Body Image Of The Brain Summary

A fresh human brain does not resemble the stereotypical fixated human brain typically seen in textbooks or diagrams. Instead, a fresh human brain is rich in vasculature, extending across the entire surface of the brain. The brain, in a sense, is greedy, requiring twenty percent of the oxygen coming from the lungs and twenty percent of the blood pumped by the heart. Recently, the brain’s greediness has led to advances in medical brain imaging technology. The PET scan maps the amount blood flow through specific areas of the brain, allowing researchers to localize particular functions to precise areas of the brain. In the TED talk, Dr. Allen explains the function of the cerebellum, temporal cortex, and frontal lobe – areas of the brain whose functions were determined using PET scan.

I started my education in Erie, Pennslyviana.I attend McDowell High. I would say that we were one of the richer schools were I live. I am going to talk about my first assignment Brainology. I thought it was very interesting and it thought me a lot about how some people have different mindsets.

In the article titled, “Secrets of the Brain” published in the February 2014 issue of National Geographic, we learn that there have been many advances in understanding the inner workings of our brains. One of the leading scentists, Van Weeden, is working hard to understand the connections that occur within our heads.

Describe the anatomy of the neuron and the ways that neurons communicate with each other.

Over the years scientists have noted many complaints of a strange form of pain called phantom limb pain. This pain is strange because it is located in an appendage that no longer exists. By many of the amputees the pain is described as totally unbearable. Phantom limb pain has even driven some victims crazy. For the amputee population this is a very real problem that definitely needs to be solved.

A phantom limb can actually be very painful and debilitating to a person and hinder their daily life. Severe pain can also cause the patient to reject the use of a prosthetic limb in place of the amputated one. Sadly most people do not find relief in many of the pain therapy options offered. Often if there was any pain right

The phantom limb pain the woman is experiencing is described as a painful condition of the amputated limb after the stump has completely healed. It is a chronic pain that occurs in more than 80% of amputees especially those who suffered pain in the limb before the amputation. Theories suggest that phantom limb pain results from redevelopment or hyperactivity of cut peripheral nerves, scar tissue or neuroma formation in the cut peripheral nerves, spinal cord deafferentation, and alterations in the thalamus and cortex. More so, the CNS integration, which involves reorganization and plastic modifications of the somatosensory cortex, effects the receptors in perceiving the pain of the amputated limb despite of the limb itself being absent. In addition,

Over time, doctors have seen countless patients that have complained of a strange form of pain sensation called phantom limb pain. The pain that patients are describing is occurring in appendages that are no longer part of their bodies. Many of these amputees have described this pain as utterly unbearable. For the amputee population, this is a very real problem that needs to be solved. Pain that is occurring in phantom limbs is very common in amputees. Mostly all amputees experience the sensation of phantom limb pain. Two-thirds of patients experience phantom limb pain, even 25 years after the loss of the limb. (Woodhouse) The vivid experience of a phantom limb often includes non-painful phantom sensations as which frequently reported in patients with phantom pain (Woodhouse).

While persuasive, the aforementioned experimental conclusions are well critiqued by Ronald Melzack who argues against looking to the somatosensory cortex or thalamus as the only cause of phantom pain in his April 1992 Scientific American article. He states: Such changes in the somatosensory thalamus or cortex could explain why certain feelings arise in limbs that no longer exist or can no longer

The earliest hypothesis regarding the cause of phantom limbs and pain was that of neuromas. These were thought to be nodules comprised of remaining nerves located at the end of the stump. These neuromas presumably continued to generate impulses that traveled up the spinal cord to portions of the thalamus and somatosensory domains of the cortex. As a result, treatment involved cutting the nerves just above the neuroma in an attempt to interrupt signaling at each somatosensory level (5). This and other related theories were deemed unsatisfactory because of the fact the phantom pain always returned, indicating that there was a more complex reason.

Sacks discussed the ideas behind the phantom limb and how they affected many peoples live. The most interesting story was about a sailor that accidentally cut off his index finger. For forty years he thought he would poke himself in the eye whenever he moved his hand to his face. One day he lost the feeling in his entire hand including his phantom finger and his problem was cured (Sacks 66-67). Up to 70 percent of amputees confirmed that they still feel or still thought a missing limb was there. They often feel that they can reach out and grab something. Some won't sleep in a certain way because they feel the missing limb between them and the mattress. The sensations felt stem from the activity of the sensory axons

An extensive matrix of neurons in the brain gives us the sense of our own bodies and body parts. Pain results when this matrix produces an abnormal pattern of activity, as a result of memories, emotions, expectations or signals from various brain centres and not just from signals from peripheral nerves. Because of the lack of sensory stimulation or a person’s efforts to move a nonexistent limb, abnormal patterns may arise, resulting in phantom pain.

With the advancement in technology, neuroimaging has led to the discovery of male brains containing a greater amount of white matter, while female brains contain more gray matter (Gur et al., 1999). Sun et al. (2015) collected imaging data to track the progress of brain network topology over a five-year period and compared the results between gender differences. Participants in the study included 43 males ranging from ages 22-53, and 28 females from ages 21-59. Only those having no brain disorders, mental illnesses, substance abuse, or first-degree family members with mental illnesses were included in the research. Twenty-eight subjects completed the study and received scans over 5 years. The results supported findings from previous

Phantom limb pain is a painful sensation experienced in a body part which is no longer part of the body, often due to amputation.(3) Individuals also reported that tingling as well as various types of pain have occurred, and these sensations may eventually disappear or may persist as cramping, shooting, burning or crushing

You live and you learn, from the moment that we breathe our first breath, we are assimilating and are acquiring information. Life changing and profound learning experiences happen before we can even speak, as children our learning process is grandiose. Harvard University published a series of summaries on Child development. One of these articles mentions that “The basic architecture of the brain is constructed through an ongoing process that begins before birth and continues into adulthood.” ("InBrief: The Science of Early Childhood Development," n.d.).