Brain Stimulation in Sport: is it fair?

Brain Stimulation in Sport: is it fair?

Will we see neuropriming at this summer’s Olympic games? 

"New advances in neuroscience have pointed the way to performance enhancement by stimulating the activity of the brain. Mild electrical stimulation using electrodes placed on the head – called transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS, makes the brain more or less active, and may lead to long-lasting changes in brain processing."

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What happens to your skin when you get sunburnt?

What happens to your skin when you get sunburnt?

"Sunburn is a radiation burn, caused when the ultraviolet (UV) rays of sunlight damage DNA in the upper layer of skin cells. The sun emits three kinds of UV radiation – UVA, B and C.

UVC is mostly absorbed by the earth’s atmosphere, but UVA and B rays reach the ground and can penetrate unprotected skin. UVB penetrates the epidermis, the top layer of the skin, while UVA goes deeper."

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What are panic attacks and what's happening when we have them?

What are panic attacks and what's happening when we have them?

What is happening to the body?

"Often one of the first symptoms of a panic attack is hyperventilating (rapidly breathing in and out), which upsets the natural balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in our system. One view says a low level of carbon dioxide in the blood directly triggers the symptoms of panic, such as feeling lightheaded and dizzy. When we breathe quickly we also build up oxygen in our blood. Paradoxically, too much oxygen is also associated with feeling short of breath."

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What happens to your brain when you're pregnant – clumsiness, food cravings, and moodiness?

What happens to your brain when you're pregnant – clumsiness, food cravings, and moodiness?

Tripping over everything

"Anecdotally, many women report that one of their earliest signs of pregnancy was that they felt clumsier: constantly dropping their keys, spilling milk in the kitchen or tripping over their own feet. In fact, one study reported that 27% of women fell at least once during pregnancy, which is similar to the prevalence of falls in those older than 65 years."

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