Chapter 4

Chapter 4

This chapter was over neuropsychopharmacology, drugs, and drug addiction. Both of which I do not know too much about. Before a drug can be developed the pharmacokinetics (how the drug is absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and eliminated by the body) and the pharmacodynamics (its effects on the body) must be understood. Then for it to be considered safe, there are a series of questions must be answered.

I found the section on cocaine to be very interesting because I was unaware of its history (minus the part about Coca-Cola) and all of the effects it has on the body. For instance, I did not realize it had a different form than the white powder we think of today. Imagining people chewing coca leaves leaves is amusing. Cocaine can lessen hunger and fatigue while increasing alertness and a sense of euphoria. It is no wonder people get curious. It's also interesting to me that while alcohol is a depressant it has an initial stimulating affect on people. I wish the text had covered why exactly that is more. While alcohol is the most abused drug, marijuana is the most used illegal substance. Both of which I could have guessed as they seem to be the less frightening.

Drug addiction is a vicious cycle. I think treatment programs are a great alternative to throwing offenders in jail. Addiction is a huge problem and I hope that we will continue to normalize conversations about it.

Chapter 3

Cells and Circuits

One thing that I have especially found exciting is Cajal's drawings of neurons in the brains of various species. Specifically, how art has contributed to science. After countless drawings he came up with the idea that there was some sort of gap separating the neurons which would later go on to be named the synapse. I found a video that does a great job of explaining Cajal's and Golgi's contributions. What they had to figure out next was the language neurons were using. This language turned out to be a synaptic transmission of neurochemicals, Henry Dale and Otto Loewi are credited with the discovery. What I cannot get over is that Loewi's study came to him in a dream. Incredible.

In addition to things that fascinate me: mirror neurons. The textbook talked about how they develop in infants and how repetition helps strengthen the connections between the sensory and motor neurons so that mirror neurons can be activated from more than one sensory and motor areas.

It is all a very intricate process and disruption of these neural transmissions can lead to things like  epilepsy.

Chapter 2

The purpose of this chapter was to break down the organization of the brain starting from the neuron all the way up to complex bodily systems. There are so many intricate details within this chapter and I am happy to have a background in biology so that all of the information was not brand new. I am very familiar with the cell diagram, the story of Phineas Gage, and the four parts of the Cerebral cortex. What I found most fascinating in this chapter was Gazzaniga and Sperry's study on split-brain patients and their confirmation that the brain used contralateral control. It's interesting to me how some things like language and visual-spatial processing are designated to specific sides while things like ethical judgement require both hemispheres. It makes sense though, simple tasks do not require as much as tackling an ethical dilemma.

One thing I absolutely did not know prior to the reading was the story of the first vaccination or how the word vaccination initially came about. Dr. Edward Jenner was one observant fellow to say the least and I am surprised the boy's mother allowed Dr. Jenner to inject her son with the cowpox virus. Our immune system's and the intensive memory for pathogens is truly incredible.

Chapter 1

Introduction to Biological Psychology

After reading through the first chapter I am excited to expand my knowledge in this area of Psychology. What I found most interesting was the the section on environmental impacts on the brain. In the Enriched Environment studies, rats living in cages with no stimulating objects were less social and had a decrease in physical activity. Then when their brain's development was analyzed, those that had lived in the enriched environment had thicker areas and more connections in their brains. This struck me because when I was doing research on children in the Chattanooga area we found that students performing well in school tended to have a significantly higher vocabulary than those students who were under-performing. The difference was caused by the amount of words these children were exposed to at home so again a richer environment leads to enriched minds. Our brains are simultaneously the most vulnerable and resilient part of us because it is constantly adapting in response to infinite variables. It's a wonder any of us turn out high functioning.

Anytime I have a paranormal experience I will think back on the story of Poe and his potential exposure to toxic levels of carbon monoxide.

In addition, I find heredity fascinating. I did not know prior to the chapter that it was once believed that heredity was transmitted through our blood (Darwin) or that Mendel spent seven years breeding his pea plants before he started to get a grasp on how genes were expressed/suppressed. I love that through the study of plants we were able to learn more about ourselves as well. Art imitates life on this topic through a specific video game I am quite fond of. One of the many things you can do in Animal Crossing is breed flowers and like Mendel we all just had to patiently observe the phenotypes until players started figuring out the game's algorithm.

As for what I am excited to explore further throughout this course:
-Emotional Expression

-Reproductive Strategies (specifically the section on biparental species, found in only 3-5% of mammalian species.)

-Mental Illness