How Flexible is the Brain's Circuitry?
The brain is a complicated organ, containing an estimated 100 billion neurons and around 1,000 to 10,000 synapses for each of those neurons (1). This organ has the great responsibility of not only controlling and regulating the functions of the body but also sensing and perceiving the world around it. In humans, it is what we believe makes us the highly adaptive and intelligent organisms that we are, as well as give us our individuality. But with so many parts and connections to it, what happens when the brain's delicate circuitry is disrupted? We've all heard of brain damage, and its horrible results, whether is a news report on TV or science books. It seems that with trauma, disruption of blood supply, and disease; neurons and their connections could be destroyed and the organism's behavior exceedingly affected. Yet I've read about how people have overcome tremendous damage to their brains and gone on to function with very minimal handicaps.
In elementary biology, we are all taught that cells in our body go through systems that replaces old, worn out cells with new cells. Most cell types go through programmed cell death, or PCD, but there was always an exception in the neuron; very early in mammalian development, neurons stop growing (4). PCD would be disastrous, as the depleted neurons would never be replaced. Since we need all our neurons and their connections to function, how do individuals with damage to both these neurons and connections survive, much less functioning within any definition of normality? After all, remove a few chips from a computer's motherboard and you won't have functioning computer. Yet there are children living their lives with only half their brains intact
One of the most memorable case studies I read about in high school psychology was the procedure of removing large portions, sometime half the brain, to treat young children with epileptic seizures. This procedure, called hemi-spherectomy, was developed in the 1920's but rarely performed due to complications (8). With the advances in medicine today, it has become a more common practice in treatment severe epilepsy. At first, though the procedure was expected to stop the seizures, doctors did not expect these children to ever function normally. After all, with so much of the brain missing, it is hard to expect much of the mental functions of these children. Surprisingly, these children often retained much of their personality, memories and sense humor (8), awing their doctors with the flexibility of the brains to adjust after such invasive surgery.
Kim, S. (2011). Assessing mobility in an aging society: Personal and built factors associated with older people's subjective transportation deficiency in the US. Transportation Research Part F, 14(5), 422-429. doi:10.1016/j.trf.2011.04.011
A serious brain injury could lead to bleeding in or around your brain, causing symptoms that may develop right away or later.
The pathological processes that develop following brain injury inevitably lead to neuronal death, which can be immediate or delayed. Blood brain barrier disruption, resulting in neuronal loss, might also influence the long-term traumatic brain injury complications which are characterized by neuronal death.[66, 67]
The treatment involved passing electrical currents through the brain which would trigger a small seizure and ease the symptoms of certain mental illnesses, however the procedure was used without anesthesia and caused the patient to jerk uncontrollably, this treatment would sometimes result in fractures, memory loss, and other side effects. The treatment is still used today, although with much weaker currents and anesthesia. Another popular treatment used in the asylums was the injection of insulin into a patient to induce a coma. This treatment was thought to reset an individual’s brain and bring them back to “normal”, however, insulin coma therapy proved to be not very effective and was phased out in the 1960s. One of the most inhumane treatments for the mentally ill was the lobotomy, or the prefrontal leucotomy. This surgical procedure involved opening a hole in the head to sever nerve pathways in the prefrontal cortex. The lobotomy was performed at least 15,000 times in Britain before being phased out in the late 1950s. Another type of brain surgery discussed in the film, was one done on patient, Maggi Chapman, who underwent a surgery in which an electrode was attached to a part of her brain and then turned on to fry that part of the brain. Maggi goes on to describe how the next few years she felt like a zombie and had a difficult time going through life (BBC,
Elderly people, as a whole, use up much of the nation's healthcare budget; six times as much money is spent by the federal government on health services for those over 65 than those under 18 (Callahan, 1997). More people are entering into this age group than are dying due to medical advances that can now prolong life for years, using up hundreds of thousands of dollars on one feeble life that could possibly help hundreds of younger people and thereby prevent future health expenses (Caplan, 1987). America's healthcare budget is not large enough to support every patient adequately- instead of a few getting sufficient healthcare, many are merely getting a half-way supported (Callahan, 1997). With so many last- ditch efforts available, th...
During the 1920?s, a ?flowering of creativity,? as many have called it, began to sweep the nation. The movement, now known as ?The Harlem Renaissance,? caught like wildfire. Harlem, a part of Manhattan in New York City, became a hugely successful showcase for African American talent. Starting with black literature, the Harlem Renaissance quickly grew to incredible proportions. W.E.B. Du Bois, Claude McKay, and Langston Hughes, along with many other writers, experienced incredible popularity, respect, and success. Art, music, and photography from blacks also flourished, resulting in many masterpieces in all mediums. New ideas began to take wings among circles of black intellectuals. The Renaissance elevated black works to a high point. Beyond simply encouraging creativity and thought in the African American community, the writers of the Harlem Renaissance completely revolutionized the identity of African American society as a whole, leading black culture from slavery to its current place in America today.
Through public education, most elementary school kids can understand that smoking is bad for them and that cigarettes are additive. Cigarettes are addictive due to nicotine, a drug found in tobacco (“Quitting Smoking”, 2015). According to Schneider (2016), some of the greatest health problems associated with smoking include: lung cancer, other cancers, coronary heart disease, other heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, other vascular disease, diabetes mellitus, pneumonia, influenza, tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), prenatal conditions, and sudden infant death syndrome. As stated by the Authority of the American Lung Association in an article titled “Health
Because of the growing concern associated with disability in the elderly, many researchers have examined factors that may be associated with the risk disability in the elderly. These factors have ranged widely, including functional limitations6-9, level of physical activity10, 11, depression12-15, cognitive status13, 16, 17, comorbidities18, 19, falls6, 20, self-rated health21, 22, social interaction23 and others24.
The romantic tension between Romeo and Juliet and Tony and Maria in Shakespears original play and its modern day remake, Westside Story, is what makes them have such passionate and entrancing scenes. The main reason for romantic tension in these two plays is because the two couples can’t be together like they want to be. There are many different aspects that create different quality of romantic tension in these two scenes. Although the two plays have similar plots, the romantic tension between the two lovers is very different because of the setting, the language and the circumstances in which the lovers face.
Our current health care system is already overwhelmed by the influx of older patients. If we do not take action now to remedy this shortage, we will jeopardize the future of our aging society’s health. Elder Workforce Alliance urges action for federally mandated requirements of geriatric training in all health professions, positive working conditions for healthcare providers devoted to elder care and redesigns of healthcare delivery models to achieve higher quality of care for geriatric patients.
The main characters, Romeo and Juliet, from the play Romeo and Juliet, as well as Tony and Maria, from West Side Story, join together in astonishment of each other. In both stories the lovers are practically frozen in time, trying to take in their love for each other. Once they have gotten past the initial sight of each other they realized that their families would not approve of their love, but both sets of characters refused to end their love affairs. In both stories the lovers snuck around, hoping for a way for them to be together. The couples refused to let the things such as a last name or where they came from tear them apart, and were willing to go through anything to be
Wilson, Sarah. "Sigmund Freud and the oedipal complex." The Observer”. Guardian News and Media, 8 Mar. 2009. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/mar/08/sigmund-freud-oedipal-complex>.
Like all organs, the brain needs the oxygen and nutrients provided by blood to function properly. If the supply of blood is restricted or stopped, brain cells begin to die. This can lead to brain injury, disability and possibly death.
According to Freud, the development of the mature love character begins as soon as the child has adequately developed a sense of "the otherness" of its surrounds to pick out its mother as the objective of its affection. At first this completely inherent and insentient affection begins as the normal result of the child's faith upon its mother for food, affection and comfort. From the mother the child first be taught how to express warmth, and the motherly caresses and the friendly feeling which the child get from its mother by the easy analogies to care for when the child feels a attentive passion for another individual of the contrary sex. Its mother, in a very genuine sense of the world, is its first adore.
The human body is divided into many different parts called organs. All of the parts are controlled by an organ called the brain, which is located in the head. The brain weighs about 2. 75 pounds, and has a whitish-pink appearance. The brain is made up of many cells, and is the control centre of the body. The brain flashes messages out to all the other parts of the body.