The Prophetic Brain: Foretelling Your Future

The act of fortune telling is an ancient practice. Chinese diviners burnt turtle shells and studied the resulting cracks to make a host of predictions, including future crop conditions and weather forecasts, and ancient Greeks read animal entrails in their divinatory practices. While the modern scientific community regards fortune telling as mere hogwash, brain science is starting to use genetic information, environmental conditions, and brain structure to predict an individual’s future actions. Neuroscientists could become the oracles of our era.

One such scientist is Penn professor and neurocriminologist Adrian Raine. In his controversial research, Dr. Raine proposes that the structure of the brain may provide insight into an individual’s propensity to commit a violent crime. In fact, he argues that future criminal offending can be predicted in children as young as three years. In one experiment, Dr. Raine studied 1,800 three-year-old children from the tropical island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. In his longitudinal study, he followed subjects for 20 years, noting any criminal convictions. He then compared the criminals with the noncriminals and discovered that the former demonstrated a lack of fear as children.*

Although the findings of Dr. Raine's research are intriguing, the environmental and biological affects on brain and behavior ought to be examined. Child abuse, cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy, and poor nutrition give scientists great predictive power regarding individuals' outcomes. For example, children of moms who smoked tobacco while pregnant were 2-3 times more likely to be violent criminals by age 20, and pregnant women who consumed just 1 drink per week birthed children who were 30% more aggressive than their peers. Poor nutrition during prenatal and postnatal development also leads to greater antisocial behaviors in children.

Additionally, genetics, brain structure and function, and testosterone levels have a tremendous influence on behavior. Using EEG to study the electrical activity of prisoners' brains, Dr. Raine noted that violent criminal offenders demonstrated poor-functioning prefrontal cortexes, the part of the brain associated with the regulation of behavior and emotions. The amygdala, which is responsible for emotions, is also implicated in antisocial tendencies.  For example, sociopaths have been shown to have an amygdala 18% smaller than individuals without sociopathy.

While it is extremely enticing to regard the brain as quasi-prophetic, it is necessary to consider the ethical dilemmas and misguided conclusions that can be drawn from related research. The following questions are helpful in understanding the consequences of such work: Could neuroscience research be used to fuel a eugenics movement? Is it possible to reduce antisocial tendencies in adulthood by enriching the brain in childhood? Are brain structure and function reliable predictive measures? Does brain structure lead to violent behavior, or does a violent lifestyle lead to changes in the brain? Dr. Raine explores some of these concerns and more in Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane.

*The amygdala is critical in fear conditioning.

Decisions, Decisions...

Well, the school year has officially started...and that means an inevitable inundation of decisions to make. Whether it be the bad decisions of NSO, or the stressful decisions of OCR, what classes to take, what activities to get involved in, or even the smaller decisions about where to sit in lecture...we make thousands of decisions every day.

Here at Penn especially, students tend to be scrupulous with even the most minute of details, listing out every possible pro and con before finally committing to a decision -- the curse of being perfectionists. Sure the Econ books will tell you that we are all "rational" agents, trying to maximize our utilities. However, what happens when there is simply too much to take in, in order to be truly "rational", especially within a realistic time frame?

Recent research suggests that our subconscious actually come out on top when making complex decisions. Sure, if you have a few options, each with a few qualities to analyze, it does not require too much cognitive effort to make an accurate comparison so to make the best decision. In fact, with simple decisions, our conscious reasoning will pretty much always beat out our unconscious (emotional, visceral) response. However, with very complex decisions, studies have actually shown that our gut instinct, while not perfect, is actually more accurate in achieving maximal utility than conscious deliberation.

If how decisions are made seems like an area of interest for you, I highly recommend a book, titled How We Decide, by Jonah Lehrer. The book gets into how the subconscious should not be merely dismissed as the source of insignificant hunches and feelings. The emotional brain is constantly taking in thousands of pieces of information simultaneously, often unbeknownst to us, and so we tend to know more than we are consciously aware of. When there is a burst of positive emotion while considering an option, it may very well be in our best interest to listen to it. The book is a great read, and ultimately sparked my own interest in the interdisciplinary field of Neuroeconomics. In fact, I am conducting independent research this semester in Dr. Joseph Kable's lab, which focuses on the underlying biological/ psychological mechanisms of how we make decisions, so if you would like to get involved, there is an opportunity to right here at Penn!

Ultimately, research has hinted that we make better decisions when we at least consider what our intuitions are telling us. From an evolutionary perspective, our cognitive conscious has evolved for a reason, and so it is important to use that capability as much as we can. However, when there is too much information to process, we may just have to fall back and depend on our affective inklings. Sure it's primitive (our emotional areas of the brain were evolutionarily developed long before our higher-level cognitive ones), but isn't it comforting knowing that we at least have some sort of a backup system to refer to? So the next time you're staring at a test question, desperate for an answer... consider the cliche and "go with your gut". Chances are you're probably right.

For some more info, click here

Neuroscience @ Penn--Friday, April 29th

Classes may be over tomorrow, but there are still lots of academic-related things happening around campus. Check this out if you're into ophthalmology and/or cell degeneration:

WHO: Eric A. Pierce, M.D., Ph.D. and Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

WHAT: "Inherited Retinal Degeneration"

WHEN: Friday, April 29th, 1p-2p

WHERE: The Barchi Library (Room 140 in the John Morgan Bldg on Penn's campus. The door will have a red light just above the handle, but it's not locked--you just have to pull.)

WHY: This is a great opportunity--not only for those interested in optical medicine--but also for anyone contemplating pursuing an M.D./Ph.D. (and, as per usual, there will be free food!)

Neuroscience @ Penn--Friday, April 8th

Do you have any relatives suffering from a neurodegenerative disease? Interested in developmental biology? Check this out:

WHO: Aaron D. Gitler, Ph.D. and Assistant Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology

WHAT: "Defining Mechanisms of Human Neurodegenerative Diseases"

WHEN: Friday, April 8th, 1-2p

WHERE: The Barchi Library (Room 140 in the John Morgan Bldg on Penn's campus. The door will have a red light just above the handle, but it's not locked--you just have to pull.)

WHY: Neurodegenerative diseases and the biological mechanisms underlying them are a super hot spot in science right now. And, as per usual--free food.

Neuroscience @ Penn--Friday, April 1st

Interested in schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders? Check this out:

WHO: Chang-Gyu Hahn, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychiatry

WHAT: "Convergent Candidate Pathways in Schizophrenia"

WHEN: Friday, April 1st, 1-2p

WHERE: The Barchi Library (Room 140 in the John Morgan Bldg on Penn's campus. The door will have a red light just above the handle, but it's not locked--you just have to pull.)

WHY: Most psychiatric disorders (and schizophrenia, especially) are grossly misunderstood by the public; come learn more and get informed.

See you there!

Neuroscience @ Penn--Friday, March 25th

Interested in pursuing neuroscience as a career? Check this out:

WHO: Joseph M. Palumbo, M.D.

WHAT: "Innovation, Discovery, and Healing in Neuroscience: Are there Legitimate Options beyond the University?"

WHEN: Friday, March 25th, 1-2p

WHERE: The Barchi Library (Room 140 in the John Morgan Bldg on Penn's campus. The door will have a red light just above the handle, but it's not locked--you just have to pull.)

WHY: There are a plethora of options available to neuroscience graduates; listening to an expert give advice may be extremely useful if you're uncertain or overwhelmed. (and really, who isn't?) Plus...free food.

See you there!

Neuroscience @ Penn--Friday, March 18th

WHO: Dr. Christos Davatzikos, Ph.D. and Professor of Radiology

WHAT: "Computational Sciences in Brain Imaging: Applications to Alzheimer's Disease & Schizophrenia" (COOL)

WHEN: Friday, March 18th, 1-2p (Yes, THIS Friday)

WHERE: The Barchi Library (Room 140 in the John Morgan Bldg on Penn's campus. The door will have a red light just above the handle, but it's not locked--you just have to pull.)

WHY: If not for the awesome words on technological breakthroughs, then do it for the FREE FOOD. Great desserts. Drool.

**Penn Speaks for Autism**

Do you have a story to share about Autism? Would you like to submit a personal story about your experiences with Autism? Are you interested in current Autism research and would like to write about ongoing research?

Penn Speaks for Autism is looking to collect personal accounts of experiences and research updates for our newsletter that will be coming out in the next month. Please e-mail Amy at weissamy@sas.upenn.edu by Wednesday, Feb. 16 with an idea if you would like to share.

Procrastination: effective strategy or self-sabotage?

Sitting in front of my laptop, sugar-free Red Bull in hand, I stare at a blank Word document. The monotonous blinks of the cursor serve as incessantly rhythmic slaps to the face of my (as of yet nonexistent) productivity. Yes, I have another week before my research paper is due, but wouldn't it be nice if I handed it in more than 60 seconds before its deadline? Eh. I could be watching Arrested Development reruns (there's always money in the banana stand).

Sound familiar?

Like your neighbor's annoying ball of fluff (er, precious pomeranian), procrastination is the deranged pet most college students only wish they could take back to the pound.

So why is it that, despite the myriad minutes we could spend working on our final projects, papers, whatever--we choose to do otherwise?

Many students are convinced they work best under the pressure of a high-stress, time-constrained environment. Others iterate that they work more efficiently as the due date approaches. Many (and here I would include myself) have absolutely no idea why they procrastinate so inconveniently often.

One study recently published in the Journal of Accounting Education quantified the effects of procrastination in an effort to determine whether or not procrastination actually boosts academic performance or not.

Using an objective measure of 'procrastination' (as opposed to the self-reported ones on which many studies rely), students were given a set of online homework assignments. One group was asked to perform the online task early, the other was given directions to begin the assignment 'just-in-time.'

Interestingly enough (or unsurprisingly, depending on your logical progression of thought), the researchers found a positive correlation between an earlier start time and better academic performance. This is taking quality (i.e. intelligence) of the student into account, so that the task performance can be attributed only to the procrastination factor.

If you are, like me, an ardent procrastinator, this news may be shocking, appalling and altogether repulsive. But hey, who said you had to change your study habits now, this late in the semester? I mean...

...there's always tomorrow.

Research Opportunity

The Siegel lab is looking for pre-med/pre-grad undergraduate research assistants to help out with several ongoing research projects. Our lab investigates electrophysiological, behavioral, and molecular deficits in mouse models of Schizophrenia and Autism. Undergraduates would work under direct supervision of a MD/PhD graduate student or senior post doc and are expected to become highly independent. Time commitment of 10-20 hours/week which can be done for honors thesis, credit, or work study. Undergraduates would be expected to participate in and take lead on publication of work. Potential projects include:

• Developing a behavioral task to assess working memory in mouse models of schizophrenia, followed by drug testing
• Investigation of language lateralization in mice using electrophysiological recordings
• Characterizing electrophyiological activation of amygdalar activity during social behaviors of mice
• Development of auditory EEG tasks in mice to predict deficits observed observed in schizophrenia

Previous mouse work and/or experience with signal processing is helpful. Please send a resume to mgandal@mail.med.upenn.edu.

Brain Music

Some of you may know Dr. Mike Kaplan as a professor of BBB251 or BBB492. Others may have only heard the legend of this singing professor. Today we provide you with a link to his smash hit Brain in a Jar. Gotta love the creativity coming out of the BBB department!

For other "Songs in the Key of Brain", check this out.