Beginning in about the 6th century and from the 3rd century BCE on, Israelites referred to god using the term elohim. Due in part to a growing belief that the divine name (YHWH) was too sacred to be uttered, it was replaced vocally in the synagogue ritual by the Hebrew word Adonai (”My Lord”), which was translated as Kyrios (”Lord”) in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament. In ancient Greece, a woman’s dowry was given by her father or her kyrios to the husband and could be taken back if the marriage ended in divorce.

Every woman had kyrios or male guardian: when she was born it would be her father, and if he died, a male relative could take his place. After her marriage, her husband would become her kyrios. Any property or money that would be hers because of the death of a family member or through inheritance, became the property of her household, which was controlled by the kyrios.

There is no evidence from Athens that women were ever allowed to become kyrios. An Athenian woman could never have any real financial say in her life. Her dowry was in no legal sense her own, as it was given by her kyrios and she could not dispose of it herself. An Athenian woman could obtain a divorce, but only if her family and kyrios supported the decision, and in that case, the dowry had to be returned. Many men feared the possibility of divorce because the return of a dowry could bankrupt a family. Therefore, men may have treated their wives somewhat better than if there was no money to be considered. If the woman was young enough, her kyrios would use her dowry to marry her off again, and if not, the money was used for her future care.

Greek - kūrios, lord, master.

English - cu·ri·ous (kyr‘ē-us)

adj.

1. Eager to learn more
2. Unduly inquisitive; prying
3. Arousing interest because of novelty or strangeness
4. Archaic
   1. Accomplished with skill or ingenuity.
   2. Extremely careful; scrupulous.

[Middle English, from Old French curios, from Latin cūriōsus, careful, inquisitive, from cūra, care]

Given that the Greek ‘kurios’ referred to lord and master, one can conceptuialize how such meaning was embodied in the Latin, curiosus - careful, inquisitive and care. The master of the household exercised careful inquisitiveness while ensuring the care for those in his charge. In order to prosper, one must investigate beyond the borders defining that which one knows to be so.

The Latin cūra means -

1. concern, worry, anxiety, trouble, attention, care, pains, zeal;
2. cure, treatment, task/responsibility/post;
3. administration, supervision;
4. command

So, the Greek ‘kurios,’ which again means lord is related to being a curator, curious, care provider. At the same time, one finds that the Latin word for lord is dominus - owner, king, ruler, judge. Whereas the Greek perspective of ‘lord’ or ‘god’ is one of caretaker, the Romans ascribed the role of ruler. Of course one also finds that Latin uses dominus as a title for ecclesiastics, men of the church.

ec·cle·si·a (noun)

1. The political assembly of citizens of an ancient Greek state
2. A church or congregation

What was in Greece an assembly of citizens, became a church or congregation. The call of the body politic became the call of the body of christ. The political assembly in Greece was democratic in nature. The church took away the voices of those who might oppose and took up a dominant position to lord over, or dominate the populous. Did the church do this with the intention of caring for and curing the flock?

The cure for ignorance is curiosity, not domination. The future of humanity depends upon the promotion of curiosity and the avoidance of domination. Curiosity integrates care and cure. Domination integrates rule and judge. Dominus or Curious, which feels right to you?

Yale School of Medicine and University of Crete School of Medicine researchers report in Cell April 20 the first evidence of a molecular mechanism that dynamically alters the strength of higher brain network connections.

This discovery may help the development of drug therapies for the cognitive deficits of normal aging, and for cognitive changes in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

“Our data reveal how the brain’s arousal systems influence the cognitive networks that subserve working memory-which plays a key role in abstract thinking, planning, and organizing, as well as suppressing attention to distracting stimuli,” said http://info.med.yale.edu/neurobio/arnsten/arnsten.html Amy Arnsten, lead author and neurobiology professor at Yale.

The brain’s prefrontal cortex (PFC) normally is responsible for so-called executive functions. The ability of the PFC to maintain such memory-based functions declines with normal aging, is weakened in people with ADHD, and is severely disrupted in disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

The current study found that brain cells in PFC contain ion channels called hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (HCN) that reside on dendritic spines, the tiny protrusions on neurons that are specialized for receiving information. These channels can open when they are exposed to cAMP (cyclic adenosine monophosphate). When open, the information can no longer flow into the cell, and thus the network is effectively disconnected. Arnsten said inhibiting cAMP closes the channels and allows the network to reconnect.

The study also found alpha-2A adrenergic receptors near the channels that inhibit the production of cAMP and allow the information to pass through into the cell, connecting the network. These receptors are stimulated by a natural brain chemical norepinephrine or by medications like guanfacine.

“Guanfacine can strengthen the connectivity of these networks by keeping these channels closed, thus improving working memory and reducing distractibility,” she said. “This is the first time we have observed the mechanism of action of a psychotropic medication in such depth, at the level of ion channels.”

Arnsten said the excessive opening of HCN channels might underlie many lapses in higher cognitive function. Stress, for example, appears to flood PFC neurons with cAMP, which opens HCN channels, temporarily disconnects networks, and impairs higher cognitive abilities.

There is also evidence that this pathway may not be properly regulated with advancing age, resulting in destruction of cAMP. The dysregulation of the pathway may contribute to increased forgetfulness and susceptibility to distraction as we grow older.

The research is also relevant to common disorders such as ADHD, which is associated with weaker regulation of attention and behavior. ADHD is highly heritable, and some patients with ADHD may have genetic changes in molecules that weaken the production of norepinephrine. Treatments for ADHD all enhance stimulation of the norepinephrine receptors.

These new data also have important implications for the researchers’ studies of more severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which can involve mutations of a molecule called DISC1 (Disrupted in Schizophrenia) that normally regulates cAMP. Loss of function of DISC1 in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder would increase vulnerability to cortical network disconnection and profound PFC deficits. This may be especially problematic during exposure to even mild stress, which may explain the frequent worsening of symptoms following exposure to stress. “We find it remarkable to relate a genetic mutation in patients to the regulation by an ion channel of PFC neuronal networks,” said Arnsten.

Co-authors include Min Wang, Brian Ramos, Yousheng Shu, Arthur Simen, Alvaro Duqye, Avis Brennan, Susheel Vijayraghavan, Anne Dudley, Eric Nou, David McCormick, James Mazer and Constantinos Paspalas, who also has an appointment at the University of Crete School of Medicine in Heraklion, Greece.

Source: Yale.