Science 4
Turkey feast causes Brow
RYAN GULA
science editor
The sound of plates cling
ing as they are loaded with
our favorite foods.
After we have finished the
fourth helping of Thanksgiv
ing dinner, we sit down to
watch our favorite football
team on TV.
After consuming all that
turkey, why are we so tired?
Why do we struggle to make
it through the fourth quarter
or to eleven?
According to many doc
tors, we tend to eat more
when we are surrounded
by food. This is especially
true during the holiday sea
son, particularly Thanksgiv
ing when much of the day is
planned around a meal.
Additionally, we instinc
tively eat or feel a need to eat
when we see others doing the
same.
Think about the last time
you saw someone eating a
Snickers and wishing you had
one as well.
We often accept food when
offered it by others, simply
because we have room for it,
not because our body needs
the energy it provides.
Doctors argue that snack
ing may actually be a better
way of eating when compared
to eating a large amount two
or three times a day.
Naturally, this is only true
UP Professor stud
ELIZABETH MASTELLER
science writer
Ever wake up in the morn
ing to the incessant chirping
of birds and wonder what
they could possibly be talk
ing about that is keeping you
from falling back asleep?
Dezhe Jin, an associate
professor at Penn State in
physics, studied the connec
tions made between the nerve
cells of a songbird's brain.
Jin studied the bird while
it chirps, and is working to
relate the connection to hu
mans, and how they learn
languages. He especially fo
cuses on the impact this has
on young children.
The research study was
conducted using the zebra
finch which performs only a
single song of notes through
its' lifetime.
Scientists, with the use of
advanced electrodes deter
mined that a group of neu
rons in the bird's brain was
responsible for the singing,
and if this group was not
present, then the bird would
be unable to sing.
"Unlike dogs and cats,
whose vocalizations are in
nate and unlearned," Said
Jin on the Penn State Eberly
College of Science website,
"songbirds learn a song in
much the same way as hu
mans learn a language
through cultural transmis
sion."
when
the foods we con
sume as a snack are
healthy and not just a
candy bar.
body isn't overwhelmed by
having to digest a huge meal
all at once.
When we eat small
recorded along with the brain
activity to find that when cer
tain neurons were triggered
in the brain, a certain tone
was produced by the bird.
This confirmed that the
birds think about their chirps
and use them as a means of
communication.
"The sequential bursts of
brain-cell activity represent
the sequential notes on the
same piece of music," Jin said
on the website.
The next step in the project
is to look at different species,
especially those that know
more songs and study how
their brain activity is simi
lar or different to that of the
finch.
amounts frequently,
the body can absorb what it
needs slowly and we tend to
ies birds
to a better understanding of
how humans learn language,
but on a more basic level.
"The zebra finch is a sim
ple model because the bird
perfects just one song during
its lifetime," Jin said.
"However, other species
learn several distinct songs.
They have a larger reper
toire."
Along with Jin, the re
search was conducted by Mi
chael A. Long and Michael
S. Fee of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology's Mc-
Govern Institute for Brain Re
search.
The publication is in the
science journal Nature, and
can be view at their website,
Winner of the 1009 - 2010 Most Creative Pr
SCHOOL PAGES OF THE BEHREND BEACON
tired a.
ward. So why exact
do we find it hard
stay awake wf
When we eat, a large
amount of food, blood moves
toward our digestive tract to
em State Behrend I
A Stand Against 111
For MEN and WO
- Gardasil vaccine prev-
Cervical Cancer
External Genital Warts
Ttroat Cancer
tart, Continue, or Finish
series of tree for FREE
Decemb
9:00-3:
Health and Wellness -,
(814) 8984217
https://healthandwellness.
mess
help it function and begin car
rying the nutrients to parts of
the body.
This results in our slow
ing down and feeling tired
simply because our muscles
lack their normal blood sup
ply. This isn't a bad function
however.
When the body is tired, we
are less likely to exert our
selves by running or working
out, which can interfere with
the digestive process, making
us sick.
So the body is simply tell
ing us to wait a little until our
food has been processed.
This is why Mom was right
telling us to stay out of the
pool for a little after we ate.
It is much easier for us to
get cramps since our muscles
do not have access to as much
blood as usual.
As if all this was not
enough, turkey has L-trypto
phan, an amino acid that has
documented sleep inducing
effects. Tryptophan is also
used in many different medi
cines such as those treating
depression, bipolar disorder,
and those treating mood dis
orders.
So go ahead and eat all you
want this Thanksgiving, but
make sure you have a place
to sleep afterwards.
Continuing CI CS to