Children who attend July 4 celebrations are more likely to identify themselves as Republicans later in life, a new Harvard University study finds. [T]here is a political congruence between the patriotism promoted on Fourth of July and the values associated with the Republican party. Fourth of July celebrations in Republican dominated counties may thus be more politically biased events that socialize children into Republicans," they write.
New study on the pleasures of music reported by Discover Magazine:
[M]usic can activate the same reward circuits in the brain as food and sex. Participants listened to their songs of choice in a PET scanner, which detects the release of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine, and again in an fMRI scanner, which measures brain activity. The scans showed that just before feeling enjoyable chills in response to the music, listeners experienced a dopamine rush near the frontal striatum, a brain region associated with anticipating rewards, followed by a flood of dopamine in the rear striatum, the brain’s pleasure center. “It’s like you’re craving the next note,” Salimpoor says.Here's the study. I've also noted from my "anthropological" visits to Christian churches (here, for example), that people tend to sense the presence of Jesus during those emotional peaks that occur in the middle of religious music. You can tell, because people start waving their hands in the air during those emotion-inducing parts of the music. I've also noticed that Jesus becomes more intense when a song modulates to a new key. Seems that Jesus likes the same aspects of music as his human worshipers.
And then again, according to this article in Discover, they might not. Check the comments to see the counter-research, as well as ever-more skirmishes in the ongoing American culture-wars. To the extent that graphic warnings don't discourage smokers, I'll rack this up as one of the many many many counter-intuitive things scientists have discovered about human beings.
I don't know what happened after the National Geographic camera turned off, but this is nonetheless a fascinating vignette illustrating empathy (I dare you to watch this and to conclude otherwise).