Physiological Psychology - Coursework Example

? Physiological Psychology - Physiological Psychology Sam is awakened from his sleep by a frightening dream, where his car goes out of control down a mountain road. While psychological exploration suggests that the dream was associated with an emotional sense of powerlessness, a neurophysiologic evaluation of his brain during his dream state would probably reveal what neurophysiological and neurochemical changes were occurring in different parts of the brain? Response: Sam’s nightmare occurred due to REM and because of imbalance between NERM and REM sleep. Nightmares occur when an individual is not able to come out of NERM-induced deep trance. The intensely arousing nightmares, like the one Sam had, are due to an overdose of NERM. The activities of the autonomic nervous system slow down during nightmares. During an EEG study, the ANS activity recording instrument shows that the autonomic nervous system does not show any activity during bad dreams like the one Sam had. In simple words, Sam’s bad dream occurred due to an overdose of anxiety, which resulted in certain neurophysiological and neurochemical changes in his brain. The neurophysiological and neurochemical changes caused Sam’s REM desomatization mechanism to demolish, which paved the way for autonomic activation. The neurochemical changes in the brain during dreaming do not allow the brain to relax. Therefore, similar chemical changes occur in dreaming like the ones that occur during stress (Amen, 2010). 2. Karen has been worried about ongoing financial problems, relationship problems, and periodically suffers from frequent headaches, colds and flues. How would biological activity in the Hypothalamus, the Pituitary Gland, the Thymus Gland, the Adrenal Gland and the Autonomic Nervous System change in relation to the chronic stress affecting Karen’s health?  Response: The “stress system” is composed of certain key components including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system. The hypothalamus secretes corticotrophin, releasing this hormone and arginine vasopressin in response to stimulation by a stressor. This release triggers the production and secretion of adrenocorticotropin hormone from the posterior pituitary as well as mediates the activation of noradrenergic neurons of the locus caeruleas system in the brain. The ACTH stimulates the adrenal cortex to release cortisol. Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone, which functions by shutting down long-term metabolic processes and shifts cellular activities towards immediate function and survival. Therefore, chronic stress shunts the cellular activities away from long-term metabolic processes, which inevitably mediates a detrimental effect on the body. Moreover, repeated stress causes one or more forms of HPA axis dysregulation and affects end organ functions. Chronic stress causes a decrease in the circulating levels of DHEA-S and DHAE and causes severe damage to body’s underlying metabolic processes (Guilliams & Edwards, 2010). The homeostatic balance of the immune system is disrupted by repeated exposure to stressors and causes acute thymic involution (Guilliams & Edwards, 2010). A reduction in thymic size in stress-induced thymic involution is caused by the acute reduction in DP cortical thymocytes and reduced output of naive T cells to the periphery (Gruver & Sempowski, 2008). Acute stress-induced thymic atrophy persists until exposure to stress is not reduced. Keeping all these points in view, it is clear that chronic stress will have a detrimental effect on Karen’s health. Chronic stress will shunt Karen’s normal metabolic processes due to stress-induced release of costisol. Chronic stress will lead to acute thymic atrophy, which leads to a compromised immune system during repeated exposure to environmental and emotional stressors (Gruver & Sempowski, 2008). 3. Sometimes James seems very energetic, enthusiastically engages in work activities, talks loudly at social functions, yet at other times can be angry and verbally abusive toward others, and then at other times, James seems extremely lethargic, withdrawn, sleeps in his room all day, and says he is very discouraged about life. What are the possible differences in James’s physiology if his behavioral fluctuations were due to neurochemical activity of his Limbic System and his Frontal Cortex versus the possibility that they could be due to an imbalance of Thyroid Gland secretions?  Response: The limbic system is responsible for mediating actions intuitively according to the information received. James is probably being abusive because he feels threatened and his limbic system detects the threat and prepares the body for “fight or flight” response. The frontal cortex is responsible for being analytical and formulating a plan according to the ongoing situation. The top-down processing in the frontal cortex is mediated by the information received from the bottom-up processing of the limbic system. The frontal cortex upon receiving the information from the limbic system draws up the response to the situation and gathers information about the consequences of the actions to be taken. James’s subsequent behavior is modified in accordance with the information sent by the frontal cortex back to the limbic system. The limbic system sends the modified signals to the sensory motor cortex. In this way, James’s behavior is modified through the vertical control. On the other hand, an imbalance of thyroid hormones causes constant lethargy and weakness. Therefore, James’s behavior fluctuations are not due to an imbalance of thyroid hormones, because if this had been the case then James would not have felt brief bolts of excitement. Thus, James’s behavioral fluctuations are entirely due to neurochemical activity in the limbic system and the frontal cortex (Carlson, 1995). 4. Sandy has been taking Antipsychotic medications for her delusional thinking and irrational behaviors, but she has started to suffer from motor tremors. What neurotransmitters and what parts of the brain are most likely involved in her Schizophrenic symptoms?  Response: Schizophrenia is a mental disorder in which the thought processes are severely disrupted. The common early risk factors of schizophrenia are mistrusting others, especially close ones, odd behavior along with changes in the way one thinks, poor hygiene habits, experience of increased difficulty in concentrating on daily activities at school and work. Moreover, some of the other risk factors are depression or anxiety, illusions about one’s identity, bolts of emotional outbursts, and difficulty in being able to think clearly. The most common symptoms that schizophrenic patients exhibit are hallucinations, lack of the ability to think clearly, delusions, and withdrawal from friends and family. Furthermore, alogia, lack of being motivated, and anhedonia are some of the negative symptoms that sufferers of schizophrenia show (Carlson, 1995). Sandy has been taking antipsychotic drugs, and lately she has been experiencing motor tremors. Antipsychotic drugs are very effective in drastically reducing the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia and other mental disorders. Long-term use of such drugs has been known to cause motor tremors which are referred to as tardive dyskinesia. Sandy has been experiencing tardive dyskinesia due to long-term usage of antipsychotic drugs for controlling her schizophrenic symptoms. Tardive dyskinesia includes involuntary motor movements of the mouth. Such tremors occur due to reduced functioning of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain. The reduced dopamine activity is caused by antipsychotic drugs (Pastorino et al., 2012). 5. What brain activity, behavioral features and psychological disorders would Dr. Daniel Amen probably find if he were to conduct SPECT scan evaluations of “Kim, who has dysfunctional activity in the Deep Limbic System, Andy, who demonstrates over activity in the Cingulate Gyrus, Pam, who shows reduced activity in the Prefrontal Cortex, and Jill, who has abnormal activity in the Basal Ganglia?  Response: Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) evaluation is based upon the emission of gamma rays or x-rays. The dysfunctional activity in the deep limbic system in Kim’s brain is due to disruption in frontal blood flow and neurophysiological functions of the CFS. The deep limbic system is situated at the center of the brain. The deep limbic system is the control center for bonding and moods. The common symptoms associated with dysfunctional activity in the deep limbic system are crying episodes, depression, anxiety, and social withdrawal. Furthermore, the dysfunction can also result in nausea and panic. The SPECT scan of Kim’s brain would show injury of the focal brain and decreased blood flow to this region. Overactivity of the cingulate gyrus occurs during depression. The cingulated gyrus is normally associated with the perception of smell as well as sights and their associated with memories of the past. The cingulated gyrus is also associated with the emotional reaction which occurs in response to pain. This part of the brain is also associated with the regulation of aggression. The SPECT scan of Andy, who is suffering from depression, would reveal an overactive cingulated gyrus represented by increased blood flow. Reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex occurs during chronic depression. PET scans will show that Pam has an abnormally decreased activity of the prefrontal cortex. The SPECT scan would show reduced activity in the lateral, orbitofrontal and ventromedial areas of the prefrontal cortex. An abnormal activity in the basal ganglia occurs during dominant emotions and results in overactive “speed dial circuits”. The basal ganglia functions abnormally during stress and conflicting emotions like fear and anger. The basal ganglia overactivity results in repetitive cycles of motor reaction in response to a dominant emotion. The SPECT shows overactive basal ganglia and increased blood flow (Amen, 2010). References Carlson, N. R. (1995). Foundations of physiological psychology. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Guilliams, T., & Edwards, L. (2010). Chronic stress and the HPA axis: Clinical assessment and therapeutic considerations. The Standard 9(2). Retrieved from http://www.pointinstitute.org/resources/standard_v_9.2_hpa_axis.pdf Gruver, Amanda L., & Sempowski, Gregory D. (2008). Cytokines, leptin, and stress-induced thymic atrophy. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2538595/ Amen, D. G. (2010). Change your brain, change your body: Use your brain to get and keep the body you have always wanted : boost your brain to improve your weight, skin, heart, energy, and focus. New York: Harmony Books. Pastorino, Ellen E., & Doyle-Portillo, Susann M. (2012). What is psychology?: essentials. Wadsworth Pub Co. Read More