3 ms·

It has in fact been shown in countless studies that corticosteroids (stress hormones that are released in situations like the ones I described in the article) c

by dcurtis 15y ago

It has in fact been shown in countless studies that corticosteroids (stress hormones that are released in situations like the ones I described in the article) cause cognitive deficits in humans and other animals. Here is one slightly strange example: The present study investigated the acute effects of cortisol administration in normal healthy male volunteers on immediate free recall and recognition of pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral nouns using a between-subjects double-blind design. Two hours after cortisol (10 mg) or placebo administration, impaired recall and recognition of neutral and pleasant words was found in the treatment group, whereas recall and recognition of unpleasant words was similar in both groups. See: http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/12820857/reload=0;jsessionid=84851F2AB6F2AACD220321FB3F51963E http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/12820857/reload=0;jsessionid...

n8agrin 15y ago
Your essay is well written, I agree with the premise of it and you clearly know a bit about biology. But I still think it's important that when we make these general claims of scientific fact we point to the giants whose shoulders we're standing on. Maybe it's just the ex-scientist in me, and if so, apologies. I appreciate you found a cortisol related article to prove your point, and I agree it's an odd choice as the abstract, which I'm assuming is what you read as well, seems to state little other than pleasantries are forgotten when under a chemically induced stress response.
- ibisum 15y ago
  I follow the line of your thinking in my own assessment of the 'treatment of respect' in this issue .. I believe what ought to be said is that while we humans have bodies with chemical control systems built in, we have to keep, somehow, our soul. Survival isn't just having enough to eat every day, for some ..
- onemoreact 15y ago
  The flight or fight response has been investigated for a long time. It's complex enough that you need to read a lot of relevant studies most of which are old before you can understand it. Which makes finding a single source hard. If you want basic research start with Walter Bradford around 1915 Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear and Rage: An Account of Recent Researches into the Function of Emotional Excitement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Bradford_Cannon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Bradford_Cannon
rzezeski 15y ago
There may be more to the situation. I wonder if Normalcy Bias also played a role in Air France 447.
xenophanes 15y ago
How can the study be double blind when it involves drugs which have such noticeable effects? People can notice things like impaired recall and figure out which group they are in, so it's not really double blind.

by dcurtis 15y ago

n8agrin 15y ago

Your essay is well written, I agree with the premise of it and you clearly know a bit about biology. But I still think it's important that when we make these general claims of scientific fact we point to the giants whose shoulders we're standing on. Maybe it's just the ex-scientist in me, and if so, apologies. I appreciate you found a cortisol related article to prove your point, and I agree it's an odd choice as the abstract, which I'm assuming is what you read as well, seems to state little other than pleasantries are forgotten when under a chemically induced stress response.

ibisum 15y ago
I follow the line of your thinking in my own assessment of the 'treatment of respect' in this issue .. I believe what ought to be said is that while we humans have bodies with chemical control systems built in, we have to keep, somehow, our soul. Survival isn't just having enough to eat every day, for some ..
onemoreact 15y ago
The flight or fight response has been investigated for a long time. It's complex enough that you need to read a lot of relevant studies most of which are old before you can understand it. Which makes finding a single source hard. If you want basic research start with Walter Bradford around 1915 Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear and Rage: An Account of Recent Researches into the Function of Emotional Excitement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Bradford_Cannon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Bradford_Cannon

rzezeski 15y ago

There may be more to the situation. I wonder if Normalcy Bias also played a role in Air France 447.

xenophanes 15y ago

How can the study be double blind when it involves drugs which have such noticeable effects? People can notice things like impaired recall and figure out which group they are in, so it's not really double blind.