Born With Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is when someone has delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and behavior and weak signs of emotion and socialization. Now evidence shows, that it is extremely rare for it to be genetic. Question is, when can it be?

One of the strongest evidence for a genetic influence would have to be to locate the gene that is consistently linked with schizophrenia. Then again, if schizophrenia depended on a single gene, it would be hard for that gene to remain in 1% of the population, given the natural selection pressures against it.

So if schizophrenia has a genetic basis, but we can’t find that link and it can’t be passed down through many generations, then how is this possible? Take Jani’s family for example.

Jani is known as the world’s youngest Schizophrenic. Though people can be born with schizophrenia, they are more likely to be diagnosed around their 20s. Well unfortunately for Jani, she was diagnosed at the age of seven. She would have delusions and hallucinations of cats, dogs, rats and even kids. At the age of nine, her parents believed that it would be difficult for Jani and her brother to live together at the time, they decided to get two-one bedroom apartments across from each other in the same area. They thought it had worked so well that they decided to move back into one apartment. Overall, it seemed as a roller-coaster or to put it this way; every time they took two steps forward, they wound up taking one step back. They would have their good days and their bad days. And now Bodhi (Jani’s little brother), who was diagnosed with Autism, is going through the same slope as Jani was, even she believes that he has schizophrenia.

This brings us back to my question; now, research also says that schizophrenia can also be developed environmentally, so what do you think, does Bodhi show schizophrenic symptoms? Did he inherit the gene?  

Electroconvulsive Therapy: Helpful or Not?

Usually people with depression tend to be treated either with antidepressants or psychotherapy. But what happens if neither will work? Have you ever heard of electroconvulsive therapy, also known as ECT?

Now you might have heard of it before, but most likely from a negative point of view. Truth is, despite of its stormy history, ECT is among the safest and most effective treatments available for depression.

What they do is they place electrodes on the patient’s scalp and a finely controlled electric current is applied while the patient is under general anesthesia. The current causes a brief seizure in the brain. It might sound scary and a little painful at first, but ECT is one of the fastest ways to relieve symptoms in severely depressed or suicidal patients. It’s also very effective for patients who suffer from mania or other mental illnesses. 

Take this character for example; from the show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, rock star Derek Lord goes on a national talk show and lectures about the about the abuse of psychiatric drugs. Reason for doing so was because he himself was treated for a psychiatric disorder (depression and suicidal), but with a different method, ECT. He would explain how they would turn him over so he wouldn’t choke on his own vomit and make him develop these seizures. But when they asked him if it cured him of his suicidal thoughts, he said he never had one since.

These are the kind of risk factors that make you think, do you agree with electroconvulsive therapy, do you agree on psychiatry, would you risk your life to save it?

Fear Comes in Many Forms: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

My aunt is never afraid of a challenge; she can get on the highest roller coaster, go bungee jumping, even cliff diving. Makes me wish I could have that kind of courage. But there is one BIG thing that she could never do. Unfortunately, she had a traumatic experience with WATER as a child, and now, if she ever heard of a task that involved water; her spine would start to shiver, her breathing would become more shallow, she would also say that her heart felt like it was about to explode.  You think you know someone at first, but then they could change into a completely different person if being placed into a traumatic setting. She could be diagnosed with what is known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a typed of anxiety disorder that could occur after you've seen or experienced a traumatic event that involved the threat of injury or death. In her case, its severeness is only minimal than compared to the most common risk factor for this disorder: WAR VETERANS.

Veterans who were diagnosed with PTSD may have witnessed people who were injured or dying, or may have been physically injured during the mission. Some of the most common symptoms of PTSD include recurring memories or nightmares of the event(s), sleeplessness, loss of interest, or feeling anger and irritability. Take this clip for example; in the movie Stop-Loss, actor Channing Tatum plays a character of a soldier who shows the effects of PTSD. His friend/squad member finds him drunk, digging up a foxhole in his front yard and his wife with a bruise on her face. Steve (Channing Tatums character) felt like he was back at the military base and Brandon (the friend) was unable to get through to him.

The cause of PTSD is unknown. Psychological, genetic, physical, and social factors are involved. It is not known WHY traumatic events cause PTSD in some people but not others. This just gives us another reason why FEAR is our greatest weakness.  

SLEEPWALKING

One day, while I was staying at my aunt’s house, she told me how I would mumble in my sleep and that it wasn’t the first time. She said I was so weird that I would even start scratching my face that same way as if I was awake. Hearing things like that make me wonder, If my aunt caught me doing silly acts like that when I’m asleep, then what do I do when I’m at home? What I’m more curious about is if I ever sleepwalk?

Sleepwalking is a sleep disorder that causes people to get up and walk while sleeping.  It usually occurs when a person is in the deep stages of sleep (stage 3 or 4). The sleepwalker is unable to respond during the event and doesn’t even remember any of it. The causes of sleepwalking are not well understood, but it is more common when people are sleep deprived or under unusual stress. Sleepwalking occurs most commonly in childhood but can last into adulthood.  Evidently, parts of the brain are awake and other parts are asleep.  

Episodes of sleepwalking can go from quiet walking around the room to practically running or attempts to “escape.” Take this dog for example, her name is Bizkit, they call her The Sleepwalking Dog because they always seem to catch her in the act. Most of the time she starts off running in place; then sometimes she’ll stand up and start barking out of nowhere with her eyes glazy until she wakes herself up.

Several different factors may be involved in the development of sleepwalking like genetics, environmental, and medical conditions. Incidentally contrary to common sayings, it is not dangerous to awaken a sleepwalker, but it is not particularly helpful either.

It makes you wonder, do you do anything while you’re asleep?

Gender Identity Disorder

Though I have a few tomboyish characteristics; such as preferring an action movie rather than a romantic one, more into sports than into shopping, and prefer Batman over Hello Kitty any day, no matter what, I know I’m like any other girl. Now, I may look like a girl, I may sound like a girl, and I may act like a girl, but does that mean every girl has to have those same aspects as I do? What if a little boy looks like a boy, sounds like a boy, but acts like a girl? Since the day he was born, he always felt different, like he didn’t belong, until he observed a life of a girl. In that moment he knew that was the life he wanted, he knew he should’ve been born as a girl and not as a boy. This is known as Gender Identity Disorder.

Psychologists have long assumed that gender depends mainly or entirely on the way people rear their children, but that’s not the case. Take this mother for example; her son wanted to be a girl since he was two years old, by age 11 he began transitioning, she felt like her son died. Around that time, her mother had to rush in and save her daughter from almost jumping out of a window because she didn’t want to live the rest of her life being someone she’s not. When the mother was on the Dr. Phil Show, discussing about the situation, two psychologists explained to her, saying that the father wasn’t there for the child, she spent most of the time with her mother. Her mother believed they were wrong. The father was there for the child since the very beginning, the daughter spent most of the time with him than with her mother. They both tried to do everything unisex, but in the end they wound up dealing with it.

Some parents don’t accept that kind of decision when it comes to their kids, they believe treatments such as therapy or medication could reverse that effect. But sooner or later, they have to come to the realization that it was not a choice, it is who they are. If you were in that mothers shoes, what would you do?

Pheromone: Fact or Myth

For a split second, we question on whether to buy the $90 perfume/cologne. Sure, we think it’s crazy to purchase a fragrance so expensive, but in the end we wound up carrying it in one of our shopping bags. Why is that? Is it because we can easily afford it or was it just because we “had” to get it? For every purchase we make, has to have a purpose. When it comes to fragrances, we mostly focus on the scent; if it grasps our attention, so will others. But the main question is; how do these kinds of fragrances have that effect on people?  

Now, people will say they liked your fragrance because of the scent, but did you know some fragrances carry a type of chemical known as pheromone? Pheromone is a Greek word; phero, meaning “to bear” or “transfer" and hormone, meaning to “excite.” Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual.  Let’s take dogs for example, have you ever had a female dog that wasn’t neutered, whenever she was in her fertile period, though she was kept indoors, you find yourself with a yard full of dogs that happen to be males. The behavioral effects of pheromones apparently occur unconsciously. People respond behaviorally to certain chemicals in human skin even though they describe them as odorless.

In this video, you will see how a male figure tries to pick up women using only one line (pick up line). The first time they sprayed him with a placebo; no chemicals in the spray. 8 out of 10 women basically gave him the boot. The second time, he had to do the same thing, only difference was he was sprayed with the fragrance that had the pheromone chemical in it. 9 out of 10 women said yes to the date, the last one was a little surprised that she said yes as well, even though he was not really her type. When she found out that he was sprayed with pheromone, she realized on why she said yes. Even for males; if women wore a perfume with the pheromone chemical in it, it would definitely get a mans’ attention.   

So what do you think? Do you think wearing a fragrance with the pheromone chemical will get you more dates? Do you think someone else (of the opposite sex) wearing the fragrance will get your attention?  Or is all this just a myth? 

Korsakoff's Syndrome

Now almost everyone knows what Alzheimer’s is; it’s a different type of AMNESIA that you would mostly find elders diagnosed with, but did you know there’s another type of amnesia, also known as Korsakoff’s syndrome? Well KORSAKOFF’S SYNDROME or Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome as others call it, is a brain damage caused by prolonged thiamine deficiency. Now, this disorder is mostly in CHRONIC ALCOHOLICS who go for weeks at a time on a diet of nothing but alcoholic beverages, practically lacking in vitamins. The symptoms of Korsakoff’s syndrome are similar to those of people with damage to the prefrontal cortex, including APATHY, CONFUSION, and MEMORY LOSS.

A distinctive symptom of Korsakoff’s syndrome is CONFABULATION, it’s when patients fill in memory gaps with guesses. What I love about TNT’s new show PERCEPTION, not only because it leaves you interested for more, but you learn a lot from it. This is actually where I first heard of Korsakoff’s syndrome.

Here’s another example; in 1979 Dr. Ken Shaw and Allan Thomson worked with CHRONIC ALCOHOL USERS. When it comes to malnourished alcoholics, side effects include; Phase 1: RESTLESS, EXCITABLE, and DELIRIOUS stage to a LETHARGIC stage of confusion. Phase 2: Staggering gait or inability to walk. But what captured my attention was the most common stage known as PSYCHOSIS. Dr. Shaw worked with a patient that was diagnosed with MEMORY DISTURBANCE by testing him with a delayed-response task. The patient couldn't form new memories, unless he was using his working memory.

Now, you probably thought that my main focus was on Alzheimer’s, but surprisingly, the point that I was trying to get across was ALCOHOLISM and what could happen if you took it too far. Though some people who tend to drink know the consequences, they think they can handle their liquor. Alcohol can have a harmful effect on nerve cells in the brain cortex. Information like this, reminds me that there is a reaction to every action. Let me put it this way, just because other people believe that in order to have a “good time,” you need to drink. Question is; would you risk your life, just to have a “good time”? 

Split-Brain People

When you hear of someone having a split-brain, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Is it possible that you can function with only half a brain? Does it mean you absorb any information twice? The most common question that we all (including myself) wonder; can a split-brain patient do two different tasks at the same time? I know what you’re thinking; you probably thought I was referring to “multi-tasking.” Though it might sound that way, by the end of this blog, you will know exactly what I mean.

Split-brain patients maintain their intellect and motivation, and can walk without any difficulty. They can also use both their hands on familiar tasks like tying a shoe. But when it comes to unfamiliar tasks such as playing tennis or threading a needle, most likely they will have a little struggle with it.

A man named Joe decided to undergo into surgery to treat for his severe epilepsy. Joe had the bridge between his left and right cerebral hemispheres (the corpus callosum) severed. As a result, his left and right brains no longer communicate through that pathway. Speech production and comprehension is equally divided between both hemispheres, but one side can be more dominant than the other for speech. When they conducted an experiment with Joe, he had to say what he saw of words and pictures that were displayed on the screen. Since he spoke up from what he saw on his right side, means that his dominant was his left. During this experiment, they noticed something interesting. If there was anything viewed on his left side, he couldn't say anything since his right hemisphere doesn't control his speech. He said that he didn't see anything from his left side, but when they asked him to simply close his eyes and draw something on paper, surprisingly, he would draw what was on the screen.

“The mind is made up of a constellation of independent, semi-independent agents. And that these agents, these processes can carry on a vast number of activities outside of our conscious awareness.” Scientists believe that all of the independent variables have to develop into a theory. Then that theory becomes not only of ourselves, but of the world. 

Phantom Limb

Phantom Limb syndrome is such a mysterious symptom for patients who suffer from it. For those of you who don’t what it is; phantom limb pain is mild to extreme pain felt in the area where a limb has been amputated. Although the limb is no longer there, the nerve endings at the site of the amputation continue to send pain signals to the brain that make the brain think the limb is still there. Sometimes, the brain memory of pain is retained and is interpreted as pain regardless of signals from injured nerves. While some patients go through it for only a couple of months, others who are more severe can suffer through it for years. There are multiple ways to treat phantom limb based on the person’s level of pain such as; heat application, biofeedback, or neurostimulation. But most of the time doctors would prefer using non-medical approaches; like relaxation techniques, massage, or physical therapy. Now they created a new type of treatment known as mirror therapy. 

Mirror therapy is a primary tool of this therapy is a mirror from which the patient receives visual feedback in order to train the brain to configure a new “body map.” What is a body map you might ask, this so-called map is simply the hard-wired mental representation that allows a person to be aware of where each component of the body is at all times, even in complete darkness. The patient places the affected limb in the mirror box, which keeps the injured part out of view. An alternative setup is to have the patient sit at a right angle before a mirror so that only one side of the body is reflected back. The point is to move both limbs in a coordinated manner so that they mimic the movement of the other. 

Studies show that the majority of patients typically experience sensations in the phantom limb very quickly after starting this exercise. It’s interesting how your mind can play tricks on you. Though you think you know what is real and what is not, the question is, do you really?

Brain Mechanisms of Pleasure and Addiction

In the beginning, 1954 to be exact, psychologists James Olds and Peter Milner wanted to study more on brain mechanisms. Olds and Milner began testing on rats (rats had the closest brain structure to humans) to see whether stimulation of a certain brain area might influence which direction a rat turns or in their words, "Ask animals how they felt."

They would implant electrodes in rats septum of the brain and placed them in boxes where they could press a lever to produce electrical self-stimulation of the brain. With electrodes in the septum and certain other places, rats sometimes pressed as often as 2,000 times per hour. Later on researchers found many brain areas that rats would work to stimulate. All those areas had axons that directly or indirectly increase the release of dopamine or norepinephrine in the nucleus accumbens.

The nucleus accumbens is central to reinforcing experiences of all types. And maybe it was true; that drugs possibly created this sense of pleasure because they stimulate the same areas in the brain just like sex or food. If you simply imagine something pleasant, you activate your nucleus accumbens.

They also developed another experiment to see how far rats would go for stimulation. They electrified a grid, so that every time the rat crosses to the other end of the grid in order to reach the pedal that would stimulate the brain, it would receive a painful shock to it's feet. Do you think the rat would take that risk? Unfortunately, it would; a rat that craved for stimulation is like how they described it, "like a starving rat brave to get food."

Thanks to Olds technique of self-stimulation of the brain, it gave other scientists a way to test the addictive potential of drugs and to find out where in the brain they acted. Reinforcement has two components that psychologists called "wanting" and "liking." Most of the time, you would want something that you liked, but in the end, wanting (motivation) is not always the same as liking (pleasure). When it came to addictive drugs, the liking-wanting distinction was important because research showed that people addicted to a drug showed an overwhelming, all-consuming drive just to obtain the drug, even though it no longer provided much pleasure. When scientists found out that nearly all abused drugs would increase dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens, they concluded that by removing the dopamine neurons out of the brain, it would decrease their self interests such as drugs.    

From the information I processed from the video, it got me thinking; if scientists who study on addictive drugs know from which area produces self-stimulation of the brain from that drug, and know they can remove it, then why haven't we (or at least I haven't) seen this procedure being done more often? Most of time you would see drug addicts going to counseling or rehabilitation centers. So why is that? Is it because the procedure is not FDA approved, it's too expensive, hmmm...

Blood-Brain Barrier: A Closer Look On How It Works

The BBB is to protecting the brain internally as the skull is to protecting it externally. The problem is the BBB does not differentiate what it keeps out. Life-saving chemicals, if they happen to be the wrong chemicals, simply won't get through. With very few exceptions, only small molecules soluble in fat clear the barrier. Only two percent of small-molecules get through. These include alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine.

Small-molecule compounds have been used to treat affective disorders, schizophrenia, chronic pain, and epilepsy, but they leave a lot to be desired. The problem, says William Pardridge MD of UCLA writing in the Jan 2003 Archives of Neurology, is that "small molecules are largely palliative medicines with often unfavorable safety profiles."

Dopamine is one of those types of small molecules, but unfortunately, their chemical structure stops them from passing the BBB. However, L-DOPA can follow a certain type of amino acid transporter through the BBB without even knowing it.

Dr. Pardridge and his team have been experimenting on encasing genes in liposomes coated with what they called a special polymer in order to attach them with antibodies. Why antibodies? The antibodies are the ones that sneak their way pass the brain-capillary receptors so the liposomes could complete their mission. In one of their experiments, they injected rats that had Parkinson’s with liposomes containing a gene that “boosts production of the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase,” (a building block of dopamine). The rats’ abnormal symptoms were then reduced up to 70% three days later. By completing multiple experiments with the same procedures, rats with brain tumors doubled their lifespans. With weekly injections, delivery of antisense RNA that blocked production of a malignant growth factor was a success.

What’s the point in finding the cure to a neurological disease, if there is a high possibility that it won’t even make it pass through the BBB  in order to receive the full effect?  Since there is no academic neuroscience program that focuses on BBB transport biology or drug targeting, who knows how long it would take for it to become funded with the technology and research.  For example, if someone is trying to sell you a product that is 99% effective, wouldn’t you feel more confident if it had that one last percent? But once again, the Blood-Brain Barrier only has a two percent chance for the medication to become in full-effect. So would you take that risk? These are the kind of things that makes you wonder.

Mind Reading - FMRI - Machine that Reads Your Thoughts - 60 Minutes

An fMRI is mostly used as a diagnostic method of choice for learning how a normal, diseased or injured brain is working, as well as for assessing the potential risks of surgery or other invasive treatments of the brain. But did you know that it is also a machine that could read peoples thoughts? It was amazing to see a conduction of an instance analysis on a participant to prove their theory (identify the participant's thoughts in "real time"). With the combination of an fMRI and massive amount of computer data, they could detect for example; if the participant had seen an image of a "hammer", then the computer would respond that it was in deed, a "hammer". Another study they experimented on was reading a persons intentions; by deciding whether to add or subtract two numbers that were shown later on after the test. Once they finished scanning the participant and collected the images, they redirected to the active area of the brain that controls intentions to see what the participant had decided. You could really tell the difference between the patterns of when they either added or subtracted. It was true; an fMRI was in fact, a thought identification machine. The question is, should we use it for other purposes other than treating the brain? It could be used as another form of lie detection in situations such as; finding the real truth from a criminal or even a patient with an unknown disease. Everybody lies, but would you do an fMRI scan to prove your honesty?  

Famous Psychology Quotes

 "Don't become a mere recorder of facts, but try to penetrate the mystery of their origin." Ivan Pavlov   (1849-1936)