Response: Jaia Yates

I am loving learning more and more about Psychology! The subjects that most interested me these past weeks was the sleep patterns and drug use in chapter 5. I find it very intriguing how the brain and sleep patterns work. I have always wondered how this works and the process of dreams, nightmares, sleep walking etc. My brother use to sleep walk bad when he was younger and I have always wondered what causes it and how it happens. To learn about the different patterns and depth of sleep one experiences is so interesting to learn about. I also was very drawn to learning all about the drug use, patterns, and dependencies. Mainly because I have someone very close to me that has been an addict for years and I have always tried to understand why and how someone can become addicted so quickly and even after several attempts to get clean it still doesn't seem to help. After reading and studying more on this in chapter 5 it really helps me to have a better understanding how the body and mind work with drug dependencies and addiction.
ReplyReply to Comment
Collapse SubdiscussionAssata Lynch
Assata Lynch
MondaySep 28 at 9:24pm
I have to say that chapter 5 was my favorite one to read. I find it interesting on how things that I have always heard about affect the body. This includes drug addiction and sleeping. I think everyone should learn about addiction early on and how it affects the mind and body so that they might not be tempted to try these things. also did not expect to ever have a class where I learned about hypnosis. I do remember watching tv and seeing some psychologists use hypnosis on their patients though. Chapter 3 was the hardest for me to remember when it came to the terms, but it is always helpful to have an understanding on how your brain works. It has been a few years since I took a science class, so it was like learning new information all over.
ReplyReply to Comment
Collapse SubdiscussionAubry Benefield
Aubry Benefield
8:20amOct 2 at 8:20am
I agree that ch. 5 had some interesting information on how different substances affect the body. Hallucinogenics have an interesting affect on brains and I think that if more research was done we could learn some interesting and perhaps useful information regarding them and their possible use in medicine. For example, combating anxiety and depression. Sleep was also another interesting topic of discussion in this units chapters. It is crazy the amount of cycles that humans go through throughout our rest.
ReplyReply to Comment
Collapse SubdiscussionJaia Yates
Jaia Yates
TuesdaySep 29 at 1:21pm
Something I found interesting in this weeks lesson was when we got to learn about the affect alcohol has on the body .I think we discused this as our topic of last week's writing assignment. I also liked the learning abiut drug addictions andr how the are formed and or treated . I know for a fact addiction is common everywhere but I don't we fully understand why people pick up these addictions and habits but I feel as if this chapter can help to explain why this happens. I also thought the hypnosis part of the lesson was interesting because I've always wondered exactly how that aspect of pyschology works.

Edited by Jaia Yates on Sep 29 at 2:03pm
ReplyReply to Comment
Collapse SubdiscussionAssata Lynch
Assata Lynch
YesterdayOct 1 at 10:37pm
I always find things like addiction interesting to learn about because everyone is exposed to it in one way or another. I wish that we could have had some kinds of hands on experiment type things to understand the effects better, but after reading through the passages a few times, I understood it for the most part. If we were taught about the problems that drugs might cause specifically instead of 'say no to drugs', then I wonder would less people turn to that lifestyle. The physical appearance of a person suffering from an addiction shows less consequences than what is going on inside the body.
ReplyReply to Comment
Collapse SubdiscussionMelyia Grayson
Melyia Grayson
TuesdaySep 29 at 2:50pm
In Biological foundations of Behavior, it’s focus is the biological foundations of human behavior that review the essentials of what is knows about the nervous system and its command center which is the brain. This part was very interesting to me because It discusses how the genetic processes influence who a person is as of how we behave as an individual and trying to open the brains resources to better your life and health well-being. In States of Consciousness it viewed many states of consciousness and the world of sleep and dreams. Along with that it adjusted consciousness psychoactive hypnosis and drugs.
ReplyReply to Comment
Collapse SubdiscussionMorgen Valentine
Morgen Valentine
TuesdaySep 29 at 7:05pm
Throughout these last few chapters, I have learned a lot about the physical characteristics of the brain. I have studied a little bit about the brain throughout my education, but I have never gone as far in depth as we did here. I have learned a lot about the interconnected brain, and I was very interested in how complex the brain actually is. Just with a simple function like picking up a pencil to write, there are many different ways your brain actually needs to communicate, process, and relay information back to make that happen. All of this happens in a matter of seconds and to me that was very interesting. Another area I found interesting was our section about sleep. I never knew the reason behind dreaming for example was to keep the neurons from going unused while we are sleeping. I have also been able to make connections with my own sleep cycle. I have noticed the effects of sleep deprivation, and the changes in sleep cycle depending on how busy my schedule is changing both stress and hours of sleep. I have actually even gone out of my way to make sure I'm getting enough quality sleep on a regular basis too.
ReplyReply to Comment
ReplyReply to Comment
Collapse SubdiscussionAssata Lynch
Assata Lynch
YesterdayOct 1 at 10:24pm
I thought that plasticity was interesting as well. I had never heard of it before this lesson and now I am at the point in another class where we are discussing it and I feel more informed. The idea that a child's brain can manipulate itself to fulfill a need is amazing. It reminds me of how a lizard might regrow it's tail if it come off. If science could find a way to replicate this and turn it into a form of medicine if someone had a need for it, then it would be a medical breakthrough. As far as behavior goes, I still think that people are the key factors to determining that. I have multiple siblings and we all lived together and experienced the same things, but our personalities are all completely different.
ReplyReply to Comment
Collapse SubdiscussionAubry Benefield
Aubry Benefield
TuesdaySep 29 at 11:05pm
In chapter five, which was the chapter on learning, it pointed out that one way humans learn is through what is known as observational learning. This "learning by viewing" is a major way that humans gather information. This is noticeable especially in babies. It is interesting to note that human babies differ from monkey babies in their ability to use observational learning. Monkeys are a close relative of humans, but they seem to have developed a different way of processing information. The baby monkeys in the study figured things out their own way as opposed to the human babies who figured things out by observing and imitating a model.
ReplyReply to Comment
Collapse SubdiscussionAshlyn Daniels
Ashlyn Daniels
TuesdaySep 29 at 11:06pm
One of the parts that I found interesting was in chapter three, specifically the part on the plasticity of the brain. I already knew that the body can heal itself, but the way that the brain is able to adapt to damage and respond to things is amazing. Where the rest of the body simply scabs over wounds or grows new skin, the brain is able to rewire neural pathways and change synapses in order to become compatible with brain damage. It almost seems as though the brain is self aware of what the issue is and is able to move functions from the damaged area of the brain to a different place, erasing the problem. It doesn’t necessarily fix the issue like other parts of the body might, but it adapts.
ReplyReply to Comment
Collapse SubdiscussionAubry Benefield
Aubry Benefield
YesterdayOct 1 at 3:22pm
Yes, brain plasticity is an amazing function of the human body. When patients with brain injuries go through therapy they will usually have to do things that use the part of the brain that is injured to help build some of the grey matter back up. This is known as neuroplasticity and it helps restore some of the cognitive functions to a damaged brain. It is just like physical therapy but for the brain.