Abnormal and Human Relationships

I am so surprised…..

Sport had five bids, health and development both  had 3.  I think that I am going to try some new material for next year.  I need to break out of my rut.  Hold onto your hats!

Thank you for taking the time to fill in the survey!

John

Brno, May 4 (CTK) – The deja vu phenomenon is linked to human brain structures and is probably of neurological origin, it ensues from the research experts from the Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC) in Brno completed along with their British colleagues from the University in Exeter.

Those experiencing deja vu feel that a certain situation is very familiar to them, as if they lived it once before, but at the same time they realise that this feeling is unsubstantiated and must be false.

Many generations of scientists tried to explain what is behind deja vu, but only hypotheses, often linked to parapsychology and mysticism, were available for long. Now the scientists have found out that certain brain structures in the people who experience deja vu are significantly smaller than in those who have never experienced it.

An analysis showed minor but statistically significant differences in certain areas of the cerebral cortex, mainly in the two hippocampuses, extremely sensitive small structures on the inner side of the temporal lobe, the seat of memory and remembrance. The people experiencing deja vu have these structures significantly smaller.

“We believe that [deja vu] is a type of ‘mistake in the system,’ caused by a higher sensitiveness of the hippocampus,” the main author of the research, Milan Brazdil, said.

Experts do not know what triggers deja vu. They say the “false memory” may be caused by processes similar to the temporal lobe’s epilepsy. A large portion of epileptic patients experience deja vu before an attack.

In healthy patients, deja vu is no symptom of an illness or serious defect. “Deja vu cannot be called a disease. Since it is experienced by up to 85 percent of people, it is normal in a way,” Brazdil said. He said the research has shown that deja vu is more often experienced by people with higher education.

This Monday we actually get to take a field trip!  Here is a bit of background information on the artists whose work we are going to see: (courtesy of Wikipedia)

Adolf Wölfli was abused both physically and sexually as a child, and was orphaned at the age of 10. He thereafter grew up in a series of state-run foster homes. He worked as a farm labourer and briefly joined the army, but was later convicted of attempted child molestation, for which he served prison time. Sometime after being freed, he was arrested for a similar offense and was admitted in 1895 to the Waldau Clinic in Bern, Switzerland, a psychiatric hospital where he spent the rest of his adult life. He was very disturbed and sometimes violent on admission, leading to him being kept in isolation for his early time at hospital. He suffered from psychosis, which led to intense hallucinations.

At some point after his admission Wölfli began to draw. His first surviving works (a series of 50 pencil drawings) are dated from between 1904 and 1906.

Walter Morgenthaler, a doctor at the Waldau Clinic, took a particular interest in Wölfli’s art and his condition, later publishing Ein Geisteskranker als Künstler (A Psychiatric Patient as Artist) in 1921 which first brought Wölfli to the attention of the art world. Morgenthaler’s book detailed the works of a patient who seemed to have no previous interest in art and developed his talents and skills independently after being committed for a debilitating condition.

Wölfli produced a huge number of works during his life, often working with the barest of materials and trading smaller works with visitors to the clinic to obtain pencils, paper or other essentials. Morgenthaler closely observed Wölfli’s methods, writing in his influential book:

“Every Monday morning Wölfli is given a new pencil and two large sheets of unprinted newsprint. The pencil is used up in two days; then he has to make do with the stubs he has saved or with whatever he can beg off someone else. He often writes with pieces only five to seven millimetres long and even with the broken-off points of lead, which he handles deftly, holding them between his fingernails. He carefully collects packing paper and any other paper he can get from the guards and patients in his area; otherwise he would run out of paper before the next Sunday night. At Christmas the house gives him a box of coloured pencils, which lasts him two or three weeks at the most.”

The images Wölfli produced were complex, intricate and intense. They worked to the very edges of the page with detailed borders. In a manifestation of Wölfli’s “horror vacui”, every empty space was filled with two small holes. Wölfli called the shapes around these holes his “birds.”

Wölfli eventually died in 1930 and his works were taken to the Museum of the Waldau Clinic in Bern. Wölfli’s work has inspired many composers. Perhaps most notable the Danish composer Per Nørgård who after viewing a Wölfli exhibition in 1979 embarked on a schizoid style lasting for several years; among the works of this time are an opera on the life of Wölfli called The Divine Circus.

Hippocampal neurons

This week we returned to the question of neurotransmission.  You are also working on blog postings on localization of function. We have definitely had the brain on our minds this week….

These are the key things that I would expect you to know about neurotransmission:

• Biologists argue that most behaviour has a electrochemical origin. “Information” travels through the neural networks by stimulating the dendrites of a neuron.  The neuron is then polarized, sending an electrical charge to the terminal buttons.  The terminal buttons then release neurotransmitters across the synapse.  This is known as synaptic transmission. These neurotransmitters attach to the dendrites of another neuron and are the cause of behaviour.
• Each molecule of a neurotransmitter has a specific shape by which it is identified. These molecules fit into receptor sites on the dendritic branches.  The neurotransmitters fit into the receptor sites like a lock and key.
• Drugs can replicate the shape of the neurotransmitter and then occupy the receptor site on the dendrites.  The lock and key concept at work.  Sometimes, the neurotransmitter or drug may be excitatory – that is, they activate the neuron – like stepping on a gas pedal.  Sometimes the neurotransmitter or drug may be inhibitory – that is, it prevents a neuron from firing – like putting on the brakes.
• Once a neurotransmitter is released into the synaptic gap, the terminal buttons will either release enzymes which “clean up” the synapse, such as acetylcholinesterase (note it ends with erase – thanks, Chemists!) which breaks down acetylcholine in the synapses. Or the terminal buttons will “soak up” the neurotransmitter, a process known as re-uptake.
• Finally, we looked at two examples of how neurotransmission affects human behaviour. First, a reminder of the study done by Martinez on the role of acetylcholine in the creation of short-term memory. The drug scopolamine, an anticholinergic drug (that is, it blocks acetylcholine) was found to prevent the creation of short-term memories is mice.  Martinez has proposed that acetylcholine may play an important role in Alzheimer’s disease. We also looked at some examples of serotonergic drugs on behaviour – in particular, LSD and psilocybins.  The over-stimulation of serotonin receptor sites which results from the use of these drugs which have a similar molecular structure to serotonin results in visual hallucinations.
• Neurotransmission has been used to explain the origins of several dysfunctional behaviours – so we will have a lot more information on this topic in that unit. Remember, we also mentioned the “love cocktail” – that is, the combination of norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin that correlates with that “puppy love” experience when you are initially attracted to someone. One of the arguments is that this explanation is reductionist.  As we saw in the case of the types of hallucinations that the individuals had in the film, there is also a cognitive and socio-cultural component to the nature of hallucination which the simple explanation of neurotransmission alone cannot explain.

This week we introduced the biological level of analysis.  Here are some of the key ideas that we have addressed.

• You should be able to discuss two to three of the principles that define the biological level of analysis: animals can be used to study human behaviour; there are biological correlates (hormones, neurotransmitters, brain activity) for human behaviour; human behaviour may be inherited; behaviour is the result of the interaction of biological factors with the environment.
• Localization of function is a rather limited explanation of how the brain works.  Many argue that it is reductionist, as most brain functions require interactivity among several parts of the brain.
• Phineas Gage (Harlow) is a historic, but limited, case-study of someone with brain damage to the frontal lobe. You should know the strengths and limitations of this study.
• Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s Area are examples of localization of function. In both cases, case-studies were used.  You should know the strengths and limitations of a case study approach. You should also be able to discuss the examples of aphasia that we looked at in class.
• Finally, we discussed the ethics of biological research.  As with all levels of analysis, the considerations are the same – but you should be able to discuss them in the context of biological research. These considerations include: gaining informed consent, confidentiality of information obtained, no undue stress to the participant, no irreversible harm to the individual, and the importance of respecting the person as an individual and not treating him/her as an “object.”  We discussed research by Heath and Olds – in which they studied the role of the nucleus accumbens in addiction.  An ethical consideration is whether the knowledge gained through the experimentation actually justifies the harm done to the animals that were being studied.

I highly recommend that you watch the video above.  It is an excellent update on the Phineas Gage case study…

Welcome back!  We have had a good first week back, wrapping up the cognitive level of analysis.  This week we looked the origins of emotion. At the end of this week you should be able to talk about the following concepts:

• Emotions may have an evolutionary advantage for humans.
• Facial expressions may be universal, showing us that there are biological roots for basic emotions.
• In spite of Ekman’s research, there are cultural factors that can affect emotional responses.
• LeDoux argues that emotional responses are the result of two paths to the brain. Be able to explain his model.
• Cognitive labeling is one of the key theories of emotions. Sometimes this process can lead to misattribution (Dutton & Aron; White).
• You should also be able to describe Schachter & Singer’s study – and also be able to discuss its ethical and procedural issues.

Next week we will continue with our study of multi-tasking.  Please make sure that if you have any questions on your experimental designs, that you email me.

Looking forward to moving on to our last topic of the year – the Biological Level of Analysis and the role of stress in our lives….