Tuesday, September 28, 2010
TEENAGE BRAINS
For the past two days we watched a movie on the teenage brain. My first reaction to the video was "is this staged?" I have never seen teenagers act so rudely. If my parents saw the video, they would view me as an angel. I don't think the video fairly portrays what a teenager is like. Adults always say teenagers are bratty, rebellious, and annoying. That is a generalization. In all my days as a teenager, I have never acted in such a rude, stubborn way as the kids in the video did. This leads me to believe, either they are born that way or my parents did an excellent job raising me! I have never felt the need to treat my parents with disrespect. Because of this, I believe my parent's way of raising kids is the best. We are very close. However, they give me my freedom, as is needed with all teenagers. If I wish to go out with friends, they allow me. However, they still put some boundaries. I always have a curfew. This helps me to feel as I have freedom, however I am still protected. In conclusion, the movie was very interesting and led to many interesting conversations on teenagers and parenting skills.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
BRAIN & ITS FUNCTIONS
1. What does the word "hemisphere" refer to when talking about the brain?
“Hemi” means half. Our brain is spilt in half. It has the left side and the right side of the brain. Each side has its different functions. The two sides are connected by the corpus collasum.
2. What are the major differences between the left and right sides of the brain?
2. What are the major differences between the left and right sides of the brain?
No one is only left brained or only right brained. However, one side dominates. If you are dominated by your right side, you tend to be more creative. You aren’t always organized. You like to see things visually. On the other hand, if someone is left brained, then they tend to look at the logic behind things. They think things out before doing them. Left brained people tend to look at parts, rather than the whole.
3. What is the corpus collasum?
3. What is the corpus collasum?
The corpus collasum is the nerve fibers that connect the left side of your brain to your right side.
4. Explain the study performed by Paul Broca in which he discovered "Broca's Area."
4. Explain the study performed by Paul Broca in which he discovered "Broca's Area."
Broca’s area is on the surface of the left frontal lobe. When someone has damage there, they lose the ability to forms words and sentences. Paul Broca had two patients who had this, Lalong and Leborgne. They both could form few words. Broca determined that it was because they had damage in the surface of the left frontal lobe.
5. Explain the study conducted by Roger Sperry in regard to "split brain."
5. Explain the study conducted by Roger Sperry in regard to "split brain."
“Split brain” refers to when, in surgery, someone’s corpus collasum is cut. This is usually done if someone has a really bad case of epilepsy. In doing this, the right and left side of the brain cannot process as one. There are advantages and disadvantages. This is a last resort. Most patients had the same memory as before. They could pay attention when spoken to, Also, they had good control of themselves.
6. Explain the study conducted by Karl Wernicke which led to the discovery of Wernicke's Area."
6. Explain the study conducted by Karl Wernicke which led to the discovery of Wernicke's Area."
Wenicke’s area is in the posterior section of the superior temporal gyrus in the dominant cerebral hemisphere (which is the left hemisphere in about 90% of people). He believes that this part of the brain, if damages, caused aphasia. Aphasia is a difficulty comprehending or producing spoken or written language.
7. Which lobe is most responsible for vision?
7. Which lobe is most responsible for vision?
The occipital lobe is most responsible for vision.
8. Which lobe is most responsible for hearing and language?
The temporal lobe is most responsible for hearing and language.
9. Which lobe is most responsible for performing math calculations?
The frontal lobe is most responsible for performing math calculations.
10. Which lobe is most responsible for judgment, reasoning and impulse control?
10. Which lobe is most responsible for judgment, reasoning and impulse control?
The frontal lobe is most responsible for judgment, reasoning, and impulse control.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
PHINEAS GAGE
Phineas Gage was born July 9, 1823 and died May 21, 1860.Phineas Gage was an American railroad construction foreman. On September 13, 1848, 25-year-old Gage was foreman in Vermont. After a hole was bored into a body of rock, one of Gage's duties was to add blasting powder, a fuse, and sand, then compact the charge into the hole using a large iron rod. Possibly because the sand was omitted “the powder exploded, carrying an instrument through his head an inch and a fourth in [diameter], and three feet and [seven] inches in length, which he was using at the time. The iron entered on the side of his face...passing back of the left eye, and out at the top of the head.” (from a witness that was there).
scienceblogs.com
After accident, he was in the hospital for around a year. He saw a series of doctors. People expected him to die. However, gradually he became better. First he moved. Then, he started walking. Then, he begged to be allowed to visit his parents. He went outside. He recovered well both physically and mentally. “He said he was not in pain, however he had a queer feeling that he was unable to describe.” After the surgeries friends said he was “no longer Gage”. Before he had the accident been a kind, responsible, respectable, young man. After, he was completely different. He couldn’t hold down a job. He had tantrums in which he would say the most vulgar things. He was impatient, and had the “animal passions of a strong man” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage).
boston.com
Phineas Gage was a case study. From him, scientists learned two main things. First, they learned about brain localization. Meaning, each part of your brain has a specific task. You can lose one and the rest will still function. Gage’s friends found him“no longer Gage,” Harlow wrote. Second, this case study showed that our ability to control ourselves lies in the frontal lobe. Without it, a person has no control over themselves. Second, we learned about brain lateralization. This is the theory that left and right sides of the brain can control many different parts of your body.
open.salon.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage
http://www.smithhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gagesonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Phineas-Gage-Neurosciences-Most-Famous-Patient.html#ixzz104yemFUO
Monday, September 6, 2010
HOMOSEXUALITY: NATURE OR NURTURE?
Homosexuality is a very heated topic at the moment. Some people believe you are born that way (nature), while others believe that through your environment (nurture) you become homosexual. Many people say that it is someone’s choice to be gay. However, I believe that you are born that way. It is neither a disease nor something you should be ashamed of. It is how that person feels, and we should all respect that. I believe that a person is born that way. In many countries, homosexual people are frowned upon. They face really hard times. Why would someone bring that upon themselves if it weren’t that they were born that way? Why would someone choose to make their life harder? However, I also believe that someone may come to realize their homosexuality through an experience. Perhaps, some people may never know true happiness because they never realized that they were homosexual. Because of this, I believe that is mostly biological for why people are gay; however there are some environmental parts that many play a part.
D.F. Swab was the first person to note that there was a physical difference from homosexual people to heterosexual people. Many scientists believe that it has to do with the development of the hypothalamus, which is a part of the brain which has shown to differ between homosexuals and heterosexuals. A homosexual man has the hypothalamus about twice the size of a heterosexual man. In 1993, Dean Hamer, a scientist at the National Cancer Institute, wrote in the Science Journal an article called “A Linkage between DNA Markers on the X Chromosome and Male Sexual Orientation”. He found that homosexuality is passed down from the mother. However, for lesbians it is different. Hamer suspects that women’s sexual preference may be less genetically programmed than men’s. However, he still believes that it is passed down in families.
On the other hand, there is the idea that we choose to become homosexual. This means that through our experiences we become homosexual. Some psychoanalysts believe that an overbearing mother and a distant father can cause a boy to become gay. They say that the boy is taught to act more like a girl, causing them to become homosexual. Thomas Schmidt wrote an argument called “Straight& Narrow? Compassion and Clarity in the Homosexual Debate”. He believes that being homosexual is a choice. He believes that for many external factors cause this. For example, if a child is bullied as a kid and considered a ‘sissy’, he might relate better to the girls in his class. He believes that the idea of feminism has a large influence on females becoming lesbian.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://themusicslut.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/777px-gay_flag.png&imgrefurl=http://themusicslut.com/2009/06/happy-new-york-city-2009-gay-pride/&usg=__uDrvFsa4V4RbX6A7U4-hmDu9tpY=&h=480&w=777&sz=3&hl=en&start=80&zoom=1&tbnid=FiBnHivJIhB55M:&tbnh=101&tbnw=164&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgay%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1R2SKPB_enHN340%26biw%3D1135%26bih%3D542%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C1628&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=742&vpy=190&dur=6895&hovh=176&hovw=286&tx=88&ty=149&ei=84-FTOrfJ8KC8gbc5OzbDA&oei=Ao-FTLbWJIGLnAfLx5G1Dg&esq=23&page=5&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:80&biw=1135&bih=542
WORKS CITED:
(http://allpsych.com/journal/homosexuality.html)
Bull, James J. and Pease, Craig M. “Biological Correlates of Being Gay” Online. 11 April 2003. Available http://www.utexas.edu/courses/bio301d/Topics/Gay/Text.html.
Thompson and Devine. “Homosexuality: Biologically or Environmentally Constructed?” Online. 8 April 2003. Available http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/Research/ HNatureProposalsArticles/Homosexuality.biologicall.html
Sonya Safro “ Nature versus Nurture: Homosexuality’s Link to Biology and Society” January 17,2008. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1910
D.F. Swab was the first person to note that there was a physical difference from homosexual people to heterosexual people. Many scientists believe that it has to do with the development of the hypothalamus, which is a part of the brain which has shown to differ between homosexuals and heterosexuals. A homosexual man has the hypothalamus about twice the size of a heterosexual man. In 1993, Dean Hamer, a scientist at the National Cancer Institute, wrote in the Science Journal an article called “A Linkage between DNA Markers on the X Chromosome and Male Sexual Orientation”. He found that homosexuality is passed down from the mother. However, for lesbians it is different. Hamer suspects that women’s sexual preference may be less genetically programmed than men’s. However, he still believes that it is passed down in families.
On the other hand, there is the idea that we choose to become homosexual. This means that through our experiences we become homosexual. Some psychoanalysts believe that an overbearing mother and a distant father can cause a boy to become gay. They say that the boy is taught to act more like a girl, causing them to become homosexual. Thomas Schmidt wrote an argument called “Straight& Narrow? Compassion and Clarity in the Homosexual Debate”. He believes that being homosexual is a choice. He believes that for many external factors cause this. For example, if a child is bullied as a kid and considered a ‘sissy’, he might relate better to the girls in his class. He believes that the idea of feminism has a large influence on females becoming lesbian.
According to Craig M. Pease and James J. Bull, “it is estimated that 2%-5% of men are gay, 1%-2% of women are lesbian, and these percentages appear to hold across cultures.” (Chapter 23)So, through all this research, I have come to believe that it is a little bit of both nature and nurture. I believe that some people are born with a larger tendency to become homosexual. We should never judge someone because of their sexual orientation. In 1994, the APA finally stated, "...homosexuality is neither a mental illness nor a moral depravity. It is the way a portion of the population expresses human love and sexuality".
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://themusicslut.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/777px-gay_flag.png&imgrefurl=http://themusicslut.com/2009/06/happy-new-york-city-2009-gay-pride/&usg=__uDrvFsa4V4RbX6A7U4-hmDu9tpY=&h=480&w=777&sz=3&hl=en&start=80&zoom=1&tbnid=FiBnHivJIhB55M:&tbnh=101&tbnw=164&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgay%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1R2SKPB_enHN340%26biw%3D1135%26bih%3D542%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C1628&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=742&vpy=190&dur=6895&hovh=176&hovw=286&tx=88&ty=149&ei=84-FTOrfJ8KC8gbc5OzbDA&oei=Ao-FTLbWJIGLnAfLx5G1Dg&esq=23&page=5&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:80&biw=1135&bih=542
WORKS CITED:
(http://allpsych.com/journal/homosexuality.html)
Bull, James J. and Pease, Craig M. “Biological Correlates of Being Gay” Online. 11 April 2003. Available http://www.utexas.edu/courses/bio301d/Topics/Gay/Text.html.
Thompson and Devine. “Homosexuality: Biologically or Environmentally Constructed?” Online. 8 April 2003. Available http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/Research/ HNatureProposalsArticles/Homosexuality.biologicall.html
Sonya Safro “ Nature versus Nurture: Homosexuality’s Link to Biology and Society” January 17,2008. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1910
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