First break of the morning- Dr. Amaral is wonderful! What I'm learning is exciting! Much of it serves to reinforce things I've learned before- but some of the news regarding research that is underway- unbelievable! Can't wait to share what I've learned with you in February! More later!
Mary Ann Krammen
ReplyDeleteI have been transfixed by the Giffords tragedy. Since I have learned some things about the brain through this class, I have been able to understand some of the significance of the "simple" tasks described by her doctors. As you say, they are amazing ambassadors for those unlearned in their extremely complex field. Also I did see on one report--a model of the trajectory of the bullet--that it was through the left side, but near the top of the skull. Hence, none of the lower aspects of the brain were impacted directly. Another area of understanding since your class was that since only one side was affected, the possibility of a more complete recovery exists--and I was able to explain this to my husband. I don't know if I told him the right thing: that some tasks can be reconnected by the other half. Am I close to explaining that correctly?
On another topic, the report on autism being caused by inoculations has been completely debunked. The scientist in charge (no idea of his name) had apparently manipulated the research to prove his hypothesis. Altho this has been questioned in the past, this is the first I had heard that it was wrong and without basis in fact. The concern is that so many parents still are refusing to give their children MMR shots. Certain celebrities are not helping by publicly stating inaccurate ideas that their fans blindly follow. Oh well...
I found another interesting report that a blood test is being developed for diagnosing Alzheimers.
Excited to hear about the new stuff you are learning in beautiful Napa Valley. Let's hope the snow calms down a bit here so we can meet in February.
Thanks for your post! We did talk just a bit about Autism and the vaccine controversy. I was expecting that we would, as Dr. Amaral is one of the leading researchers in the field of Autism Spectrum Disorders. He did briefly address the vaccine issue that has been in the news of late, and I was quite surprised by what he said! DON'T let me forget to tell you in February!!! (too hard to write it in a blog)
ReplyDeleteI'm flying home early tomorrow morning. I'm not anxious to leave the mild climate, and the sunshine,and the green trees, grass, and blooming flowers- for the snow and the cold. But... I'm lucky to have had this brief respite from winter, so guess I won't complain!
Mary Ann Krammen 2-1-11
ReplyDeleteAlready home from school again tomorrow due to weather, and I'm watching "The Human Spark" on PBS hosted by Alan Alda. This episode is about how the brain differentiates humans from animals such as chimps. Many of the concepts presented are ones we have studied in class: the later skills children acquire are those that our brains acquired later in evolution; and that when our brains are at rest, they are not resting at all, but actively working at problem solving. (why a solution to a problem comes to us while doing an unrelated simple task like mowing the lawn or taking a shower.) The program's major points are that what makes us human is the insight into someone else's feelings and ideas, imagination--the ability to plan and think about the future, our language abilities, and our innate propensity for cooperation and to seek cooperation in others. Better get back to grading papers.
That sounds like an excellent program! I wish I'd have seen it. I'll go onto the PBS website and see if it is posted. Thanks for sharing this, Mary Ann. I'm glad that you're keeping your eyes and ears open for news of the brain.
ReplyDeleteI just happened to catch an episode of Nova Science Now. The title was "How the Brain Works". There was a segment on how the brain processes visual stimulation. The study was done using magic tricks and how the magician gets the brain to "think" it saw something happen.
ReplyDeleteAnother segment was on TMS - transcranial magnetic stimulation. Neuroscientists are studying how this might be helpful to treat depression and how it might help to reduce severe pain. Have you heard of any of that research, Julie? Interesting stuff - and perhaps helpful to many people!
And a third segment was about people with synesthesia. The scientist stated how peoples' brains are like fingerprints - each one is different in how it perceives things. Some people always see numbers and letters in a certain color. Interesting stuff. I need to look online for more about this one.
I wish I had seen that program, Joyce. I did find an article about conjoined twins whose brains "saw" through the other twin's eyes. That was just too hard to imagine. When you consider how much has to come together to work perfectly, it's amazing everyone doesn't have some type of brain dysfunction
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Joyce- I saw that program! I'm so glad that you did too. (Whenever I come across something like this, when I'm running through the channels, is: I hope some of my "brain people" are watching this, too! It was a fascinating show! I had not heard much about the transcranial magnetic stimulation, but it stands to reason that there would be potential here. MRI and fMRI imaging technologies use huge powerful magnets to get pictures of the inside of the brain. I sure don't understand how this works. To me, a magnet is something that holds stuff on the front of my frig! I have read about synesthetes- those whose senses seem to be intermingled- "seeing sounds", or "hearing colors" or "tasting numbers", etc. Amazing!
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