More evidence of the complexity of the human brain...
"Brain atrophy in an area responsible for the removal of emotions and memories has been detected in university students in Sendai after the Great East Japan Earthquake, according to Tohoku University's Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer.
The study, which was led by the institute's Prof. Ryuta Kawashima, was conducted
on 42 healthy university students living in Sendai whose average age was about
22. None of them had personally witnessed the more extreme events of the
disaster, such as directly seeing tsunami, Kawashima said.
The institute compared images of their brain scans taken using magnetic resonance imaging from within a two-year period before the disaster with those taken three to four months after the earthquake and tsunami. Among the 42 students, atrophy was detected clearly in the left orbitofrontal cortex of five students' brains, which is responsible for erasing memories.
None of the five students have been diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. However, they have exhibited symptoms such as insomnia caused by recalling their fear during the earthquake.
The five students had one thing in common--their right anterior cingulate cortex, an area of the brain responsible for feelings such as fear and anxiety, were naturally small, which may have made them more sensitive in sensing fear, Kawashima said." mypaintart.comFear not: for I am with thee: Isaiah 43:5
"Brain atrophy in an area responsible for the removal of emotions and memories has been detected in university students in Sendai after the Great East Japan Earthquake, according to Tohoku University's Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer.
The institute compared images of their brain scans taken using magnetic resonance imaging from within a two-year period before the disaster with those taken three to four months after the earthquake and tsunami. Among the 42 students, atrophy was detected clearly in the left orbitofrontal cortex of five students' brains, which is responsible for erasing memories.
None of the five students have been diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. However, they have exhibited symptoms such as insomnia caused by recalling their fear during the earthquake.
The five students had one thing in common--their right anterior cingulate cortex, an area of the brain responsible for feelings such as fear and anxiety, were naturally small, which may have made them more sensitive in sensing fear, Kawashima said." mypaintart.comFear not: for I am with thee: Isaiah 43:5