What's New in Neurofeedback
A Monthly Summary of News and Events

Vol. 7 No. 7 - July 2004

This newsletter is sponsored by EEG Spectrum Intl, Inc.,
a leader in providing clinical service and training professionals.
Past issues available at http://start.eegspectrum.com/Newsletter/
To subscribe or cancel, see newsletter's end. Opinions related in
this newsletter reflect the author's only. Copyright (C) 2004
by EEG Spectrum Intl, Inc. or David Kaiser. All rights reserved.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Announcements - News
In the Spotlight - Neurotherapy in the Popular Press
News & Reviews - Books & journal papers
Events & Locations - Conferences, Courses
Last Word - Search for Terrestrial Intelligence

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Announcements - News

Injections Temporarily Turn Slacker Monkeys Into Model Workers
Mystery pain 'is all in the mind'
Premature boys have smaller brain
Social status influences brain structure
Brain device offers hope for some mental disorders
Scientists study brain's wiring to learn how we remember, forget

All links at:
http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fc&cid=34&in=science&cat=brain_research
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In the Spotlight

Neurotherapy in the Popular Press

In November I compiled all the scientific articles of neurofeedback I
could find for this newsletter. But most clients (or their parents)
cannot be expected to trudge through terse academic jargin just to
get an inkling of what neurofeedback is or does. Below is a list of
neurofeedback articles from the popular press. Beware: Some are good,
a few are not so flattering. Most are since 2000.

Legend: [s] = short, less than 1,000 words


AScribe Newswire January 22, 2003
Researchers Find Link Between Improved Memory [s]

Alberta Report Nov 6, 2000
A brainwave fix for ADD.

Alcohol Research & Health Spring 2003
Alcoholism and human electrophysiology.

American Journal of Human Genetics Sept 2002
Announcements (1).

American Theatre Feb 2002
West Hartford: Intermezzo Young Artists Development Program.[s]

Anchorage Daily News, Jan 30, 2004
Anchorage Daily News, Alaska, Inside Alaska Business Column.[s]

Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association Spring 2003
APA members give helpful advice for today's mental health
professional.

Annual Review of Psychology Annual 2002
Clinical assessment

Ascribe Higher Education News Service Jan 22, 2003
Researchers Find Link Between Improved Memory, Use of Neurofeedback.
[s]

B.C. Business Magazine September, 2002
Brain wave [Neurotherapy] [s]

BioWorld International March 31, 2004
UK awards grants for work focused on disease genetics.[s]

BioWorld International Sept 17, 2003
Oxford BioMedica raises 22.[s]

Bismarck Tribune (North Dakota) July 16, 2003
Integrating an alternative

British Journal of Psychology Feb 2002
Conceptualization and measurement of celebrity worship.

Business First-Columbus Dec 7, 2001
New ADHD helmet getting attention in the workplace.[s]

Business First of Buffalo Nov 20, 2000
Deals, deals and more deals.[s]

Business Journal-Portland June 8, 2001
People On The Move.[s]

Business Week Oct 16, 2000
Patient, Heal Thyself.

Business Week Sept 22, 2003
Mind-Bending Alternatives To Memory Pills.[s]

Calgary Herald (Alberta Canada) April 16, 2004
Post-traumatic stress can alter behaviour [s]

Cancer Weekly March 4, 2003
Molecular Biology: New Northwestern Center Targets Brain Disorders
[s]

Chicago Tribune, Feb 18, 2004
A quirky peek inside the human brain.

Clinical Psychiatry News August 2002
Researchers give CBT for epilepsy no-confidence vote.[s]

Clinician Reviews Oct 1999
Alternative Medicine.

Company News Feed formerly Regulatory News Service March 29, 2004
Oxford Biomedica PLC - Research Update

Corrections Compendium April 2003
Identification and management of psychopaths in court-mandated
treatment programs.

Crain's Cleveland Business April 17, 2000
Biomec on board to aid biofeedback company [s]

Dallas Business Journal Jan 8, 1999
Holisticos to roll out up to eight alternative care centers.[s]

Drug Topics July 3, 2000
Psychotropics And Kids : Use Of Drugs In Treating Adhd Sets Off New
Debate About Finding The Right Therapy For Children.

Drug Week April 12, 2002
Data on new family of antipsychotic drugs presented.[s]

Education & Treatment of Children May 2002
Technology applications for children with ADHD: assessing the
empirical support.

Exceptional Children Wntr 2001
Rewarded by Punishment: Reflections on the Disuse of Positive
Reinforcement in Schools.

Family Practice News April 1, 2000
EEG Biofeedback Helped Patients With ADHD.[s]

Financial Times (London England) January 24, 2003
How to spark the memory [s]

Generations Fall 2003
Neurofeedback.

Gold Coast Bulletin (Australia) August 23, 2003
Mind games

Health Care Strategic Management June 2004
Neurosciences provide great opportunities for hospitals.

Health Newswire Consumer January 23, 2003
New technique "could boost memory" [s]

Houston Business Journal Nov 23, 2001
New helmet getting attention of those with ADHD.[s]

Independent Living Feb-March 1990
Gateway: a new pathway out of pain.

Infants & Young Children July 2002
Alternative and complementary therapies for children and youth with
disabilities.

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario CA) November 9, 2002
'Brain training' working miracles; Neurofeedback may help trea ta
myraid of disorders [s]

Internal Medicine April 2000
Some individuals never outgrow ADHD, says DSM-IV.[s]

Internal Medicine News Oct 15, 2002
Evidence fails to support epilepsy behavior therapy.[s]

Internet Wire Oct 7, 2003
Socialization and The Learning Disabled Free Seminar.[s]

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News August 9, 1995
Colorado's Lexicor Medical Sees Many Uses for Stress Reduction
Devices.[s]

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News July 7, 2002
Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News May 10, 2001
North Port, Fla.[s]

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News May 20, 2002
The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.[s]

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News May 5, 2003
Anchorage Daily News, Alaska, Business People Column.[s]

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Nov 10, 1998
Anchorage Daily News Inside Alaska Business Column.[s]

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Nov 29, 2000
Educational Consultants to Offer Services in Stockton, Calif.[s]

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Oct 27, 1998
Entrepreneur Promotes Dallas-Based Alternative Medicine Company.[s]

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Sept 3, 1999
Anchorage Daily News Inside Alaska Business Column.[s]

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service Dec 29, 1993
A biofeedback therapist has developed ways to diagnose the problem
and boost brain wave activity.[s]

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service Jan 7, 1997
Debate heats up as more and more parents put their children on
Ritalin.

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service May 19, 2000
Neurofeedback seen as possible alternative to Ritalin.[s]

Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service Sept 24, 1999
Exercise for the brain: Attention-deficit disorders are begin treated
with a controversial technique.

Library Journal May 1, 2002
Awakening the Mind: A Guide to Mastering the Power of Your Brain
Waves.[s]

Long Island Business News Jan 12, 2001
Putting type-A people in type-B bodies.

Manningham Leader (Australia) February 11, 2004
Moods have a cause [s]

Manningham Leader (Australia) June 11, 2003
Mapping system aids diagnosis [s]

Market News Publishing August 30, 2001
Global Innovative Systems Inc - Positive Results Found Between
Neurofeedback And Enermed Therapy.[s]

Market News Publishing March 20, 2002
Wavepoint Systems Inc - Names Duke University's David Rabiner To
Scientific - Advisory Board.[s]

Mothering May-June 2003
The Feingold solution: assessing the role of diet in children's
behavior.

Mothering Nov-Dec 2002
Latest & greatest: expand your mind! (Cool Stuff).

Music Educators Journal Sept 2000
EEG Studies With Young Children.

NWHRC Health Center - Biofeedback March 02, 2004
Biofeedback Treatment.

National Post Nov 11, 2000
Vata?

Natural Health Jan-Feb 2003
Tips on safe places to walk, healthy eating, and more .[s]

Natural Health May-June 1993
Proven mind/body medicine: scientific approaches provide hope for
those suffering from chronic conditions.

Natural Health Oct-Nov 2002
Tips on halting panic attacks, healing hives, and more .[s]

New Scientist August 2, 2003
Tune up your brain [s]

New Scientist March 3, 2001
Thought control.

New Scientist Sept 16, 2000
Relax, then do it.[s]

New Straits Times (Malaysia) December 4, 2002
New ICT solution to manage stress

News & Record (Greensboro NC) February 22, 2003
Don't Underestimate Benefits From Nasa [s]

Newsweek International August 5, 2002
Letters.

Newsweek June 19, 2000
On The Track With Neurofeedback.[s]

O, The Oprah Magazine Feb 2004
The lovely neurons: a heady new book goes deep into the nerve-racking
mechanics of the human brain.[s]

Omni Dec 1994
Biofeedback is back: and this time it's really far out.[s]

Ophthalmology Times Feb 15, 1999
Advances promise to reshape dry eye care.

Original Internist June 2001
Traditional Oriental Medicine And Traditional Chiropractic Theory.

PR Newswire March 26, 2004
Brain-Wave Biofeedback Aids Healing in Extreme Trauma [s]

PR Newswire August 19, 1999
HumaScan Inc.[s]

PR Newswire August 30, 2001
Positive results found between Neurofeedback and Enermed Therapy.[s]

PR Newswire Dec 23, 1999
NeuroCorp, Ltd.[s]

PR Newswire June 14, 2000
Advanced Educational Consulting Offers Alternative Therapies for
Children With Attention Deficit Disorder.[s]

PR Newswire March 26, 2004
Brain-Wave Biofeedback Aids Healing in Extreme Trauma.[s]

PR Newswire May 31, 2000
PR Newswire National Summary (Part 2), Wed.

PR Newswire Oct 16, 1998
Blue Cross And Blue Shield Of Georgia First To Offer Complementary
Medicine Program.[s]

PR Newswire Oct 23, 1992
Neuromedical Technologies, Inc.[s]

PR Newswire Sept 11, 2000
Olympic Swimmer Chad Carvin Uses Peak Achievement Trainer To Find
the 'Zone' via Better Concentration and Visualization.[s]

Pain & Central Nervous System Week Jan 20, 2003
Children may benefit from 'brain wave' training.[s]

Pain & Central Nervous System Week May 6, 2002
Evidence does not support psychological treatments.[s]

Parks & Recreation Dec 2001
Biofeedback: helping people gain control of their health.

Patient Care Dec 15, 1995
Multimodal treatment for ADHD.

Patient Care Dec 15, 1995
What ADHD is - and isn't.

Paul Magazine July 2003
Docs outside the box: research--and patients--are helping convince
physicians that a mix of medicines may be the best prescription of
all.

Pediatric Nursing July-August 2002
Promoting positive parenting: an annotated bibliography.

Pharma Marketletter April 5, 2004
Oxford BioMedica gets L500,000 slice of UK govt gene therapy fund.[s]

Preventing School Failure Wntr 2000
Motivation and Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder.

Prevention March 1993
Relax the flash.[s]

Providence Business News April 23, 2001
Sensory Technologies finds home, support.

Psychology Today Jan-Feb 1996
A smorgasbord of stress-stoppers.

Psychology Today May-June 1998
Wired for miracles?

Publishers Weekly April 3, 2000
A Symphony In The Brain: The Evolution Of The New Brain Wave
Biofeedback.[s]

Sacramento Business Journal Dec 7, 2001
Helmet can help attention-deficit patients stay focused.[s]

San Antonio Express-News (Texas) April 28, 2003
Answers to autism ; Parents

San Antonio Express-News (Texas) December 6, 2002
Ecumenical Center aids many ; Neurofeedback can help brain
efficiency. [s]

Santa Barbara News-Press, April 27, 2004
On The Move Column.[s]

Santa Fe New Mexican (New Mexico) November 20, 2002
Down The Street: Dallas To Eldorado: A New Resident Comes Home [s]

Sarasota Herald-Tribune (Florida) February 4, 2004
Education Notes [s]

Sarasota Herald Tribune April 28, 1997
Professional Engineer Strikes Out On Her Own.

Sarasota Herald Tribune Dec 10, 2003
Education Notes.[s]

Sarasota Herald Tribune Feb 4, 2004
Education Notes.[s]

Sarasota Herald Tribune Oct 22, 2001
Comings and Goings.[s]

Sarasota Herald Tribune Oct 27, 2003
KUDOS.[s]

Sarasota Herald Tribune Oct 30, 2000
Comings and Goings.[s]

Sarasota Magazine Jan 2003
What's your line?[s]

Southern Medical Journal Dec 2002
A Symphony in the Brain.[s]

Southern Medical Journal July 2002
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: an update.

Southern Star (Australia) May 26, 2004
Retraining the brain offers hope [s]

Sunday Herald Sun (Melbourne) September 8, 2002
Mum: My son was saved [s]

The Boston Globe January 25, 2004
Globe West 2; Difficult Choices Variety Of Treatments Face Parents Of
Autistic Children

The Exceptional Parent Jan 1999 - 2003
National Resources for Specific Disabilities.

The Exceptional Parent June 1998
Problems of behavior and learning: a pediatric perspective.

The Exceptional Parent March 1996
ADD and mental retardation.[s]

The Exceptional Parent Nov 2001
Search and Respond.

The Futurist Nov-Dec 2003
Better music through science.[s]

The Gazette (Colorado Springs) April 30, 2004
Neurofeedback helps subjects gain control of their brainwaves

The Guardian (London) - Final Edition May 15, 2004
Mind map: PD Smith explores the fascinating frontiers of neuroscience
[s]

The Lancet March 4, 2000
Need to focus research in stroke rehabilitation.

The Network News May 2001
Fibromyalgia: The Search for Identity.

The New American Sept 22, 2003
Drugging our kids.[s]

The Seattle Times, August 4, 2003
DVD extras: One fan's overkill is another's paradise.

The Times (London) April 17, 2004
Wired up for mind games [s]

The Times (London) September 17, 2003
Biotech firm wins breathing space [s]

The Vancouver Sun (British Columbia) April 16, 2004
Possible post-traumatic stress disorder

The Washington Post June 29, 2004
All in the Head; Three Approaches to Mental Health Treatment That
Stretch the Boundaries -- and

Time Nov 30, 1998
Rx: A Shelf Load Of Books.[s]

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients April 2001
New Hope, New Haven for the Mentally III.[s]

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients August-Sept 2002
My turn: a doctor's case of high blood pressure.

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients Dec 2002
Treating ADD with Neurofeedback.[s]

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients Feb-March 2002
A child's inheritance: The modern miasm identification and treatment
strategy.

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients Jan 2003
New information for people with Tourette Syndrome.[s]

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients July 2002
New health books from Haworth Press.[s]

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients Oct 2003
Attention deficit disorder, neurofeedback and cognitive therapy.[s]

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients Oct 2003
EEG biofeedback in attention deficit disorder and learning disability.
[s]

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients Oct 2003
More EEG biofeedback and ADHD.[s]

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients Oct 2003
The potential role of phytotherapy for ADHD.

University Wire October 15, 2002
Cal Poly-area center offers alternative therapy [s]

-DK

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News & Reviews

NEW BOOKS

Brain Lock : Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior
by Jeffrey M. Schwartz
Self-treatment druf-free program for obsessive-compulsive disorder
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060987111/top100

An Alchemy of Mind: The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain
by Diane Ackerman
Personal experiences described through scientific descriptions of the
brain, neurochemistry, etc.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743246721/top100

Addictive Thinking: Understanding Self-Deception
by Abraham J. Twerski
Case studies that reveal irrational and contradictory patterns of
addictive thinking.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1568381387/top100

Paul Broca: Founder of French Anthropology, Explorer of the Brain
by Francis Schiller
The life of Paul Broca, pioneer in cerebral localization.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195074963/top100

Alexander Romanovich Luria: A Scientific Biography
by E. D. Khomskaia, David E. Tupper, Evgenia D. Homskaya
Life of a neuropsychology pioneer.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0306464942/top100

Relationship Development Intervention with Young Children: ..
Activities for Asperger..
by Steven E. Gutstein, Rachelle K. Sheely
Activities to develop social referencing, behavior regulation,
conversational reciprocity, and synchronized actions.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1843107147/top100

Parting the Fog: Personal Side of Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome
by Sue Jones
First person account of fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome.
--www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0971217505/top100



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JOURNAL PAPERS

Gender differences in hemispheric organization during divergent
thinking: EEG : Results suggest different hemispheric organization
in men and women during creative thinking.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?
cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15158012

Reward sensitivity in impulsivity. : Impulsive people choose
immediate small over delayed larger rewards, suggesting more than
normal sensitivity to reward amounts.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?
cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15194887

Where arousal meets attention: a simultaneous fMRI and EEG recording
study. : Arousal was correlated with right dorsal-lateral prefrontal
and superior parietal cortices, closely overlapping regions involved
in the maintenance of attention.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?
cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15193597

Greater right frontal EEG asymmetry and nonemphathic behavior are
observed in children prenatally exposed to cocaine. :
Cocaine-exposed children had greater right frontal EEG asymmetry,
showed fewer empathic reactions to crying infants, and were less
proficient in cooperative tasks.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?
cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15195352

Cortical synchronization during sentence comprehension in
high-functioning autism : Autistics produced more activation than
controls in Wernicke's area and less in Broca's. Functional
connectivity between areas was also lower for the autistic group.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?
cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15215213

Biofeedback-based psychophysiological treatment in a primary care
setting : Examined feasability of biofeedback for certain conditions
such CFS.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?
cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15208972

Electrophysiologic abnormalities of auditory and visual processing
in TBI : TBI patients exhibit diminished amplitudes and prolonged
latencies in P300 responses, indicating impaired organization and
categorization of incoming sensory information, as well as prolonged
reaction times.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?
cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15166686

Efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy: a systematic review of
scientific evidences. : Bibliographical evidence on short, medium
and long-term efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy from 1965 until
June 2003 for depression, schizophrenia, mania and Parkinson disease
are reviewed.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?
cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15168266

Quantitative EEG findings of a temporal lobe abnormality: case study
: A focal CNS lesion missed by MRI and SPECT was detected by EEG and
positron emission tomography. Quantitative EEG remains a valuable
tool for the demonstration of the degree of dysfunctional changes
associated with a cerebral lesion.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?
cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15164820

PTSD arousal and depression symptoms and increased right-sided
parietal EEG asymmetry. : Results support connection between anxiety
and right-sided posterior activation, an anxious arousal subtype.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?
cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15122952

Resting frontal brain activity in teens: maternal depression and SES
: Baseline EEG in high risk adolescents (mothers had history of
depression) showed relative left frontal hypo-activity.
Socio-economic status also predicted alpha asymmetry.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?
cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15130526

New treatment modality for fibromyalgia syndrome: hyperbaric oxygen
therapy. : Hyperbaric oxygen therapy was evaluated for fibromyalgia
using a control group. The HBO group showed a reduction in tender
points and increase in pain threshold after the first and fifteenth
therapy sessions.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?
cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15174219

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Events & Locations

Upcoming Courses

A Pathway to Brain Regulation - Neurofeedback helps improve
neuroregulation. It's used by health care professionals for ADHD,
depression, anxiety disorders, LD, mood disorders, and behavioral
problems. This 4-day course, Neurofeedback in a Clinical Practice,
provides the basis for using Neurofeedback clinically. - *28 CEs

4-Day Comprehensive Course Dates

Portland OR Sep 18-21
Boston MA Oct 14-17
Raleigh NC Nov 11-14
Los Angeles CA Dec 9-12

Our course is a hands-on experience right from the start. Attendees
consistently say this format is a very good way to learn
Neurofeedback.

"Neurofeedback should be viewed as one of the three essential or
primary forms of intervention - psychotherapy, psychopharmacology,
and Neurofeedback. In my experience, Neurofeedback is every bit as
important and powerful as the other two forms of treatment." - Dr.
Laurence Hirshberg of Brown University Medical School, a
psychologist specializing in Developmental Disorders and Autism.

Contact Karie Kramer, our training coordinator, for more information
818-789-3456 ext 847 or see www.eegspectrum.com/ Training

*EEG Spectrum International, Inc. is approved by the APA to offer
continuing education to psychologists. ESII maintains responsibility
for the program.

CONFERENCE LOCATION DATES
iSNR Ft Lauderdale Aug 26-29
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Last Word

Search for Terrestrial Intelligence

The other day I took my children to Niagara Falls' Marineland which
houses a healthy array of cetaceans, killer whales, beluga whales,
and bottlenosed dolphins. Captive yet highly intelligent creatures
-- just like most kids... oh, heck, let's be truthful here, just
like most parents....

It's difficult to assess intelligence across species as each species
is perfectly fitted to its niche. Except in those rare instances
when a species is transitioning to another niche, such as ourselves,
brains only grow to the size that are needed. "It has yet to be
proven that intelligence has any survival value." Arthur C Clarke
may be right. I believe intelligence is self-awareness that
survives. Bacteria survive, as do cockroaches, but they lack
self-awareness, at least not enough to make them pets. But survival
is key to the game. Will our brains serve us well when asteroids and
comets drop by for a visit, as they periodically do? Intelligence
will ultimately be proven in the celestial sphere. When Jupiter
fails to divert early solar system debris from inner planetary
orbits, if our kids survive, it will be prove that the parents were
smart. If not, not. Unless dolphins have latent telekinetic powers,
rock and dust will send oceans skyward once again on their watch.
All cetaceans will fail the ultimate IQ test when next it's given.
Their retreat to the sea led to a precocious start but eventual
stagnation. "Those who the gods wish to destroy they first call
promising," and dolphins started big, with larger brains than ours
25 million years ago, but they lacked the tools to take advantage of
their intelligence. Those tools we were given -- they're called
hands,
and they allowed an even bigger tool to develop, history. Hands and
history.
Hands to manipulate the environment, and history to refine those
manipulations.

In its 4 billion year tenure on Earth, life has witnessed at least
five mass extinctions, and 200 smaller ones. One thing we do know:
Mass extinctions are like clockwork, happening every 100 million
years or so. Ordovician (435 million years ago), Devonian (357 MYA),
Permian (250 MYA), Triassic (198 MYA), and Cretaceous (65 MYA) -
they are the reason epochs end and new ones begin. They are the
reason epochs in the plural exist at all. The most devastating mass
extinction was the Permian, when 95% of marine species and 8 of 27
insect orders were lost, the latter being a missed opportunity on
the other 19 orders. Except for a bad spell of weather in the
Ordovician, rocks from space caused all of our mass extinctions.
Most older kids know that the dinosaurs died off millions of years
ago, and that dinosaurs were not very smart in general. Many
scientists are trying to revise our thinking of these saurian
beasts, that some raised their young, hunted socially, etc. But the
ends justifies the means (of characterization). Extinction does not
equal
intelligence.

Maybe intelligence should be measured as response to adversity, how
well one responds to failure. Bill Clinton lost his re-election as
governor of Arkansas, and responded so intelligently that he won the
presidency a decade later. FDR lost the use of his legs, but not his
wit and his country and government survived the war. Perhaps we
should remove digit span and verbal comprehension from the WAIS and
replace it with front page news. After each tragic story is reported
on, the examiner would ask, now you're the victim, what do you do
next? Or now you're the suspect, what do you do about it?

But I digress.

This week it was determined that premature boys possess smaller
brains than full-term boys, especially less white matter. But size
isn't everything, as guys tend to say. Albert Einstein wore a
smaller hat than average, 170 grams less (1230 g vs 1400 g).
Quantity does not ensure quality in wetware. Absolute size doesn't
reflect absolute intelligence. In fact the largest brain on this
planet swims in it, 9200 g, belonging to the sperm whale. Elephants,
dolphins, and Neanderthal humans all sport or sported larger brains,
the last example once again proving how quality (ours) trumps
quantity (theirs). In our own species this is true: the largest
human brain in history belonged to a mentally-retarded individual.

Absolute size is overrated. But relative size, ahh, there's the rub.


Brain weights as a percent body weight

Human 2.10 %
Bottlenose dolphin 0.94
African elephant 0.15
Killer whale 0.09
Cow 0.08
Sperm whale 0.02

I doubt cows are four times smarter than sperm whales. Sperm whales
hunt prey, cows are prey, so we needed a correction factor here.

Neuroscientist Harry Jerison (1973) developed such a factor.
According to his sound reasoning, total brain size is equal to the
brain needed to run one's body plus residual brain left over. This
left-over brain can subsequently be used for higher functions like
reasoning, spatial processing, and courtship. This index involves
comparing everyone to an average mammal, so we can partial out the
essential brain mass needed for a body size, and leave us with the
residual amount. He chose the cat as the typical mammal, and
compared residual to expected from that.

So how big is the human brain in cat-units. (He called it the
encephalization quotient EQ but I prefer cat-units). Our EQ is
large, but not the winner. The hummingbird beats us, so one last
caveat: EQ indexes intelligence for those not required to suspend
one's body in mid-air. For those above a 1 gram of brain mass,
however,
we win handily.


Encephalization Quotient (EQ)

Hummingbird 9.0
Human 7.4
Dolphin 5.6
Killer whale 2.9
Chimpanzee 2.5
Rhesus Monkey 2.1
Elephant 1.9
Sperm Whale 1.8
Dog 1.2
Cat 1.0
Horse 0.9
Mouse 0.5


This is where we fall in the Great Chain of Being, not just in rank
but in ratio. Three times smarter than our ape cousins, six times
smarter than our household pets, and fifteen times smarter than the
animals that live in the walls of our homes (mice). But more
important than our place below gods and angels, his work finally
provides an answer to a question which has plagued humankind
since its inception: Which pet is smarter, a cat or a dog?

As it turns out, human neocortex is 3.2 times larger in volume than
nonhuman primates with our body size. Jerison (1979) decided that
intelligence is even better indexed by connectivity, and the best
physical measure of connectivity that one can feasibly acquire in
this lifetime is the surface area of the cortex. The cortex is a
sheet of cells as thin as a DVD. As more cells squeeze onto the
sheet, the brain wrinkles and folds, packing more and more surface
area into the same volume. Our index of cortical folding is good in
general but puny (2.86) compared to bottlenosed dolphins (4.47).
Mean cortical surface area of dolphins (3745 cm2) is 50% larger than
humans' (2275 cm2). But their cortex is a 98-lb weakling in terms of
width. It's relatively thin, 1.76 mm at its thickest, where we
muscle in at 2.9 mm, so our cortical volume tops out at 660 g,
compared to 560g for our aquatic brethren.

Perhaps the lesson in all of this topsy-turvy comparison of
brain-power is that there will never be a perfect correspondence
between mind and matter. The wiring diagram is too complex for the
wiring to capture it. In fact, given the complexity of our
wiring, and all the probabilities of something going astray at any
time between conception to the present, it's an even bigger mystery
how
any of us turned out right at all.

-DK

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