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.