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Indeed, the brain has many devious tricks for ensuring that the irrational act of taking drugs, deemed "good" because it enhances dopamine, will be repeated. pet-scan images taken by Volkow and her colleagues reveal that the absorption of a cocaine-like chemical by neurons is profoundly reduced in cocaine addicts in contrast to normal subjects. One explanation: the addicts' neurons, assaulted by abnormally high levels of dopamine, have responded defensively and reduced the number of sites (or receptors) to which dopamine can bind. In the absence of drugs, these nerve cells probably experience a dopamine deficit, Volkow speculates...
...SCAN images of the brains of recovering cocaine addicts reveal other striking changes, including a dramatically impaired ability to process glucose, the primary energy source for working neurons. Moreover, this impairment--which persists for up to 100 days after withdrawal--is greatest in the prefrontal cortex, a dopamine-rich area of the brain that controls impulsive and irrational behavior. Addicts, in fact, display many of the symptoms shown by patients who have suffered strokes or injuries to the prefrontal cortex. Damage to this region, University of Iowa neurologist Antonio Damasio and his colleagues have demonstrated, destroys the emotional compass that...
...Professor of English James Engell puts it, "If you're not accustomed to [the technical features of poetry], then it makes you a little scared of it. But then...the guilt factor kicks in. You feel [that] if you're in college, you ought to be able to scan a poem." As a result, "sometimes there is a hesitancy" on the part of students to approach poetry...
...ways, Americans are suffering a crisis of faith. Some people have lost their faith, so they dip into sleaze news, snickering as they scan the more imaginative tabloids. Others have replaced belief in God or government by faith in more eccentric notions; they look to the stars, to Star Trek. According to polls, 40% think aliens have visited our planet; 70% believe in a J.F.K. assassination conspiracy. Hey, didn't a U.S. missile shoot down TWA Flight 800? In January, you know, Elvis turned 62. Just recently, he cashed his first Social Security check...
Because of a lack of funding, volunteers must pay for airfare and other costs. But Clapp said she is confident volunteers will find SCAN worthwhile...