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.