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a, Student Life, Student of the Week

Student of the Week: Juan Estalella

by Laura Plamondon on

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To say that Juan Estalella is committed and engaged in McGill’s community is an understatement. Along with being a full-time U1 student in Management, Estalella is on the executive team of four different clubs. He is currently the marketing coordinator for the SLASummit 2015, VP Media for the International Management Association (IMA), VP Sponsorship for the Junior Hong Kong Canada Business Association, and part of the second-year team for Right to Play.

Estalella believes education, social equality, and sustainable development are the key elements to a successful future for the world. According to Estalella, the 2015 SLASummit and Right to Play enables him to combine these elements.

“The SLASummit [2015] is a social conference and case competition that will gather 150 students from South and North America to find sustainable solutions to certain problems in communities in Latin America,” Estalella explained.

Moreover, Estalella said that the hands-on experience offered at SLASummit is what he finds most appealing.

“The cool thing about this project is that the winning team will actually get the funds to go and implement the project in the community,” he said. “This event will help educate the students about the problems in Latin American communities, while creating a social project that will be sustainable in the future.”

Last summer, Estalella spent a month volunteering in India teaching in a hospital with 40 children who were HIV positive. He stated that his trip to India made a strong impact on his perception of our society’s current state and inspired him to work to change its future. 

“[Through my trip to India] I learned to value every single thing that I have,” Estalella said. “A family, good health, food, clean water, a home, and clothes are things that we usually take for granted but are unfortunately not present in everyone’s lives.”

Estalella finds his role models in the late Nelson Mandela and Spanish professional basketball player Pau Gasol.

“Mandela proved to us that we all have the power to change those rules and laws that we are not happy with,” he said. “Anyone can make a significant change in their lives and in this world. All they have to do is believe in themselves.”

“I am also a great basketball fan, and Pau Gasol is a Spanish basketball player that I have always followed and was lucky enough to meet in person,” Estelella continued. “He is a great player and also a world ambassador for UNICEF.”

Estalella’s determination to get involved in alleviating societal problems as well as his drive to create a positive change in the world is largely a result of inspiration from his grandmother, who he credits as having an immense positive change in his life.

“She passed away two years [ago],” he said. “It was the first time that I faced a family tragedy, and it was hard to keep my positive and energetic attitude in inevitable sad times. I am proud of how I managed my anger towards cancer, and how I kept a positive view on things despite this.” 

For the future, Estalella hopes to see a world where there is more collaboration and where people are more conscious of their actions.

“I want people to care more about each other instead of simply satisfying their personal needs,” he said.

What do you think is the best place on earth?

Wherever family is.

Which celebrity would you like to meet?

Bill Gates. He has a different mindset from any other successful businessman, and gives a great amount of his earnings to charities and NPO’s worldwide to improve worldwide education.

What TV series would you like to star in if given the opportunity?

I feel that I could be an interesting character in Modern Family.

Favourite food?

Eggs over easy with rice, tomato sauce, and jamón Serrano (a typical Spanish dish). Every time I have that dish it reminds me of home.

Hidden talent?

I can speak four languages fluently: Spanish, English, French, and German.

a, Art, Arts & Entertainment

Stemple Pass: A discomforting, compelling exposition

by Elizabeth McLellan on

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The VOX gallery, also known as “Centre de L’image Contemporaine,” is known for its self-reflexive art, experimenting with colour, shape, form, and technology to facilitate public discourse on the nature of image in today’s society. As a nonprofit organization,  entrance to the gallery leaves your pockets untouched, making the exhibit accessible to students and contemporary art connoisseurs alike. The subject of James Benning’s Stemple Pass exhibit, however, is somewhat less easily reached in its simplicity and rejection of the traditional narrative style that delights and entertains the modern subject. 

The visually stunning, vibrant, and complex aesthetics of the video are accompanied by little movement, sound, or diversion. While this produces a powerful piece of art, it can alienate its audience—which became visible in the restlessness of my fellow audience members. The piece consists of a single shot of a forested valley, with a lone log cabin billowing smoke in the cold months, and mountains dipped in fog emerging from behind. The cabin, a replica of the self-built cabin of Ted Kaczynski—known as the Unabomber—peaks out from behind the thick cover of foliage, characterizing the aesthetic makeup of the rest of the screen. The voice-over narration of the Unabomber’s private notebooks offer the viewer a peek into the comically disturbing world of the mind of a serial killer. 

Stemple Pass is a game of concentration. The work itself plays against the viewer, challenging us to achieve a meditative state of focus with the screen. Inevitably, it wins, staying still and silent for longer than comfortable and forcing the viewer over the cusp into distraction and fidgeting. Benning is perhaps utilizing this stillness to succinctly reflect upon duration, time, and the very human condition of restlessness. 

The calm of the image is in stark contrast to the pulsating and almost throbbing energy of the disturbing mind of Kaczynski. It is thrilling—by far the best horror film I’ve ever seen. There is comedy in the monotonous, apathetic, and deep voice delivering strange plots to kill people. The resentful anger Kaczynski emanates towards modern society—with its technology, progress, and capitalist culture—is made clear through his simplistic prose. Benning’s fascination with political contrarianism explains in part his choice of the Unabomber’s manifesto for his work, yet to distill the messy and complicated narrative to this would indeed be reductive. 

The audience’s interaction with the screen and its subject is guided by the stools situated centrally in the relatively large black room. Much like in a theatre, viewers sit in suspense, watching the screen, bound by a code of conduct. When the theatre space became empty, I felt myself freed from the laws of viewership and possibilities of interaction with the screen and surrounding space entered my mind. Although I only acted on one: Sprawling out in the vast space between the stools and the screen to get a different angled look at the display. This change, however, only made me realize the true fixed nature of the image, and it devolved from a video into an abstract painting. The image lost any cohesion, and was no longer a valley with mountains and a log cabin, but a series of colours, shapes, and disjointed sounds. 

A good painting can depict the reality of inhabiting a time and space, whether it be abstract or realist, but this video did just the opposite. In a true Italian Neorealist tradition, it captures the very essence of time and place through an unfiltered, unedited, and very real image, while resisting change for so long as to destroy any concept of setting and devolve into an abstract array, like splotches of paint on a canvas. Benning’s Stemple Pass exhibit is a must-see—even if only to view it in passing. 

Stemple Pass will be screened until Saturday, Feb. 21 at various times at VOX Centre de L’image Contemporaine (2 St. Catherine E).

a, Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

Pop Rhetoric: Oscar backlash misses the mark

by Max Joseph on

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The 2015 Oscar nominations were announced recently, and with them came the inevitable hand-wringing that always accompanies news regarding the awards. Many critics cried racism, and the news was generally treated by denizens of the internet as symptomatic of the gross racial inequalities that continue to plague North America and the rest of the world. In one particularly hyperbolic headline, the popular news website Vox declared, “Selma was snubbed because the average Oscar voter is a 63-year-old white man.” 

Here’s what actually happened: Selma, a biopic about Martin Luther King, Jr., was nominated for two awards (Best Picture and Best Original Song). While this would be great news for most films, many pundits were expecting additional nominations for director, Ava DuVernay, and lead actor, David Oyelwo. In their places in both categories were groups of entirely white nominees. These facts, combined with the statistics that Academy voters are 94 per cent white, 77 per cent male, and have an average age of 63, were all the evidence Vox cited when it proclaimed its inference.

While such a conclusion would be sensible if one were to look at the situation in a vacuum, such a reading seems incredibly reductive in the context of the rest of this year’s nominations. A film considered by many to have one of the year’s best scripts and widely seen as a frontrunner for the Best Adapted Screenplay category, Gone Girl, wasn’t recognized for its writing. Another film considered by many to be one of the best recent animated films, The Lego Movie, wasn’t nominated in the Best Animated Feature category. My personal choice for the best film of 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy, had to be content with nominations in technical categories. 

None of this is to suggest that any of these films should or shouldn’t have been nominated, but rather to show the subjectivity involved in deciding whether one work of art is “better” than another. I was very impressed by the work writer Gillian Flynn produced in adapting her novel Gone Girl for the screen, but I don’t see how one could fairly compare its unique brand of lurid camp to any of the films that did get nominated for their screenplays. Similarly, The Lego Movie’s idiosyncratic combination of self-aware humour aimed at adults and surprisingly moving moments differentiates it entirely from the Best Animated Feature nominees, making it challenging to assess the film in relation to them. As for Guardians, well, I’ve suspected for a while now that I’d just have to learn how to live in a world that wouldn’t grant it Oscar glory.

These examples also prove the inherent absurdity in trying to affix a narrative to a process that’s anything but exact. Yes, many members of the Academy are old white men, which means that they bring a certain perspective to their viewing and assessment, but that still doesn’t explain why they’d snub the script of a film that was seen by many—unfairly, in my opinion, but the point remains valid—as a misogynistic fantasy or a hilarious comedy about plastic toys. Furthermore, it’s not like Academy members form a cabal in which they discuss the best ways they can think of to prevent gender and racial equality: the group consists of a disparate mix of industry professionals who vote based on what they think about what they’ve seen.

The controversy over what recognition Selma did or did not receive distracts from the more pressing issue of Hollywood’s lack of diversity. Sure, it would be nice if the one film nominated for Best Picture with a majority black cast had also received recognition for its black star and black director, but wouldn’t it be even nicer if we didn’t have to place our hopes for equality in the entertainment industry on the shoulders of one film? Between Selma and last year’s Best Picture winner, 12 Years A Slave, the last few years have been an improvement for representations of people of colour in critically acclaimed films, but the still conspicuous lack of diverse casts shows how much work is left to be done. Let’s worry more about doing it than about whether or not films that try to ameliorate the situation are properly recognized for their efforts.

a, Recipes, Student Life

Recipe: Pudding chomeur

by Jer Lin Poh on

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Pudding chomeur, or poor man’s pudding, is a classic Quebecois dessert that was created during the Great Depression. For a fun twist, this syrupy cake may be baked in an empty maple syrup can.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1.5 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1 cup granulated white sugar

¼ cup margarine (55g)

1 cup milk

For the syrup:

1 cup water

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

¼ cup margarine (55g)

¼ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 7×7-inch baking dish.

2. Sift the flour and baking powder together in a small bowl. 

3. Using a mixer, beat the egg, sugar, and 1/4 cup margarine together in a large bowl. 

4. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk to the egg mixture, stirring to combine. 

5. Beat the mixture on low speed until there are no lumps (20 seconds). 6. Pour the batter into the prepared dish.

7. Combine the syrup ingredients and bring the mixture to a boil for two minutes. Cool for one minute, then pour the sauce over the batter.

8. Bake in the preheated oven until the centre is set, about 40 minutes. 9. Serve warm, with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.

For a maple syrup-based version,  replace brown and white sugars with 1 cup of maple syrup. Reduce the amount of water to ½ cup.

a, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: George Ezra – Wanted on Voyage

by Clare Murphy on

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George Ezra makes his way across the pond this month—physically and digitally—first through his performance last week in Montreal opening for “Stay With Me” singer, Sam Smith; and then by the release of his debut album, Wanted on Voyage, to the North American market.  The album was previously released on May 19, 2014 with great success featuring hits such as “Budapest” and will now be attempting to make its way into the hearts of Americans with its secondary release on Jan. 27.    

Travelling suits the 21-year-old singer, as the majority of the album was written while he was backpacking across Europe, as displayed through such songs as “Barcelona” and “Blind Man in Amsterdam.” Ezra conveys powerful and complex emotional ideas through his simple and real songs, which have a transcendent nature. His music encapsulates a wide spectrum, from the youthful upbeat tunes of “Cassy O’” and “Blame it On Me,” the latter of which calls for one to seize the day, asking “what you waiting for” with the fear and pressure of passing time, to the protective slow embrace of “Coat of Armour” and the darker haunting sound of “Did You Hear the Rain?” Produced by Cameron Blackwood. The album has effectively updated old techniques yet kept the integrity of its spirit, which contributes to make the youthful Ezra’s music feel eternal.    

Ezra can already count a fan in Ian McKellen—better known as Gandalf—who was featured in his music video for “Listen to the Man.” This great new artist will be returning to Montreal and opening for Hozier on March 3 at the Metropolis.  

a, Chill Thrills, Student Life

Chill Thrills: Mount Royal Park

by Arden Li on

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The freezing cold that marks the end of January is also prime time to bundle up and head outdoors for fun in the snow. Luckily, the perfect triad of winter activities is located in Mount Royal Park, a mere twenty minute walk from Roddick Gates. Besides being a haven for nature-lovers in an otherwise urban landscape, the park offers skating, cross-country skiing, and tubing. These activities start at the Beaver Lake Pavilion, at 2000 Chemin Remembrance, and provide great winter entertainment for the adventurous student.

Skating

Located right outside the pavilion, Beaver Lake is a natural and picturesque ice rink comprised of several adjacent skating surfaces. One of the surfaces includes a snowy island in the middle, complete with several ornament-laced trees. Multiple benches line the outer rim, facing outwards toward the ice, providing convenient seating for tired skaters. In the daytime, the rink is bustling with a vibrant energy. Transitioning into the evening, the rink is aglow with lights, emanating a cozier mood. Since the lake is outside, it is not as well maintained as other skating rinks, as evidenced by clumps of snow throughout the rink. The wind chill factor may also be difficult to bear on colder days. However, Beaver Lake creates an overall comfortable environment for novice and experienced skaters alike. The rink is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. There is no entry fee, and skate rentals are only $9 for two hours. Skate sharpening is also available for $7.

Cross–country skiing

For an easy-to-learn activity combined with a total-body workout, cross-country skiing is available in Mount Royal Park, which includes 22 kilometres of groomed trails. Cross-country skiing allows friends to share conversations while exploring serene trails at a more laid-back pace. The park contains five trails for classic skiing and two for skate skiing, a newer method of cross-country skiing that involves lateral movements similar to those of ice skating. The variety of trails, ranging from relatively level stretches to sharper inclines, accommodates skiers of all skill levels. Since the trails are not lit at night, beginners who are unfamiliar with the terrain are advised to avoid going after dark. Trail maps are available at the Smith House—which is at the park entrance—the rental booth in the Beaver Lake Pavilion, as well as on the park’s website. Check trail and weather conditions prior to heading to Mount Royal, either online or by directly calling the park. The ski trails are open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Ski rentals are $12 per hour or $18 for three hours.

Tubing

Tubing is the perfect activity for a clear day—preferably right after a fresh snowfall—to engage in some friendly competition on the slopes. A short walk away from the Beaver Lake Pavilion, the snow tubing hill consists of four lanes, each of which have been uniquely worn down by preceding participants, creating varying speeds. Although the ride down only lasts about half a minute, the thrill of the rush lingers for many hours to come. The snow tubing lanes are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Monday to Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Inner tubes can be rented at the Beaver Lake Pavilion or, for more convenience, at the cabin located at the bottom of the tubing hill, which only takes cash. Rentals are $9 for the entire day, with an added bonus that tubers can leave and return to the slope as many times as they wish during that time. For students who have their own sleds, the other half of the hill is open for tobogganing and is free to the public.

a, Research Briefs, Science & Technology

Research Briefs—Jan. 27, 2015

by Lydia Kaprelian on

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Is being bilingual better?

A 2011 census of Canada revealed Montreal to have the highest rate of bilinguals in the country. While this figure may not come as a surprise to many, it does make Montreal the ideal candidate for demonstrating the ‘bilingual advantage.’  

Evidence has shown that raising a child in a multilingual environment endows the developing brain with distinct advantages in executive function—that is, the ability to manage higher-level cognition including problem solving, task switching, planning, and execution.

Dr. Angela de Bruin, raised speaking Dutch and English, attended the University of Edinburgh to find out more about the relationship between bilingualism and cognition. She began her first study fully expecting to document the ways bilingualism confers success.

“I had the impression that there’s a really strong effect of bilingualism on executive function,” de Bruin predicted.

However, the data showed no difference between monolingual and bilingual performance on three out of four of the cognitive tests she conducted.

She decided to investigate the claims further. She examined abstracts from 169 conferences, looking for those involving bilingualism and executive control. De Bruin wanted to look for publication bias; maybe there was a preference toward publishing positive results­—ones that showed an advantage of bilingualism.

Sure enough, about half of the findings presented at conferences showed complete or partial support, while the other half provided complete or partial opposition for the bilingual advantage. Yet, of the studies that were subsequently published, 68 per cent of the studies demonstrating a bilingual edge were published while only 29 per cent of the studies showing no difference or a monolingual advantage found their way into publication. De Bruin published her findings in Psychological Science last month under the title “Cognitive Advantage in Bilingualism: An Example of Publication Bias?”

“I’m definitely not saying there’s no bilingual advantage,” de Bruin explained.

De Bruin thinks we may be looking in the wrong places. Instead of conferring an advantage during the developmental stage of life, de Bruin believes that the data is more compelling when showing a bilingual advantage toward the end of life. Data has shown that bilinguals are, on average, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s 4.3 years later than monolinguals. She posits that bilingualism may help protect against cognitive decline. For this reason, de Bruin argues, the bilingual advantage may still ring true.

Music knows no bounds

Hauke Egermann and Stephen McAdams from McGill’s Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology are learning that the language of music is universal. In a recently published article in Frontiers of Psychology, Egermann et al. studied psychophysiological responses to music between two groups—Montrealers and Menbenzé Congolese pygmies—who had no previous knowledge of the other groups’ music. 

Both experimental groups listened to 19 musical clips—11 Western and eight Pygmy pieces. They were then asked to choose between emoticons to explain their moods by asking whether they felt calm (closed-eyes emoticon) or excited (open-eyes). The researchers also monitored the participants’ heart rate, breathing rate, and other psychophysiological indicators.

As it turns out, emotional responses to music are remarkably similar across cultural lines. The main difference, the study notes, is that Canadian listeners felt a wider array of emotions than Pygmy listeners. 

The explanation is most likely cultural. 

“In general, music is used in this culture to evacuate all negative emotions,” said Nathalie Fernado, a contributing researcher from the Université de Montreal.

“People have been trying to figure out […] whether the way we react to music is based on the culture that we come from or on some universal features of the music itself,” McAdams explained. “Now we know that it is actually a bit of both.”

a, Opinion

Commentary: Diffusing anglophone tension in Quebec

by Albert Park on

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Anglophone-francophone relations in Quebec have not been off to a good start in 2015 as the tension and unrest within anglophone communities is reaching a climax. Graham Fraser, the official language commissioner of Canada, recently made a call for the Quebec government to create an Office of Anglophone Affairs, a request that was promptly shut down by the governing Quebec Liberals. The government’s prompt refusal has worsened the worry of the anglophone population that it is being marginalized, and has only amplified tensions with the Francophone majority.

Why does the government reject the decision to give the anglophones what they want? For the same reason that Bill 10—which was met with opposition from English speakers because it would merge English health-care agencies into a governmental mega-board—was conceived: It saves money. By replacing local health agencies with one big system, Bill 10 would drastically reduce bureaucracy costs, saving the government nearly $220 million a year. Needless to say, Quebec has not been doing well economically, and the government has made many moves to reduce spending. It seems rather counterproductive that they should create another office at this time, introducing heavy bureaucracy costs which they are constantly trying to reduce. Realizing this, it is easy to see that anglophones’ consistent demands for increased power and accessibility are not reasonable and will only increase their hostility with many French-speaking Quebecers.

Many people will argue that because Ontario, for example, has an Office of Francophone Affairs, Quebec should have one for anglophones since Quebec’s percentage of anglophones (7.7 per cent) is much higher than the percentage of French-speakers in other provinces (3.9 per cent for Ontario). However, those making this argument should understand the limitations of the role and influence of these francophone offices. For example, in Ontario, the primary goal is to provide government services in French to 25 designated areas that have a significant French-speaking population (over 10 per cent of inhabitants). In theory, an anglophone variant of such a department would be a constructive introduction to Quebec if the main problems faced by the English-speakers were based around government services.

However, this is simply not the case, as a survey conducted by CBC last year revealed that only 28 per cent of anglophone Quebecers felt that they did not have access to government services in English. Essentially, an Office of Anglophone Affairs would waste resources to enforce systems that were already in place in a desperate attempt to assuage the English speakers who feel they are underrepresented.

The true problem is that many English speakers feel that they are losing power, and that their prospects in Quebec seem rather bleak. This is especially a big concern for students who will be graduating from anglophone institutions such as McGill. A study done at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM) revealed that the majority of anglophone students (two-thirds of them from McGill) felt that they would not be able to have successful careers in this province. A large portion of them expressed that they have felt discriminated in various public places and in the workplace, primarily due to their linguistic differences.

The true problem is that many English speakers feel that they are losing power, and that their prospects in Quebec seem rather bleak.

However, the more surprising result gathered from the study was that anglophones were not the only group to feel threatened. In fact, plenty of young francophones expressed worry that the English speaking community could harm their own survival as French-speakers in Quebec. As students who are a few years away from graduating and possibly diving into the workforce and community of Quebec, it is important for McGill students to think critically about this proposed measure. Would the creation of an anglophone office—which would add costs to the government and use up taxpayer’s money—really benefit English speakers in the long run? Without a doubt, it would worsen the feelings of division and hostility between the two groups, which would only further hurt the career prospects of anglophones. While the demands of the English speakers in Quebec seem reasonable on the surface, the establishment of an Office of Anglophone Affairs would not fix any of their concerns and would only aggravate the distrust between the English and French speakers in the province.

a, McGill, News, SSMU

Midnight Kitchen resumes normal operations following two months out of service

by Shrinkhala Dawadi on

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The Midnight Kitchen reopened on Monday after being closed for nearly two months. The pay-what-you-can vegan food collective initially closed last November after an incident when the kitchen and storage area were vandalized. The kitchen was expected to resume its operations within the first two weeks of this semester, but a rodent infestation in the Brown building forced it to postpone th reopening until Monday.

“This is not the first time we’ve had issues [with] mice in the entire building,” said Diego, a volunteer at the kitchen who declined to provide his last name. “SSMU [Students’ Society of McGill University] and Midnight Kitchen […] have done everything to ensure that our kitchen is protected from any potential hazard [….] They’ve fumigated the kitchen [and] bought new bins that are more resistant to rodents.” 

Going forward, Grace, another volunteer at the kitchen who declined to provide a last name, explained that operations should currently be running as planned, especially after the renewal of the kitchen’s Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ) permits had been renewed, which allow the kitchen to store and distribute food.  

“We have two new MAPAQ certified-for-life staff members,” Grace said.

SSMU Vice-President Clubs and Services Stefan Fong added that SSMU has also taken measures to counter the rodent infestation. 

“We haven’t been involved in the reopening itself, but we helped [the Midnight Kitchen] clean their space and do their MAPAQ training,” Fong said. “We now have a pest control technician who covers all the McGill buildings. We submit reports to him via a form we’ve created for tenants to document sightings.”

a, Science & Technology

Do you want fries with that?

by Chloe Nevitt on

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Next time you think you’re deciding between a salad and fries, your brain may have already subconsciously made the decision for you. A research team from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital of McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre has shown that food choices are largely governed by past experiences.

“In our study, we were interested in learning about how people make decisions in regards to food,” explained Deborah Tang, lead author of the study. “We took 29 people and put them in an MRI scanner. We showed them pictures of food and asked how much they’d be willing to pay for each picture.” 

This method, known as the Becker-DeGroot-Marshak auction, has participants bidding between $0 and $5 in $0.50 increments for each item.  The best strategy is to bid what one is willing to pay for the item, which then enables the research team to determine how much a person is willing to pay.

The team concluded that the participants’ choices and willingness to pay were based on the caloric density—the amount of calories per gram—of the food. Iwnitially, the team believed that the participants would choose the healthier food items that were lower in calories; however, they quickly realized that this wasn’t the case.

It doesn’t matter how many calories a person believes is in the food, explained Tang.

“The brain creates this response to food based on previous exposure to it in terms of calories.” 

The participant will want to go for the food item that in the past has provided them with the largest amount of calories. These feeding patterns are signalled by an area of the brain known as the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). The vmPFC reacts to stimuli and is responsible for decision-making. Brain scans of the participants  from Tang’s study showed high activity in these regions during their bidding session.

The study also had participants accurately try to estimate the caloric contents of the food items they were bidding on. Surprisingly, the participants did a poor job determining the calories present in the foods; however, they still consistently chose the higher calorie option. This indicates that despite not being able to identify the higher calorie food, people will still choose it.

“While this is showing that subconsciously you don’t have a lot of control on this, [maybe] certain drugs can alter your brains response to food,” Tang said. 

According to the latest Canada census, one in four people are obese and the ability to cut back on food by managing cravings could mean great things for those trying to lose weight. These urges involves another aspect that the team is investigating: The hunger hormone ghrelin.

“[Ghrelin] goes up before feeding, and down after,” explained Tang. “High levels of ghrelin leads you to eat more.” 

Understanding the signaling pathways responsible for hunger urges can provide help to those suffering from type II diabetes and cardiovascular problems.

So, don’t feel bad the next time you’re reaching for the brownie you shouldn’t be having—your brain’s already decided for you.

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