The editors should take a moment to read the opening statement of Siri Carpenter’s excellent article: “Deep within our subconscious, all of us harbor biases that we consciously abhor. And the worst part is: we act on them.” You managed to demonstrate how an implicit racial bias, “black people are loud and angry,” can become an explicit choice. Obama may have many character traits that affect his likability. I do not think, however, anyone can characterize him as loud, angry and rude.
Ra’ayah Turnbull
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Flying High
R. Douglas Fields’s “Brain Cells Into Thin Air” [Perspectives] is most interesting when you consider that a pressurized aircraft cabin is standardized to 8,000 feet (2,440 meters). Passengers are taken to that altitude rather quickly.
“harriev”
adapted from a comment at www.SciAm.com
FIELDS REPLIES: The dangers of hypoxia in aviation are well known, and in many situations they are not subtle.
Healthy individuals on a normal commercial flight will experience a significant decrease in blood oxygen, according to a 2006 study in the journal Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine. A 2004 study in the same journal found that the amount of oxygen decreases in proportion to a person’s age, but in 2002 other researchers
had reported in Pediatric Emergency Care that children also experience effects of hypoxia, including an increased heart rate.
People with preexisting conditions are at risk for serious injury when they fly. In 2006 Ludvic Zrinzo and his colleagues reported two relevant cases in the Journal of Neurosurgery. A 22-year-old man, who was fine until he flew, returned from a flight with a headache, which quickly developed into severe neurological problems that resulted in a coma. The second case concerned a 55-year-old woman who was also well until she flew. She suffered such severe brain injury from a commercial airline flight that she died 24 hours later.
As in climbing, the standards for airline safety are focused on preventing sudden illness. No one gets a brain scan if he or she does not feel sick. Yet only one of 13 Everest climbers return from the summit with a normal brain scan. There is one crucial difference between climbing and flying, however: nobody can change the air pressure on a mountaintop. Why are we flying around hypoxic at 8,000 feet?
Editors’ note: Fields’s original, longer comment—and his responses to many other hypoxia-related queries—can be found here.
The Stress Factor
I enjoyed Melinda Wenner’s article, “Infected with Insanity.” I was a bit disappointed, however, that she made no mention of the role of stress and its influence on influenza infection and immune system function. Yes, microbes may have an effect on the developing brain, but what about the stressed-out soon-to-be mother?
I find it amusing that prescription drugs are promoted as a possible solution when something much more fundamental may be at fault—how well the expectant mother is able to cope with stress. If that ability plays a role, perhaps mothers’ coping skills could be developed, reducing the risk of low immune function and avoiding adverse side effects altogether.
William Lu
via e-mail
WENNER REPLIES: Lu is correct. A number of studies suggest that maternal stress can affect the development of fetal neurons and influence a child’s behavior and mental health. Christopher Coe, the University of Wisconsin–Madison psychologist whose work on prenatal infections I mentioned in my article, also studies how stress affects fetal development. An overview of related research can be found in Perinatal Programming: Early Life Determinants of Adult Health & Disease (Informa Healthcare, 2005), a book Coe co-edited with University of Newcastle psychologist Deborah Hodgson.
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Add CommentDepression has affected my family greatly over the years, and because of my direct involvement, I have researched depression and its causes thoroughly. When I read Kelly Lamberts article Depressingly Easy I found this theory another interesting possibility. The idea of depression being directly related to a persons lack of concrete accomplishments corresponds with theories about self-esteem and a persons self-concept.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn the past, I have theorized that the increased rates of depression is due to the fact humans no longer have to fight to survive, and now can focus on who they are as a person and a part of the larger group. The base of my theory is Abraham Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. Since we no longer need to fight for survival, we are now focused on love, belonging, self-esteem and finally trying to reach self-actualization.
I would really like to hear Dr. Lamberts ideas on how Maslows Hierarchy of Needs fits into her theory about depression.
Regarding "Depressingly Easy" by Dr. Kelly Lambert, she makes the statement that there is an increase in the rates of depression in recent years may not be entirely true. In the September/October issue of Skeptical Inquirer is an article, "The Bipolar Bamboozle" which brings several important points to light. First of all, the "softening" of the descriptions of many psychological problems for the purpose of insurance reimbursement. Second, the labeling of more and different types of non-depressive behaviors as depression for the pharmaceutical companies and their newer drugs. In the book "The Secret Strength of Depression" Frederic Flach, M.D. defines depression as any "low" emotional state. Consequently, sadness, unhappiness, and even boredom can be classified as depression. I do admit that having things to do can help relieve many symptoms of depressive types of states. But one thing I feel Dr. Lambert may be forgetting is that a century ago besides having things to keep them busy, people also had stronger social support systems. Instead of talking to mom or dad or grandma or grandpa for free you have to pay for it today. There's also the stigma that going to see a therapist implies that you can't take care of your own problems. She also seems to forget about the success of cognitive therapies in dealing with depression as well. But then, she was not discussing therapies only the pleasure that a person gets from accomplishing something.
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