Nature vs. Nurture

One of the last sections we have been reading has been the nature vs. nurture debate. I understand the whole thing about how nurture shapes what nature provides, but for me it is extremely difficult to believe that genetics shape pretty much who we are (our temperament). From personal experience, my temperament is not much like those of my brothers or my parents. My personality seems very different from the rest of my family, so I don't see how it could be related to my genetics. Also, I wasn't always the way I am... About fourth grade I changed so I was more outgoing. This was because of the people I met. This is one of the main reasons for my skepticism of the fact that nature shapes most of our temperament.

As I was mentioning in class, I have been a part of a longitudinal study since before I was born. I think some of the research in this study is being done to further test the effects of nature and nurture through the years. This is because the researchers ask my parents questions, and the researchers ask me questions as well. They may be trying to see how my opinions and feelings differ from those of my parents. Also, one of the main points of the study is to see the effects of working parents on their children. This definitely seems like the researchers are studying nurture, if you ask me...

Discussion

I really liked the discussion today, and I think that class discussions bring up a lot of interesting points that would not be brought up otherwise. I also like the online discussion thing, however, I do have one criticism. I definitely think that the whole thing would run a lot more smoothly if we had a separate forum for each of the areas of discussion in order to keep everything all in one place. Also, I think it would be very beneficial if there were a way to do it in real-time (possibly Wave) because I found that by the time I typed a response to a post there were already three other responses to it. Luckily for me I was posting about a different aspect of the original post, but there could possibly be a bit of redundancy if this problem persists. Maybe I'm just crazy though... I don't know...

Brain Plasticity

In order for the tongue to be wired to the visual cortex, a few things would have to be augmented. Sensory input from the tongue would come to the brain via the parietal lobe (the sensory cortex) and then it would have to travel to the visual cortex (located in the occipital lobe), where the sensory input from the eyes goes. In order for these two areas of the brain to be connected, there would have to be neuron pathway between these two areas of the brain. The good thing about the proximity of the parietal lobe and the occipital lobe is that the neurons between these two areas are already close together. There will be less wiring for these neurons to do, so it wouldn't take as long for this process as if the sensory cortex was in the frontal lobe.

In order to get to the brain, the signals from the tongue would have to travel through the central nervous system and through the brain stem. The thalamus sends this signal to the parietal lobe, where the sensory cortex is located. Then, in the changed brain, the neurons transmit the signal to the occipital lobe and the visual cortex. This is how the tongue can see. Also, as the individual would keep using the tongue to see, the tongue part of the sensory cortex would expand so that it gets more accurate and eventually it would almost take over the visual cortex.

Caffeine

Caffeine really works in two ways. It is an inhibitor as well as a stimulant. In a normal brain, a chemical called adenosine builds up. This is a chemical that makes a person sleepy. However, in a brain that contains caffeine, the caffeine binds to the adenosine receptors. Thus, the adenosine is inhibited and there is no buildup of this chemical. Also, caffeine triggers the brain to release another chemical called dopamine. Dopamine is released in the part of the brain that feels pleasure, so many people feel happy after ingesting caffeine. Caffeine is an antagonist because it inhibits the adenosine from building up on the neurons. Caffeine, however, is also an agonist because it causes the neurons to release dopamine, a chemical not usually produced in high concentrations.

Over the long term, there really aren't very many side effects for caffeine unless more than 650 mg a day are ingested. For perspective, this is between eight and nine cups of coffee per day. However, if enough caffeine is ingested the long term effects could be as follows: chronic insomnia, stomach ulcers, and anxiety and depression. Also, there is some evidence that caffeine may be related to an irregular heartbeat and to higher cholesterol, but there is no conclusive evidence relating caffeine to heart disease.

There are not many ways to misuse caffeine. If used too much for too long one can experience headaches associated with caffeine withdrawal if there is a sudden decrease in the amount of caffeine ingested. Also, caffeine may be harmful during pregnancy. Ingestion of large amounts of caffeine during pregnancy has been associated with low birth weight and miscarriages.

Really though, there is no evidence that caffeine creates dependence. However, it can cause insomnia and other problems, so use should be limited. The best way to do this is to gradually decrease the intake of caffeine and replace it with decaffeinated alternatives.

Why I Love Moodle Response

I actually don't find Moodle all that difficult to use. There was a slight learning curve, but that went away after a few days. I like that it is possible to have class discussions with both classes outside of the school day. Also, it is very nice that we can ask questions and have them answered before the next day. It is really convenient and it aids in my understanding of the difficult or confusing topics. I don't really use any other networking sites for studying, but I do like to call people if I am confused and then I can have a makeshift study group over the phone. Also, being asked questions and having to answer these questions helps me study. Basically, I think Moodle is a powerful tool and I am glad that we get to use it for this class

Experiment Replication

I really liked this assignment. Projects really help me learn a lot better than just reading in the book, and they are quite a bit more interesting. Katie and I chose to replicate an experiment on how information provided after an event can shape the memory of an eyewitness. Sadly, our data did not match up with the original experiment, but I suppose that that is experimentation. Our data had such a wide spread of values, though, that our replication really wasn't valid at all. I definitely think we needed more mature test subjects for this experiment to be replicated exactly.

The Test

The test was about what I expected. Because of this, I don't have any change in expectations for this course. There was one question I got wrong that I really should have gotten right because I studied it extensively, but I know I got it right on my corrections, so at least I got half a point back for it. On that subject, I really wasn't expecting the opportunity to redo the test, so it was a pretty pleasant surprise when I found out we could get half of the points we got off back. I wasn't overall disappointed with my grade, but I think I can definitely do better in the future now that I further know what to expect and I know the types of questions on the test. I am, however, kind of worried about the essay where we had to design an experiment because I hope I controlled all of the variables except the one that we were trying to manipulate...

Youtube assignment

I really liked this assignment. It was very informative, and it was a lot of fun to put together the videos. I also really liked to watch all of the other videos. Everyone did a very good job and many of them were really funny. They were definitely a better way to learn about all of the psychologists rather than just reading about them. It went much quicker, and I learned just as much as reading. It was also much more memorable, because I will remember some of the humor when I am trying to remember what each of the psychologists did.