When I first signed up for Neurochemistry I really had no idea what the class was going to be like. At first I assumed it was going to be somewhat similar to the other chemistry classes I have taken at Concordia, but then I heard a little more about it from a peer. The class was going to be more discussion based, where we spend time reading recent articles and discuss them with our class. I was apprehensive at first, as science is something that I feel as though I am better at simply “doing” than “discussing.” Despite this, throughout this semester I have learned that discussing science is maybe the most important aspect. What’s the point of learning anything if you can’t make sense of what it really means and share that with others?
Even if I don’t remember any of the science-y details from this semester, I can walk away knowing I learned something much more valuable. I learned the importance of preparation. I learned that you can’t be scared to voice what you don’t understand. About halfway through the semester, our class realized that something wasn’t quite right. We were all so quiet on the days we should be the loudest. Mondays were our day to come in after reading an article and share with the class what parts we did not understand. Our class faced multiple issues with this. One was that many did not take the time to really read the article. These articles were somewhat short, but very dense. In order to really understand what was going on, and thus be able to ask questions, you had to spend hours reading just a few pages. Many of us did not take the time to do this. On top of that, even when we did read and did have questions, many of those in our class were timid on sharing our questions in class. I think a lot of us were nervous of what others might think of us, afraid that we weren’t “smart” enough. What most of us didn’t realize was that most of the class felt the exact same way. Through this class I learned that if you truly try your best in preparation (in any subject), then no question is a dumb question.
After discussing what we did not understand from the article on Mondays, we were all sent away with something to research. After some digging, we came back on Wednesdays, and were to teach our classmates what we learned. This put us in a position that no other class at Concordia has done for me. Once a week, we were the teachers. Our professor did nothing different from us on these days. This challenged our entire class, making us realize the importance of teaching and how helpful it is in really understanding a topic yourself. After learning from each other, we spent our Friday class periods simply discussing. Sometimes discussing the science, but mostly discussing that week’s topic at large, and what it meant for the world that we live in.
Concordia College loves its catchphrase, BREW (Becoming Responsibly Engaged in the World.) This class was a huge help in preparing us to BREW after graduation. Looking especially at science classes, it is easy to get lost in the content and not understand how the material affects our lives at large. By looking at topics such as obesity, Alzheimer’s, Diabetes, Autism, ALS, and concussions, we were able to not only decipher the science behind these topics, but what this science means for our lives. What can we do to help prevent these diseases? How can we help people who already have them? Is there hope for the future? Not only learning about these disease, but figuring out how we can help, seems to hit at the very definition of BREW. This class helped me realize how science can change our bodies and our world, and through this even helped me narrow my options for a future career.
The Capstone is laid, the mortar has set
At our school, Concordia College, everyone is required to take a capstone course before they graduate. It does not necessarily have to be in your own field of study but each capstone has the same goals of integrating interdisciplinary, experiential, and liberal arts learning. I (in my opinion) lucked out and there was one related to my chemistry major. So I found myself in early September walking into neurochemistry having no idea what I was in for. Looking back on the whole experience now, I realize what a special class it was.
In my opinion, the basic premise and goal was to make us students take on the teaching with our professor. You could also look at it like our professor was taking on the learning with us. We did not sit in class Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and watch Dr. Mach speak at us for an hour and forty minutes. Rather we sat in a circle and struggled to decipher the topic for that week. See, Dr. Mach would give us a topic and journal article at the beginning of the week. Everyone read the article before class on Monday and came with lots of questions, and believe you me, we sometimes had no idea what anything was. But we were just beginning. Then we each took a topic and came back on Wednesday as ‘experts’ in that little area and taught the rest of the class what we knew. And finally on Friday, outside the confines of a classroom, we would break up into two groups and discuss based on the topic. Most of the time we would end up exploring the social implications of this hard science that we had been weeding through. It gave us lots to think about. It seems to be a daunting task to find a way to show the public how these little things in your brain can affect so much of your life and well being. But we haven’t solved all of those problems…yet!
As you can probably tell, this class was not the most rigid class ever. We as students needed some modifications for how we were doing things. Standing up in front of everyone on Wednesday was not fully getting our points across to each other so it changed. Be began ‘speed dating’ and instantly fell for it! We learned the topics better when two people tackled each topic and then we got to speak on our subject, one on one, with each of the other classmates. This solidified our topic in our own minds and allowed us to freely ask questions of others. I really feel like I learned more this way and concepts stuck with me better. I’m glad this way of learning afforded us the option to adapt.
For me personally, this unique course taught me something very useful and exciting beyond simply mixing the biology and chemistry of the brain and learning about different diseases that plague people. This course taught me, and this may sound silly to some of you, but it taught me how to really truly dig through a scientific journal article that is thick with science jargon that I may not know. I am so much more confident in this area than ever before. I really didn’t have to do it very much my first three years of college, but having to do it every week and spending ours deciphering take home exam articles really taught me what I think is a valuable skill. Don’t get me wrong, it was fascinating at times learning about all the repercussions of concussions and the beast that is obesity but what truly stands out to me is this skill that I was not even looking to get better at. I didn’t even know I needed to improve in this area and that makes it even cooler. This course taught me the unexpected. I really do appreciate the new skills it has taught me as a senior in college.
Capstone: an unexpected surprise
I really didn’t know what to expect out of this semester. I needed a class that counted both as a capstone, as well as an elective for my major, and I settled on CHEM 475. Neurochemistry seemed like an interesting subject, and I knew I would be with a great professor, so I said, “perfect, it fits in my schedule and everything!”
I knew going in that the class structure was a little unconventional. It was discussion based, and no one, even the professor, had all of the answers. It was up to us to apply what we had learned thus far in our college careers and make an effort to understand the material. That is the purpose of the capstone course at Concordia; make us realize how much we have already learned.
Little did I know how much I would actually get out of the semester.
Coming into the class on the first day, Dr. Mach told us that we would get out of the class what we put in, but we weren’t really going to be tested on the information. All of us turned to one another and said, “Great! Just what I wanted, a class that was only participation based!” But that didn’t mean it was going to be easy…
The literature articles we were responsible for reading were dense, and the material in them was complicated. Everyone one was a puzzle we had to put together in order to understand it. I think it is obvious that it wasn’t our favorite part of the week, but it was necessary. A lot of the information we have learned in previous classes was applied to this part of the class; the reading. The first article of the semester was most definitely a struggle. On a scale from 1 to 10 of understanding, the class rated it a 3 or 4. There were so many acronyms, and biochemical pathways, we didn’t know where it started or ended. This is where the class really came together.
It was up to us to help each other understand it. We each took on a sub topic of the paper, and tried to become an expert. Tried, being the key word. By the end of the week, theoretically, we understood the article and the implications it had for a number of diseases and conditions. Then came the fun part, the discussion.
Although it was a slow start to the discussions at the beginning of the semester, we eventually warmed up to each other and had tremendous meaningful discussion. Reading our other blogs barely touches the surface.
We talked about obesity a lot, especially in relation to diet and healthy lifestyle choices. To be honest that is my biggest take away from the information we learned this semester. Everything is good in moderation, from neurotransmitters, to narcotics, to food, the list goes on, and if any of these things are out of balance there is a pretty good chance that our brains can be affected.
I learned a lot about other things too… like pathways, dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, glutamate, nitric oxide, RTKs, endocannabinoids, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Type II diabetes, ALS, Autism, Bipolar disorder, concussions, GSK-3, G-protein coupled receptors, NMDA receptors, GABA, sushi domains! and so much more.
One of my favorite professors always told us that we shouldn’t commit academic bulimia. We should never memorize information and purge it for the exam. We should retain what we learn, and I really feel like this class was really conducive to actually learning the information.
I will continue to build on the skills and information I am taking away from this class, and that is something I am very excited about.
Of course I’m not going to remember the exact pathway affects by GSK-3, but I will remember that it is related to lithium, or its role in neurotransmission.
However, one thing I wish I would have had coming into the class was a stronger base in neurochemistry. The people that had taken the intro to neurochemistry class were able to participate much more in the beginning of the semester than I was. At first I felt like I was missing this huge chunk of information, and that everyone was so much farther ahead of me. Then I realized half the class was in the same boat.
On a not so education note, I thought the class was super fun. We had a great time together as a class, and that only added to the interest in the material. We had a lot of good laughs, and of course we bonded over complaints of the reading material, but we all got through it together, and that is what matters in the end. Now, onto graduation!
Terrible ALS
Amylotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease is a disease of the central nervous system. It is a nasty progression of neurodegeneration where motor neurons are lost. Over the course of the disease, control of muscles is slowly lost making it difficult to walk, breath, and swallow. People live 3-5 years with the disease and eventually die having to use a ventilator and be fed by others. Basically the endoplasmic reticulum does not have enough calcium which causes proteins to be folded incorrectly. When misfolded proteins accumulate, it leads to ER stress. The ER stress and misfolded proteins is not good for motor neurons and can kill them. However it is still not known for sure whether or not misfolded proteins produce motor neuron degeneration or are a result of it. Research still needs to be done in this area.
There is a fascinating apparent link between obesity (we have talked about this a lot in class) and ALS. As of now, not much is known as far as molecular pathways in obesity that could counteract the development or onset of ALS. However, what is known is that there does seem to be a correlation between BMI/obesity and the duration of ALS as well as the likelihood of getting ALS. A retroactive study of over 400 ALS patients was done comparing how long each person lived. It was seen that people with a BMI of 30 to 35 (mildly clinically obese) lived the longest and people with a BMI of 25 to 30 (obese) lived second longest. They lived longer than the malnourished and morbidly obese patients. This could be linked to the fact that ALS patients lose more weight than from the expected loss of muscle mass as well as burn more calories than is expected with their lack of significant physical activity.
One other study compared the body mass index of people when they were young and then up to three decades later. Of those who developed ALS, lower BMI at baseline was associated and with each 5 unit increase in the BMI, ALS rate decreased by 21%. The lower rate of ALS in those people with obesity was noticeable.
So I leave you with yet another disease that is not know fully. I is a nasty disease to have to live through. Luckily research is being done and avenues that we didn’t even think could exist do. This should show us that every option and link should be explored in hopes of a cure.
Autism Explored
You might have met someone with autism before. Maybe they were in your family or at school. If so, then you probably noticed the signs of autism. Their behavior is different and in order to be diagnosed with autism, symptoms must be seen before the age of three. Symptoms include impaired social interaction and communication (language) as well as impaired facial recognition, and poor socialization (won’t look you in the eyes). These problems stem from issues with the development of the brain.
Much of it is due to genetics that causes synaptic dysfunction in many instances. During development, the nerve cells in the brain do not connect and organize correctly. Development of the brain is also dependent on the presence of essential fatty acids called PUFAs for short. It is seen that these enhance neurite growth, promote neuronal survival, and modulate actions of neurotransmitters. They are very important for the brain. However, people with autism have less PUFAs and interestingly if a mother intakes them while pregnant, it improves the memory in their offspring.
I found it interesting that there are people who supposedly recover from autism. A study was published just this year comparing optimal outcome (OO) individuals (people who had recovered from autism), people who developed normally (were never diagnosed with autism), and individuals who still had autism. Being considered as optimal outcome meant that an individual had lost all symptoms of autism as well as the diagnosis. Areas compared included language, facial recognition, socialization, communication, and autism symptoms. The researchers found that optimal outcome and normally developing individuals had the same mean scores with the exception of three OO individuals who had lower than average scores. These results support the possibility of people recovering from ASD and show that people with a positive diagnosis can return to an overall level of functioning within normal limits (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.12037/pdf). This shows how there can be hope of change for those who are born with autism.
Laying the Capstone to My College Experience
It’s December and the semester in Neurochemistry has come to an end, and it has been a class that has taught me so much not only about different topics such as Autism, Parkinson’s, Obesity and others, but how to critically evaluate scientific articles and apply them to my daily life. I really was not sure what to think about the class once I signed up. I knew it would be fun since I’ve always enjoyed neuroscience, but I was scared about how difficult it was going to be since I heard that all the class did was read scientific articles. I’ve never been the best at interpreting at articles, especially when it’s about detailed pathways involving multiple mechanisms and proteins. And honestly, at the beginning I struggled a lot keeping up with the readings. But as the class went on, I began to really feel comfortable dissecting each article our professor gave us. Surprisingly, by the end of the class, I was actually enjoying reading them! They were like giant puzzles that I had to piece together.
How the class was structured was a great way to learn about each topic. On Mondays we would talk about the article and what we did not understand. On Wednesdays we would “speed date” and talk about the topic that we chose to learn more in depth from Monday. Lastly, on Friday we would break into two groups and talk about the paper as a whole and what we learned, still had questions about, and most often, applied our knowledge to how the paper related to our society. It was an awesome way to only help myself learn through my own research, but combine my knowledge with others for a better understanding of the topic of that week.
My Capstone experience was everything and more than I asked for. However, our professor told us at the beginning of the semester that what we put into the class is what we will get out of it, and I do wish I recognized this earlier. For the first couple of articles we read for class I often stopped at just reading the information, whether I understood it or not. I hoped that I would hopefully just learn the things I did not understand in class, but when I should have asked questions, I did not. It wasn’t until a little later in the semester that I began to delve deeper into the article and the internet to help answer some of my questions, and also ask more questions in class. As I did this, I began to learn more and get more out of each article each week. I’ve better learned that one should not stop with the question, but find the answer! Often the answer can be found, even if it has the word modulation in it.
My Capstone experience has taught me to think critically about all kinds of issues, and that there is not always a definitive answer. Sometimes the solution consists of many solutions, or that the right thing to do is much simpler than a complex series of medications targeting all kinds of different pathways. I’ve learned how I can help prevent Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Diabetes, and more. And probably the most important thing I’ve learned is that nearly EVERYTHING is best in moderation.
Autism in a Nutshell
It was not until last year when I heard a student give a presentation on autism that I realized how complicated and broad the disorder was. Autism Spectrum Disorder is one of those disorders that seems to have such a variety of symptoms that it’s hard not to say that all of us have at least one or two of them. Some symptoms of autism include; difficulty with nonverbal behaviors, difficulty forming freidnships with peers, performs repetitive movements, develop an interest in objects or topic that are abnormal in intensity, detail or focus, and more. There is no real diagnostic test for autism, but rather a team of doctors who observe a person’s behaviors does the diagnosis. Famous people such as Tim Burton, Dan Aykroyd, and possibly Lewis Carrol and Mozart are said to have some form of Autism Spectrum Disorder. So sometimes autism does not show in the most severe of ways.
According to Autismspeaks.org the prevalence of autism around the world has been continuously growing and is now estimated that about 1 in 88 children are affected with the disorder. It is also the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
So how does autism occur? Well, most of the research done has shown that it is a genetic disorder. But there are some hints as to how we can help those with autistic tendencies at an early age since we are learning more and more about what effects it has on the brain. Autism is often associated with having an “unglued” brain. This saying is talking about how often those with autism are unable to form tight junctions between synapses, causes the important connections between neurons to be loose, or not connected at all. Cell adhesion is not a strong, and therefore there is less information being transferred across the brain. This usually happens in specific areas of the brain, which may cause certain symptoms such as social or behavioral problems. Also, there is evidence that those with autism have a deficiency of BDNF and altered polyunsaturated fatty acids, also known as PUFAs. BDNF is an important growth factor that helps with cell differentiation, cell growth, synaptic plasticity and cell health. PUFAs help upregulate BDNF in the brain, and when there is a decrease in PUFAs within the brain, this leads to a decrease in BDNF concentration.
Lastly, I think it is very interesting to note that often those with autism have very strong dietary needs. Often, those with autism have extreme food allergies, or are unable to eat many different foods. Children with autism are usually very picky eaters, and doctors often suggest a well-balanced and nutritional diet that has been carefully thought out in order to provide children with the right amount of nutrients while also not upsetting their stomach.
Since I learned that autism can be so easily diagnosed, and symptoms can be hardly recognizable yet still be enough for diagnosis, I have become fairly skeptical with how much it is being diagnosed. It is no surprise that there has been an increase in the prevalence of autism across the world. However, it is still important to recognize that this disorder is something we need to worry about. It is hard not to think that our high fat diet lifestyles may not be a possible cause for this disorder. And yes, it may be genetic, but there is still a lot about autism we are not sure about.
Obese Brains
Ohhhhhhhhh obesity…such a big topic in the world we live in right now. It is usually discussed within the context of food and how people in our country overeat. This is true. Especially compared to other countries. I am not so convinced that it has to do with not eating only things that say “low fat” or “low carb” on them. I had the opportunity to live and study in France not too long ago and interestingly I only noticed maybe two people who would be pointed out as fat or obese in the United States. During my time there, I ate normal bread, whole milk cheeses, and pastries made with fresh fruit. I ate everything the French eat and they don’t get fat from it. They eat small portions and walk everywhere. So if it is as simple as that, why don’t people in America just snap out if it and reach a healthy weight? Some answers may lie within the brain.
Overnution is seen to start people on paths that they may not even choose themselves and the article we read calls it a “biological trap”. This can be begun by the way one’s mother ate while they were in the womb. High fat and energy rich diets while a fetus is in the womb can cause their brain to develop with a predisposition towards this type of a diet. Adults can also get stuck with a problem of obesity being in their brain. Overnution puts stress on the cells of the brain, which can cause what is called oxidative stress. This then can lead to learning impairment, decreased attention, memory, and locomotion as well as the increase and weight. But this is the kicker. This oxidative stress messes with control of food intake, which then forms one big circle. It’s a vicious cycle.
After reading this news, I believe this research could lead to effective treatment/prevention of the effects of overnutrition. I should think that drugs could be made that will effectively disrupt these pathways so this does not affect people. My concern is with what seems to be the root of the problem: overeating. I do not think it is doing people a service to simply prevent the negative effects of overeating while they keep doing so. I just hope that a drug will not be discovered that keeps someone from getting obese while they still eat too much and have all the other problems associated it. I do realize that there are conditions that some people are born with and cannot control that could lead to a higher propensity overeating and obesity. Drugs helping them with that could be good. I just think that the overeating issue should be dealt with just as much. It is cheaper as well! Does it really make sense to have a drug that keeps people alive longer by preventing/curing the bad effects of overeating while they still eat more than is enough for their bodies to function?
One implication of this would be that doctors would not have to spend the time and money to treat the conditions associated obesity. Although, people would still have to spend money on a drug, but that would probably be cheaper. However would people still be spending money on excess food? Also, I think treating/educating people about overeating would have a great effect on our society as a whole. People would be more mindful and not waste money on excess or rather spend that money on quality food, which would be better for them.
Lithium does things?
What do you think of when you first hear the word lithium? To be perfectly honest, before I read this article on lithium, the most that popped into my head was batteries (you know, the lithium ion kind), and maybe if I dug real deep I could remember hearing about lithium in relationship to psychology at one point in time. Well, this article has really opened my eyes to how involved lithium really is in our own bodies. As a simple monovalent cation that is the lightest of all metals, it sure can make a difference.
Usually people associate the use of lithium with the treatment of bipolar disease. What I found interesting about this is how little is know about its action. Basically lithium is used as a shot in the dark. It is difficult to know if it will work for someone so a doctor will just try it and see how it works on its own or with a combination of other drugs commonly used. If it works, great, but if is doesn’t then on to the next drug. It can also help the manic phase as well as the depressive phase of bipolar disease, but again, you just have to try it and see.
Another observed effect of lithium is its neuroprotective properties. One way it does this is through inositol which is used by G protein-coupled receptors. Lithium prevents inositol from being recycled and this depletion induces autophagy which is the degradation of unnecessary or dysfunctional parts of the cell. Another cool way that lithium protects the brain is by directly helping prevent cell death and by inhibiting proteins which cause cell death. It does the first by inhibiting glutamate-induced, NMDA receptor-mediated apoptotic death. This is done my long term treatment with lithium. It does the second by downregulating pro-apoptotic proteins p53 and Bax. These are just a couple of the things it is found to do. It also is seen to promote survival pathways and molecules, and induce neurogenesis, which is when the brain repairs itself.
These actions are quite interesting and exciting to think about. When you ingest a simple little ion, so many good things could be happening inside of you. When our class was discussing this topic, the question arose, why isn’t everyone taking lithium? The fact is, lithium has to be monitored carefully when ingested. It can have some nasty side effect like vomiting, diarrhea, poor concentration, hair loss, and muscle weakness just to name of few. When taken by someone, they need to get regular blood tests to make sure that they are not getting too much lithium. Regardless, I still find its benefits to be interesting, and hopefully, you can now share more about lithium than you ever could before.
Drink your tea and watch your Iron
This topic has to do with Parkinson’s disease but you should still read this even if you do not care about Parkinson’s. Why you may ask? Well, you see our bodies really need iron. It is very useful for accepting and donating electron and is essential in our central nervous systems. It is needed for DNA synthesis, neurotransmission, myelination, oxygen transport, storage, and activation, mitochondrial electron transport, and metabolism. The oxidative stress from high levels of iron in the body is related to other diseases as well including Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington disease, Friedreich ataxia, and ALS. However, the role it plays in Parkinson’s disease is what we will focus on today.
Parkinson’s disease is an illness that affects the nervous system and thus, movements. It also affects cognition. What makes it worse, is that it is not curable yet. This is a huge reason the public should care! What is currently known, and I think is important for you to know, is that proteins in the brain that regulate iron are messed up with excess iron which can leave the brain vulnerable to oxidative stress. This can lead to loss of neurons and to Parkinson’s disease. The toxicity of this excess iron can be due to iron-containing molecules not functioning properly.
There are drugs that can help with Parkinson’s disease that are iron chelators. These protects against dopaminergic neurodegeneration induced by iron. Also, people can go in for phlebotomy, which is the first treatment usually done. This involves removal of approximately 500ml of blood each week to reduce serum ferritin. Also, a fascinating inverse correlation with brain aging, dementia, and neurodegeneration has been noticed for plant-derived polyphenol flavonoids. These have metal-chelating capacity and can be found interestingly in green tea.
Parkinson’s disease does not sound like a fun disease to have. It should be researched further so that people can be cured of it instead of simply treated for it. However, in the meantime, make sure your body is using iron the right way. You don’t want to have to get poked by a needle every week and pay for drugs! Hopefully a cure will be found soon but in the meantime, drink your green tea!