The article “Brain Stains” in the October issue of Scientific American was by far the best magazine article I have read. I had two opposite reactions to the article: shock and intrigue…
Shock: Sherri Storm opened the newspaper one February morning only to find a shocker of her own. The headline read, “Malpractice Lawsuit: Plaintiff tells horror of memories. Woman emotionally testifies that psychiatrist planted false recollections.” After reading the story about the woman in the article, Storm realized that she herself had been a victim of malpractice. The 200-plus personalities with which she had been diagnosed by her therapist, Kenneth Olson, had been nothing more than a figment of her imagination.
Like Storm, there are many others who underwent recovered-memory therapy that revealed sordid memories of a fictitious past. When recalling any of these made-up memories, one notices the resonating guided structure, suggesting that the therapist was instrumental in guiding the mind to formulate images of horrid events that fictitiously took place in one’s life.
Although Storm has realized that she does not suffer from Multiple Personality Disorder, she is still traumatized to this day. Seeing a strand of hair on her pizza triggered conjured memories of gagging and eating babies in a cult; Cigar smoke bring recollections of cigar burns and rapes by her Uncle; Even her nurturing parents were seen as criminals against her. She remains unemployed, and socially isolated.
Intrigue: Bad therapy seems to have altered the brain’s emotional circuitry in Storm and others like her, with lasting effects on memory and mental health. While this ‘brain stain’ can be reversed, it would take considerable effort.
The main problem with brain is that it does not have a selective process in information processing. Imagination or coerced memories like the ones mentioned earlier does not go through a screening process to be confirmed, or trashed. In an experiment done by Elizabeth F. Loftus and Jacqueline Pickrell (1995), families were contacted as asked information about their past to gather memories to construct a memory booklet. A false story about being lost in the mall at age 5 was also included. When family members were shown the book, they responded by recalling all of the memories, even that of the false story, providing details of the fictitious event.
Recovered-memory therapy is heavily relient on the notion that some memories are so unreliable that they are repressed by the mind in order to protect itself. On the contrary, Neurobiologist James L. McGaugh of U.C.I. has found that a key function of memory is the ability to recall threatening situations so that they (situations) may be avoided in the future.
Most people don’t realize that when they undergo different types of stress, especially in the case of Chronic Stress, physical changes take place in the brain. The neuronal complexity in three areas is affected: the medial prefrontal cortex (responsible for working memory and executive function), the hippocampus (responsible for learning, memory, and emotional processing), and the amygdale (involved in fear and intense emotions).
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Scientific American article Summary
The Scientific American article “When the Eyes Play Ticks on the Ears” by Nikhil Swaminathan talks about the coupling of visual and auditory information in order to provide us with an integrated message. It specifically attributes the neurons of a structure called the “inferior collicus region” located in the midbrain of being responsible for “fooling” us when it comes to thrown voices. The inferior collicus region contains neurons that respond to both visual and auditory stimuli. However, it is also essential that both types of stimuli are like one another in order for them to be encoded similarly.
Swaminathan goes on to delineate an experiment carried out by Jennifer Groh and her colleagues at Duke university to substantiate this claim. The researchers used monkeys to analyze the response of approximately 180 neurons in the inferior collicus region through the placing of electrodes in the animals’ brains. The monkeys were placed in a dark chamber and the responses of their neurons to a light-emitting diode (LED) being switched on just before a “white noise” was played were assessed. It was determined that during the LED stimulus, the neurons in the inferior collicus region were activated. However, when the white noise was played, two out of three monkeys also indicated activity in the auditory region. These results imply a significant relationship or interaction between sensory pathways which can even be designated as being automatic.
I chose this article because it signifies the important relationship between the perception of an auditory stimulus and that of a visual stimulus. I wear glasses and I have noticed that my hearing tends to be less accurate during the times that I do not have my glasses on. This article helped me understand the significant influence that both forms of perception have on each other.
* Link to article: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=when-the-eyes-play-tricks
* An example of the relationship between vision and hearing can be seen during the learning of a language. Here is a link deliniating this relationship: http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED003609&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED003609
Swaminathan goes on to delineate an experiment carried out by Jennifer Groh and her colleagues at Duke university to substantiate this claim. The researchers used monkeys to analyze the response of approximately 180 neurons in the inferior collicus region through the placing of electrodes in the animals’ brains. The monkeys were placed in a dark chamber and the responses of their neurons to a light-emitting diode (LED) being switched on just before a “white noise” was played were assessed. It was determined that during the LED stimulus, the neurons in the inferior collicus region were activated. However, when the white noise was played, two out of three monkeys also indicated activity in the auditory region. These results imply a significant relationship or interaction between sensory pathways which can even be designated as being automatic.
I chose this article because it signifies the important relationship between the perception of an auditory stimulus and that of a visual stimulus. I wear glasses and I have noticed that my hearing tends to be less accurate during the times that I do not have my glasses on. This article helped me understand the significant influence that both forms of perception have on each other.
* Link to article: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=when-the-eyes-play-tricks
* An example of the relationship between vision and hearing can be seen during the learning of a language. Here is a link deliniating this relationship: http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED003609&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED003609
The Scientific American Mind article “Freeing a Locked-In Mind” by Karen Schrock focuses on technological advancements that have revealed that vegetative patients may be able to communicate with the outside world. “Locked-in” minds refer to minds that are trapped in bodies that no longer respond to their mental control. In the fall of 2006 researchers in Britain announced that they were able to successfully image the brain of one of their vegetative patients and found that the patient was conscious and aware. According to lead researcher, Adrian Owen of the University of Cambridge, “We are now able to detect when somebody is consciously aware, when existing clinical methods have been unable to provide that information.” This new technology will allow patients to communicate without having to say or do anything. This “new technology” is the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that shows which areas of the brain have the most activity during thought processing. FMRI imaging has been the first imaging technique to “look at the inner cognitive workings of patients who have disorders of consciousness.”
This article went on to discuss how cases like Terri Schiavo’s and many others can not easily improve, however, brain-damage prognosis is not always cut and dry. This is why this new technology will allow doctors to determine how much brain function a person has left thereby making a clear distinction between the three categories of consciousness: coma, vegetative, and minimally conscious. The fMRI has advanced over the last couple years so that researchers are capable of interpreting the data in 30 to 40 seconds compared to months. With this advancement “locked-in” patients will be able to “speak” with their own mind despite being verbally unresponsive. The researchers have been able to learn how to tell apart thought-only responses of “yes” or “no” in under a minute due to different thoughts activating various areas of the brain.
I chose this article because this past week in my comparative religious ethics course we discussed physician assisted suicide and forgoing treatment for patients. One of the cases we discussed was Terri Schiavo’s, which took place back in 2005. A political debate ensued when her parents challenged her husband’s decision to remove her feeding tube and allowed her to die. The doctors did not think she would recover and sided with her husband. From reading this article, if fMRI imaging was available then as it is now maybe Terri’s case would have turned out differently. It seems that there will be a future for patients in vegetative and comatose states. This article was extremely enjoyable and interesting to read. Definitely check it out!!!
Info on Terri Schiavo: http://www.terrisfight.org/mainlinks.php?table=main_terri_story&id=141
This article went on to discuss how cases like Terri Schiavo’s and many others can not easily improve, however, brain-damage prognosis is not always cut and dry. This is why this new technology will allow doctors to determine how much brain function a person has left thereby making a clear distinction between the three categories of consciousness: coma, vegetative, and minimally conscious. The fMRI has advanced over the last couple years so that researchers are capable of interpreting the data in 30 to 40 seconds compared to months. With this advancement “locked-in” patients will be able to “speak” with their own mind despite being verbally unresponsive. The researchers have been able to learn how to tell apart thought-only responses of “yes” or “no” in under a minute due to different thoughts activating various areas of the brain.
I chose this article because this past week in my comparative religious ethics course we discussed physician assisted suicide and forgoing treatment for patients. One of the cases we discussed was Terri Schiavo’s, which took place back in 2005. A political debate ensued when her parents challenged her husband’s decision to remove her feeding tube and allowed her to die. The doctors did not think she would recover and sided with her husband. From reading this article, if fMRI imaging was available then as it is now maybe Terri’s case would have turned out differently. It seems that there will be a future for patients in vegetative and comatose states. This article was extremely enjoyable and interesting to read. Definitely check it out!!!
Info on Terri Schiavo: http://www.terrisfight.org/mainlinks.php?table=main_terri_story&id=141
Scientific American Article Review
The article entitled "Taming Baby Rage: Why Are Kids So Angry?" was a very interesting one. Researchers stated that studies have shown that it may not be the cartoons which lead your children to hit or be rough with other children at school. Research is supporting the theology that our children are born with these intuitions and, through training, they learn to express those emotions/ feelings in a more positive way.
"...It's surprising that the idea that children and adolescents learn aggression from the media is still relevant," according to Richard Tremblay (a professor of pediatrics, psychiatry and psychology at the University of Montreal). He has been doing continuous research on 35, 000 Canadian children to find out what the root of their behavior is. So far, Tremblay has found out that the peak of children's violent behavior is around 18 months and it begins to tamper off between 2-5 years old when they learn manners and other mature ways to communicate their wants and needs better.
Tremblay and his team want to further look into what extent does gene expressions play a part into the aggressiveness of our children. He stated that “individuals that are chronically aggressive have…more genes that are not expressed. The fact that a gene can be silenced or the level of protein it encodes reduced is an indication that the problem is at a very basic level." This was a very interesting observation. Since studies done with animals show that an unfit environment (from day one) can hinder the child from learning that violence is wrong, they are further testing to see if, what is done while the baby is in the womb, can affect the children neurologically once it is born. Some possible factors, which could have an affect on the child (if they are done during pregnancy), are drinking, stress, poor nutrition, and smoking. Taking a closer look into these factors & their affect on the child can help for early detection and interventions.
I found this article very interesting since I am very fascinated by children and their neurological development (I guess that is the maternal instincts in me). So much work has been put in so far to obtain these results and, as more is found out, more questions arise. It is very fascinating how we once though that what are child watches on TV could be the root of malicious behavior but, now, we are seeing that it could be more than that...possibly even a combination of the too. I believe that many of our behaviors are natural and innate but I also think that nurture has a big part to play in it as well. They work together. To know that there is a possibility that are genes could play a role in our aggressive behavior is remarkable and worth looking into for future analysis.
Articles Related to the Subject:
Neurobiological determinants of violence
http://www.gnxp.com/MT2/archives/002591.html
TV Violence May Spur Aggression in Boys
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=85006
Baby Bullies
http://www.sesameworkshop.org/parents/advice/article.php?contentId=90561
"...It's surprising that the idea that children and adolescents learn aggression from the media is still relevant," according to Richard Tremblay (a professor of pediatrics, psychiatry and psychology at the University of Montreal). He has been doing continuous research on 35, 000 Canadian children to find out what the root of their behavior is. So far, Tremblay has found out that the peak of children's violent behavior is around 18 months and it begins to tamper off between 2-5 years old when they learn manners and other mature ways to communicate their wants and needs better.
Tremblay and his team want to further look into what extent does gene expressions play a part into the aggressiveness of our children. He stated that “individuals that are chronically aggressive have…more genes that are not expressed. The fact that a gene can be silenced or the level of protein it encodes reduced is an indication that the problem is at a very basic level." This was a very interesting observation. Since studies done with animals show that an unfit environment (from day one) can hinder the child from learning that violence is wrong, they are further testing to see if, what is done while the baby is in the womb, can affect the children neurologically once it is born. Some possible factors, which could have an affect on the child (if they are done during pregnancy), are drinking, stress, poor nutrition, and smoking. Taking a closer look into these factors & their affect on the child can help for early detection and interventions.
I found this article very interesting since I am very fascinated by children and their neurological development (I guess that is the maternal instincts in me). So much work has been put in so far to obtain these results and, as more is found out, more questions arise. It is very fascinating how we once though that what are child watches on TV could be the root of malicious behavior but, now, we are seeing that it could be more than that...possibly even a combination of the too. I believe that many of our behaviors are natural and innate but I also think that nurture has a big part to play in it as well. They work together. To know that there is a possibility that are genes could play a role in our aggressive behavior is remarkable and worth looking into for future analysis.
Articles Related to the Subject:
Neurobiological determinants of violence
http://www.gnxp.com/MT2/archives/002591.html
TV Violence May Spur Aggression in Boys
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=85006
Baby Bullies
http://www.sesameworkshop.org/parents/advice/article.php?contentId=90561
Friday, November 16, 2007
Reaction: Chapter 11 Blog
Chapter 11 was a very interesting yet sad chapter. This chapter is where Willis starts to fade into history rather than stand out for eternity (like individuals such as Darwin, Mendel, or Watson & Crick). He contributed so much to the world of science, and I share the sentiments of the other critiques. He was a great man and it is not justice that others will not know him for his greatness.
Sydenham was a person after my own heart. He did things according to how he felt they should be done and I was thoroughly amazed that he thought that way. So many before him were by the books and never went too far outside the box but not him. He was a realistic type of person and didn’t rely too much on the theoretical. He observed diseases and learned their habits/patterns so he could become a master of healing them. He believed that nature was sufficient in dealing with going against disease since “nature by itself determines disease".
Locke was a very rebellious soul and, when he began to question what was already being stated as truth, it made me so proud. I am one who always likes to go against the grain and try new things out. His courage to questions was very admirable. His analysis of how language was interpreted and spoken was insightful and remarkable in its own right.
Related Articles
Thomas Sydenham
http://www.nndb.com/people/344/000098050/
http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/1989.html
John Locke
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Locke-Jo.html
http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/distance_arc/locke/locke-science-lec.html
Sydenham was a person after my own heart. He did things according to how he felt they should be done and I was thoroughly amazed that he thought that way. So many before him were by the books and never went too far outside the box but not him. He was a realistic type of person and didn’t rely too much on the theoretical. He observed diseases and learned their habits/patterns so he could become a master of healing them. He believed that nature was sufficient in dealing with going against disease since “nature by itself determines disease".
Locke was a very rebellious soul and, when he began to question what was already being stated as truth, it made me so proud. I am one who always likes to go against the grain and try new things out. His courage to questions was very admirable. His analysis of how language was interpreted and spoken was insightful and remarkable in its own right.
Related Articles
Thomas Sydenham
http://www.nndb.com/people/344/000098050/
http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/1989.html
John Locke
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Locke-Jo.html
http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/distance_arc/locke/locke-science-lec.html
Scientific American Mind Article
In the Scientific American Mind Article “Brain Pathway May Underlie Depression,” JR Minkel investigates the mystery behind the marker for depression. A neuroengineer and psychiatrist named Karl Deisseroth hypothesizes that the electrical chatter in the dentate gyrus contracts in depressed rats. The dentate gyru is found at the C-shaped region of the hippocampus. And so, to understand human depression, researchers performed an experiment on rats. The rats were induced with depression like symptoms. A blasting static noise was tested on the animal at unpredictable intervals for several weeks. The results showed that the stressed rats were unable to swim in a tank indicating their “feelings of hopelessness.” To observe further in their experiment, the researchers compared the rat’s brain activity between a depressed and normal rat. In this case, the rat’s brains were analyzed by extracting their brains in slices and then placed in voltage-sensitive dye with electrode to observe under a high-speed camera. 
Source: http://www.brain.riken.jp/bsi-news/bsinews2/no2/issue2e.html
This figure is just to show an example of what the process would look like when a high-speed camera is used to observe hippocampus activity . "The activities in the hippocampal CA1 region using an ultrahigh-speed camera developed in Dr. Michinori Ichikawa's laboratory. This shows the activities after high-frequency stimulation was applied by modeling the learning process. Long-term potensiation phenomenon of the hippocampal CA1 region captured on potential-sensitive dyes using a high-speed camera."
The high-speed camera is mainly used to observe hippocampus activity. They found “a smaller aura of activity originating from the curved dentate gyrus than in normal rats.” In their previous research, they found that a depressed rat treated with fluoxetine (Prozac) experienced more rapid neurogenesis. In addition, “the range of electrical signals from their dentate gyri spread as far as in normal rats.” All in all, they learned that the hippocampal activity is involved in depressed behavior. However, they were not able to identify the origin of the problem within the hippocampus. And so, the causes of depression remained a mystery.
I found this article interesting because I have performed an experiment on rats in the past. It’s amazing how a small animal can be helpful in understanding human behavior. Yet, some remains a mystery to us when it comes to understanding how behavior is triggered in the brain and how it is processed. The brain is a very complex structure that often times it is difficult for researchers to identify where a specific behavior is triggered or originated from.
Related link:
Soluble oligomers of b amyloid (1-42) inhibit long-term potentiation but not long-term depression in rat dentate gyrus.
Source: http://www.brain.riken.jp/bsi-news/bsinews2/no2/issue2e.html
This figure is just to show an example of what the process would look like when a high-speed camera is used to observe hippocampus activity . "The activities in the hippocampal CA1 region using an ultrahigh-speed camera developed in Dr. Michinori Ichikawa's laboratory. This shows the activities after high-frequency stimulation was applied by modeling the learning process. Long-term potensiation phenomenon of the hippocampal CA1 region captured on potential-sensitive dyes using a high-speed camera."
The high-speed camera is mainly used to observe hippocampus activity. They found “a smaller aura of activity originating from the curved dentate gyrus than in normal rats.” In their previous research, they found that a depressed rat treated with fluoxetine (Prozac) experienced more rapid neurogenesis. In addition, “the range of electrical signals from their dentate gyri spread as far as in normal rats.” All in all, they learned that the hippocampal activity is involved in depressed behavior. However, they were not able to identify the origin of the problem within the hippocampus. And so, the causes of depression remained a mystery.
I found this article interesting because I have performed an experiment on rats in the past. It’s amazing how a small animal can be helpful in understanding human behavior. Yet, some remains a mystery to us when it comes to understanding how behavior is triggered in the brain and how it is processed. The brain is a very complex structure that often times it is difficult for researchers to identify where a specific behavior is triggered or originated from.
Related link:
Soluble oligomers of b amyloid (1-42) inhibit long-term potentiation but not long-term depression in rat dentate gyrus.
Scientific American Mind Article
In his article, “Can a Lack of Sleep Cause Psychiatric Disorders?”, Nikhil Swaminathan discusses the biopsychological implications of sleep deprivation. He describes a study conducted by Dr. Matthew Walker, a psychologist from the University of California, in which the brain activity of well-rested and sleep-deprived adults were monitored as they were shown a series of images that became progressively more disturbing. Primarily focusing on activity in the amygdala—the region of the brain that is responsible for emotional response—the investigators found that neurons in the sleep-deprived participants exhibited 60% increase in neuronal response due to transmission of impulses by five times as many than those of their well-rested contemporaries. Further investigation through fMRI analyses discovered than norepinephrine was being secreted by the activated neurons, thereby causing a fight-or-flight response.
Physiologically, the latter findings inhibit the activity of the medial prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain that regulates emotional responses and allows rational thought. This occurs as a result of sleep deprivation, and, thereby, accounts for the constant shift in moods within an individual. Harvard Medical School professor, Robert Stickgold, states that a relationship exists between sleep deprivation and certain psychiatric disorders, such as depression. Further studies will examine disturbances in different types of sleep, such as REM or slow-wave sleep.
I found this article particularly intriguing because, throughout the course of my college career, I have nights when I had the misfortune on receiving as little as one hour of sleep. Although I understand the relationship between the two factors, I think that perhaps there is a certain threshold of sleep deprivation before the amygdala begins to be overactivated.
Physiologically, the latter findings inhibit the activity of the medial prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain that regulates emotional responses and allows rational thought. This occurs as a result of sleep deprivation, and, thereby, accounts for the constant shift in moods within an individual. Harvard Medical School professor, Robert Stickgold, states that a relationship exists between sleep deprivation and certain psychiatric disorders, such as depression. Further studies will examine disturbances in different types of sleep, such as REM or slow-wave sleep.
I found this article particularly intriguing because, throughout the course of my college career, I have nights when I had the misfortune on receiving as little as one hour of sleep. Although I understand the relationship between the two factors, I think that perhaps there is a certain threshold of sleep deprivation before the amygdala begins to be overactivated.
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