Every blog post needs at least one good, solid image.
If you're not sure why, you can read The Shocking Truth About How Web Graphics Affect Conversions, or The Importance Of Graphic Design In Marketing.
Or, you can just trust me, and every major blogger you've been reading - who all have a good solid image with each blog post. Seriously, go check. They're right there.
Got it? Good. Now, before you hike over to a random google image search, hold up.
You can't just pull any image and use it. Even if you give a link back, or artist credit.
Nope. There's actual real live laws about that.
So, where do we get our images?
You can check through Creative Commons and find something with an open use license. It's a non-profit organization "devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share", and there's loads of images you can grab for commercial use, as well as non-commercial.
Pexels is a great source for free stock photos - fairly new and not hugely refined as yet, but worth a look for sure. Check out their claim to have the Best Free Stock Photos in One Place, and see what you think yourself.
If you're not a designer, but you want to have a go with some templates and design tips - you can DIY everything from social media headers to event posters to infographics over at www.Canva.com, and of course there's templates for blog graphics too. Keep to the free images (some cost a dollar to incorporate into your design, but they're clearly marked), and work through the excellent tutorials if you're not sure what you're doing yet. You'll get there.
Last but not least, the British Library have released about a million gorgeous, quirky, and downright odd antique illustrations, that are all copyright free. You can see an article about that here, or just go directly to the British Library Flickr Account and start flipping through. There's some amazing images to download.
Got some suggestions or resources of your own? Post in the Comments!
Estimates for how many Americans claim Irish descent are climbing, with anything from 32 to 40 million possible. The Irish are the second largest ethnic group in America, and they generally occupy a very comfortable zone in the American economy. More than 32% have earned a college degree, and have an overall median income of $56,383. That's not counting the many more Americans who are just plain out in love with Ireland, and everything about us.
So, Irish Americans are an excellent target audience for both US and Irish based consumer goods and travel businesses.
For those involved in tourism, or selling Ireland to Americans as a travel destination, it's great news too. 2014 was a record year for tourism from North America to Ireland, and steady growth continues in 2015.
Latest results available from the CSO show that North American visits to Ireland are up almost 15% from January to July 2015, that's 85,000 more US and Canadian visitors just in the first 6 months last year.
Ireland now gets 10% of all American visitors to Europe – despite hot competition between European destinations. For a wee island we pack a huge economic punch, and there's nothing we love more than helping businesses to tap into this target market with well placed, insightful and profitable strategies to speak straight to the hearts of the Irish American audience.
When designing your marketing or content strategies, it's ESSENTIAL you know this audience inside out, and stay up to date with all the latest stats and facts available.
Or, you can let us do it for you! And then you get to work with the experts in marketing to Irish Americans at Write Ireland. Check out Lora's Expertise in her Bio.
Get in Touch Now to see how we can help you profit from this market.
Get Your Free Marketing Strategy Support Here!
Whether you believe content is still king, or that the buzz around Content Marketing has had its day... it makes sense for every smart business person to release timely, fresh, and relevant content as part of your overall marketing strategy.
Of course we're all uber organised and have our content schedules ready to go for 2016, 2017, 2018 and beyond... right?
Yeah, don't worry, me neither.
As I'm doing it for myself anyway, I decided I'd post this blog and include my Content Marketing Template as a free download.
"Content Marketing - How to Build an Audience that Builds Your Business"
Content Marketing means creating and sharing valuable free content to attract and convert prospects into customers, and customers into repeat buyers. The type of content you share is closely related to what you sell; in other words, you're educating people so that they know, like, and trust you enough to do business with you.
I start with my Project Outlines and Ideas.
You'll find these in the Project Details tab on your Free Content Marketing Template.
There's a few columns to fill in along here, just collect your ideas as you have them, as you gather suggestions and advice from trusted resources, and you figure out what works or what might work, based on your experiences with content marketing, and your knowledge of what is best for your customers and prospects.
Budget - Is it something you can create with time cost only?
Don't worry if you're not sure of these details yet. I've filled in some examples in the Download, or you can just leave blank anything that's not relevant to your business at the moment.
The next tab is the Project Calendar itself.
As you fill up your Project Details Sheet, you can transfer the projects over to the ideal date and month that suits it.
To help with ordering this, I've added a filter on Date or Deadline column of your Project Details Sheet, which you can click on and check or uncheck whichever boxes suit what you want to do. For example, you may have 7 Project Ideas for January, so check the 'January' filter only and it'll hide everything else. Then just click back on 'Select All' when you're done, and you'll see all your Projects again.
Now you've got your Content Marketing calendar template, you know how to work with it (and if you're not sure on anything just ask in the Comments below!)... but what do you put in it?
You'll need to figure out HOW people become, or might become, your customers.
Who are they? Where do they live, work and socialise (in real life or online)?
Where do they start from and how long does it take them to buy, usually?
What sort of problems are they coming to you/your competitors to solve?
If you have this information, you'll see the stages they go through before purchase, and where/how it's best to create content to market to them through this cycle.
If you don't have this information - start to gather it! Meanwhile, check out some basic marketing info for your industry or niche, and you'll get a general idea at least.
Looking at the problems they face, and the phases your prospects and clients go through before purchase - run through some ideas to help solve those problems.
How do you solve those problems?
How can you let them know you solve those problems?
Why are YOU the best person to solve those problems?
You might end up with a list of blog post topics, some suitable advertising markets, event ideas, resources or added value offerings you can use to entice new customers, or keep hold of existing ones, interesting ways to keep your business on their mind, an email newsletter you can set up or a themed series of mailings you can send out, tried and tested ways to lead a prospect from considering to purchasing your product.
It's all good, write it all down on your Project Details sheet!
Just start scheduling your Project Ideas onto the Project Calendar sheet of your free Content Marketing Template Download.
Your content doesn't have to be all newspaper or pay-per-click advertising. In fact, it shouldn't be. A good marketing mix is essential to keep your business bright in the minds of your customers and clients.
You might have the expertise to create this content in house, or you may need to outsource to a company or freelance copywriter, graphic designer or AV technician.
Find someone you trust, and start small - work with them on one piece of content or a short series, and see how you fit. If you're concerned about cost, I can tell you a good copywriter or other freelancer is worth their weight in gold for creating quality content that shows your business in the best light!
If you're not an experienced content creator yourself, or don't have one on staff - hire a professional. This is the front line image of your business brand.
Email Us if You Want to Know More!
Writing your own business marketing content is like washing your clothes in an old tub with some soap and a washboard, when you could have a perfectly good washing machine sitting there ready to do it for you.
Yes, the washing machine represents a financial outlay – but the time and effort you save is worth it, right? Plus, the clothes get a lot cleaner when they're taken care of by a professional machine designed for the job.
Doing it yourself, you have to wash and rewash, never quite sure if you're getting those clothes really clean. What you have at the end of all that labour and heartache is clothes that are probably, maybe, clean enough to wear. Though there might still be a bit of an offensive odour about them if things heat up, or they're examined too closely.
Contrast that with the labour saving wonder that is the product of decades of trial and error design, focusing on clean clothes exclusively, figuring out exactly what works and what doesn't, making sure that every single item of clothing is washed to perfection, every time.
For a relatively small investment, you are treated to a service that gets exactly the results you need, without anything more than adding the right ingredients to the mix, then heading off about your business while the work is being done for you.
No mess, no fuss, no worries. Job done.
As I'm sure you've figured out by the first paragraph here, I am your copywriting washing machine. Simply invest a little in your business marketing, give me the right ingredients (information about your business/product/service), and go about clearing your busy schedule while I make the marketing magic happen for you. Easy.
Copywriting is the process of writing advertising and marketing promotional materials.
Copywriters are responsible for the text on brochures, billboards, websites, emails, blogs, advertisements, sales letters, catalogues, reports, and more. This text is known as "copy." Copy is everywhere, part of a multi trillion dollar industry world-wide.
Copywriting is all about getting the reader to take action. That action might be to purchase, opt-in, engage or fall in love with a product, service, or company.
Copywriting is an essential part of the business marketing mix.
This is a very common question, and totally understandable, even with the coming upturn in the economy. It's been a tough few years for us all!
We charge a flat fee per job, based on the specifics and quoted directly after a no obligation consultation, which usually happens by email or phone. There's no surprises, and you can set your budget accordingly and reliably.
Though each job is different, and it's tough to estimate exactly what the quote will be for such a range of different options, just Email Us for a Sample Pricing List.
The list doesn't cover everything I can help you with, and your particular project might cost a little more or less than what's on the sample list, as this is an average price list based on the work we most commonly do.
Why Should You Pay Someone to Write Content?
Well, to begin with, you're not just paying for a task to be done. You're investing in a business asset that will add value to your offering, can be re-purposed and re-used over time, and will bring a return for your investment. Your business will be presented to the customer at its best.
But you're not just paying for the copy either. You're bringing all those years of research, learning, and improvement into the mix. You're investing in fresh thinking, new perspective, and a wealth of business experience that will be available to you.
And you can be sure your customers won't be seeing you and wondering why your clothes are scuffed and smelly, so to speak.
If you have a project in mind, you can get in touch straight away, by phone or email.
If you decide to go ahead after the consultation (and no problem if you don't!), we'll send an email with the agreement and terms, to be totally clear and transparent. If it's a big job or a brand new client, there'll be a down-payment, usually a third of the project cost.
We'll ask for some background info, there might be a simple questionnaire for you to fill in and shoot back. Then we get to work on a first draft.
Sometimes, a client has to see a draft to know exactly what's right or wrong with the initial concept and plan. There might be some back and forth discussion and tweaking, or even re-writing. We understand this, and sort of expect to have to do a second draft to get it bang on for you, unless you've been very clear and focused about what you want from the start.
Then we send you the final copy, make sure you're happy with it, and sign off on the project. We'll invoice after this for the remainder of the project cost, payable within 30 days.
For an on-going arrangement, like monthly social media management or a set number of blog posts/articles, we'll invoice for a month in advance, and monthly after that. You are of course free to cancel an on-going arrangement at any time, if it's not suiting you or your circumstances unexpectedly change.
What Sort of Content Can We Help You With?
We do everything from full annual marketing plans, to one off advertising copy for print or digital media. Seriously; if it needs to be written, we can write it.
We will provide everything from SEO Blog Posts and Web Content, to formal Reports, Grant Applications and White Papers. Facebook and Twitter management, LinkedIn Profiles, Print Mailings and Email List Newsletters, Professional Press Releases, Staff or Company Profiles, Case Studies, and Brochures for your business – we cover it all.
You should note that we're writers, not designers, and so the service is for copy and content only – but we're very happy to work with your graphic designer to optimize your branding and marketing offering as a cohesive whole.
It depends on the project size, and how busy we are when you approach us. But we can usually begin work within a week of agreement.
Deadlines are important, and a clear time frame will be set as part of the agreement. The only thing that would hold that up or delay the project is non-return of requested information or payment, so that part's up to you!
So, are you going to keep running around in half washed, slightly smelly clothes that show a very unprofessional image to your customers?
Or are you ready to step your business up a notch with a shiny new washing machine to make sure your look your best at all times?
How Useful is Newspaper Advertising?
Advertising Your Business in Print.
NewsBrands Ireland, who represent 16 publication titles in Ireland (including The Irish Times), recently released figures showing that ad spend has risen by 4% from Jan to June 2015 - the first overall rise in spending since 2007.
€80.9 million was spent on print and online advertising in NewsBrands Ireland titles so far this year: advertising agencies contributed €48.1 million, and advertising coming directly from Irish businesses stood at €32.8 million, though this included property and recruitment ads.
In contrast, email marketing continues to deliver a strong performance for brands and marketers. It is used by over 90% of businesses and provides a cost-efficient and powerful way for both broadcasting news and one-to-one communications.
9 out of 10 clients perceive email marketing as a channel of 'importance' or 'great strategic importance' for achieving business goals, according to the UK's National Client Email Report of 2015.
Direct revenue is most often a key email marketing objective and email marketing campaigns are very effective in delivering it.
Driving revenue through sales tops the list of prime objectives, with over a quarter (26%) of marketers seeing it as the most important goal.
Marketers are aware of the need for engagement with one in five (22%) naming it their prime objective.
60% of marketers use conversion rates to evaluate email campaigns effectiveness.
If you want to stick with newspaper advertising though, or even work it into your business plans, measuring effectiveness is key. Having an annual marketing budget and a monthly marketing strategy is only going to grow your business if you can measure the ROI (Return On Investment) for your advertising spend.
Simple enough, have a direct and specific web page that the advert promotes, and monitor the traffic on it, plus conversions that translate to sales.
Customers are on the look-out for money saving deals, so a 10% discount, 'Buy One Get One Free', or similar incentive when they present a code or a particular phrase works well, and means you can track the metrics in your sales and stock systems.
If you run an advert in a weekend newspaper, and on the Monday your phone is ringing off the hook, email inbox is flooded with enquiries, or your sales through that week/month are double what they would usually be for that time period... it's a good bet that's related to your advertisment.
Have a customer feedback card, or employees tracking (and recording) verbal queries to your customers, or send a simple post sales email... Simply asking them where (and when!) they heard about your business.
Just Drop Us a Quick Email!
Why Should I Hire A Copywriter?
You know your business needs a website. Of course.
More than $2.4 million is spent online. Per Minute.
So yeah, of course you need a website.
But that's a LOT of competition. So you need a slick website. Good looking, mobile friendly – especially with the new Google algorithm in play.
A really good looking website, mobile friendly, will get you up there on Google action and cashing in your share of that sweet 2.4 million… except it's not that simple.
Time you spend trying to get the copy right can be done in half the time by a professional copywriter. Lots of things are important. But Content is King.
Can you write professional content for your business? Chances are, unless you're a writer, the answer will be no. Content, yeah, sure. But relevant clean and engaging content, specifically targeted to your customers? Not so much.
You know your business – a copywriter knows how to communicate your business to your customer.
A copywriter will focus on exactly what you need to grow your business, without getting distracted by the day to day business. You're too close.
You can easily achieve 2 primary business aims when you hire a copywriter: you can build relationships with your customers through content engagement, and you can directly sell your products or services to your ideal customers.
Writing is a skill and a professional craft, just like any other trade. Unless you're a designer, you don't do your own business graphics. Unless you're an accountant, you don't do your own business accounts. If you're not a writer, it makes sense to hire a professional to take care of the most important aspect of your marketing endeavours.
Drop us a Line – Email Us to discuss your business marketing needs, and get your share of that $2.4 million per minute TODAY.
EMAIL US NOW FOR YOUR FREE QUOTE!
When sorting your business marketing and PR there's a lot to think about.
You've got website, social media profiles, a blog, print and digital advertising; you know it's important that the look of all these individual elements should blend to your brand - forming a cohesive whole.
But once you've got them all prettified and branded... what about the content?
Copywriting is the essential element in your marketing strategy, but often the most overlooked, especially if you're an entrepreneur or SME.
Whether you're a beginner or novice copywriter for your business, it pays to strengthen your writing skills and keep your copy sharp. So we've put together the 10 top tips for writing copy that every business writer needs to know.
Who is going to read this content? Having a vague demographic mapped out is no use. Even a very specific demographic isn't gonna help much, except as a foundation. You have to get specific.
Don't think of this as content creation for Females Over 40 with Mid to High Income. Imagine your Aunty Jean, who happens to be in her late 40's and reasonably comfortable, financially speaking. You're writing to your Aunty Jean.
What value are you offering to Aunty Jean with your product or service, exactly? What problem are you solving for her? What's in it for Aunty Jean to get involved in your selling process right here and now?
USP is what makes your product or service different from everyone else's. Look at what your competitors are offering, and figure out how and why you're doing it better, or differently. Why should Aunty Jean choose your business over every other?
With every single piece of content you create, there should be a very clear goal in mind - what exactly do you want Aunty Jean to do when she has read your copy? This is the time for classic SMART Goal thinking: your objective each time you write should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.
So, what if Aunty Jean only ever reads your headline? How do you communicate that your product or service is the one that will solve her problems? How will she know enough about what you have on offer to take the action that will put money in your pocket? That's the job the hard working headline has to do in your marketing copy.
Ok, so this tip is email marketing specific, but as this is an easy, effective and inexpensive way to market your product or service, it should definitely play a part in every business marketing strategy.
The subject line of your email is what gets Aunty Jean to stop scrolling through the piles of alerts and special offers and amazing new deals, and click to open yours. The subject line is your key to the gates of Aunty Jean's attention. Use it wisely.
Some words are ineffective and must be avoided, while others command attention and direct action. Leave out the words that are not specific, that soften a sentence or add ambiguity - words like might, may, try, strive, could and wish are all banned. Use active words instead, such as will, and can, while making the copy very directed at Aunty Jean reading it, by addressing it to her using you and your.
Your content must be clear, direct and to the point. Use short sentences to break up the flow of text. Include bulleted lists. Avoid the passive voice, which makes the copy sound rambling and disconnected from you, your product or service, and Aunty Jean. Edit til your thumbs drop off, then edit some more. Keep it simple.
While your copy must be concise and direct, you don't want to lose the emotional impact. Aunty Jean will spend her money with you when her logical mind is convinced that this is a sensible thing to do, sure. But the real decision maker in psychological terms is how your writing makes her feel. Is she afraid of a bad consequence? Moved by sadness or sympathy? Giggling merrily and in a bright mood? These emotions will be the tipping point towards parting with cash. Use them!
Peer review. Customer testimonial. Quotes and recommendations. These are the pivot points for Aunty Jean's purse. If she sees that a woman just like her; MaryLou, Age 43, from the next neighbourhood over, has bought what you're selling and is over the moon with how it's solved her particular problems... you're in. This is a fantastic way to communicate the value and effectiveness of your product or service. Aunty Jean will be falling over herself to buy what MaryLou bought.
Did we miss anything? Add your own Top Tip to the Comments below, and Share the Post!
We know you want to grow. And we want to help you!
When our clients first approach, there are many questions. We love to meet, to talk, to reassure a new client that you are making the best move for your business by hiring a professional freelance copywriter or consultant; whether it's for a particular project, or on an on-going basis to off-set the much higher cost of a full or part time employee wage.
But as we get asked the same questions so often, here's a wee guide to help forestall any initial anxieties or unsurety, if it's your first time with a freelancer.
We hear this a lot.
Many smaller businesses, particularly in Ireland, have never even heard of copywriting as an actual real life thing, and simply don't know the benefits a professional copywriter can bring to your bottom line.
Copywriting is one of the most essential elements of effective online marketing. The art and science of direct-response copywriting involves strategically delivering words (whether written or spoken) that get people to take some form of action.
If the purpose of the writing is not directly promotional, a copywriter may be called a content creator or content writer.
Not an exhaustive list, by any means, but it gives you an idea of the copywriting scope.
We charge a flat fee per project. Each project consultation and quote are unique, and tailored to your business needs.
Generally, our fees currently work out at an average of €29, or $35 per hour. This is less than the standard market average of about $50 per hour for professional copywriting.
We work within the initial quote terms and specifications, to a flat fee, which gives you peace of mind - knowing that nobody is trying to stretch out a job to boost the per hour rate, and that your budgeted spend is guaranteed to remain on track.
WHY IS YOUR RATE LOWER THAN THE AVERAGE?
This is where we live and work, and although we regularly conduct client consultations and meetings through Skype, Conference Calls, Google Hangouts, and plain old phone and email, a face to face real time meeting is more difficult.
Now, the benefit of this is that you, the client, are guaranteed that the price we quote is for actual real time work that's happening on your project - and not for travel time spent sitting in the car singing along to Soul Sister Divas Greatest Hits.
We will of course travel for larger, confirmed projects, but the costs will be factored into your quote, so just let us know in advance!
Not a bad deal really, over all, is it?
WHY CAN'T I JUST WRITE IT MYSELF?
Fred from Marketing could probably whip something up to throw in there too.
You can also get an intern, or a student on work experience to do it. Or head over to a content mill and grab yourself some cheap content from that nice man in India who will gladly do it for a fiverr.
Or, you can hire an experienced professional to put the words to your significant marketing investment (how much did that graphic or technical design element cost you?), your first person customer interaction (how much is a quality 'moment of truth' realisation about your business worth, in terms of a customer's lifetime loyalty?), your project content management, from proposal to final report (how much is that grant or investment opportunity worth to your business in the long term?).
As with every other thing in this lifetime, my friend, you get what you pay for.
Check out the team at Write Ireland. That sort of quality and experience is hard won, we work hard to keep our work to top standards, and it doesn't come cheap.
Expert copywriting pays for itself time and time again, as every savvy professional knows.
If you have any other questions, just email us!
If you like this post, please take a moment to share it on Facebook or Twitter.


text:
About memory
Mempowered
How Memory Works
Study & Education
Difficulties identifying odors early sign of dementia
A large study found that most of those who were very poor at identifying common odors developed dementia within 5 years.
A study of older adults with a parent who had Alzheimer's found that those who were poorest at identifying odors showed the most Alzheimer's biomarkers.
A largish study found that poorer odor identification in older adults (average age 80) )was associated with a transition to dementia and with cognitive decline.
An animal study found olfactory dysfunction precedes cognitive problems, and relates amyloid-beta protein in the olfactory epithelium.
A large 13-year study found that a poor sense of smell was linked to a greater risk of death within 10 years, and of death from dementia and Parkinson's disease in particular.
A long-term study of nearly 3,000 older adults (57-85) has found that those who couldn't identify at least four out of five common odors were more than twice as likely as those with a normal sense of smell to develop dementia within five years.
Of the participants, some 14% could name just three out of five, 5% could identify only two scents, 2% just one, and 1% couldn't identify a single smell.
Five years after the smell test, almost all of the study subjects who were unable to name a single scent had been diagnosed with dementia, and nearly 80% of those who provided only one or two correct answers.
The test involved a well-validated tool known as "Sniffin'Sticks." The five odors, in order of increasing difficulty, are peppermint, fish, orange, rose and leather.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-09/uocm-ewh092617.php
A study involving nearly 300 older adults (average age 63) who had a parent with Alzheimer's has found that those with the most difficulty in identifying odors were those in whom Alzheimer's biomarkers were most evident.
Sense of smell was assessed using multiple choice scratch-and-sniff tests to identify scents as varied as bubble gum, gasoline or the smell of a lemon. A hundred of the participants had regular lumbar punctures to measure the Alzheimer's biomarkers in the cerebrospinal fluid.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-08/mu-col081617.php
A seven-year study involving a multi-ethnic (34% White, 30% African-American, 36% Hispanic) sample of 757 healthy older adults (average age 80.7) found that lower odor identification scores on UPSIT were significantly associated with both the transition to dementia and cognitive decline.
For each point lower that a person scored on the UPSIT, the risk of Alzheimer's increased by about 10%.
The report was reported at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference® 2014 in Copenhagen
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-07/aa-sae071114.php
Loss of smell sense linked to amyloid-beta protein
An animal study has shown that olfactory dysfunction occurs much earlier than cognitive dysfunction, and that this is related to the amyloid-beta protein. Although it's been thought that this protein is expressed only in the central nervous system, the study detected direct expression of the protein in the olfactory epithelium, part of the peripheral nervous system. Moreover, the amyloid-beta protein had a fatal effect on olfactory nerve cells in the olfactory epithelium and directly induced the failure of olfactory function.
A less alarming explanation for why our sense of smell tends to decline in old age comes from a mouse study that found that fewer stem cells become olfactory cells in old age as they tend to remain in the stem cell pool and become less active.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-09/dgi-oun092517.php
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-12/hzm--bc-121918.php
Poor sense of smell linked to greater mortality risk
Following on from a previous study in which more than 2,200 older adults (71-82) undertook smell identification tests, investigation 13 years later found that a poor sense of smell was linked to a 46% greater risk of dying within 10 years compared with those ranked as having a good sense of smell. Poor sense of smell was particularly linked to death from dementia and Parkinson's disease, with some signs that poor smell might also be linked to death from cardiovascular disease. There was no link between poor sense of smell and death from cancer or respiratory diseases. 22% of the overall increased risk of death among those with a poorer sense of smell was down to neurodegenerative diseases.
The link was only present among those who were in very good health at the start of the study.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/apr/29/routine-sense-of-smell-tests-could-be-used-to-spot-signs-of-dementia
[4431] Adams, D. R., Kern D. W., Wroblewski K. E., McClintock M. K., Dale W., & Pinto J. M.
(2018). Olfactory Dysfunction Predicts Subsequent Dementia in Older U.S. Adults.
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 66(1), 140 - 144.
[4432] Lafaille-Magnan, M-E., Poirier J., Etienne P., Tremblay-Mercier J., Frenette J., Rosa-Neto P., et al.
(2017). Odor identification as a biomarker of preclinical AD in older adults at risk.
Neurology. 89(4), 327.
[4433] Yoo, S-J., Lee J-H., Kim S. Yeun, Son G., Kim J. Yeon, Cho B., et al.
(2017). Differential spatial expression of peripheral olfactory neuron-derived BACE1 induces olfactory impairment by region-specific accumulation of β -amyloid oligomer.
Cell Death & Disease. 8(8), e2977 - e2977.
[4434] Liu, B., Luo Z., Pinto J. M., Shiroma E. J., Tranah G. J., Wirdefeldt K., et al.
(2019). Relationship Between Poor Olfaction and Mortality Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Cohort Study.
Annals of Internal Medicine. 170(10), 673.
[4435] Bast, L., Calzolari F., Strasser M. K., Hasenauer J., Theis F. J., Ninkovic J., et al.
(2018). Increasing Neural Stem Cell Division Asymmetry and Quiescence Are Predicted to Contribute to the Age-Related Decline in Neurogenesis.
Cell Reports. 25(12), 3231 - 3240.e8.
tags memworks:
tags problems:
early markers
Read more about Difficulties identifying odors early sign of dementia
Smell tests provide early evidence of dementia
It seems clear now that a substantial decline in sense of smell is a very early sign of developing MCI and Alzheimer's.
Several tests have been developed to assess this.
It should always be remembered that there is substantial difference between individuals in their 'natural' sense of smell, and this needs to be taken into account in any test.
In the past few months, several studies have come out showing the value of three different tests of people's sense of smell for improving the accuracy of MCI and Alzheimer's diagnosis, or pointing to increased risk. The studies also add to growing evidence that a decline in sense of smell is an early marker for mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's. Indeed, it appears that this sensory loss is a very early symptom, preceding even the shrinking of the entorhinal cortex (the first brain region to show signs of atrophy).
Smell test improves accuracy of MCI & Alzheimer's diagnosis
A simple, commercially available test known as the Sniffin' Sticks Odor Identification Test, in which subjects must try to identify 16 different odors, was given to 728 older adults, as well as a standard cognitive test (the Montreal Cognitive Assessment).
The participants had already been evaluated by doctors and classified as being healthy (292 subjects), having MCI (174: 150 aMCI, 24 naMCI), or having Alzheimer's (262).
It was found that, while the cognitive test alone correctly classified 75% of people with MCI, the number rose to 87% when the sniff test results were added. Diagnosis of Alzheimer's, and of subtypes within MCI, was also improved.
The smell test normally takes 5 to 8 minutes to administer; the researchers are trying to get it down to 3 minutes, to encourage greater use.
A new smell test
Another recent study validates a new smell test which is rather more complicated. The test was developed because the standard University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test doesn't take into account the great variation in olfactory ability among healthy individuals. The ability of normal individuals to recognize and discriminate between odors can vary by as much as 40 times!
The new test is actually four tests:
In the OPID (Odor Percept IDentification)-10 test, participants are presented with 10 odors (menthol, clove, leather, strawberry, lilac, pineapple, smoke, soap, grape, lemon) for two seconds each. They are then asked whether the scent is familiar and given a choice of four of the 10 words from which are asked to pick the best one that describes the odor.
The Odor Awareness Scale (OAS) assesses their overall attention to environmental odors and how they are affected emotionally and behaviorally by scents.
The OPID-20 test includes an additional 10 odors (banana, garlic, cherry, baby powder, grass, fruit punch, peach, chocolate, dirt, orange). Participants are first asked whether a presented odor was included in the OPID-10 test and then asked which word best describes the odor. Their ability to remember odors from the first test determines their POEM (Percepts of Odor Episodic Memory) score.
In the Odor Discrimination (OD) test, participants are presented with two consecutive odors and asked whether they were different or the same, a process that is repeated 12 times with different paired scents.
The study involved 183 older adults, of whom 70 were cognitively normal, 74 tested normal but were concerned about their cognitive abilities, 29 had MCI and 10 had been diagnosed with possible or probable Alzheimer's disease.
Results of the OPID-20 test significantly differentiated among the four groups of participants, and those results correlated with the thinning of the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex. Participants' ability to remember a previously presented aroma, as reflected in the POEM score, was also significant, with participants with Alzheimer's disease performing at no better than chance.
POEM scores of the two cognitively normal groups were compared with what would have been predicted based on their ability to identify and differentiate between odors, as reflected in the OAS and OD tests. Poor POEM performers were more likely to have the 'Alzheimer's gene' (APOEe4), showed thinning of the entorhinal cortex, and poorer cognitive performance over time.
Validation of UPSIT
However, two 2016 studies support the use of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), and suggest it may offer a practical, low-cost alternative to other tests.
In one study, UPSIT was administered to 397 older adults (average age 80) without dementia, who were also given an MRI scan to measure the thickness of the entorhinal cortex (the first brain region to be affected by Alzheimer's disease). After four years, 50 participants (12.6%) had developed dementia, and nearly 20% had signs of cognitive decline.
Low UPSIT scores, but not entorhinal cortical thickness, were significantly associated with dementia and Alzheimer's disease, and with cognitive impairment. Entorhinal cortical thickness was significantly associated with UPSIT score in those who transitioned from MCI to dementia.
In other words, it looks like impairment in odor identification precedes thinning in the entorhinal cortex.
In another study, UPSITwas administered to 84 older adults, of whom 58 had MCI, as well as either beta amyloid PET scanning or analysis of cerebrospinal fluid. After six months, 67% had signs of memory decline, and this was predicted by amyloid-beta levels (assessed by either method), but not UPSIT score. However, participants with a score of less than 35 were more than three times as likely to have memory decline as those with higher UPSIT scores.
The researchers suggest the association wasn't as strong in this study because of the younger age of participants (median age 71), their higher education, and the short follow-up.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-12/uops-psc122016.php
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-11/mgh-atr111416.php
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-07/cumc-stm072516.php
[4209] Quarmley, M., Moberg P. J., Mechanic-Hamilton D., Kabadi S., Arnold S. E., Wolk D. A., et al.
(2017). Odor Identification Screening Improves Diagnostic Classification in Incipient Alzheimer's Disease.
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. 55(4), 1497 - 1507.
[4210] Dhilla, A. Alefiya, Asafu-Adjei J., Delaney M. K., Kelly K. E., Gomez-Isla T., Blacker D., et al.
(2016). Episodic memory of odors stratifies Alzheimer biomarkers in normal elderly.
Annals of Neurology. 80(6), 846 - 857.
Lee, Seonjoo et al. 2016. Predictive Utility of Entorhinal Cortex Thinning and Odor Identification Test for Transition to Dementia and Cognitive Decline in an Urban Community Population. Presented at the Alzheimer's Association's International Conference in Toronto.
Kreisl, William et al. 2016. Both Odor Identification and Amyloid Status Predict Memory Decline in Older Adults. Presented at the Alzheimer's Association's International Conference in Toronto.
tags development:
brain atrophy
alzheimers-diagnosis
Read more about Smell tests provide early evidence of dementia
Peppermint & rosemary for memory
Two studies support the use of peppermint tea and rosemary essential oil for improving memory and alertness.
A couple of studies reported at the recent Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society are intriguing.
In the first study, 180 healthy adults completed questionnaires relating to their mood before being given either a drink of peppermint tea, chamomile tea or hot water. Twenty minutes later, their memory and cognition were tested, followed by another mood questionnaire.
Peppermint tea significantly improved long term memory, working memory and alertness compared to both chamomile and hot water, while chamomile tea (consistent with its reputed calming/sedative effect) significantly slowed memory and attention speed compared to both peppermint and hot water.
In the second study, 150 older adults (65+) were tested on their prospective memory while in one of three rooms: a room that was scented either with rosemary or lavender, or an unscented room.
The scented rooms had four drops of either lavender or rosemary essential oils placed on an aroma stream fan diffuser, switched on five minutes before the participants entered the room. Prospective memory was tested by needing to remember to pass on a message at a given time during the procedure, and having to switch tasks when a specific event occurred.
The room scented with rosemary significantly enhanced prospective memory compared to the room with no aroma. It also significantly increased alertness, while lavender significantly increased calmness and contentedness.
As I said, these are conference papers, and I know no more than revealed in the press release. However, these strategies are easy and harmless enough that you might want to try them for yourself.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-04/bps-ptc042816.php
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-04/bps-rac042716.php
Bussey, L. 2016. I really must post that letter! Aromas of essential oils impact on prospective memory in an older cohort. Presented at the British Psychological Society's 2016 Annual Conference in Nottingham.
Moss, M. 2016. Contrasting Effects of Peppermint and Chamomile Tea on Cognition and Mood. Presented at the British Psychological Society's 2016 Annual Conference in Nottingham.
tags lifestyle:
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Older news items (pre-2010) brought over from the old website
Why smells can be so memorable
Confirming the common experience of the strength with which certain smells can evoke emotions or memories, an imaging study has found that, when people were presented with a visual object together with one, and later with a second, set of pleasant and unpleasant odors and sounds, then presented with the same objects a week later, there was unique activation in particular brain regions in the case of their first olfactory (but not auditory) associations. This unique signature existed in the hippocampus regardless of how strong the memory was — that is, it was specific to olfactory associations. Regardless of whether they were smelled or heard, people remembered early associations more clearly when they were unpleasant.
[2543] Yeshurun, Y., Lapid H., Dudai Y., & Sobel N.
(2009). The Privileged Brain Representation of First Olfactory Associations.
Current Biology. 19, 1869 - 1874.
Difficulty identifying odors may predict cognitive decline
Older adults who have difficulty identifying common odors may have a greater risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, increasingly recognized as a precursor to Alzheimer's disease. A study of nearly 600 older adults (average age 79.9) found that 30.1% developed mild cognitive impairment over the five-year period of the study. Risk of developing mild cognitive impairment was greater for those who scored worse on an odor identification test given at the start of the study. For example, those who scored below average (eight) were 50% more likely to develop MCI than those who scored above average (11). This association did not change when stroke, smoking habits or other factors that might influence smell or cognitive ability were considered. Impaired odor identification was also associated with lower cognitive scores at the beginning of the study and with a more rapid decline in episodic memory (memory of past experiences), semantic memory (memory of words and symbols) and perceptual speed. The odor test involved identifying 12 familiar odors given four possible alternatives to choose from.
[1130] Wilson, R. S., Schneider J. A., Arnold S. E., Tang Y., Boyle P. A., & Bennett D. A.
(2007). Olfactory Identification and Incidence of Mild Cognitive Impairment in Older Age.
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 64(7), 802 - 808.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-07/jaaj-dio062807.php
Odor can help memory, in some circumstances
A study in which students played a computer version of a common memory game in which you turn over pairs of cards to find each one's match found that those who played in a rose-scented room and were later exposed to the same scent during slow-wave sleep, remembered the locations of the cards significantly better than people who didn't have that experience (97% vs 86%). Those exposed to the odor during REM sleep, however, saw no memory boost. Imaging revealed the hippocampus was activated when the odor was presented during slow-wave sleep. Having the smell available throughout sleep wouldn't help, however, because we adapt to smells very quickly. Being exposed to the smell when being tested didn't help either. Nor did experiencing the odor during slow-wave sleep help when the memory task involved a different type of memory — learning a finger-tapping sequence — probably because procedural memory doesn't depend on the hippocampus.
[1206] Rasch, B., Buchel C., Gais S., & Born J.
(2007). Odor Cues During Slow-Wave Sleep Prompt Declarative Memory Consolidation.
Science. 315(5817), 1426 - 1429.
http://www.physorg.com/news92647884.html
http://www.nature.com/news/2007/070305/full/070305-10.html
Scent of fear impacts cognitive performance
A study involving 75 female students found that those who were exposed to chemicals from fear-induced sweat performed more accurately on word-association tasks than did women exposed to chemicals from other types of sweat or no sweat at all. When processing meaningfully related word pairs, the participants exposed to the fear chemicals were significantly more accurate than those in either the neutral sweat or the control (no-sweat) condition. When processing word pairs that were ambiguous in threat content, such as one neutral word paired with a threatening word or a pair of neutral words, subjects in the fear condition were significantly slower in responding than those in the neutral sweat condition.
Chen, D., Katdare, A. & Lucas, N. 2006. Chemosignals of Fear Enhance Cognitive Performance in Humans. Chemical Senses, Advance Access published on March 9, 2006
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-03/ru-sof033106.php
Brain region involved in recalling memories from smell identified
We all know the power of smell in triggering the recall of memories. New research has found the specific area of the brain involved in this process - a section of the hippocampus called CA3. The hippocampus has long been known to play a crucial part in forming new memories. It appears that the CA3 region of the hippocampus is crucial for recalling memories from partial representations of the original stimulus.
[1060] Wilson, M. A., Tonegawa S., Nakazawa K., Quirk M. C., Chitwood R. A., Watanabe M., et al.
(2002). Requirement for Hippocampal CA3 NMDA Receptors in Associative Memory Recall.
Science. 297(5579), 211 - 218.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-05/bcom-tr052902.php
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_2017000/2017321.stm
Read more about Smell
Scent of rosemary may help cognition
Rosemary is a herb long associated with memory. A small study now provides some support for the association, and for the possible benefits of aromatherapy. And a rat study indicates that your attitude to work might change how stimulants affect you.
A small study involving 20 people has found that those who were exposed to 1,8-cineole, one of the main chemical components of rosemary essential oil, performed better on mental arithmetic tasks. Moreover, there was a dose-dependent relationship — higher blood concentrations of the chemical were associated with greater speed and accuracy.
Participants were given two types of test: serial subtraction and rapid visual information processing. These tests took place in a cubicle smelling of rosemary. Participants sat in the cubicle for either 4, 6, 8, or 10 minutes before taking the tests (this was in order to get a range of blood concentrations). Mood was assessed both before and after, and blood was tested at the end of the session.
While blood levels of the chemical correlated with accuracy and speed on both tasks, the effects were significant only for the mental arithmetic task.
Participants didn't know that the scent was part of the study, and those who asked about it were told it was left over from a previous study.
There was no clear evidence that the chemical improved attention, but there was a significant association with one aspect of mood, with higher levels of the scent correlating with greater contentment. Contentment was the only aspect of mood that showed such a link.
It's suggested that this chemical compound may affect learning through its inhibiting effect on acetylcholinesterase (an important enzyme in the development of Alzheimer's disease). Most Alzheimer's drugs are cholinesterase inhibitors.
While this is very interesting (although obviously a larger study needs to confirm the findings), what I would like to see is the effects on more prolonged mental efforts. It's also a little baffling to find the effect being limited to only one of these tasks, given that both involve attention and working memory. I would also like to see the rosemary-infused cubicle compared to some other pleasant smell.
Interestingly, a very recent study also suggests the importance of individual differences. A rat study compared the effects of amphetamines and caffeine on cognitive effort. First of all, giving the rats the choice of easy or hard visuospatial discriminations revealed that, as with humans, individuals could be divided into those who tended to choose difficult trials ("workers") and those who preferred easy ones ("slackers"). (Easy trials took less effort, but earned commensurately smaller reward.)
Amphetamine, it was found, made the slackers worked harder, but made the workers take it easier. Caffeine, too, made the workers slack off, but had no effect on slackers.
The extent to which this applies to humans is of course unknown, but the idea that your attitude to cognitive effort might change how stimulants affect you is an intriguing one. And of course this is a more general reminder that factors, whatever they are, have varying effects on individuals. This is why it's so important to have a large sample size, and why, as an individual, you can't automatically assume that something will benefit you, whatever the research says.
But in the case of rosemary oil, I can't see any downside! Try it out; maybe it will help.
[2791] Moss, M., & Oliver L.
(2012). Plasma 1,8-Cineole Correlates with Cognitive Performance Following Exposure to Rosemary Essential Oil Aroma.
Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology. Abstract
[2817] Cocker, P. J., Hosking J. G., Benoit J., & Winstanley C. A.
(2012). Sensitivity to Cognitive Effort Mediates Psychostimulant Effects on a Novel Rodent Cost|[sol]|Benefit Decision-Making Task.
Neuropsychopharmacology.
First study: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/759506 (free reg reqd)
Second study: http://the-scientist.com/2012/03/28/stimulants-fail-to-stimulate/
individual differences
Read more about Scent of rosemary may help cognition
Reviving a failing sense of smell through training
A rat study reveals how training can improve or impair smell perception.
The olfactory bulb is in the oldest part of our brain. It connects directly to the amygdala (our 'emotion center') and our prefrontal cortex, giving smells a more direct pathway to memory than our other senses. But the olfactory bulb is only part of the system processing smells. It projects to several other regions, all of which are together called the primary olfactory cortex, and of which the most prominent member is the piriform cortex. More recently, however, it has been suggested that it would be more useful to regard the olfactory bulb as the primary olfactory cortex (primary in the sense that it is first), while the piriform cortex should be regarded as association cortex — meaning that it integrates sensory information with 'higher-order' (cognitive, contextual, and behavioral) information.
Testing this hypothesis, a new rat study has found that, when rats were given training to distinguish various odors, each smell produced a different pattern of electrical activity in the olfactory bulb. However, only those smells that the rat could distinguish from others were reflected in distinct patterns of brain activity in the anterior piriform cortex, while smells that the rat couldn't differentiate produced identical brain activity patterns there. Interestingly, the smells that the rats could easily distinguish were ones in which one of the ten components in the target odor had been replaced with a new component. The smells they found difficult to distinguish were those in which a component had simply been deleted.
When a new group of rats was given additional training (8 days vs the 2 days given the original group), they eventually learned to discriminate between the odors the first animals couldn't distinguish, and this was reflected in distinct patterns of brain activity in the anterior piriform cortex. When a third group were taught to ignore the difference between odors the first rats could readily distinguish, they became unable to tell the odors apart, and similar patterns of brain activity were produced in the piriform cortex.
The effects of training were also quite stable — they were still evident after two weeks.
These findings support the idea of the piriform cortex as association cortex. It is here that experience modified neuronal activity. In the olfactory bulb, where all the various odors were reflected in different patterns of activity right from the beginning (meaning that this part of the brain could discriminate between odors that the rat itself couldn't distinguish), training made no difference to the patterns of activity.
Having said that, it should be noted that this is not entirely consistent with previous research. Several studies have found that odor training produces changes in the representations in the olfactory bulb. The difference may lie in the method of neural recording.
How far does this generalize to the human brain? Human studies have suggested that odors are represented in the posterior piriform cortex rather than the anterior piriform cortex. They have also suggested that the anterior piriform cortex is involved in expectations relating to the smells, rather than representing the smells themselves. Whether these differences reflect species differences, task differences, or methodological differences, remains to be seen.
But whether or not the same exact regions are involved, there are practical implications we can consider. The findings do suggest that one road to olfactory impairment is through neglect — if you learn to ignore differences between smells, you will become increasingly less able to do so. An impaired sense of smell has been found in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, and even normal aging. While some of that may well reflect impairment earlier in the perception process, some of it may reflect the consequences of neglect. The burning question is, then, would it be possible to restore smell function through odor training?
I'd really like to see this study replicated with old rats.
[2651] Chapuis, J., & Wilson D. A.
(2011). Bidirectional plasticity of cortical pattern recognition and behavioral sensory acuity.
Nat Neurosci. advance online publication,
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/nlmc-afs111611.php
Parkinson's Disease Dementia
tags strategies:
Read more about Reviving a failing sense of smell through training
Perception affected by mood
An imaging study has revealed that when people were shown a composite image with a face surrounded by "place" images, such as a house, and asked to identify the gender of the face, those in whom a bad mood had been induced didn't process the places in the background. However, those in a good mood took in both the focal and background images. These differences in perception were coupled with differences in activity in the parahippocampal place area. Increasing the amount of information is of course not necessarily a good thing, as it may result in more distraction.
[1054] Schmitz, T. W., De Rosa E., & Anderson A. K.
(2009). Opposing Influences of Affective State Valence on Visual Cortical Encoding.
J. Neurosci.. 29(22), 7199 - 7207.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/uot-pww060309.php
What we perceive is not what we sense
Perceiving a simple touch may depend as much on memory, attention, and expectation as on the stimulus itself. A study involving macaque monkeys has found that the monkeys' perception of a touch (varied in intensity) was more closely correlated with activity in the medial premotor cortex (MPC), a region of the brain's frontal lobe known to be involved in making decisions about sensory information, than activity in the primary somatosensory cortex (which nevertheless accurately recorded the intensity of the sensation). MPC neurons began to fire before the stimulus even touched the monkeys' fingertips — presumably because the monkey was expecting the stimulus.
[263] de Lafuente, V., & Romo R.
(2005). Neuronal correlates of subjective sensory experience.
Nat Neurosci. 8(12), 1698 - 1703.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-11/hhmi-tsi110405.php
Varied sensory experience important in childhood
A new baby has far more connections between neurons than necessary; from birth to about age 12 the brain trims 50% of these unnecessary connections while at the same time building new ones through learning and sensory stimulation — in other words, tailoring the brain to its environment. A mouse study has found that without enough sensory stimulation, infant mice lose fewer connections — indicating that connections need to be lost in order for appropriate ones to grow. The findings support the idea that parents should try to expose their children to a variety of sensory experiences.
[479] Zuo, Y., Yang G., Kwon E., & Gan W-B.
(2005). Long-term sensory deprivation prevents dendritic spine loss in primary somatosensory cortex.
Nature. 436(7048), 261 - 265.
http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.htm3?article_id=218392607
Brain regions that process reality and illusion identified
Researchers have now identified the regions of the brain involved in processing what's really going on, and what we think is going on. Macaque monkeys played a virtual reality video game in which the monkeys were tricked into thinking that they were tracing ellipses with their hands, although they actually were moving their hands in a circle. Monitoring of nerve cells revealed that the primary motor cortex represented the actual movement while the signals from cells in a neighboring area, called the ventral premotor cortex, were generating elliptical shapes. Knowing how the brain works to distinguish between action and perception will help efforts to build biomedical devices that can control artificial limbs, some day enabling the disabled to move a prosthetic arm or leg by thinking about it.
[1107] Schwartz, A. B., Moran D. W., & Reina A. G.
(2004). Differential Representation of Perception and Action in the Frontal Cortex.
http://news-info.wustl.edu/tips/page/normal/652.html
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-02/wuis-rpb020704.php
Memory different depending on whether information received via eyes or ears
Carnegie Mellon scientists using magnetic resonance imaging found quite different brain activity patterns for reading and listening to identical sentences. During reading, the right hemisphere was not as active as expected, suggesting a difference in the nature of comprehension experienced when reading versus listening. When listening, there was greater activation in a part of Broca's area associated with verbal working memory, suggesting that there is more semantic processing and working memory storage in listening comprehension than in reading. This should not be taken as evidence that comprehension is better in one or other of these situations, merely that it is different. "Listening to an audio book leaves a different set of memories than reading does. A newscast heard on the radio is processed differently from the same words read in a newspaper."
[2540] Michael, E. B., Keller T. A., Carpenter P. A., & Just M A.
(2001). fMRI investigation of sentence comprehension by eye and by ear: Modality fingerprints on cognitive processes.
Human Brain Mapping. 13(4), 239 - 252.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2001-08/cmu-tma081401.php
The chunking of our lives: the brain "sees" life in segments
We talk about "chunking" all the time in the context of memory. But the process of breaking information down into manageable bits occurs, it seems, right from perception. Magnetic resonance imaging reveals that when people watched movies of common, everyday, goal-directed activities (making the bed, doing the dishes, ironing a shirt), their brains automatically broke these continuous events into smaller segments. The study also identified a network of brain areas that is activated during the perception of boundaries between events. "The fact that changes in brain activity occurred during the passive viewing of movies indicates that this is how we normally perceive continuous events, as a series of segments rather than a dynamic flow of action."
Zacks, J.M., Braver, T.S., Sheridan, M.A., Donaldson, D.I., Snyder, A.Z., Ollinger, J.M., Buckner, R.L. & Raichle, M.E. 2001. Human brain activity time-locked to perceptual event boundaries. Nature Neuroscience, 4(6), 651-5.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2001-07/aaft-bp070201.php
Amygdala may be critical for allowing perception of emotionally significant events despite inattention
We choose what to pay attention to, what to remember. We give more weight to some things than others. Our perceptions and memories of events are influenced by our preconceptions, and by our moods. Researchers at Yale and New York University have recently published research indicating that the part of the brain known as the amygdala is responsible for the influence of emotion on perception. This builds on previous research showing that the amygdala is critically involved in computing the emotional significance of events. The amygdala is connected to those brain regions dealing with sensory experiences, and the theory that these connections allow the amygdala to influence early perceptual processing is supported by this research. Dr. Anderson suggests that "the amygdala appears to be critical for the emotional tuning of perceptual experience, allowing perception of emotionally significant events to occur despite inattention."
[968] Anderson, A. K., & Phelps E. A.
(2001). Lesions of the human amygdala impair enhanced perception of emotionally salient events.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2001-05/NYU-Infr-1605101.php
Read more about Perception
Large brains in mammals first evolved for better sense of smell
High-tech X-ray scans of ancient fossil skulls have revealed that the increase in brain size that began with the first mammals was driven by improvements in smell and touch.
190-million-year-old fossil skulls of Morganucodon and Hadrocodium, two of the earliest known mammal species, has revealed that even at this early stage of mammalian evolution, mammals had larger brains than would be expected for their body size. High-resolution CT scans of the skulls have now shown that this increase in brain size can be attributed to an increase in those regions dealing with smell and touch (mammals have a uniquely well developed ability to sense touch through their fur).
Comparison of these fossils with seven fossils of early reptiles (close relatives of the first mammals), 27 other primitive mammals, and 270 living mammals, has further revealed that the size of the mammalian brain evolved in three major stages. First, an initial increase in the olfactory bulb and related areas (including the cerebellum) by 190 million years ago; then another jump in the size of these regions shortly after that time; and finally an increase in those regions that control neuromuscular coordination by integrating different senses by 65 million years ago.
It's speculated that the initial increase in smell and touch was driven by early mammals being nocturnal — dinosaurs being active during the day.
[2301] Rowe, T. B., Macrini T. E., & Luo Z-X.
(2011). Fossil Evidence on Origin of the Mammalian Brain.
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-05-large-brains-mammals-evolved.html http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/05/mammals-big-brains-began-w... http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110519/full/news.2011.302.html?WT.ec_id=...
brain evolution
Read more about Large brains in mammals first evolved for better sense of smell
Loss of smell may predict early onset of Alzheimer's
Previous research suggesting loss of smell function may serve as an early marker of Alzheimer's disease has now been supported by evidence from genetically engineered mice.
Previous research suggesting loss of smell function may serve as an early marker of Alzheimer's disease has now been supported by a finding that in genetically engineered mice, loss of smell function is associated with amyloid-beta accumulation in the brain, and that amyloid pathology occurs first in the olfactory region. It was striking how sensitive olfactory performance was to even the smallest amount of amyloid presence in the brain as early as three months of age (equivalent to a young adult).
[1465] Wesson, D. W., Levy E., Nixon R. A., & Wilson D. A.
(2010). Olfactory Dysfunction Correlates with Amyloid-{beta} Burden in an Alzheimer's Disease Mouse Model.
J. Neurosci.. 30(2), 505 - 514.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-01/nlmc-nfr010710.php
Read more about Loss of smell may predict early onset of Alzheimer's
Effects of cue distinctiveness on odor-based context dependent memory
Herz, R.S. (1997). The effects of cue distinctiveness on odor-based context dependent memory. Memory and Cognition, 25, 375-380.
Smell can aid memory if the same smell is present during the original experience and when you are trying to remember.
It works best if the smell is unfamiliar.
If the smell is familiar, it is better if it is unusual in the context.
The effect of smell on learning and memory was investigated in an experiment that used three different ambient odors (osmanthus, peppermint, and pine).
Osmanthus was used to see whether there was a difference in performance depending on whether the smell was novel or familiar. Peppermint and pine were used to see whether the appropriateness or inappropriateness of the smell made a difference to memory.
In the experiment, subjects were individually shown into a room in which the odor was present. Their attention was called to the smell, and to ensure their attention to the smell, they were given a questionnaire to fill out about the room environment. They were left alone in the room for ten minutes to promote encoding of contextual cues.
The experimenter then read out a list of 20 common nouns, pausing after each one for the subject to describe an event that the word reminded them of. Memory for the words was tested 48 hours later.
It was found that word recall was best when the novel odor (osmanthus) was present during learning and again at testing. Among the familiar odors, recall was better if the smell was contextually inappropriate (peppermint). The improvement in recall only occurs when the odor is present at both encoding (learning) and retrieval (testing). Clearly, smell is a good contextual cue.
Read more about Effects of cue distinctiveness on odor-based context dependent memory
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Alice's first bath was a sponge bath since her cord had not yet fallen off. We collected all the tools....towels, wash cloths, shampoo, soap and lotion, and turned the bathroom heater on to warm the room. Not really knowing HOW to bathe a newborn, I'm not sure if her first bath got her all that clean, and as you can see by the photo...she was not all that happy with the service. As I was toweling her off and getting her wrapped up...she pee'd on me!
Alice's second bath was a little more sucessful. Her cord had fallen off, so we were able to use her infant bath tub. Again, we collected all the tools....towels, wash cloths, shampoo, soap and lotion, and turned the bathroom heater on. The tub has a battery powered shower head so we were able to better wash all her pieces/parts. This time, she didn't cry. I think she enjoyed this bathing experience, and she didn't pee on me this time.
I love these pictures and seeing how much Alice has changed in such a short time! Bath time is fun and a favorite activity for babies. I love the lotion smell afterwards.


text:
TDL Membership
Home Board of Directors Claire Vishik
Claire Vishik
Security and Privacy Standards and Policy Manager, Intel Corporation
Board responsibilities: Blockchain Working Group
Claire's work focuses on hardware security, trusted computing, privacy enhancing technologies, some aspects of encryption and related policy issues. Claire is a member of the Permanent Stakeholders Group of ENISA, is active in standards development and is on the Board of Directors of the Trusted Computing Group and on the Council of the Information Security Forum. Claire is active in developing R&D strategies for security and privacy, through organizations like Cybersecurity Research Alliance and strategy efforts in the EU, US and other countries. She is an advisor to a number of R&D projects and initiatives including IPASco, PUFFIN, a cryptography program at the University of Bristol, and many others.
Connect with Claire Vishik on LinkedIn
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text:
<?php

namespace MultiLocale\Strategy;

use MultiLocale\LocaleEvent;

class QueryStrategy extends AbstractStrategy {

    /**
     * Default query key
     *
     * @var string
     */
    const QUERY_KEY = 'lang';

    /**
     * Query key to use for request
     *
     * @var string
     */
    protected $query_key;

    public function setOptions(array $options = array()) {
        if (array_key_exists('query_key', $options)) :
            $this->query_key = (string) $options['query_key'];
        endif;
    }

    protected function getQueryKey() {
        if (null === $this->query_key) :
            $this->query_key = self::QUERY_KEY;
        endif;

        return $this->query_key;
    }

    /**
     * {@inheritdoc }
     */
    public function detect(LocaleEvent $event) {
        $request = $event->getRequest();
        if (!$this->isHttpRequest($request)) :
            return;
        endif;

        if (!$event->hasSupported()) :
            return;
        endif;

        $locale = $request->getQuery($this->getQueryKey());
        if ($locale === null) :
            return;
        endif;

        if (!in_array($locale, $event->getSupported())) :
            return;
        endif;

        return $locale;
    }

    /**
     * {@inheritdoc}
     */
    public function assemble(LocaleEvent $event) {
        $uri = $event->getUri();
        $locale = $event->getLocale();

        $query = $uri->getQueryAsArray();
        $key = $this->getQueryKey();

        $query[$key] = $locale;

        $uri->setQuery($query);
        return $uri;
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Cloudy skies. High 82F. Winds SE at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..
Don Porter and his son Reign try their luck fishing at Sulphur Creek in Lampasas on Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Temperatures reached into the 90's on Wednesday.
Don Porter and his son Reign inspect the fishing reel while fishing Sulphur Creek on Wednesday, April 10, 2019, in Lampasas as temperatures crept into the 90's.
The National Weather Service forecasts cooler temperatures ahead followed by rainstorms this weekend.
Wednesday was likely the last warm or hot day this week, according to Patricia Sanchez, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.
By Friday, the temperature will drop to the mid-70s, Sanchez said.
Sanchez said the timing and exact location of hailstorms will become more refined as the week progresses.
The rain storms should decrease throughout the day Saturday, Sanchez said, and by 6 p.m. heading into Sunday, the weather should be quiet and dry.
The high temperature Thursday is projected to be in the upper 80s, before dropping to a low of 49 degrees, Sanchez said.
Friday the high is expected to be 76 degrees followed by a low of 58 degrees.
Saturday is forecasted to be rainy early on with a high temperature of 69 degrees followed by a low of 46 degrees.
The high temperature on Sunday should remain at 69 degrees with a low of 50 degrees.
Monday the high temperature will rise back to 78 degrees with a low of 58 degrees.
The high is projected to remain at 78 degrees for Tuesday.


text:
Image Source: Ethel Branch, Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund
How to Support Indigenous Organizers Fighting Coronavirus in Native American Communities (April 3, 2020)
In recent weeks, federal aid spending packages have dominated the news cycle, including funding for relief to tribal communities. But tribes are not sitting idle, waiting for help from Washington. Rather, indigenous communities and organizations around the country are taking proactive measures to combat COVID-19 amongst their people. In addition to collaborating with the Decolonizing Wealth Fund to launch the Native American Community Response Fund highlighted in a post last week, Native Americans in Philanthropy is compiling a list of funds across tribal communities to make donating easier. The Teen Vogue piece (linked above) also highlights other Indigenous projects you can contribute to, including assisting Navajo Nation efforts.
Native American Tribes Respond to Pandemic With Limited Resources (April 6, 2020)
Tribes have begun restricting access to reservations, while trying to increase limited supplies as the coronavirus spreads in the U.S. The Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota has set up checkpoints to limit non-essential visits from non-residents. Tyler Yellow Boy, the tribe's ambulance director and a pandemic task force member, says the tribe has no reported cases of COVID-19 yet and hopes to keep it that way. The tribe has made requests through the state for additional supplies, but, similar to other governments, Yellow Boy describes the overall attempt to bolster stockpiles as "difficult." The Oglala Tribe has enacted a shelter-in-place order, established curfews, and is pushing out safety messages on local radio and social media. For those who might not have access to online platforms, local officials are getting creative. "President Bear Runner and myself...hooked up a P.A. system behind a pick-up and I ran with my sirens on and went to communities—turned the sirens on so everybody would come out of their homes and they would listen to what was coming through the P.A.," said Yellow Boy. Similar P.A. system efforts from the Navajo Nation were shared on social media in recent weeks, as tribal leaders are careful to spread awareness to all members.
Two Nevada Tribes Order Mandatory COVID-19 Curfews, Fines (April 6, 2020)
The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony and Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe have become the first governmental entities in Nevada to order mandatory curfews punishable by fines and potential jail time for repeat offenders in response to the spread of the coronavirus. For the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, the curfew requires members to stay in their homes from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. through April 30 unless they are working in essential businesses, obtaining emergency medical treatment or making essential trips. "It is now against the law to have unnecessary gatherings," Tribal Chairman Arlan Melendez wrote in an April 3 directive to it's more than 1,500 members. Repeat offenders are penalized heavily, with some potentially facing jail time. The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe's curfew runs indefinitely from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on its reservation with similar exceptions for emergencies and use of essential services. Violators are subject to a $100 fine as tribal governments take steps to ensure the safety of their peoples.
Group of First Nations want Supreme Court to hear appeal on Trans Mountain (April 7, 2020)
In Canada, despite the COVID-19 shutdown, construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline is proceeding amidst a chorus of tribal leaders voicing their continued opposition. A group of British Columbia First Nations is seeking to challenge the federal government's second approval of the pipeline expansion project in Canada's Supreme Court. After overturning the cabinet's original approval of the expansion project, citing insufficient consultation with Indigenous Peoples and a failure to take into account the effect on marine animals, Canada's Federal Court of Appeals gave the project the green light in a February ruling. First Nations are challenging the adequacy of the cabinet's consultation, noting that "as owners of the project, [cabinet members] were unable to objectively assess the adequacy of their own consultation." Although many court processes are paused as a result of the pandemic, deadlines for leave to appeal applications remain in effect, as First Nations ready themselves to take the fight to protect their homelands to Canada's highest court.
Other online resources available
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Indian Country Today's COVID-19 Syllabus for the latest updates on the virus
IHS Coronavirus Page; IHS Announcements
National Congress of American Indians - Indian Country Resources: Coronavirus (COVID-19)
National Council of Urban Indian Health: Coronavirus Resource Center


I love the holidays. It's my favorite time of the year. We get to see family more often, work slows down a bit, and in general I truly believe that people are in a happier mood. I wish we could decorate our houses with lights all year long!
1) Decorating for the holidays the first weekend in December – We always get our tree the first Saturday in December. I think it's nice to always have a set date planned and stick to it. That way you always have it planned and it's something to look forward to after Thanksgiving. Plus it means you get to enjoy your decorations all month long!
2) Attend the Manhattan Beach Holiday Fireworks and other community events – The fireworks are one of our favorite events of the year and I want it to be something our family looks forward to for years to come. We also enjoy all the local holiday strolls in our neighborhood. Santa drives by our neighborhood in his sleigh, which I know Toddler Awesome will love when she's older. Right now she's totally afraid of him.
3) Give Back – This is the season of giving, and giving back to the community is very important to me. We always participate in holiday toy drives and adopt-a-family programs. I would like our daughter to feel involved in this as she gets older.
4) Shop Earlier – I used to wait until the last minute to buy presents for people. I actually did shopping for several family members in JULY this year. Who am I? I know.
Food is also a big part of the holidays. I went to the grocery store this week and stocked up on snacks and ingredients for foods I want to make. We gave away goodnessknows bars at Halloween to trick-or-treaters and I plan to bring them next week at a potluck I'm going to. Each bar has four portioned squares which makes them easy to serve out of the package. I like them because they have dark chocolate and nuts and feel like you're eating something really indulgent, but they're made with no artificial flavors or sweeteners.
Apple almond & peanut, dark chocolate is still my favorite flavor. I've been into them ever since I went on a bike ride with them in Santa Monica earlier this year and won my sweet bike. I was watching a movie earlier and had a goodnessknows snack bar with peppermint hot cocoa. It was the perfect after dinner snack.
The holidays will come and go, but the memories you make with your family will last forever. I am posting this early in the month of December because I think it is important to remember all of these things throughout the season – especially for myself. Enjoy!
What about you? What are some holiday traditions you had as a child? What holiday traditions do you do now that you're an adult? Post in the comments and let me know.


Capita is set to increase its presence in the commercial lines market. This follows its purchase of Aurora Corporate Services.
The purchase is due to be completed in early January.
The sale also means Independent Insurance's creditors will get some of their money back.
Aurora's entire staff will transfer to Capita, with Aurora's Cheadle headquarters to be used as a major operations centre by Capita.
Aurora's London staff are likely to move from their premises in Minster Court to Capita's Dukes Place office.
Independent's liquidator Pricewater-houseCoopers (PWC) set up Aurora to run-off the failed insurer's business.
Capita chief executive Paul Pindar said Capita had "more than enough business coming in" to keep Aurora busy once the run-off business ran out.
Capita currently has bids out on more than £1bn worth of new business in general and life insurance and pensions, with contracts ranging from between three and 15 years.
He said Capita would know the bid results in the next six to nine months.
Pindar said Capita already owned Cotesworth, which undertook commercial lines work.
He said Capita would consider business ranging from run-off and claims handling contracts to providing a "virtual insurance" service.
PWC liquidator Dan Schwarzmann said the sale was a "tremendous result" for Independent's creditors.
Capita will to pay an as-yet undisclosed cash sum for Aurora.
"The consideration will end up being returned to the creditors," he said.
"And, importantly, we've managed to keep the expertise and knowledge of the team together."
Schwarzmann said he expected to present the final details of the deal to the creditors' committee "very shortly".
The new business will be called Capita Aurora during the integration process, but will eventually revert to Capita.
Pindar said the deal would create between between 12 and 15 new jobs immediately.