Brain hubs boil when hoarders face pitching their own stuff

Friday, August 10, 2012

In patients with hoarding disorder, parts of a decision-making brain circuit under-activated when dealing with others' possessions, but over-activated when deciding whether to keep or discard their own things, a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded study has found. NIMH is part of the National Institutes of Health.

Brain scans revealed the abnormal activation in areas of the anterior cingulate cortex and insula known to process error monitoring, weighing the value of things, assessing risks, unpleasant feelings, and emotional decisions.

NIMH grantee David Tolin, Ph.D., of Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Conn., and colleagues, report on their functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study in the August 2012 issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry.

Hoarding disorder, a proposed category in psychiatry's new diagnostic manual, DSM-5, is characterized by avoidance of decision-making about possessions.

The new findings pinpoint brain circuit activity suspected of underlying the lack of self-insight, indecisiveness, sense that the wrong decision is being made, inflated estimates of the desirability of objects, and exaggerated perception of risk that are often experienced with the disorder.

In the study, brain activity of 43 hoarding disorder patients was compared to that of 31 obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) patients and 33 healthy controls while they had to decide whether to keep or discard their own or others' junk mail and newspapers. Notably, such ownership did not appear to differentially affect brain activity in the OCD patients. Hoarding disorder patients, as expected, decided to keep many more items than the other groups.

"The results of this study reflect an accelerating trend toward finding disturbed regulation of brain systems responsible for various dimensions of behavior that may cut across mental disorders as traditionally defined," said Bruce Cuthbert, Ph.D., director of NIMH's Division of Adult Translational Research.

In this case, the implicated brain areas are hubs of a salience network that weighs the emotional significance of things and regulates emotional responses and states. Hoarding patients' severity of symptoms, self-ratings of indecisiveness, and feeling of things being "not just right" were correlated with the degree of aberrant activity in these hubs. The results add to evidence of impaired decision-making in hoarding disorder and may help to disentangle its brain workings from those of OCD and depression.

###

NIH/National Institute of Mental Health: http://www.nimh.nih.gov

Thanks to NIH/National Institute of Mental Health for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 31 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/122480/Brain_hubs_boil_when_hoarders_face_pitching_their_own_stuff

kim jong un josh powell madonna halftime show linsanity the alamo anencephaly tesla model x

Afghan-Pakistan talks on Taliban releases: Islamabad

Pakistan and Afghanistan are in talks on the release of a key member of the Taliban, whose 2010 arrest in Pakistan was blamed for sabotaging peace initiatives, a Pakistani foreign ministry official confirmed Friday.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a powerful Taliban military chief who has been described as the militia's second in command, was arrested in Pakistan's port city of Karachi.

The Afghan government and the former UN envoy to Afghanistan said his detention had adversely affected efforts to talk to the insurgents.

"The issue of prisoners is under discussion between the two countries," foreign ministry spokesman Moazzam Ahmad Khan told reporters when asked to comment on Afghan demands for access to Baradar and for his release.

The spokesman did not name any prisoner or give further details, but when asked, confirmed that Baradar was still in Pakistani custody.

Baradar is the most important Taliban leader to be captured since the 2001 US-led invasion ousted the Afghan militia from power in Kabul.

He was known as a trusted aide to the Taliban's elusive leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.

Shortly after Baradar's arrest, the Pentagon said two other Taliban officials were arrested, also understood to have been captured in Pakistan.

In March 2010, Kai Eide, the then just retired UN envoy to Afghanistan, said the arrest of key Taliban in Pakistan had stopped a secret channel of communication between the insurgents and the United Nations.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly invited the Taliban to open direct talks with his government and on Pakistan to facilitate an end to the 10-year war.

Pakistan has said it will do anything required by Kabul to support an Afghan-led peace process, but there is a wide degree of scepticism in Afghanistan and the United States about the sincerity of the former Taliban ally.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/afghan-pakistan-talks-taliban-releases-islamabad-132716221.html

republic wireless space ball drops on namibia matt barkley melanie amaro x factor boise state jordans prometheus movie

A Legal Yankee in King Arthur's Court: Criminal Law: Spouses and ...

ObiterJ's Law and Lawyers Blog has posts another informative article, this time using ?recent cases to examine the law on spouses and civil partners (competence and compel lability). The recent case is??R v BA [2012] EWCA Crim 1529, a case under the Criminal Damage Act 1971 s.2(a); the?statute under discussion is the?Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 s.80.

Another nice post from ObiterJ, showing us how the courts analyze and apply the law to an actual case. Worth a read if you are studying criminal law.

Read the post here.

Source: http://www.legalyankee.com/2012/08/criminal-law-spouses-and-civil-partners.html

strawberry festival knicks strikeforce tate vs rousey ciaa the monkees strikeforce davy jones

US, Vietnam Launch Agent Orange Cleanup (Voice Of America)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/239043522?client_source=feed&format=rss

george huguely whitney houston casket photo match play championship the national enquirer marie colvin cm punk cm punk

Verizon's 'secret menu' Share Everything plans offer 20GB for $150 (update)

Like Starbucks' Short Latté, Fatburger's Hypocrite and Wendy's Meat Cube, Verizon is offering its own not-so-secret menu on its Share Everything data plans. Big V's Brenda Raney told Computerworld that there are five more tiers beyond the 10GB top-limit shown on the company's website -- that are only available if you ask on the phone or in stores. The options run from 12GB for $110 all the way to 20GB for $150, but only as long as you've agreed the limit in advance of blowing all that data. If not, then you'll be spending another $150 in penalty charges for your overage. There's no official word if you need to offer a secret password or handshake, but we'd do it anyway -- if only to feel a bit like James Bond.

Update: Verizon's confirmed the pricing tiers and let us know that you can now grab the bigger data plans without ever having to wink at a sales rep. Simply add a handset to your cart and push through to "Plans" on Big V's website and you can scroll to the right to access the 12GB - 20GB offerings.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs, Wireless, Internet

Verizon's 'secret menu' Share Everything plans offer 20GB for $150 (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 05:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  Computerworld  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/vwqQ7Tq9AMo/

the hobbit movie hanukkah gpa calculator menorah chanukah chanukah david archuleta

Obama's health-care law: The fitness and wellness provisions you ...

By admin on August 7, 2012

Perhaps you?ve had a mammogram recently, or taken a child for an immunization or consulted with a specialist about a weight problem. Since late 2010, those visits to health care providers have carried an additional benefit: They?re free. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law 28 months ago and upheld in June by the Supreme Court, it?s illegal for insurers to charge ?
health care ? Yahoo! News Search Results

Source: http://politicsandpolls.com/power-plays/2012-election-issues/health-care/obama%E2%80%99s-health-care-law-the-fitness-and-wellness-provisions-you-may-have-missed/

benjamin netanyahu storm shelters nick lachey chevy volt christina hendricks lifelock camp david

10 Mistakes Designers Make When Applying for Jobs - Internet and ...

Applying for jobs can be a daunting process, but it is important to remember to put your best foot forward when sending out your applications. Employers get tons of submissions every day, so make yours stand out by not making any fatal errors. Read below for the top 10 mistakes designers make when applying for jobs and what employers are looking for in resumes, cover letters, and portfolios:

It?s surprising how often designers send resumes in the .doc format. Microsoft Word is not the program designers should be using when laying out their resume, and may result in an immediate rejection. We recommend using InDesign or Illustrator to design your resume. Your application is a great chance to show off your design ability so use design programs to layout a beautiful resume. One of things you will often do as?a designer is creating logos, letterheads, and business cards, use the opportunity when you are applying for a position, to showcase those skills by creating your own brand identity for the documents you send to potential employers.

Employers can tell when you have cut and pasted a form cover letter from the web. The jargon is always the same. Your cover letter is your opportunity to show your personality to the company you are applying to, so use the opportunity to demonstrate why you are the best person for the position. Use your own words, not the words of others to illustrate why you are the best candidate for the position. Include ways in which your style blends with theirs or call out specifics about their company like their company culture or artistic style as the reasons why you want the position. Don?t make it seem like you just want any position.? Show that you want their position because you want nothing more than to work at their company. When you are applying, you are asking to be a part of their team so show you have some team spirit and you have taken the time to research the company and care about working there specifically.

Most companies will immediately reject your application if you have not followed the instructions they have outlined in their ?help wanted? post or ad. Read the requirements carefully and make sure that you have followed them to a tee and have sent the requisites in the correct format.

Every portfolio should include work in the following categories: branding, illustration, print design/layout, and web design. If you also have work in other categories include those as well, but you?ll want to have at least 2-3 examples within each category listed above. If you are fresh out of school and don?t have much client work, create spec work to show you have the skills necessary to land the design job you want. If you only show you can illustrate and provide no work that exhibits your skills in designing brand identities, a company will not know you can complete work in those areas. Show a company you are a jack-of-all-trades designer and you can handle any client project that comes your way.

If a potential employer can spot a spelling or grammatical error within seconds of looking at your resume, cover letter, or portfolio then you haven?t checked your work. What would happen if you made a spelling error in a clients? project and sent it to print? Who would pay for the mistake? The answer is probably you or the company you work for. After you have completed your resume, cover letter, and portfolio, send it to friends, family, teachers, etc. and have them check over your work. If an employer can catch the mistake within mere moments of opening your documents, then your friends or family will be able to as well, saving you a potential rejection email for your carelessness.

We live in the digital age and every designer whether you are a web developer or not should have an online portfolio. Sites like Behance make it a breeze to customize your own portfolio site, so take the time to create one before applying for jobs. The best option is to have your own website so you can truly stand out amongst other applicants.

This is an egregious mistake. If your cover letter has 2 different fonts that might also be different sizes, it is obvious to them you cut and pasted and didn?t take the time to consistently format. I know searching for jobs can be a laborious process and many times you are applying for multiple positions at once, but the employer shouldn?t know that, all they should see is you are dying to work for their company and want nothing more than to be apart of their team.

When you apply for a position and are not awarded the position, you should not ask the employer for recommendations for other companies you should apply for. It is not the responsibility of the employer to aid in your job search, so don?t ask them for suggestions of their competitors. The web is a great resource to find job openings and design firms in your area. Take the time to look for them and don?t ask a potential employer to help you.

This has been covered slightly in the other rules, but it should be iterated again. TAKE YOUR TIME applying for positions. Check your spelling, have someone proofread your resume, cover letter, and portfolio, carefully craft your cover letter to reflect your personality and interest in the company, and make sure it isn?t obvious to the employer that you have hastily put together your application. These little mistakes make it easy for an employer to not consider you as a serious applicant because you didn?t take the application seriously.

When you apply for multiple positions in a company it shows that you don?t have a specialty. If you aren?t qualified for the position then don?t apply for it. Apply for the one you are most qualified for. If you are trying to branch out or gain a new specialty then apply for the position you are most apt for and once you have the position, pair up with the person who does what you want to do next and learn from them. It is much easier to move into a new area of expertise within a company than coming in cold.

10 Mistakes Designers Make When Applying for Jobs is a post from: GoMediaZine

Go Media is a creative agency based in Cleveland, Ohio. Besides the GoMediaZine, we also work for clients and sell stock artwork and design files on the Arsenal.

This entry was posted on August 7, 2012 at 9:00 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Posted in Articles by marissa

Source: http://internetwebsitedesign.biz/articles/10-mistakes-designers-make-when-applying-for-jobs-2

carlos beltran air jordan 11 concord unemployment extension the thin man republic wireless space ball drops on namibia matt barkley

Russian prosecutors ask for 3 years in punk case

MOSCOW (AP) ? Prosecutors on Tuesday called for three-year sentences for the members of a feminist punk band who performed an anti-Vladimir Putin stunt in Moscow's main cathedral, ignoring demands by human rights groups that the three women be set free.

Defense lawyers and an influential Russian Orthodox cleric warned that jail time for the women could backfire by severing trust between ordinary Russians and the country's institutions.

Prosecutor Alexander Nikiforov portrayed his request as lenient, saying the recommendation takes into account the fact that two of the defendants are young mothers and that they have good character references.

The hooliganism charges the three women of the Pussy Riot band face can carry a sentence of up to 7 years in prison.

The three women ? Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 23; Maria Alekhina, 24; and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29 ? have been in custody for five months following the February stunt, in which they took over a church pulpit in Christ the Savior cathedral for less than a minute, singing, high-kicking and dancing.

Their case is part of a widening government crackdown on dissent that followed Putin's election in March and caused strong protests in Russia and abroad. Musicians including Madonna, the Who's Pete Townshend and Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys have urged their release.

The verdict is expected this week.

The defendants have said their goal was to express their resentment over Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill's support for Putin's rule. But prosecutors have insisted throughout the trial that there were no political motives behind the performance.

"They set themselves off against the Orthodox world and sought to devalue traditions and dogmas that have been formed for the centuries," Nikiforov said Tuesday.

Members of the band say they did not mean to hurt anyone's religious feelings when they performed the "punk prayer."

Larisa Pavlova, a lawyer for the church employees who were described as the injured party in the case told the court on Tuesday that she supports the sentencing recommendation.

Pavlova said most hooliganism in Russia is committed when people are drunk and they often regret what they have done ? but the defendants "thoroughly planned, rehearsed (their performance) and were fully aware of what they were doing."

"And they had the audacity to say in court that they did the right thing, that it's OK and that they're ready to keep on doing such things," Pavlova said.

Tolokonnikova chuckled as Pavlova mentioned in her speech that feminism in Russia is incompatible with Orthodox faith.

Pussy Riot lawyer Violetta Volkova voiced the band's complaint that the women had been deprived of sleep and food throughout the trial, describing it as "torture."

"In this trial, authorities, not the girls, have dealt a crushing blow on the Russian Orthodox Church," Volkova said. "Time has turned back ? back to the Middle Ages."

The trial has sharply divided Russia. Some believers felt insulted by the act, while others believe they are innocents who are being treated unfairly.

Mark Feygin, a lawyer for the band, argued that a guilty verdict would "break a bond between the government and people for good" and that "society will never forgive the state for persecuting the innocent."

Orthodox leaders have ignored calls by many believers to pardon the women and urge the court to dismiss the case.

Archdeacon Andrei Kurayev, an influential Orthodox blogger and Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy, warned in an interview with the RIA Novosti news agency on Tuesday that jail time for the three would "turn them into martyrs" and would only feed hostility toward the Church.

Meanwhile, Russian Internet users were fuming over a video of Putin visiting a northern Russian monastery on Monday where a priest kneeled down to kiss his hand.

Though Putin was visibly annoyed by the display of deference, many Russians felt the incident accurately portrayed a too-cozy relationship between the leader and the Orthodox church.

The church said that the priest was from Macedonia, where it's not unusual for men of the cloth to kiss the hands of laymen as a sign of humility.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russian-prosecutors-ask-3-years-punk-case-090929264.html

dark knight rises trailer dark knight rises trailer vince young vince young evan longoria carrie underwood jessica simpson