Split Brain

Split Brain…….What does this mean??

It is when the corpus callosum  that connects the two hemispheres of the brain is divided to some degree and interrupts the spread of the seizure from one hemisphere to the other.  Keep in mind that this procedure does not completely do away with the seizing, they will continue but only in the hemisphere it originated but will be less aggressive since they can no longer spread to the opposite side.
Roger Sperry and Ronald Meyers first discovered the split brain in the 1950s by experimenting with cats and then later in monkeys but it wasn't until 1961 that the first human underwent the the split brain surgery.

Who is a candidate??

Patients with severe and uncontrollable epileptic seizures or when the seizing is affecting both sides of the brain or especially the patients who because of the seizure suffer from sudden falls exposing them to serious injuries.  Another candidate who would highly benefit from split brain surgery is the patient who has had little to no improvement while on anti-seizure medications.


Post Split Brain Surgery Effects

The surgery itself was an instant cure for the epileptic seizures, but shortly after they noticed that the patients who had had the commissurotomy had some peculiar difficulties in their daily activities.  The patients were unable to process information from one hemisphere to the other,  as though each hemisphere started to acted independently.

• Difficulties speaking
• Remembering things
• Finding words
• Decrease in awareness of one side of the body
• Loss of coordination
• Speech impediment, such as stuttering

Conclusion 

What was concluded after much research by Roger Sperry was that the right and left hemispheres specialized in different duties.  The left side is responsible for the analytical, verbal duties, and has  better control of speech while the right side is responsible for the space perception.

Example: Right hemisphere contributes when making a map or giving directions on how to get from             point "A" to point "B".  The right hemisphere can only produce basic word and phrases, but is significant in the emotional context of language.  

What was amazingly noted was that each hemisphere is still able to learn after the split brain surgery because the brain learns to use the smaller connections between the left and right hemisphere but one hemisphere unfortunately has no idea what the other hemisphere has experienced or learned.

Meningitis

What is Meningitis?

Meningitis is the inflammation of the membranes surrounding the  brain and spinal cord.   usually triggered by the  spread of infection; most infections may viral but bacterial and fungal infection can cause meningitis.


Three types of infections that may cause meningitis

Most common are vial infections.

Bacterial infections which can be life threatening; bacterial meningitis happens when the bacteria enters the bloodstream and invades the brain and spinal cord.  It can also happen when the bacteria finds its way to the meninges due to an ear or sinus infection or even a skull fracture.

Fungal meningitis is less common but causes chronic meningitis at times it can mimic acute bacterial meningitis.  One of the common fungal form is cryptococcal meningitis that usually affect people with auto immune diseases such as AIDS or Lupus.  Fungal meningitis may be life threatening if gone untreated and must be treated with anti-fungal medication.

Treatment 

Viral meningitis usually runs its course without the need of antibiotics, normally taking one to two weeks with bed rest, non-prescribed  medication to try symptoms such as fever and body aches, and lots of fluids.

Bacterial meningitis requires immediate medical attention and must be treated with IV medication.

Fungal meningitis must be treated after confirming that it is fungal due to side effects secondary to treatment.

Methadone……The Fighting Drug

What is Methadone???

Methadone is an opioid pain medication; at times referred to as a narcotic. Methadone also decreases withdrawal symptoms in people addicted to heroin or other narcotic drugs.  A major advantage is that it can be taken orally and the stomach acids break down most of it and gradually enters the blood and then the brain; having the effects rise slowly while avoiding the rush or high experience.

Methadone is also used as a pain reliever and as part of drug addiction detoxification and maintenance programs.

About Methadone

Methadone can slow your breathing, even long after the medication has worn off; causing death if breathing becomes too weak. .

A major disadvantage is Methadone can not be discontinued suddenly due to unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.

 

Methadone's Effectiveness

It has been highly criticized because the drug addict continues to use but now the addict is using drugs legally; they argue that even after the addict stops using heroin they stay on the Methadone for several years. 

Heroin is short-acting opiate, while Methadone is a slower acting and for this reason the withdrawal symptoms are gradual preventing an induced euphoria.

• Methadone overdoses have risen as of 2005, about 4000 people have died.

• Methadone can be prescribed for pain relief by a physician and can be prescribed for addiction at a Methadone clinic.

• Methadone is only effective in treating opiate addictions, does not help with the addiction to meth or cocaine.

• There is at least 250,000 people using Methadone Clinics but this does not give us in actual count of who might be addicted to Methadone.

Is Methadone a Good Choice??

Facts

Methadone has been a helpful medication for many people in need of quitting dangerous opiates; however Methadone itself is an opiate known to be safer than heroin or other narcotics.  Methadone has been used to help or aid the addict because the biggest controversy is that in the end it does not completely clean and sobers the addict.  Unfortunately, Methadone addiction has become a problem of its own.

Blood-Brain Barrier

As I read about the cells of the nervous system, anatomy of neurons and glia, the blood-brain barrier, nerve impulses, resting potential, myelin sheath, local neurons, and so on; everything seemed to so confusing at times but as i continued to read the most interesting thing to me was the Blood-Brain Barrier.

The Blood-Brain Barrier depends much on the endothelial cells, even though that on the outside of the brain cells are not closely knit but slightly separated yet in the inside they are so tightly knitted together that nothing get through.  The main purpose of the Blood-Brain Barrier is to keep both useful and harmful chemicals out, the useful chemicals being all fuels and amino acids which are the building blocks for protein.  For brain function it requires a very special mechanism to get these chemicals across the blood-brain barrier.

The brain consists of a few mechanisms that include uncharged molecules like oxygen and carbon dioxide that freely cross; water is able to cross through these protein channels in the endothelial cell wall just as molecules that dissolve in the fat of the membrane cross over passively.

The other chemicals that are transported to the brain do so by active transport it uses up energy to pump  the chemicals such as glucose, amino acids, purines, choline, iron, some hormones, and certain vitamins.

One major advantage of having blood-brain barrier is that it keeps viruses out but on the down fall it keeps out nutrients as well.  The blood-brain barrier is essential to everyone's health if there is ever a some kind of shrinking in the endothelial cell lining  harmful chemicals may enter the brain but just as the blood-brain barrier protects it may also prevent certain medication to cross over that might be life saving.

Introduction to Physiological Psychology

As cruel as it might sound we can not denied that the quality of our lives are much better with that of animal testing; I just think it should be done with the least discomfort to the animals.  Medicine has come such a long way due to the animal testing, without the animals we would not be able to advance as a human race without the animal testing we would sure be extinct sooner than we think.
 We have seen a higher rate of cancer survivors, thanks to animal testing researchers, we now have a better understanding of tumor biology; therefore there has been many new treatments that target the cancer cells and destroy them.
Another that is painful cancer to hear about would be childhood leukemia which once again thanks to animal testing has increased the survivor percentage.
I can sit here all day talking about death rates over thirty years ago and the current survivor rate today but I won't because we all know that we will be in need of some treatment or medication that was tested on animals and at that time we will not care as long as we get treated.
A note to sit on………should we all become vegans too?????

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