cancer, drugs and the brain

 Cancer, Brain and Drugs

Being such a powerful, complex disease, it is no wonder that cancer is the big bad wolf in society. Everyone has a close friend or family member who was diagnosed with cancer. Every time someone goes to the doctor or vet they hope that it is anything but cancer. How did cancer earn such a reputation? I think it is due in part to the fact that there isn’t a cure as well as no one is safe from it. While we have come a long way in our advances for treating cancer, its difficulty to cure is because “Each broad cancer type has many sub-types, and they all look and behave differently because they are different on a genetic and molecular level. This is because cancer arises from our own cells, so each cancer can be as different and diverse as people are”(https://www.worldwidecancerresearch.org/news-opinion/2021/march/why-havent-we-cured-cancer-yet/). Cancer is defined as “a disease in which some of the body’s cells grow uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the body” and has the ability to take over any part of the body (https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/what-is-cancer#definition).  Interesting to learn that antibiotics and/or intra-abdominal infections were linked to an increase in colorectal cancer. I think this really shows the importance of the gut microbiome to our overall health. Happy microbes happy life “ the pharmacological manipulation of the gut microbiota holds great promise as an adjuvant to improve the therapeutic index of anticancer therapy”. Antibiotics, probiotics, prebiotics and postbiotics are the four avenues that can be taken to affect the gut microbiota during cancer treatments. The microbiota found in the gut influence oncogenesis, tumor progression and response to treatments whether beneficial or not. Seeing as cancer is an imbalance, abnormal cells who were supposed to die off doing the opposite, it would come as no surprise to any of us that it is damaging to the mind, body and spirit. We all have seen this first hand with patients diagnosed with cancer where it seems like either the disease or the treatment is draining them in every aspect.

The brain is still a great mystery to us despite being one of the most significant organs in the human body. This is even more interesting when you think about how there was a chicken named Mike that lived for a year and a half without his head, ultimately dying after choking on a piece of corn (https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34198390). He was able to stay alive due to his remaining brainstem taking care of bodily functions After a little digging I read that the reason that chickens can survive decapitation is because the important part of their brain isn’t severed, “ This means that while some of the brain may be sliced away, a very important part remains” (https://modernfarmer.com/2014/08/heres-chicken-can-live-without-head/).

The brain is divided into two halves: right and left. Majority of the brain is a wrinkly sight called the cerebrum which is divided into 4 lobes. The frontal lobe is in charge of intellect, problem solving, muscle movement, behavior, judgment and controls attention.The parietal lobe is in charge of pain, pressure, touch and visual functions. Next up is the temporal lobe, its job is visual and auditory memory. Lastly, the occipital lobe which aids in the recognition of colors, words and movement. The cerebellum is in charge of balance, posture and coordination.

The 5 types of brain diseases are neurological, storage, personality and mood, developmental and prion. Multiple sclerosis is a neurological disease where there is myelin loss in the brain and spinal cord with an unknown cause. Usually onsets between 20-40 years old and is seen more in women than men. Traumatic brain injuries are considered a risk factor for psychiatric disorders and are caused by an external physical force. High risk groups are males between the ages of 15-24, substance abusers, infants, elderly and those who have had a previous brain injury. The “5 major subtypes of personality changes are affective liability, aggression, disinhibition, apathetic and paranoid” and negative emotions such as anger. There is a strong link between trauma and personality disorder. Autism spectrum disorders are characterized by difficulties communicating, social impairments and patterns of behavior. This impacts learning, processing, attention, basic social behaviors and environmental interactions. Autism is more common in boys than girls, however I have previously read that this is likely due to bias (https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/why-many-autistic-girls-go-undiagnosed/). There isn’t one cause of autism identified, mostly attributed to several genetic and environmental factors. 

Brain injuries can affect behavior, cognitive and physical abilities.These injuries are harder to understand because no two are the same and may be attributed to the complexity of the brain and how it heals. “ Environmental influences on genes make nature-nurture distinctions difficult. Psychosocial factors produce biological changes in the brain. Medication and psychotherapy work synergistically to make changes in the brain over time. The languages of “brain” and “mind” are both necessary in the treatment of personality disorders. “

Going back to ayurveda, brain injuries affect the physical, behavioral and cognitive health of the individual which also affect one another. “ Similarly, psychosocial stressors, such as interpersonal trauma, have profound effects of a biological nature by changing the functioning of the brain “. Childhood abuse is linked to many diseases of the brain. Distinction between the brain and the mind is a topic of heavy discussion, I think of it as the mind is not confined to the brain and is intangible. The brain is tangible and is the boss of our body.  “The mind uses the brain, and the brain responds to the mind. The mind also changes the brain.”(https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/difference-between-mind-and-brain-neuroscientist).

The word drug generally elicits negative feelings of addiction and going down the wrong path in life. In truth drugs simply represent chemical substances which bring about a biological effect by affecting cell pathways. They accomplish this by interfering with “ the way neurons send, receive, and process signals via neurotransmitters”. This changes the balance of the brain for better or for worse. Tying this into ayurveda may explain why people prescribed drugs end up having other issues due to the imbalance. A common example is people going off of antidepressants because of other issues experienced which they did not have prior. These include nausea, fatigue, insomnia/sleep issues, constipation, etc and may be explained by “Because serotonin regulates many adaptive processes, antidepressants could have many adverse health effects. For instance, while antidepressants are modestly effective in reducing depressive symptoms, they increase the brain’s susceptibility to future episodes after they have been discontinued.”(https://www.wellnessresources.com/news/ssri-antidepressants-do-more-harm-than-good). This seems to be a case where you pick your battles. The consequences of regularly messing with the brain's chemistry are unknown and to me this sort of feels like when people thought cigarettes were good for you. Everyone thinks “wow they were such idiots” but are we in that same position again?

Method of administration affects how quickly the drug can act, orally is the slowest and inhalation and injection are the quickest. This makes sense when you think about recreational drug administration. Blood-brain barrier separates the brain from potential danger in the nervous system. Access is modeled by a lock and key. The choice is between inhibition or excitation of the receiving neuron leading to increase of neurotransmitters. Drug is introduced, circulates bloodstream, attaches to specific receptor site, liver breaks down those in bloodstream, dissipates at receptor sites and the metabolized chemicals are excreted from the body. Multiple drugs can either cancel(antagonism) or amplify(synergism) eachother. Prior to the development of the frontal cortex, the ways in which time is spent guides the structure of the brain. Dopamine is the reward system's primary neurotransmitter. Continued drug use reduces dopamine production, does this mean that antidepressants may make matters worse? Drug misuse is any use of a drug not for its intended purpose. “Drug abuse is the excessive use of drugs”. Addiction is the reliance on a drug/produced behavior as a habit. Controlled substances are put into categories depending on their abuse potential vs. medicinal purpose. Interesting to see that ER visits due to drug abuse/misuse are highest with pharmaceutical drugs and not illicit drugs. Almost half of Americans over the age of 12 have used an illicit drug, with women less likely than men. Illegal drugs costs mount to almost $200 billion, the same amount as economic damages caused by tobacco and nine times the number of deaths. 

Plant products and their derivatives account for the majority of natural pharmaceuticals. The basis of medicine is rooted in traditional medicines and therapies, modern medicine derived from natural wisdom. Marginalization of indigenous populations breaks indigenous medicinal systems. “Great traditions have relatively organized database, and more exhaustive description of botanical material is available that can be tested using modern scientific methods. Ayurveda and Chinese medical systems thus have an important role in bioprospecting of new medicines”.Our renewed interest in natural medicine is attributed to side effects, shortcomings and drug resistance. I think that there is also a perceived safety when it comes to natural medicines compared to modern medicine which has not always been best to marginalized groups. This may be another reason individuals prefer natural remedies “ revealed that patients often feel prohibited from speaking up, even when they are extremely concerned about safety or the quality of care they are receiving” (https://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g3178#:~:text=There%20is%20good%20evidence%20that%20attitudinal%20barriers%20are,expect%20people%20to%20express%20their%20preferences%20about%20%E2%80%A6). However, issues do arise from herbal and naturopathic remedies. Botanical medicine is difficult to standardize and regulate given the current practice. Also the systems of development for natural and modern are different with observation coming at the beginning or end. Combining ayurvedic practices with modern technology can provide new advances in drug development and therapies. 

curated paper 2

 The principles of Ayurveda focus on the mind, the body, and the environment. For me, the mind can refer to our soul and its spiritual aspect. I believe the mind refers more to our Soul. Nevertheless, with discoveries and scientific research, scientists have observed the link between the brain and our body. We know that our brain controls our body by sending electrical messages through neurons and that drugs can inhibit or enhance these messages. Drugs are chemicals that interact with our nervous system to modify or interfere with the synaptic transmission between dendrites. This will then affect the way we feel and act. We can conclude from the definition of drugs that some ayurvedic treatments, such as herbs, could be considered drugs. For example, Azadirachta indica, or neem, is a plant recognized as a weed for its insecticide properties in Asia and the Middle East. It’s been used in traditional medicine since ancient times as an insecticide. It’s crazy to think about how human’s curiosity is responsible for our survival. Through evolution, our brain communicates with the environment and distinguishes between harmful and useful remedies.

The paper “Mind, Brain, and Personality Disorder” associates the mind and the brain with the environment, genes, and society. It defines the mind as the activity of the brain. 

This paper highlights the role of the environment in altering genetics and, therefore, creating divergences in behavior between individuals. They also show that an individual's environment shapes his behavior. For example, people who have been abused at an early age have a higher risk of developing borderline personality disorder because abuse may increase the activity of their hypothalamus and therefore change the environmental response (hormone production from the hypothalamus). According to this study, chemical treatments improve the symptoms of personality disorders. They showed that serotonin inhibitors could control anger and impulsive, aggressive behavior. Also, psychotherapy is a good method for changing brain configuration. It can be considered a biological treatment, but it takes more time. I think that it is fascinating to understand how the brain works; it is one of the organs of the body that never ceases to amaze me. The brain reacts to external stimuli. I think the outside stimuli are what shape most of our behavior, except for genetic diseases such as Huntington's disease, which affect the behavior of an individual internally, leading to personality change and dementia.

Ayeruda is a good solution to ease brain disease because, as said in Mind, Brain, and Personality Disorders, chemical treatment, and psychotherapy require a long period to work. So does Ayeruda; therefore, it might be cheaper in the long run to adopt Ayeruda's method to ease brain diseases such as depression.  Ayeruda proposed herbal medications to manage his symptoms. These methods are effective. According to studies, it improves worry, a relaxed state of mind, sadness, helplessness, worthlessness, quality of sleep, tinnitus, and backache. 

A brain concussion is a common traumatic brain injury for athletes that causes symptoms such as headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness or balance problems, fatigue, insomnia or sleep disturbances, drowsiness, sensitivity to light or noise, blurred vision, difficulty remembering, and/or difficulty concentrating. Traumatic brain injuries occur when a force, acceleration, or impact hits the brain. It is challenging to investigate these injuries because all the knowledge we acquired was through experiments or invasive methods. Invasive methods require human or animal participants and have high risks of brain damage. Moreover, these methods are questionable in terms of ethics. 

In an article posted on Neurotray, Tuarez explains that modern technologies, such as MRI and brain imaging, are used to study the brain. These methods take more time and may not give a complete understanding of the phenomenon studied because the brain is capable of carrying out multiple tasks at the same time; therefore, it is challenging to design experiments that determine if brain activity is being observed as a result of cognition or internal metabolism.   

Brain injuries modify the hypothalamus and pituitary glands in the brain, which are responsible for metabolism processes linked with hormones in the body. For example, they control water concentration by balancing the antidiuretic hormone (ADH). This means that a brain injury could cause physiological imbalances in other organs of the body, such as the kidney. Ayurveda emphasizes the connectivity between the body and the mind. The brain is the control system of our body; an injury to the control system could shut down “the machine.”

Autism is a brain-related condition that could be managed with Ayurvedic techniques. Studies show that herbal treatments and therapy can improve the symptoms of autism to some extent. Knowing people with this condition, I can say that these treatments alone have little effect on the behavior of the kids. The most effective way to ease the symptoms of autism is through therapy. Moreover, these treatments are hard to give to children, so the posology requirements are never met. Studies show that ayurvedic treatments require a long duration to be effective. 

The study and production of drugs exist because of plants' properties. With new technologies, scientists can synthesize chemicals from plants. This led to the discovery of most drugs, including atropine, hyoscine, digoxin, and cocaine. In an attempt to modernize the field of medicine, traditional treatments like Ayurveda and others almost disappeared because, despite all of the knowledge of indigenous people, they did not, most of the time, take into consideration the toxic effects of long-term use. Nevertheless, modern drugs use these toxicities to improve natural drugs, such as chloroquine, which is much less toxic than quinine. The current scope of this article talks also about the disadvantages of medical drugs such as antibiotic resistance and numerous side effects. 

Illicit drug use is a subject I’m not familiar with because I grew up in an environment where people feared drugs or just didn't want to spend their money on them. Through research, I saw that adolescents are more likely to be addicted to drugs than adults because adolescents appeal to their amygdala (which controls reward learning and memory, conditioned reward, and emotion) when it comes to drugs, while adults use their frontal cortex.

New studies looked into the risk factors for adolescent drug abuse. They found that adolescents with certain personal or individual traits, such as signs of abuse at an early age, are prone to drug use. They use drugs to escape and forget past trauma. Also, significant negative growth exposure is another risk factor for drug addiction in adolescents because our brains develop as we age and we replicate and adopt mechanisms that we observe in our environment. Peer influence and the economic status of our neighborhood need to be taken into consideration when talking about drug use in adolescents. Statistics show that people who use drugs often have unstable economic situations. Drug dealers target adolescents as buyers because of their credulity; as said before, they can be manipulated easily. With this information, I believe that if we improve the quality of life of teenagers living in rough neighborhoods by providing extracurricular activities and doing awareness campaigns against drug use, we could decrease the number of teenage drug addicts. 

On the other hand, kids who live in an environment with high religious beliefs, school connectedness, and adult support act as protective factors against drug abuse. From a biological point of view, epigenetics can influence drug addiction. Studies on Methamphetamine addiction show that it could modify gene expression. It alters the histone acetylation and transcription of genes involved in behavioral sensitization. They found out that METH enhanced spatial memory, a type of memory involved with locating an object, a route, or an event, during drug addiction. Researchers also found that METH use decreased synapse length, downregulated DNA methyltransferase (an enzyme that transfers methyl groups to DNA), and induced DNA hypomethylation (loss of a methyl group) at the Syn promoter (a glycoprotein that is an integral part of the secretory granule membrane in synapses). The results of this study show that drug use can cause irreversible brain damage, which includes memory loss, paranoia, and hallucinations.

In conclusion, the interconnectedness of the mind, brain, and environment is visible everywhere. Ayurvedic treatments such as herbal medications could be effective in managing brain conditions or as drugs, but their effectiveness requires time and consistency. Moreover, scientific research expands our understanding of the brain. Studies looked into the effects of brain injuries, neurobiological conditions like autism, and drug addiction on brain structure and function. These studies could be used as an opportunity to explore the potential of Ayurvedic treatments in managing brain-related conditions, particularly in cases where chemical treatments and psychotherapy may take time to show results. However, it is essential to balance the benefits of traditional medicine with modern medical technology to ensure efficacy.

Curated Paper 2

Austin Kirkby - Brain Journaling

7/31/23

BIOL 4500

Dr. Karpel

My whole life I have been a fan of football. When I was 14 years old, I experienced my first brain injury as a result of football. I was hit very hard in the back of the head. I was not originally diagnosed with a concussion, so I continued to play. On the drive home, my mom kept asking me questions about my head. I eventually burst out in anger telling her to leave me alone. I was never one to yell at my mom. She says that when I yelled at her it was the moment that she knew I was concussed. I remember the second time I had a concussion, I was pacing up and down the sidelines of the football field. Finally, the athletic trainer noticed my behavior and took my helmet from me. I became very angry with him when he took it and told me I was done for the night. Head injuries really can affect more than just the physical health of an individual. They truly can change the personality of someone. 

In reading the paper published by the American Journal of Sports Medicine, I found it very interesting that simply following a new concussion protocol (SFWP) made it less likely for an athlete to have repeat concussion events. I wonder if I needed to wait longer after my first concussion to return to school and sports. Would I have been able to avoid consecutive concussions? In this same paper, they allude to the idea that concussion awareness is spreading and most schools now take large precautionary steps to make sure athletes are safe before returning to play. These new precautions certainly have been controversial to many people. Some are skeptical of the necessary symptom free period before returning to play. This certainly has affected society and people begin to diverge on such topics. Some might express distrust in sound science and make “logical” (and valid) arguments that if I have no symptoms I must be healthy. Oftentimes the findings of science have this effect on society. Distrust in science was a large factor in different stances during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and problems that arose then still stem into our society today. 

In the powerpoint on traumatic brain injury (TBI) I was previously familiar with the story of Phineas Gage. It is abundantly clear that our brain is very much the driver of who we are as people. It drives our tendencies and even our thoughts. This is where fields like neurobiology and psychology meet. At what point does a brain anomaly need to be blamed on the structure of the brain, and at what point does it need to be blamed on what goes on inside of the brain. It is crucial for these two fields to work with and relate to one another, they are intertwined in a very intimate way. I had a friend whose father was a player in the national football league. His father suffered many traumatic brain injuries during his time playing. A few years ago, he took his own life. He was otherwise a very pleasant and happy person. It was unexpected by everyone who knew him. Many doctors concluded that it was a result of CTE  (Chronic Traumatic Encephelopaphy). He simply wasn’t himself anymore after so many brain injuries. This crosses the interesting border that exists between “brain” and “mind” as is discussed in the powerpoint. When our biological structure is affected, how can we predict what will happen to our mind? This is the big question of neurology and psychology. This is why they are separate fields. This affects ayurveda or the balance of our bodies in a big way. As previously discussed, inflammation in the body often leads to different diseases within the central nervous system. What we do and eat can affect the inflammation in our bodies. One of the first things that affect our actions is our minds. There is almost a closed circle between how our mind affects our brain and how our brain affects our mind. 

However, we still have much to discover about how and why our brains work. But we do know that our brains play an essential role in producing our thoughts and character. As in the example with Phineas Gage, we know the brain controls those things. Those results have been repeatedly seen in many subsequent lobectomy cases. People simply aren’t the same after the structure of their brain is altered. This also plays a large role in how people change as they grow old. Young brains are alive and reckless, suggesting that they may lack adequate growth in their frontal lobe. Old people are often rude and lose their manners. This may also be due to some atrophy of their frontal lobes. The bottom line is, as our brains change, so do we.

It is interesting to note that some central nervous system diseases can be a result of  external processes and some can be a result of genotypes. I never knew that Huntington’s disease was autosomal dominant, meaning that anyone with one copy of the gene will be affected by the disease. Usually, evolution has seen to it that many if not most diseases are recessive. Something as small as the change in 68 amino acids of a protein can begin the rapid degeneration of someone's central nervous system and plague them with dementia. I also learned for the first time reading this powerpoint that Alzheimer’s Disease has an unknown cause. I was under the impression that it was a result of the build up of beta amyloid plaque in the brain, but it is the cause of that plaque build-up that is not entirely known. I mentioned a book called “BrainMaker” in an earlier entry. The author of the book mentions the billions of dollars that have been poured into finding an adequate treatment for AD with nothing to show for it. He alluded to the fact that the answer may be much more simple than we might expect. He refers to the gut flora and the role it plays in our bodies and how it can control the inflammatory response. This is strong evidence for the need for balance in the body or ayurveda. This could be a difficult answer. As so many infirmities have been medicalized, society wants the answer to be medicine. They want a magical pill to fix obesity, cancer, alzheimers, and many other diseases. It is difficult for people to hear that the answer to their problem requires more work than simply taking a pill.

In relation to my previous entry, I found it intriguing that the paper on personality disorders did mention the “mind theory”. Everyone sees the world differently. I remember a thought experiment I often discussed with my brother about our different perceptions of the world. What if when I saw “red” you saw “yellow”? But your whole life you have been taught that “yellow” was indeed “red”? Obviously there are some serious holes in the thought experiment, and sound physical science has shown us that we perceive different wavelengths of light in the same general sense (“red” is “red” for all of us). But, it is important to note that there are indeed different perceptions of the world around us. Oftentimes there may not be a definite right or wrong. This is where biological sciences do tend to fail humans and a more philosophical or “unseen” approach would be required. Indeed, this is where religion becomes an essential pillar for so many people. Religion may help explain the unexplainable. 

The first thought that comes to mind when discussing the growing problem of drugs is “say no to drugs”. I remember hearing the command several times from my youth. While the instruction is effective in teaching kids that “drugs” are “bad”, we come at a crossroads when a dentist prescribes a narcotic for a patient who just underwent extraction of their wisdom teeth. I have often felt that the saying “controlled substance” was equivalent with “we have a fire, let’s get everyone very close to it so they can be warm. But, we need to make sure no one falls in”. In short, it is very risky when controlled substances are prescribed. But the fire is indeed warm, and many people are helped by these prescriptions. How can one be sure to maintain ayurveda when taking narcotics for pain?

As mentioned in the slideshow, drugs are taking advantage of the body's natural mechanisms. Addictive substances do indeed throw off the balance of the reward system in the brain. I have long been a believer in “opposition in all things”. When we experience a low, we can be sure that a high is on the way (a natural one). But, when the equilibrium of lows and highs is tampered with, there is no promise in a remaining balance. If a high was given everytime a low was felt, there would eventually be no high, but our brain would not be able to handle the low. 

Listening to a podcast, I learned that most drug overdose related deaths are caused by an accidental ingestion of fentanyl. Synthetic opioids are laced with fentanyl very often because of the cheap methods for production involving this lethal and powerful drug. Drug trade, especially illicit drug trade, has an unimaginable impact on society. Too many families lose their loved ones. Drug addiction throws off the balance in one person's mind, but a drug addiction throws off the balance of relationships with co-workers, family, and friends. The amount of overdose deaths has skyrocketed since around 2015. Drug abuse is not always illicit. Many drug problems come from prescribed medications. A doctor’s poor decision in prescribing a controlled substance can lead to devastation for a patient and their family. This is a large issue when professionals study the interactions among our towns and societies. 

Drugs don’t always need to be the source of an imbalance. Oftentimes, people who have overloaded schedules and too many commitments turn to drugs as a result of the stress they experience. I feel it is important to address that we must maintain balance in the mind and in the body in order to decrease the risk of drug abuse and addiction. Prevention of fatal addictions is necessary. Balance of the mind rules over all. Depressants, stimulants, opioids, and other drugs may give a brief hope of short circuiting balance, but synthetic neurotransmitter use is often not the answer for finding balance. There are cases, as aforementioned, where these drugs do help people with chronic pain, anxiety, and depression, among other infirmities. However, we should look to other methods whenever possible for finding balance and restoring internal peace. This will heal people, but it will also heal families and communities. 

Curated Paper 2

Personal relation to Psychology and Neurology:

Ever since I was in elementary school, I have been very interested in learning about the brain and behavior. Neurology really enticed me, and all of my career goals have always surrounded the concept of the brain/mind. Currently, I am aiming at entering the workforce as a Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. I strongly believe that a strong mind translates into a strong body. As someone who has worked with patients with various brain diseases, both neurological and mental, I understand the consequences that these diseases can have on people’s everyday lives; it is a very difficult thing to witness. But I enjoy figuring out how to help people who suffer with these problems.

Frequency and Outcomes of a Symptom-Free Waiting Period After Sport-Related Concussion:

As someone who has experienced multiple concussions due to a sport, this article was enlightening. Even during the four years I did college gymnastics, the concussion protocols had changed a lot. I had noticed that this led to better and better ways to deal with sports-related concessions. The return to play time used to be very short, with some athletic trainers even letting athletes return to play the day of their concussion injury (which was very deranged, in my opinion). Now, there are very strict guidelines that must be followed to ensure the safety of the athlete both right after the SRC and in the future as well. Mental baseline testing is recorded at the beginning of each sport season just in case an athlete encounters concussions during the season. This way, if an SRC does occur, it will be easier to tell how much brain damage was caused. Although the guidelines that are now in place are much more catered towards looking after the brain health of athletes, there will most likely be more effective ways to test for brain injury due to SRC in the future.

Psychological brain diseases:

Mental disorders can range from mild to detrimental. Like I said previously, I am fascinated by how mental functioning influences our overall health, especially because there is so much we still need to learn about this topic. In order to begin to understand mental disorders, it is imperative to understand that while a person’s mindset does play a big role in the extent of a mental illness, an even larger part of it is due to actual biological implications. This is why therapy alone can help in mild cases, but for more extreme illnesses, medication is usually required to see physical changes in the manifestation of behaviors. I would say that ayurveda plays into this because if there are psychological (whether biological, mental, or both) imbalances, this very much so leads to negative physical responses, which in turn heavily impacts overall health.

Traumatic Brain Injury:

Traumatic brain injuries are a very unique type of injury. They never truly heal due to the peculiar nature of nerve cells. Once a nerve cell is destroyed, it never grows back, therefore, you can never regain its original function. The brain can, however, somewhat regain general functioning as a whole by forming new brain cells to replace old ones. In this case, new connections between neurons are being formed in order to make up for the connections that were lost. This is one way that personality changes occur from brain injuries. Personality changes also occur if certain parts of the brain are damaged. Various cognitive skills are affected with neurological injuries, too. This also includes emotional changes in some people. Ayurveda relates to brain injuries because they are physical imbalances at play. Not only are there repercussions that the body faces, but the mind also experiences turmoil from physical harm to the brain.

What are drugs?:

Research centered around drugs has always fascinated me because their effects, while witnessed through various behaviors and physical symptoms, vary greatly depending on what exactly the substance is. There are so many different types of drugs, from prescription medications that are meant to better your health, to recreational drugs that can damage the brain and body long-term. Drugs are broken down in the body and processed, resulting in changes to the way that neurotransmitters are released and used within the body. Dopamine is usually the neurotransmitter that is affected. Drugs like opioids, cocaine, and nicotine work by flooding synapses with dopamine. The excess dopamine triggers reward centers in the brain that make the user feel good, leading to the desire for more of the drug. After using a substance like this, the brain begins to crave it more and more, which ultimately leads to addiction and dependence. While short-term use of drugs changes the chemistry of the brain temporarily, long-term drug use can lead to permanent damage to neurons and neurological pathways. This occurs because the brain is trying to acclimate to the constant modifications that take place. Sometimes the brain can revert back to its normal functioning after drug usage if the substance was not being used for long periods of time (but it still takes a while for psychological, biological, and physical effects to return to previous health). Other times, full recovery is not possible because too much damage has been done. 

Drugs pose a huge threat to the wellbeing of many individuals. There are regular people who become victims of drug addiction every day. It can develop extremely quickly due to how fast it begins changing the chemistry of the brain, and therefore, initiating the desire for more of the drug. When an addiction becomes substantial, loss of overall motivation, productivity, and personality changes sometimes leads to detrimental social consequences. Interpersonal relationships are commonly affected in negative ways when an individual is experiencing substance abuse. This becomes one of the most difficult parts of addiction because it can decrease a person’s support system. Drugs can also create various social ramifications. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are arrested for drug related crimes each year (however, less and less people are getting put in jail each year, probably due to relaxations of drug laws).

Drugs and ayurveda:

Most of the time, drugs do pose a challenge for balance in the body. Recall that ayurvedic medicine is all about fixing imbalances and restoring the body. Because drugs can create changes to the brain and therefore aggravate the doshas, the body will undergo the ramifications. However, drugs such as prescription medicines actually help restore other issues within the body. For example, epinephrine can be used as a drug in order to get rid of imbalances from the aggravation of a dosha due to an allergen. In this case, the drug is returning the body’s balance to its usual state. I think it is very important that drugs be evaluated for their advantages and disadvantages so that we may understand what drugs may be beneficial and which ones will result in ramifications.

Connection to cancer:

Psychology, neurology, drugs, and ayurveda all play a role in someone’s life when they have cancer (or even when someone close to them has the illness). Firstly, it should not have to be said that dealing with cancer leaves an enormous impact on the mental well-being of the patient. It is beneficial to have support from loved ones; however, not everyone is fortunate enough to have this kind of mental and physical support. Luckily, there are support groups for those that need extra psychological help from others. It is especially helpful to hear stories from those that are going through the same thing as you. Taking care of your mental health while having cancer looks different for everyone, but it is crucial for everyone.

Many drugs have substantial use when it comes to trying to get rid of cancer. As a first resort, there are drugs that can be used to target PD-1 proteins that reside on certain immune cells. By blocking PD-1, these drugs aim to boost immune responses against cancer cells in order to stop progression and to ultimately rid a person of all cancer-spreading cells. Along with immunotherapy, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are also used to target cancer cells. While chemotherapy utilizes powerful drugs that target cells that are in the process of dividing, radiation therapy uses high energy particles to destroy and/or damage cancer cells to stop them from multiplying. There is also a type of radiation therapy, called systemic radiation therapy, which uses liquid drugs made of radioactive substances that travel throughout the body. Ultimately, the best cancer treatment route depends on what type of cancer the patient has, but overall, a combination of surgical removal, radiation, and chemotherapy have been suggested to provide the best results.

Because of the need to go through treatments for the prevention and destruction of cancer forming cells such as the ones previously mentioned, patients are likely presented with economic devastations. For example, the average cancer patient ends up spending 150,000 dollars for treatments. It can be terrifying to have to put out so much money, especially if someone is not seeing progress with what they are doing. Of course, patients could end up spending more or less than the average based on multiple factors such as type of insurance, which doctor they visit, what type of cancer they have, and what external resources are available. Cancer is known to be a devastating disease, but you never know exactly what to expect until you are put in that situation yourself. Luckily, there are a wide array of resources that are available to cancer patients. But everything is contingent on how aware the patient is about their options. This is why it is so important to be informed about the mental and physical help that is offered, not just when it comes to cancer, but any disease that someone is dealing with.

Brain and Drugs Paper 3

 I was surprised to learn about how multiple sclerosis can affect people younger than 15 and how significant the geographical distribution is. I noticed that the most high-risk areas were in very advanced countries (U.S., Canada, most of Europe) while countries that are not very advanced (third/second world) countries have much lower risk of the disease. I was in a sociology class and I’m sure there could be a lot of causes and factors (habits, culture, ect.) but considering the distribution seems to have lower and higher risk areas at the same latitudes I think this could be linked to our diet. Many people in advanced countries eat food that have lots of manmade chemicals attached that aren’t found normally in foods. Things like pesticides, preservatives, fillers, and other nonfood items are regular in our food in a advanced country. In places like Africa, South America, and Indonesia where most areas aren’t as advanced these things are much less common as they either are too expensive to put in foods or aren’t available at all. I think this could be a factor in many diseases that we don’t know the causes of but don’t occur as much in other countries.

 

I thought it was really cool that multiple sclerosis can be found by using visual evoked potentials (VEP). I am currently working to become and optometrist and its amazing what can be diagnosed by looking into someone’s eye. I currently intern at an optometrist clinic and one of the Dr’s correctly diagnosed a brain tumor in a young girl by looking at her optical nerve and the veins in the back of her eye. As she didn’t have any symptoms this could have been life saving. And many other things like diabetes and multiple sclerosis can have effects on your eye that are distinguishable. This goes to show how connected our bodies are and that an imbalance in one system can cause problems with others that may even allow the original problem to be discovered.

 

It was sad to learn about Tay Sachs disease. I had also heard of Tay-Sachs but never knew what is was but slightly remember it could occur in infants. This would be really hard for any parent or anyone with the disease. Due to the nature of the disease it seems there is little currently that we can do but I hope it is being researched to discover a cure or something to help. This is something that I would also hope awareness it built for to be able to support members of the community that have Tay-Sachs disease. My mother is an occupational therapist and has worked with many children that have these brain defects to try and help them develop/live more normal lives. I think that more resources in our government and communities could be devoted to helping these people. I also thought it was cool it could also be diagnosed by looking at the retina.

 

I had heard the story of Phineas Gage in my psychology class. I think this story is very interesting and it shows how important our brain health is and how our brain function affects our character. My wife and I have listened to podcasts by a neurologists talks about how out brain health attributes to our psychology and many things in our lives and what we can do to encourage brain health. He talks about many common mental diseases, depression, anxiety, ect., and says its not mental health its brain health. This shows how important studying brain psychology and nutrition together is. Because a lot of our habits can affect our overall and brain health these habits then can cause these problems. I think that many of these diseases could be avoided if we are more intentional about our health.

 

I wonder about how our brain development attributes to our character. And as well how if we treat our brain well or poorly what effects that can have on character. How we treat our bodies can definitely affect our brain functioning on a molecular level which then makes a difference in our psychology and brain function. It makes sense that if Gage personality changed after missing a part of his brain that maybe our personalities are affected by our brains development in certain areas. For example, maybe people who tend to be more punctual have more developed frontal lobes and less developed emotional areas. It also makes me wonder if we influence our character by having healthier brains. For example if someone who drank a lot of alcohol each day decided to stop and so his brain become healthier thus changing his mood and personality around people he is with.

 

TBI can affect various parts of our bodies and especially the brain. I really want to specialize in visual therapy as a eye doctor one of the major roles of vision therapists is helping patients with TBI’s. Many people after a TBI have vision loss but not because of eye damage. It is due to having to relearn how to use their eyes and their lens muscle relearning how to work in coordination with the person’s sight. I hope to be able to help these people and make a difference in their lives.

I was impressed how many people are affected by traumatic brain injuries in the Unites States. 5.3 million people are disabled due to TBI’s and I’m sure there are more people that sustain mental problems unknowingly due to TBI’s. It is incredible to see that 1.4 million people sustain a TBI each year. That is a really large amount of people and there must be more we can do to prevent these injuries. That many injuries each year has a large impact on our society as people who become disabled can no longer work to support themselves and others and then will need support from the healthcare/government systems. From an economic standpoint it may be worthwhile to have more strict safety laws that have a cost to maintain rather than pay for healthcare and missing labor costs. Over time with this occurring each year I’m sure it creates a large burden on the healthcare system and our society as a whole.

 

Most of the traumatic brain injuries occur from car crashes and most crashes occur due to drunk and distracted driving. I’m pretty sure all of us our guilty of using our phones or being distracted by other things while driving and this is 100% preventable. The sad thing is learning how much damage this can cause and how much it currently does cause in our country. This is something that I think would be easy to stop with stricter laws about distracted driving or using technology to stop people from using their phones in the car or driving drunk.

 

It was cool to read about the different people who suffered diseases/injury to the brain and the different symptoms that it caused. It seems that this is a major way we learn about brain function especially in very specific parts of the brain and when they are damaged. I really would like to research more about which specific parts of the brain are responsible for certain activities.

 

It was interesting to read about the disparities in diagnosis of autism disorders among different ethnic groups. I mentioned this earlier but my mother is an occupational therapist and has worked with people with autism her whole career and I have been able to help and know many people with autism. My wife and I also serve in an activities program for special needs adults and many have autism disorders as well. It is amazing to see how capable they are in the activities we do and when given a chance. Many of them seem to be better than normal people at certain things but lack in other areas. But it is important they are helped and the earlier the better. Which likely makes it hard for certain ethnic groups where it is diagnosed later in life.

 

It was also interesting to learn that many brain disorders can happen with maltreatment and abuse early in life. I know that many autism spectrum disorders can be related to mothers smoking/drug use during

pregnancy. In the paper Mind, Brain and Personality Disorders, they studied 1000 children up to age 26 and 4% had social disorders and 8% had severe maltreatment as children. They also studied monkeys and found that monkeys reared by mothers (vs reared by peers) were much more stable and the effects of maternal parenting buffered metabolism problems that would have occurred and likely caused behavioral issues. This goes to show how important good parenting is and the large effect it can have on children’s lives.

 

I thought the quote by Giedd was very interesting when he said parents need to be like frontal lobes to their teenagers while their brains develop. It goes to show how important good parenting is in our society today. My wife and I have two children and I know we are responsible for helping and teaching them while they are within our influence. It is good to know that for a while they are more connected to their amygdala and emotional responses than their logical frontal lobes. I think its important we learn and set good examples so we are able to teach them what how to avoid these problems and be able to choose them for themselves when they are older.

 

The slide about pruning was also very interesting. It was cool to learn about how important it is that children/teens spend their time well as it forms their brain what they will do for the rest of their lives. Parents play a large role in this and family history and parents were in the top factors for drug abuse in people. I believe a majority of drug problems from what I have read and heard starts in broken/hard families where it can be hard to get away from and then accentuates the problem even more. I think putting emphasis in teaching families and parents would be very important in solving this problem in our community.

 

I was sad to see how many people have or do use illicit drugs over the age of 12. This causes a very large burden in our society in time, money and effort. Almost 2 million hospital visits in 2009 were due to pharmaceutical drug abuse/illicit drug use and I am sure there are much more now then 10 years ago. I was surprised to learn about all the financial burden this places on our country as I had never thought about the cost of medical care/treatment facilities and law enforcements costs that drug abuse creates. I think that a solution starts with helping children either by their families or by government/community help if needed to not start drugs or get away from them as soon as they can. Without their frontal lobes being developed and being very susceptible to other pressures I’m sure children/teens are much more likely to have drug problems for their whole lives rather than adults choosing to start drugs later in adulthood.

 

I liked reading the intro and the notion that we really don’t know the effect of most drugs on our body and brain. Our bodies are very complex with systems that affect each other and millions of different compounds, hormones, and proteins. I don’t think it is possible to know the effect of a drug on all the parts of our body especially over long time periods as we can’t measure or see what the drugs effect are with so many variables and factors in our bodies. This is why drugs are constantly being made and then retracted for causing to much problems. Purified/synthetic drugs definitely can disturb our brains and bodies sometimes more than the problems they solve. This is why many drugs have a long list of possible side effects ranging from headaches to death while trying to stop diseases.

 

I really liked the paper Ayurveda and natural products drug discovery. The paper talked about how we discover drugs today and better ways to do it with natural products or “naturaceuticals”. The paper mentioned how many drugs have been discovered by learning from ancient wisdom/tradition medicine and its use of natural remedies from plants and other materials. The paper also talked about how this is much more effective and less expensive to search natural compounds for medicinal use than to create new compounds. My wife and I use herbal medicines/tinctures for most ailments and it is amazing what they can do. I believe many herbs are on earth to be able to help with diseases and they can be more effective and less harmful than commercial/processed drugs.

 

The paper ayurveda and natural products drug discovery and many lists of natural compounds and the plants they were isolated from and their helpful effects in medicine. I wonder how many remedy’s and helpful medications there are that are still undiscovered in many herbs/natural materials in the world. My mother-in-law is a master herbalist and its been really cool to learn about the many different properties of herbs and see the effects of natural remedies that can often be more effective than pharmaceuticals without the side effects. I think this is something that should be researched more like the paper suggested as some of the most effective drugs are natural compounds and there are many that we don’t know their effects yet.

Curated Paper II

         Over the past several weeks we studied new topics such as the brain and drugs while keeping the main focus on our hypothesis that imbalance in the body is what brings about disease. Looking deeper into these areas of study has brought new insight and ideas supporting the course’s hypothesis, an imbalance in an organism or its environment leads to disease causation. Generally, I think that this hypothesis is supported by the topics studied thus far. However, I think that every case is different, and it is hard to come to a solid conclusion that it is specifically the imbalance that leads to disease causation. How do we know that imbalance isn’t caused by disease? It feels like the saying, “What came first? The chicken or the egg.” Though with these topics, I think that we have support for this hypothesis. The balance in the brain, specifically, is a very delicate one, as neurotransmitters need to be able to communicate with each other properly for the brain to function at a normal capacity. When they are out of balance, whether they are blocked or overperforming, it can cause issues.

The brain has several different lobes that have different responsibilities. Although we don’t know everything about the brain or how it all works, we do have a pretty good idea of the responsibility of each area and how signals are transmitted. In the frontal lobe, there are a few different responsibilities. These include focus, memory, emotions, impulse control, problem-solving, social interaction, and motor functions. This lobe being out of balance can have a huge impact on how the brain functions. Mental disorders, like ADHD, can have a direct impact on several of these responsibilities. ADHD is attributed to a low ability to focus, remember things, and poor impulse control. This mental disorder is also connected with low dopamine and serotonin levels in the brain, an imbalance of needed chemicals. Another lobe, like the parietal lobe, oversees sensing pain. Congenital insensitivity to pain and anhidrosis, or CIPA, is a very rare condition that causes the person affected to not feel pain. This disease is caused when a genetic mutation prevents the formation of nerve cells that transmit signals of pain, cold, and heat to the brain. It is inherited through genes passed from a parent. This shows us that the imbalance of nerve cells, and not just chemicals, causes disease. Issues are not only caused by internal imbalances. They can also be caused by external forces such as a trauma injury. The Temporal lobe is mainly responsible for visual and auditory memories. There are many cases of people receiving trauma injuries and suffering from amnesia as a side effect. Memory loss can also come from problems like Alzheimer’s disease which is connected to age-related changes in the brain. One interesting factor that plays into disease is the environment that someone is in. An example from multiple sclerosis shows that geography can change someone’s chance of being diagnosed. Depending on where someone lives, there can be a higher or lower chance of a particular imbalance. This supports the part of the hypothesis that even an organism’s environment can cause a large enough imbalance to cause disease. 

Much of our life is affected by our surroundings, especially our health. Drugs are a perfect example of affecting the balance that is in our bodies, whether it is changing the balance that was already set or trying to rebalance what was set out of balance. It's the only topic we've discussed where the balance is intentionally changed instead of naturally occuring. The first thought that comes to mind when thinking about drugs are drugs used in medicine and the many different uses and reasons they are administered. It was interesting to see how the same drug can be used on two different people and they can have two different responses. I remember my sister and I had our wisdom teeth scheduled for removal the same day at the same doctor's office. After our procedures, we were both sitting in the recovery room and I noticed that my sister was very loopy and was not acting in a manner she normally would. She was acting just like the people that you see in those viral videos after their wisdom teeth removal. I, on the other hand, was completely aware of what was going on and felt like I was in my normal head space. The only effects I was feeling were tiredness and dizziness. I was surprised to see that I was reacting so differently than my sister. This memory helped to pique my interest in this topic.

The main idea of administering drugs is to get the chemicals to the brain and interact with the neurotransmitters. The drug will then either block or enhance communication and production in the brain. Whether the drug is illicit or medicinal, they have the same goal of altering the brain’s functions. Drugs do this by binding to receptor sites in the brain. By doing this, it can alter moods, behavior, and symptoms. Some drugs are studied heavier and are controlled in a way that is safe for use, while others (illicit drugs) are dangerous/poorly understood and not permitted for use. Repeated drug use can cause irreversible and permanent issues in the brain. That is why it is best to follow the instructions of a doctor. When someone overuses a drug and creates a dependency, we call this disease an addiction. With extended use of a drug, it can permanently alter the brain's chemistry. This self-inflicted imbalance would require the drug to keep the brain in its new balance. As mentioned above, the balance of the environment of an organism can be a determining factor in disease causation. Adolescents have a higher risk of abusing drugs. This is partially because of the underdeveloped brain of the adolescent. They tend to act more emotionally rather than logically or rationally. 

The balance found in the brain is a very delicate one. When the chemicals are off or the neurotransmitters don’t communicate effectively, we encounter issues and diseases. We use drugs to help treat these issues and try to rebalance the brain, but it can be dangerous with extended use or when used incorrectly. I think these topics support our hypothesis that an imbalance in an organism or an organism’s environment brings about disease causation. 

Curated Paper 2 by Alex Rich

 Alexander Rich

BIOL 4500

Dr. Karpel

Curated Paper 2

Since the last Curated Paper, we have studied two main topics, drugs and the brain. We have gone pretty in-depth in both of those topics and I have been very satisfied with all of the new things that I have learned. After studying these two topics for the last few weeks, I was impressed and amazed how much overlap there is between these two topics. I really enjoyed learning about how these different topics overlap and intertwine at many different avenues. In the next several paragraphs, I will explain some of the interesting facts that I learned about both the brain and drugs, along with some examples of how they overlap and intertwine. 

Of the two topics, the brain was the topic that we researched and studied first. I was really amazed at its complexity and nuanced anatomy. Before studying the brain in this class, I thought that I had a basic but solid understanding of the brain and its many different parts, but I was mistaken. I was shocked at learning about all of the different parts of the brain and how there are specific regions of the brain that are in charge of very specific functions. One interesting example of this was Broca’s Area. This is a specific part of the brain that is in charge of allowing the person to speak. Basically it allows the person to move the specific body parts in the right order needed to create logical and coherent sentences. I was surprised that there was a specific part of the brain designed just for being able to speak correctly. Overall, this was a really interesting fact or concept that I was able to think and reflect on over the past few weeks. 

Another interesting fact that I was able to learn about, and reflect on from the brain section of this class was how traumatic brain injuries change functionality of the body as well as the personality and their psychological presence. This was really interesting for me to think about because functionality made sense, because different parts of the brain are responsible for different functions to occur, so if there was a traumatic brain injury to a specific part of the brain, then that specific function would be messed up. The personality part was really interesting because personality is something that I always thought was just “you". In other words, there wasn’t a part of the brain that's responsible for your personality, it was just kind of an accumulation of who you are as a whole, an intrinsic part of you. But after learning more about the brain, I realized that the cerebral cortex was really the main part of the brain that dealt with personality. This was super interesting for me to think about, and I tried to apply this to my own life, or think of any examples of such. A member of my family actually had a traumatic brain injury a few years ago. He was driving and got in a car accident and hit his head against the steering wheel. He ended up doing serious damage to his brain and was in the hospital for several weeks. After this event occurred, he was different. Although he was able to move all of his extremities and answer all of the questions correctly like who was the president at the time or what year it was, it was obvious that his demeanor, or his personality, was different. He was still “himself” and the same guy that I grew up with, except he was much more stern, and had much less patience than before. He used to be much kinder and patient with us, but after the event, it was apparent that this part of his brain was somehow damaged. It was obvious that he psychologically had changed. I never understood why this was until this section of the class. Now, it all makes sense and puts my mind at ease that there was an actual reason why he had changed. This was another really interesting facet of the brain that I haven’t really thought of or researched before this class. Overall, I’m really glad that I was able to learn about traumatic brain injuries, especially because it affected my life and my relationship with my family members so much.

The other topic that we studied in-depth since the last Curated Paper was drugs. The powerpoints that Dr. Karpel uploaded for this class included both legal and illegal drugs, so it was cool to be able to see a full range of drugs, as well as how they interact with the body. Although there were a lot of really interesting facts about drugs, one of the ones that I found most interesting was the myriad of different ways in which it could be ingested. The power points talked about a few of them, namely, ingestion, inhalation, or injection. This was interesting, because of course I knew that drugs could be administered in all these different ways, however, I did not know that there were different effects on the body or the speed at which the drugs start becoming active in the body. I learned that injection was actually much faster than ingestion because it didn’t have to become absorbed through the intestines. This was really interesting to me in the lab to reflect on the different types of drugs and how they might differ in active or on set times based on how they were usually taken. This made me then think about and contemplate the economics/sociological factors behind these different types. For example, if someone is in extreme poverty, maybe they don’t have the money to buy needles and they have to just crush it up and inhale it. I didn’t do much research on this question, but from what I saw there didn’t seem to be a huge correlation. But, I am still learning more about the sociological aspects of drug use and their avenue of choice when putting it in their body. Overall, this was one of the many different facets that I found. Very interesting about drugs.

Another aspect of drugs that I found very interesting through the power points were the ways in which they are different from each other. For example, there were many different drugs that acted on the body in many different ways because of the neurotransmitters that they espoused, as well as the receptors that they either enhanced or blocked. For example, alcohol and benzodiazepines are depressants, which actually relax the body, and would make someone feel more sleepy and groggy. This is why the hangover occurs as well as people becoming drunk and falling asleep quite easily when they drink a heavy amount of alcohol. On the other hand, amphetamines or cocaine are both enhancers or uppers. This means that they actually increase the heart rate, increase the blood pressure and increase the rate at which you think and respond to stimuli. This would also make sense. Why people take Adderall, and amphetamine, when people are trying to study is because they are able to stay active and focus for longer periods of time. This is really interesting to me as well, because it allowed me to reflect on my time as a medical scribe in the ER. There were many overdoses and people that were “high quote" on a number of different substances that came into the ER for treatment. I am now able to reflect on how they acted based on what drugs they took, and it was really interesting for me to think back on my experiences, and kind of relate to each other. Overall, this was another really interesting facet of drugs that I found exciting and intriguing throughout my study of this in this class.

Overall, the stuff that we have studied since our last creative paper has been really interesting, and I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about it. One of the most interesting ways that I enjoyed learning about these two different topics, drugs, and the brain, or actually how they intertwine and work with each other. Of course, I knew that drugs somehow play a role in the brain because I have worked in the ER and I see what different drugs do to people, and I clearly saw that these people had some type of mental change while they were under the certain drug. However, the mechanisms by which this occurred or what actually happened was pretty unknown to me. That is one of the reasons why these study topics have been so interesting to me, because I’ve been able to put a lot of stuff together in my brain, and be able to make sense of it. In other words, understanding these different subjects has kind of been like putting puzzle pieces together to build a great puzzle that now makes sense to me. One good example of this is the concept of neurotransmitters and their receptors. I knew that drugs altered the brain, but I didn’t know how, but now I do. For example, when someone takes an antidepressant, the drug has specific inhibiting properties which inhibits the reuptake of serotonin. This allows the serotonin to be in the synaptic cleft for a longer period of time, and allows it to do a “larger than normal “activation of those hormones that are associated with it. This intern, makes you happier. This is really interesting to me, because it allowed me to understand on a deeper level, how the brain, and the central nervous system, for this matter, was connected to different drugs. That was just one example, but it elicited my point of just how complex these two subjects are, as well as how strongly tied and intertwined they are to each other. All in all, I really liked the stuff that we have learned in the topics that we have gone over in our class since the last creative paper. I have truly enjoyed reading the PowerPoint, watching the videos, and reflecting on what I have learned