Day: February 6, 2008

Sleep, Eat, Sex – Orexin Has Something to Say

Blogging on Peer-Reviewed ResearchOrexin is a neuropeptide which is released by the posterior lateral hypothalamus, and is linked to wakefulness and sleep, appetite regulation, and the motivation of sexual and addictive behaviors.  One apt way to think about it is as a hormone in the brain, combining some of the popularly conceived effects of adrenaline and testosterone into one. 

(Don’t get too excited now!  I am just trying to give you a way to think about it, that orexin works to promote arousal and response…)

I am writing a post on the links of orexin to appetitive behavior, particularly addiction, but I’ve generated a lot of material.  So I am going to give you this one first, which summarizes aspects of orexin (also known as hypocretin) and neurological function with respect to sleep, appetite and sex. 
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Where to study neuroanthropology?

One of our readers, David Navega from Portugal, asked a great question about a very practical matter: where are the centres of neuroanthropological research? A great question which caused me to just about choke on my coffee. I had to break it to David that, well, I’m not really that sure. There are pockets of people around doing work that I would consider to be part of ‘neuroanthropology,’ broadly defined, though they might run screaming from the designation. But his question is an excellent one, and I would like to put that out to the readers, with an opportunity for them to write in with universities, centres, departments, or programs that would support this sort of research.

Aside from the two obvious candidates from the blog — the University of Notre Dame (where Daniel, Agustín, and a host of other good people work and teach) and Macquarie University (where I work, alongside great colleagues in my department and others) — there are a few programs that stand out. I’m going to list some, but I hope very much NOT to exclude anyone. If I don’t include your program, please drop us a line (without too much abuse of this author) to let us know you’re out there. We want to know where you are.

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Denial

Today I will lecture to my students in my Alcohol and Drugs class on denial.  We had a provocative discussion of the topic last Thursday, building off our reading of the wonderful and powerful memoir Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp. 

A group of students opened last Thursday’s class with a presentation that framed denial in the two ways it is generally discussed in addiction (in the US).  As I wrote to this group to help in preparing their presentation, “There is a basic debate in the addictions field (particularly alcoholism) on the role and importance of denial in addiction and recovery.  On the one side, denial is seen as a defining feature of addiction and breaking through denial as a core component of successful recovery.  On the other side, denial is seen as a marginal feature of addiction, likely the result of some other internal problem or even of social relations.  In this approach, attacking denial can backfire, causing anger in the substance abuser while not addressing either addiction itself or the promotion of therapeutic change.” 

After the students gave their presentation, I wanted to encourage class discussion, and used a technique I often employ, getting them to reflect on their own everyday lives and what that can tell us about ourselves.  I asked the class to write down an example of someone they knew “in denial,” and then give their gut reaction about why they think that person reacted that way.  In other words, I wanted some ethnographic data and some culturally-framed “explanations” to generate discussion.  It worked. 
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