Curated Paper #2

When I took Microbiology, I found the study of pathogens to be the most interesting part of the entire course. Though many pathogens are typically types of single cellular bacteria, in a lot of instances they seem to have a mind of their own. A great example of this is Ophiocordyceps unilateralis. This fungus will infect an ant and effectively control the Ant’s brain by releasing psychoactive chemicals. Once these chemicals are absorbed, the ant will typically move to a location that is elevated off the ground, such as the top of a plant so the fungus can release its spores so they will spread far distances. The fungus then will cause the ant to bite down into a leaf where it will become anchored after it dies. Though Ophiocordcyceps unilateris does not have a brain to consciously manipulate the behavior of the ant, it is amazing to think that a function so complex is just a consequence of natural selection. 

Shortly after graduating high school in 2019, I had the opportunity to move to the Philippines to serve a church mission. When I arrived, my mission leaders fervently advised us to wear bug spray each and every day. The reason they were so adamant about this is because mosquitoes in the Philippines sometimes carried the Dengue virus. The Dengue virus is almost exclusively passed around via mosquito bites but in rare cases humans can pass onto each other via horizontal transmission. While in the Philippines, I met and as well as heard of a few missionaries that had contracted Dengue. Some of the missionaries were hospitalized for around 10 days and lost extreme amounts of weight. One of the missionaries was committed to play linebacker in college and weighed around 225 pounds. After his bout with Dengue fever this missionary was left weighing only 190 pounds. Besides the weight reduction, those with Dengue fever typically exhibit symptoms similar to those of an extreme fever. Extreme joint pain, headaches, vomiting, and high body temperatures typically burden patients. Though the human body is strong, adept, and efficient, microscopic viruses coming from an organism as small as a mosquito can take quite the toll on our physical well-being. 

It is interesting how our body can become resistant to certain pathogens based on where we live and spend most of our time. If someone who was a lifelong Utah resident decided one day they were going to live in Ecuador, their body would likely not be prepared for the pathogens that may be present in the environment. Pulling another example from my time in the Philippines, when I first arrived in the country we were handed bright orange water bottles that had an internal filter. One of the rules that we had was that we would never drink water that was given to us unless we could make certain it came from a 5-gallon jug that had been processed at a water filtering shop. If we were to drink tap water from other sources, we had to put the water in our orange bottles first so we could drink the water only after it had been thoroughly filtered. When we would walk through little villages of bamboo huts deep in the jungle, I would wonder to myself how all of the people were not sick all of the time from drinking contaminated water. Years later when I took microbiology it dawned on me that these people’s immune systems likely had adapted to be able to handle pathogens that were specific to their area.

All in all, it is clear to see how vital it is for society to maintain high standards in sanitation and cleanliness in the medical and food production industry. Though very small, pathogens can leave a nasty mark on a patients’ health. It is also vital we minimize the circulation of pathogens because there are many that we do not know how to treat.

While listening to a podcast this summer hosted by Dr. Andrew Huberman, PH.D., I realized an important reality in the world of healthcare. While it seems that we have many protocols in place to evaluate physical health, such as a general physical that can be carried out by a General Practitioner, it seems that we do not really have a reliable way of evaluating the health of one’s brain. Dr. Huberman talked a lot about how in society, we have many health practices that are encouraged to increase and maintain our physical health such as lifting weights, running, and eating whole foods. On the flip side, in regards to our brain health, we don’t necessarily focus on maintaining or improving our brain health, rather we just engage in intervention to fix problems after they have occurred. I personally believe the reason we are so hands-off when it comes to focusing on the health of our brains is because we do not understand our brain is an actual organ that needs proper care and attention. 

Another thing about brain pathologies that is very interesting to me is the fact that the rate of dementia and neurological deterioration disorders have seemed to skyrocket in recent years. I wonder if the introduction of so many new technologies that automate a lot of jobs that used to require human brain power has caused us to coddle our brains. It seems that our brain does function like a muscle and if we don’t exercise our brain regularly it seems that it is way more susceptible to pathologies. I think that more and more studies on the effects of smartphones on the human mind will be beneficial to see how we can adjust our use of smartphones to better take care of our brains. 

Overall, it seems that we need to put an increased effort into recognizing our brain for what it really is; an organ that needs to be taken care of. If we can put more and more research into ways in which we can improve our brain’s health, I think it is likely that we can start to see declines in neurological disorders that are currently so common. Though I am optimistic that more research in brain pathologies will result in better methods promoting brain health. However, I understand that the brain is a very complex organ with so many connections to other parts of our body that it will take many, many years to feel like we have a good grip on all of the core functions of the brain. 

I think it could be argued that the introduction of drugs, especially drugs that are psychoactive, has probably altered society more than just about anything in the last 100 years. Aside from the physical and emotional effects on the user, drugs have put an incredible amount of stress on the justice systems of societies worldwide. For example, after recreational use of marijuana was legalized in Colorado, officials later reported that they observed dramatic negative effects in their state’s level of productivity. Though it is clear to see many negative impacts of drug use, I feel it is important to keep in mind that approved drug use in clinical settings is an amazing blessing. The fact that we have been able to synthesize compounds that are able to safely pass through the blood brain barrier and alter cellular communication among neural cells is nothing short of unbelievable. The challenge with drug impact in society is trying to make sure that we are focusing on harnessing the beneficial clinical effects while trying to diminish the use of drugs that are dangerous, such as the use of drugs like cocaine and meth. 

While serving as a missionary in the Philippines, I was able to witness many cases of extreme alcoholism and how it can put excessive amounts of stress on the family of the drinker. All of these experiences being so close to addiction have led me to become rather fascinated about how this process actually takes place physiologically in the brain. I think an important thing to remember when talking about addiction is that the body does an amazing job at being efficient. The brain especially is very plastic, meaning that the brain can essentially rewire its connection between neural cells to provide new needed (or perceived to be needed) functions. One way in which addiction can occur is if a drug that mimics the structure of a neurotransmitter, such as LSD mimicking serotonin, starts entering the brain frequently. After regular use of LSD, the brain will start to produce less serotonin neurotransmitters because it doesn’t perceive the need to expend energy to produce something that is regularly entering the body exogenously. The brain then develops a dependance on the exogenous influx of the drug due to its decreased production of the neurotransmitter. This leaves the experiencing withdrawals when they stop regularly using the drug because they will likely not be producing adequate levels of serotonin. This can leave the user feeling depressed, anxious, and unable to focus on the tasks.

In terms of how neuroplasticity can work against the brain in the process of addiction, cocaine is a good example. Cocaine achieves its effect by blocking dopamine reabsorption in the axon terminals of the presynaptic neuron. This causes increased amounts of dopamine to accumulate in the synaptic cleft which will cause increased activation of dopamine receptors in the dendrite of receiving neurons. The increased amounts of dopamine cause the user to experience extreme feelings of euphoria, pleasure, and energy. This sounds great, however, the major drawback is that the increased amounts of neurotransmitters eventually will desensitize dopamine receptors to counteract the influx of dopamine neurotransmitters. This will cause the user to feel depleted of pleasure when they experience normal levels of dopamine, leading the user to feel depressed, anxious, or experiencing extreme cravings when they go without the drug. Though the exact mechanisms of action are not fully understood, chronic cocaine use can lead to changes in our neurons in the prefrontal cortex communicating with each other. This can cause the user to make bad decisions due to impaired judgment and reduced emotional inhibition. Though the brain’s high levels of plasticity can be extremely physiologically beneficial in certain cases such as injury, our brain’s plastic abilities tend to work against us in the case of use of illicit psycho-active drugs. 

I believe the fact that drugs can quite literally cause our brain to rewire itself should cause us to feel more compassion to those you have fallen into addiction. Though their activity at the beginning to purchase and start using illicit drugs is indeed criminal, they might struggle to reform simply from the fact that they are no longer able to use their brain properly. In my life experience, I have come to see that most users desperately want to stop using. However, even when the last thing they want to do is keep using, their altered brain tells them that they must keep using to survive. Most of these individuals started out in what was deviant behavior but later only keep engaging in drug use because they quite literally are almost completely physically dependent on it. I’m not saying that every state in America should follow what Oregon has done and decriminalize all drugs, however, I think we can be better at being more understanding towards those who are addicted to drugs. Understanding the true science of addiction really tells us that these individuals have been significantly altered in a physiological sense.