Schizophrenia

Not being able to think clearly, act normally in social situations, or tell the difference between what is real and not real are a few things that make up schizophrenia. There is no specific cause to this mental disorder many doctors believe that genes may play a role for developing schizophrenia. Schizophrenia usually beings in men and women's' teen years or young adulthood, but there is a possibility for childhood-onset schizophrenia to being after age 5. For a child to be diagnosed with schizophrenia is rare and it can make it difficult to tell a difference from other developmental problems the child might have like autism. Hallucinations, lack of emotions, and delusions are a few symptoms of schizophrenia which develop over the course of the years; because there is not a medical exam to help diagnose this mental disorder, psychiatrist should make the diagnosis based on an interview. Antipsychotic drugs are available for the treatment of schizophrenia  and may be the most effective. Living with this mental disorder seems to be difficult because of the symptoms such as delusions, because one will not tell apart between real and not real. If being alone and not being able to tell the difference that could put ones' live in danger. Also not having a medical test to diagnose schizophrenia, worries one because even though it is rare children are diagnosed with this mental disorder; and it can be confused with other developmental problems. The child might be treated with medication that is not appropriate and the side effects can be very hurtful.

Bipolar

Going back and forth between periods of good or very irritable moods and depression very quick is a condition known as bipolar disorder. The specific cause of this disorder is unknown, but it most frequently occurs in relatives of people with bipolar disorder. Both women and men are equally affected and the ages it starts are between 15-25. There are three types of bipolar disorder which are type I, type II, and cyclothymia. Aside from the quick mood swings and depression, other symptoms of bipolar disorder may include increased energy, lack of self control, little need for sleep, or thoughts of suicide. Those are not the only symptoms, but just a few of the many that characterize this disorder. In order to diagnose bipolar disorder, a doctor may ask about family history, run laboratory tests, or watch the behavior of the patient. Mood stabilizers, drugs commonly used, are the first treatment used. Other drugs that can be used are anti-psychotic, anti-anxiety, antiseziure, or antidepressant medications. If the patient does not respond to medication there are other options like Transcranial  magnetic stimulations (TMS) and Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The treatment used for the patient with bipolar disorder is to prevent suicide, avoid hospital stay and moving from one phase to another, make episodes less frequent and severe, and help the patient function as well as possible. Living with this disorder must not be easy especially with the episodes of mania and depression one suffers. A normal life without drugs is out of the question for someone with bipolar disorder because of the danger some put their life in. Also there not being a clear cause for this disorder makes it even a little more scarier, because there can be many factors that trigger this disorder. 

Stress

Stress...stress...stress! That is what us college students experience throughout the semesters. Not only is school stressful but relationships, work, driving in bad traffic, family problems, ect. Overwhelmed with the pressures that are placed on us and coping may seem difficult at times. Challenges or threats to our lives are what we call stress. Stress is not always a negative thing in our lives but it can be positive and motivate us to achieve our goals. Though if it interferes with both one's physical and mental health it is no good and something needs to be done. Stress provokes for heart rate to rise, breathing to become more rapid, do not sleep, blood pressure rises, and immune system goes down. Every situation we face in life is different and the way we confront them as well. It mostly depends on the resources we have available and how we choose to deal with the situation; if our resources seem to be enough then it won't produce stress, but if they are not enough then it produces stress in our lives. It is also the way we see that stressful situation is an important factor that impacts both mental and physical health.  We decide how to interpret every situation and whether it will be harmful to us. Effects of stress can be shown through our body, behavior, and our thoughts and feelings.  Stress can be treated by any of these methods which are medication, self-help, and self management. Exercise, breathing, relaxation techniques, or a good diet can be some self-help methods to help cope with the stressful situations we have to deal in life. Stress seems to never end and it is not only college students dealing with it but everybody out there. Though certain situations seem to be out of our hands and cause stress, we can always turn it to be positive and learn from it. 

Sleep

Insomnia 

Characterized by difficulty of falling or staying asleep is a sleep disorder known as insomnia. Feeling tired upon waking, difficulty falling asleep, waking up too early in the morning, and waking up often during the night and not being able to go back to sleep are symptoms that people with insomnia have. There are two types of insomnia which are primary insomnia and secondary insomnia. Primary insomnia is when a person is having problems with sleep that are not associated with any health problem or condition. Secondary insomnia is when an individual is having problems with sleep because of a certain health problem or condition such as asthma or a substance like alcohol that they may be using. There is also a variation of how long insomnia can last and how often it occurs in an individual. Insomnia can be acute which is short-term or chronic which lasts a long time. Acute insomnia can be caused by emotional discomfort, significant life stress (e.g. divorce), environmental factors (e.g. noise or light), or illness. Causes of chronic insomnia may be due to chronic stress, pain or discomfort at night, depression, or anxiety. Treatment for acute insomnia is not required; but if insomnia makes it hard to function, your doctor may prescribe sleeping pills. For the treatment of chronic insomnia the causes are determined and sometimes behavioral therapy may be suggested. Getting enough sleep at night is crucial for many individuals to be able to function properly and being deprived from it can bring many consequences. Though we may all at once experience insomnia at least once in our lives it must be hard to suffer from it all the time and have to take sleeping pills. Sleep is so important for humans that it should not be taken for granted.

Sex

Gender Identity Disorder

Being a female or male helps an individual with their personality and sense of self. Though gender identity disorder is a condition in which either a male or female identifies strongly with the opposite sex. The people that suffer from this disorder often feel uncomfortable with their gender and act as the opposite sex. The person's behavior and dress are impacted by this disorder and their self image is affected as well. Those who change their physical appearance through cosmetic surgery and hormones are most commonly known as transsexuals. The cause for gender identity disorder remains unknown but there are theories that try to explain it. Theories  suggests that this disorder can be caused by genetic abnormalities, defects in human bonding, hormone imbalances, or a combination of several of these factors. This disorder is mostly recognized before people reach adolescence and it is more common in males than in females. Symptoms of gender identity disorder include disgust of their own genitals, withdrawal from social interaction, desire to become the opposite sex, dressing and behaving like the opposite sex, ect. Counseling is usually recommended to treat the individual with gender identity disorder as well as their family. The focuses of counseling are to treat the problems that are associated with this disorder which are depression and anxiety. Improving self-esteem is also another focus that counseling targets to help the individual. If an individual does not receive any type of therapy it can cause social isolation, emotional distress, and poor self-image. Which will cause the individual to no function to his/her ability and lead to problems in school or work. Not being able to identify one's self with the gender we have and wanting to be the opposite sex has become more accepting in society; but there are still people who do not accept individuals with this disorder which causes many to commit suicide. Many who suffer from this and do not have the support behind them take the easy way out. It is important for us to help those with gender identity disorder, because children are also diagnosed and them being so young do not know how to cope with the stress behind it. 

Endorphins

As known as neurotransmitters, endorphins are among the brain chemicals that function to transmit electrical signals within the nervous system. These can be found in the pituitary gland, as well as other parts of the brain, or are distributed throughout the nervous system. There are at least twenty types of endorphins that have been demonstrated in humans. Both pain and stress are the most common factors to the release of endorphins; which interact with the opiate receptors in the brain to reduce the perception of pain and act like a drug, such as morphine. However on the contrary to morphine, the activation of the opiate receptors by the body's endorphins does not lead for dependence or addiction. Endorphins do not only decrease the feelings of pain but also lead to release of sex hormones, feelings of euphoria, and modulation of appetite. Being able to feel fewer negative effects of stress and pain is due to the high levels of endorphins. The release of these varies among every individual and no two people produce the same level of endorphins. Food can play a role on the secretion of endorphins in people. Activities such as meditation, exercise, massage therapy, and sex can trigger the levels of endorphins. Though endorphins minimize the pain or stress we feel it can also be responsible for certain forms of mental illnesses such as OCD. Clinical depression an sudden shifts in emotions are linked to problems with endorphin production or the binding process of these. Gathering this information about endorphins and what they do has put a much more importance on them because they help us in our everyday lives. If it was not for these the pain and stress would be unbearable.  

Korsakoff's Syndrome

Brain damage caused by severe thiamine deficiency occurs mostly in chronic alcoholics is Korsakoff's syndrome. The lack of vitamins due to a diet of nothing but alcoholic beverages for a long period of time causes the deficiency of thiamine which affects the brain and nervous system. Thiamine is needed by the brain to metabolize its primary fuel, glucose. The loss or shrinkage of neurons is lead by the prolonged deficiency of thiamine throughout the brain. Korsakoff's syndrome may follow Wernicke's encephalopathy if it is untreated or not treated soon enough.  Brain damage occurs, and the doromedial thalamus is an area which is the most affected. The dorsomedial thalamus is the main source of input to the prefrontal cortex; resulting in severe short-term memory loss though many other abilities may remain intact. Memory loss, apathy, and confusion may be symptoms of Korsakoff's syndrome which are very similar to those people with prefrontal cortex damage. Korsakoff's syndrome main symptom is memory loss particularly of events arising after the onset of a condition, or sometimes memories of the more distant past can also be affected. Confabulation is a distinctive symptom of this syndrome in which patients invent events to fill the gaps in memory. Patients mainly confabulate on questions about episodic memory and seldom on semantic questions. Strategies for studying are product of a fascinating influence of the tendency for a person to confabulate. Reading the list over and over is an effective way to learn much better for patients with Korsakoff's syndrome. 

Broca's Aphasia

Aphasia is an impairment of language which affects the production or comprehension of speech and the ability to read and write. This is due to injury to the brain most commonly from a stroke; but brain injuries resulting in aphasia may also arise from head trauma, brain tumors, or infections. Communication with a patient who has aphasia can be severe making it impossible or very mild. Aphasia can affect mainly a single aspect of language use, such as the ability to put words together, the ability to read, or the ability to retrieve names of objects; but commonly multiple aspects of communication are impaired. Though some channels remain accessible for a limited exchange of information. It is up to a professional to determine the amount of function available in each of the channels for the comprehension of language and to assess the possibility that a treatment might enhance the use of channels that are available to the patient. Broca's aphasia or also referred to nonfluent aphasia is one of the most common varieties of aphasia. In this particular form, speech output is severely reduced and is limited mainly to short utterances of less than four words. The access to vocabulary is limited and the formation of sounds is often clumsy and laborious. A person with Broca's aphasia may understand speech relatively well and be able to read but be limited in writing. It must very difficult for a person who did not have no trouble at all understanding a simple sentence to it becoming complicated after suffering from a stroke that caused Broca's aphasia. Not being able to express ourselves through language by speaking or writing can be terrifying because how is it that one can communicate with the world if it seems impossible. 

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

     Mothers who drink while pregnant cause their babies to be born with fetal alcohol syndrome.  Facial abnormalities, hyperactivity, varying degrees of mental retardation, impulsiveness, motor problems, difficulty maintain attention, and heart defects are some of the symptoms babies might have. Fetal alcohol syndrome is not only caused by alcohol consumed during pregnancy but also being exposed to prenatal alcohol show impairments in language, memory attention, and learning. When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol it easily passes across the placenta to the fetus which harms the baby's development by altering the migration pattern of small neurons. The release of glutamate, the brain's main excitatory transmitter, is suppressed by alcohol and enhances activity of GABA, the main inhibitory transmitter; because of this many neurons receive less excitation and neurotrophina than normal and they undergo apoptosis.  During pregnancy there is no safe level of alcohol consumption for women. If a woman consumes large amounts of alcohol the problems increase tremendously, especially if alcohol is consumed during the first three months of pregnancy because alcohol appears to be more harmful then. In order to prevent fetal alcohol syndrome is for women not to drink any alcohol during their pregnancy. Many complications can be caused to a baby's development because of the unwise decision of consuming alcohol during pregnancy. A mother should always have in mind the health of their child when thinking of drinking just one small glass of wine, because the consequences can be devastating. If a pregnant woman is dealing with alcoholism they can join an alcohol abuse rehabilitation program to help them out throughout their pregnancy.

Addictions

Additions go from gambling to the most common alcohol and drugs.  An addiction interferes with someone's life because of the compulsive need for the  pleasure given. Having an addiction does no good to one but rather hurts the person and everybody around them. Drugs and alcohol are amongst the most common addictions and are life threatening; which makes me wonder why the use of such harmful pleasure to one's life? Though after reading more about addictions, I came to the understanding that the pleasure that a certain drug gives decreases and one tends to go do it again in order to have the same enjoyable experience as before. Also many turn to addictions to be able to handle stress or any other problems that they may be encountering. Many times it seems impossible for a person to be able to overcome an addiction, because of the negative effects afterwards like fatigue and anxiety. Though addictions cannot be quite explained well of how it completely takes over a person's life, it is certain that the brain undergoes changes that in some ways makes it difficult to be able to quit.

Neurons

An adult brain has approximately 100 billion neurons; all varying in shape, function, and size. Neurons are specialized to transmit information throughout the body which makes them the basic building block of the nervous system. A neuron's contribution to the nervous system is determined by the connections it has with other neurons; two types of neurons are motor and sensory neuron. The structure of a neuron depends greatly on the size of the neuron. For example a small neuron will not contain an axon and will lack dendrites. As for a large neuron will be composed of a cell body, presynaptic terminals, axon, and dendrites. Both vary in what they are composed off because of their size. It is incredible of all the work that neurons take care off in our bodies. 

Animal Research

     The use of animals is research sounds and maybe cruel, but the knowledge gained afterwards about a certain issue can be very rewarding.  These four reasons can summarize why the need for animal research: legal or ethical restrictions prevent certain kinds of research on humans, the underlying mechanisms of behavior are similar across species and sometimes easier to study in a nonhuman species, what we learn about animals sheds light on human evolution, and we are interested in animals for their own sake.  The use of animals in research to learn how the brain functions is many times an ethical debate between abolitionists and animal researchers.  Though committees like the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee make sure to minimize pain and discomfort in specific procedures for animals.  Animals used for research are cared for and put in as little distress as possible with all the laws and regulations countries set for research to be done.  With this research can be conducted and there is medical advances which can help save many lives.  I cannot quite understand why people against animal use in research react so violently towards researchers.  All they are doing is helping to improve the lives of many others.