...How does diet and Nutrition affect Brain Functioning? Brain function is a very important component in maintaining the human body. Diet and Nutrition is the main component for complete brain function. Food does not only give us energy but it also affects our brain function. The nutrients in food are very important to brain function nutrition and affects cognitive processes and emotions. Brain development is a complex interactive process in which early disruptive events can have long-lasting effects on later functional adaptation. It is a process that is dependent on the timely orchestration of external and internal inputs through sophisticated intra- and intercellular signaling pathways (Wainwright, 2002). Neurons communicate at connection point called the synapse. The synapse is essential for learning, perception, and memory. They are key nutrients that provide the building blocks for intellectual emotional and social development. Breast milk is the most essential form of nutrition and brain development. Breast milk cannot be replicated. These essential nutrients are phospholipids, fatty acids,...
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...Abstract The human brain is perhaps the most complex of organs, boasting between 50-100 billion nerve cells or neurons that constantly interact with each other. These neurons carry messages through electrochemical processes; meaning, chemicals in our body (charged sodium, potassium and chloride ions) moves in and out of these cells and establish an electrical current. On-going psychological research is therefore so critical to understating brain function to understand human behaviour and to obtain methods to help negative behaviour. Discuss why on-going psychological research is so critical to understanding brain functioning On – going psychological research is critical in the understating brain function because our brain controls our body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and breathing. Our brain handles our physical movement when walking, talking, standing or sitting. The brain is so crucial because it controls all our senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching). It even lets us think, dream, reason and experience emotions. Psychological research is critical because they know that our body affect our behaviour, cognition, perception etc. Different moods and certain reactions that we do governed by certain neurotransmitters that depends on the brain so that it will be of use. They know that the brain is the command centre of our whole body so whatever its state or nature is very important to understanding behaviour and mental processes. Longstanding...
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...Phineas Gage Paper The brain is one of the key role players in cognitive functioning. There are many different areas in the brain but only a few certain areas have an influence on cognitive functioning. A man named Phineas Gage showed the key elements in the specific areas in the brain that do support these cognitive functions. In 1848 Phineas gage suffered a traumatic brain injury which has aided in understanding the human brain in the fields of cognitive and neuropsychologists. This paper will help to better explain the role of cognitive functioning and the brain. One will better understand the importance of Phineas Gage’s injuries and how they have helped to aid cognitive functioning and neuropsychology. The Brain and Cognitive Functioning The brain plays and important role in cognitive functioning. The ability to process thoughts and information is cognitive functioning (Willingham, 2007). Learning, memory, and perception are all examples of cognitive functioning (Willingham, 2007). Different areas of the brain support different cognitive functions. The amygdala, hippocampus, and the rhinal cortex are all responsible for memory. Emotional memory and memories which are prompted by emotional behavior are all stored in the amygdala. The hippocampus is responsible for receiving information from the senses and then translating them into an individual’s short-term memory. Learned information is recalled from the rhinal cortex. “The cerebral cortex is what is studied, photographed...
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...Imagine functioning without certain brain areas. What would it be like to talk on the phone to your mother if you didn't have temporal lobe association areas? What would you hear? What would you understand? What would you feel? Imagine functioning without certain brain areas. What would it be like to talk on the phone to your mother if you didn't have temporal lobe association areas? What would you hear? What would you understand? What would you feel? Imagine functioning without certain brain areas. What would it be like to talk on the phone to your mother if you didn't have temporal lobe association areas? What would you hear? What would you understand? What would you feel? Imagine functioning without certain brain areas. What would it be like to talk on the phone to your mother if you didn't have temporal lobe association areas? What would you hear? What would you understand? What would you feel? Imagine functioning without certain brain areas. What would it be like to talk on the phone to your mother if you didn't have temporal lobe association areas? What would you hear? What would you understand? What would you feel? Imagine functioning without certain brain areas. What would it be like to talk on the phone to your mother if you didn't have temporal lobe association areas? What would you hear? What would you understand? What would you feel? Imagine functioning without certain brain areas. What would it be like to talk on the phone to your mother if you...
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...together to control the common functioning of the brain. Since the brain controls all other functioning of the body, if the region organ is injured, poor-body function will follow. If the head suffer an injury disorders of brain may follow including but not limited to, accidents, hereditary, or due to other unsafe environmental conditions. According to research, “failure of communication of the nerves and neurons in the brain can result to development of a brain disorder” (Cannon TD, Cornblatt B, McGorry P (May 2007). Many brain disorders have no cure, and if there is treatment, they leave adverse effects to the person the remainder of their life. Schizophrenia is known as a disorder of the brain. This paper will take a microscopic look at the origin, pathology, treatment options, and diagnostic research associated with schizophrenia. The Origin Schizophrenia is an extremely severe disorder of the brain that causes warp thinking, The human body is created with many different organs that work together to control the common functioning of the brain. Since the brain controls all other functioning of the body, if the region organ is injured, poor-body function will follow. If the head suffer an injury disorders of brain may follow including but not limited to, accidents, hereditary, or due to other unsafe environmental conditions. According to research, “failure of communication of the nerves and neurons in the brain can result to development of a brain disorder” (Cannon TD, Cornblatt...
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...after a mental shock or a brain injury, while the long-term information is retained. It is a subgroup of amnesia together with Retrograde Amnesia, which refers to a mental disorder that makes it impossible for the victim to remember the long-term memories for the events before the tragic incident while fresh memories are easily created. Amnesia refers to memory loss, both the past and new information, caused by factors that interfere with the memory storage parts in the brain, the limbic system with its subcomponents, hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, the thalamus and the epithalamus. The incidences of the recent and current events are forgotten and made impossible to retrieve....
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... D.L. James Editor-‐in-‐Chief Student Perspectives in Cognitive Neuroscience 1 August 2014 Dear Dr. James, I would like to submit my article entitled, “Recovery from Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury: Case Study-‐Susan” for publication as a review article in the Student Perspective in Cognitive Neuroscience. The article traces traumatic brain injury in an eight-‐year-‐old child with a premorbid Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and challenging family environment. With the aid of Luria’s conceptual approach to brain organisation and function, and Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, we are able to gauge the impact of the trauma on brain function and also the long term effects...
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...Journey of the brain-Birth to late adulthood Child development is crucial throughout the early years, during this time the development of the brain occurs and continues through late adulthood. The development of the brain contributes to the functioning of the body. The anatomy of the brain is made up of neurons and divided into four different lobes. The temporal, frontal, parietal, and occipital lobes control a variety of cognitive functions (Santrock, 2013). The brain controls simple functions such as fine and gross motor skills, vision, and memory. For instance the frontal lobes are involved in the voluntary movement, thinking, personality, and intentionality or purpose. The occipital lobes are responsible for vision. The temporal lobes are responsible for hearing, language processing and memory. The parietal lobes plays role in registering spatial location, attention and motor control. (Santrock, 2013). Brain development in children is vital during the early years. During the early years, children brains are active enabling children to learn a variety of information. However, as individual ages there are changes in the brain which influence cognitive functioning learned throughout the years of development. At birth the newborn’s brain is about 25 percent of its adult weight; by the 24 months the brain is about 75 percent of its adult weight (Santrock, 2013). The brain is very delicate and needs a lot of protection for its safety...
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...Brain Injuries Learning Team A University of Phoenix PSY 340 Biological Foundations of Psychology 28 March 2016 Abstract Thesis Statement: In this paper we will discuss different kinds of brain injuries, the functions of neural plasticity and the limitations of neural plasticity. The first thing that is discussed in the paper in different brain injuries. We go into depth about five different brain injuries that include blood clots, hematomas, concussions, strokes and cerebral edema. Once we have covered brain injuries we discuss the functions of neural plasticity in brain injuries. An important thing that is discussed with neural plasticity is the recovery from a brain injury, what is required during recovery and how long recovery from a brain injury can take. The last thing that is discussed in this paper is the limitations of neural plasticity with brain injuries. Keywords: brain, injuries, plasticity, neural “Each year, traumatic brain injuries (TBI) contribute to a substantial number of deaths and cases of permanent disability. TBI is a contributing factor to a third (30.5%) of all injury-related deaths in the United States.” (cdc.gov) Robert has experienced a traumatic brain injury that is going to affect him for the rest of his life. Brain injuries are serious, and should be treated as such. For some people brain injuries go unnoticed and untreated leaving it to be deadly, but for others it is caught and treated but the healing process is extensive. In...
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...impairments on drinking is mostly cognitive related. According to Impairments of Brain & Behavior, heavy drinkers are more to suffer abnormalities that could damage their mental functioning & also brain impairments that could change their behaviors (1997). The article also stated that alcoholism can have serious consequences & effects on the whole nervous system's functioning most definitely the brain (1997). These effects are: impaired conscious, knowledge, and short-term memory loss. It also includes changes in a person's personality and emotions which is a serious stage of the effects of alcoholism. But, somewhere between 15 to 50 percent of alcoholics may not often display obvious signs of cognitive impairment (Impairments of Brain & Behavior, 1997). People who are more drawn towards drinking are mostly teenagers and people in their early 20's. They usually drink in social settings and are more tempted to drink in parties, kickbacks, etc. These behaviors are considered "normal" in that age mostly because high schoolers are more desperate to "fit in" in their environment and also because college students are known for their party college life. Even people who drink occasionally and/or who are only "social drinkers" can also cause an affect to their cognitive functioning and impairment (1997). Visuospatial abilities & higher level of cognitive functioning are the most common alcohol-related brain impairments that are affected, in accordance with Cognitive Impairment &...
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...May 15, 2011 Patricia Adesso Phineas Gage The brain is most complex of all of the organs in the body. The brain is the place where emotions, perception, planning, memory, action, thinking, learning and language, among other things, all take place. Cognitive functioning takes place in the cerebrum, the largest part of the brain and is carried out by neurons. The brain is made up of thousands of neurons that are responsible for carrying messages from the brain and into the body. These neurons interact with one another by releasing a neurotransmitter that fits on to the receptor of a neighboring neuron. When the receptor is triggered in the brain it causes the body to react, act, think, feel, learn and so forth. But how does this actually work? Brain imaging has given us some insight to answer this question. Brain imaging like MRI’s, CAT, and PET scans all help in discovering the brains role in cognitive functioning. Advances in imaging technology have helped researchers pin point which areas of the brain are responsible for thinking, learning and memory. By recording activity of the brain in action, researchers can examine the systems of brain regions that participate in different cognitive functions, ranging from basic sensory and motor functions to complex functions like reasoning and language understanding. According to the Center for Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC) at the University of Pittsburg “To discover how brain cells actually support cognitive processes, CNBC investigators...
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...The brain is an outstanding formation full with different types of lobes that operates to meet our daily functioning. In order for the brain to communicate with other parts of the body, the Hindbrain, Midbrain, and Forebrain correspond with a small composition called neurons. Neurons are responsible for sending information to a different division of the body such as the eyes, muscles, brain, ears, spinal cord, and all other neurons. Neurons are also responsible for the basic things we do, our movement, thinking process, recollections and emotions (Garrett, 2011).Without neurons, it will be difficult to function daily. A case study: Joseph is a 59-year-old construction worker who recently suffered a stroke. A small blood clot became lodged in one of the vessels serving the right side of his brain and restricted blood flow to a portion of his right precentral gyrus. Many neurons in that area were damaged or destroyed and, as a result, Joseph is partially paralyzed on the left side of his body. He can move his left leg and walk, and can also move his left arm, but his left hand and the left side of his face are paralyzed. To determine the process of neural communication and how different functioning affects a particular part of the brain can help understand how the brain damage can originate from stroke and which method would best work in the recovery from brain damage. According to the case study, Joseph's left face and hand are paralyzed, but not the rest of his arm or his leg...
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...Terry Lee PSY/360 April 15, 2012 Stacy Page Introduction The human brain has numerous functions that include coordination of body functions, reasoning ability, and cognition. In order for human beings to carry out their day to day activities, it is critically essential that the brain functions normally. Cognition is one of the most important aspects of psychology and it refers to the various mental processes. Prior to Phineas Gage’s famous accident in 1848, neuroscientists strongly believed that the brain’s role in cognitive functioning was minimal. (Scheffer, 2005)However, after the extensive research that was inspired by his accident, this perception changed and presently, the role of brain in cognitive functions cannot be underrated. Overview of Phineas Gage Accident Working for a big construction company in the year 1848, Phineas Gage was skilled in performing numerous tasks in any construction site. He had even been entrusted by his employees as a foreman in the construction site as a result of his experience and illustrious character. On that fateful day while working on a construction project in Vermont, Phineas Gage sustained a horrific injury to his brain when a huge metallic rod accidentally penetrated through his skull. (Fleischman, 2004) The magnitude of the damage caused by this injury was there for all to see; the metallic rod had left a gaping hole in Gage’s skull. Amazingly, Phineas Gage survived the accident. However, this injury completed changed his...
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... Phinea's Gage Paper From past to present the study of psychology has lead researcher's to uncover scientifically based studies about human brain power that can manipulate numerous functions related to cognition. The human brain is responsible for memory, perception, learning, and emotions that contribute to how information is gathered; in addition, environmental factors can determine how information is recorded and utilized. The brain is a huge operating system of which human cognitive skills and abilities depend on proper brain functioning that regulate particular biological processes. Cerebral Cortex The Cerebral Cortex is a region of the brain predominantly responsible for identifying human language; environmental perception and methods of which the brain will process information retrieved. The cerebral cortex is divided into a right and left hemisphere that contains four lobes; parietal, frontal, occipital and temporal. Within the cerebral cortex each lobe controls a particular bodily function that allows us to see, hear, smell, and touch. The executive functioning happens within the frontal lobe which controls human thinking and the method of which we reason and make judgments. "The frontal lobe is susceptible to injury because of the position inside of the skull. This area of the brain is responsible for motor function, solving problems, socialization, and impulse control to name a few. Fuster (2002) state, " Simamura (1995) suggests that these...
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...Gina Doherty PSYC-2130 WW1 The Nun Study Review The article, Aging and Alzheimer's Disease: Lessons From the Nun Study, by David Snowden PhD, published in The Gerontologist in 1997, begins with a warm history of a remarkable nun of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. The author details how Sister Mary was born into a working class family in 1892, was the oldest of 12 children and how her mother died during childbirth. In addition it was noted Sister Mary had an 8th grade Catholic education, joined the convent at 14, and took her vows when she turned 19 years of age. The article went on to describe how Sister Mary’s sibling Clara joined the same religious order, but unfortunately died at age 49. The background stated that her father died at 68 years of age of heart disease. With a very small stature and 85 lbs. the writer portrays Sister as an avid reader, being well-liked and very happy. She had a special interest in global situations, women and children in need, and was also actively involved in her community. This amazing woman taught middle school for 77 years all the while studying during her breaks for her own high school diploma, which she earned with an “A” average after 22 committed years. She continued working with students in a part-time capacity until her mid-eighties, and even after officially retiring still had quite a presence within the convent. When scientists from the University of Kentucky seeking participation in a study on Alzheimer’s approached...
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