Técnicas de estudio

La Wikipedia en Español tiene un artículo interesante sobre Técnicas
de estudio:

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Técnicas_de_estudio

Suscribirse a los comentarios del blog

Estoy viendo que falta un link a la suscripción a los comentarios de
todo el blog.

Pueden hacerlo a través de este:

http://nootropicos.blogspot.com/feeds/comments/full

Después veo si puedo actualizar la plantilla.

Agomelatina como nootropico?

The antidepressant agomelatine blocks the adverse effects of stress
on memory and enables spatial learning to rapidly increase neural
cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) expression in the hippocampus of rats

by
Conboy L, Tanrikut C, Zoladz PR, Campbell AM,
Park CR, Gabriel C, Mocaer E, Sandi C, Diamond DM.
Laboratory of Behavioural Genetics,
Brain Mind Institute, EPFL,
Lausanne, Switzerland.
Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2008 Aug 18:1-13.

ABSTRACT
Agomelatine, a novel antidepressant with established clinical efficacy,
acts as a melatonin receptor agonist and 5-HT2C receptor antagonist.
As stress is a significant risk factor in the development of
depression, we sought to determine if chronic agomelatine treatment
would block the stress-induced impairment of memory in rats trained
in the radial-arm water maze (RAWM), a hippocampus-dependent spatial
memory task. Moreover, since neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) is
known to be critically involved in memory consolidation and synaptic
plasticity, we evaluated the effects of agomelatine on NCAM, and
polysialylated NCAM (PSA-NCAM) expression in rats given spatial
memory training with or without predator stress. Adult male rats were
pre-treated with agomelatine (10 mg/kg i.p., daily for 22 d),
followed by a single day of RAWM training and memory testing. Rats
were given 12 training trials and then they were placed either in
their home cages (no stress) or near a cat (predator stress). Thirty
minutes later the rats were given a memory test trial followed
immediately by brain extraction. We found that: (1) agomelatine
blocked the predator stress-induced impairment of spatial memory; (2)
agomelatine-treated stressed, as well as non-stressed, rats exhibited
a rapid training-induced increase in the expression of synaptic NCAM
in the ventral hippocampus; and (3) agomelatine treatment blocked the
water-maze training-induced decrease in PSA-NCAM levels in both
stressed and non-stressed animals.

This work provides novel observations which indicate that agomelatine
blocks the adverse effects of stress on hippocampus-dependent memory
and activates molecular mechanisms of memory storage in response to a
learning experience.

http://www.biopsychiatry.com/agomelatine-stressmemory.htm

Técnicas de estudio que dan resultado según investigaciones

Este es un artículo en Inglés sobre nuevos estudios sobre técnicas de
estudio.

Parece que lo que funciona es:

- alternar los contextos donde se estudia

- combinar contenidos

- espaciar las sesiones de estudio

- auto evaluaciones

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/health/views/07mind.html

Vitamina A y D en los suplementos

Interesante artículo sobre la vitamina A y la D

As far as I know, low doses of beta-carotene (1,000–2,000 IU per day)
will not do too much harm. The best way to get vitamin D substrate,
as far as I can tell, is to take at least 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 per
day in the winter and stop all vitamin D in the summer and sunbathe.
Alternatively, use a tanning bed when the sun is too low on the
horizon to sunbathe. Remember, when you are outside, if your shadow
is longer than you are, you are not making any vitamin D.

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/2008-december.shtml

La mayoría de los multivitamínicos traen vitamina A, en realidad casi
todos vienen sin las mejores fromas de las vitaminas y minerales.

Cambio de plantilla

Como la anterior plantilla daba problemas traté de actualizar a una nueva.

No logro que los links queden en una barra a la izqueirda en vez de abajo. Disculpen lo desprolijo.

Edit: ahora parece que anda, revisé los posts en formato html para ver errores o problemas y quité algún código que molestaba, no sabría bién cuál, pero puede ser tablas o span.

Dra Nancy C. Andreasen

Esta es la Dra de la que habla Dr Fidel en el video: Nancy C. Andreasen, autora de The Creating Brain: The Neuroscience of Genius

http://www.amazon.com/Creating-Brain-Neuroscience-Genius/dp/1932594078

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Coover_Andreasen

Me gustó esto de
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/closertotruth/ask/andreasen.html

What advice do you have for young people?

It's important to recognize that you're going to have a lot of failures, especially if you're a gifted person you're going to receive a lot of criticism and so you have to be willing to accept rejection over and over and pick yourself up and persist even if people doubt you or turn down your papers or whatever they happen to do, so persist and work hard. I guess another important thing is to find something that you really think is important that you care about passionately and pursue that.

Cerebro creativo por Dr. Fidel

"Existen nuevos descubrimientos que demuestran que existen cerebros que más fácilmente pueden hacer adicciones. Esta investigación permitirá elaborar sistemas de prevención y tratamiento más efectivos…"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4RvvTKXoBY

pps y ppt
http://drfidel.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=7&Itemid=14&limitstart=10

La memoria en la creatividad

La importancia de la memoria de proceso:

"However, while intelligence and preparation may be necessary, they may not be enough to produce creativity. "Maybe it's working memory capacity that is the protective aspect," Carson says. "How many things can you hold in your mind and process and manipulate?" In a preliminary, unpublished study, she says, "The combination of low latent inhibition and high working memory also predicted creative achievement."

de:
The DaVinci Mode
Ideas Rain In
by Craig Lambert
http://harvardmagazine.com/2004/05/ideas-rain-in.html

Más sobre creatividad y rasgos psicológicos

Biological Basis For Creativity Linked To Mental Illness
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/10/031001061055.htm

Low Latent Inhibition Plus High Intelligence Leads To High Creativity?
http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/001684.html

Nutrición, creatividad y rasgos psicológicos

Este artículo se encontraba en creativesubstances.com/nutritio-and-creativity pero desapareció.


A fines de archivo y porque es interesante lo pongo aquí. Si alguien tiene el artículo con los links, me interesa tenerlo. Creo que el autor se llama Ryan.




Creative Substances
January 18, 2009
Nutrition and Creativity
Filed under: Uncategorized — @ 11:23 am



Can nutrition and supplements enhance creativity? This is a question
I have been exploring for several years now. I have discovered a
wealth of scientific information that supports and/or suggests a
potential influence, but I have had a harder time finding feedback
from people consciously using nutrition and supplementation to
increase creativity. And so I have created this website to combine
the latest scientific discoveries with my own experimentation.



First, what are the scientific underpinnings of creativity? Recent
research into creativity has identified two important traits common
to creative individuals: schizotypy and low latent inhibition.
Schizotypy, as the name implies, refers to a set of personality
traits related to schizophrenia. An important distinction here is
that it is possible to have schizotypal traits and not actually have
schizophrenia. In short, there are four general schizotypal traits:
unusual experiences, cognitive disorganization, introverted anhedonia,
and impulsive non-conformity. The first two are considered "positive"
schizotypal traits while the latter two are called "negative."
Daniel Nettle published a study in which he analyzed the schizotypal
tendencies of artists and mathematicians, and observed that
successful poets and artists score higher in the first two categories
than the average population. Introverted anhedonia, or the inability
to experience pleasure was negatively correlated with success in all
artistic domains. His study can be found here.



Cognitive disorganization is strongly related to the second major
recent discovery about creative individuals – low latent inhibition.
Latent inhibition (LI) refers to the ability to screen out irrelevant
stimuli from conscious awareness. Historically, low LI has been
associated with psychosis, since people with schizophrenia and
bipolar disorder usually display low latent inhibition on common
tests of attention. Shelley H. Carson headed a study of Harvard
undergraduates which added an interesting twist to the old assumption.
Her study found that high lifetime creative achievement is strongly
correlated with low latent inhibition and high IQ. The idea is that
low latent inhibition can predispose individuals to either psychosis
or exceptional creativity, depending on the moderating influence of
intelligence. Of course, low latent inhibition could predispose
someone to both creativity and psychosis, which may help explain the
longstanding link between genius and insanity. As the poet Dryden
wrote in 17th century England, "great wits are sure to madness near
allied, and thin partitions do their bounds divide."



So there appears to be a link between schizotypal tendencies, low
latent inhibition and creative achievement. Dr. Keith Simonton noted
another important trend among highly creative individuals: they tend
to produce a lot and the quality of their work remains fairly constant.
Beethoven's greatest works, for example, were all produced during his
most prolific periods when he also created a lot of now largely
ignored pieces. Over the course of his life, Beethoven's probability-
of-success remained constant. For the rest of us this means that the
more we produce the better our chances of creating our finest work,
even if we have to sift through a lot of dirt to reach the gold. Go
here for a great summary of Dr. Simonton's work.



Having discussed the major recent discoveries about creativity, let's
return to the original question: can nutrition enhance creativity?
We now have some specific goals in mind through which to analyze the
influence of nutrition and supplements. We are looking to lower
latent inhibition (subjectively comparable to a rush of ideas). We
are looking to increase productivity. Shared among these is the
influence of dopamine, particularly in the mesolimbic pathway of the
brain. Increasing dopamine is therefore one target of our
nutritional approach to enhancing creativity.



First, let's consider supplements that may enhance creativity. I
have limited my research for the most part to naturally occurring
substances that the reader can easily obtain. Of course, you could
just take 5 mg. of d-amphetamine, which has been repeatedly shown to
reduce latent inhibition. However, I would like to focus on more
sustainable ways of enhancing creativity. The most effective "natural
" supplements I have found are SAM-e and NADH. Both are naturally
occurring in the human body and indirectly influence dopamine levels.
I have also experimented with deprenyl (selegiline). Although not a
naturally occurring substance, deprenyl does influence dopamine
levels and has been used to increase lifespan in laboratory animals.
My own experiments with deprenyl have been less than stellar, so I
only mention it as a hypothetical creativity enhancer which hasn't
really worked for me personally. I have also used amino acids like l-
tyrosine and l-phenylalanine (both precursors of dopamine) but with
likewise inconsistent effects. As an interesting alternative I would
mention the combination of maca and horny goat weed (epimedium).
Although usually combined to make a well-studied herbal aphrodisiac,
I believe the hormonal effects of these two herbs can influence
creativity. Maybe they just make you so horny that your drive to
create intensifies as well — but if it works, it works.



Lest we dwell too much on the healthy creativity enhancers, let's not
forget the old standby alcohol. Can dozens of famously alcoholic
writers and poets be wrong? There has been some scientific research
into the role of alcohol in the creative process, with one Finnish
study suggesting that it can definitely be useful in the incubation
phase. Assuming that alcohol can play a productive role in creativity,
you might want to make red wine your alcohol of choice.



Secondly, let's consider dietary approaches. When we eat, what we eat,
and how much we eat all have an influence on mood and attention. So
why shouldn't diet also influence creativity? I once spent a period
of about six months attempting to replicate the Ancient Greek diet.
I ate lots of fish and barley. Why on earth would I do such a thing?
Well, the culture of ancient Athens in particular produced more
geniuses per capita than any other culture before or since. What
they actually ate may not have had anything to do with it, but I felt
it was a worthwhile experiment nonetheless. Most recently diets that
imitate hunter-gatherer diets have attracted a lot of attention.
These diets usually exclude grains and as a result are relatively low
on carbohydrates. In my own experiments I have found hunter-gatherer
or Paleolithic-type diets to have an energizing effect. When
sticking to them I never felt the need for a nap in the middle of the
day, and I regularly experienced intensely euphoric moments. What
about the more mundane substances we daily choose to ingest? Coffee,
cocoa, and green tea all have a place in creative work.



Thirdly, let's consider daily habits. What about the influence of
exercise, sleep, sex, and light exposure on creativity? Can we learn
anything from the daily habits of eminent creators?



I started this website in order to share my own experiences with
nutrition and creativity, and I'd like to invite others to post their
own experiences below and in the other pages of this site.



Home
6 Comments »

1.

[...] creativity? Levels of SAM-e appear to be elevated in
children and in euphoric and manic people. As I've mentioned before,
creative individuals display many similarities to schizophrenics and
manic depressives. Dopamine [...]

Pingback by SAM-e – Does it Boost Creativity? «
creativesubstances.com — January 21, 2009 @ 9:00 pm
2.

[...] does make me think almost immediately of low latent
inhibition. As I've mentioned before, low latent inhibition appears
to be a quality common to creative individuals. Because they do not
filter stimuli as [...]

Pingback by The Insomniac's Muse: Sleep, Sleeplessness, and
Creativity « Creative Substances — January 22, 2009 @ 11:03 pm
3.

[...] adenine dinucleotide) increases dopamine via the enzyme
tyrosine hydroxylase. The influence of dopamine has been linked to
creative thinking in countless studies, and I have found NADH
especially useful for late night creative [...]

Pingback by Six Natural Ways to Enhance Creativity « Creative
Substances — January 28, 2009 @ 7:21 pm
4.

[...] few studies which suggest that it may be able to enhance
dopamine neurotransmission in the brain. Dopamine has been linked to
creative drive and idea generation in many studies, and enhancing
dopamine appears to be a significant approach to boosting [...]

Pingback by Arachidonic Acid Increases Dopamine « Creative
Substances — February 10, 2009 @ 10:01 pm
5.

[...] than in larger doses. It tends to simultaneously relax
the body while disinhibiting the mind (and lowering latent inhibition).
A single drink is probably best, and possible a second if a snack is
involved to help slow down [...]

Pingback by How Does Alcohol Affect Creativity? « Creative
Substances — February 18, 2009 @ 7:05 pm
6.

[...] selection favoring creativity. That is, creative people
tend to attract more partners, and the same genes that confer
heightened creativity can also lead to affective diseases. One
highly publicized study found that professional artists [...]

Pingback by Sex and Creativity « Creative Substances — February
20, 2009 @ 4:45 pm

Propiedades neurotróficas y neuroprotectoras del Cardo Mariano

En cultivo, el Cardo Mariano (Milk Thristle) aumenta el factor de crecimiento neuronal, induce el crecimiento de las neuritas en las células neuronales PC-12 y prolonga su supervivencia en cultivo.

Neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects of milk thistle (Silybum marianum) on neurons in culture

Smita Kittur1, 3 , Skuntala Wilasrusmee1, Ward A. Pedersen4, Mark. P. Mattson4, Karen Straube-West1, Chumpon Wilasrusmee2, Burk Jubelt1 and Dilip S. Kittur2(1)    

Abstract: Herbal products are being increasingly used as dietary supplements and therapeutic agents. However, much more research must be performed in order to determine the biological basis for their putative clinical effects. We tested the effects of milk thistle (Silybum marianum) extract on the differentiation and survival of cultured neural cells. Milk thistle enhanced nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced neurite outgrowth in PC-12 neural cells and prolonged their survival in culture. Milk thistle extract also protected cultured rat hippocampal neurons against oxidative stress-induced cell death. Our data demonstrate that milk thistle extract can promote neuronal differentiation and survival, suggesting potential benefits of chemicals in this plant on the nervous system.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/67670603tj4801h2/

Más sobre la respiración Sudarshan Kriya, dos ejemplos

Cada tanto alguien deja un comentario sobre mis posts sobre la respiración Sudarshan Kriya (El Arte de Vivir). Agradezco porque algunos son buenos, otros no.

Eso me motiva a buscar más información. Es así que encontré esto (el énfasis es mío), una técnica estimulante y otra relajante:

Luis Diego Cob, coordinador de programas e instructor de El Arte de Vivir en México, explicó que el sudarshan kriya es una poderosa técnica de respiración rítmica que colabora con el buen desarrollo físico, mental y emocional.

Su significa poder, darshan significa la visión y kriya es una práctica de purificación. El sudarshan kriya por tanto, es un método realmente purificador mediante el cual uno recibe una adecuada visión de su verdadero ser.

La técnica de respiración de fuelle es también conocida como "café instantáneo natural". Consiste en inhalar y exhalar vigorosamente por la nariz, coordinando un movimiento de brazos.

Con los ojos cerrados, se colocan los brazos doblados y pegados al cuerpo, el dorso de las manos cerca de los hombros. Se suben con fuerza y con las palmas abiertas mientras se inhala una sola vez rápida y vigorosamente. Al exhalar con fuerza por la nariz, se bajan los brazos golpeando levemente las costillas con los codos, quedando en la posición inicial. Se hacen varias repeticiones.

Una técnica de relajación muy buena para antes de dormir consiste en acostarse boca arriba, colocar las manos sobre el abdomen. Inhalar profunda pero suavemente. Exhalar lentamente, presionando un poco con las manos para sacar todo el aire. Repetir varias veces.

La primera respiración y otros aspectos del curso se pueden ver en este video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMdEtJUJodA

Vuelta a probar Sulbutiamina

Resulta que he vuelto a probar Sulbutiamina. Pueden ver la descripción de Juan Carlos aquí: http://www.drogasinteligentes.com/sulbutiamina.html

Antes no me había resultado mucho pero esta vez le noto un claro efecto estimulante. No son necesarias altas dosis sino más bien esperar unos días.

En Argentina se consigue como Megastene, es de receta pero no hace falta, no está clasificada como psicotrópico. Es medio cara.

La forma de actuar no está clara, parece que modula la dopamina, acetilcolina y glutamato (le tengo desconfianza a este por ser excitotóxico y a los colinérgicos por aumentar la rumiación y el bajo ánimo) en distintas partes del cerebro.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sulbutiamine

Me parece que me pone un poco nervioso, pero en mí eso es común. para mí el mejor nootrópico sería el que modulara la ansiedad y el ánimo.

Me parece un producto muy interesante, uno se siente más despierto y con más movilidad. Se puede combinar con una toma moderada o baja de café, mate o lo que sea que les dé un poco de cafeína. Esta combinación viene en un producto que se llama Spike de Biotest.

También estoy haciendo un poco de ejercicio, lo cual ayuda. El ejercicio es el mejor nootrópico.

Si alguien tiene experiencia que postee. Gracias.

Elimino los cometarios anónimos?

Blogger, al menos en esta plantilla, no parece tener la opción para poner un comentario usando un nombre y un email. Se puede ingresar un nombre y un URL, pero nomuchos lousan ni tienen uno, me interesa más el email para contactar a la persona si me interesa.

Creo que es bueno poder dejar comentarios anónimos, pero se debería poder poner un email oculto también no?.

Medicinas herbales con posible acción antidepresiva

Me interesó esta tabla de Remedios Herbales, sus principios activos y posibles mecanismos de acción que encontré en un PDF:
http://psicofarmacologia.info/curso/antidepresivos.pdf

Aumentar la solubilidad de la cúrcuma

He leído muchos artículos sobre los beneficios de la curcumina, un principio activo en la cúrcuma, el conocido condimento ya mencionado en este blog.

El problema es que la curcumina no se absorve muy bien. Tampoco consigo la curcumina sola sino cúrcuma, la especie en polvo.

Para aumentar la absorción de la curcumina en la cúrcuma estoy haciendo lo siguiente. Como es liposoluble, pongo un poco en un vaso de leche y lo caliento, lo cual también se supone aumenta la solubilidad. Cuando lo retiro agito nuevamente y dejo reposar para que sedimente el exceso y tomo solamente la leche que quedó teñida de un intenso color amarillo-naranja.

No tengo forma de comprobar si lo que hago tiene algún efecto, pero al menos desde la lógica no parece incorrecto.

Si tienen mejores ideas por favor comenten.

Cúrcuma para la falta de sueño y el estrés crónico

Dos artículos que muestran beneficios de la curcumina que nos pueden interesar salieron en The Durk Pearson & Sandy Shaw® Life Extension News™ August 2009

Chronic Stress: Curcumin Protection in Chronically Stressed Rats

The authors conclude: "These results raise the possibility that increased cell proliferation and neuronal populations may be a mechanism by which curcumin treatment overcomes the stress-induced behavioral abnormalities and hippocampal neuronal damage. Moreover, curcumin treatment, via up-regulation of 5-HT1A receptors and BDNF, may reverse or protect hippocampal neurons from further damage in response to chronic stress, which may underlie the therapeutic actions of curcumin."
http://www.life-enhancement.com/article_template.asp?id=2120


Sleep Deprivation: Curcumin Protects Against Behavioral Alterations and Oxidative Damage in 72 Hour Sleep-Deprived Mice

As the authors explain, "sleep deprivation stimulates hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis resulting in an increased production of corticosterone that leads to cell damage." Excess corticosteroids are known to cause neuronal damage and, hence, impair cognitive function. Curcumin is a powerful scavenger of the superoxide anion, the hydroxyl radical, nitrogen dioxide, and protects against singlet-oxygen-induced DNA strand breaks.1
http://www.life-enhancement.com/article_template.asp?id=2121

El problema con la curcumina es la baja biodisponibilidad (ver http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/curcumin). Algunos le agregan biperina, la mezclan con aceite, etc. En el último artículo dan la forma que usan (como siempre promocionan su producto):

The results suggest that, if taking curcumin to help overcome the negative effects of sleep deprivation, take separately from an L-arginine supplement. After a poor night's sleep, we take curcumin the morning after and L-arginine later that day.

The least expensive way to take curcumin (and a method we use) is to take it as whole ground turmeric root (the spice used in cooking, especially heavily in Indian food). One benefit of this source of curcumin (about 40% of ground turmeric is curcumin) is that it contains, in addition to curcumin, chemically related molecules called curcuminoids that are also beneficial.2,3 We generally take 2 capsules of ground turmeric (each containing 600 mg) 3 or 4 times/day in our Turmeric Root Power™ as well as getting more in our brain maintenance formulation GalantaMind Plus™ capsules (no taste!) If you are taking GalantaMind Plus, you are getting 92.8 mg. curcumin (in 2 capsules/day) or 139.2 mg curcumin (in 3 capsules/day) from turmeric root powder.

Posteando nuevamente

Como varias veces antes, tuve problemas con Blogger.

Creo que ahora anda y estuve enviando un par de mensajes que fueron al grupo de discusión por no poder ponerlos acá.

Hasta pronto.

Ojo con el Hiperico

El Hipérico es cada vez más conocido, pero no sé si tanto se conoce que
produce disminución de los niveles de muchas drogas (entiendo por esto
cualquier molécula incluso medicinal) por interactuar con el citocromo
P450. Lo cual lo hace prácticamente poco usable.

Ver http://www.aeii.org/articulo/hyperi1.htm

Una forma de saber posibles interacciones entre drogas (o alimentos,
moléculas al final) es  buscar cómo se metabolizan, por ejemplo poner en un
buscador: droga citocromo P450 (o el que sea).

Como ejemplo, acabo de ver que el hipérico afectaría las concentraciones de
T4, la hormona de reemplazo tiroidea que mucha gente toma.

Esta página que acabo de encontrar trae muy buena información molecular
http://www.drugbank.ca/