Prefrontal cortex

is a very common childhood mental disorder, with symptoms ranging from difficulty paying attention to general hyperactivity. Many previous studies have analyzed this mental disorder and have found correlations with a decreased size of the frontal cortex, along with abnormal activation of the basal ganglion; both of which help with cognitive processing and decision-making. While these may…

Throughout the history of the science of psychology, researchers, clinicians, and theorists have all attempted to answer the question “what makes us uniquely human?” It is obvious to the untrained observer of nature how humans are different from other mammals in the animal kingdom: humans can think rationally and logically, have feelings and emotions, develop more slowly than any other mammal, and are able to work together on a massive scale to form sprawling civilizations. When one steps back…

An individual that utilizes denial as a coping skill throughout their life is extraordinarily nimble at avoiding glaring behaviors and actions of themselves and the people that they love. The motivation of drive theory of denial allows the individual in denial to reduce their inner turmoil and tension by pretending the unwanted situations are not there. As an example, Jean is a middle child in a family of six. She is the only girl and if often overwhelmed by the boys arguing and rough housing.…

also revealed a link between chronic 1-AR activation and reduced anxiety. Schizophrenia is associated with symptoms of psychosis, hallucinations, delusions, and various other symptoms. This disease has been correlated with dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Antipsychotic drugs, which are treatments for schizophrenia, are 1-AR antagonists. In Arsten’s study of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia, activation of secondary messenger, PKC, eventually led to PFC impairment. Conversely, the…

Those who open attack on several innocent people are often questioned on their motive for the occasion. For instance, everyone remembers the Sandy Hook shootings, but the motive was not completely clear. This event in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012, was a such a gruesome thing to learn about. Adam Lanza, the killer, shot his own mother and then continued his shooting spree to at Sandy Hook Elementary School. News reports have noted that Adam Lanza was fascinated or “obsessed” with mass murderers…

Are Teens More Rational Than Adults? The human brain is a complex organ that serves as the center of the nervous system. It is made up of over 100 billion nerves that (with the cortex and other parts of the brain) help communicate throughout the body. By sending signals to different parts of your body, the brain communicates and is the main control centre.”Grey matter contains most of the brain's neurons, and it plays an important role in emotions, memory, decision-making, and…

higher reading scores among the students. The neural responses they measured come mostly from the auditory midbrain. Midbrain’ plasticity is precisely mediated by the two above-mentioned pathways (top-down and bottom-up) and the activity of prefrontal cortex (Kraus et al., 2014), which is the executive center of our brains. Given the behavioral and neurophysiological outcome of the Harmony Project, it is tempting for us to reevaluate the role of co-curricular music programs for children at…

DMN comprise of a set of brain regions that are deactivated during a wide range of cognitive task. It is anchored in the posterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex, with nodes in the medial temporal lobe and the angular gyrus. Research has suggested that the DMN is a robust network which can be readily identified in every individual. A failure to deactivate DMN activity during cognitively demanding…

arterioles is impaired. It can be easily distinguished by white matter lesions (WML) and lacunar infarcts. The Schaefer research aims to identify the changes in functional connectivity for SVD. Changes in functional connectivity in posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and in the DMN are mentioned in the previous research. Schaefer 's study focuses mainly on the frontoparietal networks and their altering connectivity. The research involved 12 participants whose rs-fMRI, T1- and T2- weighted…

My Neuropsychological Journal Emotional Functioning As someone who was diagnosed with PTSD three years ago, and has experienced symptoms for the past five years, I have experienced various deficits in emotional functioning. Reflecting back, my emotional functioning has varied over time. For instance, before I started treatment, my emotional functioning was quite poor. I was unable to regulate emotion and was constantly in a flight or flight mode. For example, in high school and my…