Overheard in the Wolfe House #9
Sam (on manhood): I might have to start shaving every day. Boy, it’s hard to keep up with that.
Nature and Nurture
We’ve come a long way since Bernard Rimland shredded BrunoBettleheim’s theories that refrigerator moms caused the autism in their children. Or not far at all, depending on your point of view.
In this summer’s Columbia magazine, I read about a promising study in Norway that is tracking 110,000 people over their entire lives. A mother-and-child cohort will gather data that could be used to test dozens of theories for autism’s causes. In addition to chronicling every illness, immunization and medical treatment, they will be tracking gastrointestinal problems, too.
The world will likely get another pass at testing the persistent thought that autism is linked to vaccinations, although more than a decade of study has yet to link the two conclusively. In my opinion, very little work has been done to examine the stomach problems our kids have.
I’m not certain Sam’s gut problems, even though they began at about 18 months old, came first and the autism came second. He had autism problems from the start. But it’s about time some serious research got done in this area. With the last doctor I mentioned this concern about his gut I got — as usual — a blank stare.
Overheard in the Wolfe House #8
Sam: No more coal. No gas. Everyone needs a solar panel on their roof. The power companies should use wind. Maybe if I tell them, they will listen.
I need this support but don’t have it
If you’re the parent or caregiver for a young person, age 12 to 22, with a disability, you, too, can fill out this national survey about supports your family has and supports you need.
http://www.fastfamilysupport.org/
I just finished it. It will be a really easy survey for Texas parents, filling page after page by clicking the button that says, “I need this support but don’t have it.”
UPDATE: And Saiqa Akhter didn’t get any either. Godspeed to little Zain and Faryaal.
TMTA
This is my nomination for a new text message abbreviation: too much to ask. It’s what parents do to their children all the time. (Insert teenager rolling eyes here.)
I just asked Sam to drop an overdue library book in the drive-thru drop on his way to work today, or on the way home. I’ve asked him to do this sort of thing before — drop off the water bill, catch the mail, pick up a few groceries before coming home. He’s also made his own bank deposits on the way home. But he’s totally stressed out. I don’t get it.
TMTA
Overheard in the Wolfe House #7
Peggy: Sam, come out to the back porch and hear this frog sound.
Temple Grandin flies coach
On a Southwest Airlines flight from Amarillo to Denver recently, Sam and Dr. Grandin sat across the aisle from each other.
Michael was the only other person in our family who recognized her. Sam couldn’t make the connection between the photos and the real person. It took Michael a minute to realize why I didn’t want to stop and introduce ourselves. I have no idea whether Dr. Grandin would feel overwhelmed by strangers doing that, but Sam would.
Dr. Grandin spent the flight reading the Wall Street Journal. Sam liked looking past his sister and me to see out the window. Probably no one else on the flight noticed all the famous people on the plane.
As Sam says, “I’m a little bit famous.”
Overheard in the Wolfe House #6
Sam (turning off the electric razor): That’s it. I give up.
Considering neoteny
TxP2P: Dan also recommends …
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 Nov 9;96(23):13427-31
Running enhances neurogenesis, learning, and long-term potentiation in mice.
van Praag H, Christie BR, Sejnowski TJ, Gage FH. Laboratory of Genetics, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Abstract
Running increases neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, a brain structure that is important for memory function. Consequently, spatial learning and long-term potentiation (LTP) were tested in groups of mice housed either with a running wheel (runners) or under standard conditions (controls). Mice were injected with bromodeoxyuridine to label dividing cells and trained in the Morris water maze. LTP was studied in the dentate gyrus and area CA1 in hippocampal slices from these mice. Running improved water maze performance, increased bromodeoxyuridine-positive cell numbers, and selectively enhanced dentate gyrus LTP. Our results indicate that physical activity can regulate hippocampal neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity, and learning.
Supporting articles:
Running enhances neurogenesis, learning, and long-term potentiation in mice. van Praag H, Christie BR, Sejnowski TJ, Gage FH. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 Nov 9;96(23):13427-31.PMID:
Synaptic plasticity and learning and memory: LTP and beyond. Hölscher C. J Neurosci Res. 1999 Oct 1;58(1):62-75.
Long-term potentiation and glutamate release in the dentate gyrus: links to spatial learning. Richter-Levin G, Canevari L, Bliss TV. Behav Brain Res. 1995 Jan 23;66(1-2):37-40.
LTP, NMDA, genes and learning. Cain DP. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 1997 Apr;7(2):235-42.
Memory mechanisms: the nociceptin connection. Goda Y, Mutneja M. Curr Biol. 1998 Dec 3;8(24):R889-91
Long-term potentiation and its relation to learning and memory Li YX, Mei ZT. Sheng Li Ke Xue Jin Zhan. 1993 Jul;24(3):278-80.
Mammalian learning and memory studied by gene targeting. Tonegawa S. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1995 Jun 30;758:213-7.
Cerebellar LTD: a molecular mechanism of behavioral learning? Lisberger SG. Cell. 1998 Mar 20;92(6):701-4.
New neurons in the adult brain: The role of sleep and consequences of sleep loss
Peter Meerloa,*, Ralph E. Mistlbergerb, Barry L. Jacobs, H. Craig Hellerd, Dennis McGinty
On Autism & Exercise
By Daniel Hawthorne
This past week, yet another reason became apparent to me: that of the connection between physical activity and the development of new nerve cells in the hippocampus of the brain. A recent study at the Salk Institute involving four groups of mice confirmed just such a connection. The mice in group one were sedentary, being the control group. The mice in group two had regularly scheduled times for swimming; those in group three could swim at anytime. Group four had a running wheel; thus, the mice there were allowed to run freely at any time. At the end of the twelve days, it was not surprising that mental development occurred in all four groups; what was surprising, though, was the amount of difference found among the four. Group four differed by twice the number of new cells gained in group one. Keep in mind that this was only for twelve days, not a real significant amount of time in the total lifespan of a mouse, I would think, anyway. Groups two and three also fared much better than the control group. (1)
Other studies have shown that the human brain is plastic as well.
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=