Celebrate the Brain
By Dr. Laura Pawlak Thanksgiving and the many holidays that follow are joyful times to be with family and friends. Holiday cheer, a positive emotion, can also provide the brain with healthful hormones and neurochemicals that improve brain function. Family traditions boost enjoyment of holiday gatherings. In a recent series of studies in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, subjects described the customs they followed — along with those of their families — during holidays. These activities were…