Brains!

Brainbow and other neurological type pictures.

(Thanks MGKH)

Caffeine & Dementia

Drinking moderate amounts of caffeine is associated with lower rates of Alzheimer's and other dementia.

Empathy & Diet

There is preliminary evidence that vegans & vegetarians experience more empathy in the face of human & animal suffering compared to omnivores. At the very least, the areas of the brain implicated in empathy "light up" more when vegan/vegetarians are exposed to suffering. This data will need to be replicated & some sort of causal timeline would have to be established for this to be particularly interesting. It could be, for example, a case of cognitive dissonance. They've chosen a restrictive lifestyle, and there has to be a good reason for that, so they actually sensitize themselves to the suffering of animals. Who knows.

Brain Damage & Pedophilia

A case for Law & Order, if I've ever seen one.

A man with severe epilepsy had part of his brain (part of the temporal lobe) removed. After the surgery, his appetite for food & sex increased substantially. Eventually, he was compulsively visiting pornography sites, some of which led him to child porn. He was arrested and plead guilty. At sentencing, the defense argued that his behaviors were out of his control--similar hypersexual behaviors are seen in monkeys with this damage. The prosecution noted that his urges may have increased, but he still had the ability to control them, as evidenced by his controlled behavior in public and the fact that he downloaded porn at home, but not at work. The judge sentenced him to the minimum sentence allowed by law: 26 months in prison; 25 months home arrest; 5 years probation.