Eideard

“Reach out and touch someone” — good advertising slogan, or evolutionary imperative?

How about both?

What Madison Avenue knew decades ago has been observed in brain chemistry. A simple phone call from mom can calm frayed nerves by sparking the release of a powerful stress-quelling hormone, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Biological anthropologist Leslie Seltzer tested a group of seven- to 12-year-old girls with an impromptu speech and series of math problems in front of a panel of strangers, sending their hearts racing and levels of cortisol — a hormone associated with stress — soaring…

Once stressed, one-third of the girls were comforted in person by their mothers — specifically with hugs, an arm around the shoulders and the like. One-third were left watch an emotion-neutral 75-minute video. The rest were handed a telephone. It was mom on the line, and the effect was dramatic.

“The children who got to interact with their mothers had virtually the same hormonal response, whether they interacted in person or over the phone,” Seltzer says.

The girls’ levels of oxytocin, often called the “love hormone” and strongly associated with emotional bonding, rose significantly and the stress-marking cortisol washed away.

“It was understood that oxytocin release in the context of social bonding usually required physical contact,” Seltzer says. “But it’s clear from these results that a mother’s voice can have the same effect as a hug, even if they’re not standing there.”

The study revealed that the support, diminishing of worry and concern, was lasting.

Mom is as important as ever.

Canadian combat troops are slated to leave Afghanistan next summer, but RCMP Commissioner William Elliott said Saturday he expects his personnel will have to stay behind to undertake the “huge challenge” of training police officers.

About 50 RCMP and other civilian Canadian police are posted to Afghanistan as part of a mission to train the Afghan National Police. The ANP, as it’s known, has had a reputation for roadside shakedowns and graft that Canadian officials hope mentoring, training and supervision will eradicate.

Elliott, who visited Kandahar this weekend to review the Mounties’ operations there, said he’s seen “indications from the government” that it wants the training to plow on once combat soldiers ship out starting in July 2011…

One question is whether the Tories will seek to send more police to Afghanistan to fill the void left by the withdrawal of the Canadian Forces. The federal government has been pressured by the United States to maintain a large presence in the central Asian country past 2011…

As foreign mentors try to cleanse the Afghan National Police of its venal tendencies — officers have been known to routinely hit up the subjects of their investigations for a payoff and are widely distrusted by the populace — they’ve had to adapt their teaching methods for the different calibre of the force’s cadets.

“Let’s not kid ourselves. We are working not with a modern police force, and not with recruits that would meet the standards of Canadian recruits,” Elliott said. “Many of them are illiterate, and that in and of itself is a huge challenge…”

The Canadian police contingent has also tackled the corruption conundrum systemically by helping implement a new payroll method. ANP officers are now remunerated on par with soldiers in the Afghan National Army, and they receive their wages by direct deposit to their bank account to avoid skimming by bureaucrats. It’s hoped that with more money in the officers’ hands, they will solicit less from the public.

Uh, OK. That’s a heck of an ethic determining education and a job description.