Cobbers on the Brain – Page 144 – Student Commentary on the Neurological Sciences

The Parkinson's Journey

Posted on December 17, 2015 by / 0 Comment

Growing up, my grandparents always played an important role in my life, and fortunately, still do. My grandpa was diagnosed with Parkinson’s when I had just started high school. Visiting, I noticed tremors I have never seen in a person before. It wasn’t terribly onset at the time, and still is quite manageable for him, and my grandma. At the time I had no idea what Parkinson’s actually was, whether this ‘thing’ was going to threaten his life, or how much longer I actually had with him. Now, I am a little more informed of what is going on in his body, and am thankful for what this class has taught me. Here is why:
Although Parkinson disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting both motor and nonmotor functioning, I most likely will not lose him to the disorder. I am very fortunate, because I know others may not be so lucky… I’m thankful his PD is not as debilitating as others may experience.
The onset of PD increases with risk factors such as aging, bad genes, and some environmental factors. The unfortunate reality we face with PD is that we do not know much about it or how these risk factors interlink to play a role in the pathogenic process. What I looked extensively into for my neurochemistry class was the way PD can spread throughout the body. I don’t get to see my grandpa often, but when I do it seems as if his tremors have conquered another unfortunate moiety of his body. Because of this, I wanted to look into how it was ‘spreading’.
For background knowledge, PD is characterized by the presence of Lewy bodies, the pathogenesis of which remains unknown. There has, however, been the discovery of misfolded alpha-synuclein (asyn) being a major component of radiating filaments and Lewy neurites. This has initiated the investigation of whether or not PD should be characterized as a synucleinopathy.
As of now, researchers have looked at what is called the “seeding mechanism”. What is meant by that? Well it’s very recent research, but what they are seeing is that this misfolded asyn is somehow being transferred from cell-to-cell and poses as a “seed” for more of these asyn’s to accumulate to form Lewy bodies. These asyn particles can then propagate continuous cycles of aggregation in recipient cells.
Although not much is known about the nature of Parkinson’s, it remains to affect many, increasing in rate with age. Although my grandpa may not be entirely disabled from this disease, there are others who are. For their sake and for our own futures, we should seek to increase our knowledge of PD as we seek to increase our life-expectancy.

Health

Science-ing Cannabis

Posted on December 17, 2015 by / 0 Comment

Arguments pass back-and-forth over the use of cannabis and it becomes more and more hotly contested in politics today. I am not here to take a side on whether marijuana should be used for recreation uses, but I do think they have benefit when used medicinally, and there are scholarly perspectives to back that up.
When analyzing Cannabis sativa, the most common plant form, it is found to contain at least 400 chemical components, not all of which lead to the desired outcome of a ‘high’. In fact, as many of you may know, THC can be isolated and thus concentrated. New derivatives of THC are synthesized regularly, leading to similar, but slightly altered effects. A great percentage of the derived pharmacological compounds are created for the purpose of helping patients, but are hotly contested for their psychotropic effects as well as being a potential “gateway drug”. But what a lot of people don’t know, is how these act in your brain.
So…What is actually happening?
Your body has these nifty things called G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs for short) all over your cells. These proteins have the primary function of transducing extracellular stimuli into intracellular signals, which then have various effects. Turns out, cannabimimetic (cannabis-like) drugs can bind to these GPCRs, two of which have a profound significance in the brain. The first being CB1 and the second, CB2. CB1 is mainly found throughout the brain and CB2 is found with immune cells and works to modulate the immune system. Our body actually makes its own cannabinoids, termed endocannabinoids to bind to these receptors. In the act of consuming THC, you are introducing your body to endocannabinoid-like molecules, which have similar effects.
Stimulating the CB1 receptors modulates something called adenylyl cyclase, which then helps moderate how much cAMP is present, which adjusts cell activity by multiple ways, including: transferring into cells the effects of hormones like adrenaline (which cannot pass through the cell membrane), activation of protein kinases, and modulation of ion channels. Recent studies have shown that CB2 has the ability to induce apoptosis in human pancreatic tumor cells. Both CB1 and 2 have been shown to promote the apoptosis of colon cancer cells through ceramide synthesis. There are multiple other effects of endocannabinoids and endocannabinoid-like compounds in which current studies seek to answer.
As research continues to answer how the endocannabinoid system works, new drugs will be developed with the impact to have an effective therapeutic means to target benefits while also minimizing psychotropic effects. I feel that we will see an increase in cannabis-like drugs and their use in medicine. I repeat, I do not take a side on recreational use (as there are strong arguments for both sides), but I feel that in modifying this drug to do what we want, we can accomplish great things. It all starts with understanding the biochemistry behind the drug.

Community/Health/Hot topics/Uncategorized

A Different Kind of Learning: Neurochemistry at Concordia

Posted on December 17, 2015 by / 0 Comment

I am a senior at Concordia College in Moorhead, and I am just finishing up my approximately 30th college class at Concordia. I can honestly say this class was different from all of the others. It was different in the way we learned the information. Instead of one person telling everyone else what to know, we worked together to figure out the answer.
For example, we read about autism a couple of weeks ago. Instead of our professor teaching us all that she knows about autism, we read an article explaining what it is and we came to class with questions of our own that we wanted to know. For the next class day we were assigned a topic or question that someone in the class had, and we basically had to find all the information we could on that topic. We would then present the information to our classmates that next class day. By the end of that day we would make sure that everyone was on the same page as far as understanding what autism is and what the paper we read was trying to say. Our professor would help facilitate us, and she would also have a topic of her own to describe to the class. Then on the third day of that week, we would discuss with each other about what autism is and what we can do to help prevent it or alleviate its symptoms.
We repeated the procedure with several different neurological disorders, and you can read about what my classmates and I learned from our various blogs on this website. I have to say that I enjoyed this class very much. The way the class was structured lent itself to open discussion and learning about things that you actually want to learn. I think that working together to find an answer on our own actually helped to solidify what we were learning. The best part about it was that I felt like I was learning a lot without loads of busywork or memorization, as many science courses so often are.
We did have to learn some more basic information at the beginning of the course, but that was so we would understand the deeply scientific papers we would have to read later on. I think this type of class also worked very well for the material we were learning. We could learn neurochemistry by learning about various neurological disorders. This gave a very practical application for what we were learning as well. Overall, I think this is a great way to learn, and I think it should be more widely used today.

Community/Disease/Health/Uncategorized

Autism: What it is and Why it Happens

Posted on December 17, 2015 by / 0 Comment

The Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurological disorder that is often characterized by impairments in communication, inappropriate social behavior, and repetitive behaviors. Traditionally, ASD has been thought of as a genetic disorder. While it is true that genes play a role in ASD, there are also other environmental effects that can contribute to it as well.
At a very basic level, ASD can be thought of as an imbalance of excitation and inhibition in the brain. Normally there is a balance of “excitatory” neurons that send signals and “inhibitory” neurons that can stop these signals. In ASD, this balance becomes lost, and improper signalling takes place causing the symptoms that we can see. This can happen because of genes that your parents pass on to you making you more susceptible to these changes, but it can also happen because of many different environmental factors as well.
Prenatal viral infection, zinc deficiency, abnormal melatonin synthesis, maternal diabetes, prenatal and perinatal stress (stress during or around pregnancy), various toxins such as valproic acid, thalidomide, and some psychiatric drugs during pregnancy, parental age, and heavy metal poisoning postnatally have all been linked to higher rates of ASD. Interestingly, almost all of these exhibit their effect during development before the child is born. There seems to be a developmental window in the fetus that if these factors come into play they can significantly increase the risk of ASD. I also think it is important to mention that scientifically, vaccines are no longer a risk factor for autism.
These different risk factors can all play a small role as well. Any combination of these may result in some immune system abnormalities and it is these abnormalities combined with a zinc deficiency that be the major environmental causes of ASD. The zinc deficiency can compound the effects of immune abnormalities and these can then work together with the genetic factors of ASD to cause the disease. Therefore, ASD can be thought of as a rather complex disorder that may have many factors working together to develop these brain imbalances. Part of the way we can help to possibly stop this disorder from growing even more rapidly is by possibly protecting the developing baby from these factors like zinc deficiency and toxins. Genetic testing could also help determine if birth or adoption might be the best choice for you.

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Finding yourself: A Neurochemistry Capstone Experience

Posted on December 17, 2015 by / 0 Comment

Upon registering for this class, I had a hard time grasping I had just registered for Neurochemistry. At the end of spring semester 2015, I attended a meeting for the class. In the meeting, I was extremely intimidated. I was surrounded by some of the most intelligent students of the senior class, many of which were pursuing degrees in either chemistry, biology, or both, as it appeared a large portion of them were interested in medical school after their time at Concordia. When I introduced myself, I came to the harsh reality I was the only Psychology student.

I heavily debated dropping…

However, in talking with my parents, friends and extended family, I received the same message across all groups. Don’t sell yourself short. Just because they happen to be a biology or chemistry student does not mean that you are not just as capable as they are. I took their message to heart and continued to forge ahead in my plans to stay enrolled.

Looking back now and reflecting upon my experience, I could not be more thankful for their advice.

Even after the first couple weeks, with content containing a great deal of biology, chemistry and biochemistry, I was glad I stuck to it. Dr. Mach sent me a final blog post from a student last year, who had happened to be in a very similar position I had found myself. Her words were so encouraging. They were honest, and were exactly the feedback I needed to hear.

This class challenged me, in more ways than simply the challenging content. Even though Dr. Mock stated this at the meeting, and mentioned how she does so every time before the start of the next semester, her message rang true: We are all on the same playing field, including herself. As I became more comfortable with the students enrolled, I was able to offer my “area of expertise” so to say, with my Neuroscience and Psychology background. Neurochemistry was truly an interdisciplinary class. There were aspects of each paper and overall concepts in which all of us struggled with. In the end, it was more beneficial to have representatives from each discipline, for we were then more confidently able to attack those aspects and overall concepts.

Without the restraint of class assignments, this class allowed for my mind to wonder where it wanted. My love for learning grew immensely, for the research that I was assigned each week was often related to a topic I wanted to learn more about anyway. Metaphorically, what better way to instill a love of learning than to treat your students as a sponge, providing the water basin and encouragement for them to simply “jump in.” Dr. Mach provided me with that encouragement, and I chose to jump in full on after having read that final blog post from a student in my similar situation.

My intimidation of the other students slowly turned into friendships, support systems, and ways to overcome interactions with individuals who just downright intimidate me. With our Wednesdays and Fridays consisting of pure conversation, I was forced to immerse myself in the comforts of being uncomfortable. Slowly but surely I began to open up. I began to realize that it is okay to not know everything. Those who I had believed knew everything, didn’t really know everything. I began to see the benefit of being open and honest, with not only myself, but with my peers. For when we all began to realize that being open and honest with each other was indeed beneficial, were we able to feel accomplished by the end of each week.

I know these are skills and memories I will take with me well beyond my time at Concordia. Take the time to get to know others. Delve into content you want to learn more about, even if it makes you uncomfortable. Simultaneously, be open to sharing and expressing what you have learned.

It may be amazing what you will find.

Health

Neurochemistry: reflections on a semester

Posted on December 16, 2015 by Joseph Kennedy / 0 Comment

While this year has been anything what I expected. I cannot say anything other than neurochemistry was an incredibly useful course to take that furthered my understanding of chemistry. At the beginning of the semester, I was somewhat hesitant to take the class simply due to my lack of a strong biology background. This feeling existed especially because I had to take the class in order to graduate with my degree. Despite my initial hesitation about the class, I was able to pick up enough of the biology and biochemistry to fill in the gaps in my knowledge. With my background as an inorganic/non-biological chemist learning how the neurons and the pathways worked was never easy. However, slowly, over the course of the semester I began to feel more comfortable with the cascades and the pathways.
By the end of the semester I, like much of the class, had found my niche: bio-inorganic chemistry. I was able to focus on how metals worked in the brain and how these metals were related to the various diseases. I had previously been aware of how metals had worked in the body, at least in a general sense. Too much metal means something bad happens, too little metal means something bad happens, and just the right amount meant that something not bad happens. With the diseases we looked at, I came to see that metal plays a much bigger role than I had realized. Zinc, something that had only been discussed as having some interesting chemical properties due to its full valence shell, is arguably the most important metal in the body other than maybe iron. Zinc is found in almost every enzyme that humans, and many mammals, need to survive even a short time. While iron is used to transport oxygen to various tissues to allow the Krebs cycle and generally help with the oxidation process.
Ultimately, I’m very glad that I took this class because I now feel confident on biochemistry, something I had been somewhat shaky on, and am significantly more confident on how metals react and work with nonmetals. Metals are a truly interesting topic for me, and seeing how metals play out across so many different systems was quite interesting and something I am very thankful for. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll find myself doing bio-inorganic chemistry and I’ll look back at this page in order to better understand some of the reactions I had previously looked out. Until then, happy holidays, and have a fantastic new year!

Health

Bulimia Nervosa: Not Just a Psychological Disorder

Posted on December 16, 2015 by / 0 Comment

According to the American Psychiatric Association, Bulimia Nervosa is characterized by “repeating episodes of of binge eating and compensatory behaviors, such as excessive
exercise, self-induced vomiting, diuretic or laxative abuse.” It, along with other eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa, is most notably a psychological disorder, and thus is typically treated through therapy.
What is to blame?
Most easily, we are able to cast blame on society and media. The use of photo-shop and alterations of the such lead to unattainable expectations for today’s youth (pre-teens, adolescents, early 20’s), while also having reports of eating disorders in older populations. Women AND men (affects both sexes) with the disease may never see themselves as having the “perfect” body, which adds to the psychological downfall leading into these dominating disorders. However, there is a certain pathophysiology revolving around Bulimia Nervosa, into which we studied.
The binge–purge cycle is introduced by first, overeating; which is perceived as ‘out of control.’ Purging acts to relieve or mitigate the distress of this state of being ‘out of control’ and provides an euphoric sense of increased control over food intake or weight. If this uncontrollable food consumption is so, well… uncontrollable.. why do it in the first place? As many people know eating releases endorphins and a lot of ‘feel good’ hormones, encouraging the person to seek out those foods he or she may like. In Bulimia, the act of overeating and compensatory behavior temporarily reduces the anxiety of feeling out of control. Thus this ‘out of control’ — ‘back in control’ cycle is reinforced through eating, and the process continues. The process of initiating binging and purging may be more than just through the media wanting us to look good, but may be because of our own susceptibility to external stressors and compulsive habits.
Compulsive traits of an individual have been found to be linked to serotonin dysfunction, notably through genetic polymorphisms within the serotonin system. With that being said, obsessive compulsive disorders share a common dysregulation in serotonin function, sharing some similar behaviors with bulimia. Thus, the serotonin system appears to be a unifying neurobiological system in which we need to understand more about its role in eating disorders such as bulimia.
One possible pathophysiology is of interest, and that is the vago-vagal reflex. This reflex is serotonergic in nature, and if serotonin dysfunction is present, this reflex may not function properly. This reflex is responsible for the ability to store food in your stomach. When food is consumed, the stomach muscles relax in order to provide more room, and reduce the pressure inside the lumen. When this reflex is dysfunctional, the food can still reach the stomach, but the walls are not relaxed, resulting in an increase of pressure. After many episodes of binging and purging, serotonin levels may become more and more irregular, thus reinforcing an improper reflex, resulting in pressure build-up, and then decreased ability to keep food down, resulting in a positive-feedback loop.
The dysfunction of the vago-vagal reflex is one of many physiological manifestations of bulimia. It’s a cycle of reinforcing the purging, thus leading back to seeking the necessity to over-eat. Although there are noted psychological anomalies associated with bulimia, we must first recognize that this disorder has to also be physiologically treated, and thus, the disease becomes even harder to cure than initially thought.

Uncategorized

The Role of Serotonin and Estrogens in Development of Bulimia nervosa

Posted on December 15, 2015 by / 0 Comment

Bulimia nervosa (BN):a disorder characterized by repetitive episodes of binge eating (consuming large amount of food at once and feeling unable to control) and purge behaviors (compensatory behaviors such as excessive exercise, self-induced vomiting, and ect.). https://moodle.cord.edu/pluginfile.php/495205/mod_resource/content/0/bulimia%20and%20serotonin.pdf
https://moodle.cord.edu/pluginfile.php/495206/mod_resource/content/0/wonderlich%202015%20review%20risk%20and%20maintenance%20model.pdf
Causes of BN:

serotonin dysregulation
disturbances in estrogen system

Low serotonin caused behavioral disturbances such as alcohol use disorder, binge eating, drug use and other risky behaviors. Estrogen is needed for prenatal brain development. After birth, serotonergic and estrogenic systems lead to overeating and fat deposits. As puberty emerges, the level of estrogen rises. Societal perceptions of “thin body” causes dissatisfaction of weight and height of individuals especially women. Changes in serotonin and estrogen systems at this period of life cause mood dysregulation as well.
An overvaluation of shape and weight influences self-evaluation; this leads to negative feelings, anxiety, anger, and depression. As a consequence, emotional eating occurs. This is binge eating and followed by purge behaviors, which either reduces the negative feelings at the end or distract and decrease self-awareness of the individual while conducting the behavior.
Culture of eating and development of BN:
As we discussed in our group, people tend to eat more than what they actually need. This can be due to the fact that there is too much food available. We tend to eat even if we are not hungry. The quality of food is not always the best. We mostly consume high fat and carbohydrate foods. It was mentioned in our group discussion that BN is not as common in developing countries. The main reason for that is not having access to food more than people actually can survive on.

What can parents do to help children?

One of the interesting questions we discussed was the role of parents in personality development of children. It is very critical and challenging for parents because of the huge role of media and social perceptions on the behavior of children. But, it is essential for parents to ensure to value their children and not criticizing them for how they look like. It is responsibility of parents to encourage a critical thinking habit in their kids. That is the secret of having them survive the poisonous thoughts and stimulations outside of home and even on the media.
Important lesson I learned by taking this course:
During the semester, we have gone over several diseases. Some of them are not well known to people. There is a significant need of raising awareness about diseases and causes of them. The education for the public can be in terms of slight changes they can make in their life styles. Diet and exercise are the main issues need to be changed. It is education and raising awareness that can help people with their decisions. Since we have access to lots of food, it is our responsibility to respect our bodies and our minds. We need to feed them and take care of them properly.

Disease/Health/Hot topics

A Vicious Cycle of Unattainable Ideals

Posted on December 15, 2015 by / 0 Comment

How do you empathize with an individual who seems to purposefully be doing harm to their body, as appears to be the case in eating disorders? Well first of all, people need to realize that eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN), are disorders that are attributable to an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain, not just selfish acts of wanting to be thing. For many, this imbalance leads to a type of body dysmorphia disorder, as is showcased on the featured photo of this blog post. This harsh reality for those who suffer from AN or BN is a mystery many researchers continue to pursue everyday in order to one day fully understand the complexity behind these disorders.

How do you encourage someone to change their eating style and life habits if what they see in the mirror is not reality?

Educate. Educate. Educate.

It all starts with education, and debunking the stigma and negative assumptions often associated with those who are so unfortunate to go through an eating disorder.

The reality of eating disorders is they are in fact mental disorders. And if it takes decades longer to understand that mental disorders do exist, even though they cannot be “physically” seen, fine. We have made strides, but in the meantime, these conversations must happen and frequently, for they are what will bring about a changed societal mindset.

So let’s get started!

Focusing specifically on BN, serotonin, a main inhibitory neurotransmitter, has been discovered to be attributable to the disruption within the brains of those with BN. Serotonin plays a role in the activation of emotions, sex, eating and sleep within the basal forebrain, frontal cortex, limbic cortex and hypothalamus (as can be seen in the picture below).

However, in BN patients, there appears to be less serotonin. There also appears to be less serotonin transporters, which can lead to too much or too little brain arousal. Research has discovered that the transporters and receptors of serotonin appear to not be functioning properly. This is often seen at the behavioral level, as symptoms of BN can often be associated with anxiety and mood disturbances.

The binge-purge cycle characterized in BN has been thought to be either positively reinforcing for the individual or negatively reinforcing, dependent on the individual’s personality. If their personality is more anxious and/or obsessive, overeating (binging) gives them a sense of comfort, but then their realization of their binge episode causes anxiety again, forcing them to compensate for their binging by purging.

It is almost as though these behaviors start out as impulsive, but then BECOME impulsive…

But why is it then that eating disorders, such as bulimia nervosa, are three times more likely to affect women than men? There are many factors that probably attribute to this known fact, but let’s focus on two.

Estrogens

and

Societal Expectations

Estrogens
Estrogen is involved in the neuronal systems related to feeding, as well as impulsivity and compulsivity, a reason why many researchers are assuming its involvement with eating disorders is so prevalent in women. Estrogen has shown to interact with serotonin, influencing serotonergic neuronal firing. This may relate to BN, as there appears to be an increased serotonin system activation, which may lead to heightened anxiety and fear conditions in individuals with BN.

But even with all of this information, I think there is still one LARGE piece of the puzzle we have not discussed yet…

Societal Expectations
The standards that society has set for women are quite literally unattainable. Many advertisement companies, such as Dove, are now promoting beauty for all women, showing how our perceptions in the media are simply computer generated. As can be seen below, the woman they have model doesn’t even look like the final product…

But what is to be done about this? I think Dove has the right idea…

Continue To Educate!

Our society must be educated on the realities of eating disorders, both at the physiological level, as well as the national social media level. Doing so will decrease the likelihood of a “perfect storm” to occur, where those who are more susceptible to an eating disorder won’t feel the societal pressure to change. By doing so, these unattainable ideals society holds for all people, not just women, will become a thing of the past.

Community

Neurochemistry Capstone Overview

Posted on December 15, 2015 by / 0 Comment

That’s me at a neuroscience conference reporting on a year + of undergraduate research under Dr. Askvig at Concordia College. My fiance, Mitchell, is next to me. My college experience was a lot of long nights studying and doing homework, conducting research, and a couple of fun moments spending time with my peers and Mitchell.
But wow, how do you summarize your whole college experience in one post? Trying to pick a picture to summarize it made me want to make a never ending collage encompassing almost 4 years of my time. (Don’t worry, I didn’t actually do it- I realize it would only be my nostalgia clogging up the post then…)
I graduate college in less than a week and it honestly hasn’t hit me yet. That was a lot of work packed into less than 4 years.
I’ve spent my whole life that I can remember in school – and even though I am not done with my degrees yet, this will mark the end of another chapter. I can’t believe I won’t be living in Moorhead anymore either!
I can’t help but look around at all of the faces of my classmates and realize that I may never see them again after spending so much time staying up all night studying with them or seeing them in class every day.
That’s a weird feeling.
When I look back at all of my classes in my college career, (although I had a lot of issues trying to post blogs on here) my neurochemistry capstone course makes my top 5 list for classes I will be able to use outside of college.
This class took all of my science courses in biology, chemistry, and neuroscience and made me think critically about each field together. It was also a welcome break from the lecture, lab, and exam format we are so used to.
We read scientific papers and had to engage our classmates from different fields of study on how to critically analyze each article. We started by telling each other what we didn’t understand, then we each tackled one of those topics to report to the class the next day, and finally we learned how to talk about these subjects in a way that is useful for the public.
Before this class, I’d never learned how to explain scientific papers to people outside of the scientific community. I’d tried to explain some things of course, but it didn’t always come out as well as I had planned.
Now I can say that I know how to relate these topics to more people, so when I am not in an academic environment all of the time (in less than a week!), I’ll be able to speak about these things in a much better manner.
Overall, this class helped me to make connections between all of the fields of study I have been researching in the last years. It blew my mind to see how one pathway can actually relate to almost all of the neurodegenerative diseases we have seen.
The class has shown me how many things I do not understand and given me a hunger for more.

Thanks for reading my posts (if anyone actually has). 😉