Your Eyes, Your Ears, Your Brain–Oh my!!

By: Tina C. Davidson

The unearthing of previously unknown information about how our brain/body functions fascinates me.

So, I was pretty intrigued when I saw the following article title in The Atlantic by Ed Yong:

When Your Eyes Move, So Do Your Eardrums

… and no one knows why.

Well, eventually someone will try to figure out the “why,” but until then at least we know that when your eyes move, so do your eardrums. Right?

They also found that the eardrums start to wobble about 10 milliseconds before the eyes. This suggest that the ears aren’t reacting to what’s happening in the eyes. Instead, Groh says, “the brain is saying: I am about to move the eyes; ears, get ready.”

That is some pretty fast communication between the brain and the ears (0.01 seconds–wowzers–that’s like spidey-sense).

For a closer look at this study, you can check out, “The eardrums move when the eyes move: A multisensory effect on the mechanics of hearing.” (Here’s the link Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United State of America.)

I’ll leave you with this quote from The Atlantic to ponder.

“This suggests that there are no safe spaces in the brain,” Groh says. “One sensory system is influenced by another right at the point where the physical energy is first detected.”

Don’t let it keep you up at night–that part about there being “no safe places in the brain.”

We can’t always comprehend how the brain functions, but we know that the brain is pretty amazing.

Obviously, I’m a fan.

Sources:

The Atlantic

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/01/when-your-eyes-move-so-do-your-eardrums/551237/

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

http://www.pnas.org/content/115/6/E1309

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Strengthening Your Kindness Muscle

By: Tina Davidson

There are two ways to think about kindness. You can think about it as a fixed trait: either you have it or you don’t. Or you could think of kindness as a muscle. In some people, that muscle is naturally stronger than in others, but it can grow stronger in everyone with exercise.  TheAtlantic.com

Do you have a naturally strong kindness muscle?

I’m all for exercising kindness. In a world that often seems unkind, let’s focus on the small steps we can take to be kind to others– setting an example for the next generation.

Just as a pebble creates waves when it is dropped in a pond, so acts of kindness ripple outwards touching others’ lives and inspiring kindness everywhere the wave goes.  Dr. David Hamilton

Even if you can’t travel around the world giving monetary gifts to people like Leon Logothetis did in The Kindness Diaries (I haven’t read his book), you have talents and gifts that are unique and worth sharing.

Perhaps you’ve got an incredible smile or singing voice?

Whatever it is, be kind and share it with those in your life. I’m sure they’ll thank you for it and perhaps be inspired to pass some kindness along.  Their brain might even make it a habit.

Sources & Further Reading:

Masters of Love- Science says lasting relationships come down to—you guessed it—kindness and generosity. Emily Esfahani Smith.  TheAtlantic.com, June 12, 2014.

The 5 Side Effects of Kindness- David R. Hamilton ,PhD.  PsychologyToday.com, May 30, 2011. 

The Kindness Diaries: One Man’s Quest To Transform Lives While Traveling Around The World With No Money– Jim Dobson. Forbes.com, December 14, 2014.

University of California – San Diego. “How the brain makes, and breaks, a habit: Neuroscience study identifies brain chemicals, neural pathway involved in switching between habitual behavior, deliberate decision-making.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 May 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160526185419.htm>.