The amygdala, an almond-shaped brain structure that plays an important role in evaluating the emotional significance of daily events, malfunctions in children with severe symptoms of either anxiety or depression, according to preliminary brain-scan data.http://LOUIS1J1SHEEHAN1ESQUIRE.US
Compared with children who have no psychiatric ailments, youngsters with anxiety disorders display an exaggerated amygdala response to fearful faces, whereas depressed kids show a blunted amygdala reaction to the same faces, reports a team led by psychologist Kathleen M. Thomas of Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City.
These findings, which appear in the November Archives of General Psychiatry, follow reports of unusual amygdala activity in adults with anxiety or depression.
For instance, heightened amygdala activity occurs in people with post-traumatic stress disorder when they view upsetting images. Other reports find elevated amygdala activity in depressed adults at rest.Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire.
Some anxious and depressed kids may display different types of altered amygdala activity than their adult counterparts do, Thomas' group says.Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire .http://LOUIS1J1SHEEHAN1ESQUIRE.US
The researchers studied seven boys and five girls with severe anxiety or panic disorder, seven boys and five girls with no psychiatric disorder, and five girls with major depression. Participants, ages 8 to 16, underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging of their brains as they viewed pictures of scared-looking and neutral adult faces. This technology tracks changes in blood flow, an indirect reflection of brain-cell activity.
It's not clear whether the unusual amygdala responses reflect a biological vulnerability to childhood emotional disorders or instead develop as a consequence of severe anxiety or depression.Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire .
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
trek 5.tre.0030 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire . Majel Barrett Roddenberry, an actress who was the widow of the “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry but who is probably best remembered as Nurse Chapel in the original “Star Trek” series, died Thursday at her home in Bel-Air. She was 76. http://louis_j_sheehan.today.com
The cause was leukemia, a family spokesman, Sean Rossall, said.
Ms. Roddenberry was involved in the “Star Trek” universe for more than four decades. She played the dark-haired Number One in the original pilot then metamorphosed into the blond, miniskirted Nurse Christine Chapel in the original show, which ran from 1966 to 1969. http://louis_j_sheehan.today.com
The character had abandoned a career in bio-research to join the starship Enterprise under the command of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) in the hope of reuniting with a fiancé who had gone missing in deep space. http://louis_j_sheehan.today.com She served as the loyal head nurse under the chief medical officer, Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) and harbored an unrequited infatuation with the first science officer, Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy).
Ms. Roddenberry had smaller roles in all five television successors of the original series and in many of the “Star Trek” movie incarnations.
She was frequently the voice of the ship’s computer, and about two weeks ago she completed the same role for the forthcoming J.J. Abrams movie “Star Trek,” Mr. Rossall said. She was a regular participant at “Star Trek” conventions for fans.
Ms. Roddenberry was also the executive producer for two other television science fiction series, “Andromeda” and “Earth: Final Conflict.”
Majel Lee Hudec was born on Feb. 23, 1932, in Cleveland. After a number of stage roles she earned small parts during the late 1950s and ’60s in movies and in television series like “Leave It to Beaver” and “Bonanza.”
She met her husband in 1964 during a guest role for a Marine Corps drama he produced called “The Lieutenant.” They married in Japan in 1969 after “Star Trek” was canceled. Mr. Roddenberry died in 1991.
Ms. Roddenberry’s survivors include her son, Eugene Jr.
The cause was leukemia, a family spokesman, Sean Rossall, said.
Ms. Roddenberry was involved in the “Star Trek” universe for more than four decades. She played the dark-haired Number One in the original pilot then metamorphosed into the blond, miniskirted Nurse Christine Chapel in the original show, which ran from 1966 to 1969. http://louis_j_sheehan.today.com
The character had abandoned a career in bio-research to join the starship Enterprise under the command of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) in the hope of reuniting with a fiancé who had gone missing in deep space. http://louis_j_sheehan.today.com She served as the loyal head nurse under the chief medical officer, Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) and harbored an unrequited infatuation with the first science officer, Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy).
Ms. Roddenberry had smaller roles in all five television successors of the original series and in many of the “Star Trek” movie incarnations.
She was frequently the voice of the ship’s computer, and about two weeks ago she completed the same role for the forthcoming J.J. Abrams movie “Star Trek,” Mr. Rossall said. She was a regular participant at “Star Trek” conventions for fans.
Ms. Roddenberry was also the executive producer for two other television science fiction series, “Andromeda” and “Earth: Final Conflict.”
Majel Lee Hudec was born on Feb. 23, 1932, in Cleveland. After a number of stage roles she earned small parts during the late 1950s and ’60s in movies and in television series like “Leave It to Beaver” and “Bonanza.”
She met her husband in 1964 during a guest role for a Marine Corps drama he produced called “The Lieutenant.” They married in Japan in 1969 after “Star Trek” was canceled. Mr. Roddenberry died in 1991.
Ms. Roddenberry’s survivors include her son, Eugene Jr.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
killer 6.kil.0002 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire. Earth's rising temperatures may be a precipitating factor in the extinctions of dozens of tropical frog species, according to new research.http://louis4j4sheehan4.blogspot.com
At least 110 species of harlequin frogs once lived in Central and South America, but two-thirds of them went extinct in the past 2 decades. Scientists have puzzled over these and other amphibian disappearances in seemingly pristine areas. http://louis5j5sheehan5.blogspot.com
Years ago, scientists found that chytrid fungus (Batrachozchytrium dendrobatidis) had infected many dead frogs found in tropical regions (SN: 2/26/00, p. 133: http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20000226/fob3.asp). In a new study, J. Alan Pounds of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve in Costa Rica and his colleagues propose that global warming could be promoting the fungus' growth. http://louis4j4sheehan4.blogspot.com
Pounds' team matched records of air and sea-surface temperatures with data on frog disappearances. The researchers found that species tended to vanish during years with the warmest average temperatures.
Warm periods enhance cloud formation over the tropics, which makes days cooler and nights warmer. Temperatures thus stay in the narrow range in which the fungus thrives, which could explain massive amphibian die-offs, says Pounds.
At least 110 species of harlequin frogs once lived in Central and South America, but two-thirds of them went extinct in the past 2 decades. Scientists have puzzled over these and other amphibian disappearances in seemingly pristine areas. http://louis5j5sheehan5.blogspot.com
Years ago, scientists found that chytrid fungus (Batrachozchytrium dendrobatidis) had infected many dead frogs found in tropical regions (SN: 2/26/00, p. 133: http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20000226/fob3.asp). In a new study, J. Alan Pounds of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve in Costa Rica and his colleagues propose that global warming could be promoting the fungus' growth. http://louis4j4sheehan4.blogspot.com
Pounds' team matched records of air and sea-surface temperatures with data on frog disappearances. The researchers found that species tended to vanish during years with the warmest average temperatures.
Warm periods enhance cloud formation over the tropics, which makes days cooler and nights warmer. Temperatures thus stay in the narrow range in which the fungus thrives, which could explain massive amphibian die-offs, says Pounds.
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