Physical Brain Abnormality a Possible Cause of Schizophrenia
Neuropathologists have been researching schizophrenia for approximately a hundred years. But, even with a hundred years of research, the neuropathology of schizophrenia is still obscure. Although scientists have come a long way since the beginning of research, when they first believed that it was a "functional" psychosis, a disorder with no structural basis," the cause of the chronic disease remains a mystery" (1). However, with technological advances in science, researchers have found a common trend in diagnosed patients- physical abnormalities of their brains. These revelations cause scientists to wonder if brain abnormalities are a cause for schizophrenia and, if so, how these abnormalities arise.
Schizophrenia has long been considered the "graveyard of neuropathologists" (1). This chronic and disabling brain disease is characterized by a relapsing psychotic disorder that primarily affects the thought and behavior of the affected person. Although symptoms may vary from patient to patient, common ones include disturbances of thought, auditory hallucinations and multiple delusions. (2) If all this is known, why is schizophrenia the graveyard of neuropathologists? Although the symptoms are now relatively simple to diagnose, neuropathologists still do not know what causes this disease. Many diseases are caused by genetic, behavioral and other factors, making scientists theorise that this is the cause of schizophrenia as well. However, neuropathologists still do not understand all the factors necessary for schizophrenia to exist. (6)
With relatively recent technology of MRI scans, CAT scans, and PET scans, scientists have discovered that many patients with sch...
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...ronic disease in the near future.
References
1)The Neuropathology of Schizophrenia, a critical review of recent brain abnormality data and its interpretation
http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/122/4/593
2)The Aetiology of Schizophrenia, a description of the possible causes for schizophrenia
http://www.priory.com/psych/aetioschiz.htm
3)Schizophrenia, background information concerning this disease
http://www.psych.org/public_info/schizo.cfm
4)Teenage Brain: A work in progress, recent research concerning structural changes of the brain during adolescence
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/teenbrain.cfm
5)Schizophrenia: Questions and Answers, a source answering the most common questions about this disease
http://www.psy.med.rug.nl/0031
6)Schizophrenia, basic information on schizophrenia
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/schizoph.htm
In the essay “What’s Wrong With the Teenage Mind?” psychologist Alison Gopnik explores the issues surrounding young minds in today’s society and why they’re hitting puberty sooner and adulthood later. Gopnik suggest poor diet and lack of exercise could be a potential issues, she also presents various studies blaming brain circuitry and even speculating that the cause of today’s youth problematic mentality could be a result of an “evolutionary feature” in which humans have a prolonged childhood. Gopnik’s main concern about today’s adolescent mind, is a neurological one, Gopnik speculates that there’s an inability to sync their “control system” and their “crucial system”. Gopnik proposes a few solutions to the problem, such as more hands-on experience
Tsuang, M. T., Faraone, S. V., & Glatt, S. J. (2011). Schizophrenia. New York: Oxford University Press.
Based on the initial pain medicine evaluation report dated 06/22/15, the patient complains of constant neck pain which radiates down to the bilateral upper extremity, fingers and hands. Pain is accompanied by intermittent tingling and numbness in the bilateral upper extremities to the level of the fingers and muscle weakness. The neck pain is associated with occipital, temporal and frontal headaches and muscle spasms in the neck area. The patient describes the pain as aching, burning, pins and needles, sharp, and stabbing. The pain is aggravated by activity, flexion/extension, prolonged sitting, pulling, pushing, repetitive head motions and standing. She also reports severe difficulty in sleep.
Schizophrenia: From Mind to Molecule. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press. Kalat, J. (2004). Biological Psychology.
Dutton, M. (2012). Dutton's Orthopaedic examination, evaluation, and intervention (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Medical.
...man controlling the life of the woman who must accept it, until the very end. At the end of the story, the narrator says, “I have escaped in spite of you and Jane, and I’ve pulled of most of the paper so you can’t put me back!” (Gilman, 1892, p.193). At this point the narrator made the connection between her and the woman she sees in the wallpaper and explains how she has finally escaped, suggesting her breaking out of the bars that controlled her. She shows rebellion against John when she does not open the door and makes her own choices, which not only makes her free it destroys the sense of the gender roles in the relationship, as she pretty much emasculates her husband.
The concept that pain means injury or damage is deeply embedded in the American consciousness. “I have never seen a patient with pain in the neck, shoulders, back or buttocks who didn’t believe that the pain was due to an injury, a “hurt” brought on by some physical activity.” Says Dr. John E. Sarno, M.D. “The pain started after I lifted my little girl” or “Ten years ago I was involved in a hit- from- behind auto accident and I have had recurrent back pain ever since.” Of course, if the pain starts while one is engaged in a physical activity it’s difficult not to attribute the pain to the activity. “But this pervasive concept of the vulnerability of the back, of ease of injury, is nothing less than a medical catastrophe for the American public, which now has an army of semidisabled men and women whose lives are significantly restricted by the fear of doing further damage or bringing on the dreaded pain again” (qtd. in “Healing Back Pain”). With good intentions, this idea has been encouraged by the medical profession and other healers for years. It has been assumed that neck, shoulder, back and buttock pain is due to injury or disease of the spine and associated structures and ligaments surrounding these structures- without scientific validation of these diagnostic concepts. “On the other hand,” States Dr. Sarno, “I have had gratifying success in the treatment of these disorders for seventeen years based on a very different diagnosis. It has been my observation that the majority of these pain syndromes are the result of a condition in the muscles, nerves, tendons and ligaments brought on by tension.”
Jackson, M.A. & Simpson, K. H. (2006). Chronic Back Pain. Continuing Education in Anaethesia, Critical Care and Pain, 6(4), 152-155. http://dx.doi: 10.1093/bjaceaccp/mkl029
One of the basic reasons that people doubt chiropractic care is that they do not truly understand the practice. A large controversial topic around chiropractic is the causation of strokes that supposedly come from neck manipulations, better known as neck adjustments. George Magner wrote, “I learned that manipulation of the neck can cause tinnitus by injuring arteries that supply blood to the ear” (Magner 3). He also documented several other patients of chiropractic who suffered from additional pain, even strokes, from an adjustment of the neck. The strokes that the patients endured do not necessarily mean chiropractors caused them. Early signs of strokes include neck soreness, headaches, and reduced function of limbs which are all reasons why people visit a chiropractor in the first place. Therefore, chiropractors are not the sole purpose a stroke occurs. Also, adjustments with low force techniques show a zero percent chance of causing a stroke and those odds seem extremely
The last 20 years, hunger rates have abated by almost half, however with increasing food prices, global hunger is expected to accrue as well. (Anderson, 2007). About 40 to 60 million people, mainly children, die every year because of hunger. (Robbins, 2012). Close to 200 million children under five years old are malnourished. (Robbins, 2012). Many people may ask how hunger, in developing countries, such as Africa, can be stopped or even solved. The question seems to be; does more food need to be more food produced or is there enough for everyone on earth? If there is enough food, why does not every one have plenty to stay healthy? Hunger, in Africa and other developing countries, could be significantly mitigated or even wiped out if the people in the world worked together using technology and resources available.
Casey, B. J., Jones, R. M., & Hare, T. (2008). The adolescent brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1124, 111–126. Eaton Reyna, V.F. and Rivers, S.E. (2008).
Quinn C., Chandler C., Moraska A., (2002). American journal of public health. Massage Therapy and Frequency of Chronic Tension headaches received March 24, 2009, from EBSCO database
Being nice to others as a daily principle of life, such as (hi), smiling, asking people how they are with showing real interest in knowing how they are, not just asking for asking.
Millions of people die each year, all over the world because of hunger and disease, many of whom are children (Global issues, 2010). Millions of other people suffer because of hunger, many of whom are in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. However, there are several thousand tones of food that is wasted every year. This occurs when people through away food, during harvest, during storage and when crop is destroyed by pests, insects, diseases and animals. Food wastage in the poor countries is due to lack of technology and infrastructure and result to as much as quarter of harvest getting lost (Global issues, 2010). According to Global issues (2010), world hunger results from poverty. World hunger is an issue of concern and continuous efforts should be made in order to save millions of people around the world. Solving the real cause of poverty is crucial towards permanently solving the world hunger problem.
Seed dispersal is the transport or movement of seeds away from the parent plant in order to help prevent the overcrowding (if this happens plants would not have enough food and light to survive in the area) and help to create new colonies. Thus giving the seed the best chance to germinate in a new location away from the parent plant and hopefully start new colonies. Due to the fact plants have limited mobility they rely on a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds via abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living) vectors. There are five main methods of seed dispersal, animals, gravity, wind, ballistic and water (1). Fire is also another way for seeds to be dispersed but is not as common as the other methods.