Nyt–Now
6 AALTO UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE 02
Koonnut / Edited by Paula Haikarainen
Trance stare reveals existence of hypnotic state – to hypnosis, and is known to respond immediately to hypnotic suggestion. Her eye movements were measured with h a special eye tracker during the hypnoticc and the waking state. When she entered hypnosis, her eyes became glazed and her blinking rate was significantly reduced. Even more importantly, hypnosis induced a dramatic reduction in eye movements that are beyond volitional control in healthy adults. Nonee d of the thirty tested control subjects could mimic these changes in eye movement patterns volitionally, which underlies that hypnosis does indeed involve an altered mental state which is associated with cognitive and motor changes far beyond our volitional control. The findings were published in the scientific journal PLoS ONE.
James Zambra
Hypnosis has a long and controversial history. For the past hundred years, researchers have debated whether or not hypnosis really involves an altered mental state unlike the normal wakeful condition. There has been no reliable way for determining whether a person is actually hypnotized or simply faking or simulating hypnosis. An international team of researchers from University of Skövde (Sweden), University of Turku (Finland) and the Aalto University School of Science has now provided strong evidence for the existence of a genuine hypnotic state. The researchers studied the ’trance stare’, a glazed look in the eyes that has often been associated with hypnosis. The study focused on a healthy adult who is known to be highly susceptible
Lighting can help people to cope at work – In her dissertation, Emilia Rautkylä studied the connection between mood and the effects that light has on people’s alertness. She was interested in the invigorating effects of light, especially during the daytime. At night, whilst asleep, the hormone melatonin is secreted in the human body. When its production is halted using light, people feel more alert. However, melatonin cannot be used to account for the daytime effects of light, because the hormone is not secreted during the day. Rautkylä discovered connections between lighting, alertness and mood.
“Light can affect the brain’s limbic system, one of whose functions is to control the emotions. Someone might, for example, feel cheered by a sudden ray of sunlight or, see red lighting as threatening.” The dissertation included a trial, in which Rautkylä studied the effect of light on the alertness of students during a lecture. The study involved test sessions in the mornings and afternoons, in spring and in autumn. “In autumn in Finland, there is less daylight and the natural light lacks short wavelengths, i.e. the blue part of the spectrum. When, during a lecture
Smart phone power consumption reduced – Researchers at Aalto University have designed a network proxy that can cut the power consumption of 3G smart phones up to 74 percent. This device enhances performance and significantly reduces power usage by serving as a middleman for mobile devices to connect to the Internet and handling the majority of the data transfer for the smart phone. Historically, the high energy requirements of mobile phones have slowed the adoption of mobile Internet services in developing countries.
The case study examined Internet usage in three East African countries: Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. Researchers developed energy-saving solutions for smart phones that could be easily deployed across a mobile network and in particular in areas without reliable sources of electricity. The study was published at the scientific conference Africomm 2011. Edward Mutafungwa, Le Wang, Jukka Manner, Puvvala Yeswanth: Strategies for Energy-Efficient Mobile Web Access: An East African Case Study.
in the afternoon, we used white lighting that was cool in terms of its colour temperature at a time of day when people naturally feel sluggish, the students grew less tired than usual.” Dynamic lighting is already used in some offices and schools in Finland. One of the main aims of the research into alertness with lighting is to examine how lighting can help people to cope in a work or school environment. Lighting can also be used when a person’s daily rhythm alters, for example, in managing jetlag or sleeping problems. Light acts as a synchroniser, controlling a person’s ‘internal clock’.