Schizophrenia and Pregnancy

I had never heard of there being a relationship between pregnancy and Schizophrenia. It is interesting that what happens in the womb could produce an illness that isn't seen until almost twenty years later. In the Temple University article it discusses the different infections or illnesses that the mother could be exposed to and that research shows a link between the mother contracting the illness and the child developing schizophrenia. Because most illnesses can not cross the placenta the researcher, Laura Ellman believed that the cause is more related to the mothers own biological reaction to the illness. The researcher, Ellman states that "increases in maternal levels of interleukin-8 (IL-8), one of the proinflammatory cytokines produced when fighting infection during pregnancy" seems to have the greatest impact to off spring that develop schizophrenia. However, she also states that because not all children of mothers who have increased IL-8 develop schizophrenia that there must also be some other predisposition that links the biological reaction to the illness and the ultimate development of schizophrenia. The book discusses that rates of Schizophrenia increased among children born to mothers that had Rubella, herpes, and other infections. Ellman discusses the flu which is much easier to contract than say Rubella or other infections so it does seem to make a stronger argument that there is another variable required in order to develop schizophrenia. I do think that it makes a very strong case for women who want to get pregnant to make sure that they have all of their immunizations and practice rigid infection control during their pregnancy.

Seasonal Affective Disorder- SAD

This is a very interesting disorder. It is something that obviously we do not have to worry about here in South Texas as we pretty much have sun year round. I do think that it is probably really great for those people that we call winter Texans because they are able to be out of the dreary cold for several months and get lots of sunny days to make them feel better. In the video the narrator talks about how the bodies biological system all works together to help prevent this and how the retina and the optic nerve all play a role into the part of the brain receiving the stimulus from the light. They also did a study and deprived individuals from sun for a number of days to show the impact of this on the different people. It seems that it can have a minor impact on everyone but that there is a huge difference in someone feeling a little "blue" and someone truly suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder. The good news is that this can be treated rather easily. The obvious change would be that if at all possible the person could relocate to a sunny location. Since many of the people that are effected by this live in Alaska, Canada or in areas around the great lakes in the United States moving to sunny tropical areas such as southern California, Texas, or Florida would be a good solution. However because most people can not relocate they can treat SAD with a special light that they would sit in front of 30 minutes a day. The light has to be able to radiate the same amount of light as the person would receive if they were sitting outside with sun rays. Even though the eyes play a role this isn't about being able to "see" the light it is about the different biological processes that happen as a result of being exposed to the light.

decision making after brain injury

After someone experiences a traumatic brain injury we often worry about how their motor skills will be affected or their speech. So when they physically are able to get around and interact with others with out a problem many people think the damage is limited or non existent. In the article about traumatic brain injury (TBI) and financial skills it explains how important it is to asses the patients ability to be able to do things as simple as understanding a bank statement, counting change, paying bills or balancing their check book. The article discusses how crucial it is to have someone else be responsible for this until the patient with the TBI can be fully assessed and they know what skills they have retained and what they will need to relearn. In an experiment that they did with the TBI patients they found that after 6 months they were able to improve in the area of basic skills in relation to financial skills but in order to do more complex financial skills they still appeared to struggle. The suggestion was that someone else still have "proxy" over things such as financial investments and complex balancing of accounts. It is unclear if long term the patients are able to take this responsibility back. The article said that the area of the brain that is responsible for this also seems to relate to driving and regulation of medicine so these might be other areas that will require a caregiver to assist.

Night Terrors

I have often heard about people experiencing night terrors and assumed that they were just referring to having a really bad dream or nightmare. However, after reading the section on night terrors and watching the above video it explains physiologically and emotionally how night terrors are very different than nightmares. One of the first differences is when they occur. Nightmares occur during REM and night terrors occur in deep sleep. When a person is experiencing a true night terror they will not have any relocation of it the next day compared to those who have nightmares will often have very strong memories and can feel rattled days later. When someone is having a bad dream you can easily awaken them from it and help interrupt the unpleasant dream. For a person experiencing a night terror they cannot be woken up and will often times lash out at the person that is trying to wake them. Since most of those that are affected by night terrors are children it can be very scary for the parents but the children do not seem to experience any negative effects from the episode.  The video also explains that a parent might be able to rid their child of the terrors by providing additional sleep time or by altering their sleep cycle. Because the terrors tend to happen at the same time every night a person that is suffering from terrors can be woken up about 15 minutes before the on-set of the terror. This appears to change the sleep cycle and can rid the brain of what is producing the terror.  That seems very interesting that it isn’t tied to the child having true fears but is tied to the waves of the brain.

Intersex spectrum

I found the part on intersexes to be very interesting. I find it fascinating that the way the hormones and brain work during development has a direct impact on how someone either is born or how their body changes during puberty.  In the article on intersexes it provides greater clarity of how someone can be diagnosed as intersexed. I thought it was interesting that they state that a persons sexuality is like a sex spectrum similar to a color spectrum. The analogy they give is when we are stating colors we usually say red, blue or green. We only say red orange or a specific shade of blue when it is important to clarify (for example, picking paint for a wall color).  The same is true for genitalia. Society has a preset idea of what make someone male and someone female but the "sex hormone" can deviate the appearance of an individuals genitalia and in order to fit society norms we categorize people as soon as possible. That categorization can be wrong and can cause a great deal of confusion, pain and unhappiness for an individual. If the sex spectrum is minor then the individual may not know they are different until they are trying to get pregnant and in some cases they may never know unless an autopsy is done. When thinking of the fact that two people can both be intersexed but the only time it is a problem is if other people can see the difference. I think if parents and others did not make it a big deal and just let the child develop as their internal genetics directed them they would be more emotionally secure and have personal acceptance that would make them a happier person.

Somatosensory Cortex

I found this topic very insightful and interesting. For the past two weeks I have been experiencing a strange sensation in my feet and hands. I initially would have described it as numbness and tingling but I also felt that was not a very accurate explanation. After reading about how Somatosensory Cortex can effect the way a person feels touch and other types of sensory input I think I have a better understanding of what might be happening with by sense of touch. The video describes they very complex sensory receptors in the skin. Our dermis and epidermis  have a variety of nerve endings and receptor sights. Some are responsible for sending messages to the brain of temperature, some send messages of pressure on the skin on that specific location. The nerve endings by the hair follicles send messages to the brain that the hair is being touched or moved by a breeze. In some way this helped me to understand why I can feel heat and cold but if I feel a texture of some thing rubs my skin it feels abnormal. I realize that the messages that are being sent to my brain by some receptors are clear and being interpreted in the cortex correctly while other receptor sights are not interpreting the sense correctly or it is not sending the cortex the correct information. I realize that this doesn't explain why the somatosensory cortex isn't working correctly or why the receptor sights might not be correctly sensing the touch but it does help me to feel better informed of why I can do something with my hands and feet but others seem to be effected.

Alzheimers and Down Syndrome

Research shows that many people are affected by Alzheimer's disease. When researching YouTube one of the videos stated that every 70 seconds a new diagnoses is made. The book shares that there is still a lot to discover in regards to what causes Alzheimers and how to treat and eventually cure it. I thought the connection between Alzheimer’s and Down Syndrome was very interesting. I thing that connection makes a very strong argument that there is a genetic predisposition or a chromosomal chain that is responsible for Alzheimer’s. Researcher Chang shares that most research shows that almost all Down Syndrome individuals are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s after the age of 45. As a result of this they believe that Chromosome 21 probably has something to do with the disease. She stated the problem is that there are over 250 genes related to that area and to be able to identify the exact gene will take time.  Researcher Chang shares that because they know so much about what causes Down Syndrome that they can take that knowledge and use it when studying the general population of Alzheimer’s patients. I think that the part that is so encouraging is because they have a large population that shares a disease it may make it quicker to be able to find medications that are successful in treating or at least managing the different problems that are associated with having Alzheimer’s.  However, I think a challenge might be when looking at some of the cognitive issues that come with Alzheimer’s such as memory loss, confusion, depression, and restlessness to decide if that is a result of the disease or of the Down Syndrome.  

Broca's Aphasia

Above is a video with an older man who suffers from Broca's Aphasia. When I first started reading about this problem I was uncertain to what degree it can be. You can tell that the man is very frustrated and maybe even a little sad that he cannot connect his words with what he is thinking. I thought it would be interesting to do some research in how they help people with Broca's Aphasia and to see if there was any type of treatment that has been found. One of my favorite websites, Livestrong, has a whole page about brain exercises for people with this problem. The two exercises that the website talks about is the opposites and the prepositions exercise. To people that don't have this problem it seems like such a simple task. Whats the opposite of happy? Obviously, most people would say something along the lines of sad. It's hard for me to even picture not being about to process the opposite of the words and be able to state them out loud. Not knowing a word for something is always so frustrating so can you imagine that happening to you all the time? I also found it interesting that people with Broca's can read one sentence but not the other even thought saying them out loud it says the exact same thing. I believe this is an important problem to know about because you never know if someone you know could suffer from brain damage that causes Broca's Aphasia.

Marijuana

I have enjoyed learning about the different parts of physiology but considering my minor is addiction studies, this section of  the book was by the far the most interesting to read. Many people think that nothing really happens when you smoke marijuana but according to the book "Biological Psychology," memory is often impaired after smoking marijuana for a long duration of a time. After doing some research on why marijuana effects memory, I found this article which went into explaining how astrocytes control memory and when THC enters into the brain the astrocytes are weakened thus resulting in the brains ability to make memory weaker. This was such an interesting article to me because it brought the two fields of study together. The article tied in astrocytes which we learned in class earlier and then tied it in with marijuana and its effects.

In my opinion, I really think people should be more aware of the effects of marijuana since it can actually be harmful to your body. This drug has become a "norm" in many peoples lives.  I think many people feel that marijuana is less dangerous than drinking or smoking cigarettes. It is frightening that people continue to use it with out even giving a second thought that it can effect their memory. According to the book, they say while under the influence of marijuana "time passes more slowly." I don't know about you but I wouldn't want someone driving and on the road when everything to them seems slower than it actually is because that means their reaction times will not be on point.  Accidents happen in a split second so any delay in response can be the difference in life and death.

The Blood-Brain Barrier

The Blood-Brain Barrier is such an interesting topic to learn about. This so called barrier does a lot for our brain. It keeps out good chemicals we need for our body but it also keeps out bad ones. The blood-brain barrier keeps out a lot of different medications which makes it hard for treatment but according to this article researchers are finding a new way to let medications in. Basically, researchers are using a compound called NECA to activate molecules in the barrier and open it up. The only problem with this is the barrier is only open for a period of time so it is important for these researchers to figure out how to keep the barrier open. If this research works, it will open many opportunities to finding a treatment to different diseases. Alzheimers, different cancers, HIV, and many others may finally have a treatment that would actually get to your brain.


Down below is video about a model that researchers are working on to actually get a grasp on what the blood-brain barrier does and how it works. I find it fascinating in how all these different research methods can somehow one day maybe help find a cure or keep under control for diseases that people probably feel like they will never be able to cope with. I think I found this topic the most interesting because one day I hope to be able to do research in a field where I could help discover medications that could help people.

Introduction to Physiological Psychology

When dealing with the subject of animal testing, many people have a different opinion on whether it is right or wrong. In our book it discussed the two types of thoughts, one is the Abolition and the other is the Minimalist. Abolition believe that animals should never be used for testing and that they should have the saw rights as humans. Minimalist believe that testing should be human and that the least number of animals should be used and that their level of suffering should be kept as low as possible. I personally consider myself a Minimalist. I believe if using animals for research can help find cures for a number of devastating diseases such as AIDS, cancer, and diabetes we should use them with care and humanity. If we look back in history at different types illnesses and medical problems it is easy to see the impact that animal research has  had on finding a cure, or at least finding ways to medically treat the illness for a better quality of life. In addition to finding cures and treatments animal research has also been valuable in finding Vaccines. An example of important animal research has been the vaccine  to help prevent illnesses such as chicken pox.  I feel that I might have some bias in this as I have a personal interest in using animals to find cures.  I suffer from a pancreatic problem that one day I hope they will find a cure for or at least a greater understanding on how to treat pancreatic disorders. If they have to use animal testing to help find a cure that could help thousands or even millions of people I believe that the researchers should be supported and allowed to continue. However, as I stated earlier I consider myself a Minimalist  even though I do believe in the value of animal testing when it comes to finding a cure or a treatment for something I believe they should try to do as little harm and be as non invasive as they can to the animals. The video below is about the different medicines that have been found that help with different things. All of the medicines that are in the video were first tested on animals but eventually have helped many people in our world live healthier and more productive lifes.