An expecting mother is said to be very protective and caring for her unborn child. We see it in animals such as tigers, bears, dogs, and cats - they take care of themselves during pregnancy so that their children stay safe. Why is it then that humans who are supposed to be above the hierarchy in the animal kingdom, do not take care of themselves when pregnant. What am I talking about you may ask, I'm talking about expectant mothers who smoke, drink alcohol, and take addictive drugs. I'm not saying that all expecting mothers are reckless and inconsiderate of their unborn child, but there are some who would much rather endanger their unborn child just to experience the pleasure they'll receive from committing these acts. I am aware that once someone gets addicted to drugs or alcohol, they may have a hard time quitting. However, if a woman knows she is pregnant shouldn't she at least make an attempt of quitting, at least until her child is born. By doing so, they will lessen the risk of the child being born with impaired brain development. This can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome (mothers that drink heavily during pregnancy), attention-deficit disorder, behavioral deficits, etc. Mothers will not only hurt their children, but themselves as well. As the years go by they will have to watch their children suffer from their mistakes and will have to live with the guilt knowing that they could have prevented what their child is going through. Doctors recommend women to refrain from consuming alcohol if they think they are pregnant or are trying to get pregnant. It is especially important to not drink alcohol during the beginning of pregnancy, because this is the time when the brain of the fetus is beginning early development and any impairments can lead to permanent effects.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Brain anatomy, development, and plasticity
Developing brain
An expecting mother is said to be very protective and caring for her unborn child. We see it in animals such as tigers, bears, dogs, and cats - they take care of themselves during pregnancy so that their children stay safe. Why is it then that humans who are supposed to be above the hierarchy in the animal kingdom, do not take care of themselves when pregnant. What am I talking about you may ask, I'm talking about expectant mothers who smoke, drink alcohol, and take addictive drugs. I'm not saying that all expecting mothers are reckless and inconsiderate of their unborn child, but there are some who would much rather endanger their unborn child just to experience the pleasure they'll receive from committing these acts. I am aware that once someone gets addicted to drugs or alcohol, they may have a hard time quitting. However, if a woman knows she is pregnant shouldn't she at least make an attempt of quitting, at least until her child is born. By doing so, they will lessen the risk of the child being born with impaired brain development. This can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome (mothers that drink heavily during pregnancy), attention-deficit disorder, behavioral deficits, etc. Mothers will not only hurt their children, but themselves as well. As the years go by they will have to watch their children suffer from their mistakes and will have to live with the guilt knowing that they could have prevented what their child is going through. Doctors recommend women to refrain from consuming alcohol if they think they are pregnant or are trying to get pregnant. It is especially important to not drink alcohol during the beginning of pregnancy, because this is the time when the brain of the fetus is beginning early development and any impairments can lead to permanent effects.
The video above gives an animated explanation on how a fetus develops during normal conditions. The video below depicts an ultrasound of a baby who has fetal alcohol syndrome and explains the effects that the baby suffers from it.
An expecting mother is said to be very protective and caring for her unborn child. We see it in animals such as tigers, bears, dogs, and cats - they take care of themselves during pregnancy so that their children stay safe. Why is it then that humans who are supposed to be above the hierarchy in the animal kingdom, do not take care of themselves when pregnant. What am I talking about you may ask, I'm talking about expectant mothers who smoke, drink alcohol, and take addictive drugs. I'm not saying that all expecting mothers are reckless and inconsiderate of their unborn child, but there are some who would much rather endanger their unborn child just to experience the pleasure they'll receive from committing these acts. I am aware that once someone gets addicted to drugs or alcohol, they may have a hard time quitting. However, if a woman knows she is pregnant shouldn't she at least make an attempt of quitting, at least until her child is born. By doing so, they will lessen the risk of the child being born with impaired brain development. This can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome (mothers that drink heavily during pregnancy), attention-deficit disorder, behavioral deficits, etc. Mothers will not only hurt their children, but themselves as well. As the years go by they will have to watch their children suffer from their mistakes and will have to live with the guilt knowing that they could have prevented what their child is going through. Doctors recommend women to refrain from consuming alcohol if they think they are pregnant or are trying to get pregnant. It is especially important to not drink alcohol during the beginning of pregnancy, because this is the time when the brain of the fetus is beginning early development and any impairments can lead to permanent effects.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Synapses
Nucleus accumbens--our brain's pleasure center
Who knew that our brain has a pleasure center? The nucleus accumbens is the structure in our brain where dopamine or norepinephrine is released. Whenever you think of something pleasant and start thinking about it and start wanting it, you have just activated your nucleus accumbens. However, it also depends on how much you want it to activate large areas of the nucleus accumbens. For example, if someone "likes" chocolate only a small area of the nucleus accumbens activates, but if that person "wants" chocolate and has a need for it, then a large area activates. Thus you get a sense of pleasure and happiness when you think of something you want because that thought releases dopamine in the nucleus accumbens. Now it's good to know that our brain can make us happy through this structure, but it can also be our downfall. People who take addictive drugs activate the nucleus accumbens, thus they are at an all-consuming drive to obtain the drug even though it no longer provides them with the pleasure they need. Thus the nucleus accumbens makes them want the drug more because it increases the release of dopamine. Once the person is addicted, the uptake of the drug will interfere with the brain's normal functioning since the brain will have to be competing with the now sensitive nucleus accumbens. An article called The addicted brain discusses how our brain gets addicted to drugs and the significance it has to finding treatment or prevention. This is one step to helping those that suffer from addiction, and all because of the pleasure we receive from our nucleus accumbens.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Nerve Cells and Nerve Impulses
Blood-Brain Barrier
In my human physiology class, we were also going over the blood-brain barrier. A friend of mine was having trouble understanding its function, so I made an analogy for him. I told him to imagine the brain as being the most popular club imaginable and everyone wanted to access to it. However like every club, there is always someone at the door that acts as a bouncer and passes judgement to those who seek entry. There are VIP's (oxygen, carbon dioxide, and molecules that dissolve in the fats of the membrane) that are able to easily gain entry into the club (brain) without any resistance from the bouncer (blood-brain barrier). Like always, there are those that want to get in (viruses, bacteria, and harmful chemicals) but the bouncer doesn't let them. Then come those that bribe the bouncer with money to allow their friends to come inside, which I think describes the purpose of active transport since it uses energy to pump chemicals from the blood into the brain. Thus the brain has "bouncers" beside one another that surround the brain, making sure that no one that is supposed to go in stays out. The analogy made my friend laugh, but at least I got the main points across.
Although the blood-brain barrier prevents harmful chemicals from entering the brain, some drugs like heroin are able to easily pass through the barrier. How is it that this drug which can damage the brain is able to enter, but useful medications such as drugs that are used for chemotherapy cannot enter? This is one of the disadvantages of the blood-brain barrier that scientists are investigating-to find ways for medications to gain access to the brain through the blood-brain barrier. One article, describes how antibodies can be used to prevent Alzheimer's disease from forming by "tricking" the blood-brain barrier to let the antibody through.
The video above shows a method being researched at Columbia University to open the blood-brain barrier and allow drugs to enter. Another finding states how adenosine could be used to make an entry into the blood-brain barrier. These findings are the stepping stones to preventing brain diseases such as Alzheimer and brain cancers from progressing. Hopefully in the future scientists will be able to find a way to prevent these diseases from forming altogether.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Introduction to Physiological Psychology
How intelligent are we?
The section on brain size and intelligence in the book was the most interesting to me, especially when it began to compare humans with other species. As humans, we tend to see ourselves as the most advanced organism on earth. Thus when I read that humans don't have the largest brain or highest brain-to-body ratio making us not as intelligent as we thought we were, I was surprised. I began to question whether we were even intelligent enough to be superior to other organisms. I later realized that it does not matter whether a species has a larger brain or a high brain-to-body ratio, since they are all different. I do not think that intelligence should be measured by how big our brains are, rather on our actions and behaviors. A person can have the biggest brain on earth, yet does not know how to calculate a simple algorithm problem. In human standards that person would be classified as being unintelligent, even if their brain was bigger than other species. Even though some humans are not as intelligent as others, we still think of ourselves as above other species. The video that I have posted portrays a man being interviewed on a similar topic. I chose this video because I agree with what he had to say about their being a poor correlation between brains and cognitive function. He agrees that a bigger brain does not mean bigger intelligence and supports his statement by comparing humans with great apes. He also begins to question other aspects (other than the brain) that make humans better than other species.
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