Under positive moods, people may process a greater number of objects in their environment, which sounds like a good thing, but it also can result in distraction," says Taylor Schmitz, a graduate student of Anderson's and lead author of the study. "Good moods enhance the literal size of the window through which we see the world. The upside of this is that we can see things from a more global, or integrative perspective. The downside is that this can lead to distraction on critical tasks that require narrow focus, such as operating dangerous machinery or airport screening of passenger baggage. Bad moods, on the other hand, may keep us more narrowly focused, preventing us from integrating information outside of our direct attentional focus."
The research is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Canada Research Chairs program.
Source:
Christine Elias
University of Toronto
Saturday, December 12, 2009
First Smile
When and Why a Baby Smiles
From The Parent Review
A baby's first smile is unforgettable. Just a few weeks after birth, that quick, small curve of the lips signals the beginning of a developmental journey that transforms an innate, spontaneous offering into a complex social expression of joy and invitation. A smile is more than charming; it is essential to a child's social and emotional future.
Before 1 month of age, an infant's smiles are predominately an inborn behavior, rather than responses to something he sees, hears or feels. These early smiles, reflexive and unrelated to social interaction, occur most often during deep sleep and the transitions between waking and sleep.
By 2 months of age, however, most babies begin to offer smiles in response to a pleasing or gently surprising external event: the appearance of their mother's face, a favorite toy or a sibling's grin. A combination of visual and auditory stimulation, or sights and sounds, is especially likely to elicit these delighted - and delightful - smiles.
The shift from spontaneous, internally motivated smiles to responsive, externally motivated smiles is due in part to an infant's growing ability to maintain eye contact and visual attention for longer periods of time. As a baby becomes more aware of his world, the frequency of these smiles increases.
Even the responsive smiles of a 2-month-old, however, are still strictly a reflection of the infant's internal response to something engaging. The next phase of smiling, social smiling, launches a baby's ability to share positive emotions with other people. Finally, he is able to communicate his personal feelings to the world at large.
From The Parent Review
A baby's first smile is unforgettable. Just a few weeks after birth, that quick, small curve of the lips signals the beginning of a developmental journey that transforms an innate, spontaneous offering into a complex social expression of joy and invitation. A smile is more than charming; it is essential to a child's social and emotional future.
Before 1 month of age, an infant's smiles are predominately an inborn behavior, rather than responses to something he sees, hears or feels. These early smiles, reflexive and unrelated to social interaction, occur most often during deep sleep and the transitions between waking and sleep.
By 2 months of age, however, most babies begin to offer smiles in response to a pleasing or gently surprising external event: the appearance of their mother's face, a favorite toy or a sibling's grin. A combination of visual and auditory stimulation, or sights and sounds, is especially likely to elicit these delighted - and delightful - smiles.
The shift from spontaneous, internally motivated smiles to responsive, externally motivated smiles is due in part to an infant's growing ability to maintain eye contact and visual attention for longer periods of time. As a baby becomes more aware of his world, the frequency of these smiles increases.
Even the responsive smiles of a 2-month-old, however, are still strictly a reflection of the infant's internal response to something engaging. The next phase of smiling, social smiling, launches a baby's ability to share positive emotions with other people. Finally, he is able to communicate his personal feelings to the world at large.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Beach smile
How good was the weekend? This good!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/88352980@N00/1237394305/ Smile] |Date=August 25, 2007 at 21:53 |Author=[http://www.flickr.com/people/88
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Million Dollar Smile?
How much are you willing to spend to get THAT million dollar smile? I just got whack with a 190 bucks dental fee yesterday for some dental work. The cost covers re-filling 2 cavities (darn ori filling came off) and some other extra work to repair my 2 chipped front teeth and realign 'em.
Thanks goodness i can claim about 100 bucks back from me office. If not, i'll be eating rocks until the end of the month! I really curse and swear every time i have go to the dentist. Absolutely hate the noise of the drill, the smell from the drilling and worst of the lot, the amount i get charged for it.
Was it worth it to get me teeth done? Re-filling the cavities was an absolute must but doing something about my chipped front teeth, dunno yet as no chicks have really praise how good my smile is yet. Hehehehe.
-JonC-
http://jonc1977.blogspot.com/2008/07/million-dollar-smile.html
Thanks goodness i can claim about 100 bucks back from me office. If not, i'll be eating rocks until the end of the month! I really curse and swear every time i have go to the dentist. Absolutely hate the noise of the drill, the smell from the drilling and worst of the lot, the amount i get charged for it.
Was it worth it to get me teeth done? Re-filling the cavities was an absolute must but doing something about my chipped front teeth, dunno yet as no chicks have really praise how good my smile is yet. Hehehehe.
-JonC-
http://jonc1977.blogspot.com/2008/07/million-dollar-smile.html
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