Posted on 03/15/2002 4:56:05 PM PST by pa_dweller
Scanners that could determine our political beliefs, pinpoint our involvements in crime, or even uncover extra-marital liaisons are being developed by neurologists.
It sounds like science fiction, but the idea is being taken seriously by neurologists following breakthroughs in research on the amygdala, an almond-shaped region of the forebrain.
During one trial, scientists read the electrical patterns of amygdalas in individuals undergoing cognitive trials and decoded volunteers' emotions from their scanners.
'The whole field has become immensely exciting,' said Dr Stephen Lawrie of Edinburgh University's psychiatry department. 'It has immense potential, not just for understanding how we think and feel, but for helping people with severe emotional problems, including those with schizophrenia.'
The amygdala is the mind's emotional engine and research into its operation has become one of the hottest topics in brain science. This month, neuroscientists and psychologists meet in Galveston, Texas to debate developments at a three-day international conference, the first dedicated to amygdala research.
Most research on brain activity has, until recently, focused on thinking patterns and ignored the far more tricky issue of how we express and feel emotion.
'We don't know why we feel emotions and what good they are,' said Dr Rashid Shaikh of the New York Academy of Sciences, which is organising the conference. 'Now we have the means to begin to get an answer.'
Research on rat brains in the 1980s revealed that the amygdala controls the expression of fear and anxiety. Scientists then turned to the human brain to determine if ours worked in a similar manner, armed with newly developed magnetic resonance scanners that measure brain activity by analysing changes in oxygenated blood flow.
The most remarkable studies were by Yale and New York University researchers, led by Dr Elizabeth Phelps. Volunteers were shown pictures of black and white people. White participants were checked in advance to make sure that none expressed overt anti-black feelings.
But when these individuals were presented with pictures of black people, images of some them revealed intense amygdala activation - a sure sign they were feeling fearful or anxious. Pen-and-paper psychological tests designed to reveal innate racism uncovered some participants who suppressed anti-black feelings - the same individuals whose amygdalas were most active during tests. They claimed not to be racist, but their brains gave the game away .
Such research raises the prospect that attitudes and feelings we try to conceal will one day be uncovered by researchers. Lying politicians, spin doctors and cheating sportsmen (and husbands) will suddenly find life uncomfortable.
Such prospects are relatively distant. In the shorter term, amygdala research offers scientists a chance to transform the treatment of psychiatric conditions.
'In schizophrenics, and in those who are at risk of developing the condition, we find amygdalas that are much smaller than those in most individuals,' Lawrie said. 'In other words, the emotional barometers they use to measure the outside world are damaged. They may feel anxious or fearful about innocent objects or passers-by, which can trigger all sorts of paranoid responses.
'We can now think about how to develop drugs that could alleviate the problem, or design cognitive therapies to improve their condition.'
Another key area involves post-traumatic stress disorders. Psychologists have found that many World Trade Centre survivors, as well as those who have witnessed deaths of loved ones and other tragedies, suffer intense and lingering anxiety.
'When you scan them, you discover that their amygdalas are switched on to far higher levels than you would find in the average person,' said Shaikh.
'It has immense potential, not just for understanding how we think and feel, but for helping people with severe emotional problems, including those with schizophrenia.'
Those citizens who questioned
those suspect harborers of doubt
were brought before a panel
of the ministry
of health
They were tested
and encephalogramed
'til rendered quite insane.
When in accordance
with the laws
they reprocessed their brains.
KLAATU, Politzania
To: pa_dweller
I plan to post my infrequent articles on the short bus forum AKA general, since they are mainly not political news but have general interest. I foresee the short bus forum becoming the main forum very soon, and the news/political forum becoming vestigial except during election night and the ensuing court battles.
2 posted on 3/15/02 5:09 PM Pacific by RightWhale
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To: RightWhale
These scientists who work on this sort of sh-t, must have some real deeply seeded issues with humanity.
3 posted on 3/15/02 5:15 PM Pacific by godisright
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To: RightWhale
These scientists who work on this sort of sh-t, must have some real deeply seeded issues with humanity.
4 posted on 3/15/02 5:15 PM Pacific by godisright
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To: godisright
some real deeply seeded issues with humanity
Some do, no doubt; I wouldn't want to be around when they are visiting their psychoanalyst. Or they are seeking the limelight [and the shortcut to recognition/funding.]
5 posted on 3/15/02 5:20 PM Pacific by RightWhale
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To: pa_dweller
But when these individuals were presented with pictures of black people, images of some them revealed intense amygdala activation - a sure sign they were feeling fearful or anxious. Pen-and-paper psychological tests designed to reveal innate racism uncovered some participants who suppressed anti-black feelings - the same individuals whose amygdalas were most active during tests. They claimed not to be racist, but their brains gave the game away .
Maybe they were just liberals, and the brain activity was merely detecting "liberal guilt".
6 posted on 3/15/02 5:20 PM Pacific by Dan Day
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To: pa_dweller
Lying politicians, spin doctors and cheating sportsmen (and husbands) will suddenly find life uncomfortable.
I saw TV coverage of research that was being done quite a while ago (like 5-8 years or so) about a similar use for "brain activity" scans.
Apparently one part of the brain lights up pretty clearly whenever an act of recognition occur. The researchers were saying that with some refinement, it could be used as an unbeatable lie detector. For example, show a crime suspect a photo of the crime scene or victim. Someone who was not involved would register no recognition, but the criminal himself could not help but recognize the scene of the crime. And so on.
I never heard what became of the research. <tinfoil>Maybe it's been classified </tinfoil>
7 posted on 3/15/02 5:25 PM Pacific by Dan Day
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To: godisright
These scientists who work on this sort of sh-t, must have some real deeply seeded issues with humanity.
I think they're just curious, and driven to figure out how things work which are currently not understood.
That's why most people who are scientists and/or researchers choose the professions that they do. It's not any more complicated than that.
8 posted on 3/15/02 5:26 PM Pacific by Dan Day
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2. Now that this has been reposted in this forum, what happens to the comments made in the other forum?
Nevermind.
Move along now, nothing to see here!
I wonder if any black people were involved in this study and what their reactions were. I also wonder if they were be "checked in advance to make sure that none expressed overt anti-white feel...."
Never mind, I am pretty sure I know the answer.
a. cricket
I haven't seen an official announcement. That may be due to the fact that John is still working on all the new features.
"One question I have in particular: is it possible for some articles to be posted simultaneously to both forums, to allow both on- and off-topic discussions?"
No.
"The General Interest Forum hasn't reached "feature parity" yet with News/Activism. For example, the "Notify" pager won't trigger for pings from General Interest.'
I'm making an asumption, but as soon as the regular stuff is completed, John will have this worked out too.
a. cricket
(I'm sure that'll go over big.)
This should be very useful in future "Hate Crime" trials.
I disagree. I think all news is serious. It is just that some people find certain things funny. I think the qualifier should be POLITICAL news. Otherwise GI will always just be a jokers forum. I think GI should be serious as well.
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