Author: gjh5270

In class we learned about mood disorders which is when a person experiences emotion that are extreme and abnormal. This includes depression and bipolar disorder. Depression is two weeks or more of a few of these symptoms: lethargy and tiredness, feelings of worthlessness, or loss of interest. Depression can run in the family (genetic influence), be the result of reduced levels of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and serotonin, or that it arises from self-defeating beliefs and negative explanatory styles. We also learned about psychotherapy which is a confiding interaction between a trained therapist and a patient. And depression is the most common reason people seek professional help.
In my own experience, I have seen close friends of mine suffer from depression. As a friend, I have listened to their problems and observed their behavior and mindset. For example, if a minor issue occurred, my friend would act as if it was the end of the world whereas I could see that it would pass. This emphasizes the differences in mindsets, that is a result from depression. Also, it would always be difficult to talk them out of their negative thinking, because their mind were set like that. Now I understand our brains were different, where her levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that contributes to feelings of well-being and happiness, were reduced and mine were normal. I also noticed how their moods could quickly change from “happy” to withdrawn and down like a flip of a switch. My friends have underwent therapy and from a friends’ perspective, I believed it greatly helped. My friends were able to vent to therapist in ways they could no to me, as well as receive better advice. I have learned from the experience that all you can do is continue to support them and offer help, but other help is usually needed such as therapy or medication.

Metacognition is the ability to think about thinking or be aware of the type of learning that you are doing. This concept comes into play when discussing effective studying strategies. Bloom’s Taxonomy model (shown in picture) and our information process system are two key models in comprehending how our brain successfully retains information for an exam. Bloom’s Taxonomy model displays the cognitive processes by which we encounter and work with knowledge. Starting at “remember”, as you go up the pyramid, you gain a better overall comprehension of the knowledge. Deeper strategies that will allow you apply, analyze, and evaluate are broken into distributed studying and practice. Like an example in class, in order to master anything, practice is necessary. So, when attempting to grasp your topic, it’s important to practice bringing the information to your mind. Retrieval practice includes teaching someone, summarizing notes, practice questions, or explaining diagrams, charts, and concept maps. It also crucial to think about the details behind how we process information. The detailed information processing model describes how information is routed starting with sensory memory, to short-term memory, then lastly long-term memory. Overall, it is our goal to get the information we are learning to reach our long-term memory because it stores information for the longest period.

To my surprise, my most used methods such as using flash cards, recopying notes, or rereading notes are some of the most INEFFECTIVE strategies. Throughout middle school and high school, I have consistently used these techniques that have gotten me good grades, but now I know I have been doing it all wrong. In relation to Bloom’s Taxonomy model, I have realized my study methods tend to not past the level of “understanding” and usually focus on being able to recall basic facts and concepts. And though this memorization is important, to have a better chance of performing well on my exams, it is better to be able to apply the concepts I have learned to other situations and more deeply evaluate the topic.

The concept I have selected is the ability to recognize faces which is found in the right hemisphere. The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body and is described as the more artistic and creative side. Specifically, it specializes in combining parts to make a whole whereas the left hemisphere organizes things simultaneously. This makes sense because the process of recognizing a face involves looking at the individual characteristics of the face to associate the name with the face.

The reason I chose the ability to recognize faces is because of my interest in the INABILITY to recognize faces, or “Prosopagnosia”. This spark in interest was a result from a book I recently read titled, “Holding Up the Universe” by Jennifer Niven. The story includes a main character that suffers from Prosopagnosia. The character, Jack, is a teenager navigating through high school as the “popular guy” while he secretly hides his neurological disorder. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. This causes him to fear losing the people he can recognize. Jack survives by developing strategies such as relying on voice or physical attributes to identify individuals, which most individuals with the disorder do.

It is learned throughout the book as Jack researches his disorder, that Prosopagnosia is not associated to memory loss, impaired vision, or learning disabilities. It is thought as the result of abnormalities or damage to a certain section in the brain called the fusiform gyrus or lateral occipitotemporal gyrus, which is a part of the temporal and occipital lobe. The character realizes the disorder was a result from an injury to his head. Jack affirms his self-diagnosis with a real diagnosis from a doctor that tells him he has severe prosopagnosia. And while there’s no cure, there are strategies he can develop to more effectively identify the people around him.

The character, Jack’s neurological disorder is related to the brain unit we learned in class. We learned about the right hemisphere, along with the temporal and occipital lobes. When researching Prosopagnosia, the affected area is called the fusiform gyrus, which function is not fully understood but is said to be related to recognition. Like the hemispheres, the left fusiform gyrus plays the role of recognizing “face-like” features in objects whereas the right fusiform gyrus plays the role in determining whether or not the recognized “face-like” feature is an actual face. It also makes sense that the fusiform gyrus is part of the temporal and occipital lobe, because in class we learned the occipital lobe oversees our visual system and the temporal lobe is involved in organizing and processing information.