Rosie D's List: Science Articles

• Women’s health is increasingly undervalued in conflicts over reproductive rights, including clashes based on moral objections under so-called conscience clauses, a new study by a University of Illinois legal expert found.
• When women need the morning-after pill, the clock is ticking to prevent pregnancy,” she said. “In these situations, you can see a direct clash between women’s health and assertions of religious freedom. Increased pharmacist refusal to provide contraception and other actions like it are exactly what reproductive health advocates fear happening nationwide if conscience clauses become the norm.”

• "Many believe that romantic love is the same as passionate love," said lead researcher Bianca P. Acevedo, PhD, then at Stony Brook University (currently at University of California, Santa Barbara). "It isn't. Romantic love has the intensity, engagement and sexual chemistry that passionate love has, minus the obsessive component.
• Passionate or obsessive love includes feelings of uncertainty and anxiety. This kind of love helps drive the shorter relationships but not the longer ones."
• review found that those who reported greater romantic love were more satisfied in both the short- and long-term relationships. Companion-like love was only moderately associated with satisfaction in both short- and long-term relationships. And those who reported greater passionate love in their relationships were more satisfied in the short term compared to the long term.
• Couples who reported more satisfaction in their relationships also reported being happier and having higher self-esteem
• "Couples should strive for love with all the trimmings," Acevedo said. "And couples who've been together a long time and wish to get back their romantic edge should know it is an attainable goal that, like most good things in life, requires energy and devotion."

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• Women who have this rare and often distressing condition often experience related depression, anxiety, panic attacks and frequently show a past history of sexual victimization.
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  The condition is accompanied by fru
• The complaint of persistent genital arousal deserves serious research attention since it is accompanied by a considerable amount of psychological distress, and yet the cause and treatment remain undefined,” says Sandra Leiblum, Ph.D., senior author of the study and former President of the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health.
• study suggest that a majority of women who suffer from PGAD also have pre-existing stress related illnesses.
• “PGAD is most certainly not ‘all in the mind,’ and these women should be assessed thoroughly with empathy and careful attention to their symptoms and history,” says David Goldmeier, M.D., co-author of the study. “Although no physical illness or medication showed up as a cause of PGAD in this study, I would urge women to initially consult a sympathetic physician.”

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• medial pre-frontal cortex sits just behind the forehead,
• a piece of familiar music serves as a soundtrack for a mental movie that starts playing in our head."
• calls back memories of a particular person or place, and you might all of a sudden see that person's face in your mind's eye."
• This latest research could explain why even Alzheimer's patients who endure increasing memory loss can still recall songs from their distant past.
• "What's striking is that the prefrontal cortex is among the last [brain regions] to atrophy," Janata noted. He pointed to behavioral observations of Alzheimer's patients singing along or brightening up when familiar songs came on.

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