Leer ficción mejora la conectividad y actividad cerebral

Escrito por Christopher Bergland

Neurólogos han descubierto que la lectura de novelas puede incrementar la actividad cerebral en una variedad de formas. Este estudio fue hecho en la universidad de Emory. El estudio, llamado “Los efectos de corto y largo plazo de una novela sobre la conectividad cerebral”, fue recientemente publicado en la revista Brain Connectivity.

Los investigadores descubrieron que el acto de ensimismarse en la lectura de una novela mejora la conectividad en el cerebro e incrementa la actividad cerebral. Se ha descubierto que la lectura de ficción mejora la habilidad del lector de situarse en las experiencias de otra persona y de ejercitar su imaginación de manera similar a la visualización de la memorización muscular en el ambiente deportivo.

Emotion and Logic are both sides of Love’s coin

 

Popular culture attributes attraction and affection solely to our right emotional/creative brain hemisphere. We usually gauge attraction through our instincts or primitive drives. When we like someone, it is not unusual not to be able to completely pinpoint what we like about them.

Emotion is only one side of love’s coin, to have a lasting, healthy, and happy relationship you need the approval and participation of both sides of your brain. You can’t have real love unless your logic and your emotions have both green lit your prospective partner.

El amor de pareja… ¿Es parejo?

English Version

¿Somos completos y amamos al otro como a nosotros mismos? Muchas veces definimos la pareja con una necesidad de completarnos y decimos “nuestra media naranja” “la horma de nuestro zapato” como algo que se ensambla y nos completa, nos llena nuestra falta o carencia.

Sin embargo, resulta difícil crear y sostener una relación armónica y beneficiosa para ambas partes cuando nos sentimos incompletos, cuando tenemos sentido sólo en relación con el otro. Esta sensación puede llevarnos a pensar al otro como sostén fundamental de nuestra existencia, sin poder observarnos a nosotros mismos como seres autonomos y capaces. Como si fuésemos una batería agotada nos enchufamos a la pareja para recargarnos, absorbiendo su propio potencial y energía en lugar de ser nosotros la propia fuente de alimentación. Es así como las relaciones se desgastan y pueden aparecer las desavenencias y los conflictos. Es necesario reunirnos en comunión con el otro no para completarnos o recargarnos, si no para generar una realidad superior a la suma de las partes.

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En español

Are we complete and do we love our partners as we love ourselves? We usually define our partners as our missing half, as if they were the assembly part to fill our void.

However, it is difficult to create and maintain a mutually beneficial and harmonious relationship when we feel incomplete and we can only define ourselves through our partners. This feeling can lead us to believe that our partner is the fundamental part of our existence, it also leads us to not see ourselves as autonomous and capable beings. As if we are a worn out battery that could only recharged by our partner’s potential and energy instead of being self sufficient. By adopting this view of our relationships, they gradually wear out as conflicts and disagreements begin to plague us. To correct this, we need to connect with our significant other, not to recharge us or complete us, but to generate a reality greater than the sum of both parts.

Online dating might be a time sink

Every online dating site promises to offer you the love of your life. Cutting edge algorithms determine your key personality traits and predetermine matching personalities within your vicinity. Every aspect of the date is a result of empirically tested deductions.

So why, despite all the science behind it, do we feel most of the time that something is missing on an online date?

Awakening to dying and loss

Today we lost Lina. She was a great friend, a loyal companion, and a very grounded presence in our home. She was Ashara’s (our five year-old daughter and resident sage) pet, a witty and steady potato bug. As small and insignificant as Lina was to anybody that did not know her, she was a vital part of Ashara’s circle of friends. She befriended her a few days ago and played with her for a long time. Lina would walk all over Asha’s hands and mesmerize our daughter with her simple yet profound presence.

As I woke up this morning, I was greeted with the sad news that Lina had died. Ashara said to me

It’s not just in your head

When you imagine yourself, do you see your mind and your body as separate parts of yourself?

If so, your body may not agree with you.

The belief that our mind lives in a secluded area of our body has caused health and emotional hazards since it became the dominating dogma of the 20^th century. Our medical experts become absolute masters of a particular organ and become blind in their specialization. Why would an oncologist worry about their patients repressed emotions during their diagnosis of a malignant tumor?

In How the Body Says No, Dr. Gabor Maté demonstrates that an intimate relationship exists between our brains and our immune system and that our emotional makeup may be a cause for disease.

Nearly 42% of participants in a 2001 breast cancer study

How to help a friend in need

When we begin to notice that one of our loved ones is suffering depression, we usually have a feeling of helplessness. We hope that there’s something we could say to make all their pain go away. Although our intentions have only our loved one’s well being at heart, this approach tends to complicate things even further. The truth is that the best help is not saying the right thing, it’s undivided and active listening.

As stated in the description of depression, the key to our emotional well-being is

New Year’s Blues: What is depression?

Depression is a psychological condition in which we lose appetite for life. Symptoms can be lack of self care, unchanging and prolonged low moods, loss of appetite, insomnia, etc. Depression can be understood in two non exclusive fundamental ways. The first is the preferred approach of western medicine that believes the condition is caused by chemical imbalances in our brains. This school of thought often prescribes a pharmacological solution (Meds). Fortunately, many doctors are now aware that the use of antidepressants, when combined with talk therapy, gives the person the best chance to improve. The second approach is that depression is caused by unhealed (unfinished) past events. Specifically, depression is caused by

Depression: 52 pick me ups

Taking medication as a way to deal with depression is not for everyone. The good news is that it’s far from being the only path towards emotional well-being.

Our colleague, Nicole McCance, has compiled 52 tips on how to breakthrough your depression naturally. To help her become an Amazon best seller, many industry leaders are offering over $2000 in perks to support her in her quest against depression.

As seen before, the key to working through our depression is