Personal Narrative: My Interest In The Brain

Neurology is one of the most unexplored fields in medicine; however, more recently there has been a spike in the amount of research being done in this specialty. This is because people are becoming more interested in neuroscience, including myself. I attended a pre-medical vocational high school, which exposed me to a greater amount of knowledge pertaining to the basics of anatomy and physiology, along with hands-on opportunities in a medical setting. It was here where I realized that I wanted to pursue a career in medicine; however, due to the fact medical field is very broad, I had no set specialty. This changed when I was exposed to the cruel manifestations of Parkinson’s Disease. During, sophomore year of high school, my grandfather passed away due to complications of Parkinson’s Disease. The way that a neurodegenerative disease was able to overtake a person in the manner that it did was shocking, and while it brought me great grief initially, it later intrigued me. I took up an interest in neuroscience and began to do my own research which culminated in various projects and applications throughout the remainder of my time in high school. These experiences have culminated in my decision to work toward a Cell Biology and

I read the article, “Secrets of the Brain”, found in the February 2014 issue of National Geographic written by Carl Zimmer. I chose this subject because I have been fascinated with the brain and how it works. The research of the brain has been ongoing for many centuries now. The history in this article is interesting. It explained how scientists used to understand the brain and its inner workings. For example, “in the ancient world physicians believed that the brain was made of phlegm. Aristotle looked on it as a refrigerator, cooling of the fiery heart. From his time through the Renaissance, anatomists declared with great authority that our perceptions, emotions, reasoning, and actions were all the result of “animal spirits”—mysterious, unknowable vapors that swirled through cavities in our head and traveled through our bodies.” (Zimmer, p. 38)

Our brain is susceptible to many diseases that disrupt normal function, like the disease known as Grand Mal Seizures. Normally, electrical charges are produced by ions in the brain(sodium, potassium, or calcium) and they are released on a regular basis. When released, nerve cells are able to effectively communicate with each other. When a seizure occurs it's due to this process being disturbed. The Ions are damaged cause chemical imbalances which leads to misfired nerve signals. Grand Mal seizures are characterized by three stages. These stages include the Pre-Ictal stage, the Ictal stage(where the seizure occurs), and the Postictal stage. In the first stage, a patient is likely to see a hallucination or some sort of warning sign before the

The documentary’s description of neuroplasticity of seizure patients represents the unknowing and negligent work ethic of modern day scientists and researchers alike. This is confirmed by the lack of treatment of these afflicted individuals who suffer a never ending siege daily with themselves, almost always certain that their pain will end but it is always to no avail.

Dr. Lon White from the Pacific Health Research Institute and Kuakini Medical System in Honolulu, Hawaii, notes the importance of studying the brain. "We are shockingly ignorant of what's really going on in the brain. There's a lot more pathology than we

There have been many silent killers that have concerned mankind since the dawn of time. It is underestimated and underdiagnosed but it is the most frequently prevalent neurological disorders. Epilepsy and all its forms is as much of a concern today as it was thousands of years ago. Our oldest description that defines the symptoms of epileptic seizures was written two thousand years ago BC (Magiorkinis E1, 2010). Epileptic seizures are the result of excessive and abnormal nerve cell activity in the brain. This puts them at an increased risk of death due to the brains abnormal control of secondary organ systems. The risk increases as people age. Worldwide the overall percentage of epileptic diagnosis encompasses nearly three percent of the population

Ever since my volunteering experience with Halton Epilepsy and my Seizure first aid training, I have been very interested in the human brain and its wonders. It was through my training then that I became fascinated to find out that the brain is the control center of the human body.

Brain on Fire by Susannah Callahan was probably the first or maybe second non-text book that I read in the last three years in college. And even though this book to me was nothing to special. It was nonetheless enjoyable to read a book in the middle of my busy life. Which I think was probably one of the reasons why you wanted us to read it. And I am sure I’m probably not the only one that doesn’t read a lot. So in general this book gave me the realization of the need to read more which hopefully I can accomplish. In terms of the book and it’s meaning to the class and clinical neuroscience it gave me a new perspective.

Embarking on an autoplay chain on YouTube at midnight did not seem like a good idea, but my self-control disappeared after a long day of studying. Eventually, I stumbled upon a documentary about the science behind conjoined twins. Rather than focusing on the physical formation of the twins, my interest diverted to how their brains functioned as a fused organ. Consequently, in the next few days, I delved into multiple documentaries on brain anomalies. Considering how I initially aspired to explore outer space, I was rather surprised at my excitement regarding this subject.

In my exciting journey to become a physician, I hope to major in neurosciences at Creighton University. Now, I was drawn to this specific major due to a particular experience I had during an Anatomy and Physiology dissection lab. The air smelt foul, tables were crowded with scalpels, and I was wearing blue gloves with geeky large goggles. Cutting into a raw, cold sheep brain, I became fascinated by the distinct parts: the cerebellum, pituitary gland, corpus callosum, and the medulla oblongata. Being the nerd I am when it came to that class, my partner and I would aggressively battle one another over who gets to dissect the brain next. I realized that I became most aggressive during dissections in this particular unit, purely because I was so interested and captivated by the subject of neuroscience. Due to this experience, I had no hesitation in selecting neurosciences as my undergraduate

In the late 1880’s, evidence that patients who were mentally ill could be controlled through surgical manipulation of the brain first emerged. Gottlieb Burckhardt, a Swiss physician, removed parts of the brain cortex on mentally ill patients in the insane asylum he supervised. Burckhardt performed his operation on six patients with the goal of calming patients so that they were more controlled but not necessarily sane. Many of his patients more manageable after the surgery but one died several days after the surgery and some patients suffered severe seizures (Stone, 2001). In 1935, Dr. John Fulton, a respected Yale neurophysiologist, who founded the Journal of Neurophysiology and Journal of Neurosurgery, presented his findings of animal

While working on a railroad line, Phineas Gage’s skull was pierced by a metal rod from an explosion. However, instead of being killed, Phineas “was immediately able to sit up and speak, and after the wound healed he returned to work” (Myers, 2014, p. 56). This case forced scientists to rethink the parts and functions of the brain. Upon hearing this, I was amazed by the

Your evidence for DNA is the most practical and straight forward of all evidence. We all see parts of ourselves from both parents, as we see us and our parents, in our children. I look just like my mom with the exception of my dad’s complexion and hair type. My son baby pictures, look just like my mom, yet now he favors my dad more. I, myself, am completely an extrovert, with a very outgoing personality just as my mother is, whereas my father is just the opposite. My son is starting to take this trait from myself and my mom, easily seen in his never meeting a stranger, talkative, funny ways, as well as his mischievousness LOL.

I couldn’t understand why. I had so many questions. Taking it upon myself, I tried to learn what exactly the surgeons attempt to do during a temporal lobectomy. What do they do to the brain? Thinking about it throughout the next couple of weeks only made me more curious. I wanted to understand it all. I read countless Epilepsy articles, coming from common Wikipedia publications to respected Medical journals like the Annals of Neurology.

The brain is an amazing thing. It is the control tower of the human body, controlling everything from our thoughts to our actions to keeping us breathing and everything in-between. Scientists and researchers are always learning new and interesting things about the human brain. Consider these three recent Brain News studies: