Unilateral Neglect

People with damage to either hemisphere tend to ignore the opposite side. For example someone with damage to the left hemisphere neglect the right side of the body or the right side of objects. They even ignore what they hear in the right ear and feel in the right hand. The definition of unilateral neglect is a symptom of brain damage in which a person is unaware of one side of his body and of anything in the external world on the same side. Its kind of hard to ignore one side of our body or anything we see on either side but for people with damage to a hemisphere its quite easy. There are procedures to increase the attention of the neglected side but only last temporarily. Here are several examples of someone with unilateral neglect.





Where is the whole other side of the drawing? We of course would be able to see and draw the whole thing cause we have a whole brain but this is what people with damage to a hemisphere would see. I still cant believe that to people with hemisphere damage they are only able to see one side of everything. I think it would be interesting to meet someone with hemisphere damage one day and just hang out with them and get to know a little bit more about this subject.

The Binding Problem

The binding problem or large-scale integration problem is how various brain areas produce a perception of a single object.This occurs, for example, when sensations of color, shape, boundary, and texture are combined to produce the percept of a person's face. No one knows exactly how the brain does this. Thus the binding problem is one of the major unsolved mysteries in psychology.The example in the book about how the ventriloquist works and how we think the sound is actually coming from the dummy really got me. Its weird because i know that its not coming from the dummy but from the person controlling the dummy and yet when i watch a ventriloquist I still catch myself thinking that the dummy is talking. Not much research has been done on this subject because it is quite hard to determine what is really going on. I saw a video on how one philosopher saw the binding problem and i liked what he said.

 

Prescribing Ritalin to children

ADHD is diagnosed primarily from teacher complaints since children spend most of their time at school. In 2010 1 in 23 children with ADHD were medicated and a recent press realease reports that 1 in 10 children are diagnosed with ADHD so the number of children medicated has more than likely gone up. There is a movement to re-characterize many misdiagnosed ADHD children. Ritalin acts as a stimulant dopamine reuptake inhibitor in much the same way as COCAINE! Children being prescribed Ritalin and other ADHD medications are being given a "speed" based pill. I dont know about you but I would never give my child a medication very much like cocaine. Ritalin is described as a "safe" alternative to amphetamines. Children evaluated on Ritalin were affectless, humorless, apathetic, withdrawn and zombie like. ADHD didnt show up in the DSM until 1980. So were there no ADHD children before that or what? In 1980 150,000 children were on the drug, in 1990 1 million were on the drug and today and estimated 3.5 million take a stimulant for ADHD. The side effects of Ritalin and other ADHD stimulants cause a long list of physical, emotional, and psychiatric harms. Physical problems include drowsiness, appetite loss, insomnia, headaches, abdominal pain, motor abnormalities, facial and vocal tics, jaw clenching, skin problems, liver disorders, weight loss, growth suppression, hypertension, and sudden cardiac death. Emotional problems are depression, mood swings, irritability and anxiety. Psychiatric problems include obsessive compulsive symptoms, mania, parania, psychotic episodes and hallucinations. The pharmaceutical companies know of all these side effects caused by their drugs and they still are being produced but yet we can also blame the parent for still giving their children these stimulants.

The Blood-Brain Barrier

 

 

     The blood brain barrier acts as a filter, preventing many substances from entering the central nervous system. In order to minimize the risk of brain damage the body builds a wall along the sides of the brains blood vessels. The blood brain barrier depends on the endothelial cells that form the walls of the capillaries. The blood brain barrier prevents or slows the passage of some drugs and other chemical compounds, radioactive ions, and disease causing organisms such as viruses from the blood in the central nervous system. It also allows certain substances to enter freely such as oxygen and carbon dioxide. Water crosses through protein channels in the wall of the endothelial cells. Molecules that dissolve in the fats of the membrane also cross freely. Such molecules are vitamins A and D, illegal drugs, antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs. Abnormalities of the blood brain barrier have been implicated in the pathology of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression.

Introduction to Physiological Psychology

    A lot of what we know today about the brain has come from animal research. Before reading the module in the book about the use of animals in research I believed that the animals were being treated well. Now that I know that they are just not being used to test medicine on them but yet are having much more harm being done to them makes me uncomfortable. Everything we know about the brain through animal research came with a price that the animals had to pay. Its no wonder the book says that no animal would volunteer if it had a choice. I think that if there is animal cruelty laws there should at least be some sort of laws on animal research. Either to abolish it completely or minimize the pain inflicted on the animals. As long as animals are being used in research and being harmed there will always be abolitionists protesting. These abolitionists feel strongly about this subject and will do whatever it takes to fight for the rights of animals. There is several examples in the book of what some have already done. Animal research is needed in order to enhance the knowledge of how the human brain works. I believe that the research should continue but in a manner that will cause the least harm to the animals. Check out this interview and how doctors are put on the spot about this topic.