Month: February 2020

For this week’s blog I am going to be discussing lucid dreaming and the reasons behind it. For those that don’t know what lucid dreaming is it occurs when we are dreaming and aware that the dream is occurring as we dream. The Greek philosopher Aristotle describes it as being aware of our mental state. Insight, disassociation, and control are key factors revolving around lucid dreaming. While insight is necessary for lucid dreams to occur, sometimes control and dissociation are not present. Control allows people to alter their dreams while disassociation allows people to differentiate their dreams from their cognitive thoughts. 

 

Most lucid dreaming occurs during REM and can occur spontaneously. At the same time people have been able to train themselves to lucid dreams; people are able to alter their dreams. The examination of lucid dreaming is often used to address nightmares, and lucid dreaming therapy can even be used to prevent nightmares. It has been applied to help people tackle their fears as you are able to expose yourself to specific ideas or things you are afraid of. Someone in the lucid dreaming state may go on to do things that they would not be able to do in real life. Lucid dreaming allows people to explore what their conscious mind wants. In a study conducted in Brazil, it has been found that about 77% of people have experienced lucid dreaming. Within schizophrenics often times people are unable to distinguish real life events and lucid dreams. 

 

Lucid dreaming often occurs during REM sleep, and happens as the result of attenuated activation of the prefrontal cortex. As a result of this alteration, people’s ability to make sound decisions is altered. People are often able to alter these conditions and induce REM sleep. If you want to enter a lucid dream you can. You can set an alarm for five hours after falling asleep. When you wake up, think about what you hope to dream about. As a result of these instructions, people are able to be aware that they are dreaming, and  have an out of body experience in which they can alter their visions. 

 

 In addition, EEG examinations have been shown to activate the frontal lobes of the brain; alterations in these areas are common during puberty and reflect why teens going through these changes can have a high number of lucid dreams. Internally generated stimuli oftentimes leads to the activation in cerebral regions which can lead to a rise in consciousness. It also has been known to take a critical role in Cognitive Remediation Therapy. People can mnemonic induce lucid dreaming; by stating that they will know that they are dreaming  they are able to induce lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming has been linked to narcolepsy and sleep paralysis. Because people with narcolepsy balance between consciousness and unconsciousness it is easy to obtain control of their dreaming. Even though it is uncertain why dreaming occurs, I believe it is a combination of both out of body thoughts and brain alterations during REM sleep. 

Breus, Michael. “What Is A Lucid Dream And How They Happen.” Your Guide to Better Sleep, 12 Oct. 2019, thesleepdoctor.com/2019/10/11/what-is-a-lucid-dream-and-how-they-happen/.

Voss, et al. “Insight and Dissociation in Lucid Dreaming and Psychosis.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 22 Oct. 2018, www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02164/full.

For my blog this week I will be discussing the topic of the phantom limb instead of addressing a question. For those that do not know, the phantom limb syndrome is described as the ability to feel sensations and pain in limbs that no longer exist. People perceive that they can feel temperature, itch, touch, and vibration as well as painful sensations such as burning and shooting pain. It was first described in 1552 by a french surgeon who claimed that the people he amputated complained that they continued to feel pain where their limb was previously present. Researchers found that neuroplasticity or the ability of neurons to modify their behavior results in this phenomenon. Local brain regions involved in map neuroplasticity can gain access to the unused areas of the brain. The rewiring of these neurons can open result in pain when other signals are sent to areas of the brain, creating the sensation of pain where there is no limb. In addition, the pain may also be the result of damaged nerve endings. Typically, it is a chronic issue that leads to pain as a result of brain changes.

Around ninety five percent of amputee patients experience phantom limb syndrome, and 10% of these people feel pain from an amputated limb. Oftentimes, this pain is initiated by the amputee in which they scratch, rub, or pinch their scar, disturbing the neurons. In addition, amputees of the fingers and palms often experience higher rates of this phenomenon. It has also been discovered that the corpus callosum that connects the cortical areas responsible for movement and sensation loses part of its function. There is a functional imbalance within the corpus callosum of the brain within those experiencing phantom limb phenomenon.

People without missing limbs can still experience this phenomenon. Patients had their left arm hidden and viewed a fake hand. By stroking their real hand with a paintbrush at the same time they stroked the fake hand, the patients began to believe that the fake hand was their real hand. When a stabbing motion is made towards the fake hand many people experienced serious stress as a result. Patients will transfer the sensation of their hand to wherever they believe the sensation to be coming from even if it is in empty space. The brain uses different senses including vision, touch, and signals from the arm to experience this illusion, and this same mechanism is used to experience phantom pain. In addition, people have reported that they can even experience phantom nipplies, appendix pains, and menstrual cramps. Despite not using a limb many people can still experience phantom pain. For next weeks blog I hope to discuss lucid dreaming or the phenomenon of having a photographic memory. 

Livingston, Kenneth E. “The Phantom Limb Syndrome. A Discussion of the Role of Major Peripheral Nerve Neuromas in: Journal of Neurosurgery Volume 2 Issue 3 (1945).” Journal of Neurosurgery, Journal of Neurosurgery Publishing Group, 24 Oct. 2018, thejns.org/view/journals/j-neurosurg/2/3/article-p251.xml.

 

“Phantom Pain.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 30 Oct. 2018, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/phantom-pain/symptoms-causes/syc- 20376272?page=0&citems=10.

 

“Even Non-Amputees Can Feel a Phantom Limb.” LiveScience, Purch, www.livescience.com /28694-non-amputees-feel-phantom-limb.html.

Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and drug use. Addiction is considered a disease as the drugs change the brain structure and how it works. When drug abuse initiates, a person’s ability to be in self-control becomes impaired and brain studies reflect serious changes in the decision making areas of the brain. When the reward area of the brain is activated, our brains associate specific activities with this feeling and teaches us to do the activity repeatedly. When these drugs are ingested, they release 2 to 10 times the amount of dopamine as natural activities and can motivate people to continue to take these drugs. As a result of these drugs, dopamines impact on the pleasure area of the brain can be reduced, leading to the abuser to feel lifeless and depressed. As a result of the lowered dopamine levels, drug users feel the need to continue to use to bring their dopamine levels back up, leading to them taking larger amounts of the drug. In addition, changes within neurons and brain circuits are prevalent. For example, when the optimal concentration of glutamate is altered by drug abuse, the brain compensates for this change resulting in impairment in cognitive function. Long-term drug abuse can even lead to conditioning in which environmental cues can lead to cravings for the drug. Because these changes are outside of the control of the individual, they are considered a disease of the brain (Gantt). 

The National Institute on Drug Abuse argues that they are tied to neurobiology through the reference of the brain areas affected by drug abuse, the brain’s communication, and the neurotransmitters involved with drug abuse. The National Institute on Drug Abuse claims that drugs impact the brain’s communication system through the release of either natural or synthetic neurotransmitters. As a result, it states that the release of these neurotransmitters prevents the normal recycling of these brain chemicals and works to overstimulate the regions of the brain involved in pleasure. In addition, it references the impact of these drugs on the brain stem, limbic system, and the cerebral cortex. It also directly impacts the development of the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in making sound decisions. Hitchens would respond by claiming that these references impede the free will of the people. He would say by imploring that addiction is present would lead the abusers to believe that they are completely powerless which is not necessarily true. He would cite the fact that despite some people being “addicted” to certain drugs, they have still been able to overcome this addiction (Gantt). 

Brain areas affected by drug abuse include the brain stem, the limbic system, prefrontal cortex and the cerebral cortex. Changes in the brain stem inhibit the ability to perform basic functions such as controlling the heart rate, breathing, and sleeping. Changes in the limbic system affect the the brain’s reward circuit, leading to irrational behaviors to continue to activate this area of the brain as it relates to pleasure. Because the limbic system impacts the reward circuit, it brings people to motivate people to continually complete. In addition, drugs alter the cerebral cortex, changing the way we sense and process information. The front part of this cortex impacts our ability to think and problem solve. By negatively impacting this part of the brain, drugs prevent the ability to process and make decisions. Finally, changes within the prefrontal cortex impact the ability to assess situations and keep emotions/desires under control (Gantt). 

While scientific evidence claims that addiction is uncontrollable, labeling addiction as an uncontrollable force, leads to people thinking that free will does not exist and human behavior is determined. By doing so, it is inferred that we use the words because we are too lazy to think about what we mean and that the belief was implanted in the modern mind built into our daily lives. While addiction is extremely prevalent, it is important to not label it as impossible to recover from. 

Gantt, Edwin E. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Psychological Issues. McGraw-Hill Education Create, 2018.

Rather than love, compatibility or preparation, I believe dedication is an important aspect of marriage and can lead to a healthier marriage as well as better mental health. On the other hand, it is argued that the health and happiness statistics regarding marriage are often misleading and do not account for important variables. In a study done with 1,300 people, marital quality was examined as well as other prior factors within the marriage. Specific factors that lead to people believing they have a healthier marriage is having a higher educational quality as well as living with their parents at the age of 14. Factors such as income were not correlated with marriage quality. While many of these factors appear to be exclusive, the study was done at the beginning of the marriage and altering circumstances exist in a population of solely 1,300 people. In addition, almost 10% of the study reported knowing that their spouse had cheated on them, once again leading to lower marital quality. One factor I found surprising was that those that lived with their spouse before marriage reported a lower marital quality. On the other hand, if they had committed to marriage before moving in, they reported higher marital quality (Gantt). Oftentimes, dedication is a result of a higher marital quality; if a couple is more willing to get married the are oftentimes more committed to their relationship. In addition, those that reported having a wedding showed a higher marital quality later in life.

In addition, shocking research has shown that the more people who attend your wedding leads to higher marital quality. Due to the marriage being more public, people are more likely to follow through and stay committed as well as provide a greater social network for support. I believe commitment in a relationship is extremely important but does not necessarily have to be shown through marriage. In addition, many of the “happiness” statistics have shown to be misleading. For example, much of the research compares unmarried and married individuals and doesn’t take into account whether it is a cohabiting partnership. While marriage is a large commitment, it has been reflected that unions with children are just as important to indicate the stability in a relationship (Gantt). 

Regarding prior relationships, people who entered a first marriage reported a higher marital quality than those who reported a second or third. Similarly, couples with children from prior relationships had lower marital quality later on. In addition, almost 40 percent have lived with a prior partner before which led to lower marital quality later in life. In regards to marriages, more experience often leads to issues within later relationships. Oftentimes, more experiences with breaking up as well as having children before marriage, leading to a higher divorce rate (Gantt). As a result, these findings have shown that these experiences have resulted in fragile relationships that are detrimental.

Gantt, Edwin E. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Psychological Issues. McGraw-Hill Education Create, 2018.