Cultureplaces

[excerpt] By Karl Zimmer Discover Magazine http://discovermagazine.com/2008/nov/15-why-darwin-would-have-loved-botox/article_view?b_start:int=0&-C = ...When humans mimic others’ faces, in other words, we don’t just go through the motions. We also go through the emotions. Recently Bernhard Haslinger at the Technical University of Munich realized that he could test the facial feedback theory in a new way. He could temporarily paralyze facial muscles and then scan people’s brains as they tried to make faces. To block facial feedback, Haslinger used Dysport , a Botox-like drug available in Europe. Botox and Dysport are brand names of a toxin made by the spore-forming bacterium Clostridium botulinum . Botulinum docks on the surface of neurons, blocking the release of a transmitter called acetylcholine. In small amounts botulinum can be fatal. In far, far smaller amounts, it can simply paralyze a small patch of muscles for a few weeks. Haslinger has used Dysport in people with movement ...

Imaging study reveals battle between lure of reward and fear of failure. That familiar pull between the promise of victory and the dread of defeat – whether in money, love or sport – is rooted in the brain's architecture, according to a new imaging study. Neuroscientists at the USC Brain and Creativity Institute have identified distinct brain regions with competing responses to risk. Both regions are located in the prefrontal cortex, an area behind the forehead involved in analysis and planning. By giving volunteers a task that measures risk tolerance and observing their reactions with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the researchers found that activity in one region identified risk-averse volunteers, while activity in a different region was greater in those with an appetite for risk. The study appeared online Oct. 8 in the journal Cerebral Cortex. "We can see risk as a battle between two forces," said Antoine Bechara, professor of psychology at USC. "Th...