Author: kes6124

Throughout lectures for exam 3, we have been discussing topics including different types of conditioning, disorders, and types of therapy. For this blog assignment, I am going to go further into depth with the topic of conditioning and more specifically something known as operant conditioning. With operant conditioning, an association is formed between behaviors and resulting events. A response causes a consequence and then that response continues to be strengthen. When training an animal to do new tricks such as lying down or rolling over or shaking their paw, it as known as shaping. People guide a behavior closer towards the desired action. Like the example in class, to get a dog to roll over, you take it step by step. You give it a treat when it sits, then when it lies down, then finally when it rolls over. Each step of the way is called successive approximations. People use positive reinforcement by giving dogs treats when they succeed in the action. They are adding a desirable stimulus.

This type of conditioning can be related to how I trained all of my cats to use the litter box. My family would use the technique of shaping in order to teach each of our new kittens to properly use the litter box. We would begin by placing them in the litter box and we would give them a treat and give them lots of love for just stepping into the litter box. Then we would place a potty pad underneath the litter box and every time they would step onto the potty pad or into the litter box,  we would again positively reinforce their actions with treats and love. We would then again positively reinforce their behavior once they began to use the bathroom on the potty pad or in the litter box. And finally, we would take away the potty pad and we would positively reinforce their behavior once they used the litter box properly. We would continue to give them treats and love until we felt as though the behavior was sufficiently strengthened. However, we would also use positive punishment as well when our cats would use the bathroom in the wrong place. My mother would give a slight tap on the bum and a stern yelling whenever they would use the bathroom on the rug or on the bed, they would receive this positive punishment. A combination of shaping, positive punishment, and positive reinforcement is how my family has effectively trained my cats to properly use the litter box. This method has yet to fail us.

It is estimated that our body contains around 1 billion neurons with about 1 trillion connections between them. When you feel that itch on your nose, it is because of neurons, when you feel the heat of the sun during a warm day, it is because of neurons, when you stub your toe and feel that excruciating pain, it is because of neurons. However, when we feel our emotions, it is also because of neurons. When you feel something, whether it be emotions, pain, an itch, or being tickled, it is because neurons are transmitting and receiving signals between each other. A neuron receives a signal through the dendrites. Once a signal is received, it sparks an action potential that travels down the axon to the terminal branches at the end of the neuron. These terminal branches connect to the dendrites of other neurons and this is how the signal travels. This junction between the dendrites and the terminal branches of neurons is called the synapse. Signals from one neuron are released by way of neurotransmitters which travel to the connecting neuron. The neurotransmitter connects to the dendrites of the receiving neuron and releases the signal which triggers another action potential. This process continues until the signal has reached its destination and proper action is taken.

As I previously mentioned, neurons are one of the factors for why we feel when we feel it. Depression affects millions of people around the world. One of the causes of depression are due to a lack of serotonin within certain people. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal. A lack of this neurotransmitter can lead to feelings of sadness or lack of feeling, lack of appetite, troubles sleeping, and other symptoms. One of the reasons people may have a lack of serotonin is due to serotonin uptake from the neuron. Once serotonin is released from the neuron, there are serotonin re-uptake sites that serotonin bind to. This means that some of the serotonin never reaches the next neuron, causing pretty much a serotonin deficiency in some people. However, there are certain drugs that can help. Prozac, which is one of the most commonly prescribed drug for depression is known as a SSRI (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor). It is an antagonist drug that inhibits the effect of a neurotransmitter. Prozac blocks the serotonin re-uptake sites so that it cannot re-enter the cell and can proceed to the connecting neuron.

My best friend since middle school has suffered with depression and anxiety for pretty much her entire life, as has her sister (names will not be mentioned for confidentiality purposes). When either of their depression gets bad, they describe their symptoms as feelings of sadness, lack of motivation, lack of appetite, and too little or sometimes too much sleep. They usually feel these symptoms when they have failed to take their medication for an extended period of time. They are both prescribed with Prozac. They likely are prescribed with Prozac in order to prevent the re-uptake of serotonin within their neurons. However, when they are properly taking their medication, they describe that they feel “normal” in a sense. They have a regular mood and appetite. This could be due to the fact that since Prozac is a SSRI, then their serotonin may reach a normal level.

(Please refer to this image for a visual of how serotonin affects the neurotransmitters and neuron)

Copeland, M., editor. “The Effects of Prozac on the Brain.” Packer
Intersections, 2019, www.packerintersections.com/
the-effect-of-prozac-on-the-brain.html. Accessed 19 Sept. 2019.