Neuroscience
In the past, when people had psychological problems, neuroscientists would often wrongly jump to the conclusion that something in the persons' past was to blame. Nowadays, scientists know more than ever about the growing field of neuroscience. In "The Brain-Mind Connection: A Quarter Century of Neuroscience", Beth Horning discusses the future possibilities for this growing field. According to recent statistics, "over 90 percent of the neuroscientists who ever lived are living now" (59), and more has been accomplished in the field during the past twenty years than the past two hundred. Until recently, the brain could only be studied under extreme situations of illness when symptoms readily appeared. The public lacked interest in matters of the mind, which made neuroscience a difficult field to research. Not until the arrival of the positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) did the public give a second thought to brain activity. These tools gave scientists a way to visually track brain activity. PET scans, for example, helped disprove the theory that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychological illness where a patient is fixated to the "anal" stage of psychosexual developm
The "Nature/Nurture" debate has also taken its effect. Neuroscientists argue whether background or biology control the nervous system. Martha McClintock, a biopsychologist at the University of Chicago, is directing a new institute that will "investigate the ways people's behavior affects their biology and try to shed light on just how responsive to the environment the nervous system can be" (79). Her previous research shows that smell can have a large determination of what messages the brain sends to the rest of the body. Modern pharmacology has also had an impact on how the brain and mind work. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps messages cross the synapse between neurons, has long been used to treat depression. This drug comes under many different names: Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil; but all of them keep neurons from using up too much serotonin. Prozac and the other antidepressants did not disturb the balance of other chemicals in the brain, thus making it easier for such a drug to quickly become over-prescribed. A majority of the patients responded extremely well, saying that it changed their lives. It seems as if Prozac has made these people rethink their entire lives. Yet others argue whether Prozac simply changed peoples' personali
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Zoloft Paxil, Beth Horning, University Chicago, David Chalmers, Crick Koch, , DNA Crick, Institute Technology, Christof Koch, Nobel Prize, field neuroscience, quarter century, life support, growing field, brain activity, nervous system,
Approximate Word count = 849
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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