Psychology

Week One
This week we focused on the anatomy and physiology of the Central Nervous System and Human Consciousness.  The class on the central nervous system (CNS) focused on why and how the CNS works. We learned that the nervous system is divided into three major parts The Central Nervous System has two major anatomical aspects, the brain and the spinal cord. The CNS is responsible for many of the basic voluntary and involuntary functions of the body including, breathing, controlling circulation and body temperature and consciousness.

The anatomy and function of the CNS are critical to the study of Physiological Psychology since, the main goal of the course is to understand how the physiological affects the psychological. For instance, how our brain function affects our behavior. This is specifically important in terms of studying certain disorders such as depression, or anorexia that can affect both physical and psychological health.

The study of the CNS is important in several different ways. First, on the personal level, if one understands how the CNS works, I may be aware of a situation whereby my CNS is not working properly. This may make me more likely to seek medical or psychological care to determine if something has gone wrong. In terms of individuals at the community level, understanding how the CNS works is important in terms of understanding certain psychological problems that linked to the function of the CNS such as ADHD, or Schizophrenia, understanding leads to tolerance of the mentally ill.

In terms of my professional life, understanding how the CNS system works is critical in the field of psychology because often emotional problems have physical sources that may be rooted in the CNS. By having knowledge of how the CNS works, I will be able to refer clients to Neurologists, or other medical professionals who may be better suited to helping a client deal with a CNS based psychological problem than I will be.

The class also studied Consciousness in this weeks class discussion. Consciousness can be described as awareness of ones self or others. Consciousness is critical in the study of Physiological Psychology because there are certain health conditions or brain impairments such as Catatonia that are often treated as psychological disorders, but, also may involve physiological issues that are affecting ones ability to retain consciousness. Understanding, consciousness is also important in understanding conscious behaviors, for example, choosing to eat a bagel for breakfast, and unconscious behaviors such as snoring. What, specifically, consciousness is, is a subject of great debate amongst psychologists however physiological psychology has been useful in terms of pinpointing differences in brain activity between the conscious, waking mind, and the unconscious mind.

In terms of how understanding consciousness influences me at the personal level, it has made me focus more on the world around me. Given the number of psychological and physiological illnesses that can affect consciousness, there is no knowing if you might someday suffer an illness or injury that could reduce your awareness of the world around you. In terms of how consciousness affects the individual in the community, understanding consciousness is important in terms of understanding basic human behavior. Finally, at the professional level, my having an understanding of consciousness is critical because it plays an important role in my understanding of psychological problems and how to treat them.

Week Two Psychopharmacology and Neurochemical Methods
In this weeks first class we focused on psychopharmacology. This is the study of how various drugs and chemicals can affect human consciousness and behavior. We learned that certain drugs like MAO Inhibitors can play a powerful role in the control of psychological disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, because these problems may involve levels of neurotransmitters that are either to high, or to low. Drugs can be used to alter these neurotransmitter levels in order to stabilize the behavior of someone suffering from one of these problems, in order to allow them to function as close to normally as is possible.

On the personal level understanding psychopharmacology is important in terms of understanding how certain drugs and chemicals can affect my brain chemistry and my behavior. This will help me to avoid misusing prescription medications, and to understand why certain drugs are necessary if I am suffering from certain psychological problems. In terms of the individual within the community an understanding of psychopharmacology is important in terms of understanding why certain medications are prescribed. Finally, in terms of my professional career, understanding psychopharmacology and how certain drugs can affect neurotransmitters is critical in terms of how I will treat my clients. I need to be aware of these issues so that I understand when a psychological problem requires drug treatment in comparison to when they need less invasive treatment methods.

The second class of the week focused mainly upon Neurochemical Methods. These are techniques that are used to assess the presence or absence of specific neurotransmitters in the human body. These methods include PET scans, MRI scans and other techniques used to measure the presence of neurotransmitters in the body. Understanding how to measure these neurotransmitters is important in that in order to determine if someone is suffering from a psychological problem caused by the presence or absence of those neurotransmitters one needs methods that techniques that allow us to detect them adequately.

In terms of personal understanding on this topic, understanding Neurochemical Methods is important in regards to understanding how and why they look for the presence of certain neurotransmitters when one is undergoing medical tests. The presence or absence of these neurotransmitters could indicate serious illness, but as a patient it is critical to understand how and why medical professionals look for certain things during medical tests. As an individual within the wider community understanding Neurochemical Methods can be helpful in understanding health issues in the greater community. Finally, in terms of my professional career this information is critical because in order to be able to assist people with physiologically based psychological problems one must first understand how such problems are diagnosed and measured.

Week 3 Sleep Disorders and Olfaction
There are many different types of sleep disorders. These include, Sleep Apnea, Insomnia, Restless Legs Disorder, Narcolepsy, Sleep Walking, Night Terrors, and Sleep Related Eating Disorders. These disorders typically involve a disturbance of  the normal pattern of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep. This can occur for many different reasons including , physical or psychological trauma, stress,  a disturbance of ones normal sleep schedule in terms of work, family or school responsibilities, or physical illness. Sleep disorders can result in chronic fatigue, depression, and irritability. Understanding sleep disorders is important in terms of understanding how sleep or lack thereof can affect and influence our behavior.

In terms of personal knowledge, understanding what sleep disorders are, the symptomology, and how they are treated will be useful in terms of  knowing what to do if I ever develop a sleep disorder. In terms of the individual within the community it is critical to understand sleep disorders because awareness is key in terms of taking care of ones health and getting treatment for health problems as they arise. Finally, understanding the differences between the symptoms of sleep disorders and other psychological problems is important in that a clinical psychologist or a psychiatrist should be able to adequately differentiate between problems related to sleep disorders, and problems related to other mental health problems.

The second half of this weeks class covered olfaction. Olfaction is the sense of smell and has several physiological and psychological components. First, air carries molecules called odorants. These are picked up by sensory receptors in the olfactory region of the brain. The sensory receptors than process the information gained from these odorants and tell the brain, what the smell is, where it is coming from, and whether or not it is a good or a bad smell. The major parts of the Olfactory Region include, the Olfactory Tract, the Olfactory Nerve and the Olfactory Bulb. Each one plays a specific role in sensing smells. Smell can tell us a great deal about our environment and the world around us. For instance, smelling something that our brain defines as bad it could indicate an environmental poison in the air, or spoiling food that we should not eat. Understanding how the sense of smell is important in the field of physiological psychology because the study of the senses including olfaction can tell us a great deal about how the brain works.

In terms of my personal life understanding how olfaction works can be very informative in terms of telling me when food has spoiled or if there are chemical spills or environmental toxins in my vicinity. In terms of the individual in the community, the understanding of olfaction can be useful in terms of understanding when there are potential environmental hazards in the area, or understanding food safety issues. Finally, as a professional it is important for me to understand olfaction, because, there are certain mental disorders that can involve olfactory hallucinations e.g. smelling things that are not present in the environment.

Week 4 Eating Disorders and Emotions as Response Patterns
There are several different types of eating disorders including, anorexia, bulimia, and overeating. Each of these disorders affects how a person perceives their physical appearance and how they respond to food.  From a physiological perspective food is seen by the brain as a negative stimuli that evokes a negative response in a person causing them to either eat to much (binge eating or overeating), or to little (the binging and purging associated with bulimia and the lack of eating associated with anorexia)

Eating disorders can affect me on the personal level because I live in a society that is obsessed with physical appearance and physical attractiveness. It would be just as easy for me, as it is for anyone else to slip into a pattern whereby I developed an eating disorder. Being aware of how eating disorders develop, and what causes them can help me to monitor myself for problems. In terms of the individual within the greater community understanding eating disorders is critical in the sense that understanding eating disorders allows parents to seek help for children who might be having problems with an eating disorder, or this knowledge can be used to encourage those with eating disorders to seek help. In terms of my own professional development understanding eating disorders in critical in terms of how best to respond to clients in need.

Emotions are also a serious issue in the field of physiological psychology. Emotions, can be described  the response patterns demonstrated as a reaction to specific stimuli These patterns develop over time and can include, happiness, sadness, anger, jealousy, grief and other emotions. Anger, aggression and impulse control are more commonly studied by physiological psychologists because they are the most closely linked to a specific area of the brain, specific stimuli and are likely to be involved in the presence of specific psychological problems such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder or ADHD.

Understanding issues like anger, aggression, and impulse control is critical in terms of my own personal understanding simply due to awareness that if I start developing issues with one of these areas there may be a problem developing. In terms of the greater community understanding these emotional issues is critical because it helps us to understand misbehavior and acting out by community members. It is not expected that individuals in the community tolerate this behavior, simply that they make the attempt to understand it. Finally, understanding, aggression, anger and impulse control issues is important to me in terms of professional development because many clients may initially present themselves to me with these problems.