Social Anxiety disorder (SAD) affects roughly 12% of us at least at some point during our life. Our next speaker, Philippe Goldin, is studying the effects of Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) aka meditation on social anxiety.
“The idea is that if a person has the psychological flexibility to shift freely from one mode of thinking to another mode, then that is a sign of health,” said Goldin. “It’s when we get stuck in certain thinking patterns that our beliefs become maladaptive.”
Specifically, the MBSR proved effective silencing the inner critic…you know the one that judges your every action. (Mine is saying I’m a terrible writer right now). They measured this by gauging reaction to negative self-beliefs while inside a fMRI machine. I should know, I took part in this study!
Simply put, meditation proved very effective over a 2 month period. The lay conclusion…slowing down, taking the time to practice mindfulness over a period had a significant impact on internal views. There was an uptick in the use of positive descriptive words such as “admired” and “loved”.
Not surprising, but it does serve as a good reminder that we all need to slow down a bit and maintain a healthy practice to combat the inevitable bout of social anxiety.
Thanks to the wonderful peeps at Fora.TV, we have a great recording of the last science cafe (well the first hour at least).
You should check out the great offerings over at Magnolia. They usually have a monthly beer pairing dinner (this month is on 6/24 at Incanto) as well as Fried Chicken Thursday & a recession friendly $3 Beers Tuesday.
Back to normally scheduled programming, here’s the video from the cafe on 6/15:
With the Science of a Good Beer looming in just one week, I thought I’d remind our loyal audience that enjoyment starts with the pour. Dave McLean is our guide:
At the event next week, Dave will be bringing in a special Magnolia brew. I’m hoping for the Big Cypress Brown, but that Magnolia Branthill Malt Project sounds good….
Last month’s Down to a Science on Stem Cells was featured in VidSF. About a week and change ago, the VidSF piece was also picked up by the Chronicle in a piece here.
The interview is spot on, albeit mildly embarassing as I admit alcohol being a key component of a great science cafe. I guess my love of beer really shines through.
And it will shine through next Monday as Science of Beer rolls into the Atlas Cafe. $2/pints with a side of science? Can’t beat that math.
The 8 minute video below is a great primer on pluripotent stem cells, the main piece of our discussion this month. Just a couple years ago, researchers in Japan were able to take human skin cells, have them express certain genes in order to return to a stem cell state. Research in this area is just beginning; we don’t know if these induced pluripotent stem cells function as embryonic stem cells.
The short term promise of these iPSC is in drug development. Specifically, growing these iPSCs into adult mature cells to test new drugs upon. For mature human cells, often testing on mice or other animals proves ineffective (or at least an incomplete picture). This advancement could fundamentally change the entire drug development process.
When: Monday, July 20th 7-9 PM What:The Neuroscience of Meditation Revisited Where:Atlas Cafe,
3049 20th St @ Alabama St. in the Mission District Who: Dr. Philippe Goldin, Stanford Dept of Pyschology The Deets:
Dr. Philippe Goldin first visited us in 2007. He focused on the basics of Mindfulness meditation, the practice of bringing one’s attention to the present, which has been said to provide tremendous well-being and emotional balance. Over the past few years, many therapists have begun to use meditation as a treatment for patients with mild anxiety and depressive tendencies. Scientific studies have followed suit, illustrating how meditation “re-wires” neural systems related to attention & emotion.
After two years, he has much more data on the relation between meditation and neurological systems (and he has the pictures to prove it!). He will present data from recent functional neuroimaging studies demonstrating meditation related changes in the neural bases of various neuropsychological systems. Specifically, how meditation practice interacts with brain systems supporting attention, emotion, and self processing, which together mediate psychological balance or imbalance.
In this highly experiential science café, Philippe will guide us in specific short meditations and then relay the results from scientific studies. This will certainly be a very “centering” science discussion.
Philippe is a research scientist and heads the Clinically Applied Affective Neuroscience group in the Department of Psychology at Stanford University. He spent 6 years in India and Nepal studying various languages, Buddhist philosophy and debate at Namgyal Monastery and the Dialectic Monastic Institute, and serving as an interpreter for various Tibetan Buddhist lamas. He then returned to the U.S. to complete a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Rutgers University.
His NIH-funded clinical research focuses on (a) functional neuroimaging investigations of cognitive-affective mechanisms in adults with anxiety disorders, (b) comparing the effects of mindfulness meditation and cognitive-behavioral therapy on brain-behavior correlates of emotional reactivity and regulation, and (c) training children in family and elementary school settings in mindfulness skills to reduce anxiety and enhance compassion, self-esteem and quality of family interactions.
Science Live! NIF Tour is full, please email to be added to wait list When: Friday, July 24th, 9 AM - 1 PM What:Science Tour of NIF Facility Where:Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA The Deets:Due to overwhelming popularity, we're going back on a tour of the National Ignition Facility. We'll start with a short overview of the facility, move through the field of capacitors, and finally end at the target chamber. You'll have all of your questions answered and then some. This was one of the best tours I have ever been on, I highly recommend it.
Due to security restrictions, only US citizens will be able to attend the tour. In addition, you will need to file a tour info form by July 3rd with NIF so they can conduct a background check. Tour will be limited to 14 people. Last time, we had a number of people flake at the last minute which prevented others from going on the tour. Please sign up only if you know you'll be able to attend.
When: Sunday, August 9th 12 noon - 7 PM What:Foraging Tour in the East Bay Hills with Transported SF Where:The Transported Bus will pick up at Papa Toby's Revolution Cafe (3248 22nd Street in the Mission, SF) Cost:$35, Tickets available online
Down to a Science is channeling its inner foodie with a day of foraging in the sun!
Iso Rabins will be our guide as we forage local and sustainable cuisine in the east bay hills. He'll teach us how to identify wild edibles all around you, from wild fennel to mallow. Many of the plants we see everyday can be consumed on the spot (although better after a quick rinse). We'll be taking a collecting walk, then making snacks that includes some of what we foraged. There will be plenty of time to relax and enjoy the day.
Iso Rabins is the founder of http://www.foragesf.com,a CSF with the mission to connect Bay Area dwellers with the wild food that is all around them. From wild mushrooms to acorn flour, there is a wealth of edible forage just outside our doors that few people know about, and still fewer ever consume. The goal is to push people out of the supermarket, to get them trying new foods harvested sustainably and fairly by their neighbors. Please wear proper clothing as we will get a little dirty gathering cuisine. NOTE: No one under 21 years old will be admitted. Tickets available online
When: Monday, July 13th, 7-9 PM What:Down to a Science Book Club: "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers" by Robert Sapolsky Where:Books Inc,
601 Van Ness @ Turk, 2 blocks north of SF City Hall The Book: San Francisco recently ranked as the 5th most stressful city in the world. And this data came before the current economic meltdown (and probably doesn't even take a ride on the 38 Geary into account). It's no wonder we suffer from chronic stress related diseases. In our next book, we tackle stress and why don't zebras get ulcers--or heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases--when people do. In a fascinating look at the science of stress, biologist Robert Sapolsky presents an intriguing case, that people develop such diseases partly because our bodies aren't designed for the constant stresses of a modern-day life--like sitting in daily traffic jams or growing up in poverty. Rather, they seem more built for the kind of short-term stress faced by a zebra--like outrunning a lion.
With wit, graceful writing, and a sprinkling of Far Side cartoons, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers makes understanding the science of stress an adventure in discovery. "This book is a primer about stress, stress-related disease, and the mechanisms of coping with stress. How is it that our bodies can adapt to some stressful emergencies, while other ones make us sick? Why are some of us especially vulnerable to stress-related diseases, and what does that have to do with our personalities?"
Sapolsky concludes with a hopeful chapter, titled "Managing Stress." Sapolsky highlights the studies that suggest we do have some control over stress-related ailments, based on how we perceive the stress and the kinds of social support we have.
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