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Cortisol, surprise-enhanced cognition, and flashbulb memories: Scaring people with a snake screen and getting a PhD for it!

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Cortisol is a hormone that has a number of important functions. It gets us out of bed in the morning, it cranks up our metabolism in preparation for intense exercise, and it also helps us memorize things and even learn. Yes, it helps us learn . Memorization in particular, and cognition in general, would be significantly impaired without cortisol. When you are surprised, particularly with something unpleasant, cortisol levels increase and enhance cognition. This is in part what an interesting study suggests; a study in which I was involved. The study was properly “sanctified” by the academic peer-review process (Kock et al., 2009; full reference and link at the end of this post). The main hypothesis tested through this study is also known as the “ flashbulb memorization ” hypothesis. Interestingly, up until this study was conducted no one seemed to have used evolution to provide a basis on which flashbulb memorization can be explained. The basic idea here is that enhanced cognition with...
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Spin Class

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Are y'all doing spin class?  I haven't done it in a really long time and miss it!  I've been doing most of my cardio on the stairmaster lately and was thinking of other cardio I could do for variety and spinning came to mind.  The only bad thing about spinning is that you usually have to be a member of a gym to take a class or go to a studio.  I'm going to find a class at my gym soon.   via I've found that the best classes are the ones with an instructor whose style you like the best and who plays the best music.  If you've never taken a spin class, just arrive a few minutes early and talk to the instructor.  They will help you adjust the bike to your height and explain how to dial up or down the intensity.  You can go at your own pace though and work as hard as you feel comfortable.  Spinning is such an awesome workout and not just for your legs.  Some teachers have the participants do push-up motions on the handlebars, etc.  Unle...
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Assessment: Fish Consumption and Incidence of Stroke Meta-Analysis

Purpose of review: Further research was necessary into relationship between fish consumption and risk of stroke because observational studies were inadequate for determining relationship. Review strategy: Meta-analysis on cohort studies relating to fish consumption and risk of stroke. Description: Researchers searched Medline and Embase databases with relative keywords (e.g. “fish) to identify 9 total relevant cohorts (note: one study counted as two) published in English language journals from 1966 to 2003. The cohort studies chosen each provided “relative risk” and “corresponding 95%” confidence interval factors for relationship of stroke with fish consumption. Duration average of each was 12.8 years with a range of 4 to 30 years. Each study had been properly adjusted for multiple covariates. Regional variance existed: of the 9 studies, 6 were from the U.S., 1 from Europe, 1 from China, and 1 from Japan creating a regional variance. Five of the studies attained data through person...
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