Daydream on.It seems to me irresponsible even to float the idea, as neurologist David M. Holtzman does, of chemically suppressing idle thought and daydreaming in people ("Alzheimer Clue: Busy brain connections may have downside," SN: 1/7/06, p. 3). Who can claim a basis for clinical discrimination of "bad" idle thought and day-dreaming from the "idle thought" of intuitive problem solving problem solving Process involved in finding a solution to a problem. Many animals routinely solve problems of locomotion, food finding, and shelter through trial and error. and poetic imagination? More of human existence is at issue than the scourge of Alzheimer's. DENNIS SCHMIDT, FALMOUTH, MASS. In the article, scientists drew the conclusion that busy brain connections may have the downside of producing "amyloid beta Amyloid beta (Aβ or Abeta) is a peptide of 39-43 amino acids that is the main constituent of amyloid plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients. Similar plaques appear in some variants of Lewy body dementia and in inclusion body myositis, a muscle disease. , the waxy waxy (wak´se) 1. composed of or covered by wax. 2. resembling wax, especially denoting some combination of pliability, paleness, and smoothness and luster. protein implicated im·pli·cate tr.v. im·pli·cat·ed, im·pli·cat·ing, im·pli·cates 1. To involve or connect intimately or incriminatingly: evidence that implicates others in the plot. 2. in Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (ăls`hī'mərz, ôls–), degenerative disease of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex that leads to atrophy of the brain and senile dementia. ." I don't see why the following conclusion wasn't reached: Idle brains may have a downside. In the described study, it was lack of directed thought, not busy, directed thought, that seemed to use the same areas of the brain involved in Alzheimer's disease. Other studies show that people who use their brains actively seem to be protected from the disease. ELIZABETH OSCANYAN, PHILOMONT, VA. |
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