Word: scans
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...type of brain scan helps identify structures that are the wrong size or shape. Two years ago, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh showed that the amygdalas of a group of overanxious young children were, on average, much larger than those of their unaffected peers. Perhaps they just had more fear circuits to contend with? Neuroscientists are tempted to say yes, but they admit the conclusion is pretty speculative. Another group of researchers found that patients with post-traumatic stress disorder had a smaller hippocampus than normal. Perhaps their stressful experiences had somehow interfered with the hippocampus' ability to make...
Another type of brain scan tells scientists which brain cells are using the most oxygen or soaking up the most nutrients. The idea, explains Dr. Scott Rauch of Massachusetts General Hospital, is that any area that seems more active than usual while someone is anxious may play an important role in making the person that way. Rauch's team has spent the past eight years scanning groups of combat veterans, some with post-traumatic stress disorder and some without, to see which areas of the brain light up when they hear tapes recounting their most troubling memories...
...next step, Rauch says, is to scan groups of people who are likely to be thrust into dangerous situations--fire fighters, say, or police officers. Then it may be possible to determine if any changes in their brains are the result of traumatic situations or if the changes predate them. Either is plausible. The stress of surviving a building collapse, for example, could turn a normal amygdala into an overactive one. Or an already overactive amygdala may overwhelm the brain in the wake of a disaster...
...exit signs leading in one direction in one language (say, English) and exit signs pointing the opposite way in another language (say, Spanish). Hooligans, they figure, aren't bilingual. The police are calling in reinforcements, including rugby players, to help control crowds. Britain is lending 20 hooligan spotters to scan the immigration lines at Narita International Airport. Police also are stocking up on net-shooting rifles, a la Spider-Man, that can snare up to three people at a time. "I promise we'll catch every hooligan in a great big net," Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara says. "No one will...
Ridgway often drove along the strip on his way to and from work. He would cruise slowly by single women, and was in the habit of parking in the lot at Larry's Market on 144th Street or the 7-Eleven at 142nd Street, where he could scan the street. Leading off the strip was a network of small streets. Many of its houses had been abandoned when SeaTac Airport expanded its flight path directly overhead, and this is where the girls liked to turn their tricks. The passing planes muffled any sounds, and the streets were mostly deserted...