ON IQ. Today we found three items concerning IQ, a topic of some interest to those who raise and educate gifted kids with learning challenges. 1. A UK study found links between higher IQ at ages 5 and 10 with higher-than-typical drug use at ages 16 and 20. Researchers' conjecture? Boredom or feeling different, "either of which could conceivably increase vulnerability to using drugs as an avoidant coping strategy," Read more. 2. The American Heart Association says that in men, a higher late-adolescence IQ score correlates with a lower waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) in middle age. A high WHR is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Read more. 3. Finally, a European study of breastfeeding and IQ indicates that preschoolers who had been breastfed longer had higher IQs. The conjecture: "It is the physical and psychological bonding and interaction between infant and mother during breast-feeding that nurtures development of an infant's cognitive abilities," noting that breastfeeding is not just a meal but "a dynamic, bidirectional, biological dialogue." Find out more.
SENG VINE. SENG's November newsletter is posted at Constant Contact. The issue's featured article is on parenting the gifted; it's by a woman who, as a girl, was featured in the movie Spellbound, about the National Spelling Bee.
RESOURCE. Education Week has announced that November 16-20 is an "open house" at its website, much of which is usually for subscribers only. Find the Education Week homepage.
THE SOCIETY FOR NEUROSCIENCE just concluded its annual meeting. A synopsis of some of the research presented at the conference is available at ScienceDaily; the synopsis features studies involving depression and schizophrenia. Another synopsis at ScienceDaily dealt with studies on ASD, Fragile X, and bipolar disorder.
AND FINALLY, THIS -- ON PARENTING. The New York Times obituary section (we often learn interesting things there) noted the death of a Czech-born little person, 93, who had acted as a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz. According to the obit, his father tried "witch doctor" treatments to make him grow, but then, when the child was 9, sold him to a traveling show. For his stint in Oz, he earned $50 a week, supposedly less than Toto was paid. Read a longer AP version of the obit.