Hi there!

Hope you are fine. To be honest. This evening I was not on a diet. Don´t know why, but I have thought a lot about different countries recently, especially the U.S.. So instead of traveling I cross cook. One of my favorite interests in life.

I write my book, and I have passed the most difficult part of the book now. Now I will work on how to find a happy ending.

I am also happy that I received loose leaf the from Harrods today. Reminds me of the beautiful the plantations in Malaysia.

Lots of love from Anna

Idag är jag lite sömnig. Var på ett väldigt trevligt julbord igår med kollegor. Årets första julbord och det var så gott. Det är ju december men det är egentligen inte så mycket jul ännu. Kanske för att det inte är någon snö. Förmodligen så.

Jag är ju uppvuxen på landet och där kanske man följer traditioner på ett annat sätt, tror jag. Jag kände mig väldigt konservativ idag för att jag var på högmässa. Det är advent och då brukar man gå i kyrkan. Så jag gör det ibland för att få julstämning. Tycker väldigt mycket om julmusik, särskilt då alla adventssånger.

Så blir det för mycket jul och därför gjorde jag scones och afternoon tea. Med ost och marmelad förstås.

Helt ok.

Anna

Emptiness

Close by the horizon,
where I touch upon des rayon verts,
the key to my heart can be found.

With gentleness,
care and caress,
my heart will forever be bonded to yours.

Med all önskan om en fin fredag

anna

Yes, it is true. I always watched all episodes in L.A. Law when I grew up. I liked the court scenes when the lawyers defended. Rhetoric is very good in several scenes. I suppose I liked L.A. Law because there is a sense of right and wrong. To act with moral and judgement. I liked the people and the different characters very much. I also liked little house on the prairie, but that I´ll tell you more about at another occasion.

Today I met my mentor Professor Jörgen Engel. He is still active in research within addiction. It was very nice to catch up because it was several years ago since we met. We talked a little about our ethnical backgrounds. I have some Indian background, and he is Jewish.  I told him that a woman, today living in Germany, has contacted my father. She has lived at the house where I grew up during second world war. She is jewish. I sent her a picture and she was very relieved to see the house. I imagine that it brings back a lot of memories.

Of course, Jörgen asked what I do in life. And my answer was that I work, write and exercise. Yes, that is my life in a nutshell. Right now, my book is going through a very sad chapter. So sad, that I must find a happy ending. I like happy endings, don´t you?

Bonne soirée,

Anna

Hej igen! Även fast det är en ledig dag så har jag en del att göra. Har ju inte skrivit en skönlitterär bok tidigare så det är nytt och kräver lite tankearbete, förstås.

Ser fram emot imorgon och jag har tänkt ganska mycket på en av mina favoritserier när jag växte upp. Lagens änglar. Jag missade aldrig ett avsnitt. Min absoluta favoritserie. Måste se om jag kan få tag på tidigare avsnitt. Nu ska jag skriva ett tag till och sedan träning.

En glimt av nostalgi – njut!

Anna

Hi there. I have a day off today and tomorrow. So that means that I have time for writing. Wonderful.

Yesterday it was 10 years since I defended my thesis. Today I am at home writing and tomorrow I will meet my mentor Professor Jörgen Engel. Of course, I think of previous colleagues I have worked with. However, my special thoughts goes to Gun Andersson and Kenn Johannessen whom I worked closely with during several years.

I spent many years to study the neurobiology behind the clinical observation that there is a strong association between smoking (nicotine-acetylcholine) and alcohol consumption. My opponent was, as you know, Professor Agneta Nordberg, and her research area is Alzheimers disease where acetylcholine is an important player.

Above is an illustration (Engel et al. 1992) showing the complexity of the reward profile of alcohol. The text is from my thesis.

Many neurotransmitters, including dopamine, acetylcholine, serotonin et cetera are involved. Also individual factors such as genes, age, hormones and environment (eg stress) determines the outcome of alcohol reward.

It is well known that high alcohol consumption causes a lot of problems in health care and society in general. The last figure I saw was estimated to 130 billion Swedish crowns yearly. A huge amount that I don´t think politicians are aware of.

However, families and relatives carry the largest burden.

Sweden has an interesting history with regard to alcohol. There was something called “motbok” or Brattsystemet (Ivan Bratt) in the 20th century. If you compare the way of alcohol consumption in France and Sweden, you may conclude that; in Sweden  you get brain damages (binge drinking) whereas in France you get liver damages (every day drinking).

Since I have an interest in mountains, I had this quotation in my thesis:

“There were many, many fine reasons not to go, but attempting to climb Everest is an intrinsically irrational act – a triumph of desire over sensibility”

From Jon Krakauer´s “Into thin air”, 1997

This is an attempt to explain reward in words.

In my daily personal life I try to think of, and use “A triumph of desire over sensibility”. From a neurobiological perspective: desire is dopamine and sensibility is serotonin.

Je t’embrasse,

Anna