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.