Schizophrenia

The videos that were provided in the lessons folder about schizophrenia had explicit examples of what a textbook schizophrenic may feel everyday and ramble of what is happening in a different world. The video that shook me even more was the one of the childhood schizophrenia. Already the stresses of a family and young children can have parents up at night and on top of that having a child dealing with schizophrenia is that much more overwhelming for the family. 

The video really explained that the child was showing symptoms of something a little more than just an active baby but a distressed baby sometimes or a baby that could see "something" in another concept.

I have previously stated how against I am with doctors giving children medications so quickly or misdiagnosing a child but in this case I see the absolute need for the medication. Not so much for the family but for the young child. Although the video did not mention the medications that were being administered, I do assume that the medications were somewhat helpful by keeping her going daily and working to the best of her ability everyday.

The second story on the video showed a lot of insight on what the child felt, by her explaining that no one understood her and that she hated everyone. 

The feelings the child felt made me cry because the child feels alone and that everyone is out to get her and that she has to take matters into her own hands to make herself feel safe. 

I feel for the parents of children with any disability or any illness that is so overpowering them. I do pray that cures can be found and I truly admire parents that have the energy everyday to make things normal once in awhile. 

Baby blues or is it more?

Postpartum Depression is a serious illness and needs to be taken care of quickly and the video gives information on what Postpartum Depression is and what mothers can do to get the help that is needed not just for themselves but for their baby and family.

Imagine giving birth to a beautiful baby and getting compliments on how gorgeous the baby looks and how blessed the mother is to have a new life. All the while the mother is feeling overwhelmed and sadden by not being able to take care of the baby correctly or not happy that the baby was even born. Many researchers believe that hormonal changes contribute to the depression.  Research does show that the risk of postpartum depression increases with previous depression episodes and the lack of support after the pregnancy. 

I learned in my Child Development Class with Dr.Weimer that the responsibility of the baby should not just be in the hands of the mother but also the father. The father must show support to the new baby and the mother, because it gives the child a bond with the father and gives the mother someone to rely on when feeling overwhelmed or stressed by all the new changes. 

Postpartum depression should not be taken lightly and the fathers must take quick action to help their spouses, it could lead to postpartum psychosis.

As a mother, I know it is difficult to adjust to a new life style and the stresses are huge but when in doubt of yourself or a spouse with a baby please seek help before the problems become worse, no one wants to see a baby get hurt or see a mother struggling to keep it together, we want to see happy families. 

looking for a smile

The human face is the first contact to the outside world and the first thing people will remember of someone. The likelihood of showing emotions to continue a long lasting conversation is the most crucial part of a conversation and the door into the human heart. There are people in the world that cannot share their inner most feelings by expression, but only through words.

Moebius syndrome is a rare neurological disorder that is present at birth. It primarily affects the 6th and 7th cranial nerves, leaving those with the condition unable to move their faces (they can’t smile, frown, suck, grimace or blink their eyes) and unable to move their eyes laterally.

The choice of the video is to explain paralysis to the face and the causes of it. Being named after Paul Moebius in 1888 who discovered this disorder.

The blank expressions, missing fingers, missing toes, dental problems, are some of the signs or symptoms.

An article that was interesting coming from the Moebius Syndrome Foundation explains stories of different people whom their smiles come from the Heart. 

The stories are influential and the need to raise more awareness of the disorder to help patients with Moebius Syndrome and to find smiles in the public's heart.

sleep apnea

Parents dealing with the stress of the their own child not being able to focus in school or have a difficult time with discipline, and having to put their children on medication is sometimes beyond their control. The interesting information is that instead of jumping into medication so quickly I learned in my Child and Adolescent class that it's important to also look at the sleep patterns of the child or children. 

Sleep Apnea could be causing a child's focus to be minimal and the restlessness during the day due to lack of oxygen the child may be getting during a night’s sleep.

Sleep apnea for definition purposes is impaired ability to breathe while sleeping. People with sleep apnea have breath-less periods of a minute or so from which they awaken gasping for a breath. People usually do not remember or think of not breathing while sleeping so it’s not usually thought of especially when children are not doing well in their daily lives. Sleep apnea results from several causes, including genetics and hormones and in adults it’s usually during middle age and the result of obesity.

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The video that I have chosen is to see other reasons that could be causing children to have problems in their daily routine and instead of jumping into medication so quickly to do some research on sleeping patterns. 

Sleep Apnea does have effects on how humans can suffer throughout a daily basis and I think of the children with this problem and parents not being aware. 

Sex Differences in Childhood Behavior

Are dolls appropriate for boys? Are trucks appropriate for girls? What does it really mean when children before the age of 3 play with toys of the opposite sex?

 Examples that were shown in the textbook, Biological Psychology 11th edition, : were that infants between the ages of 3 to 8 months were placed in front of sex dominant toys such as dolls and trucks and noticed that girls looked at dolls and that boys look at both equally.

Studies suggest that prenatal hormones, especially testosterone, alter the brain in ways that influence differences between boys and girls in their activities and interests.

I agree that toy preferences are not just determined by hormones, I believe that parents influence the preference of toys predetermining  from their own childhood activities and or instruction. 

I believe that children are taught to choose toys by the parents and coming from having a boy as my first child and a baby girl the second I choose the toys and books that each one receives and enjoys all the time.

I make sure that children see toys that are appropriate for their individual sex unconsciously. That does not mean that I do not allow for my children to choose for themselves, but I know for a fact that I do this.

I choose this video and the article to explain that all the genetic or hormone theory have important reasons to believe that children may be predetermined in a certain way or that children are programmed in certain way to their sexual preference later on in life, BUT I also believe that it has a lot to do with child rearing during anyone's life.

synesthesia

I can't imagine looking at a letter in another color,although it could give me some insight possibly to problem solve or maybe to see what sound looks like.Synesthesia is the experience some people have in which stimulation of one sense evokes a perception of that sense and another one also. Meaning a cluster of people from in the same family might see the letter J in the color purple and the other may see the letter in yellow. Or  you may see the sound of a fighter jet with several letter KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!

The diagnosis is vague but it has some starting points. The phenomenon occurs in the cerebral cortex, not in the receptors or their first connections to the nervous system.



These pictures show examples of what may stand out to people with synesthesia or what may be difficult to find.

This video explains the phenomenon that is not explainable the concept of saying that word just tastes awful or that food tastes like a specific shape or color. Sounds and Colors blend together and reality is wired differently. Once this happens in a persons' life there is no changing it. That means for the rest of their lives a specific number has a different color or a specific letter and hearing sounds might do something to do that is peaceful or annoying. How bazaar? I can say that having Synesthesia may give you a hand up but as for me it could cause major destruction. 

Alzheimer's disease

Coming into a hotel lobby after a family celebration and getting ready to continue the fun was the only thing on our minds and seeing cops getting ready to take my grandmother was the last thing we could of even imagined seeing. She was lost, and had no clue on where she was and who her family was and it was overwhelming to all of us as a whole. 

She was 76 years old when she lost her battle to ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE! She began at her early 40's but as a grandchild I truly had not concept of what was really going on, I just always said that's something that grandma does. I was told by my mother, that my grandmother's Alzheimer's  was under control for quite a while with medication, but as time passed it continued to get worse. I saw first hand how she left her real life and became someone that was angry and aggressive with the Alzheimer and Dementia she developed.

It was the most difficult time in our family to deal with the fact that no one could understand her and see her view of the world, she always was lost in her own home and confused on who each one of her children were let alone her grandchildren.

Being aware of this awful disease is the best idea because being informed can help families and as it did for us and know what would be to come from the disease. 

Split-Brain People

Imagine having all the connections in a big city, like New York City condensed into the brain and knowing that at any moment you can connect to any part of the city as a whole or individually!!!
No imagine that the connections of seeing a whole are not there and/or not being able to connect to Grandma well because the cell phone towers in the east side are down. What then? How do we connect?
Split-Brain people are people who have had surgery done to the Corpus Collosum that is a set of axons that exchange information across the hemispheres.
The two-hemispheres are the left and the right and each hemisphere has a powerful influence on the other, the right side gives the big picture and the left side gives specific detail and the information is exchanged through all the connections like in a big city, but when the Corpus Collosum is cut the two hemispheres are disconnected.(East Side of the City and West Side of the City= NO CONNECTION) 
Split-Brain patients usually happen to control the effects of severe epilepsy, a condition characterized by repeated episodes of excessive synchronized neural activity. Epilepsy can result from a mutation in a gene controlling the GABA receptor , from trauma or infection in the brain, brain tumors, or exposure to toxic substances.

Split-Brain people continue to have their normal day life and amazingly can do things separately with each hand or side of the brain but the connections are lost in complex manners. What is seen in one visual field or the other has a different idea of what was seen or could possibly not know what it saw but when touching an object the person with a split-brain can then say what it was.
The Video explains the complexity of each side and the functions of what each side needs for each other. Like stated in the video the right side sees the patterns and the whole and the left side interprets the information given from the right, so when the Corpus Collosum is no longer there it is difficult for these patients to distinguish quickly the meaning or the picture as a whole.
Once again I explain that it is difficult but not impossible because of there are other connections in the brain that are being strengthen to help for the lose of the Bridge Between the City, and those would be the anterior commissure, the hippocampal commissure, and a couple of other small commissures.

Is it okay to cut the Corpus Collosum is not okay, what really are the effects, are there more pros to cons?
I truly feel that in a way it is helpful to patients that suffer from severe epilepsy and I do understand that the cases vary from case to case but with technology so advanced now a days I believe it could help in the long run. I know that there are some effects but like the readings from previous chapters in the Biological Psychology Book 11th edition, the brain is a powerful machine and functions can be changed and/or manipulated to help individuals. 

Development of BABY

Becoming a Mother at the age of 21 years of age was a little earlier than I had anticipated, mind you I was having a wonderful time exploring my early twenties. When I found out about pregnancy my biggest fears were how long have I been pregnant and what are going to be the causes of drinking? (I had no clue until I was actually 8 weeks.) 

According to research done and previous information from my Child Development Course, I was clearly in the Embryonic Period of the pregnancy (between 2 to 8 weeks) and that is one of the critical period when particular organs is most susceptible to damage. 

I spoke to my OBGYN and come to find that I was okay and that I had only drank beer once during that time and that the amount of exposure  was okay. That it was harmless but explicitly stated that it must not happen anymore because it could damage my baby. I was very careful with my new chapter in my life and I knew that I must be careful with everything I did and also with the things I was exposing myself to and my baby.

I feel very strongly against someone that is aware of a pregnancy and continues to drink alcohol. The dangers are Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and this could cause facial and heart deformities, usually below average IQ or mental retardation. I feel that the importance of educating not only mothers but also fathers of the great harm that it is causing the baby. 

I chose this video to show all the possible teratogens that could impair prenatal development and if pregnant to think of the all the pain the baby would go through if the mother is not careful.

A family must remember the actions that are made and remember that a new addition to the family is a blessing. 

Dopamine Chapter 3

Do you truly want to do drugs to feel good? 

The activation of nucleus accumbens in the human body comes from simply imagining 

something good or doing something good that causes gratification. It could be best called the "brain pleasure center" . This area is a link to the cause of addiction and depression. To activate the nucleus accumbens there needs to be dopamine to be present to activate the neurotransmitter.

Wanting to have pleasure already increases the expectancy reward. The liking - wanting is important because people who are addicted to illicit drugs show a drive to obtain the drug even though it does not provide a pleasure anymore because of the addiction. 

What drugs cause the increase of dopamine levels?  

The causes of to high levels of dopamine can really hurt the human body, the the brain and body 

remain in a heightened state of alertness. This state of alertness leads to feelings of irritability, 

nervousness and paranoia. Chronic exposure to high levels of dopamine can lead to outbursts 

of violent behavior and a psychosis similar to schizophrenia, according to the Center for 

Substance Abuse Research.

After high levels excitement then the levels of dopamine wear off and depression usually kicks 

in and could truly hurt any individual. 

After the information provided do you really want to do drugs or get addicted to drugs? Think of 

the damage it could you or your family.

Dopamine is already present why hurt yourself with the consumption of drugs.

Construction of Neurons

The concept of Neurons for me has never been something that I could actually think about or really want to understand. My only understanding of it was that its somewhere in my body and so what?! After reading and seeing the Neuron it blew my mind. The fact is it is important and the knowledge of its functions and reasons for even being part of our human body is crucial. Personally the Neuron is complex and after several readings and videos its still causes me panic when I am asked about it, but every time I go over it the Neuron is extremely interesting. Our human body consists of approximately 100 billion neurons. The construction of the neuron seems simple but the truth is that the complexity of the neuron or the function of the neurons in human body is unbelievable.

There are two major parts to the neuron

1. Cell Body
2. Nerve Processes (2 parts are to the Nerve Processes)

• Axons (the information sender of the neuron)
• Dendrites(the receiver of the information)

Most of the work happens  in the Cell Body and in the Nerve Processes is what and where the electrical messages are being sent through.
This happens at milliseconds! This is amazing!!

 The concept of the neuron is so complex and is so important to the human body to relate and receive information to process what is necessary for each individual. Each neuron is different in size and shape and gives to the information it must transmit.
The video above explains the neuron and how many are in just small portions of the human brain, not alone in the human body.

Lost for Chapter 1

First and foremost, I was completely lost on how to blog and in all honesty I was on GMail trying to blog instead of blogger.com.

My topic of interest was "minimalist". I believe I am a "minimalist" because I like to see the results of studies are showing with animals. I know that there are new methods on doing research but why not have an actual result from something instead of just a computer. There are many viruses, diseases, and conditions that are being looked at right now through animal research and it is being utilized not just for statistics but for actual medicines and preventive measures for mankind. I do believe that animal research is being evaluated well and the fact that there are guidelines for each university and/or college gives the opportunity for the animals to be safe.
The outlook that animals are being tortured seems to be misleading when the actual means for research are allows for animals to not feel pain and when the animals do the reasons are to see what is the reasoning for it for us "humans".

The video above explains the outcomes of animal research and gives insight on really the care the animals go through in a medical research lab.
I will state that I am considerate of others feelings but I hold strongly that the need is there for animal research and that fact that everyone is benefiting somehow from the animal research for example cancer patients.