life of schizts

We all know of the various psychiatric disorders. Some are more obvious than others and some are more tolerable than others. Taking various psychology courses, i've learned that there are so many factors that play into these disorders. Whether is has to do with biological or even environmental factors. For example,  recently i was reading more about the schizophrenia disorder. It is one of the disorders that i have not personally encountered, but i have come to learn that it can be one that is difficult to deal with.  I would imagine that its hard to see one of your loves one going through this disorder because it is a disorder that not only affects the lifestyle of the person suffering from it, but also the people who take care of them.
Even though men are more susceptible to suffer from it compared to women, it usually tends develops in the person 20s. Imagine being 20 something and finding out you are diagnosed with schizophrenia? These are the highlight years of your life. Years where you graduate from college, get married, and start a family. If a person with schizophrenia has difficulty getting a simple point across i imagine how hard it would be to accomplish all three.

Like i mentioned before, since i personally haven't met someone who suffers from this disorder i can't say that they can't accomplish many normal things in their life. I just imagine that it must be a bit tougher. I've heard that this particular disorder might have something to do with genetics and all honesty, i am not surprised. Being a pre-med student and everything, i am well aware of how certain small mutations in someones gene can cause a tremendous effect. It has been shown that those who suffer from schizophrenia have multiple microdeletions or microduplications.
I'm sure these genes are affected in way that can manipulate the brain and make a person visualize or see things that aren't really there. This is exactly what happens to a person with schizophrenia. The scary thing is that you have to keep an eye out on those who suffer from this. They become a danger to themselves as well as others. 

 In my opinion, i believe that the effect is mostly biological than environmental. For instance, the video

below is a video of a child who suffers from schizophrenia. This child, janie, seemed to show signs from an early age. Its unbelievable to see the measures  the parents have to take to keep her and their other child safe. This looks stressful and seems really hard to deal with. But then again when its your child, you will do anything. The other girl, Rebecca, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia showed really bad signs when she tried to kill herself. Its so sad :/ and she feels like she has to inorder to get rid of an hallucination she calls "the man".
If environmental played a huge role, then you wouldn't see schizophrenia in children. Although, yes it is rare, but it basically proves that biological has a bigger effect. 

My daughter is long gone

Im sure we have all been in situations where a traumatic event has left us feeling helpless or feeling that our world is about to fall apart. Its not easy to try to shake this off and pull yourself together. Some may take a few days or weeks to recover, while others may take months or even years.
 I can't say i've lived a whole lot because im only 21 right, but i can say that having traveled to like 15 + different countries and there hasnt been one person who i've met who has not  felt some sort of vulnerability  at some point in their lives. Difficult situations that occurs in our lives is what makes us i guess you can say....human.
Having a father who is a physician i have come across many of his patients who confuse depression with being fatigued, sick, or lack of motivation. I've heard many of their stories. There were some that  if they had ask me for advice i would tell them exactly what they should do, and then there were some  that i wouldn't know what to say and then realizing how lucky i was. I remember this one lady who had just suffered a loss of a daughter. This little girl was about 7 years old and had past away due to cancer. I remember that when i first starting talking to the lady, she was talking about her daughter as if she was still alive. She was talking about how her daughter loved to dance and was obsess with Hanna Montana and how they drove to Houston to see one of her concerts. It wasn't until towards the end of the conversation events didn't seem to coordinate and she confessed that her daughter had died. A couple of minutes had past and i began talking to her husband and he started telling me that his wife is extremely depressed but didn't want to admit it. He was the one who actually came to see my dad and was hoping that if he took her with him, my dad could convince her to take some type of antidepressants. Apparently for the past 6 months she hadn't really been doing much and he himself had even walked in on her trying to take her life. There was more details into the story, but it might be to personal to talk about it right now.

 Depression is a common disorder.  If you met someone who was suffering from depression, how would approach this situation and what advice would you give them?

There are many different ways to treat it. For example there are people who go on antidepressants. I've heard of others who started exercising or taking some sort of mediation classes and that helped them. In my opinion, I think that the best approach is to talk to them. Sometimes what we need is a strong support system and someone to listen to us. Keeping our problems bottled up doesn't help anyone. Before directly seeking medication, its best to find other alternatives. Although I do have to admit that medications do work pretty fast, we have to remember that with any medication there also are side affects that come along with it. What if the side affects become more last-longing than the depression itself? Something to think about right!?

Below is a video of case study of a patient dealing with depression. The source of the depression varies for different people. My advice is to start doing something you love or to do something you've always wanted to do but never got the chance to do. Something that felt was similar in most depressive patients was that i don't think they felt they we're loved or felt that they had any purpose on this earth. That they couldnt survive if they didnt have that one thing they loved. ( most of the time that one thing they loved was taken away from them which is what lead to the depression in the first place).
If you know some who is depressed make sure they find some kind of help. You might just save a life!

A Terrified Gasp for Air

Have you ever had an episode of an intense fear that seems grow deep inside of you and  your heart begins to pound so rapidly as if it was about to jump right out of your chest?

I remember growing up I had friend who had that same exact feeling repeatedly. There were several instances where during class you would hear him trying loudly to gasp for air and turn extremely red. You could see the terrified look on his face and the teachers would have to take him outside of the classroom so he could calm down. I remember being as confused  as everyone else in class and no one even dared to ask what was going on with him. ( I'm sure he was pretty embarrassed himself). These same incidents reoccured over and over again for a couple of years. I then moved away and several years went by and the other day I bumped into him. I finally had the courage to ask to him what was going on. He explained to me that he was suffering from panic disorder. He was having repeated panic attacks and told me that it usually happened out of no where but would definitely occur when the class got really loud all of a sudden. He said couldn't help it and left like an outcast because of it. I felt pretty bad because i knew the rest of the kids felt he was a little weird and top it off he just always looked so fragile. He said that what scared him the most was the fact that he knew he could just get a panic attack hated that he couldnt control it. He eventually sought professional help and now he doesnt have to worry about it anymore.

Below is an animated video that talks about panic disorders and what exactly it is. Here Dylan talks about his own experience and explains that this disorder limited him from doing the things he love, like skateboarding. After seeing a psychiatrist, he was assisted to better cope with this condition.

Scared Stiff

I am going to start off by being completely honest, I LOVE TO SLEEP! Unfortunately, being a college student I don't  get to enjoy it as much as i would like to, but trust me if i could sleep all day i would.  Although most people may see this as being lazy and unproductive, I tend to see it as a biological necessity. Sleeping is the time where our body regenerates and helps save energy. It helps us conserve energy for inefficient times. When you have 3 exams one after another, trust me sleep is extremely necessary!

Nevertheless, i have heard of some stories where there are people who are scared of falling asleep. I have a friend who about a year ago called me telling me a horrible experience she had and i didn't believe her. It wasn't until i met several people who experienced the same thing did i begin to question it and started researching more about it.

My friend called me and began telling me how she woke up at the middle of the night and was scared to fall back to sleep. Apparently, she woke up and saw a black shadow in her room. It moved across the room and my friend had the desire to scream but said she couldn't. She said that she wasn't able to move at all and the only thing that did were her eyes. Scared stiff, (literally!) she frantically tried again to move her body. She said that when she realized that no matter what she did she couldn't move, she closed and squeezed her eyes shut. She said that when she reopened them the image was gone and she could move. People say that it was the "devil sitting on them."

When i began researching this, the closet thing that could explain it was Sleep Paralysis.
Sleep paralysis is when you feel conscious but you are unable to move. It can occur one of two times. Either when your falling asleep or wen you are waking up. The chances of sleep paralysis reoccurring more than once is very uncommon.

Above is a video of a doctor who explains what sleep paralysis exactly is. Then it follows by having people talk about their sleep paralysis experience. Its a scary thing! Especially when i've heard of people seeing this same black shadow. Which was probably why it took a while for me to believe it since ghost obviously dont exist. Sleep paralysis happens to alot of people and if you know of someone who has gone through a similar experience let them know that their arent alone. I just hope to god that i dont experience this. I like to sleep! Nevertheless, it good to learn about it and educate others. Continuous Sleep paralysis can even cause Narcolepsy another sleeping disorder. I have mentioned in my previous blogs how important our brain is. The more i learn about it is proves me right. We all sleep and it good to learn about situations where it might go wrong.

Intersex: should parents decide on specific gender?

This past week, I was struggling to answer one toughest questions i've ever been asked.

If i had a child that was born as intersex and was responsible in choosing to have genital surgery , which gender would I prefer?

Automatically the first thing I thought was, "well duh, a girl!" ( I've always wanted a little mini me)
But for some reason i hesitated and answered that i didn't know.
Going to college and studying about the human anatomy and its biological functions it has taught me that our body is extremely complex and that there are plenty of ways where things can go wrong. A lot of times this tends to move away from whats considered to be "normal" and we try to fix this problem and make it as normal as possible, like intersex for example. How do you chose what gender is suited best for a baby?
Although i cannot hesitate and admit that i've ALWAYS wanted a girl. And knowing how i am, i don't know if i will ever be satisfied without having one. But, I also know that i believe that its a 50/50 chance and the only person who can decide is God. I don't feel adequately capable of deciding that. I can wish and pray to have a girl soo bad, but when the baby is born the gender of the baby is what it is. Answering the question the now, i would say that i wouldn't decide anything. Im aware If you are born as an intersex there are alot of imbalance hormones and possibly extra genital parts that come into play. I also know that if i hypothetically decided to choose a specific gender this can possibly affect my child psychologically in many different way. What if he/she didn't feel like they were that specific sex that you choose, but felt they could relate more of the opposite sex, what do you do then? I'd feel extremely guilty. The best thing to do is just wait till my child is older and then they can decide for themselves. I mean its there body and they're going to be the one living with what gender they are. In my opinion, they should be the one to choose for themselves. The only exception to this is if their genitals parts were interfering with they're everyday necessity and it was crucial to decide.

Below is a video about a girl who was born as an intersex. She never had surgery and felt that it was the best thing to be able to decide for herself as she got older.

For the longest time, doctors felt it was necessary for parents to decide on a surgery. They felt this was beneficial for the child to have surgery as babies because it psychologically better to do it when compared to later on in their lives. Recently, a controversy has risen as more and more people believe it is unethical to do so and for those who have undergone the surgery now feel like it has actually affected them more psychologically by doing so.

Are Pheromones real?

When I hear the word pheromone the first picture that comes to mind are small honey bees that are attracted and ready to mate with the queen bee's chemical scent. I remember this from my organic chemistry class because my professor made us learn the structure and reaction for that chemical :/ .
Pheromones are chemicals that are secreted for a social response of the same species. There are about 10 different types of pheromones known to date:
1) Aggregation
2) Alarm
3) Epideictic
4) Releaser
5) Signal
6) Primer
7) Territorial
8) Trail
9) Information
10) sex

All of which are usually evident in animals, especially insects!
Human pheromones, on the other hand, aren't so obvious. There was an article that I came across called Pheromones in humans: Myth or Reality? and it talked about the six different areas of our body that glands are heavily concentrated in and how it correlates with the response of pheromones. Most people believe that human pheromones is closely related to body odor and to be honest I somewhat believe that it can be true. I remember watching a documentary on discovery channel's 'Science of Sex Appeal' awhile back and what i thought was interesting was how a person's voice or even a man's sweat can cause some sort sexual attraction. I don't know about people, but when I saw those ladies go from jar to jar to smell the sweaty t-shirts, I couldn't understand how they didn't get grossed out. EWWW!
Although the main research on human pheromones are their auxiliary steroids, vaginal aliphatic, acids and stimulators of vomernasal organ.
What i also thought was interesting how our menstrual cycle becomes in synced when you put several females under one household. When i first heard about it a couple years ago i didn't believe it. But I have noticed that over the years my mother and I have been in synced multiple times. Even this past summer, when I was doing research in San Antonio, Tx my roommate and I began to become synced as well. I've seen her almost everyday since then at school and our synched cycle remains. I thought that was a bit interesting. Although, still today there are some debate about whether or not this phenomenon is valid. I couldn't find a good video that talked about it, but i found an article, Menstrual synchrony, that talks about the evidence that has been found for it and some who are against this idea. I thought it was interesting read and hope that in a couple decades we can determine whether or not pheromones do control this!

An Alzheimer's road to citizenship

Memory is a valuable asset. This is how we begin to process our ideas, store them and recall them later on for usage. There are different types of memories, but what i want to focus on is what happens when our memories disappear.

My grandmother suffers from early onset Alzheimer Disease. She was diagnosed about a year ago and has been learning to deal with it ever since. With time the disease has progressed and is slowly having more trouble remembering many things. About a week or so ago she had an appointment to receive her US citizenship. ( For those of you that don't know, during this appointment you are required to fill several paperwork and are interviewed and based on your responses they decided whether or not you can receive your citizenship.) My grandmother has been traveling in and out of the country for almost 50 years. But she felt that the country where she bared her three children was the one country she fell in love with and was where she wanted to be for the rest of her life. Thank god she was granted this great opportunity! Well a week ago both  my aunt and my grandfather accompanied her to the meeting and according to them there were several responses that she answered wrong to. For example, they would ask her where she lived and she told them that she lived in a different city from where she lives now. Then they asked where the statue of liberty was located and she responded Washington D.C. Since the government is obviously involved, they make sure to do an extensive background check on every person applying for citizenship. Well apparently there was an incident that occurred 40 some years ago and they asked my grandmother about the incident. My grandmother argued that it never occurred and kept insisting on it. My grandfather had to let them know that because of her illness they are somethings that she doesn't remember, but confirmed that the information they had about it was correct. 

Even though there were some questions that she didnt know the answers to, they let her recieve her citizenship.

Alzheimer Disease is a form of dementia that can affect memory, behavior, and thinking.  It is an incurable disease but can be sustained by taking drugs. Recently, Chicago Tribune had an article that talked about a recent experimental drug that have decreased memory decline in two patients. 

The video above goes into more detail about how Alzhiemer Disease come about and what occurs in the brain. This is useful in understanding what exactly it is and now i can finally relate it to my grandmother. I also heard that this disease was hereditary, and im hoping to learn about it now as much as i can because if i begin to suffer from it in the future i'll make sure to find a way to prepare myself for a lifestyle that is beneficial to me!

The Overexcited Brain

We all know the our brain works wonders in just about EVERY situation. Whether its storing information so we can recall it later and try to ace our exams, or helping us cope physically, mentally and emotionally in any circumstance . It just works magnificently! I know we're all pretty busy trying to deal with what goes on in our daily lives that we tend to forget the importance of the brain.
I remember growing up and  my friends and I used to play the "which would you rather prefer" game. Would you prefer going blind or going deaf?... Would you prefer to having no arms or no legs?... Would you prefer being fat and pretty or being ugly and skinny?..
(Ofcourse as a kid, as you can tell we seemed to always have too much time on our hands :/) But at that point in our lives what we understood was that if someone had lost one their five senses or one of their appendages, for example, it was like their life was over. I mean how could you cope with not being "normal"? At least thats what we thought!
This past summer I went to my father's clinic to drop off an item that he had left home. When i arrived i noticed an elderly couple that were getting out of their car. I didnt really think much of it and gathered my things from my car and headed towards entrance of the clinic. As I was walking over there, i noticed the lady of the couple i had seen earlier, was having trouble getting out of the car. I didn't think the husband would have been much help since he could barely get out himself so i decided to help her. Once she managed to get out, the three of us headed towards the entrance. Not even 30 seconds had gone by and i noticed that the elderly lady randomly started shaking. I just remember me standing there both confused and shock not knowing what to do. I thought to myself, should I grab her? and the next thing you know she was on the ground now having convulsions. I told her husband to stay with her as I ran inside the clinic and demanded the nurses to go out and help her. I soon found that the old lady was having a seizure and suffered from a long time of epilepsy. About 20 years earlier, she had gotten in a car accident and suffered come kind of permanent brain injury. That morning she had forgotten to take the medication that would help control her seizures. I'm just glad that she had it outside of a clinic of all places!
The other day i was recalling the whole incident and just thought to myself how unfortunate is to have that condition. As a child no would have ever thought to ask "would you prefer to have a damaged brain or a missing arm"? Obviously, I'd choose the missing arm! I mean we don't ever think about how much our brain controls and how much we should protected it. Why don't we wear helmet more often, i mean think about?
Below is a video of talking about what epilepsy is and what can cause it.

I think its important for us to take the health of our brain seriously and maybe start thinking about where exactly we're taking it :P. I felt its was an important thing to share and educate others more on brain diseases. Epilepsy is a common brain disorder and even some historically important people had it. Epilepsy can occur due to many different reason, some even because of genetic abnormalities.

Teratogen- Alcohol

We all know that during pregnancy it is very important to take of yourself and your baby.  For example, if you want a healthy baby there are several things you must do like undergo prenatal care and maintain a well balanced diet. Since I've NEVER been pregnant,  I decided to research online to see what exactly one should do to maintain this healthy lifestyle. Articles from Kids Health and March of dimes have listed a variety of ways in which you can do so. But aside from the things you SHOULD do while being pregnant, there are also several things that you AVOID!!!

Teratogen, for example, is a substance or a process that interferes with normal prenatal development. It usually causes some sort of birth defect that can affect a child's life forever. One common teratogen is the effects of alcohol during pregnancy. Im sure you have heard that you shouldn't drink alcohol during pregnancy. Have you ever you wondered why?

What exactly is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and what are the affects?

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a disorder that a child develops due to alcohol drinking of the mother while being pregnant. The outcome causes growth, mental, and physical problems to the child. Basically when a mother drinks the alcohol crosses the placental barrier and which can create many damages to developmental neurons and brain structures. Usually causes many cognitive and functional disabilities.

Below is a video of the story of Iyal, a boy who suffers from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and how his family dealt with his disorder. 

This video is important so we can all understand the effects of alcohol during pregnancy and how much it can later on change the families and individual's life. 

 Attending college and being surrounded by many people who are "barely adults," I felt this is an important message to get across. Many girls get pregnant and for some reason find it okay to continue to party and drink (knowing their pregnant of course). I see it all the time! and its sad because they think that if they drink only a little bit it wont really make a huge difference. Little do they know that sometimes "the amount" is not the determining factor, but the time (term of pregnancy) of when your drinking. There are higher risks during the beginning stages of brain development. I personally feel that you just drink period! Its not worth it. A baby is an innocent human being who shouldn't suffer because of the  dumb choices we all make. And If you feel that you are one who has had issues with being able to control your drinking prior to being pregnant then maybe you should seek some kind of help. 

The Complex Brain- addiction

We all know that our brain is a very complex organ. It controls our emotions, breathing, movements, and even speech among other things.Its hard to imgaine that just one organ can have so much control on our everyday activities (most of which we don't really even think about!). Out of all of brain's function, the one that seemed most fascinating to me is how it can control our behavior and emotions. A lot of it is chemical did you know that!? For example, we have an area in our brain called the Nucleus Accumbens ( located in the frontal lobe) which produces "pleasure."

Here is a picture of its exact location:

Nucleus Accubmens indirectly increase the release dopamine, a neurotransmitter. Dopamine.....? Hmm, im sure you are wondering where you have heard that before? Dopamine is associated with sexual excitement, gambling, and even when playing video games. Its that rush of sudden pleasure, that just keeps you wanting more and more. Some people thrive on it so much that it becomes addictive. Is addiction a good a thing? What exactly causes addiction? The video below explains it more in detail and talks about how the neurotransmitter serotonin also plays a huge role. (Very interesting video BTW)

Although addiction is usually not a good thing, it is interesting to know how addiction comes to play. Just like the video says, we are all different with different genes and different personalities. Some may be more susceptible to addiction than others. No matter what though, remember its all chemical! Dopamine plays a HUGE role. If you have a sensitivity to dopamine and have a low levels of serotonin in your body system than you have a higher chance to become addictive later on in future.

How can you control this?

My advice? If you are going to take something like alcohol, then do so in an adequate proportion. And if its bad for you, then just don't take it. Becoming addicted to ANYTHING eventually leads to something bad. So take care of yourself! both mentally and physically. 

Ofcourse, there are always other factors that you can't control like genetics. Those who have a close family member who suffer from some kind of addiction usually increases your chance of being addicted to something as well. Since your chances increase, you should be extra cautious. If you find yourself being tempted, go seek some kind of help. I wonder how far do the affects of genetics go? if you didnt live in a household where you saw addiction constantly, are you still prone to it?

Multiple Sclerosis

Have you ever stopped to wonder how fortunate you are? You can go about your daily routine without having to depend on others because of a condition you have or having to worry about that a year from now it may get worse. For those of you who feel that this is true, YOU ARE BLESSED! ( and im saying this for myself as well)
I have recently come to know about a deteriorating disease called Multiple Sclerosis (MS). It is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and the spinal cord. More specifically, there is a damage to the myelin sheath of your nervous cells.

For those of you who don't understand what i'm talking about, here is a picture that might clarify it a little bit better.

Once I heard about this disease, I began to surf online and researched on how it might affect a person who is suffering from it.  I came across certain articles like "Living with multiple sclerosis means struggles and triumphs" and found out that about 400,000 americans are suffering from MS right now. 

Even celebrities like Jack Osbourne and Ann Romney, wife of the presidential candidate Mitt Romney, is or have suffered from MS. It was interesting to find out that even though this disease has not been curable there are several drug therapies that can slow down the disease..... Which means there is a way to live with it. Phew! :)

I mean think about, REALLY think about it. Most of us never even think about our daily physical movements. Whether its walking across a room or even lifting a pencil. Imagine NOT being able to even lift a pencil because somewhere along the way the signal from your brain telling your hand to grab  the pencil got lost and never went thru. Its a tough thing to think about.

What would you do if you find out that you have MS?

Adam Gottschalk has been suffering of MS for a couple of years now and has recently learned that there has been is an alternate approach to treat this disorder. He has been taking several drugs to help with it, but its not sufficient because he still cannot do alot of the things he used to do. This other approach is the vein-opening CCSVI surgery. Apparently, a surgeon from italy hypothesized that that the real cause of M.S. was something called chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI). Adam came across this idea when he was watching a you tube video of a man who suffered from MS and suddenly walking after undergoing this procedure. 

Apparently it was a huge controversial issue because not everyone agrees this is a smart approach. The article ' A controversial cure for MS' talk about it in more detail.

In my opinion, I believe that everyone is entitled to their own ideas and if you feel that you are willing to try just about anything to have a even just a small chance to get better than you should go ahead and do it. There are many people who argue that without sufficient amount of evidence you should go not go for it. But then think about it.. How else do you get evidence? by having people who are willing to undergo a procedure hoping for that same small chance. Sometimes taking a risk can get you very far!

Is animal testing in research ethical?

We all have mixed feelings of whether or not animals should be used as "guinea pigs" in order to find more information about humans. I hadn't really thought about it until recently, when this past summer I did research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA). I personally didn't get the chance to work animals, but i knew of others in my research lab who did. My lab's research focused on the female reproductive system and used mice as a model in finding more information on ovaries and cancer.  My roommate who also worked with mice had the chance to dissect their eyes to investigate more on retinal pigmentation. In addition, there are many different kinds of animals used in the research facility, like mole rats for example, which I recently found out is currently helping researchers figure out what mechanisms play part in slowing down their aging process so we can relate it and implement on humans. Cool right?

Heres a link where Dr. Stephen N. Austad talks about the different animals and why they are used to investigate how they age: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5t0KNqM0Zs

I thought this was particularly interesting because you see how important animals are to our science advancement.

Although people may ask, well what about the ethical issue? From my experience I never saw one researcher take advantage or purposely mistreat any animal. Before they begin to conduct their research on animals they must first read through the animal guidelines and i think even get some sort of training. 

Their job is to investigate and understand why things happen the way they do.  You never know, their findings might even help a person you care about in the future. Like what we read for this week, sometimes you have to sacrifice a few in order to save alot. In my opinion, I believe animal testing is ethical.