Anxiety: The Beast Within Me

Just last November, I was diagnosed with anxiety and panic disorder which explains the handful of panic attacks I've had.  According to the book (pg. 376), anxiety is caused by the increase of transmitters orexin and CCK in the amygdala or hippocampus.  Until I read this section, I never thought about looking into what was going on in my brain right before a panic attack ensued.

I found out that when the GABA neurotransmitter is decreased, Orexin, increases.  The medicineI was put on was a benzodiazepine called diazepam.  It works by binding itself to the GABA receptors and exerts the anti-aniety effects into the midbrain amygdala and hyppocampus.  However, I feared becoming addicted to the medicine, so I got off it and since I have been off of it (with approval of my doctor), I have not had any panic attacks in the past 3 months.

Everyone has anxiety and it comes from different things, such as speaking in public, driving by yourself after a car accident, crossing a bridge, etc.  The thing is, some people have higher levels of anxiety that causes panic attacks to occur, and sometimes panic attacks happen for no reason at all.  It may be a one time thing with no trigger, or it may be reoccurring due to an outside force.

Once you have a panic attack, you will wonder when you will have another one.  Wondering about it or thinking about when you will have another one may trigger one.  Sometimes you can feel it coming on, but sometimes it will hit you out of nowhere like the woman in this video, and the rest of the short clips how she keeps thinking of it and it triggers another panic attack.

Panic attacks can last up to 10 minutes, or longer.  I had one at school and the symptoms helped me leave the classroom and find a place where I could be by myself.  Most people who have panic attacks are embarrassed and wish to be left alone.  The symptoms are, chest pain that feels like a heart attack, difficulty breathing (just as bad as the chest pain), dizziness, shaking or trembling, you feel like you're about to die and I usually end up crying until I can control the chest pain and breathing.

This video explains anxiety and the stigma of anxiety well.  This man explains anxiety and the way people still do not understand panic attacks and how your own family can be cruel and belittle your disorder.  People have laughed at my disorder telling me to "just get over it."   How can you get over something that puts you in pain and makes you feel like you're going to collapse?

I encourage you all to view the last video I linked to gain a better perspective of panic disorder and how you can help.

Princess Diaries and MHC

I've read the entire Princess Diaries series twice, and if you have read any of he books, you will notice Mia's obsession with the smell of Michael's (her boyfriend) neck.  She always has to smell it in order to feel comforted and she loves it.  However, she gets a new boyfriend in the 9th book and no matter what cologne she gives him, he doesn't smell right.  

Mia isn't crazy, although some beg to differ, she is experiencing a major histocompatibility complex, MHC.  MHC is a family of genes that are responsible for mate selection through olfaction (sense of smell).  The book briefly mentions that you are more likely to select a mate that smells different from you to prevent genes that are too similar and will produce weaker offspring.  Women are more likely to choose a mate that smells differently in order to produce offspring with better immune systems and a lower risk of inbreeding.  The book also mentioned speculation that women on contraceptive pills no longer chose mates who smelled different from them since they couldn't ovulate, which makes sense.

This video explains how MHC is there to seek out and destroy all the infections that enter the body by killing pathogens, parasites, viruses or malfunctioning cells.  Remember, the more dissimilar the MHC, the better the person will smell to you, if they are not wearing cologne or perfume.

There was an experiment done on this and it involved men wearing their t-shirt for a nights when they go to bed. The shirts were then collected and given to women to smell and rate the men's sex appeal solely based by their smell.  The women ended up choosing the man that had genes that were different from their own.  Choosing a mate with different genes gives the offspring a better chance for survival.

Something interesting (and a bit gross) that I learned while doing research on this was that there's a trend going around known as pheromone parties.  For this "party" you bring a sweaty shirt in a plastic bag, number it, pass it around to guests to smell, and whoever chooses your shirt as the best smelling one, is your MHC match.

Next time you pass by someone who smells good, will you wonder, "Is that my mate?"

Ginkgo Biloba: Helpful or Harmful?

My mother loves herbs and natural supplements.  My grandmother was sort of like a shaman and had cures for just about any illness, excluding cancer and similar illnesses, of course.  My family always had a preference for natural and herb supplements, only going to the doctor when necessary.  Although my family hasn't used Ginkgo Biloba, it is still one of the best selling herb supplements in the U.S. and Europe.

I found this video that goes over what we read in the book and includes more information.  While ginkgo Biloba doesn't help patients with Alzheimer's or dementia, the increase of blood flow helps with memory and cognitive functions with people who use it regularly.

Ginkgo is said to help with allergies, depression, ADHD, and asthma, as well as help reduce cancer risks due to the flavonoids that it contains.  It is said to have anti-aging properties and it is helpful to only a few patients of Alzheimer's disease and dementia.  Ginkgo isn't only for memory, it is also good for improving circulation in diabetics, males with erectile dysfunction, and those with Burger's disease.

Ginkgo Biloba causes side affects such as, headaches, nausea, dizziness or an allergic skin reaction.  Ginkgo may interfere with the effectiveness of other drugs as well.

This video shares information on how his herb supplement  is dangerous and Dr. Meschino goes over the dangers of Ginkgo Biloba, such as internal bleeding, the danger of mixing with ibuprofen and aspirin,

After a six year study on 3,000 people over the age of 75, it was proven that Ginkgo had no benefits.  However, others will claim otherwise.


Here's a cute video on Ginkgo Biloba fables in the Asian countries.

Are you Left-Brained, or Right-Brained?

Ever since I was a little girl, I would either see or take quizzes online or in school.  Before writing this blog, I took another quiz to see what side of my brain I used more.  Apparently, I use both hemispheres equally.

 I have never really understood how or why the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and vice versa.  Each hemisphere controls certain functions in its side; the left hemisphere, is responsible for speech and language, while the right hemisphere is responsible for reading emotions, detecting tones and such.

People who take the quiz and have results of the left hemisphere being more dominant are considered more verbal, happier, outgoing, good at languages and more fun loving.  "Left brained people have  greater activity in the frontal cortex," (pg. 361).

Right brained people are outspoken, artistic, impulsive, disorganized, daydreamers, socially withdrawn and more likely to experience unpleasant emotions. (361).  With the right side of the brain functioning, it is easier to detect the emotions of oneself and others as well as detecting tone of voice and sarcasm.

However, it is considered a myth in this video of how we are either dominant with one side of the brain instead of being able to do normal functions without being dominant in either left or right hemisphere.  Our brain is abe to function using the parts of the brain that correspond with the task at hand.  Anthony, also states that, "People who are good in math have better communication between both hemisphere, not an overly dominant left side."

Of course, this relates to your personality and a hypothesis of Jeffrey Gay on his Behavioral Activation System (BAS) for the left hemisphere, "which characterizes happiness or anger."  Perhaps that is why left brained people are happier and more outgoing.  For the right hemisphere, Gray had the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS), and perhaps that is why right brained people are more attentive and experience more emotions of fear and disgust.

Which one are you? Left or right brained? Click here!

Prenatal Brain Development: From Conception to Birth

I absolutely love babies and I've always been fascinated with fetuses, ever since I saw pictures in my health book in high school.  I thought the fetuses were cute and how they developed was pretty amazing.  When I read the the text, I noticed that the book didn't go into much detail other than Figure 5.1 and 5.2, which shows how the CNS is developed and the brain at the 4 stages.

In the first trimester of a pregnancy, the neural tube forms from the neural plate, which folds over onto itself.  At four weeks, the neural tube will become the forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain and spinal cord of the fetus.  "By week 7, the first neurons and synapses have formed and allow the fetus to make its first movements and allow the brain to develop sensory input," UCI.  Week 8 is the last of the embryonic stage and by this point, the hindbrain has began to regulate the fetus' breathing and heartbeat.  It is crucial that no alcohol, drugs, or smoking be done during this period of the embryonic stage (conception to 8 weeks), since the fetus is growing rapidly.

In weeks 9 and 10 (fetal stage), the nervous system is functioning and the brain is forming 250,000 neurons per minute!  From weeks 9 to 12, the fetus has reflexes, the baby moves without the mother feeling it, the sex organs develop, and the spinal cord has nerves that allow movement.  Myelination also occurs, as well as the presence of gyri and sulci on the brain in the second trimester.

I chose this video because it goes more into detail on what occurs during the prenatal development of the brain.  It states that, "Between week 8 and 26, the cerebral cortex grows to cover the midbrain.  By week 28, the cortex increases in surface area, becomes wrinkled, and folds in the skull."

From weeks 19-26, the fetus has developed motor neurons and the mother will be able to feel the fetus kicking and moving around, cute, right?  By this time, the nervous system is joining together, the auditory and visual systems are heightened, and if a light is shined on the mother's belly, the fetus will try to shield their eyes.  That's adorable!

The rest of the trimester, the baby continues to develop at a slower rate and can distinguish certain sounds, songs, and recognize the mother's voice.  All of this takes place in about 40 weeks and a newborn's brain is only a quarter size of an adult's!

Alcoholism: Genetic Or Environmental?

There's nothing more that I love than being able to incorporate my minor (Addiction Studies) with my major, (Psychology).  Personally, I have never experienced living with an alcoholic and drinking is such a normal activity at family gatherings.  Due to the fact that we aren't around anyone who deals with alcoholism, everyone has a drink at parties.  Drinking is seen as a normal activity and some people are more prone to becoming alcoholics, whether they are Type 1 or Type 2.  Every time my brother has a beer, my mom says, "no te hagas un alcohólico!"

Before we can discuss alcoholism being genetic or environmental, we need to understand what alcoholism is.  According to our textbook, alcoholism or alcohol dependence, is the habitual use of alcohol despite medical or social harm, (pg. 77).

This video, explains how alcohol affects the neurons and how it blocks the glutamate, the excitation neurons.  The inhibitory neurons are called GABA and both of these neurons balance each other out, until alcohol is consumed.  Once it is consumed, the glutamate neurons are suppressed while GABA neurons are increased.  The increase of GABA and decrease of glutamate, cause a decrease in brain activity.  The glutamate decrease causes neurons to process information slowly and only the largest signals are able to be processed.  With the increase of GABA, you can think with more clarity, but less often.

There have been studies conducted on twins and adopted children* to determine if alcoholism was either genetic or environmental.  With the twin studies (second link), it was determined that if one twin was an alcoholic, the identical twin had a 76% chance of being one, while the fraternal twin had a 26% chance of being an alcoholic.  Both of these videos have information on the twin studies and on environmental factors of alcoholism, which is why I chose them.

Environment also plays a role in alcoholism.  People drink to deal with abuse, depression, stress and conflict with family, or when they socialize, etc.  Not only that, but children who grow up in families where drinking is seen as "normal" are more likely to become alcoholics.

So, is it genetics or the environment that is the cause of Alcoholism?  Alcoholism is 50% genetic and 50% environmental!

*Graphic images shown after 5:18.

For more information on how alcohol affects your body, and each part of your brain, click here!

What Is Multiple Sclerosis?

As we continue on with this course we come across new information and information we have heard of before, but haven't learned much about.  That was the case when I read about Multiple Sclerosis or MS, as it is commonly abbreviated.  People hear MS and automatically think of paralysis and wheelchairs, however that is not the case for most people who are diagnosed with MS.

So let's begin, what is MS?  MS is a disease that attacks the Central Nervous System (CNS), which includes the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves.  The immune system attacks the myelin sheaths that cover the axons and they damage the nerves inside.  The immune cells enter the brain and purposely attack the myelin, which in turn causes the nerve signals to be interrupted and causes sclerosis, which is scar tissue that has formed.  The attack of the immune cells on the brain, spinal cord or optic nerves, causes inflammation.  In this video, a simpler explanation of MS can be watched.  

An MRI can be done in order to see if there are any lesions in the brain that may be causing the MS.  In Courtney's story, two lesions were found in her brain that had abnormal tissue that were the cause of Courtney's MS symptoms.  When the nerve signals aren't able to move to the next axon, they cause symptoms that may or not be temporary.  The symptoms are: numbness, tingling, paralysis, muscle spasms, loss of balance, blindness and other problems.  Since the myelin sheaths can be destroyed in the brain, spinal cord or optic nerves, there are different symptoms that each person with MS experiences.    

What causes this autoimmune disease?  Doctors aren't sure, but they speculate that it may be genetic, environmental, due to infection, viruses or even the consumption of too much salt.

Like I said before, paralysis does not occur for every person who has MS.  Most of the people who suffer from MS, have Relapsing-Remmitting MS.  This type of MS, is the least aggressive and is pretty manageable with exercise, a healthy diet and plenty of rest.  Remission occurs shortly after the attacks and the person with MS can function normally, for the most part.  However, all types of MS (there are 4) can worsen as time goes by, and can lead to paralysis, blindness and the other symptoms stated above, according to where the myelin sheaths have been attacked.  

Unfortunately, there is no known cure for Multiple Sclerosis since there isn't a way to repair the myelin sheaths that have been disrupted by the immune system cells.  Diet, exercise, plenty of rest and medication can be used to control the inflammation caused by the immune cells.  For more information on MS symptoms, causes, types and treatments, click here!