Posted by erica on Friday, 29 April 2011
Tags: Garage Door, Garage Doors, Garage Door Opener, Garage Door Repair, Garage Door Replacement, Garage Door Installation, Garage Door Service, garage door prices
This type of research can help investigate decision-making functions in the human brain, including how to make choice on garage doors.
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a brain imaging technique that uses the changing magnetic fields of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin to measure blood flow. From this blood oxygenated level dependent signal, brain activity can be inferred. A common use of the fMRI technique is to “localize” regions of interest in the brain by having subjects perform tasks whose neural outcomes are well-understood and easily predictable.. For example, one can localize brain areas that are used for the detection of biological motion versus random motion by exposing subjects to both and measuring the differences in brain activation between the two conditions. Such ROIs include superior temporal sulcus and amygdala regions, and localizing them in individuals can help neurosurgeons pinpoint where to cut, and can help investigators with more complex experiments that rely on known ROIs for their analyses.
The task used in this investigation was such a biological motion task. Six point-lights were arranged to suggest upright stick figures engaged in short motions that appeared to be created with intention by a biological creature (running, jumping jacks, etc). In the control condition, the six point-lights engaged in structured motion that did not look biological (upside-down jumping jacks with some revisions). Between these two-second task blocks, subjects fixated on a cross on a gray background. The actual task for the subject was to covertly count the times that figure did not move at all, and to report their final count to the experimenter.
BOLD signal was measured for both conditions and compared to find ROIs that activate selectively during exposure to biological motion.
Posted by Erica on Monday, 25 April 2011
Tags: Garage Door, Garage Doors, Garage Door Opener, Garage Door Repair, Garage Door Replacement, Garage Door Installation, Garage Door Service, garage door prices
I have taken a majority of psychology and neuroscience classes at Yale, and it was only recently that I figured out why- nothing else addresses the questions I have about the world so forthrightly. What creates conscious perception? What’s happening when we smile, or laugh, or cry? How do our retinas and our occipital and frontal lobes team up to create the sensation of aesthetic appreciation? Of art? How do we look at a garage door and decide if it's fashionable or not? This summer I have an opportunity to travel to Geneva, one of the world’s major centers for advanced neuroscience research, and collaborate with leading investigators with the Swiss Center for Affective Sciences. I am in particular very excited to work with researchers in the Vuilleumier and Sanders neuroimaging labs, which have consistently produced research pertinent to the field of emotional and/or face-related visual processing, and how they create the sensation of aesthetic appreciation. I also plan to conduct supplementary research to engage in the big ideas as well as the day-to-day duties of being a research assistant, compiling and synthesizing literature the field, explaining where our work in Geneva fits in, and mapping potential paths for future investigation. My ultimate goal is to submit the resulting meta-analysis to the Yale Review of Undergraduate Research in Psychology.
The beauty of studying “aesthetic emotions” at the lab is that it has practical applications to the kind of artistic expression that has always been a passion of mine- creative writing and drawing. Over the course of my summer travels, I will produce projects to submit to the Yale Literary Magazine, the Yale Undergraduate Magazine, and more professional publications. Over the course of June, July, and part of August, these activities will allow me to incorporate my passions in ways that are not possible within the framework of formal classes at Yale. Above all, it’s a chance for hands-on experience with the type of research I hope to conduct for my senior research project, which will be an empirical APA-style paper, in accordance with the requirements for the BS in Psychology. I have had some experience in cognition labs on campus here- I worked in the Infant Cognition Center with Professor Wynn, and I am now joining Professor McCarthy’s neuroimaging lab. I’ve written APA-style papers in several of my classes, and I’m currently taking statistics and feel secure in my SPSS computing abilities In addition, I have several supporters and advisors here on campus, especially Professor Margaret Clark, who originally recommended me, and who has offered to sponsor me. Many of my other psychology professors have also been incredibly helpful, and I have no concerns that I will be left adrift at any point in my travels. I plan to go to grad school in this field, and this summer opportunity will be a great way to both ensure that I enjoy even the day-to-day aspects of this type of work, and to give me experience that will be valuable on the job market.
Posted by Erica on Saturday, 23 April 2011
Tags: Garage Door, Garage Doors, Garage Door Opener, Garage Door Repair, Garage Door Replacement, Garage Door Installation, Garage Door Service, garage door prices
On Friday, surrounded by absurd, abandoned luxury, an empty swimming pool, hollowed out buildings, broken garage doors, fanciful garage doors with windows, lush green pepper trees, the inane chatter of birds and Marines, the ghost of a gutshot boy, the reporter hitches himself up onto the back of the truck where Nate is propped, searching for a way to write up the danger close incident without calling his CO an outright ignoramus, and they go over the assault on the airfield, and it's the same as usual except near the end Wright asks Nate this bizarre question about how Brad's doing, as though Nate would somehow know.
"Nobody wants to see civilian casualties," Nate says, as diplomatically as he can. "But this is war. We all know it. Sgt. Colbert will be fine."
Wright tips forward, almost overbalancing, to peer around Nate to where Brad is hunkered under his vehicle with a chisel and a hammer, Rudy on his hands and knees peering under the side.
"Yeah, he looks dandy," Wright says, eyebrows disappearing into his hairline. Nate tries not to smile.
"Sgt. Colbert's one of the most respected people in the recon community. He's a professional in a way that many of the men aren't. He's been through worse than this. He'll be fine."
"C'mon, Nate, you're not wearing your LT hat now," Wright says, pointing to the kevlar perched on Nate's knee. "I need a, you know, a friend perspective."
"I'm not sure I follow you."
"Well, you guys are friends, right? As far as I can tell, you're the only person he seeks out. Everyone else goes to him."
This is news to Nate. He twists back around; Brad is alone now, still chipping away in that cramped space, long arms folded up awkwardly, grime-encrusted, breathing in that crud, as the morning wears on and the sun gets down to business: over an hour now, Nate realises, checking his watch. He asks Wright for a raincheck, hops down and on the way to searching out Gunny for their briefing he raps on the hood of Team One's Humvee and calls,
"I'm pulling you outta there by your ankles when I get back."
If Brad replies he doesn't hear it, but at night he comes back to life and Nate is surprised by the depth of his own relief, not just at having the Iceman back to watch over them, but also how, amidst all the tiredness and frustration, the power plays and self-aggrandisement, it just feels good to exchange a smile with someone again.
Posted by ESP on Friday, 22 April 2011
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Kanashimi road was winding and hilly, strenuous at times. Beads of sweat ran down the young man’s face, and the sun beat down ferociously, scorching his back through his threadbare clothes. He hadn’t eaten in four days, and hadn’t had anything to drink since last night. He could go without food for a few more days, but if he didn’t find water soon, he’d dehydrate. Already he was feeling faint, and felt a headache coming on. Luckily, as he came over the next hill, a smallish mountain chain came into view, and the youth heard a brook. Following the sound of babbling and gurgling, the youth climbed up the green mountain pass.
The trees smelled fresh and piney, like the outdoors. The dirt path was pebbly, and the young man’s shoes made that wonderful scratchy, crunching noise that makes you think of pleasant walks in the park.
When he came upon the stream, he launched himself into it without hesitation, the cold water felt delicious on his skin. Gulping down the clear liquid, the youth felt refreshed. Beads of crystal clung to his lashes and tickled his face. He swam upstream a ways, the five-foot deep stream was wide and slow, easily he overcame the weak pull of the current. None of his possessions would get wet. He didn’t have any.
Almost a week had passed since the young man got over the foggy mountains. Luckily he came upon a few small towns, otherwise he would have starved. Funny how the climate had changed drastically from one side of the mountain chain to the other. Like passing from sunlight to cool shadow.
It was now cold and wet. So cold, he could see his breath, like a billowing cloud emitting from his chapped lips. The sky was overcast, the dark clouds foreboding, swirling in an ominous display of dark power. The young man knew rain was coming very soon. Unfortunately, the last town had been about four days behind him, and he didn’t think he’d come to another any time soon, he was currently in the dense forest. He would just have to hope that a storm wouldn’t hit, and pray that if it did, he could find shelter. At least behind a garage door or something.
Even if you’re strong, you’ll die if you’re too stupid to get out of a storm.
Posted by ESP on Thursday, 21 April 2011
Tags: Garage Door, Garage Doors, Garage Door Opener, Garage Door Repair, Garage Door Replacement, Garage Door Installation, Garage Door Service, garage door prices
The Hollyhock and the Ram’s Head
Aoi knows there is no such thing as time for them. But Ramsey explains: there is time enough. For clouds and desert shadows to move. For the sun to meander and meet the horizon. For mountains to rise and fall.
“Come here.” Feet touch sand, grains against toes and ankle bones.
“I knew I could get a smile,” Ramsay says, takes Aoi’s hand. “Let’s race.” They dash across the Sonoran Desert and Death Valley, up the coast to the Bay. They see goldminers and missions, huts and skyscrapers. Garage doors with cars behind them. Garage doors with horses and buggies behind them. A baseball diamond. Buffalo. Rivers and dried up rivers.
“I win.” Ramsay says.
It turns out, when they get there, that the bridge hasn’t been built yet. The Bay is beautiful, but alien somehow with the absence of its golden gate.
“We’re too early,” Aoi says, but over the wind he’s not sure that Ramsey can hear him. Or too late, he thinks.
In any case Ramsey ignores him, rolls up his pant legs and wades on in. He looks back, sun in his dark curls, and says, “It’ll come. We just have to be patient.”
There is time. Enough time for water to soak the bottoms of rolled-up jeans, sea and salt weighing them down, sticking and chafing against soft skin. Time to sit together on a rock, not too close.
“How long do we have to—”
“Shh,” Ramsey whispers, scoots closer. He puts and arm around Aoi’s shoulder, and points. “Look.”
And like a rainbow, the bridge spans across the bay before their eyes.
“You’re really good at this whole thing. I’m newer,” Aoi says. Ramsey ignores him except to ruffle his hair.
“What’s your favorite kind of bird?” Ramsey says.
“What?” Aoi squints into the sun.
“Mine’s a sparrow. What’s yours?”
“I don’t know. I don’t really think about birds so often.”
“You should think about it.”
