Author: José

Chronic alcohol use is linked to impaired plasticity of brain inhibition networks, study suggests

Chronic alcohol use is linked to impaired plasticity of brain inhibition networks, study suggests

In new research published in Psychological Medicine, a team of scientists explored the effects of cortical paired associative stimulation, a form of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), on enhancing the brain’s ability to resist alcohol-related impulses. Their findings revealed that while cPAS effectively strengthened the brain networks responsible for inhibiting responses in healthy adults, individuals with chronic alcohol use did not exhibit the same improvements. This suggests a unique brain response among those with alcohol use disorder, potentially tied to long-standing alterations in brain function due to alcohol consumption. Cortical paired associative stimulation (cPAS) represents a pioneering approach in the field of neuromodulation. The essence of cPAS lies in its ability to deliver paired magnetic pulses to specific regions of the cortex, aiming to strengthen neuronal connections. This targeted stimulation seeks to enhance or restore the functional integrity of neural networks, particularly those implicated in cognitive processes such as impulse control. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health …

The Song From the 1500’s That Blows Rick Beato Away: An Introduction to John Dowland’s Entrancing Music

The Song From the 1500’s That Blows Rick Beato Away: An Introduction to John Dowland’s Entrancing Music

In 2006, Sting released an album called Songs from the Labyrinth, a col­lab­o­ra­tion with Bosn­ian lutenist Edin Kara­ma­zov con­sist­ing most­ly of com­po­si­tions by Renais­sance com­pos­er John Dow­land. This was regard­ed by some as rather eccen­tric, but to lis­ten­ers famil­iar with the ear­ly music revival that had already been going on for a few decades, it would have been almost too obvi­ous a choice. For Dow­land had long since been redis­cov­ered as one of the late six­teenth and ear­ly sev­en­teenth cen­tu­ry’s musi­cal super­stars, thanks in part to the record­ings of clas­si­cal gui­tarist and lutenist Julian Bream. “When I was a kid, I went to the pub­lic library in Fair­port, New York, where I’m from, and I got this Julian Bream record,” says music pro­duc­er and pop­u­lar Youtu­ber Rick Beato (pre­vi­ous­ly fea­tured here on Open Cul­ture) in the video above. Beato describes Bream as “one of the great­est clas­si­cal gui­tarists who ever lived” and cred­its him with hav­ing “pop­u­lar­ized the clas­si­cal gui­tar and the lute and renais­sance music.” The par­tic­u­lar Bream record­ing that impressed the young Beato …

The Beautiful Art of Making Japanese Calligraphy Ink Out of Soot & Glue

The Beautiful Art of Making Japanese Calligraphy Ink Out of Soot & Glue

Found­ed in 1577, Kobaien remains Japan’s old­est man­u­fac­tur­er of sumi ink sticks. Made of soot and ani­mal glue, the ink stick—when ground against an ink­stone, with a lit­tle water added—produces a beau­ti­ful black ink used by Japan­ese cal­lig­ra­phers. And, often, a 200-gram ink stick from Kobaien can cost over $1,000. How can soot and ani­mal glue com­mand such a high price? As the Busi­ness Insid­er video above shows, there’s a fine art to mak­ing each ingredient—an art honed over the cen­turies. Watch­ing the arti­sans make the soot alone, you imme­di­ate­ly appre­ci­ate the com­plex­i­ty beneath the appar­ent sim­plic­i­ty. When you’re done watch­ing how the ink gets made, you’ll undoubt­ed­ly want to watch the arti­sans mak­ing cal­lig­ra­phy brush­es, an art form that has its own fas­ci­nat­ing his­to­ry. Enjoy! Relat­ed Con­tent  Down­load 215,000 Japan­ese Wood­block Prints by Mas­ters Span­ning the Tradition’s 350-Year His­to­ry Learn Cal­lig­ra­phy from Lloyd Reynolds, the Teacher of Steve Jobs’ Own Famous­ly Inspir­ing Cal­lig­ra­phy Teacher The Mod­el Book of Cal­lig­ra­phy (1561–1596): A Stun­ning­ly Detailed Illu­mi­nat­ed Man­u­script Cre­at­ed over Three Decades Source link

Get Unlimited Access to Courses & Certificates: Coursera Is Offering 0 Off of Coursera Plus Until March 31

Get Unlimited Access to Courses & Certificates: Coursera Is Offering $100 Off of Coursera Plus Until March 31

A heads up on a deal: Between now and March 31, 2024, Cours­era is offer­ing a $100 dis­count on its annu­al sub­scrip­tion plan called “Cours­era Plus.” Nor­mal­ly priced at $399, Cours­era Plus (now avail­able for $299) gives you access to 7,000+ world-class cours­es for one all-inclu­sive sub­scrip­tion price. This includes Cours­er­a’s Spe­cial­iza­tions and Pro­fes­sion­al Cer­tifi­cates, all of which are taught by top instruc­tors from lead­ing uni­ver­si­ties and com­pa­nies (e.g. Yale, Duke, Google, Meta, and more). The $299 annu­al fee–which trans­lates to 81 cents per day–could be a good invest­ment for any­one inter­est­ed in learn­ing new sub­jects and skills, or earn­ing cer­tifi­cates that can be added to your resume. Just as Net­flix’s stream­ing ser­vice gives you access to unlim­it­ed movies, Cours­era Plus gives you access to unlim­it­ed cours­es and cer­tifi­cates. It’s basi­cal­ly an all-you-can-eat deal. Explore the offer (before March 31, 2024) here. Note: Open Cul­ture has a part­ner­ship with Cours­era. If read­ers enroll in cer­tain Cours­era cours­es and pro­grams, it helps sup­port Open Cul­ture. Source link

Online posts erroneously tie Senate minority leader’s late sister-in-law to ship that hit Baltimore bridge

Online posts erroneously tie Senate minority leader’s late sister-in-law to ship that hit Baltimore bridge

CLAIM: Angela Chao, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s sister-in-law, who died in February, had been CEO of the company that owns Dali, the container ship that crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Chao was the chair and CEO of her family’s shipping business, New York-based Foremost Group. Dali is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and managed by Synergy Marine Group, both of which are based in Singapore. Danish shipping giant Maersk said it had chartered the vessel. THE FACTS: Social media users are falsely claiming that Chao, who died in Texas after driving into a pond on Feb. 10 while intoxicated, is connected to the collapse of the Key Bridge, suggesting that her death appears suspicious in light of the incident in Baltimore. One X post states that Chao “was the CEO of the shipping company that owned the massive cargo ship that hit the Key Bridge & caused its collapse just 24+ hours ago.” It continues: “She is supposedly drunk, backs her car into a pond & dies. Then …

Captain of container ship that caused Baltimore bridge collapse is Indian, not Ukrainian

Captain of container ship that caused Baltimore bridge collapse is Indian, not Ukrainian

CLAIM: The captain of Dali, the container ship that crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, is Ukrainian. AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. A Ukrainian man who was listed on a maritime jobs database as captaining Dali for about five months in 2016 is being erroneously blamed for the incident online. The Dali’s captain and crew are Indian, Synergy Marine Group, the company that manages the ship, told The Associated Press. There were two pilots — local specialists who help guide vessels safely in and out of ports — navigating Dali at the time of the collision. Both are U.S. citizens, according to Synergy. THE FACTS: Following the crash that caused Key Bridge to collapse early Tuesday, social media users shared a screenshot of a webpage they said identified Dali’s captain. The screenshot, taken on the BalticShipping.com database, shows two seafarers listed as having worked on Dali, including a 52-year-old Ukrainian man who it says applied for the role of master, or captain. “The captain of the ship that hit the bridge in Baltimore is Ukrainian,” reads …

Dark personality traits and specific humor styles are linked to online trolling, study finds

Dark personality traits and specific humor styles are linked to online trolling, study finds

Research published in PLOS One has pinpointed a significant link between dark personality traits — such as sadism and psychopathy — and the tendency to engage in online trolling, a form of negative online interaction known for disrupting and provoking internet users. Surprisingly, however, the study found that experiencing social exclusion does not significantly increase one’s motivation to troll. The internet has evolved into a vast place for social interaction — where anonymity can bring out the worst in people. Trolling, or the act of deliberately upsetting or provoking others online, has been a particular point of concern for its harmful effects on individuals’ well-being. Prior research has associated trolling behavior with the so-called Dark Tetrad of personality — Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism. However, the nuanced relationship between these traits, the impact of social exclusion, and the role of humor in trolling behaviors has remained less understood — prompting a more in-depth investigation. Curiosity about trolling motivated the researchers to replicate previous findings linking the Dark Tetrad to the concept itself — while exploring …

Study shows Black children perceived as less sensitive than White peers

Study shows Black children perceived as less sensitive than White peers

A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied reveals a stark racial bias in adults’ perceptions of pain experienced by children. This bias not only influences how adults judge the severity of children’s pain but also affects the kind of pain treatment they recommend, potentially leading to disparities in pain management for young Black children. The investigation into these stereotypes stemmed from a recognition of the vital role adults play in recognizing and advocating for children’s pain management. Previous research has well-documented the existence of racial biases in the perception and treatment of pain among adults, showing that Black adults are often believed to be less sensitive to pain than White adults. This study aimed to explore whether such biases extend to perceptions of children’s pain, an area that had seen less scrutiny. “National health surveys consistently highlight significant racial disparities in pain care, with Black individuals often receiving less comprehensive treatment compared to their White counterparts,” said study author Kevin M. Summers, a graduate student at the University of Denver and …

19% of antidepressant users report sexual problems connected to the treatment

19% of antidepressant users report sexual problems connected to the treatment

A study examining patients who use antidepressants revealed that 19% of individuals without prior sexual issues reported encountering sexual problems related to the usage of at least one antidepressant. The paper was published in the Journal of Affective Disorders Reports. Depression, or major depressive disorder, is a serious mental health condition characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, emptiness, or hopelessness, along with a lack of interest or pleasure in activities that were once enjoyed. Symptoms can include changes in appetite or weight, sleep disturbances, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt, difficulty concentrating, and thoughts of death or suicide. Depression can lead to significant impairments in daily functioning, adversely impacting work, and social relationships. The exact cause of depression is not known, but it is believed to result from a combination of genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological factors. Main methods of treatment include psychotherapy and a type of medications called antidepressants. Antidepressants work by altering the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain, chemicals which are involved in regulating mood and emotions. There are several types …

Loneliness leads to changes in personality over time

Loneliness leads to changes in personality over time

Feelings of loneliness can predict changes in key personality traits over time, according to new research published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences. Additionally, negative emotions were found to both predict and be predicted by loneliness and neuroticism, indicating a complex, bidirectional relationship at the individual level. The motivation behind this research was rooted in a shift in our understanding of personality traits. Traditionally viewed as static elements of our identity, recent studies have revealed that our personalities are more malleable than once thought, capable of evolving in response to life’s experiences. This revelation has led scientists to explore how changes in our psychological and social well-being influence, and are influenced by, changes in personality traits. In his new study, Mohsen Joshanloo builds upon this foundation, examining into how loneliness interacts with personality over time. “Personality traits have traditionally been viewed as largely static and unchanging. However, empirical data have shown that these traits are more malleable than once thought. Our life experiences can indeed influence our personality traits,” explained Joshanloo, ​​​an associate professor …