We’ve all realized over the years that talking causes distracted driving, but research from UIUC has proven that driving actually distracts one from talking. According to the research, driving impairs your ability to comprehend and use language.

“The previous findings made no sense to those of us who have studied language,”said Gary Dell, a psycholinguist in the department of psychology at Illinois and corresponding author on the study. “You might think that talking is an easy thing to do and that comprehending language is easy. But it’s not. Speech production and speech comprehension are attention-demanding activities, and so they ought to compete with other tasks that require your attention – like driving.”

The study reflects the tradeoffs that occur when people try to communicate while performing other tasks, Dell said. “The relative balance of attention to any two tasks is going to vary,” he said. “And perhaps we don’t understand one another as well as we should because of this. With modern technology, we’re talking more and more while we are doing other things, but we may be understanding one another less and less.”

Driven to distraction: New study shows driving hinders talking – UI News Bureau

Researchers at the Beckman Institute have proven that success in playing a video game is dependent upon the size of a specific brain structure.

The study adds to the evidence that specific parts of the striatum, a collection of distinctive tissues tucked deep inside the cerebral cortex, profoundly influence a person’s ability to refine his or her motor skills, learn new procedures, develop useful strategies and adapt to a quickly changing environment.

Kirk Erickson, a professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh was lead author on the study. Ann Graybiel, an Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Investigator in the McGovern Institute for Brain Research; and Arthur Kramer, a professor of psychology at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois, were co-principal investigators on the study. Walter Boot, of Florida State University, also contributed to the research, which was conducted at Illinois.

“This study tells us a lot about how the brain works when it is trying to learn a complex task,” Erickson said. “We can use information about the brain to predict who is going to learn certain tasks at a more rapid rate.” Such information might be useful in education, where longer training periods may be required for some students, or in treating disability or dementia, where information about the brain regions affected by injury or disease could lead to a better understanding of the skills that might also need attention, he said.

Video gamers: Size of brain structures predicts success – UI News Bureau

Check out this video of the Illinois Year in Review.

Did you know that the Department of Physics hosts lectures on Saturday mornings?

The series is called the Saturday Physics Honors Lectures. Each lecture focuses on modern aspects of the physical sciences.

The last one for this semester is happening this Saturday – From Blindness to Sight: The Physics of Vision Restoration at 10:15 am in 141 Loomis Lab. Mark your calendars!

It’s finally Friday, and the beginning of Dad’s Weekend 2009!

Check out the calendar of events to see what’s going on this weekend for you and your father to enjoy. Here are a few of the big events:

Friday

Dads Association Annual Reception & Banquet
Nov. 13, 2009 | 5 p.m. Reception and Banquet at 5:30 p.m.
Reservations required. Keynote Speaker: Tony Clements, comedian and retired director of Campus Recreation
Illini Union South Lounge and Illini Rooms A, B & C

UIUC Habitat for Humanity – Benefit Comedy Show
Nov. 13, 2009 | 8 p.m.
Featuring Potted Meat and Spicy Clamato
Natural History Building, Room 228
Tickets $3 in advance (at Illini Union) or $5 at the door.
All proceeds will go to help support Habitat for Humanity.

Illini Hockey
Nov. 13, 2009 | 7:30 p.m.
Ice Arena, General admission $6 for students, $8 non-student/adult

Men’s Basketball vs SIU-Edwardsville
Nov. 13, 2009 | 7 p.m.
Assembly Hall
Check the Fighting Illini Sports Schedule for prices

Saturday

Men’s Football vs. Northwestern
Nov. 14, 2009 | TBA
Memorial Stadium

The Illini Union Board presents Fall Musical “Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella ”
Nov. 14, 2008 | 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Ticket Information available through the Illini Union Board
Foellinger Auditorium

Welcome Dad’s!

It’s October now. You’re caught between watching the leaves fall and studying for exams. You’re in up to your knees in homework and you have no idea if tomorrow will be sunny or snowy. You’ve forgotten that we even have a football team and you’re ready for basketball season. The last thing that you want to think about right now is more school, specifically, next semester. Too bad, because it’s time to schedule those classes!

That’s right, folks, it’s registration season. Advisor meetings, DARS Audits, and time tickets are here. Luckily for you, The Quad is your one-stop shop for registration.

To learn the details about time tickets and online registration, read this.

Some of the details have changed recently. Illinexus for instance, no longer exists. Scheedule, however has upgraded features to include those that Illinexus was known for.  

Here’s a quick run-down of what you need to suceed:

1. Generate a DARS audit to see what credits you have and what you still need to take. Hint: Use the “What-If” function to determine if a class will meet a requirement that you need. Also check out your department’s standard flow-chart if available.

2. Use Scheedule to build your ideal schedule. You can build the schedule yourself, or let the software generate one for you. Just be sure to save it!

3. Check your time-ticket to see when you can register. Popular classes will fill up quickly, so be sure to have those CRN’s ready when your time-ticket opens. Use the Spring 2010 Course Catalog for accurate numbers. Check out the Office of Records to see how your time-ticket compares to other’s.

Good luck!

The Illini Volleyball Team is looking to set an NCAA record for attendance at their game vs. Minnesota on Friday. The game will be held in Assembly Hall in conjunction with this year’s Illini Madness. Illini Madness marks the start of the 2009-2010 basketball season and will also take place on Friday at Assembly Hall.

Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber and volleyball coach Kevin Hambly are combining forces for what promises to be an historic event – “Spike the Record at Illini Madness.” Both coaches have been extremely supportive of each other’s programs through their times at Illinois. Each year Weber plays a visible role during the Illini’s Annual “Stuff Huff” event, for example.

Illinois volleyball will be making its second appearance at Assembly Hall. The Illini and Gophers, both ranking in the top 10, will square off at 6:30 pm. Under the direction of former Olympic Assistant Coach Hambly, Illinois returns six starters from the 2008 NCAA Sweet 16 team, including second-team All-American Laura DeBruler. The Gophers, under former Illini and legendary coach Mike Hebert, join Illinois as potential contenders to dethrone two-time NCAA titlist Penn State as Big Ten champions.

Current Regular Season Attendance Record:
13,412–Nebraska (3) vs. LSU (0), Bob Devaney Sports Center, Lincoln, Nebraska, September 12, 2008.

TV: Friday’s match will be shown tape delayed on the Big Ten Network Sunday at 5 p.m. CDT with Randy Rhinehart (play-by-play) and Jim Stone (analysis) providing the call.

Radio: The match will be heard live on fightingillini.com and WDWS (AM 1400) with Dave Loane (play-by-play) and Mike Trame (analysis) providing the call.

Tickets for the event are free, and doors open at 5:30pm. Admission will be denied once the building is full. The volleyball game will begin at 6:30pm.  

Go Illini!

This week welcomes the annual celebration of Homecoming. The festivities stretch across the entire week to invigorate a sense of pride and Illini spirit in both students and alumni. Some of the popular events this week include:

Oct. 6

Paint the Quad Orange
All day
Event promotes wearing orange and features music, fun, games and orange-out competitions.

OCT. 9

Homecoming Parade and Pep Rally
6-8 p.m.
Parade runs from 6-7 p.m., starting at Sixth Street and Taft Drive in Champaign, traveling through Campustown and turning south on Mathews Avenue in Urbana to end at the Quad. 
Pep Rally on the Quad follows the parade and features performances by UI organizations, appearances by head football coach Ron Zook and the football team, presentation of the UI Alumni Association’s Lou Liay Spirit Award and a fireworks finale.

OCT. 10

Illinois vs. Michigan State Homecoming Football Game
11 a.m.
Memorial Stadium

Check out the Homecoming website for the complete schedule of events.

Remember that this is our event. We invented Homecoming. Let’s show it. 

Wear Orange. Go Illini!

Join Illini Nation on Saturday in painting Memorial Stadium orange in this season’s ORANGE-OUT game. Wear orange, and enjoy 60,000 orange shakers that will be distributed.

Now, more than ever, the team needs our support. Let’s go Illini!

The Illini Hockey team begins their season tonight against Michigan State at 7:30pm at the Ice Arena. If you’ve never been to a hockey game before, you have to go at least once. It’s a pretty exciting time, hockey fan or not. The hockey team is a club team and not an official NCAA team. This doesn’t stop the talent, however, they won the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division I National Championship in 2007-2008 and are ranked #2 in the pre-season poll for this year.

Additionally, because the event is not NCAA sponsored, there exist a group of students known as the “Harrassing Illini” that serves as the cheering section during the game. They well… play mind games with the opposing team during the game. If you go, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Check out their website here: http://illinihockey.com/

If you don’t already have plans, head over to the Ice Arena tonight. Wear orange, and go Illini! 

THANK – YOU

NOTE: Hockey is played on ice, so the temperature of the rink/seats are rather cold. Come prepared.