The nervous system had never really had a particular grasp on me. Of course I enjoy learning about several aspects of it more then others but it doesn’t particularly strike me. During this week I was able to learn a lot about the nervous system through our dissection packet. Surprisingly this was definitely the system that grossed me out the most. You’d think it would be the digestive system that would be the most gross, but in the end it personally wasn’t. I really didn’t like hearing the skull break so my other group members did that and I helped out with the vertebrae and spinal cord later. The brain has always freaked me out a bit. I find it hard to wrap your mind around the fact that everything you are is in this one particular organ which is definitely why I wanted to stay away from the brain and focus on the vertebrae and spinal cord which was personally easier for me to work with.
Completing my observation journal is a lot of work but I have found it’s a really good way to gain a deep understanding on all the different parts of the system were looking at. While researching the first discussion question about the gyri and sulci and how it changes throughout life, I was able to find an amazing article that showed me a comparative image of the grey matter in a 5, 14-18 and, 20 year old. The difference was shocking! Through those images I was really able to see and understand how the gyri affects the grey matter as you mature and age. The article spoke of “early” sensory and motor areas as well as “association cortex”. Both were really interesting parts of the brain. While reading there was also a small section about intelligence and the area in the brain that pertains to it. That made me think of the growth mindset we focus on here at High Tech High and question how much relative intelligence affects someone. How much does “growth mindset” affect someone's learning?
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Everyone knows the street name of drugs. “Coke, weed, molly”. Many times that's the most information someone has about a drug. This week I was finally able to gain a deeper understanding on all the effects these drugs have on the brain. I searched through many different topics before I was finally struck with this one. Through my research I discovered the three main categories drugs fall into. Stimulants, depressants and hallucinogens. It was so intriguing to finally learn how all these illegal drugs affected your brain and the different effects that followed with them. My most impact full research was looking at all the side by side photos. For example, there would be an image of a healthy brain next to an image of a brain on cocaine. The huge difference was extremely shocking! At first all I understood was that there was a big variety of colors so I did some research and found out what all these different colors mean on the brain. It shows the different activity levels. Another huge fact that surprised me was when I learned that 23.5 million Americans are addicted to drugs and alcohol. I was even more shocked when I read that only 11 percent of those with an addiction receive the correct treatment. That roughly translates to only 2,585,000 who find specialized help. Of course I am still nowhere near done with my research but my biggest curiosity right now is to explore the common saying, “Once a drug addict, always a drug addict”. I have often heard it is a common misconception and look forward to learning a little bit more about the effects of drugs on someone who in rehabilitation. |
AuthorHere I will be uploading weekly reflections on my Teen Brain Health Project! Archives
April 2017
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