The Brains Behind Everything All posts in the Science of Behavior category More and more articles are coming out suggesting that we are not the sole source of our behavior. Behavior research is becoming more and more behavioral in nature, and behavioral research is becoming more prevalent. Recently there was a study that found a link between our mood and how we feel about our bodies. As we know, our mind and emotions affect our perception and behavior. Therefore, behavior changes in accordance to our mood, which in turn affects our body. You’ll find out more about this study as I go along. Do You Have These? I, personally, think that the brain is one of the biggest things that separates us from other animals and gives us the gift of consciousness and choice. However, when I see headlines like this… “Shedding light on the ‘other’ side of the frontal lobe: Researchers illuminate the role of the medial frontal cortex in regulating emotions,” ScienceDaily, March 13, 2011, “In what could be a big advance in brain research, University of Illinois researchers have demonstrated for the first time that the part of the brain previously thought to be primarily involved in controlling motor activity also plays a key role in regulating one of our most basic emotions — fear.” …I’m less inclined to believe the mind-body argument when there is no evidence to prove the role of brain activity in behavior. And yes, I know it’s a headline – but it’s too good not to share. You may be thinking “So what? So what if they didn’t prove the connection?” Well, think about it. As science continues to advance and move closer to being objective, the more reliable their findings are going to be. I’ll come back to that point in the next installment… The point is, all research is leading us to more of a connection between mind and body. These are the first articles I’ve seen linking brain activity to behavior, and they are based on “just” behavioral findings. So we could see a lot more of these as science becomes more mainstream. What Does This Mean for Us? We already know that by controlling our behavior we are directly controlling our emotions. But when you see headlines like this, it seems like science is starting to be able to show us that we don’t have to try so hard to behave. We will naturally behave in ways that feel right for us. It makes so much more sense that we just don’t control our emotions in a conscious way – and it makes perfect sense. Remember that the science is already showing that emotions can be the culprit behind many, many bad behaviors. However, the science just can’t prove if there are certain emotional “triggers” that cause people to behave in ways that they wouldn’t normally do, nor do they know why. Now we can. Of course, for this particular study to be completely accurate, it is only good for studying the physiological aspects of behavior. You know, the part that is responsible for basic instincts and whatnot. But it is a start. And as science progresses more and more toward the neuroscience, you will see even more concrete evidence for these “biological” behaviors. But What Does This Mean to Me? The fact that the brain affects behavior shouldn’t be surprising to anyone. But when it’s being shown in a scientific and public light, it becomes a bit more significant. And don’t worry – just because you aren’t conscious of how the brain affects you doesn’t mean you aren’t affected. There is a huge body of evidence for this. You can learn more here. We have the unique ability to monitor our moods and emotional responses and to regulate them by our choices. This is crucial to our emotional and behavioral health, especially in today’s world. As the years progress, we’re going to see even more articles that link the brain and behavior together. And you can be sure that the brain-behaviour connection will affect our moods. And moods will affect how we respond to our environment. And then our environment will also affect our moods. It’s a cycle. If your moods are affecting how you act, then the environment you are in is affecting your mood. In turn, your moods are affecting how you interact with your environment, thus affecting the environment. And so on and so forth. It’s a never ending cycle. You may have found out this past week that we are not supposed to take the new pill for our new condition. My response to this information was “Whoop de doo… So what do I do? Does this change anything?”. But is it true that we shouldn’t be taking this pill and if so, why? What Is This Thing? So I was reading this article recently that was talking about the newest type of pills that people are taking for weight loss. These pills were created with an active ingredient called Orlistat, which is designed to help people break down extra fat. As I read it, I thought it was interesting how this new weight-loss pill was being labeled as a “no brainer” – that is – if we are talking about people who were losing weight, they might not have to put so much thought into their diet and exercise. This pill seemed to be a better way. You wouldn’t have to put so much thought into it, as you could just eat more and you’d still lose the same amount of weight. And it was also stated that they had done studies to confirm this, showing it worked. And I’m a proponent of the “if you do it your way, you won’t get results” mentality. I totally agree. But then I read the list of the side effects of the pill. This is what I found: Orlistat and other weight loss drugs might increase the risk of liver damage and serious, life-threatening liver problems in some people. All these side effects sounded to me like I didn’t want to be doing something so drastic without it being 100% necessary. So I decided to go into more detail on this topic, hoping for a little more information. How Safe Are these Newer Pills? Well, the side effects of the pill were already giving me some serious concern. So I wanted to see if I could get more of an understanding of the possible side effects of taking this new pill. One of the studies that I looked up on was done by this company. And as you’ll see in the next blog post, there are already a few claims that their pill has proven to increase weight loss, which is always a good thing. But what made me want to put this article on my website was that there were some very troubling side effects of this pill. Here is a list of the side effects that were discovered by the study: 1. Liver damage 2. Increased risk of developing gallstones 3. Increased risk of developing other problems with digestive system 4. Increases risk of fatty liver disease, a type of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), in children and adolescents 5. Increased risk of developing diabetes 6. Increases risk of developing certain types of infections, such as pneumonia 7. Stomach upset and diarrhea 8. Decreased cholesterol absorption 9. Decreased blood pressure 10. Decreased ability to absorb nutrients 11. Increased risk of blood-clotting problems 12. Heart valve damage (aortic valve) 13. Decrease in bone mineral density (BMD) in women and men 14