Schizophrenia A Realtively Chronic Illness:

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml


The above link gives some information on schizophrenia how what scientists and studies have proven about this illness.There is some good information that it entails how genes inform in it and how associates with genes.

Schizophrenia as we all know is a very severe illness that some suffer from. People with this illness hear voices in there head,think other people around them are trying to hurt them,become fearful of others, hallucinations, delusions, and so on. People who suffer from this illness have a problem having relationships with other individuals because of the tragic experiences that they face and that they have no control over.

Articles have said that a lot of people get this illness by the age 18 and mostly in the twenties and thirties. Some that get it in early childhood as well. It affects more then women.This illness disables the brain. There really a curable treatment just supportive psychologists that assist in therapy for people that have this illness. However there are medications that can be somewhat useful and helpful with people that suffer from it but they have said that medications can really only help the psychosis part it triggers. Not so much the whole entire effects of the chronic illness. But at least there is medications that can help bits and pieces of it.
Illness such as schizophrenia has no really no real treatment like many other disorders. All there is basically is therapy to try and help them. It is relatively sad.All there is really is hope. Yes hope that we can find a treatment for it. We just need to be supportive when we see people with this illness and be thankful we are not in there position and pray that we never will have to be in that position and if so hopefully wish people would not look at us any differently.

How dose puberty start?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2005/0512-brains_puberty_switch.htm

I found this discussion on the web. I thought it was a good topic to cover, because I do not think people quite realize how much hormones in the brain affect everything in your body.

I think this was a really good study. I just do not understand how they tested their theory. They say the first kiss is what triggers puberty, i would really like to know how they tested that on a eleven year old. I do not think that would be very ethical to have him kiss a girl to see if it would trigger him in to starting puberty. They said how early or late development into puberty can have some emotional issues physically and mentally.

The study may explain why it seams like children are becoming sexually active at much younger ages. Are these kids and teens really hitting puberty before the classic symptoms appear. I think the pressure for kids to kiss or go further may be what pushes their thoughts into developing more quickly.

To reward or not to reward.. that is the question.

http://www.spring.org.uk/2009/10/how-rewards-can-backfire-and-reduce-motivation.php

The link above is a study about how rewarding a child, for a task may decrease the motivation to do that task if they expect the reward. I can see how the conclusions of this study would play out to be true in everyday situations. We just discussed a related study in class so i thought it would be a great one for a blog.

If a reward is given every time a task is preformed, then why put effort in the task when your going to get the reward no matter how you preform. I think a reward should be given when the task is not only done, but done well. I also think the reward has to be equally related to the task and each child needs to have a reward that appeals to him or her. (You can't give a little boy who likes trucks a baby doll and expect him to feel rewarded.)

I think this study will be very helpful to parents that have a hard time directing their child's energy into preforming tasks well. It may teach them, when and how to reward each of their children based on each individuals needs.

The Sixth Sense

Since the Stone Age humans had a feeling that told them if they were in trouble. This feeling is now called instinct or your gut feeling. Scientists now believe that this feeling is our sixth sense. Another way to name this is our consciouness. Maybe this feeling comes from the layers below the ego.

I think that we do have a sixth sense. We all have had those feelings of danger. For example walking down a street in the pitch dark you have the feeling that someone is following you. You turn around and it happens to a dog following you. Thing with the sixth sense is that it can be easily tricked. I have freaked myself out before and I am sure many of you have too. I can't persuade you to believe in the sixth sense. It is ultinately up to you.

When is Suicide Season?

It is a myth that most suicides occur during the winter holidays but according to scientific research by the National Institutes for Mental Health and the Suicide Prevention Center, most suicides occur during late July and August. Calls to suicide hotlines have increased by 70% since the recession began.

We don't know why but depressed people are more prone to taking their own lives this time of year. We may be less observant and miss certain warning signs from people during the summer months. This time of year we should try to be more observant of friends and family.

It is common for a person that is upset to occasionally have a thought "It would be better if I wasn't here," which is not necessarily a suicidal ideation. When those thoughts become consistent, or you create a plan of action, that is when you need to seek help either for yourself or loved ones.

Some people have thoughts of suicide for negative attention. People also hurt themselves for negative attention.

I use to work at a group home for troubled teens and it was very hard dealing with kids whom are suicidal everyday. Its definately not an easy task to help them through their problems. But once they realize that they do deserve to be in this world it is very rewarding to know that you had a part in their positive thinking. Negative attention seeking is not the best thing to do. Once you see someone that is doing something wrong or hurting themselves for attention you should encourage them to get help or get help for them. Suicide is not a game. It is a very serious matter. I think it would be great if we as humans, friends, family would never miss the warning signs but we are not perfect by any means. But I think if we are there for our loved ones whom are having issues or problems we could help them in ways we wouldn't know of. But can we really stop a person from wanting to end their life if they really wanted to do it?

Relief for Cancer Patients with Insomnia, could it help non-cancer patients as well?

Cancer has its side effects that make healing very challenging. One of these side effects are Insomnia. One third of cancer patients develop sleep problems during their treatment which can persist for years afterwards and even after their cancer has gone into remission. The insomnia is caused from stress due to their illness and changes in their regular sleep patterns caused by their treatments they get.

A research program in Alberta, Canada is underway on a new study to help cancer patients gain control of their desire to sleep. The new study is called I-CAN Sleep (Individuals with Insomnia and CANcer). It is the first Canadian study to assess sleep-improving techniques intented for cancer patients and survivors of cancer.

This study examines 2 areas related to sleep; how the body can relax the mind and how the mind can relax the body.

Some examples of techniques:

• establish an ideal setting, a calm, clean, and cool bedroom
• Take time to relax before going to bed and power down so the mind and body prepare for sleep.
• Avoid stimulants, electronics and caffeine to page-turning thrillers and work at night.
• Learn how to engage the mind when your head hits the pillow to sedate the body to sleep naturally.

All of these techniques/strategies are non-invasive, drug-free, and cost free.

I personally think that if these techniques will help cancer patients get the sleep they require it will allow them capture more health, vitality and overall energy. And they may also be able to capture more life. I thought this was interesting because not only do cancer patients suffer from insomnia but so do healthy people. I am one of them. So it would be very interesting to try the techniques to see if they could help healthy people as well as cancer patients. I am sure there are a lot of techniques out there for insomnia. I know its not something I enjoy having.

Do you think these techniques could help people with insomnia?

Predicting Suicide

Harvard psychologist think they have have found a better way to predict how suicidal a person may be with two test. One test involves a modified Stroop test(the test Dr. Risser showed us with the colored words). The clinician measures the speed of the patients response to certain words. The words that suicidal patients might pay more attention to are life and death related. The second test is the Implicit Association Test that was designed by Mahzarin Banaji. To my understanding this test also measures the subject by the speed and association to certain stimuli that is life and death related. The finding suggest patients who payed more attention to certain words are six times more likely to attempt suicide. Combining the two test and a patients history together can lead to predictions of a patients risk of suicide for up to six months.

This is great research that is long past due. We all know what a waste of life suicide is. Almost everybody has been effected by the loss of a love one that has took their own life and often people express how they didn't see it coming. The true beauty of these test is how simply they are to administer. Also combining the two test is very important because a suicidal person would likely try to hide their suicidal feelings. These test seem to me to be process of content. I wonder if the designers of this study were influenced by the Process vs Content theory. My only criticism of this article would be not giving the reader an idea of how modern psychologist are treating suicidal patients.

Gut Feelings Are they Real

http://www.psyarticles.com/intellect/gut-feelings.htm





This article will give you the understanding from which gut feelings come from. It is possible that the gut feelings come from memories which we can't access conciously. Unconcious memory is what gives us the ability to possibly recognize a face of a crimminal or the right answer to a test,these memories are alive on an unconcious level. In this study two groups were shown a series of kaleidoscope images to memmorize and the second half of the images were to be associated with a verbal number. This study was designed to distract the participants from being able to memorize all of the images. A short time later the participants were asked to veiw pairs of images in a recognition test. They were more accurate when they had been distracted and when they claimed to be guessing. It seems that the visual system was still storing the information even though they were distracted. With the use of an EEG a unique signal was found one quarter of a scond after the participants seen an old image.

Is Alzheimer's Hereditary?

About a year ago, someone very close to me was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. When I received the news about this my heart broke, I thought she wasn't going to be able to remember who I was anymore, she would have to live in a nursing home, and that she would soon die. This was her biggest fear because she watched her brother and her mother slip away from Alzheimer's. I don't know much about this disease, so I figured this would be a perfect chance to find out a little information.

Alzheimer's disease is keeping scientists on their toes. They are not sure what exactly causes this extreme form of dementia to occur. They do know, however, that it is caused by protein misfolding, some forms are hereditary, but others are not. Alzheimer's disease is thought to be related to the beta-amyloid protein. Misfolded beta-amyloid gradually accumulates and forms larger structures, called fibrils, which are thought to cause the death of brain cells. One heritable form of the disease involves mutations within the beta-amyloid protein itself. These mutations can increase the tendency of the protein to misfold, heightening the risk for contracting the disease and causing it to start earlier.

One of the strongest genetic factors for Alzheimer's disease is the presence of a specific version of the apolipoprotein E gene. This protein is important for fat metabolism and while it is strongly linked with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease, there are no explanations as to why there is such a strong link. This gene is present in approximately 50% of Alzheimer's disease patients and is heritable.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for this disease. Medications can help slow it down, but it can not stop it. It's sad to see a loved one not remembering if they ate at all for the day, to see them forgetting who there friends are, and waking up in the middle of the night screaming because they don't know where they are at. If you know someone who has Alzheimer's you need to be supportive, and let them no that you are there for them.

99.99 Percent Physical Attraction

My friend just called and said when we go out tonight "Is it okay if we meet up with some boys tonight? I have a guy I want you to meet." I told her as long as he is cute. Why is that the first thing I thing about is physical attraction? My step Dad says you should get to know them before you make a decision on if you are going to like them or not. The boy could be very smart, tell good stories or make you feel good about yourself. I have never gotten that far before so why is that?
Is it personality influencing how we accept or value the way people look. What one person thinks is good looking the other person may feel totally different about. Some girls like pretty boys that have feminine features, while others like ruff musclure guys. The traits that influence what one feels is attractive might be genetic or influenced by our friends and families. When filling out the surveys it makes one wonder what the research is about. Could it be something like what is it that makes up our physical attraction?
It gets us to thinking just like the survey or class discoussions we had about physical attraction. Some just based it differently like when Dr. Risser showed us different figured picutures of women and how all men picked the number seven as the most physical attracted. Why is that we make the waist to hip ratio as we learned in class. Physical attraction is what more then half of us based people on, whether we see it or not.

Men vs Women: Mate Selection

In a recent article, psychologists have tested the difference between male and female mate selection through speed-dating and simply viewing photographs of unknown people. The photographs included two shots of each individual: one spontaneous pose chosen by the participant and one coached by psychologists. People who had never met the subjects in the photos were then asked to identify different aspects of the photographed person's personality including their openness, emotional stability and likeability. The spontaneous pose proved a more accurate insight to the person's personality traits.



During the speed-dating study, men and women were asked to fill out questionaires about their own wants in a mate of the opposite sex. Men were more likely to focus on the physical attractiveness of their date, while women tended to look more for security and commitment in men. After approximately 30 3-minute dates, the participants were asked to fill out another questionaire about which dates they would be interested in seeing again. The male portion of the group on average wanted to see fifty percent of the women again, while the average female participant was interested in about one-third of the men.



What this tells us is that there is a difference between men and women when they are choosing a mate. Men focus more on the attractiveness of their date, whereas women can look past a man's outward appearance to what he has to offer to the relationship. This study adds to our discussion of the waist-to-hip ratio. I believe men look for physically attractive partners, because they either consciously or unconsciously want their offspring to be physically attractive, while women would prefer their children to be successful and feel strongly that the father's traits will have a vast impact on this success. Both motives go along with the idea that mate selection is influenced by the need to have happy, healthy children.

http://www.psyarticles.com/inter-personal/attraction.htm

Does Birth Control Alter Communication Between Individuals?

In a recent study on lemurs in a Duke University study, birth control is shown to alter the ways lemurs communicate with each other and how they change in the "attractiveness" from one lemur to another. This study found that the birth control, Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), changed the scent the lemurs emitted. The lemurs that were dosed with MPA were shown to have less interaction with male lemurs than females who had no dose of MPA. The scent a female lemur has is not only a sign of fertility, but also acts as an identity for that particular lemur, and birth control is altering the scent so much that lemurs cannot tell if the lemur dosed with MPA is even of their own kind! This study shows that birth control can affect humans in the same sort of way, whether we know it or not.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100727201507.htm

How to Banish Bad Habits and Control Temptations

Can we control our bad habits if we decide to monitor them closely? Temptation plays a large factor in everyday lives. It’s hard at times going places and paying close attention to the when temptation is right at your grasps. Especially if you were giving into your bad habit for while. Very easy to just say O.K...Vigilant monitoring is said to be a relative in helping break bad habits. But weak habits are hard to control. Temptation is worse than habits. Which is worse temptation or the habits it’s self? Me I think that both play a huge role in it.
Temptation is hard to break when you already have the bad habit into play. The bad habit makes it worse because the more you give into to that habit the harder down the line it will be to break it altogether. All in all you need to find a different habit that is better to change the old habits. Something that is more positive than it is bad. The worst part is temptation will always be there any never goes away.

How Money Restricts Life’s Pleasures

Why does money make us so unhappy? When all together you would think that you would be very happy with it. Most everyone's childhood dream to have all the money in the world. Money can get you whatever you want. You can go any were you want and even meet any one you want. Yet never have to worry. But researchers have found out that you can get what you want, but money doesn't buy happiness.
You notice there is a certain point when you are rich that you just do not do anything enjoyable anymore, because you can whenever you want were ever you want but you start to get bored with the money over time. You have a hard time savoring the simplest little things in life around you. Rich people have a hard time showing emotion when it comes to the little things. Hard to enjoy anything when your filthy rich.

Kids Affected By The Oil Spill

In Florida, they are starting free mental health camps paid for by private donations and state funds for children in Kindergarten through the 6th grade that have been affected by the oil spill. While there they are able to talk in groups or in one-on-one meetings about their feelings on this problem. To get a better insight I'll leave a link to the website.

I believe this is a great idea for the younger kids who don't know exactly what's going on or as to why they can't do certain things anymore. For instance one of the girls can't go fishing with her dad like they did every year. I think this is a great way to show that we as a nation really do care, because we don't always show it with our ways.

Click Here For The Webpage

Moms Blogging

I think that it is the coolest thing that moms are blogging. Moms that blog go to a melting blog pool to talk about a verity of things. Can find just almost anything to talk about. Nice to know that you can get creative with some of the blogs. It is great that moms are blogging. Blogging clubs for moms is a good idea. Moms can get tips from other moms on almost anything. It is even great even if you are a newbie. You could go and hang out with a veteran blogger s and they will help you get started.

It is a good way to read about what is going on in the world that you don't see a lot of the times in the new or read it in the news paper.Being a club blogger you would end up being seriously burned out. The moms that take care of a lot of the blogs in their clubs and they would end up getting burned out. More and more Moms seem to join these clubs. Blogging at times is better news than the television gives at any given time. Great place for you to even share some moments with the world.I think that its a good thing that the moms are starting to blogging more.

Savant for a Day

Savant Syndrome is not a recognized medical diagnosis, but it's described as a rare condition in which people with developmental disorders have one or more areas of expertise, ability, or brilliance that is beyond the limitations of the average human mind. Most individuals with savant syndrome have an autistic disorder, while others have disabilities such as brain injury.

At the University of Sydney, a volunteer sat in a chair waiting to have his brain altered by an electromagnetic pulse. His forehead was connected, by a series of electrodes, to a machine called a ''Danish-made transcranial magnetic stimulator.'' This was also known as the Medtronic Mag Pro, and it was being operated by Allan Snyder, a remarkable scientists of human cognition

As a series of electromagnetic pulses were being directed into his frontal lobes, Snyder asked him to draw a picture of a cat. Now keep in mind that this patient has no artistic ability what so ever. Snyder called this a "creativity-amplifying machine", a way of altering our states of mind without taking drugs. The patient was told to draw four cats and when he was done, the electrodes were removed. The first and second drawing were fairly bad, the third and fourth looked as if a profesional had drawn them.

Snyder was able to induce these remarkable feats in a controlled, repeatable experiment. It's a breakthrough that may lead to a revolution in the way we understand the limits of our own intelligence and the functioning of the human brain in general.

Binural music "gets you high"

(source)

According to wired.com, recently a large profit has been made off of binural sound (the sound in each headphones is slightly off to make you think its coming from inside your head as aposed to from the headphones). People pay large amounts of money to download sound-files containing these, because they belive its getting them "high". The people who researched this said some psychedelic bands can have the same effect on people (pink floyed), and advise against letting your children listen to it (that part made me laugh). A school district in oklahoma has banned cell phones and mp3 players of it. I'm going to make the assumption this entire thing is just placebo. You cant get high off of music, and why states are researching this to such point is beyond me. There are better places the usa should be spending its money.

-andrew

Learning about survival from the Squirrel

We as humans think that some animals can be very annoying. We may call them pests. But what we don't know is squirrels have survived in a harsh environment and have lived and adapted to our environment for many generations. Squirrels live on all continents except Antarctica and Australia. They even reside in the Himalayas. The elasticity of their body gave them some of the ability to adapt. They have many unique things about them. They can leap 10 times the length of their body, rotate their ankles 180 degrees. Squirrels are quick at manipulating each other and objects, they are social, chatty, complain, and nest in clans. Squirrels are very similar to primates and similar to us as well. Their ability and skills of observing other species or squirrels are other reasons and to why they have survived for so long. They observe us humans as well. They wait and cross the street when we do. So in other words they are very observant of all of their surroundings/people to see things they can do so they will be able to survive in their/our environment. I think this should be a trait that would should adapt from the squirrels. Our lives is a constant learning experience. So if we look around and see not only what squirrels do but others as well they may offer us something to learn. So even though we may see them as pests we should stop and think/observe as to why and how they have lived as long as they have and what we could do differently or learn from them and perhaps we might survive a little longer!

Brain Magic

I read this article called "Brain Magic". It is about how people's brain's are affected when they get older. Researchers used to think that people lost thirty percent of their neurons as they aged. That is not the case anymore. Neuroscientists say that if the aging person is healthy than he or she will keep most of the neurons for the rest of their lives. Then in the article they went on and discussed ways that people can keep their cells in tip top shape.

The first one is to seek out different ideas and challanging people. The pathways in the brain are strengthened every time that a memory is recalled. If someone always uses the same route the brain is less likely to get stimulation it needs to spur new development. It is like the poem by robert Frost, the two paths. It turned out the the past path was the one that was never taken. So try reading a challenging book or learn a new language. Anything will help as long as the person gets out of his or her comfort zone.

The next one is to exercise often. Like a heart the brain needs blood flow in order to function properly, the best wat to get it is through regular exercise. Some researchers think that exercise might even prompt the growth of new brain cells. The brain is a vital organ without it we would not survive. So why not keep something this important healthy and working to its full potential.

Nature vs Nurture

http://psychology.about.com/od/nindex/g/nature-nurture.htm


The most common and will known debate between psychologists is nature vs nurture. Can a child inherit artistic skills or are they instilled in them as they get older? The talaent might have occured from a combination of genes and the environment they are in. A child will defiantly be more opt to play a muscial instrument if one ore both parents play an instrument. Then a child whose parents don't play an instrument.

Plato and Descartes both thought that people have certain things regardless of their envrionment. I partially agree with this statement. There are some things that just don't make sence if they are born with it. For example is a person gay or did something happen in their life that made them that way. Plato and Descartes were from years back and they were on the right track with this issue.

John Locke came up with the theory called Tabula Rasa. With this theory he is basically saying that we all start with a clean slate. Locke is suggesting that we all get our morals, talents, and intelligence from experience. Today most people believe that we become who we are from both. I think that we become who are from both. Psychologists have a long way to go before we fully understand genes and what role they play in to becoming who we are.

Searching the Internet increases brain function

http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-study-finds-that-searching-64348.aspx


There is hope for middle aged and older adults for sharpening our minds. According to this study, the first of its kind, we may benefit physiologically from cruising the net. The older we get the less activity our brains have, but the use of the net encourages us to use a greater extent neurl circitry that is not activated during reading. Only in those with internet experience, but with more time the others could possibly show more brain activation patterns. The only flaw that I can see is in the limited number of participants in this study. Also the parts of the the brain that registered activity during this study were the temporal, parietal, occipital and the cingulate area which controls decision making and complex reasoning. All in all old dogs can learn new tricks if you use other methods thinking.

genes and bipolarism

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/science-news-about-bipolar-disorder.shtml





I beleive that bipolarism is in the genes. I find this article to be heading down the right path, mostly because of what I have been exposed to in the recent years. I have seen this mental illness up close and personal and seen it carried on from generation to generation. Also I have seen it in the siblings of that family. I hope that someday they can find a treatment that will maintain a constant stablization because this mental illness does not just affect the person who has it. It has lasting effects on the family, employment,and signifigant others.

THE QUESTION THAT STUMPED US BOTH!!!

This is a post inspired by the final 20 minutes of today’s class that sparked a conversation that had both Dr. Risser and I stumped. So I decided to do some research, for my own personal understanding, and said to myself: “Self….this is a perfect opportunity for a blog post.” Here is what I found out about Fragile “X” Syndrome (FXS).

Fragile X Syndrome or Martin-Belle syndrome is a genetic syndrome which results in a spectrum of characteristic physical and intellectual and emotional behavioral features which range from severe to mild in manifestation. The syndrome is associated with the expansion of a single trinucleotide gene sequence on the X chromosome, and results in a failure to express protein coded by the FMR1 gene, which is required for normal neural development. It is more common in the male but the female is not immune to it.

It is a syndrome that is fairly rare and found in 1 of 3600 males and 1 of 4,000-6,000 females. Some of what this syndrome affects is physical features, social interaction, working memory, intellectual development, hypersensitivity and repetitive behavior, and visual orientation. You may ask yourself, what actually causes this? Fragile X is caused by a mutation of the FMR1 gene on the X chromosome. Normally, the FMR1 gene contains between 6-55 repeats of the CGG codon (trinucleotide repeats). In people with Fragile X syndrome, the FMR1 allele has over 230-4000 repeats of this codon. Expansion of the CGG repeating codon to such a degree results in a methylation of that portion of the DNA, effectively silencing the expression of the FMR1 protein.

What can you do to treat this? Although there has been several medications proposed to treat FXS, none of them have been supported by good evidence. While there is no known cure, there is hope that further understanding of its underlying causes that will lead to new therapies. Currently the syndrome can be treated through behavioral therapy, special education, and when necessary, treatment of physical abnormalities.

I hope this shed some light on it the subject of FXS and what it is all about.

The New Bionic Person

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/01/bionics/fischman-text

Bi-on-ics

“Etymology: from bi (as in “life”) + onics (as in “electronics”); the study of mechanical systems that function like living organisms or parts of living organisms” (Fischman, pg 35). The world of bionics has come a long way from the fictional Six Million Dollar Man. Today, bionic limbs, organs, and even eyes are giving people who once would have been considered permanently disabled a chance at a “normal” life.
This National Geographic article touched on a cochlear implant performed on a ten month old boy, which never went into detail. Essentially though, a cochlear implant works to restore hearing to someone who was once hearing impaired. It involves implanting a device into the brain which translates sound impulses into; sound. Unfortunately, as I said before the article did not get into much detail so there was no follow up regarding the results of the procedure and the life changing effects on the patient.
Another individual discussed was Amanda Kitts who lost her left arm in a car accident in 2006. She now has a prosthetic arm that works by neural response. This means that the prosthetic has sensors that are grafted to the nerves in her arm. These nerves which would have sent impulses to her actual arm now send impulses to the bionic arm. Thus proving that; “even though the flesh and bone may be damaged or gone, the nerves and parts of the brain that once controlled it live on” (Fischman, pg 39). The article showed in great detail drawings, tests and demonstrations of the prosthetic’s movement. I found it interesting that her brain recognizes the arm as her own and she suffers much less phantom pain than amputees usually do; in fact she uses the phantom limb phenomena to her advantage as those sensations aid her in the use of the bionic arm.
Also covered by National Geographic is a new vision prosthetic. This reminded me of a character on Star Trek whose vision was restored by use of a prosthetic. In this case a 79 year old woman from Texas underwent a procedure to restore partial vision. In this case computer hardware was installed in and around her eye. She wears a form of glasses over her eyes connected to the installed hardware. This hardware in turn sends the images to a device worn on a belt, and, in turn, those images are sent as impulses back to the retina. The author does go on to explain, however, that; “(though) the electronics circumvent damaged light receptor cells and give (the patient) back a vestige of vision – shimmering lines, vague shapes, washes of color (they) are still on the ground floor of this technology.” (Fischman, pg 44) The way sight works as part of the brain was also covered in great depth, because vision is part of the brain the article explained how the implant works with the brain to make sight possible.
The bionic application I found to be the most interesting and, the best of all is the bionic skin which is flexible and senses everything just like normal skin. The applications for this alone seem endless. It can even be used over another prosthetic to give the look of a “natural limb”. The skin can be used as a replacement for skin that has been damaged otherwise, like by burns or another traumatic injury. I assume it could also be used in the correction of birth defects. Like I said the possibilities are never-ending.
Other prostheses were mentioned; prosthetic legs and ankles that are similar in design to Amanda Kitts’. All which work by translating nerve impulses to movement. This technology has applications that are very far reaching; from children who have lost their limbs in accidents to war veterans coming back with lost limbs. However, as I’ve mentioned it goes much farther; people who thought that they would never see or hear again have had those senses (somewhat) restored. Even burn victims can be given new skin without the telltale scarring of the typical grafting process. Now, only if they could figure out how to incorporate the sound effects of the first bionic man, Steve Austin.

The Secrets of Sleep

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/05/sleep/max-text

The Secrets of Sleep

This National Geographic article examines sleep and how important sleep is to our everyday lives. The article goes on to describe types of insomnia; from a fatal form to the less dangerous type caused by worry or guilt. What the article makes very clear is that without sleep we die, our brains do not process information properly, and we become a danger to ourselves and others
The first example in the article looks at a family suffering from Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI). “This condition is very rare and occurs in approximately 40 families worldwide” (Max, 2010). Individuals who are genetically predisposed to this disorder can be tested for it but, unfortunately, there is no treatment and no cure. Researchers don’t really know how the disease works saying; “…in a patient with FFI, malformed proteins called prions attack the sufferer’s thalamus, a structure deep in the brain, and that a damaged thalamus interferes with sleep. But they don’t know why this happens or how to stop it or ease its brutal symptoms” (Max, 2010). The saddest thing about FFI is it appears when the patient is in their 50’s and is always fatal.
The article further discusses how sleep is studied; primarily in North America. It looks at a variety of sleep studies that have been conducted by researchers. This has allowed researchers to classify insomnia by its degree of seriousness. They talk about Narcolepsy; where patients fall into REM sleep without warning (for example; River Phoenix’s character in My Own Private Idaho). However, with this disorder they have found that those who have it also experience difficulty sleeping normally. True insomniacs are considered those who have sleep apnea; where an individual will stop breathing periodically throughout the night. As a result the person’s sleep will be interrupted over and over as the author states; “when the brain realizes it isn’t getting any oxygen it sends an emergency signal to the body to wake up. The sleeper awakens, takes a breath, the brain is replenished, and sleep returns. A night’s sleep for the apnea sufferer turns out to really be a hundred micronaps” (Max, 2010). The studies that examine these and other sleep disorders use EEG’s to study the brain’s function during sleep.
This article was very interesting for me to read. I was fascinated by how a lack of sleep is actually fatal. The studies as they were presented seem to be done well and I do not believe I would change them at all. The article opened my mind up to the role sleep, or lack of sleep plays on things in my own life.

TBI's in women connected to reproductive health

http://www.physorg.com/news197120063.html

This is a short summary of the study in the link above and my perspective of the research done at the Toronto Rehab. The study shows how brain injury or trauma can directly affect a woman’s health. There are many effects brain trauma can have on women such as fertility, child bearing, and further more postpartum depression.

The results from professors at the Toronto rehab seam almost shocking. Although I found that the main topic directly relates to things we have been discussing in class, brain injury causing disputes in parts of the body that seam unrelated. In my opinion to come to this conclusion in this study researchers would have had to study these women’s limbic systems to determine each individual’s emotions, physical drives and sexual drives. Researchers would also have to study each woman’s hypothalamus and the endocrine system which controls the hormones released to the organs of the body such as a women’s ovaries. Researchers would also need to study each individual’s cerebral cortex to get information on how these women are able to make decisions. Researchers need all of this evidence to come to the conclusion on how a TBI would effect a woman’s ability to get pregnant, reasons why they would have fewer children and why they may have more postpartum problems.

I think the researchers should have showed in more detail how they came to the conclusion they did and the experiments used. I think all of the women in this study would need to have been able to conceive prior to their head injury to conclusively come to these results. I think this study is every important to give us more light on women reproductive health and also more information on postpartum depression

Mass animal slaughter in flordia shelter due to lack of space (Psychology in the Media)

(source)

Orange County, Florida has a major issue with animals right now. The amount of stray animals has exceeded the amount of space in local shelters. According to the law, if the shelter cannot contain all the animals it collects, they must be put down. In fact, in may alone orange county put down 1,200 animals

"they have to be held legally at the shelter and shelters are short on space, meaning an adoptable cat might actually have to be euthanized just to make space."

Due to the lack of space to hold, and care for the stray animals - Over one-thousand animals have been put to sleep. An interview with a local animal shelter volunteer, Kennedy was recorded. "We are forced to make life-and-death, difficult choices, every single day. Shows us how binary the decisions they are forced to make are. There just isn't an alternative right now. If the shelter cant hold the animal , they are forced to kill it.
To Kennedy's remark a local psychologist, Dr. Robert Janne replied "This is a mental health issue. It is not OK. This is negatively impacting their life"

I agree with Dr. Robert Janne, as this is most likely having a bad effect on local residents. The concept of behaviorism shows us that the actions humans take will effect them psychologically. And I believe through killing innocent animals, the locals may come intact with feelings of sadness, regret and even anger towards the shelter - and the laws that dictate how it deals with the animals.

(Article written by Andrew Hoffman)

Rubric for Class Posts

Assignments: All posts should use proper English grammar, spelling, and syntax. Acronyms should be avoided when possible. References to online sources must be linked. Student posts and comments should be respectful to others at all times.

Psychology in the Media: This posting should indicate how something we have talked about in class has been reported in the popular media within the last six years. The media itself should be included (either as an image, embedded video, or working link). A clear description of how this media relates to a topic we have covered. Finally, postings should include the writer's (student's) take on whether or not the media has accurately portrayed the psychological phenomenon and research.

A “Cool” Study: This posting should describe a recent study (published 2005-2010) that relates to something we have talked about in class. The article itself should come from a peer-reviewed source, and should be linked in the posting for the class to peruse. The description of the study should relate not just the study's abstract, but should link the study to what we have talked about in class. Finally, posters should evaluate the study's importance, strengths, flaws, etc.

I Could Do That Better: This post should propose a study that examines a phenomenon we have talked about in class (or read in an assigned reading). This post can include a criticism of a previous study, but must include a research design that corrects mistakes/biases/problems of previous examinations of the psychological phenomenon. At minimum, your proposed study must include sample, methodology, and hypotheses. Finally, your post should include a clear rational for why this proposed study is superior to previous studies.

My view on a debate: This posting should include a short summary of the debate (including relevant sources) that clearly defines the argument. You should provide at least two supports for your view on the debate, and only one of these supports can include anecdotal evidence. Empirical supports should be cited/linked so that others can comment on them. Example debates: Nature vs. nurture, Behaviorism vs. consciousness, Pathology vs. weakness, etc….

Welcome to Introduction to Psychology

For this course, students will be graded upon five posts and five comments. Posts will make up 15% of their final grade, and comments will make up 5% of their final grade. Students are encouraged to post and comment as often as they like; grades will only be taken from the "highest scoring" posts and comments.