Void

Dreams...Not sure what the lastest research says, but this is what I remember... 1. Consolidate new inforamtion into one's life history. 2. Are a function of processing the only information available during sleep...i.e. memories/experience...May be related to #1. A little simplified, but what I currrently understand them as...

The best punishment is love.

http://www.scienceforums.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=62 Try this area...more appropriate.

Inclusive fitness, isn't it a beautiful thing?

I disagree. You can directly measure several "outcomes" in psychology. I'll list them for you: Galvonic Skin Response Eye tracking Reaction time Heart Rate Hormone levels Hours of sleep Non-verbal cues Language Shall I go on? You can't measure MENTAL phenomena directly BUT you can measure BEHAVIOR directly. Remember behaviorism? Thus, we often infer mental process from behavioral action. For example, if I want to know how people solve math problems, I obviously can't observe their MENTAL calculation, but I can ASK them to WRITE OUT the steps they take in solving the problem. And I say to the skeptic, does the difference really matter in this case? It might, if you believe that the aid of representing something on paper has an effect on solving the problem (which I suspect for complex problems it might). In addition, it is quite possible to mis-apply scientific methods within any field of science.

Its natural for all humans to analyze each other (unless your narcissistic), it just depends on how much you want to know. What do you want to know?

Woman and men have been shown to react to stress in varying ways. However, regarding a TRAINED athlete, you may not find a systematic difference. I suspect it may be more of personality difference at that level. If you have the ability, you should search the sports psychology literature.

Back up Hoss... I do not see how you can conclude that the environment is MORE important. You need to qualify the conditions under which you making these conclusions, and do not believe you are. UNDER the conditions of torture, the fact that some develop mental disease and some don't is due to genes. UNDER the conditions that no torture exists, the fact that no one develops mental disease is due to environment. HA! Plus, if you think about it on a timeline... First, torture can be seen as a form of environmental pressure. Second, if there was not torture in the past, then of course there would not be "torture" adaptations. Third, by the very fact that your applying pressure, your selecting for individuals who may have genes that increase their chances of survival under said conditions. (i.e. the folks with mental disease aren't looking to good in the reproduction arena) Therefore, under natural selection, some sort of torture adaptation should emerge as dominant... (Cut me some slack on the timeline issues, and the extent to which this torture is applied...of course if its too severe, no one reproduces) So yes, you are not going to see a "torture" gene, but over time you might.

I'm cynical enough to accept that!

I was a little confused about the statement as well...The way I see it...If present environmental conditions are equal, and individual history is factored out...Then the only candidate are genetic dispositions.

Twin studies show that a fair amount of the variation in personality is attributable to genes. In addition, it has been shown that the next largest contributor (40-45% percent I believe) is NON-SHARED environment. Face it, family only matters so much. I define personality as the differential senisivity to environmental cues across individuals. Initially, this is sort of "soft" wired, and through experience develops into what we call personality. It affects the allocation of attention, or the level of arousal. Eventually, this senisitvity coupled with environemntal exprience comes to color our perception, cognition and our behavior.

Thats one cool monkey.

Hold on, Hold on, Are you saying that in particular environments, i.e. ones without bread, genes will determine ALS development? So which came first Ramin, the genes or the Environment? hahaha... You trying to ascribe first cause to the envirionment...sounds a little chicken an egg to me.

An example if gene/environment interaction....Oh yea, we call those phenotypes, right?

"Development. How is anything but the caregiver's beliefs involved in developed? Genes become manifest the way the caregiver makes them become manifest." Its obvious your not a student of development. A portion of development is maturation. The term maturation implies biological change. Language development is a classical example here. "You have given absolutely no proof for that claim. First of all some level of permanency is implicit, and even explicit, in the definition of temperment. There is no basis for the concept except political and social determinism. Again, it is better explained as "the infant's initial state," implying potential for change as opposed to "its the way s/he is." Looks like you are defending a bad religion... " You obviuosly have some other agenda unrealted to SCIENCE. Studies with monkeys have shown that even monkeys have temprament. The experiment then proceeds to expose fussy monkeys to warm mothers (not biological). Those same monkeys, over time move toward the soothable monkey demeanor. HOWEVER, under conditions of stress, the monkey reverts back to its fussy state, indicating THAT, there be some residual "initial state" left. That does not sound permanent, nor fully plastic...Go figure? In addition, drop the moral and religious comments. We are having a scientific conservation, no? "Are you expecting me to agree with someone that has absolutely no proof?" The behaviorist accounts need no proof, they are common knowledge for those within the science. Just read it. As far as biology constraining behavior... Can you fly? Breath underwater? Live beyond 200 years old? Can you sense electro-magnetic pulses? ...Oh yea, without technology "Huntington's is a genetic disease and should not be brought into this topic: the genetic forum is far more appropriate. Non-genetic diseases occur via deficiency in the environment. You have yet to bring up a case where "genes and environment" mutually cause a disease. There are arguably few of these, such as phenylketonia, but for the majority of DSM oppressions, there is no such thing. Don't forget to argue why genes are not the medium if you want to bring a case forward. Just a reminder that you have yet to give any examples to support your "genes & environment" mutuality theory." Context is important here. You are making statements, and not defining what context they refer too... Are we talking about disease in general? Mental disease? "I don't know. I know that the enviornment can give them dignity, I'm not sure about curing ALL of them, but in many cases it will work. I'm focused on abolishment of causing diseases." Dignity. That is a moral issue, take it to the philosophy forum. "By the way, you asked that if they are environmentally determined, then they can be cured. That is non-sensical. The environment can badly damage the biological system to the point of no return, thus causing it but not curing it." Yea, and biology can also DEFEND against the environment, such as those with sickle cell trait, which is the genetic condition selected for in regions of endemic malaria. They are more resistant to malaria.

"Because you are claiming that it is not based solely on the caregiver's belief. Give an example of how anything else is part of it. " That is exactly what I am saying. However, what do you mean by "it"? I can't give you an example when I do not know exactly what you are refering too. "So you're saying that the baby's initial state is temperment, i.e. to certain extents permanent. Such a deterministic claim needs examples and precision, and that is what I am asking from you. " I never said "permanent", so I don't feel I am being deterministic. I acknowledged that the environment, i.e. caregiver warmth, etc., can play a role in how that temperment develops into the child's personality. AGAIN...its a interaction between biology (temperment) and environment. "Do you even know what behaviorism is? There's no need to categorize my claims. They are just claims. My claim is that the environment is the cause and detriment to health. " Yes I do. In general, the theories initially held that the environment completely determines behavior. However, in the late 50's, early 60's, behaviorist psychologists found that certain animals learn somethings faster or slower, no matter what type of contingency was present. In addition, they found that there was just somethings that animals could not learn, because instinct was so intrenched within the organism's behavioral set, they could not be changed. FACE IT...to some degree, biology CONSTRAINS or LIMITS behavior. I do not disagree that environment can be detrimental, BUT there are some gentically passed on diseases, such as hunington's chorea, that are soley determined by the genes. Biology matters too. "You mean we can prevent them right. Yes, it can be easily prevented via the environment, and this is clear even from the extreme "behavioural genetic" account." NO, I said CURE...So if someone has schizo, we can cure them...Maybe with some rewards and small ligthed disks?

No doubt, there are medical uses for cannabis. However, for ADHD is not one of them. In addition to your comments about leaders comments...Right now Meth is in the same position. They are attirbuting an increased spread of AIDS on the use of Meth. Face it, Meth lowers inhibition and contributes (note the word) to a decreased likelihood of using a condom. Whether the same is true of cannabis is an emprirical question.

"Try to refute this claim: How the caregiver responds to the child has nothing to do with the child and is solely based on the caregiver's beliefs." Why should I have to? The behavior of any organism is MULTIDETERMINED, so beliefs obviously can factor in. How much so, is an empirical question. "This proves my point: temperment is only the initial state of the infant and the course of it is based on the caregiver's belief-system." This is incomplete. There are so many factors, where should I begin? Can I not assume the caregiver, especially a NEW caregiver, would nto change their beliefs based on actually having to care for a child? Does not the child's "intial state" or whatever you wanna call it, play a role? Your to unidirectional. This is obviously a bidirectional, even cyclical process. "How about genes provide the biology while the environment shapes the psychology?" To determined. Behaviorism revisited. "You obviously are overinterpreting the data. The fact that many people with identical genes of a schizophrenic don't develop the problem shows that it depends on the environment. You can't say "no matter the environment" in any way." So if schizo. is environmentally determined, then we can cure them right?

Well, Ramin...since you look up to smart people so much.. Marijuana is a mild hallucinogen, and has some of alcohol’s depressant and disinhibiting properties. User reaction, however, is heavily influenced by expectations and past experience, and many first-time users feel nothing at all. Effects of smoking are generally felt within a few minutes and peak in 10 to 30 minutes. They include dry mouth and throat, increased heart rate, impaired coordination and balance, delayed reaction time, and diminished short-term memory. Moderate doses tend to induce a sense of well-being and a dreamy state of relaxation that encourages fantasies, renders some users highly suggestible, and distorts perception (making it dangerous to operate machinery, drive a car or boat, or ride a bicycle). Stronger doses prompt more intense and often disturbing reactions including paranoia and hallucinations. The Impact on the Mind Marijuana use reduces learning ability. Research has been piling up of late demonstrating clearly that marijuana limits the capacity to absorb and retain information. A 1995 study of college students discovered that the inability of heavy marijuana users to focus, sustain attention, and organize data persists for as long as 24 hours after their last use of the drug. Earlier research, comparing cognitive abilities of adult marijuana users with non-using adults, found that users fall short on memory as well as math and verbal skills. Although it has yet to be proven conclusively that heavy marijuana use can cause irreversible loss of intellectual capacity, animal studies have shown marijuana-induced structural damage to portions of the brain essential to memory and learning. Marijuana also affects hormones. Regular use can delay the onset of puberty in young men and reduce sperm production. For women, regular use may disrupt normal monthly menstrual cycles and inhibit ovulation. When pregnant women use marijuana, they run the risk of having smaller babies with lower birth weights, who are more likely than other babies to develop health problems. Some studies have also found indications of developmental delays in children exposed to marijuana before birth. Marijuana as Medicine Although U.S. law classifies marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance (which means it has no acceptable medical use), a number of patients claim that smoking pot has helped them deal with pain or relieved the symptoms of glaucoma, the loss of appetite that accompanies AIDS, or nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy. There is, however, no solid evidence that smoking marijuana creates any greater benefits than approved medications (including oral THC) now used to treat these patients, relieve their suffering, or mitigate the side effects of their treatment. Anecdotal assertions of beneficial effects have yet to be confirmed by controlled scientific research. So beyond the uses stated above...Cannabis would not be helpful for ADHD.