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.