MAOis For Dummies (And British Pundits)

Allegedly, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown takes a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOi) antidepressant.

That's the rumor, based on the rumored fact that he is unable to eat certain things, notably cheese and Chianti wine. These are foods rich in tyramine, a chemical that's normally harmless, but can be toxic in people taking MAOis. So, if Brown is indeed on a Chianti-and-cheeseless regime, he almost certainly is taking one of the several MAOis on the market today.

The original source for this idea is this blogger, who claims to have heard it from an unnamed Brown aide. Is he to be believed? A glance over his website shows he is hardly an impartial commentator, and he goes on to demonstrate his psychological insight with statements like

"Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is relatively common. Most of us display some obsessive features in everyday life, but under stress a minority of people become borderline or actual OCD in their behaviour, and need medication to control both this and the depression which almost always presents soon afterwards. ... Gordon Brown's symptoms are obvious when viewed in this light: the constant repetition of phrases, and an almost embarrassing (for his Party) need to spray every Parliamentary answer with statistics... they - and the constant speech repetition - represent Brown's unconscious means of controlling the severe anxiety that accompanies depression with OCD."

So one might think that his credibility is somewhat questionable. This hasn't stopped certain corners of the British blogosphere from getting very excited, however, and even respected political journalist Andrew Marr yesterday quizzed Brown about the issue.

Unfortunately, while many are eager to write about Brown and his possible pills, few of them seem to know anything about psychiatry or antidepressants, which has led to some embarrassing errors. So, for the benefit of British pundits, here are some helpful facts.

MAOis -

• are not "powerful", "heavy duty" antidepressants. In terms of effectiveness, they are no better, on average, than Prozac. In fact, no antidepressant is much better than any other one. They differ in terms of side effects, but not "strength". For what it's worth, current opinion is that if there is a best antidepressant, it is escitalopram, a modern Prozac-like SSRI with very mild side effects, which is just about as unlike a MAOi as you can imagine.
  
• do not "impair" or "affect judgment". Antidepressants don't. Except that they treat depression, and someone who's happy might make different judgments to someone who's depressed. But these drugs do not affect judgment in the way that intoxicants like alcohol or cocaine do. You don't get high on them. This is why they have no street value. Most drugs which impair judgment get used recreationally, because having your judgment impaired can be fun. Antidepressants aren't.
  
• are not exclusively used in "severe depression". They are usually reserved for when a patient has not responded to other drugs. This is because of their troublesome side effects, including high blood pressure, and the fact that you can't eat cheese. But "treatment-resistant" depression is not the same as "severe" depression. In fact, the more severe the depression, the more likely it is to respond to treatment with conventional drugs. If Brown is on MAOis, he has probably tried at least two or three other drugs, but this is by no means uncommon because antidepressants just don't work especially well. According to the largest trial in a real-world setting, the STAR*D project, only 30% of people fully recover on their first antidepressant and only 30% of the rest respond to the second one.
  
• are not especially effective in OCD, as the source of the rumor claimed - "this older class of drugs has one huge advantage: for severe depression and obsessive compulsive disorder it remains very effective", emphasis in the original. This is just flat-out wrong. Other antidepressants are more useful in OCD. Here's a recent review of drug therapy for OCD. MAOis get a mention... right at the end, after (deep breath) SSRIs, clomipramine, atypical antipsychotics, SNRIs, pregabalin, tricyclic antidepressants, and benzodiazepines. Here's the only published trial comparing a monoamine oxidase inhibitor to another drug, Prozac, for OCD. The MAOi didn't work, Prozac did.
• were the first class of antidepressants to be discovered; the very first, iproniazid, was discovered in 1952. Others followed, such as tranylcypromine, phenelzine, and selegiline. Today, there are a handful of MAOis on the market. These include some newer drugs such as moclobemide (which has milder side effects) and the selegiline transdermal patch (which carries fewer dietary restrictions). MAOis are primarily used to treat depression, but are also used in Parkinson's disease.

So, even if Brown is taking MAOis, this has no implications regarding his mental state or competence to govern. What about the possibility that he is depressed? This could be relevant, but considering that the most popular British leader of all time famously suffered from severe depressive episodes throughout his life, including his time in office, the historical precedents are not unfavourable.

Realistically, none of this is going to change people's minds. No-one is really concerned about the possibility that Gordon Brown is using MAOis, or even the possibility that he's depressed. Rather, a lot of people just really don't like him, and this rumor is the latest stick with which to beat him. Blogger Guido Fawkes has been asking "Is Brown Bonkers?" for months. As one journalist put it, "Whether literally the case or not, however, this rumor carries the kind of psychological truth that tends to be more damaging than fact." Which didn't stop him from repeating the rumor uncritically.

[BPSDB]

Animation Movies - Where To?

If we take a look at the recent releases, there is no major movie based on 2D animation. Is 2D animation worn out, or just not commercial enough? Even if those classic animations are always a pleasure to watch, you have to admit that the modern animation is more attractive. They are more real, and people seem to love that. If we take a look at the box office, we see 2 animation movies in top 10 (Shrek 2 and Finding Nemo) with 1,7 billion dollars revenue. That is amazing. And for both movies CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) was used.

So, why do studios use CGI, and why do we like it so much? I tend to say, that from the film fan’s point of view, it’s the story that makes the movie so attractive, because, anytime I would like to see a movie like Shrek, with real actors, scenes, and other real stuff. But it’s the story that does all the trick. From the creators’ point of view, it is cheaper. Because, with today’s special effects, anything is possible with real actors, and they can’t deny that. But, like I said, it’s cheaper than physical methods, such as constructing elaborate miniatures for effects shots or hiring a great deal of extras for crowd scenes, and because it allows the creation of images that would not be feasible using any other method. It can also allow a single artist to produce content without the use of actors or other contributors to the project.

The first studio to release a fully computer-generated feature film was Pixar, with their Toy Story. The movie was a major box office hit, generating $360,000,000. Pixar is also “responsible” with other successful animation movies, such as Finding Nemo, A Bug’s Life or The Incredibles. The other real competitor for Pixar is DreamWorks SKG, with Shrek, Shrek 2(this is the animation that generated the largest income for an animation movie, over 880 million dollars), Antz or Chicken Run.

Now that I mentioned Chicken Run, this is a very interesting animation, because it’s not like the other. For this movie Claymation was used. What exactly is Claymation? Well, in clay animation, each object is sculpted in clay or a similarly pliable material such as plasticine, usually around an armature. As in other forms of object animation, the object is arranged on the set, a shot is taken and the object or character is then moved very slightly by hand. Another shot is taken and the object moved slightly again. To achieve the best results, a consistent shooting environment is needed to maintain the illusion of continuity. This means paying special attention to maintaining consistent lighting and object placement. Even if Chicken Run was not a huge hit, DreamWorks used Claymation again, for the remake of Wallace and Gromit.

So, no matter what techniques the creators use, it seems that the 2D animation days are gone and computer-animated movies become more real with every release, breaking revenue records.

Encephalon #76

Welcome to #76 in the fortnightly Encephalon blog carnival series.

• Sandra Kiume's Channel N points us to a fascinating and inspiring talk on blindness, vision science and the brain, from MIT Prof. Pawan Sinha. It's an hour long, but well worth your attention.
• The tale of a Polish violin prodigy whose career was tragically cut short is recounted over at Providentia. Josef Hassid was originally thought to have been suffering from schizophrenia, but was eventually diagnosed with a brain tumour.
• The Neurocritic hits us with a pair of posts about some rather drastic neurological treatments for addiction (one, two), and also reviews a study arguing that neuroscience teaches us that torture doesn't work.
  
• Sharpbrains discusses a pioneering initiative to encourage awareness of dementia in San Francisco.
• Neurophilosophy features a pair of typically lucid posts about associative learning in coma patients and an fMRI study showing that hippocampal activity predicts unconscious memory.
• Zoe Wool over at Neuroanthropology writes about the life of a solider injured in Iraq and the difficulty in separating the "physical" from the "psychological" in such cases.
• Crime and Consequences blogger Steve Erikson alerts us to a provocative new paper of his discussing and criticizing the "neurolaw" movement. Sure to be food for thought.
  
• Brain-inspired "neuromorphic" software may soon be able to recognise text better than current methods, writes Brain Stimulant.
• Neurones may be more energy-efficient than previously believed, according to a paper featured at AK's Rambling Thoughts. He also points out the dangers of taking scientific terminology too seriously.
• Finally, The Mouse Trap discusses the moodiness of entrepreneurs and the near-chaotic nature of the brain.
  

That's it for this time. We're still looking for a host for the next edition, so if you're a neuro/psychology blogger and you'd like to be the next Encephalon editor, please email encephalon dot host at gmail dot com.

Panic! In the fMRI Scanner

Continuing the theme of interesting single case reports, I was pleased to see a paper about brain activity in someone who suffered a panic attack in the middle of an fMRI brain scan experiment.

The unfortunate volunteer, a 46 year old woman, was taking part in an experiment looking at restless-leg syndrome. The scan lasted 40 minutes, and everything was going smoothly until quite near the end, when out of the blue, she had a panic attack.

Obviously, the scan had to be abandoned - as soon as the volunteer pressed the emergency "panic button", they stopped the scan and got her out of the MRI. (This kind of thing is why we have such buttons!) However, they decided to see what happened in the woman's brain as the panic started using the data they acquired up to that point.

Here's what they found: the top graph here shows her heart rate. It starts increasing a bit and then spikes, which shows exactly when the attack occurred. What about the brain? Well, amygdala and left insula activity sort of increase around this time. A bit. If you stare at the lines hard enough.

If you believe they did, it makes sense because the amygdala is known to be involved in anxiety (amongst other things) while the insula is responsible for the perception of the body's internal state, which is rather out of whack during a panic attack.

What doesn't make sense is the middle temporal gyrus bit, which was statistically the only part of the brain where activity was significantly correlated with heart rate (in whole-brain analysis). That region is not believed to have anything to do with panic, and to be honest, it's probably just a fluke.

This is only the second published report about panic during fMRI. There was one previous paper from 2006 about an attack in someone with a history of panic, which also found amygdala activation. But there are sure to be others out there which haven't made it into print - anxiety and panic during scans is not unheard of (the scanner is rather claustrophobic). It would be interesting to get more data on this, because it's obviously rather hard to research real-life panic attacks, on account of them being unpredictable.

Spiegelhalder, K., Hornyak, M., Kyle, S., Paul, D., Blechert, J., Seifritz, E., Hennig, J., Tebartz van Elst, L., Riemann, D., & Feige, B. (2009). Cerebral correlates of heart rate variations during a spontaneous panic attack in the fMRI scanner Neurocase, 1-8 DOI: 10.1080/13554790903066909

Clay Animation

Clay animation is also known as Claymation and is in fact a registered trademark created by Will Vinton Studios to describe their clay animated movies. The term is now commonly used to refer to all stop motion animation, which is 3-D, as opposed to traditional animation, that is not.

Clay animation is growing in popularity around the world. Schools around the world are using clay animation movies to make teaching easier. Students are actively encouraged to use their artistic and creative talents, while using this technology to tell a story. Clay animation is appealing to a broad variety of learners. For instance, language skills are being taught using clay animation. Logical and mathematical skills are being taught using clay animation, involving digital photography and video editing technology.

Clay animation helps to make learning more fun. It encourages students to collaborate during a project. Not only youngsters, one would agree that anybody would have fun making characters move on a screen. Clay animation also works on the basic principle of persistence of vision. Persistence of vision creates an illusion of movement, whereby you feel that the objects are moving. You can easily create a simple clay animation with as little as two images using this principle. All you need is a PC with the requisite software to get started.

You can find vast amounts of information on clay animation from online resources. In fact, you can create your own clay animation by following the steps mentioned in most of these online resources. There are no limits to what your imagination can do with a little bit of knowledge on clay animation. Alternately you can also enroll yourself with institutions who can teach you clay animation professionally.

Loungerie Long Gown Set

Silvermoon Loungerie Long Gown Set

Loungerie long gown set with matching g-string panty in chiffon with rhinestone hardware.
This line features some of our finest European fabrics and some of the most elegant embellishments we'ver ever introduced. The customer that is always searching for the best quality, softest fabrics & greatest overall value for the best price will embrace these styles.

Christmas Model Lingerie Bra Top and Gartered Skirt

* 3pc Velvet bra top and Gartered Skirt set
* Color Available in Red/White
* Size Available in SM, ML
3pc Velvet triangle bra top wth eyelet tim and gartered skirt, includes G-string.(stocking not inclucd-siold separately)

Posh 3 set Lingerie Models

Posh 3 pc.Set includes bra top with adjustable straps, garter skirt which hooks in the back, and panty. This high-class set is made of silky smooth fabric and luxurious bows providing a vintage posh look with a touch of elegance. A classic style for the rich & famous! Fabric: Satin: 95% Polyester/ 5% Spandex, Mesh: 91% Nylon/ 9% Spandex. Imported from China. Rose/Brown, Black/Black. S, M, L.

Shirley Hollywood Lingerie Models

Shirley of Hollywood 2PC SET MESH/RUFFLE 6958

Sheer stretch mesh and lace ruffles 3 piece top and skirtini pj set. Set includes crop top with ribbon tie front, elastic halter tie top and back and skirtini with attached g-string and adjustable garters. Comes with stockings.

Hi-tech microfibre Bridal Seduction bustier Model

The Le Mystere Bridal Seduction Bustier Bra 2355

* A Le Mystere Bridal bustier that's totally smooth under your dress yet has hidden stays and wires.
* You will love the invisible softness of seamless, molded microfiber.
* Fits over the hips for the smoothest body line.
* A very low back for a bustier.
* Removable garter straps.
* 2 beautiful choices for shoulder straps or go strapless.

Lingerie Model : Floral applique and stretch mesh strappy bustier

Exciting floral applique and stretch mesh strappy bustier with adjustable straps, elasticized garters and includes g-string.

The stocking is not included. It can be found by search ASIN: B000L7TC56 on amazon.com. It comes in Berry, Black, White and Red.

Stretch fishnet bodysuit Model Lingerie

Sexy big hole Model Lingerie stretch fishnet bodysuit with stretch lace trim at collar and cuffs. Ribbon tie closure at front lingerie models.

Spot The Difference

As part of my extensive research into the famous dead fish brain scanning study, I decided to read a little bit about the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), the fish which started it all.

It turns out, at least according to Wikipedia, that there are various interesting things about this species, for example, it's "much more aggressive than other salmon". Who knew?

However, by far the most interesting thing is that developing salmon embryos are about the cutest things in the world, and look exactly like smiley faces, or maybe Pacman. Those dark spots really are the eyes.

Endless forms most beautiful, indeed.

Highland Nuts

A few weekends ago, my sister bought some nuts at the market from the native people. According to the seller, these nuts only grow in the wild on the highlands. The name is repi.

It was the first time I have seen and tasted such kind of nuts. The shells are very thin and brittle, so they are very easy to break just but hand. The thin membrane draping the nut is a bit hairy but can be eaten together with the nut.

The colour of the nuts is greenish white. They taste like green peas mixed with walnuts, quite an interesting taste. The texture is chewy rather than crunchy and they come with a bitter after taste. They are something that you should try if you happen to see them in the markets around Kuching.

The Man With Half A Brain

A lovely new paper reports in fascinating detail on a man who lost a uniquely large portion of his brain: Bilateral limbic system destruction in man.

The authors, Feinstein et al from Iowa City, have studied the patient, "Roger", for 14 years. Roger was born in 1952, and lived a fairly uneventful life until he contracted herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) at the age of 28.

HSE is an extremely rare condition in which the herpes virus infects the central nervous system. Untreated, it is fatal in 70% of people. Survivors suffer varying degrees of neurological damage. Roger suffered more than most - his is the worst case of herpes encephalitis damage among patients currently alive, and there are only three recorded cases of similarly extensive lesions. Roger lost almost his entire "limbic system":

The amount of destroyed neural tissue is extensive and includes bilateral damage to core limbic and paralimbic regions, including the hippocampus, amygdala, parahippocampal gyrus, temporal poles, orbitofrontal cortex, basal forebrain, anterior cingulate cortex, and insular cortex. The right hemisphere is more extensively affected than the left, although the lesions are largely bilateral.

"Limbic system" is an old, vague, but still popular term for a collection of brain structures located deep in the centre of the brain (but not to be confused with the basal ganglia). It's often thought of as the "primitive", "emotional" part of the brain, and there is some truth to this. Roger's limbic system was profoundly damaged on both sides; on the right side, the lesion included the whole temporal lobe and most of the ventral prefrontal cortex as well.

What happened to Roger's mind when his brain suffered such injury? In many ways, remarkably little. His only major impairment is profound anterograde amnesia: he is unable to remember anything that has happened since the infection, which was 28 years ago.

For Roger, not much has changed over the past 28 years. He has virtually no episodic memories for any events that have transpired over the past three decades. For example, he has no recollection of 9/11, and when shown pictures of the planes crashing into the World Trade Center he often responds with bewilderment, speculating that Russia must be attacking America.

This is, obviously, a disabling deficit: Roger cannot lead a normal life. But in other areas of mental functioning, he is quite normal. His IQ is above average; his speech and language abilities are excellent; his vision and hearing are normal, although he has no sense of taste or smell. His short term (working) memory, attention, and reasoning abilities are unimpaired. His motor abilities are fine - he is reportedly an excellent bowler - and he is able to improve motor skills through practice. And his recall of things which happened before the infection is largely preserved, although the few years just before the infection are partially lost.

Fascinatingly, Roger's personality and emotional life seems to have been changed by the infection as well, but in a rather fortunate way -

Roger appears remarkably unconcerned by his condition. He hardly ever complains and, in general, shows little worry for anything in life. Both of his parents and his sister fervently claim that “Roger is always happy,” an observation that is consistent with our own impression. Moreover, based on his family’s report, Roger is paradoxically happier now than he was before his brain damage. ... His premorbid disposition of being somewhat reserved and introverted has shifted to being outgoing and extroverted...

Most conversations with Roger involve animated speech that is replete with prosody, gesture, and, often times, laughing. He readily displays signs of positive emotion including happiness, amusement, interest, and excitement. As previously noted, Roger’s positive mood has remained essentially unchanged over nearly three decades.

His only other reported quirks are an insatiable appetite, and a habit of collecting and holding onto everyday items.

What does all this mean? Neuroscientists will find little about the case surprising. No textbooks are going to have to be rewritten. Roger's inability to form new memories, combined with preserved memory of events up to the few years before the damage, is similar to that seen in other cases of bilateral hippocampus damage. The most famous being the sadly recently deceased patient "H. M.", but there have been plenty of others. The hippocampus seems to be necessarily for forming new long term memories, but the memories themselves are stored elsewhere.

Roger's happy-go-lucky disposition is also not too unexpected, given that he suffered bilateral damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Last year I wrote about a study from the same Iowa team finding that damage to this area seems to protect against depression. And this is the same region which was targeted by the infamous prefrontal lobotomies of the 40s and 50s - which, for all their ethical shortcomings, sometimes did seem to relieve people of mental anguish.

For me, Roger provides two main lessons, both rather satisfying ones. Firstly, even after losing large parts of the brain, life goes on. The brain is modular, and we can live without many of the modules. And secondly, if our emotional circuitry is damaged, we generally feel better, rather than worse. To put it another way, perhaps, happiness is our default state, and emotions just have a habit of getting in the way.

Feinstein, J., Rudrauf, D., Khalsa, S., Cassell, M., Bruss, J., Grabowski, T., & Tranel, D. (2009). Bilateral limbic system destruction in man Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 1-19 DOI: 10.1080/13803390903066873

Basics of Desktop Wallpapers

What is not to like about desktop wallpapers? Besides the idea that it is absolutely free to download in your computer, the designs are truly captivating and beautiful. Desktop wallpapers are offered online via hundreds of sites. And to make it easier for people to choose their preference, they have been categorized for quicker searches and downloading.

Here is a list of the categories and what images are affixed in them.

1. 3D displays wonderful animations of things. Examples are 3D mushrooms, linux 3D wallpaper, 3D beautiful lion, gravity pull, fire escape, the edge of hell, and more.
2. Animals are images that provide a feeling of sweetness and warmth. Cuddly animals include sweet poodle dog, cute little puppies, one dog with two cats, and white dog playing with cat.
3. Anime is playing with ordinary images and putting together real and computer-generated artistry in one. Few examples are Naruto 24, Silent Hill Anime, and Night Eyes.
4. Bollywood features Indian actors and actresses sporting their hottest looks. They are Kareena Kapoor looking hot, Hrithik Roshan bollywood star, and Sexy Katrina Kaif.
5. Cars are a man's best friend. But even sporty girls love the elegant cars, too. Drool over Z Art Porsche Boxter, Techart Porsche, or Porsche 911 2007.
6. Cartoons are designed for both the kids and child-at-heart grownups. Cartoons showcase the fun images of Pink SpongeBob, Tweety, Spiderman, Pooh, Nemo, and the Care Bears.
7. Celebrities present a beautiful collection of photos from your favorite celebrities such as Beyonce, Angelina Jolie, Christina Aguilera, Eva Longoria, Paris Hilton, and more hot celebs.
8. Christmas is an array of designs that reminds you of the season anytime of the year. Find Mickey Mouse in a Santa in Holidays wallpaper. Imagine yourself in the image of Santas Lap.
9. Computer shows mostly colorful renditions of the logos of Microsoft and Apple brands.
10. Fantasy is like the Anime category. Images are from toying of other images, resulting to a different creative design. Check out the beautiful sunset at Pastel Sunset. Other designs are Mercury Rising, Poseidon Cinema, Planetary Night, and Rainy Season.
11. Flowers extend fragrance in visual form. Love the White Flower, Red Tulips, Yellow Flower, and other stunning flowers in full bloom.
12. Games are definitely for certified gamers. List includes Mario, Tomb Raider Legend, and racing games.
13. Girls are photos of fashionably chic icons of the entertainment and sports industry. Some of them are the Sex in the City girls, Maria Sharapova, Zhang Ziyi, Spice Girls, and other top models.
14. Holidays are images of events of the heart such as Passing Love, Valentine's Party, or Scary Halloween Party, and just about any holiday celebrated in life.

There are still other interesting images and photos to suit your taste such as that from the Military, Motorcycles, Movies, Music, Nature, Places, Ships, Space, Sports, and Zodiac. Each category offers a certain kind of satisfaction upon successfully downloading them in your computer. But the thrill of finding the perfect desktop wallpaper definitely depends on you.

Encephalon #76 - Call for Submissions

Neuroskeptic will be hosting the 76th instalment of ENCEPHALON, the regular neuroscience and psychology carnival. So get writing, or get submitting things you've already written, about the brain, the mind, and all that kind of thing.

As ever, please e-mail submissions (up to 3 posts) to encephalon dot host at gmail dot com, by the end of this Sunday 27th September!

Lingerie Model Miranda Kerr

Sexy Lingerie Model Miranda Kerr victoria`s Secret Lingerie Line.

Seductive Catrin Claeson Lingerie Model

Catrin Claeson Lingerie Model