Well, you can say that fast, loud and danceable tunes give you a lift. It's common sense, right? A dance tune makes one want to dance and the thought itself is associated with fun and celebration. Science, however, tries to explain it a bit further.

In a study reported in ScienceDaily, Daniel Bowling, a neuroscientist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, compiled around 7500 western classical melodies and Finnish folk tunes. What his team did was measure the distribution of tones in both major and minor keys. What his team found out: the minor thirds (melody note pitched three semitones higher that the tune's keynote) represent 15 percent of the tones in minor pieces, while they are found to be less than 1 percent of tones in major pieces.

These musical intervals, when compared to spoken vowels, show that music in major keys closely match excited speech, e.g., "animated accounts of winning lottery," while music in minor keys match those of sad speech, e.g. failed marriage, etc.

Besides the happy lyrics of "Singin' in the Rain" or the dark and depressing "Gloomy Sunday" by Diamada Galas (or any other song that would make you want to slit your wrists), it's actually the patterns of pitches in major or minor keys that shape the emotion we get from certain musical expressions.

How about a song that takes you "Walking on Sunshine?"  Or better still, how about going "Singin' in the Rain"? Go ahead, make your day!

And oh, an educated woman is not necessarily a domineering know-it-all wife that tends to run your life for you -- whether you boys agree or disagree with this, it's an entirely different matter.

A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology shows that loneliness is contagious. The study said that loneliness can spread through social networks like a virus. And it is more pervasive among friends, and friends of friends, and friends of friends of friends, than among family members. John Cacioppo at the University of Chicago said that like the common cold, you catch loneliness from someone afflicted by it. A person's loneliness projected through his body language, facial expression and the way he speaks, may make those around him feel lonely too.

Loneliness is a subjective measure that researchers define as the degree to which someone feels isolated, or their perceived level of social isolation. Being alone and feelings of isolation go hand in hand.

The lonelier you are, the more chances you'll lose friends over time, which makes you more lonely and isolated. It's a vicious cycle.

The good news is, like the common cold, loneliness can be cured. And you should try to find a way out of loneliness. Studies have shown that lonely people are at a greater risk for mental and physical problems. Depression, alcoholism, obesity, heart disease, and a weakened immune system are just some of the effects you risk having when you suffer from long bouts of loneliness.

Dear Joy Pursuer,

Volition has been in business for quite sometime now-- almost 8 years -- and ever since we opened our doors, our passionate focus has been to generate more joy for our clients. Sure, we often call it performance or success, but it all adds up to J-O-Y.

Starting with this first post, we’ll be passing along a little of what we’ve learned over the years. After all, what good is wisdom if you don’t share it!

We have much more to offer than just the tools we provide, so we hope you enjoy this outlet and find it useful.

Recently, one of our team members was indulging their desire for supreme chef status at a school for the culinary arts, when they were told that “life is like a kitchen, it only creates delicious entrees if you choose your ingredients wisely.”

With that being said, you can expect us to send you anything and everything we come across that can make you smarter, stronger, swifter, richer, healthier... and in the end happier!

From around the Interweb

• Sciam tells us how forcing a smile on your face will trigger a physical sensation that makes you happier. Psychologists at the University of Cardiff in Wales found that people who get botox and other cosmetic surgeries that make it difficult for them to frown, are happier. Read on yourself
• Caffeine is friend and foe. A morning cup of coffee doesn’t just wake you up. According to a study from the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, it may also lower your risk of Alzheimer’s disease by keeping your cholesterol levels in check – which is associated with the disease. That doesn’t mean you should chug coffee all day long. One cup a day helps prevent Alzheimer’s - but more than three cups can result in anxiety, headaches, nausea and sleeplessness. Read more
• Lose weight in your sleep. Dr. David Katz is the medical contributor to Good Morning America. And in an interview, he said there’s convincing evidence that getting plenty of sleep can help control weight. How? Well, new studies show that getting less than the recommended 8 hours boosts our levels of ghrelin, a hormone that makes you hungry. And at the same time, it suppresses another hormone – leptin – that’s the one that makes you feel full. Read more
• Are you an optimist? Positivity attracts winners and leaders into your life. Take this survey to see where you stand
• Mismanaging your spending might mean Alzheimer's is around the corner. Read on
• Do you have sitting disease? You can shop, pay bills, make a living, and with Twitter and Facebook, even catch up with friends without so much as standing up. And the consequences of all that easy living are profound. Read more

Let's get some hints from Jason Kapalka of PopCap Games (creators of Bejeweled) and Dr. Carl Arinoldo, a New York psychologist.

Kapalka lists:

1. SFX - those "pings" and muted but thunderous explosions actually influence you to stay on in the game. Notice how the notes get higher as you progress? It makes you want to hear more of those rising pitch - sort of gratifying to hear as you blast away.

2. High Scores - no, not the 1,000 or 2,000 kind of scores - we're talking by the millions here. Kapalka says it's the pinball machine rule. You wouldn't be too proud saying your average score is 64, would you?

3. Low pressure game - they're either slow paced or they don't have time limit at all. PopCap games removed the distraction of unnecessary stress associated with high pressure environment. This works especially for games played by single players.

4. Big rewards - the visual rewards once a new level is reached tend to pat the player in the back. With Peggle, you get rainbows and fireworks and "Ode to Joy" is played - it's a big payoff for the player.

Dr. Arinoldo lists:

5. On-screen changes - the constantly evolving screen increases your engagement, said Dr. Arinoldo. These on-screen changes keeps your brain going, putting new groups of brain cells to work, and increases your concentration.

6. Cognitive benefits - Dr. Arinoldo said that besides the gratification one gets from these games, the player's stress levels go down and shows signs of increase in attention span. As it improves focus, it also assists with problem solving and decision making.

Let's get back to that deadline two hours ago... you're toast!   You procrastinated.

Procrastination and online casual games ... a very bad combination.

In another related study, Botox patients tested using a fMRI, at Technical University of Munich in Germany, found that in patients which made angry faces, had lower activity in the brain circuits involved in emotional processing and responses. The amygdala, hypothal­amus and parts of the brain stem-as compared with con­trols who had not received treatment.

Interestingly, results from a study published in May 2008 in the Journal of Pain, revealed that when the forearms of 29 participants, had heat applied to them, and were asked to either make unhappy, neutral or relaxed faces during the procedure, those who exhibited negative expressions reported being in more pain than the other two groups.

Findings by psychologist Judith Grob, of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, suggest that suppressed negativity may transcend into other realms of our life. While performing a series of studies, she asked sub­jects to review disgust provoking images while hiding their emotions or while holding pens in their mouths in such a way that prevented them from frowning. A third group were able to react as they would naturally. As anticipated, her subjects in both groups that did not express their emotions, reported feeling less disgusted afterward than the control subjects. When she gave the subjects a series of cognitive assignments that included fill-in-the-blank exercises, findings suggested those who had repressed their emotions performed poorly on memory tasks and completed the word tasks to produce more negative words-they completed "gr_ss" as "gross" rather than "grass," for instance-as compared with controls.

Grob believes that "People who tend to do this regularly might start to see the world in a more negative light." Grobs conclusions support Darwin's theories, and lends value to what radio announcers have practiced for years, talking with a smile on your face conveys a positive expression in ones voice, and overall presentation quality.

This has been a popular optical illusion that has been circulating for (would you believe?) almost a hundred years. Just like the spinning lady optical illusion, your perception of this image may shift from seeing a young girl, that one would want to take out on a date, to an old sad woman who looks like she could use some comforting.

Through mind-conditioning, two people can see different images from the same picture. Stephen Covey, in his "7 Habits of Highly Effective People," gives a very good example on how a conditioned mind affects how we perceive things.

In a class discussion, Covey presented half of the class with this picture:

Exhibit A

The other half received this:

 Exhibit B

Then the participants were shown the "Lady Picture" and each was asked what they see.

True enough, those who received "Exhibit A" saw an old woman in the "Lady Picture," and those who were given "Exhibit B" saw a lovely young girl.

 

Marilyn Einstein Image credit: Hybrid Images @ MIT

Now, get up and move away from your PC monitor and look at the picture from a distance. Is this the same person you saw earlier?

Just in case.... here's the same photo shrunk to 20% (or as seen from afar).

Now, here's another one...

 Image credit: Hybrid Images @ MIT

Mr. Prosecutor asks you a question: "Is the man on the left frowning?" If you answered "yes," the jury who are seated just about four steps farther from the images would surely say you're either a liar, or something is wrong with the way you see things.

If you want to see what the jury is seeing, stand up and move back a couple of steps. Is the frowning man still on your right?

Now, do you still trust your eyes?

Our September 12 report here at Designer Brain blog cited the number of Alzheimer's cases at 24 million worldwide (based on British scientists' prediction published in 2005), but the Alzheimer's Disease International report released Monday pegged the figure to a staggering 34 million. The same group predicts the number of cases to reach 35.6 million by next year.

Named after Alois Alzheimer, the German physician who first described it in 1906, Alzheimer's is a progressive and fatal brain disease. It is the most common form of dementia. In poorer countries, dementia is considered a normal part of aging. This further makes early detection an issue.

World Alzheimer Report, as reported by YahooHealth, states that without a medical breakthrough, dementia cases will almost double every 20 years. "It recommends major new investments in research to uncover what causes dementia and how to slow, if not stop, the creeping brain disease that gradually robs sufferers of their memories and ability to care for themselves, eventually killing them."

A cure for Alzheimer's Disease still has to be found. Some drugs have been developed but the most they can do is temporarily lessen the symptoms. Scientists are still baffled with the true nature and cause/s of this incurable disease.

Health experts and scientists have been raising their concern about the steadily increasing cases of dementia year after year. In Canada alone, more than 750,000 cases of Alzheimer's or other types of dementia is expected by 2031.

EARLY DETECTION

Finding the means for early detection of this disease is one of the priority measures being pursued by experts. For instance, a software that can detect symptoms of dementia by recognizing changes in a person's keyboard typing rhythm is currently being developed.

Another early detection technology is a testing program that is quite not unlike your regular PC game: the subject is tested for "disturbances in attention, impulsiveness, and/or motor function" based on how he reacts to the instructions or visual stimuli on the PC screen. See the patent here.

If an elderly family member is showing signs of dementia, but can not, would not, or is averse to a computer, the above two means of early detection could be a problem. If this is the case, a wireless network focused on an RFID (radio frequency ID) tag could be an option. This RFID tag (worn on the wrist) works by monitoring the person's movement around the house and "analyzes patients' movements, searching for signs of a cognitive decline, such as tendency to wander, to veer suddenly, or to pause repeatedly."

HELP FOR THOSE DIAGNOSED WITH DEMENTIA

People with Alzheimer's or other cases of dementia suffer memory loss and confusion. They tend to wander off or get lost even inside their own homes. One of the most difficult and most frustrating occurrences is when they forget what to do when the urge to go to the bathroom arises. And the trouble doesn't end in finding the bathroom. It is not unusual for an elderly with cognitive impairments to not know what to do when they get there.

To help people with dementia cope, a team from the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, together with the University of Toronto researchers, is developing a computer-based talking bathroom. This technology could be a big help as more than half of people with the disease remain at home and are cared for by family members.

The talking bathroom, complete with a computer screen, tells a patient (with instructional video) how to wash their hands, how to go ahead with their grooming and other personal hygiene tasks. This talking bathroom fixture also includes a camera that is connected to an image analysis software. This software can detect if the patient falls or shows a semblance of falling. It can ask if the person is hurt and if he needs help. A voice-recognition system can then process the response and can then alert others if help is needed.

PREVENTION

Alzheimer's disease like other types of dementia, is an incurable, degenerative and debilitating disease, that is generally diagnosed in people aged over 65. Before we reach the need for early detection and the actual diagnosis of cognitive problems, we, at Volition Thought House, strongly recommend prevention. Your prevention program could start with proper diet, staying away from drug and alcohol abuse, and regular exercise of both body and brain. (See related posts.)

Related posts:
Exercise, good diet, and lots of sunshine are good for mental health
Stress may cause loss of your gray matter
Low caloric diet may improve memory and learning