Two years ago my genes were profiled. Results ranged from useful (high risk for blood clots) to mildly unsettling (I do have curly blonde hair and blue eyes). But among the laundry list of drug response and trait data was something that peaked my interest — sandwiched between Floxacillin Toxicity and Lumirazcoxib Side Effects was Heroin Addiction.

And guess what? I have substantially higher odds of being a heroin addict. — Yes, that is based on preliminary data. But in this case, I’m not so interested in accuracy as I am about our reaction to the data and its implications. Here’s a look at my results:

In the classic 1936 cult film Reefer Madness , well-adjusted high school students who try marijuana suddenly sink into a life of addiction, promiscuity, aggression, academic failure, homicide and mental illness. The movie concludes with the ominous warning that “The dread marijuana may be reaching forth next for your son or daughter ... or yours ... or YOURS!” Newspaper headlines of the day often reflected a similar sentiment. On February 10, 1938, a headline in the Beloit (Wisc.) Daily News read, “Authorities Warn against Spread of Marijuana Habit--Insanity, Degeneracy and Violence Follow Use of Weed.”

Otherwise titled: Your mouse sounds JUST like his dad!

- Robin Anne Smith – How Did Human Brains Get to Be so Big?

As an editor at Scientific American Mind, I get a sneak peak at a menu of surprises about us people, that is that each issue has to offer. As the March/April Mind makes its debut, I wanted to share my favorite brain food from its cognitive kitchen. Here are three not-to-miss messages from its pages. Later this week, I will unveil more of what s in store for readers.

From Nature magazine

Every so often I m briefly and viscerally aware of environmental “triggers,” cues to use a substance, and how difficult evading them must be for addicts. Alcohol, on billboards and shopping bags, commercials and taxi cabs, is everywhere, and avoiding it teems with impossibility. For the rest of us, it may be moderately comparable to running into a friend you ve fought with you may avoid your usual grocery store, certain gym hours, common social functions and neighborhoods altogether. In fact, you may rearrange your life to avoid a close encounter. You may try to avoid even speaking about this former friend. For addicts, that reality is daily, even lifelong, and their spurned friend is a bottle.

Avoiding a trigger like the beer aisle in the grocery store may seem like an easy feat, but many more reminders lie in the form of social gatherings and conversations. And the truth is, addicts likely begin thinking about alcohol long before they actually see it at a dinner party. In PET image scans, addicts’ brains show a circuitry frenzy and a chemical compulsion to use after being shown a ‘trigger’ image, such as a beer bottle, for even a third of a second. This timetable isn’t even long enough for the conscious brain to realize what it’s seen. In day-to-day life, even a flicker of a thought can cue a brain-mandated relapse, though a person may not realize what set their neural wirings off.

Here are my Research Blogging Editor’s Selections for this week.

New research points to an ancient energy tradeoff that meant more fuel for brains, and less fuel for muscles.

Human brain

Welcome to Monday, the day of the new Image of the Week – check it out. Click through the links within to see more awesome stuff by the same artist.

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Image of the Week #31, February 20th, 2012:

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This marks the 500th post in the history of The Thoughtful Animal ! To mark the occasion, I thought I’d revise and repost the post that started it all. This wasn’t the first post I ever wrote, but it was the first post I wrote (back when I was blogging at WordPress) that got any sort of wider attention, thanks to Dave Munger .

Are you a war pessimist? Odds are you are. For almost a decade now, I’ve been asking people if they think war will ever end. I’ve surveyed thousands of people, young and old, liberal and conservative, hawks and doves, male and female. Almost nine times out of 10, the answer to my question is “No,” and often, “Hell no!” as if the question itself is silly. Of course war will never end! It’s part of human nature! In our genes! It’s the inevitable consequence of our religious/ethnic/economic/political differences, of male competition for females/land/oil/prestige/power. And so on.

I wrote The End of War , published last month by McSweeney’s Books, to challenge this fatalism, which I believe is wrong empirically and morally. Empirically because research into war’s roots shows that deadly group violence is a relatively recent cultural “invention” an especially vicious, self-perpetuating meme that culture can help us overcome. Morally because our fatalistic acceptance of war as a permanent part of the human condition can impede efforts to achieve enduring peace.

Image courtesy of Shelby Temple

Octopuses are purportedly colorblind, but they can discern one thing that we can’t: polarized light . This extra visual realm might give them a leg (er, arm) up on some of the competition.

There’s been a lot of talk recently about how antidepressants are not particularly effective. Either most people don’t respond, or when they DO respond, it’s placebo, or the side effects are too much. None of this is wrong, though I personally do not think the current antidepressants are quite as bleak as recent coverage is implying.

What is certain is that there are people who will respond to the current antidepressants on the market, and people who will not. The question then becomes: what are the differences between these two groups of people? What makes the difference between a “responder” and a “non-responder”? And how can we determine that in order to make treatment more efficient for those who are “responders” and search for alternatives for those who are not?

Freud’s technical papers, "The Dynamics of Transference" in particular, established most of the basis for a century of clinical psychoanalytic work. A contemporary reading of that paper illustrates both the power of the original presentation and how far we have come. Close readings are given of crucial passages, including retranslations where Strachey’s English arguably distorts Freud’s language or intent. More broadly, Freud’s conclusions are examined to reveal correspondences with current thinking or its foreshadowing. Although Freud drove toward unifying conclusions, he at the same time described a disparate array of clinical phenomena. The paper’s central points are situated historically, both in Freud’s evolution and in the subsequent evolution toward the pluralistic clinical theory of today. Freud encountered many of the challenges we face, noting them in ways both clinically useful and fruitful for other theorists. The use of the paper’s central tenets is traced historically, showing how ideas that provide a radical, liberating, and facilitating guide for analysts can over time devolve into hackneyed rules. Finally, it is noted how transference phenomena are increasingly being discussed as a specific type of dyadic human experience. The task in the coming century is to develop theory and vocabulary for comprehending these phenomena and integrating them with Freud’s intrapsychic concepts.

Pretend play reflects both the unique mental organization and the developmental challenges of early to middle childhood, with a trajectory that parallels the monumental transformation of the toddler to the school-age child. Despite evidence for various forms of playing throughout the life cycle, the flowering of symbolic play in this phase is specific, essential, and typically transient in terms of its dominance in the life of the child. It reflects the simultaneous emergence, processing, and integration of the remarkable developmental advances occurring during this period, most especially the capacity to symbolize, in the service of the exponentially expanded psychosexual/social/emotional force field implied in the contemporary use of the term oedipus complex. Moreover, it constitutes a particular mental organization and ego state, with idiosyncratic mentation, affect regulation, and relationship to inner and outer experience, that accompanies the child’s gradual orientation to consensual reality. Subsequent access to some form of this state varies widely among individuals but is rarely fully comparable.

The intimate relationship between timelessness, time, and transference is generative in its clinical impact on analysis. A tendency to define and represent timelessness and time as opposing structures, antithetical in aim, can obscure the fertility and complexity of their relationship. The creative and transformative power of an (a)temporal dialectic is proposed whose engagement with transference destroys and creates new paradigms of human experience, presenting analyst and analysand with fresh ways of thinking and being. A brief history of timelessness and time in psychoanalysis follows their intertwined developmental path and their import in transference-countertransference experience.

Advances in both experimental neuroscience and psychoanalytic theory and technique have made it possible to consider mechanisms by which psychodynamic psychotherapies might have an impact at the cellular and molecular level. Here potential analogies are drawn between (1) the mechanisms and results of blocking the reconsolidation of conditioned fear memories in the laboratory and (2) several key aspects of psychoanalytic process. A review of the biology of conditioned fear memory, including differences between extinction and inhibition of reconsolidation, indicates that this biology may have relevance to various ways in which psychoanalytic therapy is effective. The ideas proposed here might lead to further experimental attempts to understand the molecular biology of psychoanalysis.

Freud’s technical papers, "The Dynamics of Transference" in particular, established most of the basis for a century of clinical psychoanalytic work. A contemporary reading of that paper illustrates both the power of the original presentation and how far we have come. Close readings are given of crucial passages, including retranslations where Strachey’s English arguably distorts Freud’s language or intent. More broadly, Freud’s conclusions are examined to reveal correspondences with current thinking or its foreshadowing. Although Freud drove toward unifying conclusions, he at the same time described a disparate array of clinical phenomena. The paper’s central points are situated historically, both in Freud’s evolution and in the subsequent evolution toward the pluralistic clinical theory of today. Freud encountered many of the challenges we face, noting them in ways both clinically useful and fruitful for other theorists. The use of the paper’s central tenets is traced historically, showing how ideas that provide a radical, liberating, and facilitating guide for analysts can over time devolve into hackneyed rules. Finally, it is noted how transference phenomena are increasingly being discussed as a specific type of dyadic human experience. The task in the coming century is to develop theory and vocabulary for comprehending these phenomena and integrating them with Freud’s intrapsychic concepts.

Pretend play reflects both the unique mental organization and the developmental challenges of early to middle childhood, with a trajectory that parallels the monumental transformation of the toddler to the school-age child. Despite evidence for various forms of playing throughout the life cycle, the flowering of symbolic play in this phase is specific, essential, and typically transient in terms of its dominance in the life of the child. It reflects the simultaneous emergence, processing, and integration of the remarkable developmental advances occurring during this period, most especially the capacity to symbolize, in the service of the exponentially expanded psychosexual/social/emotional force field implied in the contemporary use of the term oedipus complex. Moreover, it constitutes a particular mental organization and ego state, with idiosyncratic mentation, affect regulation, and relationship to inner and outer experience, that accompanies the child’s gradual orientation to consensual reality. Subsequent access to some form of this state varies widely among individuals but is rarely fully comparable.

The intimate relationship between timelessness, time, and transference is generative in its clinical impact on analysis. A tendency to define and represent timelessness and time as opposing structures, antithetical in aim, can obscure the fertility and complexity of their relationship. The creative and transformative power of an (a)temporal dialectic is proposed whose engagement with transference destroys and creates new paradigms of human experience, presenting analyst and analysand with fresh ways of thinking and being. A brief history of timelessness and time in psychoanalysis follows their intertwined developmental path and their import in transference-countertransference experience.

Advances in both experimental neuroscience and psychoanalytic theory and technique have made it possible to consider mechanisms by which psychodynamic psychotherapies might have an impact at the cellular and molecular level. Here potential analogies are drawn between (1) the mechanisms and results of blocking the reconsolidation of conditioned fear memories in the laboratory and (2) several key aspects of psychoanalytic process. A review of the biology of conditioned fear memory, including differences between extinction and inhibition of reconsolidation, indicates that this biology may have relevance to various ways in which psychoanalytic therapy is effective. The ideas proposed here might lead to further experimental attempts to understand the molecular biology of psychoanalysis.

Psychoanalysis is a school of psychology founded by Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud. This school of thought emphasized the influence of the unconscious mind on behavior. Freud believed that the human mind was composed of three elements: the id, the ego, and the superego.

When you look at theories of psychology, most are known as mini-theories. They describe a small and very specific aspect of human psychology. Psychoanalysis, on the other hand, is what is known as a grand theory; a comprehensive theory that attempts to explain almost all aspects of human experience.

Today, the term psychoanalysis is used to refer to many aspects of Freud's work and research, including Freudian therapy and the research methodology he used to develop his theories. Freud theory was heavily influenced by his observations and case studies of his patients.

Freud's theories were enormously influential, but subject to considerable criticism both now and during his own life. However, his ideas have become interwoven into the fabric of our culture, with terms such as "Freudian slip," "repression," and "denial" frequently used in everyday language.

Learn more about psychoanalysis:

• What Is Psychoanalysis?
• The Early Years of Psychoanalysis
• The Rise of Psychoanalysis

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What Is Psychoanalysis? originally appeared on About.com Psychology on Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 at 10:00:01.

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The decision to attend graduate school can be a difficult one. Is graduate school the best choice for you? Should you attend grad school now or wait? Which type of program is right for you? Obviously, there are a lot of questions and only you can decide which answers are right for your needs and unique situation.

Once you've made the decision to continue your education at the graduate level, selecting the program that is right for your needs and goals can be a daunting task. Learn more about factors you should consider before you choose a graduate school in psychology.

Before making the decision to attend graduate school, it is also important to consider your career goals. What do you see yourself doing after earning your degree? What type of jobs are available in your specialty area? Start by learning more about some of the career options with a graduate degree in psychology.

Things to Consider Before Applying for Graduate School In Psychology originally appeared on About.com Psychology on Tuesday, February 21st, 2012 at 10:00:10.

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The period of time from conception to birth is full of dramatic changes that can have an impact on future growth and health. Learning more about the earliest developmental processes provides a basis for understanding later childhood development. If you have ever taken a course in developmental psychology, you can probably remember spending the first few days of class discussing prenatal development as well as issues such as inherited diseases and environmental factors that can influence fetal growth. Whether or not you plan on ever becoming a parent, understanding prenatal growth and development provides an essential foundation for further learning in developmental psychology.

Learn more about the stages of prenatal development.

In the majority of cases, prenatal development follows a fairly normal and predictable path. However, problems do sometimes occur. Learn more about some of the environmental and genetic factors that can lead to problems in prenatal development.

More About Child Development

• An Overview of Early Childhood Development
• How Genes Influence Development
• How Environmental Factors Influence Development

Focus On Prenatal Development originally appeared on About.com Psychology on Monday, February 20th, 2012 at 10:00:56.

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Definition: Industrial organizational psychology is an applied area of psychology that involves using psychological theories and principles to solve problems related to the workplace and organizations. You might often hear this field referred to as I/O psychology. Some of the issues that an I/O psychologist might tackle include finding ways to increase worker productivity, selecting the most qualified employees for specific roles, and improving the mental and physical well being of people in the workplace. Read more...

More Careers in Psychology:

• School Psychology
• Forensic Psychology
• Clinical Psychology

Industrial Organizational Psychology - Psychology Definition of the Week originally appeared on About.com Psychology on Friday, February 17th, 2012 at 10:00:25.

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Psychologists have proposed a number of different theories to explain the intellectual, emotional and social development of children. The effect of these theories can be seen in education, parenting, and approaches to children's mental health. Some of these theories are concerned with how children learn and others explore the age old question of the relative importance of nature versus nurture. While many of the classic developmental theories focus exclusively on the events of infancy and childhood, recent research is becoming increasingly concerned with adolescent and adult development.

Read More: Child Development Theories

_{Photo by Joanne Green/iStockPhoto}

A Closer Look at the Theories of Child Development originally appeared on About.com Psychology on Thursday, February 16th, 2012 at 10:00:02.

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While there are jobs out there for those with a bachelor's degree in psychology, opportunities and salaries are much better with an advanced degree. Students often assume that a Ph.D. is the only option, but the Psy.D. degree is a doctoral-level degree that you should definitely consider. Learn more about the Psy.D. including how it differs from the Ph.D: FAQ About the Psy.D.

Related Reading:

• Ph.D. in Psychology FAQ
• How Long Does It Take to Earn a Ph.D. in Psychology?
• Alternatives to the Ph.D. in Psychology

Frequently Asked Questions About Psy.D. Degrees originally appeared on About.com Psychology on Wednesday, February 15th, 2012 at 10:00:34.

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Love is in the air today. Whether you're celebrating Valentine's Day alone or with your significant other, now is a good time to learn more about love. While love is the focus of poems, books, movies, and art, it has only recently become the subject of scientific research. How do psychologists define love? Many definitions exist, but most agree that caring, attachment and intimacy are all key elements.

Of course, while psychologists can offer up theories explaining the nature of love, each individual has their own deeply personal interpretation. Learn more about some of the major theories of love.

You might want to also take this quiz designed to identify your romantic attachment styles. Researchers suggest that your attachment style can have an impact on your romantic relationships.

Looking for some words of wisdom related to love? About.com's Guide to Quotations, Simran Khurana, has put together a fun and inspiring list of some of the best Valentine's Day quotes. Not in the mood for love? She also has some great anti-Valentine's Day quotes.

Related Reading:

• Questions About Love
• Compassionate vs. Passionate Love
• The Brain in Love

The Psychology of Love originally appeared on About.com Psychology on Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 at 10:00:29.

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Does crossing your arms indicate that you're feeling defensive? Do shifty eyes mean that someone is telling a lie? The things we communicate without words can carry as much meaning as any verbal expression, but it is important to have the skills to both understand and express such signals.

Body language refers to the nonverbal signals that we use to communicate. According to experts, these nonverbal signals make up a huge part of daily communication. From our facial expressions to our body movements, the things we don't say can still convey a tremendous amount of information.

Understanding body language is important, but it is also essential to remember to note other cues such as context and to look at signals as a group rather than focusing on a single action. Learn more about some of the things to look for when you are trying to understand and interpret body language.

Learning how to better interpret and communicate without words is a great way to improve understanding of others and get your message across more effectively. In addition to understanding the different types of nonverbal communication, spend some time reviewing and practicing some nonverbal communication tips to learn more about how to read the nonverbal signals of other people and enhance your own ability to communicate effectively.

How to Understand and Interpret Body Language originally appeared on About.com Psychology on Monday, February 13th, 2012 at 10:00:51.

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Definition: A hypothesis is a statement about the possible relationship between two or more variables. When forming a hypothesis, it is important to make a specific and testable prediction about what you expect to happen in your study. Read more...

Related Reading:

• Developing a Hypothesis
• What Is a Theory?
• How to Conduct a Psychology Experiment

_{Image courtesy Piotr Bizior}

Hypothesis - Psychology Definition of the Week originally appeared on About.com Psychology on Friday, February 10th, 2012 at 10:00:04.

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James McKeen Catell helped established psychology as a legitimate science and became the first psychology professor in the United States. Cattell started out studying English literature, but developed an interest in the field of psychology after meeting German psychologist Wilhelm Wundt. Cattell traveled to Germany to become Wundt's assistant and later published the first psychology dissertation by an American.

After returning to the U.S., Cattell held a number of teaching positions and was influential in the formation of several major publications including The Journal of Science and The Psychological Review. In addition to helping advance psychology in the United States, Cattell also influenced other prominent psychologists including Edward L. Thorndike.

Learn more about his life and work in this biography of James McKeen Cattell.

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Pioneers of Psychology: James McKeen Cattell originally appeared on About.com Psychology on Thursday, February 9th, 2012 at 10:00:45.

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