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A.
What Sleep Does to the Brain
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Sleep deprivation is a common
occurrence in today's busy society. But just how
does a lack of sleep affect the brain? Researchers
at the University of California, San Diego are using
a technique called functional resonance imaging
to find out. Dr. Greg Brown, a professor of psychiatry
who conducted the experiments, says there were some
surprising findings.
Brown:
We found that all regions in the anterior portion
of the brain that were active when subjects were
well rested, remain active when they were sleep
deprived and some additional areas of the anterior
brain region also became active with memorizing.
Narrator:
Although sleep deprivation has many adverse effects,
these findings suggest the brain has an adaptive
resource that kicks in during times of stress -
such as lack of sleep.
Brown:
The ultimate goal would be to understand the
limits of this adaptation. And the conditions under
which adaption can occur to sleep deprivation and
the conditions under which limits to that adaption
can occur.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
B.
Crewmembers in Space May Benefit from a Recent Psychological
Study
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Future crews aboard Alpha,
the international space station, are likely to benefit
from a mood study of the former Mir space station.
The NASA-funded study conducted by Dr. Nick Kanas,
a professor of psychiatry at the University of California,
San Francisco, found the American astronauts and ground
control crew were unhappier than their Russian counterparts.
Kanas: Sort of in a nutshell,
the Americans perceived their work environment as
having more pressure and as being less attuned to
them expressing themselves openly and to getting support
from leadership than the Russians did.
Narrator: Kanas' research concluded
that part of the problem with Mir was the three-person
crew of two Russians and one American, which caused
feelings of isolation and stress.
Kanas:
I think NASA has taken it seriously - it's being discussed
by other groups, as well as NASA. The Russians and
I think some of the partner countries and at some
point in time, I hope that some of our recommendations
will come out in further training modules and during
the in-flight support that will take some of the factors
into account that we studied.
Narrator:
For
Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
C.
Nursing Home Advocates Call for Better Staffing
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Nursing home residents in this
country receive, on average, a total of three and
a half hours of care per day. And that's not enough,
according to a report co-authored by University of
California, San Francisco researchers. Charlene Harrington,
a professor of social and behavioral sciences, helped
conduct a nationwide survey of an expert panel on
nursing home care, which recommended better staffing.
Harrington:
Some studies have shown if you have more staff,
especially RN staff, you have fewer deaths. And we
found that facilities have fewer deficiencies when
the survey and inspections are done.
Narrator:
Harrington says poor staffing is not necessarily due
to a lack of funding.
Harrington:
There's the issue about are the nursing homes really
being accountable and are they really spending the
money on what they're supposed to be spending the
money on. Only thirty-six percent of every dollar
in a nursing home goes to the staff that are giving
the direct care, so there's twenty-seven percent going
off in administrative cost.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
D.
Researchers Strive to Better Understand All Forms
of Alzheimer's Disease
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Researchers at the University
of California, Irvine have discovered a key protein
that may help stave off an inherited form of Alzheimer's
disease. Neurobiologist Frank LaFerla says even though
this particular form of Alzheimer's disease is rare,
they hope their findings may eventually lead to a
better understanding of all forms of the disease.
LaFerla:
The point is that there are a lot of different strategies
that people are using to treat Alzheimer's Disease.
Probably no one strategy in and of itself will work
- especially considering the multiple forms of Alzheimer's
that exist - that probably a combination of therapies
are going to eventually be needed as some kind of
cocktail.
Narrator:
When it comes to science, researchers often times
don't know where the next fruitful lead will come
from, so LaFerla and his colleagues will continue
pursuing the protein link related to an inherited
form of Alzheimer's disease.
LaFerla:
It may very well be that this is insignificant and
have absolutely no therapeutic benefit and in the
worse case scenario, might actually make things worse.
But you just don't know - you just have to follow
these kinds of leads.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
E.
The Good and Bad Effects of Nicotine
Narrator:
This is Science Today. We all know about the harmful
effects of nicotine - especially on the heart and
lungs - and now new research from UCLA has found that
nicotine causes very selective degeneration in a region
of the brain that affects emotional control, libido
and REM sleep. But neuroscientist Gaylord Ellison,
who led the study, says there are also beneficial
ways that nicotine affects the brain.
Ellison:
Smokers have less Parkinson's disease, schizophrenics
are notorious smokers and there's a lot of thought
that maybe this is self-medication - that there's
this balance.
Narrator:
While Ellison is working to find out what aspect of
nicotine is causing the selective brain degeneration,
another goal is to somehow maintain the good effects,
which include increased alertness and memory.
Ellison:
It's clear to me the goal now should be to find out
with these various compounds that humans have developed
a preference for - how do you get rid of the bad effects
and keep the good effects?
Narrator:
For
Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
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