mardi, février 28, 2006

this is a very interesting article :) enjoy

Love is the drug
Romance may be tied to reward system that can cause addiction
By Rhonda Grayson
CNN


Tuesday, February 14, 2006 Posted: 1705 GMT (0105 HKT)

Researchers say that romantic love triggers reward centers in the brain.

Doing something novel triggers dopamine in the brain, which stimulates feelings of attraction.


And stare into your partner's eyes. Psychologist Art Aron conducted an experiment in which he had pairs of the opposite sex stare into each other's eyes for about two minutes. Most of the couples who were strangers reported feelings of attraction. One couple went on to get married.


It's an intense craving for the person they adore. But just how does the brain process romantic love?

Anthropologist Helen Fisher, author of "Why We Love," studied the brain circuitry that makes falling in love the intense, passionate emotion it is. She found that the brain sees romantic love as a reward, stimulating activity in the same areas that light up when a person seeks any kind of a reward, whether it's chocolate, money or drugs.

"It became apparent to me that romantic love was a drive -- a drive as strong as thirst, as hunger. People live for love, they kill for love, they die for love, they sing about love," Fisher said.

"There are myths and legends about love. The oldest love poetry is over 4,000 years old. The world is littered with all kinds of artifacts that stem from this basic mating drive."

Fisher went on a quest to unravel the mystery of the brain in love. She teamed up with Art Aron, a psychologist and professor at Stony Brook University in New York and Lucy Brown, a professor in neurology and neuroscience at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

They studied 17 people who recently had fallen madly in love -- people who were spending 80 percent of their waking hours not being able to think of anybody else. The subjects had been in love an average of seven months.

The findings were published last year in the Journal of Neurophysiology.

For the study, Fisher developed a questionnaire about passionate love, including such questions as "Would you die for your partner?" She said she was shocked by the answers to that query: All of the subjects said they would.

What especially surprised her was the casual way in which they responded.

The participants were put into an MRI machine and asked to stare at photographs of their sweethearts and then neutral photos that called for no positive or negative feelings. When the researchers were able to look inside the brain in love, they said they were struck by the results.

The part of the brain that lit up the strongest was that associated with rewards and pleasure, a finding not nearly as poetic as romantics would have thought. It turns out that, to the brain, love is just another reward, much like chocolate or money, or like a drug to an addict. This brain system gets used every time you want something.

Romantic love, it turns out, is a reward, the researchers say.

"We certainly think of romantic love as something that's magical, and the magic is here and here," Brown said, pointing to the part of the brain that lit up during the experiment, the brain stem region known as the ventral tegmental area. There, pigmented cells known to contain dopamine send messages to a part of the brain called the caudate nucleus.

When Brown started the study, she said she thought she was studying a strong positive emotion.

"Now I have changed the way I think about early-stage romantic love," she said. "It's a motivation; the person [we're in love with] is a goal. Emotions come and go. We feel euphoria, but we feel anxiety, too. This core system that is driving the person who is in love toward their sweetheart, that is much more important in a sense than an emotion."

Aron added, "When you're intensely in love, and especially if it's being reciprocated, there is an incredible sense of exhilaration. You feel this person is the most wonderful person in the world, and if they were part of you -- if you were together -- your life would be perfect."

Fisher agreed: "Romantic love is not only an emotion, it's a basic mating drive, and it's stronger than the sex drive."

Although the early characteristics of romantic love don't last forever -- the pounding heart, the obsessive thinking and craving -- in good relationships they will transfer to a different level, a stage of love called "attachment," Fisher said.

In her own studies of more than 800 people older than 45, Fisher found that they showed just as much romantic passion as those under 25.

In fact, romantic love can be triggered at any age. Fisher said she interviewed an 8-year-old boy who perfectly described his intense passion for an 8-year-old girl. She said she also knows couples in their 70s and 80s who are madly in love.

When asked if placing love under a microscope takes away some of the mystery and romance, Fisher smiled.

"You can know every ingredient in a piece of chocolate cake, and you still sit down and eat that chocolate cake and it's wonderful," she said. "In the same way, you can know all the ingredients of romantic love and still feel that passion."

mardi, février 21, 2006

ive been soo dizzy the entire day

7am patho post test, slept through forensic pathology
12 lunch with nat at the hosp. so full and sleepy
1am ob lecture with dra lee.... i spent the last 15 mins sleeping...
2am med... my patient is a nyc,old guy. :)

wala lang...

hmmmm, what's the worst way to miss someone? wala just a thought.

samedi, février 18, 2006

i'm watchin saturday night live right now...kinda funny n relaxin' really... oh well, my mind is filled of thoughts as usual. ee cummings (one of my favorite poets) drives me crazy ones again. There's this side of me that once made me wonder, what would life be if i werent in med school? (not that i hate med sch, but i just have my moments) i guess i would be in law school...or....possible workin already right now... i was thinking, would i be a different person? well, i guess not really.... i'd only have a different perspective in life. there is so much in life that i'd want to conquer...i wanna travel.. go to europe, africa.... and maybe, north america... i find the places kinda interesting... i also wanna draw more, paint more. ( i miss painting ever if im not so good w/ brushes) makes me discover so much moreabout myself. i miss my high school friends, and my college friends too... i hope we'll have a reunion someday...

i'm bein so weird... is this the effect of beta-blockers? hwek hwek... i just took my metoprolol 15 mins ago... i'm still hoping that the cause of my hypertension will be determined soon... was it bec of my lymphocytic thyroiditis? (which is so rare i dunno hw in the world did i get it) or do i have pheochromocytoma? whats worse if if i have sle or any collagen disease or autoimmune disease...i dont have symptoms though... whats so hard abt getting sick when ur in med school is everyday im being faced with the torture of constantly hearing abt the effects of hypertension and what nots.... i hope everything wil be fine................ after all the stressful ancillaries, and my fnab......

i hope ill get well soon...

life is really complicated...

wen i was young, i thought everything s easy...
now that im getting older,
things are getting more n more complicated.

falling in love...
getting sick...
watchin my family break loose...

all i can do is be silent...and type...and watch saturday night live.

jeudi, février 16, 2006

i was just browsing thru the net when i saw a nice wedding pic, and suddenly i thought of my own "wedding" ceremony.... well, honestly, before i didnt wanna get married (not that i do now) but i dont really get to think of it. i guess, it was just my fear eating me. endless stories about broken marriages and unhappy endings are scary for me. i dont wanna be a "separada".

well anyways, wala lang. if ever i get married, i want it to be a simple one. a very simple, yet elegant wedding :) ang question lang... "with whom?!" hehe oh well....

i dnt wanna answer that muna

mardi, février 14, 2006

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The History of Valentine's Day

Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.


According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl -- who may have been his jailor's daughter -- who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

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lundi, février 13, 2006

Puppies For Sale

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the pups and set about Nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he Felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the Eyes of a little boy.
Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."
"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, "these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money."
The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer. "I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?"
"Sure," said the farmer.
And with that he let out a whistle,"Here,Dolly!" he called.
Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur. The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight.

As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared; this One noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up....
"I want that one," the little boy said, pointing to the runt.
The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would."
With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself To a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need Someone who understands."

The world is full of people who need someone who understands.

mercredi, février 08, 2006

Jealousy is the act of turning away your head toward's somebody who intimidates you.

i think this is real jealousy.

anyways, wala lang :)

dimanche, février 05, 2006

whoever was not shocked with what happened yesterday at ultra must have a heart of stone.

Yesterday, 71 poor people died in a stampede in front of ultra coz all of them wanted to gain entrance for the celebration of wowowee's 1st anniversary. grabe, d ko alam kung anong magiging reaction ko, but i felt so devastated. Is life really that hard nowadays? I know it is, but i havent realized it so much coz i'm so jailed within the confines of the medicine building or UST area. (not that im studying)

It such a sad thought that our 71 of our countrymen had to die just to fight their way to luck. Ibang klase na talaga ang buhay ngayon. Sobrang hirap. That incident put tears to my eyes. d ko alam y, im not really the crybaby type, but i did.

I felt luckier and more moved to do whatever i can to help people wherever i go, may it be as simple as a smile or as big as giving money. To give or not to give? Sometimes i dont give alms to those people who look as if theyre capable naman of working coz it makes me feel as if im tolerating their laziness... pero sa bagay, minsan d rin natin alam.

:( im still kinda sad over what happened. I hope it will never happen again. May those souls who passed away in search for luck, find true wealth in God's presence.

jeudi, février 02, 2006

space in a rock!

On December 22nd 1998 (give or take a day) the Boston Globe published an article entitled "Planetary Demotion", which suggested that Pluto might be downgraded to a normal asteroid in the near future by decision of the IAU. This article has caused a lot of interest internationally. In fact, what was being debated really was how to mark the numbering of asteroid number 10 000.

contrary to what dr.cruz said abt pluto bein an asteroid, well it not yet proven anyways.

What would the reasons be for down-grading Pluto? Even for those emotionally tied to it as a planet, they are fairly convincing. It is now known that the mass of Pluto is only about one fifth of the mass of the Moon and, as such, it is very hard to claim that Pluto really is a planet. However, this still means that its mass is about 1.5x1022kg - about a dozen times the mass of Ceres, the largest asteroid. In fact, of the known TNOs, Pluto is still about a factor of 100 more massive than any other, apart from its satellite Charon and Charon is, by far, the second largest known TNO

wala lang. i just found it interesting. ive always been fascinated with the celestial body since i was in grade school. this is quite cheesy but whenever i go home to rizal, i go to the garden and i gaze at the multitudes of tiny lights that seem to make our world smaller. our imagination has been challenged by the pictures of the planets in our grade school books and encyclopedias, and sadly most of our imaginations never evolved from what we were thought...so i tried to imagine, what if the earth, being relative to the other "planets" "asteroids" "stars" "meteors" "comets" were just like the human cell, then the universe could have been one organ or part of the human (well not really human) organismic (ahem , wala akong maisip na word) body.

we have always baffled ourselves with question just like three-year-olds debating how the sky turned blue, or how airplanes fly. i was just wondering, probably there so many secrets behing the "universe" that we were born with.

oh well its just a thought.

well more abt pluto.... the debate abt pluto bein a planet/ asteroid is bec of its unusual size and orbit. hehe un lang

mercredi, février 01, 2006

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Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets.
So all we have to do is love the people who treat us right,
forget about the ones to don't,
and believe that everything happens for a reason.

Know a good thing when we see it, and don't let it slip away
If we get the chance, take it.
If it changes our lives, let it...
Nobody said that it would have to be easy,
they just said that it will all be worth it...