Cobbers on the Brain

This last semester in Neurochemistry has been filled with interesting topics about alcoholism, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, concussions, bipolar disorder and so much more.  Few, if any of us could say that we haven’t been affected in some way by at least one of these topics.  At some point in our lives either we or someone close to us will be diagnosed with one of these disorders that we discussed in depth over the course of the year. Through discussing these topics I have gained a further understanding of the different possible causes for Alzheimer’s and long term effects of concussion, and much more.  I may never be a neurosurgeon or participate in break through research to find the cure for autism or bipolar disorder.  But nevertheless I have gained a further appreciation for neuroscience and along with that appreciation I can hopefully have a greater understanding when talking to medical professionals when either I or a loved one is diagnosed with a various disorder.  Even if one of the disorders is not one that we discussed in class I feel confident in my ability to research and understand it on my own and would also feel comfortable enough to ask the doctors for further information.  The quote by Sir Francis Bacon, “Knowledge is Power,” is especially applicable now.  Because of this class I now have the power to understand and ask for more information in the field of neuroscience.

A capstone is a culmination or peak of achievement. My experience in Neurochemistry this semester fit this label well, as it integrated several scientific fields into one, encompassing field with exciting applications.
I was nervous for this class at first. I was very interested in Neurochemistry, but I lacked a through background in biochemistry or neuroscience or even rudimentary biology before the semester began. Assuming I would have to play some serious catch up, I went into the class with trepidation, but with a significant interest in this burgeoning field. The first few weeks were a little rough. Besides knowing (generally) what a neuron looked like and being able to distinguish a brain from a potato, I was completely devoid of any advanced neuroscience knowledge, and it took a decent amount of out-of-class reading to get up to where I wanted to be. However, once a sufficient background was present from out of class and in class review, it became easier to draw connections both within the field of neurochemistry and between previous fields of study. My neurochemistry course not only improved my understanding of neuroscience; it improved my understanding of cellular biology, biochemistry, and even psychology. Neurochemistry is the epitome of intellectual integration; the issues it presents can be approached from a plethora of angles, something that certainly wasn’t lost on someone who hadn’t taken the suggested coursework as a foundation.
Not only has my Neurochemistry course provided me with a greater understanding of the brain and the possible problems that can arise due to dysfunctory signaling pathways, it provided a potential research path I may want to pursue in graduate school. The articles we were provided with approached many different neurological diseases and disorders, each article containing new pathways while reiterating common themes we had discovered throughout the semester. The beautiful complexity of the brain, and the applications chemistry has in understanding it, drew me in, and it is certainly a field you wouldn’t be hard pressed to find the meaning of your research in. It has had a sizable effect on how I have approached my other chemistry courses this semester, lending extra meaning to some of their techniques and topics. This class was not only a “culmination” of my undergraduate career, but also may serve as a potent link to my future.
In conclusion, this course has been a fulfilling, encompassing experience that enabled me to draw knowledge from several fields to delve further into the subjects at hand. In this way, this course was a good simulation of a liberal arts education; a multi-faceted background can really propel your understanding of an area beyond what a narrow focus could provide.
 

Neuroscience is a fairly new frontier in the scientific world.  It combines biology, chemistry, psychology and other fields at the specific point of the nervous system.  These interactions and their implications in the human mind are fascinating.  I became so interested in neuroscience specifically for the reason that it encompassed my diverse interest in various fields of science.
Neurochemistry has been one of the most intriguing courses I have taken at Concordia.  It has pushed me deeper into the world of neuroscience and into a more specific and concentrated area of it.  Understanding how all of the things I learned in general chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry apply to our brains has been very rewarding – it is always nice to realize that what you learn in class really does apply to the real world.
The articles we read were hot topics in the world of health and diseases such as Autism, Bipolar Disorder, Cancer, Alcoholism, etc.  They are huge issues currently affecting our society and currently unresolved.  The articles make us evaluate what researchers have found and the validity of their conclusions based on other literature; they make us really think about what is happening in our brains and how all of these diseases are affecting that specific, and vitally important, part of our body.
I think that one of my favorite aspects of this capstone course is Friday discussions.  Although we may get off topic from time to time, these discussions truly make us evaluate the issues our society is facing.  It makes us apply the research to the real world and understand how it affects us and what it can lead us towards in the future.  Is social media affecting multiple aspects of our life?  Can you really cure alcoholism?  Would everyone form cancer if they lived long enough?  It makes us face questions such as these and evaluate our own lives as well.
I have also learned many valuable skills in this course related to reading scientific literature.  We learn to carefully read the articles and organize them to initially understand the message the author is trying to send.  We then tear through the paper and research items that we still do not understand.  This teaches us how to search for credible sources and evaluate the validity of all of the information that is available to us.  We then put all of this together to best understand the article and all that it can teach us.  Finally, we use this information to discuss the ‘bigger picture’ and the implications it has in our lives and society in general.
Overall, neurochemistry was a great capstone course.  I feel that it was a wonderful way to bring together all of the material I have learned in the chemistry field thus far at Concordia and to develop my skill sets as a scientist.

This week’s article discussed a hypothesis surrounding the environmental and genetic factors that may contribute to the development of autism. From 1970 to 2002, the diagnosed cases of autism rose from 3 in 1000 to 66 in 1000, increasing over twenty fold. Naturally, a lot of research has gone into why these rates seem to be increasing so dramatically. To understand this, we need to understand what can potentially cause autism.
Neurological diseases or disorders are complex, and focusing in on a single neurological dysfunction is rarely possible. The complexity of our human brain often leads to multiple hypotheses on what causes each disease. While genetic factors play a role, there are environmental factors that can cause autism as well. While multiple theories for the causes of autism exist, our paper this week focused on the role of heavy metal toxicity and oxidative stress in facilitating its development. Heavy metals, such as cadmium, arsenic, lead, and mercury, can have profound effects on the brain even at small concentrations, being correlated with disorders like ADHD and autism, and even diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Heavy metal compounds can be referred to as xenobiotics, chemicals found in our body that are not produced or expected to be present in our biological system. Heavy metals can bind strongly to sulfur containing compounds in our bodies, disrupting normal paths of sulfur metabolism. Sulfur, through glutathione, methionine, and other molecules, plays an integral role in DNA methylation, which is important in gene regulation and other processes. Particularly, this metabolism is crucial during oxidative stress, thus metal’s interfering with this pathway can lead to general dysfunction, leading to symptoms that often characterize autism. For example, the body attempts to clear xenobiotics from the body by binding them to glutathione and clearing them in urine. Therefore, heavy metals can remove important sulfur-containing compounds from our bodies, leaving us more vulnerable to oxidative stress.
Can the actions of heavy metals explain the surge in cases of documented autism? If this was the case, we would have to expect rising levels of heavy metals being inadvertently consumed/entering the body. A well-known controversy surrounding heavy metals involved thiomersal, an ethylmercury-based preservative used to prevent bacterial infections, found in vaccines. Rising awareness of the deleterious effects of mercury in the 1970’s led to a well-publicized, fierce backlash against the vaccine. Despite extensive research among scientists declaring the concentrations of mercury in these vaccines were far below toxic levels, controversy still surrounds the compound, and it has been removed completely from vaccines. Its removal did not decrease the rising autism rates, reliably indicating it wasn’t a significant cause of autism. In addition, heavy metals are sometimes present in soil, while trace amounts of heavy metals can be found in certain cosmetics. These levels aren’t in themselves very dangerous, but regular usage is hypothesized to have possible side effects. Despite our possible exposure to heavy metals, little is known about whether exposure is increasing. In fact, increased awareness of the toxic effects of heavy metals has led to government agencies cutting back their usage. Thus, it is possible heavy metal exposure may even be decreasing, despite autism levels still rising.
What else could cause autism? A less chemical explanation is lack of proper social interaction. Studies have shown that babies who didn’t receive much touch from their parents or didn’t receive much attention in early childhood were at a greater risk for developing autism. In a society where it is becoming more likely for both parents to have jobs, it is possible children on average are receiving far less attention from their parents than children raised forty, or even ten years ago. This lack of social interaction could lend itself to the social problems that are displayed by autistic children. However, children who may not see their parents as often still may get plenty of social interaction at their daycare or school. Thus, it is possible this phenomenon isn’t a significant contributor. Because it is hard, even impossible, to provide reliable quantifiable data of this effect, it isn’t easy to cite this as a main cause of the surfacing epidemic.
It is possible that as scientists we are missing a universal factor lending itself to increasing levels of autism. Most likely, it is a random combination of factors leading to each autistic case. However, is it possible that cases of autism aren’t actually increasing? Awareness of autism is constantly increasing, which could lend heavily to the increased amount of documented cases. Cases that may have previously gone unnoticed forty years ago may be diagnosed readily in the current climate. Perhaps the “increasing levels” of autism is actually a marker of a good thing: children with autism being diagnosed more readily may receive positive treatment whereas a child in their same position decades ago may have gone unnoticed, which provides them a better chance to live normal, successful lives.
Most neurological disorders are as complicated as they are devastating. The etiology of current disorders like autism are often filled with hazy areas and judgment calls. While it may be difficult in the short run to develop a universal “cure” for autism or similar disorders, increasing awareness can help provide treatment for those in need. However, there is a fine line between increased awareness and trigger-happy diagnoses. Diagnosis with social disorder often comes with a stigma that may make the patients feel even more helpless. As we seek to find the scientific explanations of these disorders, it is important for us to treat each case with care and deliberation.