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You know the expression, "out of sight, out of mind"? Well, we're actually talking about "in sight, out of mind."  How many times are you looking for something, staring right at it -- and not seeing it?  And no, it's not just that you are losing your mind. A research team from the University of California, Berkeley, is making new discoveries about how the brain organizes visual perception, including how it leaves things out even when they're plainly in sight. And they've come up with a rough map of the frontal cortex’s role in controlling vision, according to newswise.com. The frontal cortex is often seen as our “thinking cap,” the part of the brain scientists associate with thinking and making decisions. But it’s not commonly connected with vision. Some people believe that the frontal cortex is not involved, say researchers. Their new research adds to previous evidence that it is, however. The lack of association with that part of th...

I've always believed this, but my husband, the atheist, laughs at me. I just dismiss his cynicism but a new study has proved me right: participants normally prone to depression who had strong religious or spiritual beliefs had thicker brain cortices than others, guarding them against developing the illness, according to newswise.com. " The relatively thicker cortex was found in precisely the same regions of the brain that had otherwise shown thinning in people at high risk for depression," the Web site reports. It sort of bears out my hypothesis that those who have a rich spiritual life are protected, in some ways, against life's hard knocks.  Not that they don't still happen -- I've survived cancer twice -- but you somehow get through it and maybe suffer less, feeling shielded from, or cared for,by a force greater than yourself. Some people even believe religion or spirituality cured them, or made their disease less serious. I'm not there yet!   ...