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Daily Rounds: The Therapist App; Pollution Ups Stroke Risk; A Diet For The Brain; Gallery Of Broken Hearts

The Therapist May See You Anytime, Anywhere (The New York Times) "Studies have found that many who struggle with such anxiety fixate subconsciously on hostile faces in a crowd of people with mostly relaxed expressions, as if they see only the bad apples in a bushel of mostly good ones.Modifying that bias — that is, reducing it — can interrupt the cascade of thoughts and feelings that normally follow, short-circuiting anxiety, lab studies suggest. In one commonly used program, for instance, people see two faces on the screen, one with a neutral expression and one looking hostile. The faces are stacked one atop the other, and a split-second later they disappear, and a single letter flashes on the screen, in either the top half or the bottom.Users push a button to identify the letter, but this is meaningless; the object is to snap the eyes away from the part of the screen that showed the hostile face, conditioning the brain to ignore those bad apples. That’s all there is to it."

Stroke risk increased when air pollution was moderate in Boston area - Boston Medical News - White Coat Notes - Boston.com (boston.com) "After reviewing the medical records of more than 1,700 stroke patients in the Boston area over 10 years, the researchers found a 34 percent increase in the risk of ischemic strokes on days with moderate air quality compared with days when the air was rated good by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Ischemic strokes occur when a clot blocks blood flow to part of the brain."

The Diet That Saves the Brain - WSJ.com (Wall Street Journal) "A study published in this month's issue of the Archives of Neurology found that the diet might protect against blood-vessel damage in the brain, reducing the risks of stroke and memory loss. It's the first study to specifically examine the effects of the diet centered around vegetables, fruits, fish, whole grains, nuts, olive oil and a moderate amount of alcohol, with limited consumption of red meat, sweets and refined grains like white bread or white rice—on the brain's small blood vessels."

Museum Of Broken Relationships: Croatian Museum Showcases Post-Split Momentos (huffingtonpost.com) "What becomes of a garden gnome hurled in fury at a windscreen during a stormy breakup? Or a teddy bear that was once a Valentine's Day present? A wedding dress from a marriage gone awry? An ax that smashed through household furniture? All are on display at the Museum of Broken Relationships in the Croatian capital, each with written testimonies telling tales of passion, romance and heartbreak. On Valentine's Day, the museum sees its visits almost double. "The objects that are here represent all the stages of a breakup ... and how people go through love," said Drazen Grubisic, a designer and artist who co-founded the museum in 2010 in the Croatian capital. "We might say it's a love museum, just upside down," he said."

This program aired on February 14, 2012. The audio for this program is not available.

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