Brain Plasticity

I think the whole concept of brain plasticity is quite phenomenal! I mean think about, but reeeeeeallly think about it. Our brains are adapting to our environment and trying to cope with the never ending changes we manage to expose it to. If you don't think thats brilliant, then let me change your mind. (ha! plasticity in action)

This topic got my undivided attention because i absolutely love playing my guitar! i remember picking one up for the first time and not knowing what the heck i was doing was extremely frustrating. My fingers would be in terrible pain and they didn't respond quickly as i would've wanted them to. My instructor would tell me practice, practice, practice! I mean suuuureee he knew how to play it but i didn't comprehend the meaning of his "wise" words until i actually put it into action! Little by little i noticed i was able to move my finger a little quicker and actually make a chord! Was practicing really the secret??? 

YES!!!!! Our brains our so awesome!! I've been playing the guitar for 3 years now, am no pro, but i can play without looking and its as if my fingers have adapted to playing automatically to each chord! 

Without plasticity, the brain would remain static, frozen at a particular point in time. Brain plasticity allows the brain to do everything from learn how to speak to refining physical movements such as those associated with playing a musical instrument. Every time the brainencounters information, it reworks itself to accommodate it, and creates a map of the information it contains so that it can readily retrieve information when it is needed. People always need to be able to store and interpret new information, which makes plasticity critical to function at all ages (WiseGeek).

But wait, this gets even better! What if they told you half of your brain needed to be taken out? Do you think that you can function efficiently with only one half your brain? This little girl did. WATCH! 

The brain is by far the most brilliant part of our body that makes us...well...US! 

Neurotrophins work to help preserve these axons that need to communicate in order to carry out their function. Of course therapy is needed to, positively increase the process of plasticity. 

This comes to show us, that we have the potential to make our brains a powerhouse! So next time you hear that phrase we all have come to know "Practice makes perfect"...believe it! 

"The Master Gland"

The pituitary gland is one of the most essential gland the body needs to promptly function in order to positively affect the body. It is divided into the anterior and posterior gland, which are responsible, for hormone secretion that travel through the blood stream. 

 The pituitary gland is a pea-sized gland located at the base of the skull between the optic nerves. The pituitary is sometimes referred to as the "master gland" as it controls hormone functions such as our temperature, thyroid activity, growth during childhood, urine production, testosterone production in males and ovulation and estrogen production in females. In effect the gland functions as our thermostat that controls all other glands that are responsible for hormone secretion. The gland is a critical part of our ability to respond 

to the environment most often without our knowledge.

Since we are now learning that it is responsible for secreting certain hormones such as: Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)

Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), Prolactin, Somatotropin, also known as growth hormone (GH)

Gonadotropins, Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), Luteinizing hormone (LH) by the anterior gland and oxytocin and vasopressin by the posterior gland. 

It is incredible to be that such a little gland in our body is capable do so much for us! I began to wonder what it there was a malfunction, how can it affect how our body response? The causes are so many to note but here are some that may help us obtain awareness. 

• Thyroid stimulating hormone deficiency may cause…
• reduced memory
• slowed metabolism
• reduced energy
• altered mood
• failure to thrive
• slowed growth
• muscle aches
• cold intolerance
• decreased appetite
• dry hair or skin
• numbness or tingling in extremities

Adrenocortical stimulating hormone deficiency may cause…

• weakness
• fatigue
• altered mood
• electrolyte abnormalities
• weight loss
• low or fluctuating blood pressure
• increased body fat
• decreased bone mass
• reduced exercise capacity

Growth hormone deficiency may cause:

• decreased lean body and muscle mass, particularly in the shouldersincreased fat mass, especially around the waist and trunk
• high “bad” cholesterol levels (higher ldl and lower hdl) which may increase risk of stroke and heart diseasedecreased bone density, which may cause osteoporosis
• fatigue, regardless of the amount of sleep.decreased interest in socialization
• a sense of isolation and depression

Sex hormone deficiency may cause…

• decreased energy
• decreased muscle mass

in males, it may cause…

• decreased sex drive
• shrunken testes
• loss of beard growth
• decreased sperm production

in females, it may cause…

• infertility
• amenorrhea (lack of menstruation)
• loss of female characteristics

Although we live regular lives and try to cope with the daily routines that come with it. There is astonishing things happening in our brain to make us to what we do and function the way we are suppose to! The pituitary gland is a regulator of our body and diminishing its importance would be a great mistake of our part. 

Destruction of Neurons.

Ever since i can remember I have been fascinated with the way the CNS works together to make us react to different environments, situations, and even emotions in our life. As a was reading, i can across  the subject that i have been very found of, the destruction of neurons. How can the body have have billions and billions of cells and that have the potential to reproduce EXPECT the neurons, once they are gone they are gone forever. I recently made a friend, who had abused drugs such as cocaine, crack, and extasy all his teenage years. I was very intrigued to ask him if he was aware he has destroyed some of his neurons. When the time was right, he unshamely said he had, and had been through several overdoses. But before we go any further, we have to become familiar with the affect these drugs have an impact on out nervous system. You might be surprised to know that it is not just a psychological effect but also physiological. 


Cocaine/ Crack- that drug teens kill to try and die in the attempt sometimes. that little white powder you line up and sniff up your nose, and wait minutes to feel is "alluring" affect. But this drug goes deep into the brain and can cause severe and even permanent damage. Behaviors such as mood, motivation, and motor function are target areas for cocaine. Cocaine doesn't just kill random brain cells either, it wipes out the brain cells in your brains pleasure center, brain cells that make you feel good and trigger positive emotions. Cocaine acts by preventing the dopamine from being recycled, causing excessive amounts of the neurotransmitter to build up, amplifying the message to and response of the receiving neuron, and ultimately disrupting normal communication.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OS2C4NemJI

Neurons are responsible for supplying the brain with important chemicals called neurotransmitters that pass electrical impulses through the body. One of the neurotransmitters affected by crack is called dopamine, an important chemical that controls feelings of pleasure and well-being. Crack abuse damages the brain’s ability to transfer dopamine. At first, crack users will feel intense feelings of pleasure and euphoria because the crack causes the brain to release all the dopamine at once. Over time, however, crack can actually damage the ability to transmit dopamine, which damages the ability to feel pleasure at all. 

Ecstasy also known as the "club drug". Ecstasy works by prompting the brain to initiate this ‘fight or flight’ response and the user feels refreshed by a burst of energy. Ecstasy’s hallucinogenic properties distort the user’s experience of reality by triggering hallucinations of both sight and sound. 


Although we are well aware that these drugs are out there, we have to take into consideration the affect they have in our CNS. Neurons depend on a healthy environment to function properly. I will not base my insight on drugs being the only reason neurons are destroyed, but millions of people struggle with drug addiction and billion and billions of neurons are being destroyed. :) s

Evolutionary Explanation

I have always been intrigued with ancestral traits being passed down to us by past generations and also been overwhelmed on how some are lost along the way. According to the book evolutionary explanation one of the main comments of why we are who we are. I have always though "goose bumps" were a normal thing we all happen to get when we are cold or frighten. But this trait was actually passed down by mammals that used this technique to look intimidating. In my own personal opinion, this might be true but does not have any substantial evidence to prove that it is 100% accurate. And this is were i make by point on how some traits have be lost. Although, we do carry some genetic traits that make us who we are, i believe there is a line of traits that have been lost along the way of this ever changing world. Everyday we adapting to new circumstances and environments, I think that there is a good chance the some of the traits that we are "so called" to carry have been diminished making them disappear from our line of genetics completely, making it useless to us. Therefore, if they are useless, why do we still have them? It seems meaningless to me to carry traits in our genes that have to benefit to our lives what so ever, it interesting to wonder when will the line of certain useless traits ever stop. This video is pretty interesting to see how traits get passed down by natural selection.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAQzQqbC1Vo