Health - Very Very Important Tips

Answer the phone by LEFT ear.
Do not drink coffee TWICE a day.
Do not take pills with COOL water.
Do not have HUGE meals after 5pm.
Reduce the amount of OILY food you consume.
Drink more WATER in the morning, less at night.
Keep your distance from hand phone CHARGERS.
Do not use headphones/earphone for LONG period of time.
Best sleeping time is from 10pm at night to 6am in the morning.
Do not lie down immediately after taking medicine before sleeping.
When battery is down to the LAST grid/bar, do not answer the phone as the radiation is 1000 times.

Forward this to those whom you CARE about! 


Here are some healthy tip for your smartness & physical fitness. Prevention is better than cure.HEALTHY JUICES 

Carrot + Ginger + Apple - Boost and cleanse our system. 


Apple + Cucumber + Celery - Prevent cancer, reduce cholesterol, and eliminate stomach upset and headache. 


Tomato + Carrot + Apple - Improve skin complexion and eliminate bad breath. 


Bitter gou rd + Apple + Milk - Avoid bad breath and reduce internal body heat.. 


Orange + Ginger + Cucumber - Improve Skin texture and moisture and reduce body heat. 


Pineapple + Apple + Watermelon - To dispel excess salts, nourishes the bladder and kidney. 


Apple + Cucumber + Kiwi - To improve skin complexion. 


Pear & Banana - regulates sugar content. 


Carrot + Apple + Pear + Mango - Clear body heat, counteracts toxicity, decreased blood pressure and fight oxidization .. 


Honeydew + Grape + Watermelon + Milk - Rich in vitamin C + Vitamin B2 that increase cell activity and str engthen body immunity. 


Papaya + Pineapple + Milk - Rich in vitamin C, E, Iron. Improve skin complexion and metabolism. 


Banana + Pineapple + Milk - Rich in vitamin with nutritious and prevent constipation 

 
Quite interesting! 
Keep Walking..... 

Jus to check this out...... 
The Organs of your body have their sensory touches at the bottom of your foot, if you massage these points you will find relief from aches and pains as you can see the heart is on the left foot. 




Typically they are shown as points and arrows to show which organ it connects to. 

It is indeed correct since the nerves connected to these organs terminate here. 

This is covered in great details in Acupressure studies or textbooks. 

God created our body so well... He made us walk so that we will always be pressing these pressure points and thus keeping these organs activated at all times. 

So, keep walking... 






Good one.. Don't miss the attachments 
Did You Know? 

 

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Blood type and Rh	How many people have it?
O +	40 %
O -	7 %
A +	34 %
A -	6 %
B +	8 %
B -	1 %
AB +	3 %
AB -	1 %

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Does Your Blood Type Reveal Your Personality?

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Accord ing to a Japanese institute that does research on blood types, there are certain personality traits that seem to match up with certain blood types. How do you rate?  Â

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TYPE O	You want to be a leader, and when you see something you want, you keep striving until you achieve your goal. You are a trend-setter, loyal, passionate, and self-confident. Your weaknesses include vanity and jealously and a tendency to be too competitive.  Â
TYPE A	You like harmony, peace and organization. You work well with others, and are sensitive, patient and affectionate.. Among your weaknesses are stubbornness and an inability to relax.  Â
TYPE B	You're a rugged individualist, who's str aightforwa rd and likes to do things your own way. Creative and flexible, you adapt easily to any situation. But your insistence on being independent can sometimes go too far and become a weakness.  Â
TYPE AB	Cool and controlled, you're generally well liked and always put people at ease. You're a natural entertainer who's tactful and fair. But you're standoffish, blunt, and have difficulty making decisions.  Â

MOST IMPORTANT INFO NOW: 


REGARDS, MANIKANDAN, 
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You Can Receive
If Your Type Is	O-	O+	B-	B+	A-	A+	AB-	AB+
AB+	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
AB-	YES	Â	YES	Â	YES	YES	Â	Â
A+	YES	YES	Â	Â	YES	YES	Â	Â
A-	YES	Â	Â	Â	YES	Â	Â	Â
B+	YES	YES	YES	YES	Â	Â	Â	Â
B-	YES	Â	YES	Â	Â	Â	Â	Â
O+	YES	YES	Â	Â	Â	Â	Â	Â
O-	YES	Â	Â	Â	Â	Â	Â	Â

KNOW ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF HAVING FRUITS AND VEGETABLESREGARDS, MANIKANDAN, 
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Fruit	Benefit	Benefit	Benefit	Benefit	Benefit	Â
apples	Protects your heart	prevents constipation	Blocks diarrhea	Improves lung capacity	Cushions joints	Â
apricots	Combats cancer	Controls blood pressure	Saves your eyesight	Shields against Alzheimer's	Slows aging process	Â
artichokes	Aids digestion	Lowers cholesterol	Protects your heart	Stabilizes blood sugar	Gua rd s against liver disease	Â
avocados	Battles diabetes	Lowers cholesterol	Helps stops str okes	Controls blood pressure	Smoothes skin	Â
bananas	Protects your heart	Quiets a cough	Strengthens bones	Controls blood pressure	Blocks diarrhea	Â
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...... 
DRINK WATER ON EMPTY STOMACH 
It is popular in Japan today to drink water immediately after waking up every morning. Furthermore, scientific tests have proven a its value. We publish below a description of use of water for our readers. For old and serious diseases as well as modern illnesses the water treatment had been found successful by a Japanese med ical society as a 100% cure for the following diseases: 

Headache, body ache, heart system, arthritis, fast heart beat, epilepsy, excess fatness, bronchitis asthma, TB, meningitis, kidney and urine diseases, vomiting, ga str itis, diarrhea, piles, diabetes, constipation, all eye diseases, womb, cancer and men str ual diso rd ers, ear nose and throat diseases. 

METHOD OF TREATMENT 

1.. As you wake up in the morning before brushing teeth, drink 4 x 160ml glasses of water .....interesting 

2. Brush and clean the mouth but do not eat or drink anything for 45 minutes 

3. After 45 minutes you may eat and drink as normal. 

4. After 15 minutes of breakfast, lunch and dinner do not eat or drink anything for 2 hours 

5. Those who are old or sick and are unable to drink 4 glasses of water at the beginning may commence by taking little water and gradually increase it to 4 glasses per day. 

6. The above method of treatment will cure diseases of the sick and others can enjoy a healthy life. 

The following list gives the number of days of treatment required to cure/control/reduce main diseases: 

1. High Blood Pressure - 30 days 

2. Gastric - 10 days 

3. Diabetes - 30 days 

4. Constipation - 10 days 

5. Cancer - 180 days 

6. TB - 90 days 

7. Arthritis patients should follow the above treatment only for 3 days in the 1st week, and from 2nd week onwa rd s - daily. 

This treatment method has no side effects, however at the commencement of treatment you may have to urinate a few times. 

It is better if we continue this and make this procedure as a routine work in our life. 

Drink Water and Stay healthy and Active... 

This makes sense .. The Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals ...not cold water. Maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating!!! Nothing to lose, everything to gain... 

For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you. 

It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed . It will slow down the digestion. 
Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer.. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal. 

A serious note about heart attacks: Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. 
Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line. 

You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack.. 

Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. 

60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up. 

Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive... 

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends it to everyone they know, you can save a person's life!! 

Nothing To Do

“O son of Pritha, there is no work prescribed for Me within all the three planetary systems. Nor am I in want of anything, nor have I need to obtain anything - and yet I am engaged in work.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.22) “Why should I worship Krishna? Why not give attention to another deity or even the abstract sound vibration om, which doesn’t directly address any specific person?” Since God’s transcendental qualities are impossible to fully enumerate, the task of convincing others why they should abandon every form of dharma except bhakti, devotional service, is a difficult one. Despite His being described as neti neti in the Vedas, which means “not this, not that”, the glories and transcendental qualities held by the Supreme Person are still worth mentioning, as the more we know about Him, the more the seed of devotional service found within the heart grows into a creeper, ideally culminating in the development of a full blown tree holding every tasty fruit imaginable. One of the more noteworthy qualities found in the Supreme Person in His original form of Lord Krishna is that He doesn’t have to do anything. No one can tell Krishna what to do, nor is He obligated to perform any work. Whatever He does is for His own pleasure, thus proving that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The initial impulse for the maturing human being is to find a condition where life’s necessities are met to a satisfactory level, where necessary goods continually arrive without worry. The fact that the animal kingdom already has such needs met without any conscious thought given is overlooked, for the more possessions a human being acquires, the stronger the urge to protect and defend becomes. To ensure that a comfortable shelter is erected, that food is regularly supplied to the dinner table, and that clothing and other delights are available in sufficient quantities, the adult human being goes to work. He either starts his own business, becomes an independent contractor in a specific field, or goes to work for someone who runs their own business. Irrespective of the specific path chosen, there is both service and obligation. The obligation itself entails service. The boss of a successful company must ensure that his customers are happy. Whether he is delivering a product or service, if there are no patronizing customers, the autonomy and power of the proprietor end up being meaningless. The most successful companies often have the hardest working owners. The employee can clock out when their shift is over, but to the proprietor the worry over profit and loss never ceases. If hard times are encountered, the workers can look for jobs elsewhere, but the owner must figure out a way to earn a profit, else risk losing his business, which is his life and soul. After many years of working, the ideal end is retirement, the time in life when there is no longer an obligation to work. Enough money has been earned to provide for a sufficient standard of living, one that no longer requires the obligation of running a business or showing up to the jobsite. This time is highly coveted because of the relief of stress and pressure that it brings. Who wouldn’t want to live a life where you didn’t have to go to work? The only other time when such obligations are absent is during childhood, especially the years before schooling. Even while attending school during youth, there are vacations and time off, extended breaks not available to the adult worker. There are vacations and holidays sparsely populating the calendar for the busy business owner and laborers, but since adult workers are involved in a profit/loss game, not too much time can be missed from the business without a negative consequence resulting. If we study the issue a little more closely, however, we’ll see that even retirees have to work. They have some sort of obligation they must meet. Either they have to tend to their children and grandchildren, travel to different places, or manage their finances. Even the “trust fund babies”, children born into wealth, make up obligations and duties for themselves. If they didn’t follow such obligations, there would be consequences that they would find unpleasant. For one person, however, there is never any obligation. This is true for Him at any stage of life, which is a pretty significant fact considering that the length of His life is longer than any other person’s. Though the spirit soul travels through different species through reincarnation, its constitutional position never changes. The soul, or atma, is described as sanatana, or eternal, in the Vedas. This fact is difficult to comprehend from only using the known outward perceptions gathered in a particular stint in a particular form. The qualification is placed on “known” perceptions because not all sense observations are remembered or accounted for. During our childhood the length of time of one year was the same as it is during adulthood, but since consciousness wasn’t fully developed back then, the memories of those days and nights are almost all forgotten. Yet, just because we remember one event and forget another doesn’t mean that there are any differences between the two lengths of time. “The Blessed Lord said: Many, many births both you and I have passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of the enemy!” (Bhagavad-gita, 4.5) Just as we can’t remember the specific details of events in our life that took place many years ago, we have no memory of our experiences prior to the current life. Therefore the concept of sanatana needs identifying and explaining; otherwise the ignorant soul would simply associate with their present body, a form that is constantly changing. This association is silly because we know from our past that our body has constantly changed. An adult doesn’t consider themselves a kid, for they would never think of playing on slides and running through children’s parks as an adult. But surely during the time of childhood the identity was based on age and the makeup of the outer covering of the soul. Since this outer covering eventually completely changed, that past basis for identity was incorrect. Similarly, the adult basing their identity off of their outward features makes a grievous error, for the entire covering will be discarded in favor of a new one at the time of death. Therefore the soul is accurately described as sanatana, though it has a choice as to which realm to occupy and what activities to adopt. When choosing in favor of the turbulent waters of the ocean of material existence, there must be obligations relating to such things as work, school and family interests. The Supreme Person, the entity who’s realm is actually our natural home, is also sanatana, but in a different way. He remains in His body, unchanged for all of eternity. Even when He makes appearances in His material creation, His spiritual body is still unchanging, even though it seemingly goes through the natural shifts like from boyhood to youth, to adulthood, and so on. Along with His sanatana form comes a lack of obligation. Since the laws of karma, the effects of action and reaction, and the influences of the threefold miseries of life cannot ever touch Him, He never has anything to do. Most of us refer to this person as God, but His specific features may not be as well known. Since in His original form His attributes are most fully represented, the name used to address Him in a loving way is Krishna, which means “all-attractive”. It must be noted that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Shri Krishna, has many expansions, which include even the living entities. From one come many, but the many aren’t always equal to the one. When the one makes a personal expansion, the new form is identical in potency and supremacy to the original. When there are separated expansions, the qualities found in the Supreme Person are replicated only to a percentage, thus creating an inherent relationship between the two parties. The superior is always the same in quality as the inferior, but the inferior can never become superior. Where they are tied, however, is in interests. When the inferior becomes fully aware of their standing, they never leave the superior’s side. “Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion-at that time I descend Myself.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 4.7) Whenever there is a decline in religious practice and a steady rise in irreligion, Krishna descends to earth either personally or in a non-different form. Based on this information it seems that Krishna has created an obligation. Since His appearance is tied to a specific condition on earth, it must mean that as soon as that condition is present, the Lord is compelled to appear. For instance, if we have a building equipped with a sprinkler system to deal with fire emergencies, as soon as the detector goes off, the sprinklers will turn on. Therefore the sprinklers are essentially obligated to act once a condition is met. This actually isn’t true with the Supreme Lord. His appearing on earth to redress discrepancies in religious practice is simply out of His own whim, and it is not automatic. Rather, the statement relating to when and why He appears is made to give the unintelligent spiritual fragments trapped in a cycle of reincarnation a rudimentary understanding of why Krishna is sometimes visible and why He is sometimes not. When the incarnations come, when Krishna personally remains in the spiritual sky but descends as an avatara, or non-different form, some obligations are seemingly put into place. For instance, as the warrior prince Lord Rama, Krishna assumed the role of a pious son, one following the tremendous example of virtue and dedication to righteousness passed down by the rulers of the Ikshvaku dynasty. Rama agreed to limit His activities to kingly duties and the exhibition of strength in defense of the innocent. Since Krishna can never hide His natural beauty, Shri Rama enthralled everyone with His stunning good looks and His kind nature. Therefore many people wanted to associate with Him intimately, but since He voluntarily abided by righteousness to set a good example, He only took one wife in His life, the glorious Sita Devi, the daughter of King Janaka. Shri Rama also abided by the orders given by His superiors, such as the guru Vasishtha and the father King Dasharatha. Other avataras have also followed obligations created based on the time and circumstance. Lord Narasimhadeva came for a brief period of time to specifically kill the demon king Hiranyakashipu, who was harassing his five-year old son Prahlada Maharaja. Lord Parashurama was only interested in killing, in wiping out the kshatriya race over and over again. Lord Vamanadeva came to liberate Bali Maharaja, and Lord Varaha came to save the earth when it was submerged in water. With Shri Krishna, however, the self-imposed obligations are virtually absent. Instead of abiding by dharma, travelling to certain places, or following orders so that society’s dedication to virtue can remain strong, Krishna simply plays on His flute. This is His most natural activity, as it gives Him tremendous pleasure. If He likes, Krishna enjoys with His cowherd friends, the cows, or even Mother Yashoda. Krishna is actually celebrated for His act of stealing butter from the stockpiles found in the neighbors’ homes. Shri Krishna is the wealthiest person in the world and lives under no one’s obligations, yet He steals from others because it gives Him pleasure. Since Krishna is the reservoir of all pleasure, anything He does to provide Himself happiness automatically brings pleasure to those who are connected with Him. If someone were to come into our cupboard or pantry and take away our food that we had safely tucked away, obviously we wouldn’t be too happy. Yet the gopis of Vrindavana, while outwardly feigning anger and disappointment, were so thrilled to have the young Krishna, who was living with His foster parents Mother Yashoda and Nanda Maharaja in Vrindavana at the time, come and steal their butter. When they would complain to Mother Yashoda, the elderly gopis still would ask her not to punish Krishna, for they could not remain angry at Him, despite what He had done. When the cows in Vrindavana would sometimes start running around uncontrollably or when the crowd of friends roamed away from Krishna’s side, the Lord would ascend a hill and start playing His flute. The sounds that emanated from this magical instrument had never been heard before, nor can they be found in any place in the material world. That flute sound is actually heard constantly in the spiritual sky of Goloka Vrindavana, which is the permanent residence of the Krishna devotees who think of Him at all times in their life, and especially at the time of death. As soon as Krishna would play His flute, everyone would settle down and fix their gaze upon their beloved Shyamasundara. Since Krishna is not obligated to do anything, He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His most complete form. If the Lord does seemingly take up an activity out of duty, it is done to simply provide pleasure to those who have abandoned hopes for enjoyment in material life. Krishna stays with those who want His association, who enjoy chanting His names found in the maha-mantra, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, more than any other activity. Even the avataras and incarnations that follow obligations only do so because of the Lord’s love for His devotees. In this way, even though Krishna has no obligations and never has to worry about providing for Himself, when He sees others who need help finding their forgotten constitutional positions, innocent souls sincerely interested in adopting bhakti-yoga as a way of life, Krishna brings His beautiful image and pleasurable pastimes to the forefront of their consciousness. Though He has nothing to do, Krishna has everything to bring to the surrendered soul. To those who think of Him in a mood of pure love and devotion, Krishna runs at the speed of the mind to their location and gives them the pleasure they most certainly deserve. In Closing: At the jobsite the dedicated worker tries his best, To complete his tasks, to one day find real rest. Retirement is seen as the panacea, for the dream of peace one hopes, For reaching that end with the trouble of life the worker copes. But obligations do never end, one must have something to do, One needs activity, to keep the mind from feeling blue. One person is so wonderful that He never has to act, He is happy within Himself, that is a fact. He is known as Shri Krishna because He is all-attractive, At winning the hearts of the pious He is most effective. He comes to earth to play on His flute, His youthful figure so beautiful and cute. From the neighbors’ homes does He steal butter, Complain do the gopis to Yashoda His mother. But once they see Krishna, their anger do they forget, “Let Him come to our homes, a glance at His smile we’ll get.” For Krishna there is nothing to do, no obligations, For the devotees He comes to earth, to relieve their frustrations. For this He is ever worthy of love and adoration, Chant His name always and you will get liberation.

The 'Google' theory of autism -- a new approach to the enigma

What hides behind the enigma of autism? Dr. John Skoyles of University College London, in a paper published this September in Autism Research and Treatment, identifies the type of information used to process synonyms and context in search engines such as Google. Without this information, individuals with autism experience themselves, other people and the world in an overly literal manner.

Search engines face the problem that keywords only link to pages containing them and not ones containing related synonyms. Search engines get around this by extracting hidden higher-order associations—that is the information about how words are similar in their first-order or direct associations with other words. This enables search engines to link synonyms and generally make keyword searches context sensitive. Research suggests human cognition also creates context sensitivity during its development by extracting higher-order associations. Dr Skoyles argues that an impairment in higher-order associations makes a good candidate for the unknown neurodevelopmental deficit behind autism.

His starting point is the connection between autism and the impaired processing of context. This inability has been linked to autism since the condition was first identified in 1943 by Leo Kanner. But further research on this link has been hampered by a lack of understanding as to the information processing that enables context sensitivity. This has now been solved by a computational technique created for linking synonyms in keyword searches called Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA). It does this by extracting the context information contained in higher-order associations. Initially developed to aid keyword searches, LSA is now used to model many aspects of language including how children learn unfamiliar words from the context provided by familiar ones. Dr. Skoyles suggests LSA and its creation of context from higher-order associations provides a fresh insight into the atypical cognition of those with autism.

LSA researchers note higher-order associations exist not just between words but any entity processed by cognition. Moreover, the extraction of information from higher-order associations is computationally more complex than that of direct (or first-order) associations. The implication of this according to Dr. Skoyles is that the brain specializes its processing of higher-order associations in areas separate to those used for everyday cognition and the processing of first-order associations. Furthermore due to such specialization, these processes are shared between different areas of cognition. Dr Skoyles then asks what would happen if higher-order processing in infants and children was impaired? Everyday cognition would still be possible since it could use the information extracted from first-order associations. But this would result in the development of cognition that was literal, unadaptive and insensitive to context. Critically, as a consequence of impairing processes that are specialized and shared, this would result in developmental problems affecting otherwise unrelated cognitions including social interaction, stress regulation and language

Dr. John Skoyles notes that linking autism to specialized higher-order information processes that are separate to everyday cognition fits in with what is known about the brain. The human brain massively transfers information to and from specialized areas. Memories do not arise in the cerebral cortex but depend upon consolidation during sleep after processing in the hippocampus. Transfer also occurs during the processing of motor movements and higher cognition through the white matter loops that exist between the cerebral cortex and the cerebellum and the basal ganglia. Autism is increasingly being linked to impairments in such brain connectivity.

Dr John Skoyles does not view himself as proposing a new theory of autism so much as asking researchers involved with autism to look into LSA and ask about its implications for cognitive development and atypical cognition. “All I want is researchers to check out the informational ideas that underlie LSA and consider whether these processes might not be those impaired in individuals with autism.” Moreover, “There is a need to ask what happens when these processes get impaired in children.” He notes “Such impairment could be predicted to developmentally result in atypical cognition across sociability, awareness of minds, sense of security, perception, motor control and language. Where in development is this missing higher-order information impairment impairing context processing—if not right before us in autism?”

More information: Skoyles, J.R. (2011). Autism, Context/Noncontext Information Processing, and Atypical Development. Autism Research and Treatment, Volume 2011.doi:10.1155/2011/681627

Website detailing the approach: http://www.human-e … /autism.html 
Dr. John Skoyles Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedi … s_(scientist)

Provided by University College London

"The 'Google' theory of autism -- a new approach to the enigma." September 1st, 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-google-theory-autism-approach.html

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek

Download: eType1.com/f.php

The same Queen-Elizabeth of England , with 11 presidents of USA ..!!

No one can break this world record,  The same Queen-Elizabeth of England , with 11 presidents of USA ..!! Queen Elizabeth with Barack Obama Queen Elizabeth with George W. Bush Queen Elizabeth with Bill Clinton Queen Elizabeth with George Bush Queen Elizabeth with Ronald Reagan Queen Elizabeth with Jimmy Carter Queen Elizabeth with Gerald Ford Queen Elizabeth with Richard Nixon Queen Elizabeth with John F. Kennedy Queen Elizabeth with Dwight D. Eisenhower Queen Elizabeth with Harry S. Truman

 

Perception of facial expressions differs across cultures

 Psychology & Psychiatry 

Facial expressions have been called the "universal language of emotion," but people from different cultures perceive happy, sad or angry facial expressions in unique ways, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.

"By conducting this study, we hoped to show that people from different cultures think about facial expressions in different ways," said lead researcher Rachael E. Jack, PhD, of the University of Glasgow. "East Asians and Western Caucasians differ in terms of the features they think constitute an angry face or a happy face."

The study, which was part of Jack's doctoral thesis, was published online in APA's Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Jack is a post-doctoral research assistant, and the study was co-authored by Philippe Schyns, PhD, director of the Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of Glasgow, and Roberto Caldara, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.

Some prior research has supported the notion that facial expressions are a hard-wired human behavior with evolutionary origins, so facial expressions wouldn't differ across cultures. But this study challenges that theory and used statistical image processing techniques to examine how study participants perceived facial expressions through their own mental representations.

"A mental representation of a facial expression is the image we see in our 'mind's eye' when we think about what a fearful or happy face looks like," Jack said. "Mental representations are shaped by our past experiences and help us know what to expect when we are interpreting facial expressions."

Fifteen Chinese people and 15 Caucasians living in Glasgow took part in the study. They viewed emotion-neutral faces that were randomly altered on a computer screen and then categorized the facial expressions as happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted or angry. The responses allowed researchers to identify the expressive facial features that participants associated with each emotion.

The study found that the Chinese participants relied on the eyes more to represent facial expressions, while Western Caucasians relied on the eyebrows and mouth. Those cultural distinctions could lead to missed cues or misinterpreted signals about emotions during cross-cultural communications, the study reported.

"Our findings highlight the importance of understanding cultural differences in communication, which is particularly relevant in our increasingly connected world," Jack said. "We hope that our work will facilitate clearer channels of communication between diverse cultures and help promote the understanding of cultural differences within society."

More information: "Internal Representations Reveal Cultural Diversity in Expectations of Facial Expressions of Emotion," Rachael E. Jack, Roberto Caldara and Philippe G. Schyns, PhDs; University of Glasgow; Journal of Experimental Psychology: General; Vol. 141, No. 1. Full text of the article is available from the APA Public Affairs Office and at:http://www.apa.org … ressions.pdf

Provided by American Psychological Association

"Perception of facial expressions differs across cultures." September 1st, 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-perception-facial-differs-cultures.html

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek

Download: eType1.com/f.php

Alcohol dulls brain 'alarm' that monitors mistakes, study finds

 Psychology & Psychiatry 

Most people have witnessed otherwise intelligent people doing embarrassing or stupid things when they are intoxicated, but what specifically happens in the brain to cause such drunken actions? A new study testing alcohol's effects on brain activity from the University of Missouri says that alcohol dulls the brain "signal" that warns people when they are making a mistake, ultimately reducing self control.

"When people make mistakes, activity in a part of the brain responsible for monitoring behavior increases, essentially sending an alarm signal to other parts of the brain indicating that something went wrong," said Bruce Bartholow, associate professor of psychology in the MU College of Arts and Science. "Our study isn't the first to show that alcohol reduces this alarm signal, but contrary to previous studies, our study shows that alcohol doesn't reduce your awareness of mistakes – it reduces how much you care about making those mistakes."

During the study, Bartholow's team measured the brain activity of 67 participants, ages 21-35, as they completed a challenging computer task designed to elicit some errors. About one third of the participants were given alcoholic drinks, while the rest were given no alcohol or a placebo beverage. In addition to monitoring their brain activity, the researchers also measured changes in participants' mood, their accuracy in the computer task, as well as their perceived accuracy.

The findings showed that the brain's "alarm signal" in response to errors was much less pronounced in those who had consumed alcohol, and the response was largest for those in the placebo group. However, those in the alcohol group were no less likely to realize when they had made a mistake than participants in the other groups, indicating that alcohol's reduction of the brain's "alarm signal" did not occur simply because those in the alcohol group were unaware of their errors. The findings also showed that those who had consumed alcohol were less likely to slow down and be more careful in the task following errors.

"In tasks like the one we used, although we encourage people to try to respond as quickly as possible, it is very common for people to respond more slowly following an error, as a way of trying to regain self-control. That's what we saw in our placebo group. The alcohol group participants didn't do this," Bartholow said.

The researchers also found that the size of the brain's alarm signal was strongly associated with participants' mood at the time of the test, and that most of the participants in the alcohol group reported feeling "less negative" after drinking than before. Bartholow said the findings are an important step forward in understanding how alcohol's effects on the brain contribute to the kinds of mistakes and social blunders people sometimes make when they're drunk.

"There are certain circumstances under which reducing the brain's alarm signal could be seen as a good thing, because some people, like those with anxiety disorders, are hyper-sensitive to things going wrong. In some people, a small amount of alcohol can take the edge off those anxious feelings, but consistently drinking as a way to reduce anxiety can lead to serious problems, including alcoholism," said Bartholow. "But generally speaking, having a strong brain response to mistakes promotes better self-control and helps people avoid making further mistakes in the future."

More information: The study "Alcohol Effects on Performance Monitoring and Adjustment: Affect Modulation and Impairment of Evaluative Cognitive Control," will be published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.

Provided by University of Missouri-Columbia

"Alcohol dulls brain 'alarm' that monitors mistakes, study finds." September 1st, 2011. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-alcohol-dulls-brain-alarm.html

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek