From Earth and Beyond

Sleep is an extremely important part of our life. Humans spend approximately a third of their lives sleeping. There are many theories which attempt to define why sleep is so important, but we have yet to find an exact answer. Without even looking at the research, one can simply feel how important it is to sleep. Sleep deprivation has various levels, but the reality is that no matter how sleep deprived you are, your body reacts differently to situations. It doesn’t matter if they are small decisions or drastically important decisions, sleep –or the lack of- can deeply influence your response. Not getting the adequate sleep one requires can make us feel like we are on pilot mode, like we are not completely in control; our body is just doing what it feels it has to. This may be dangerous in certain situations, especially to those in certain occupations such as firefighters, police officers, physicians, and astronauts. Before we go on, it is important to know the background behind sleep and its biological source.

What can be done in situations where your environment is not in synchrony with your circadian rhythm? The answer to this question is important for people who work night shifts and who are required to stay awake and alert during the night. It would also help individuals who for a certain reason are not exposed to the proper external stimuli –such as sunlight- which is important in maintaining synchrony. Astronauts are affected by this, due to their long periods living in the darkness of space. Much research has gone into facilitating the sleep patterns and maintaining the psychological health of astronauts. Their work demands great focus and precision, which are two factors affected by sleep. By using the known information about sleep and the circadian rhythm of humans, why not attempt to predict the wakeful and most alert periods to guarantee  proper work? That is exactly what Elizabeth Klerman, HMS associate professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital has done. “Elizabeth Klerman uses finely designed mathematical models to predict performance and alertness in flight control staff”. Dougherty (HMS) With her research in lighting and its influence on sleep, she has successfully inverted many astronauts’ physiological schedules to prepare them for specific sleep-wake schedules in space. Their research has declared the eye as a very important contributor and blue light as a more influential color. Her collection of information is very interesting and helpful to many. Her findings also apply to shift workers. Many have to work during the night and sleep during the day, completely reversing their circadian rhythm, but it can be accomplished. There are certain techniques which can be used, such as light therapy.

 

Sleep is necessary and it is through our 24 hour day span that our internal body determines when it occurs. External stimuli strongly influences as well, but light is the biggest contributor. We need to maintain our health and by keeping up with sleep we will also be helping our decision making process. It seems quite easy to state "keep up with sleep", but when transferred to the real world it is difficult to accomplish. There are many expectations and they sometimes can't all be done before the day is over. That is when we begin to sleep late and therefore throw off our circadian rhythm. But we are creatures who adapt fairly easily and we can readjust the rhythm a bit. It is in drastic situations when resetting the circadian rhythm would be absolutely necessary.

Ambiguity: Who should Choose?

Gender identity is the personal identification and categorization of an individual’s particular gender. In western society, the normative ideology regarding gender is determined through the two sexes; female and male. Socialization processes are very important in teaching the proper expression of gender characteristics. We have all been assigned to a particular gender. This assignment took place whilst still in the womb. The particular appearance of an individual’s genitalia then leads to the gender assignment. Every person is aware of what is proper to wear, how one should act, and what is acceptable for each gender. These behaviors and beliefs have been reinforced since infancy and therefore remain throughout the life course and will eventually be taught to the next generation.

But what if the appearance of an individual’s genitalia is completely ambiguous? What if the most important factor used to differentiate amongst females and males is not present? What should be done if someone looks to be both male and female? The condition of having intermediate and atypical combinations of physical features of both sexes is defined as intersex. The statistics shows that 1 in every 1,500 infants will be born with genitalia that will not be easily classified. The following clip shows an intersex individuals story and their views on what should be done to "correct" intersex infants' ambiguous genitals. It also shows two surgeons with two very different views and experiences with the intersex community.  

 

It is interesting to hear the woman in this video talk about what her gender identity is. She mentions she is a female, but a different variety of female. Is it possible for western societies to accept variations in our two strictly defined genders? Difficult to tell. We all see the discrimination and negative views many have on homosexual individuals, but this seems to be something completely different; and it is. An intersex individual has not chosen to have both genital structures, they for whatever reason were simply born that way. Why should they be discriminated against or looked down upon when their condition was a mere mutation? 

What is done after an infant is determined to have ambiguous genitals has changed in the last years. In early years most doctors would suggest that all babies have surgeries which would convert them into full females. The problem is that many individuals suffered malpractice and were literally mutilated and deeply suffered long-terms effects. Others were hormonally of one sex, but due to surgery were physically female. Having emotional and hormonal similarities with physical genitalia can have detrimental effects. Many stories have been shared and we can see different views, such is the case in a NY Times article about an intersex individual name Chase.

There are many new guidelines which protect intersex babies and their families. But it is the children and their futures which should be the main priority. Many people can have different opinions, but I believe whatever is done should be for the benefit of the children. In my opinion people born with ambiguous genitalia should be allowed to choose for themselves later in life when they are aware of what it means and what it will entail. During their development parents should listen to their children and ask them what they want and how they feel. In a situation so delicate and sensitive this may be the only way to go about innocent children's lives. 

It is a controversial topic, like many others are. But when society is so apposed to changing their views it becomes even more difficult. Everyone should attempt to sympathize with intersex individuals and maybe in the future they may be fully accepted as they are with no necessary tweaks or  adjustments.


Link between Mind & Body: Social Pain

A great debate will, with the passing of time, strengthen its opposing sides and become more and more controversial. Such is the case with the Mind-Body connection. Many believe in the mind’s many characteristics, even though no physical presentation has ever really been determined. Others are not at all convinced and would rather do away with the concept of the mind completely. Feelings and emotions are one characteristic of the mind. One feels emotions and certain biological responses occur. But just how close is the connection between mind and body? Experiments have been replicated to show just how close the link is.

A relatively new study shows the close connection between emotional pain and physical pain. Physical pain can be tracked to its responding point in the human brain. Any type of pain, despite the level of severity, causes the activation of specific parts key in determining physical distress. What many were curious to find was what areas were activated in result to emotional distress. After conducting various experiments it was interesting to see that both physical and emotional pain activated the same brain region.

They tested emotional pain by using individuals who had recently suffered a non-planned breakup in their relationship and they also used a method of social rejection. If you have ever felt left out of a group or situation, you understand it is followed by anger possibly, but also a high level of emotional pain –feelings hurt, in other words-. Social pain, as it is called, has the exact same effect as when suffering from physical pain.

The experimenters not only searched MRI images for the activated brain region, they also tested the effects of the famous pain-relieving drug acetaminophen, Tylenol, on “emotional” pain. Some were given Tylenol before being exposed to emotionally distressful situations ,while others were given a placebo. Those who had in fact taken the actual medication reported less cases of "hurt" feelings, thus proving Tylenol's effect on not only physical pain, but also emotional.

 

 

This experiment shows the link between body and mind, the physical and the emotional. It's close relation narrows the gap between those on opposing sides. It gives hope that our mind is real and that it is closely in synchronization with our biology. The only drawback to this finding would be that of any medicated drug; are there side effects, is it safe for long term use, is it causing a chemical imbalance worse than the emotional pain it sought out to alleviate? There are many questions to be answered before we get completely comfortable with the idea of a miracle drug used to treat a broken heart. We need to also take into consideration the current removal of Tylenol in major retail stores and also the lawsuits involving Tylenol. There is much useful information, but there is still much more to research and many issues to resolve.

Anterograde Amnesia

 For the most part, when thinking of amnesia, one usually thinks of getting hit on the head so hard all memory is wiped clear. The reality is that there are various factors that can cause amnesia. Memory is stored in different parts of the brain. Specific parts of the brain are responsible for different types of memory. If a particular part is damaged, the function that part was in charge of may severely suffer or seize to properly work completely.

 

Amnesia is a very dangerous disorder. Depending on its severity it can damage people's social and professional lives. Anterograde amnesia is a form of amnesia which is characterized by the inability to transfer short-term memory into long-term memory. People with anterograde amnesia are able to remember  most of their past memories, but have great difficulty remembering new information post incident. The detrimental characteristic accompanying anterograde amnesia is that a person will only be aware and remember information and events in their immediate attention-span. Everything beyond -or after the person becomes distracted- is completely erased from consciousness and is as if it never happened. The more casual term used when referring to anterograde amnesia is short-term memory loss.

It takes much patience and tender care from loved ones to help individuals with anterograde amnesia overcome the fear and depression which accompany such amnesia. In the following clip we will see a man named Clive Wearing who has about a thirty second memory. When listening to him comment on the feeling he gets when "coming back into consciousness" from a blank sleep he terms as death, you can't help but feel bad and truly empathize with what he must feel.

 

In this more recent video Clive's wife explains what his everyday life is like. It must be a bit strange or simply very pleasant to have your husband hug you and express their love as if they hadn't seen you in so long. There are many hardships involved when dealing and living with a person with amnesia. The video mentions that Clive has even lost the memory connecting various foods with their particular flavor. It is all so difficult, yet Clive is lucky to have someone who cares for him and helps him so much.

It was interesting to see the many causes of amnesia. The most common would be a traumatic brain injury causing damage to important memory parts, psychological disorder or severe shock, certain types of drugs, herpes virus type I when left untreated, and alcohol intoxication to the point of unconsciousness. People, especially those prone to binge drinking, should be very careful with the amount of alcohol consumed and in the length of the time while consuming. We should all protect our bodies and think of the many consequences which may impact our lives and make us completely dependent on our loved ones.

Patient Joe / Split Hemispheres

Since the first discovery of two separate hemispheres connecting to form the human brain, competition between the dominance of the right hemisphere to the left hemisphere has existed. Many believe that a certain hemisphere determines or explains academic performance. Such a statement is entirely false and as the textbook mentioned, “illogical is not the same as creative.” Yes the right hemisphere may be dominant in recognizing emotions in others and may be linked to more artistic characteristics and the left hemisphere may be dominant for speech and more realistic logical thinking, but that doesn’t completely determine a person’s entire personality or academic abilities. Most actions require both hemispheres to cooperate and work together. The corpus callosum is in charge of connecting both hemispheres and is also important in the exchange of information. If the cooperation and unity of both hemispheres is so important, what occurs when there is a lack of connection?

Extensive research has been conducted on people with underdeveloped or severed corpus callosums; the connecting and unifying part of the brain. As seen in the following video with a patient named Joe, much information has been found regarding split hemispheres. A person with split hemispheres claims to feel nothing different, when comparing their cognitive state before the damage was made to the corpus callosum. People with split hemispheres have been described to be two people in one body. Both hemispheres function independently with their side of the body in a split-brain person. In a normal human being one side of the brain is coordinated with the opposite side of the body, since the human brain is contralateral.

 

It is amazing to witness the experiment conducted on patient Joe. When a word was flashed to his right hemisphere, being the nonverbal hemisphere, he couldn’t verbally express what the word was, but he could point at the object with his left hand. It was until after he had pointed at the object that he would then say the corresponding word. It is as if there were two different people seeing two different things and not knowing what the other had seen.

 

 

 

There have been cases where a split-brain individual is interviewed and there seems to be two different personalities completely. There may be a question in which the right hemisphere agrees with and where the left disagrees. It is quite difficult to understand how someone could have two different mentalities about one subject, but the oppositions are not always cognitive. There have also been cases where people have difficulties doing activities that involve hand synchrony. For example tying shoelaces or zipping up ones pants. Both hands may struggle to work together. Split-brain individuals may look to be at a disadvantage, but it would be interesting to further research the positive aspects to having full control of each hemisphere individually. It may eventually stop being looked at as a burden, but be embraced as a special ability, which might prove to be helpful in the end.