Giving Your Brain a Boost

According to an article in the Big News Network, this endless year of campaigning could have a silver lining. Election-year politics could give your brain a boost: "the fever pitch of the season can," says Neuro-pharmacologist John D. Roache of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio inspire us in many ways. "The brain has hard-wired systems that control attention and learning in processes that motivate us, including hunger, sex drive and social involvement." An interest in politics can perhaps stimulate these systems in the brain!

We should be so lucky!

"As we listen to the candidates and think about what is being said, the brain processes the information, which grows neural connections and increases the neurochemical signaling that is associated with learning and memory," says Roache. Actively participating in the election campaigns may be even more beneficial than merely following them.

"If we become emotionally engaged and even become politically active by going to a rally or actively campaigning for a candidate, then the greater levels of emotion or commitment further enhance the brain processes and connect them all the more with the emotion and physical activity involved," he said. ...Here's hoping!

Misinformation: Anger for Hire

In his article Anger for Hire reprinted in Readers Digest, Michael Crowley says, " You can't always believe what you see -- especially if you're looking at political protests."

"It's hard to know who to trust these days, " he says. "When we see people staging protests we think, Wow! These folks are passionate about their cause -- otherwise, why would they stand in the rain for hours? But sometimes it's a sham: You and even your Congressman may have been set up by manipulative marketers who pay serious money to hire protesters.

"It's a sneaky trick. Let's say you want to stage a political rally, but you just can't find enough people for a good turnout. What you need are folks with lots of time on their hands, who can be persuaded to make a fuss over almost anything. Solution: Head down to a homeless shelter and dole out cash."

Jeff's take on "anger for hire": it generates blatant misinformation. An alert press should interview a random sampling of the protesters, which would quickly reveal that many have no ideas about the issues about which they are "protesting!"