Phineas Gage Paper December 3, 2011 Psy 380 The brain is an astonishing assembly intended to multi-task on a persistent basis. Along with regulating the body's many procedures, it also synchronizes the cognitive functions that differentiate humans from other species. Human processes, emotions and routine thought and movement are all coordinated by one or more regions of the cognitive brain. Within the following paper the writer will explain the role of the brain in cognitive functions. The writer will also describe what Phineas Gage’s accident revealed about how brain areas support cognitive function.
Researchers know certain structuresof the brain that contribute to the formation of flashbulb memories, but no one really understands the whole process. Berrios tried to fill in this gap with his theory in his scholarly article Flashbulb memories and other repetitive images: A psychiatric perspective. He stated that “flashbulb memories could be formed by the activity of an ancient brain mechanism evolved to capture emotional and cognitive information relevant to the survival of the individual or group” (E.Berrios, 1999, pg.115). The severity of the incident that one experiences is also a good indicator in the creation of a flashbulb memory. Encarta states that studies that have shown that
Freud began his journey into psychology by starting as a doctor, neurology being his speciality. During his work he came across many people suffering from hysteria, with many different symptoms. Freud discovered they were psychological in nature and he realised that if they recalled any past experiences, the patients had not been aware of, it was found aid them. It was the study held on these patience and reflection of his own life that initiated Freud to work on the personality and how it exists. Although Freud was not the first person to suggest there was an unconscious part to our mind, he was the first to develop a detailed theory of how our mind operated.
Unit 4222 – 237 Dementia awareness (DEM 201) 1. Understand what dementia is 2.1 Explain what is meant by the term ‘dementia’ The term ‘Dementia’ is used as the collective name for the number of various diseases that all affect the brain. Dementia is not part of ‘normal ageing’ and it is not contagious. It is a progressive and irreversible brain disease; it will only go worse with time. 2.2 Describe the key functions of the brain that are affected by dementia.
Brain scans can be used to help diagnose some disorders. Furthermore, the genes we are born with, from our parents, provide the blueprint for our bodies and brains. A slight abnormality in our genes can affect the functioning of our brains. Also to operate properly the brain relies on hundreds of chemicals to operate in the correct balance, these chemicals are used to send messages around the brain. Therefore if there are chemical imbalances abnormality may occur, for example low levels of serotonin are linked to depression and schizophrenia is linked with high levels of dopamine.
Damage to the temporal lobes caused the brain from registering any new events that had happened. The frontal lobe is involved in motor function, problem solving, spontaneity, memory, language, initiation, judgment, impulse control, and social and sexual behavior, Greg was unable to carry on a normal conversation and was found to not make sense of what was trying to be communicated. Greg’s hypothalamus was also destroyed, and explains the reason for his blindness (Carpenter & Huffman, 2011). This case study led to scientific knowledge of how that specific brain regions function by Doctors and physiologists being able to study Greg and use the findings to share with other people in the science community. Oliver Sacks discovered, even though Greg lost a great portion of his brain, that when music played Greg would become more alive, more engaged in life, especially when music like the Grateful Dead or other music from that era would be played (Sacks, 2011).
But this type of knowledge is hard to observe, because psychologists(researchers) have to find brain damaged patients and persuade them to help their investigations as an experimental test subject. It is a situation which is rarely can be seen. But there are some evidences about how brain damage affects human behaviour and mental capacity. During the period that World War II continue, in march 1943, an officer called Zasetsky took a bullet into his brain. After this event, the neuropsychologist A. R. Luria started to investigate the change which occured in his brain activities.
Based on the conclusions of several experimental and neurological studies, specifically the ones mentioned throughout this essay, it is indeed correct to say that we process faces in a different, more holistic manner than we do with objects where the emphasis is placed on the relationship between the object’s features. Those who oppose the holistic approach to face recognition claim that in certain, unusual situations, we recognise faces using the processes associated with object recognition. This may be true, but it still remains that in the real world, the most important setting for us to understand, faces are processed in a holistic manner which is very different to object recognition. Every day we recognise a variety of both familiar and novel objects. We do this with little effort, despite the fact that these objects may vary in form, colour and size.
They count calories, may be obsessed over weight loss programmes, repeat weighing and physical examinations, skip meals and use laxatives. Eating disorder 2: Bulimia Nervosa – involves cycles of eating a large amount of calories called bingeing and then getting rid of them by vomiting or laxatives known as purging. Unlike anorexia, people who suffer from bulimia may maintain a steady weight. 1b. Describe the signs and symptoms of the eating disorders you described in Question 1a above.
Lobotomy comes from the Greek words lobo (brain) and tomē (cut). This is the process of breaking brain connections in order to cure a patient suffering from mental illnesses or mental instability. Throughout this essay, the process of performing lobotomies will be looked at as well as it positive and negative implications. Moreover, the Ethical and Social implications will be further analyzed. In the begging, lobotomies were done by drilling holes on either sides of the skull and then inject the fibers, which would destroy them.