This year has been crazy. Classes have been hard. Life has been strange. I am so glad that the semester is coming to an end. Finals this week and next week. Math final today. Bio. Lab practical on Friday. Bio. next week. Uuuuhhhh….. I guess my classes ended well. My first college level math is done (with a ‘B’ even). My Latin class is over. Bio went well and things came together quite well in this class as well. I actually ended up learning a lot about a subject that I really enjoy and I wrote a kick ass paper so I guess that’s what is important. All of my LER’s are out of the way now. Declared a major finally. Biological Sciences. I can see myself behind a microscope for the rest of my life. At least I’ll be happy. I had some great experiences with Keiko (my roommate from Japan).Trying to explain why we carve pumpkins for Halloween and why we stuff ourselves until we can't move for Thanksgiving. Watching her drive a golf cart when she has never driven before. It was hard to see her leave but I have a welcome home anytime I want to visit Japan now (like I have the money to fly over just for the weekend). I got a lot closer to my current roommate and friend from home, Gina. This was a friendship that I am glad developed. I saw some friends go through some hard times. My best friend from high school got married, had a beautiful baby boy, and got sent to Iraq. It scares me every day to think I could see him on the news. It seems like this is too often the case for too many people. This fucking war needs to stop. I just RSVPed to another friend’s wedding. I guess that can be considered good news if you look at it right. October marked the two year anniversary of a friend’s death. Things are getting back to normal again. Finally at the end things are starting look up for once. I am applying for a good job on campus next year and I think I have found an apartment for next semester as well (with all the tuition hikes and my lack of financial aid I pretty much have to go off campus now). This will be my last summer at home. I’m turning 20 in a few weeks and I don’t want to be reliant on my parents anymore. Perhaps the best news so far this year; Derek (my brother who is 2 years older than me) has decided to go back to school. He is so brilliant. So much smarter than I am in so many areas. This is really big because I was the first person ever in my family to go to college and now Derek is too. We can finally help support each other now. I hope things turn out well for him. For the most part this year has been hard, but things are pulling together now as the semester nears its end. Hopefully things will only go up (not including gas prices).
I hope everyone has a great summer and good luck on finals!!!
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Monday, April 30, 2007
Doomsday Dream
So I had this dream last night. I am not exactly religious but it freaked me out. I wrote this at 3:45 in the morning and it sounds like something out of a cheesy sci-fi movie. It probably spawned from the religious debate that my roommates and I have been having. I do not lend myself to any particular religion, my boyfriend is Christian, my roommate is atheist and her boyfriend is Catholic so you can see where we all have different views. Somehow this probably embedded itself into my subconscious and this came out. What the hell???
The earth is in ruin. Everywhere is destruction, fire, chaos, death. There are no structures still standing, except one lone building in the distance. The building reaches to the sky where it touches the only white patch of clouds in sight. The patch which is a symbol of hope seems to be slowly closing in. Lightning flashes within the clouds. All of a sudden I find myself in a garden with many other people, the first I have seen yet. The garden looks as if it was once beautiful, but
thorns now grow from the ground and entangle the trees. The air is becoming clouded and hard to breath. Everyone is standing around talking in hushed tones, but the voices together form a dull cacophony of fear. There is one voice speaking above the rest. It is calm yet urgent. It is coming from very far away. I am the first; it seems, to realize the truth. I try to hush the others but to no avail. I look over my shoulder only to realize that I have wings. I turn around to see everyone else and now they to have wings. I see standing in a corner a familiar face. I run over to him. Just as I reach out to him I feel myself being pulled away. Like being dragged under water. Everything is getting darker as I get farther and farther away. Then for a moment everything is black. The next thing I know I am inside the building. I am standing in what looks to be a waiting room. There are people all over; all of them with the same bleak expression on their faces. Everything is one color. A sort of grayish yellow. The floors, the ceiling, the walls, the peoples clothes, their skin, all the same dark color. There are places where walls are not fully built or falling apart. Behind the walls are rows and rows of beds each inhabited with another person that looks the same as the last. I don’t know where I am so I ask a man standing in the hallway. He points to a door behind me and says we are at the gates of heaven. We are in limbo. In my confusion I scream at the man that I am supposed to be in heaven; that there is a mistake. He just laughs at me. I turn and walk down the hallway. There is room after room after room of nothing but scattered papers overturned desks and chairs; broken windows. The things you would expect to find in a post apocalyptic world. Halfway down the hall I turn to look behind me and find a trail of blood and feathers. I look at my wings. They appear as though they are melting. Flesh and feathers rot and fall to the floor. I don’t have much time. I turn and begin walking faster and then I am running down the hall. I come to the end of the hallway. There is a man. He is turned away from me. He is dressed in black and has hair down to the center of his back. His hair is in dread locks. The man has a mop in his hands and is dragging it across the floor. The water he is using in the bucket is black. He slowly turns to face me. All I see are his black rimmed glasses staring at me. He smiles. I don’t even have to speak “God is dead” these are the only words he speaks. He laughs to himself and goes back to his work. I step towards the door directly in front of me and turn the handle. It opens. I am outside for only seconds before I am back inside lying on the floor gasping for air. I cannot remember what was behind the door but I know I cannot go back. I stand and notice that I am now dressed in all black and my wings are nothing more than bloody stalks. The man is gone but it doesn’t matter. I have to get back to heaven. I begin running down the hall following my own trail of blood and feathers. I look over my shoulder. The man is back and he is chasing after me. After a moment I look again and the man has become two shadowy figures. I reach the waiting room outside the gates. The gates have been forced open and no one alive remains in the waiting room. I enter the gate and try to force it closed. I cannot close it. The figures pass through me and I wake up.
OH GOD!!!The world is coming to an end. Everyone bury your heads in the sand!!!
I have such odd dreams!
The earth is in ruin. Everywhere is destruction, fire, chaos, death. There are no structures still standing, except one lone building in the distance. The building reaches to the sky where it touches the only white patch of clouds in sight. The patch which is a symbol of hope seems to be slowly closing in. Lightning flashes within the clouds. All of a sudden I find myself in a garden with many other people, the first I have seen yet. The garden looks as if it was once beautiful, but
thorns now grow from the ground and entangle the trees. The air is becoming clouded and hard to breath. Everyone is standing around talking in hushed tones, but the voices together form a dull cacophony of fear. There is one voice speaking above the rest. It is calm yet urgent. It is coming from very far away. I am the first; it seems, to realize the truth. I try to hush the others but to no avail. I look over my shoulder only to realize that I have wings. I turn around to see everyone else and now they to have wings. I see standing in a corner a familiar face. I run over to him. Just as I reach out to him I feel myself being pulled away. Like being dragged under water. Everything is getting darker as I get farther and farther away. Then for a moment everything is black. The next thing I know I am inside the building. I am standing in what looks to be a waiting room. There are people all over; all of them with the same bleak expression on their faces. Everything is one color. A sort of grayish yellow. The floors, the ceiling, the walls, the peoples clothes, their skin, all the same dark color. There are places where walls are not fully built or falling apart. Behind the walls are rows and rows of beds each inhabited with another person that looks the same as the last. I don’t know where I am so I ask a man standing in the hallway. He points to a door behind me and says we are at the gates of heaven. We are in limbo. In my confusion I scream at the man that I am supposed to be in heaven; that there is a mistake. He just laughs at me. I turn and walk down the hallway. There is room after room after room of nothing but scattered papers overturned desks and chairs; broken windows. The things you would expect to find in a post apocalyptic world. Halfway down the hall I turn to look behind me and find a trail of blood and feathers. I look at my wings. They appear as though they are melting. Flesh and feathers rot and fall to the floor. I don’t have much time. I turn and begin walking faster and then I am running down the hall. I come to the end of the hallway. There is a man. He is turned away from me. He is dressed in black and has hair down to the center of his back. His hair is in dread locks. The man has a mop in his hands and is dragging it across the floor. The water he is using in the bucket is black. He slowly turns to face me. All I see are his black rimmed glasses staring at me. He smiles. I don’t even have to speak “God is dead” these are the only words he speaks. He laughs to himself and goes back to his work. I step towards the door directly in front of me and turn the handle. It opens. I am outside for only seconds before I am back inside lying on the floor gasping for air. I cannot remember what was behind the door but I know I cannot go back. I stand and notice that I am now dressed in all black and my wings are nothing more than bloody stalks. The man is gone but it doesn’t matter. I have to get back to heaven. I begin running down the hall following my own trail of blood and feathers. I look over my shoulder. The man is back and he is chasing after me. After a moment I look again and the man has become two shadowy figures. I reach the waiting room outside the gates. The gates have been forced open and no one alive remains in the waiting room. I enter the gate and try to force it closed. I cannot close it. The figures pass through me and I wake up. 
OH GOD!!!The world is coming to an end. Everyone bury your heads in the sand!!!
I have such odd dreams!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
The History of the Dominion of Melchizedek
NOTICE:
The Dominion of Melchizedek is not actually a real place…well actually there is an interesting story behind it at least. I have taken the name of this “nation” from a webpage and created a fictional story about its history. Some of the “facts” are loosely based on truth about the “nation” but all names have been changed and the story is completely ridiculous anyways. If you wish to know about the “real” Dominion of Melchizedek click here and you can ask Tony-the-Wonder-Llama about it. It is kind of funny and I hope you enjoy these random antics…
The Dominion of Melchizedek: The Story Of A Mime With A Dream
The Dominion of Melchizedek is a wonderful and amazing nation that was founded by Harry Sampson and his son Gary. Their story is one of heartbreak, persecution and finally, freedom! Harry Sampson was born in California to very poor parents. The great depression had taken a great toll on Harry’s family and had a lasting effect throughout his childhood and into his early adolescence. Harry’s parents, hoping to alter his bleak future, decided to make the trek from their tiny one room shack in Yreka to Los Angeles, in their 1972 Ford Pinto to try to make a future in Hollywood. This plan never really came through for the Sampson’s and Harry ended up finding work as a stationary mime extra in a modern Broadway rendition of the classic French mime film “Les Enfants du Paradis''. This show failed miserably costing the producers and cast including David every penny they had. This failure affected Harry‘s pride but not his spirit.
Shortly after Harry’s 28th birthday he announced to his parents that “Hollywood was not fair!” and that he had been accepted to a very prestigious school for mimes and struggling actors in Mexico. He would be leaving immediately. This however was not the truth but only a glamorous story he told his parents for the reason he was going to Mexico. The real reason was to become a counterfeiter and make millions so that he could come back one day and give his parents the retirement they always deserved. His parents responded to the news the way parents would. His mother said to him “Make sure you take plenty of stationery so you can write us. Don’t wash your clothes in the water because its dirty. Don’t lose our address and don’t talk to bums because they’re just trying to get your money.” With that advice his mother gave him fare for the bus and kissed him goodbye. His father simply said to him “Stay on the right track and whether or not you make it we will be here for you always.” Those were the first and last words his father would ever speak to him.
Harry’s life took a very strange turn when he arrived in Mexico. He had success for a few years with the counterfeit business and also got engaged to a beautiful woman names Sheila, whose father was a hut builder. Harry decided to attend Mime Community college after all and try to make an honest living. Sheila soon became pregnant and the marriage was approaching. On their wedding day Sheila left Harry and the new baby, Greg, at the altar. This crushed Harry and caused him to seriously consider his life’s calling. Harry took the counterfeit money and decided to found his own country where his son would have a chance to grow up in complete seclusion and never have to interact with society. After selling all of his possessions, except his son, Harry started looking for a site to build his empire. After buying a map from a one-eyed pirate Harry found the perfect uninhabited island in the Pacific previously only used for testing nuclear weapons by France. Harry moved there immediately and declared the island the Dominion of Melchizedek. The weather was beautiful on the little island and there was blue sky everywhere in sight. Harry decided that this new found nation should be founded on certain principles. First and foremost, it’s absolutely imperative that every citizen must have at least two gods of their choosing; you’re favorite color must be bananas because it is the nations chief export and you must be patriotic; and the principal rule of the society is that any time you write a research paper you must cite every source used perfectly or you will be put to death because plagiarism is absolutely intolerable. Harry had come to know the great moral importance of citations from his sophomore English class in Mime Community College.
The Dominion of Melchizedek enjoyed great peace for the first year of its existence with its relatively small population of 2. However,the worst tragedy in The Dominion of Melchizedek would soon shake the very foundation of the nation. The still unaware French military decided to test another nuclear weapon on the island completely destroying the entire right side, plunging it into the water, and killing three innocent crustaceans that never saw it coming. The effect on the island was devastating. Harry declared war on France and proclaimed that they had violated the sanctity of his great nation. He screamed his rage from the shores of The Dominion of Melchizedek, which did not yet have working phones, but France was just too far away to hear the threats of war. He decided that the new rite of passage for anyone wanting to become a citizen of The Dominion of Melchizedek would be to travel to France and de-pants a street mime while screaming the truth about the devastating attack on his island. Harry lived for many more years raising his son and when he passed on Greg took control of The Dominion of Melchizedek and still governs today unbeknownst to many in the world, especially France.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Altercentric Perception by Infants and Adults in Dialogue Summary
Journal 16: Summary 8:
A symptom I have previously discussed pertaining to autism has been a diminished or complete lack of language skills. In an earlier post I have also discussed a possible debunking of this symptom with the Facilitated Communication method. I will now explain further the mechanisms of speech and dialogue to explain why Facilitated Communication may not work in many individuals with autism and similar disorders. By this explanation Facilitated Communication should be dispelled and if not for the fact that it is a reality in many lives I would find it difficult to believe. There is no explanation for why Facilitated Communication works in some but an explanation of why it does not work in others may be revealed in the following summary.
Think of how we speak to one another. Think about what is said of couples who complete one another sentences. If I said to you “I am going to the ….”. In anticipation of the end of my sentence you may be mentally filling in the blank; the movies, the park, the bathroom. The same way a mother sitting in the park with her child knows before her child ever finishes the sentence “ Mommy I need to…” ‘go to the bathroom’ her mind automatically fills in as she gets up to escort him to the bathroom. This demonstrates Stein Braten’s theory of Ego’s virtual participation in Alter’s complementary act. The Ego is the person doing the act (the speaker in this first case) and the Alter is the person receiving the act (the listener in this first case). By virtual participation he explains that while the Ego is speaking the Alter is actively participating in listening and is anticipating the meaning of the Egos words, while the Ego is, in turn, listening to himself speak and anticipating the response of the Alter. Vice versa, after the Ego has spoken the opposite happens; the Alter speaks after having anticipated and contemplated the words of the Ego, and the Ego now virtually participates, recalls his own act of speech and mentally speaks (in anticipation of the Alter’s speech) to himself, therefore reinforcing his own learning of language. To demonstrate this recall that responses in conversation are almost instantaneous. A question is asked and as we listen; we anticipate the question and contemplate our responses while the Ego is still speaking. (This demonstrates Baron-Cohen’s theory of mindreading discussed earlier in my research.)
The semantics of language are however difficult to define and explain so to further explain his theory Braten describes an example of a behavioral manifestation of this theory in an infants feeding time. He calls this part of his study early infant imitation and learning by altercentric participation. Essentially, he demonstrates
an 11 1/2 month old child being spoon fed by her mother. The child opens her mouth as the food approaches and swallows the food after the mother places it into her mouth. After some time, and this has been demonstrated as a milestone for learning, the infant takes the spoon from the mother and proceeds to feed the mother. When the child puts the food into the mother’s mouth the child closes her own mouth, as she did when she was eating the food, and swallows. This shows the infant has learned to reenact by first being a participant and then being a virtual participant through the being in the caregiver stance. As Braten explains the infant is “a virtual co-author of their enactments.” The child is now left with a reinforced memory of having been fed and having fed and has learned the action through encoding in the brain by the mirror system.
As I have already discussed a disturbance in the mirror system disables the ability of one to code acts correctly in the brain and learn in the way expressed here by the infant. Braten briefly explains the complications of a faulty mirror system in autistic individuals. He explains that an inability to “transcend own body-centred view points” due to a malfunctioning mirror system makes it nearly impossible to imitate face-to-face situations and therefore it becomes infinitely complicated to teach face-to-face interaction and language to those suffering from mirror neuron dysfunctions like in many autistic people. As for cases of autism where Facilitated Communication has become an answer to this impossibility, it still remains to be researched how these individuals are different and why it works.
A symptom I have previously discussed pertaining to autism has been a diminished or complete lack of language skills. In an earlier post I have also discussed a possible debunking of this symptom with the Facilitated Communication method. I will now explain further the mechanisms of speech and dialogue to explain why Facilitated Communication may not work in many individuals with autism and similar disorders. By this explanation Facilitated Communication should be dispelled and if not for the fact that it is a reality in many lives I would find it difficult to believe. There is no explanation for why Facilitated Communication works in some but an explanation of why it does not work in others may be revealed in the following summary.
Think of how we speak to one another. Think about what is said of couples who complete one another sentences. If I said to you “I am going to the ….”. In anticipation of the end of my sentence you may be mentally filling in the blank; the movies, the park, the bathroom. The same way a mother sitting in the park with her child knows before her child ever finishes the sentence “ Mommy I need to…” ‘go to the bathroom’ her mind automatically fills in as she gets up to escort him to the bathroom. This demonstrates Stein Braten’s theory of Ego’s virtual participation in Alter’s complementary act. The Ego is the person doing the act (the speaker in this first case) and the Alter is the person receiving the act (the listener in this first case). By virtual participation he explains that while the Ego is speaking the Alter is actively participating in listening and is anticipating the meaning of the Egos words, while the Ego is, in turn, listening to himself speak and anticipating the response of the Alter. Vice versa, after the Ego has spoken the opposite happens; the Alter speaks after having anticipated and contemplated the words of the Ego, and the Ego now virtually participates, recalls his own act of speech and mentally speaks (in anticipation of the Alter’s speech) to himself, therefore reinforcing his own learning of language. To demonstrate this recall that responses in conversation are almost instantaneous. A question is asked and as we listen; we anticipate the question and contemplate our responses while the Ego is still speaking. (This demonstrates Baron-Cohen’s theory of mindreading discussed earlier in my research.)
The semantics of language are however difficult to define and explain so to further explain his theory Braten describes an example of a behavioral manifestation of this theory in an infants feeding time. He calls this part of his study early infant imitation and learning by altercentric participation. Essentially, he demonstrates
an 11 1/2 month old child being spoon fed by her mother. The child opens her mouth as the food approaches and swallows the food after the mother places it into her mouth. After some time, and this has been demonstrated as a milestone for learning, the infant takes the spoon from the mother and proceeds to feed the mother. When the child puts the food into the mother’s mouth the child closes her own mouth, as she did when she was eating the food, and swallows. This shows the infant has learned to reenact by first being a participant and then being a virtual participant through the being in the caregiver stance. As Braten explains the infant is “a virtual co-author of their enactments.” The child is now left with a reinforced memory of having been fed and having fed and has learned the action through encoding in the brain by the mirror system. As I have already discussed a disturbance in the mirror system disables the ability of one to code acts correctly in the brain and learn in the way expressed here by the infant. Braten briefly explains the complications of a faulty mirror system in autistic individuals. He explains that an inability to “transcend own body-centred view points” due to a malfunctioning mirror system makes it nearly impossible to imitate face-to-face situations and therefore it becomes infinitely complicated to teach face-to-face interaction and language to those suffering from mirror neuron dysfunctions like in many autistic people. As for cases of autism where Facilitated Communication has become an answer to this impossibility, it still remains to be researched how these individuals are different and why it works.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
To Present or to Persuade that is the Question!
Journal 15:
At the beginning of this project I automatically assumed I would be doing a persuasive research paper, however the project since then has taken on a different tone. I admit in the beginning I rushed into this subject and shortly after reading my first few sources and made it my mission to convince everyone in the world that mirror neurons were the most cutting edge answer to all of autisms problems.With many of the sourcing saying that the discovery of the mirror neuron system was one of the greatest unpublished discoveries of the decade it was easy to become overexcited and a little disappointing when I looked a little further. Scientists always disagree with one another and the facts always tend to support something other than what they are trying to convince us of, this I take to be generally true. Autism research is nothing different; thousands of researchers all doing independent research and all presenting accurate, but conflicting findings. What I have found concerning mirror neurons in autism is enough to have convinced me that they play a role in autism, but as a scientist and a researcher myself all I can do, professionally, is present what I have found in an expository research paper and let people make their own educated opinion on the subject. To try to lead people to believe that my opinion is the right one would be embarrassing and unprofessional on my part due to the amount of research that does not agree with my findings. For these reasons my paper will clearly be an expository research paper.
At the beginning of this project I automatically assumed I would be doing a persuasive research paper, however the project since then has taken on a different tone. I admit in the beginning I rushed into this subject and shortly after reading my first few sources and made it my mission to convince everyone in the world that mirror neurons were the most cutting edge answer to all of autisms problems.With many of the sourcing saying that the discovery of the mirror neuron system was one of the greatest unpublished discoveries of the decade it was easy to become overexcited and a little disappointing when I looked a little further. Scientists always disagree with one another and the facts always tend to support something other than what they are trying to convince us of, this I take to be generally true. Autism research is nothing different; thousands of researchers all doing independent research and all presenting accurate, but conflicting findings. What I have found concerning mirror neurons in autism is enough to have convinced me that they play a role in autism, but as a scientist and a researcher myself all I can do, professionally, is present what I have found in an expository research paper and let people make their own educated opinion on the subject. To try to lead people to believe that my opinion is the right one would be embarrassing and unprofessional on my part due to the amount of research that does not agree with my findings. For these reasons my paper will clearly be an expository research paper.
"'Helping' Autistic People to Speak" Summary
Journal 14: Summary 7:
This Article was linked to the other Time Magazine article I summarized called “Inside the Autistic Mind”. It is written by the same author, Claudia Wallis, and is just as interesting as the last. The article is about facilitated communication, a method of communication used by autistic individuals. With this method a keyboard is usually used by the autistic person to type their thoughts. In most cases another person, called the facilitator, helps to steady and guide the autistic
individual in their communication. Sometimes physical support is needed for example leaning on a shoulder, or holding a hand. The method is somewhat controversial. Some claim that it is really the facilitator doing the communicating. In studies where the facilitator was separated from the autistic individual, a small number of facilitators were shown to be communicating their own feelings and not those of the autistic individual. The facilitators were not shown to be purposefully guiding the communication but rather were unaware of that they were leading the conversations. In more cases than not it was shown to be successful, however there are still problems with the system. Loved ones can inadvertently guide ones communications without realizing it, but for those who have learned to use facilitated Communication without physical support it has changed their lives. Being able to communicate with the world gives a purpose to living as Chandima Rajapatirana says through his keyboard "FC doesn’t cure you, but it gives you a reason to live." The effects of this form of communication on an autistic individual’s life can obviously be seen in this statement.
Works cited:
Wallis, Claudia . “’Helping’ Autistic People to Speak”. Time 10 May 2006. 7 Mar. 2007 < http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1192775,00.html>
*Photograph from Time Magazine. Chandima Rajapatirana uses facilitated communication to speak with his mother, Anoja, who is also one of his facilitators.
COURTESY THE RAJAPATIRANA FAMILY
This Article was linked to the other Time Magazine article I summarized called “Inside the Autistic Mind”. It is written by the same author, Claudia Wallis, and is just as interesting as the last. The article is about facilitated communication, a method of communication used by autistic individuals. With this method a keyboard is usually used by the autistic person to type their thoughts. In most cases another person, called the facilitator, helps to steady and guide the autistic
individual in their communication. Sometimes physical support is needed for example leaning on a shoulder, or holding a hand. The method is somewhat controversial. Some claim that it is really the facilitator doing the communicating. In studies where the facilitator was separated from the autistic individual, a small number of facilitators were shown to be communicating their own feelings and not those of the autistic individual. The facilitators were not shown to be purposefully guiding the communication but rather were unaware of that they were leading the conversations. In more cases than not it was shown to be successful, however there are still problems with the system. Loved ones can inadvertently guide ones communications without realizing it, but for those who have learned to use facilitated Communication without physical support it has changed their lives. Being able to communicate with the world gives a purpose to living as Chandima Rajapatirana says through his keyboard "FC doesn’t cure you, but it gives you a reason to live." The effects of this form of communication on an autistic individual’s life can obviously be seen in this statement. Works cited:
Wallis, Claudia . “’Helping’ Autistic People to Speak”. Time 10 May 2006. 7 Mar. 2007 < http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1192775,00.html>
*Photograph from Time Magazine. Chandima Rajapatirana uses facilitated communication to speak with his mother, Anoja, who is also one of his facilitators.
COURTESY THE RAJAPATIRANA FAMILY
International Meeting for Autism Research; The Latest and Greatest
Journal 13:
Recently I discovered this source while searching on the Autism Speaks website. This is a relatively important breakthrough in my research. The source itself is an overview of the International Meeting for Autism Research that took place in June 2006. It brought together almost 900 scientists all actively studying Autism. It outlined every aspect being researched and all of the latest breakthroughs in autism research.
One of the first issues discussed at the meeting was early diagnosis. Currently autism cannot be properly diagnosed until age 2 but Sally Rogers, a researcher at the High Risk Baby Siblings Research Consortium, discussed her findings in a study done on 6 month old babies. She found faint sings of autism in children that were more prone to looking at their mothers mouth rather that into their eyes. This shows an early disconnection with the person closest to them, a very usual symptom of autism. This makes me wonder about whether this can be associated with the mindreading studies I have been using. They too tested infants around 6 months and found that they were not yet able to mindread, only more towards seven or eight months did this ability begin to show in the tests done by Prof Claes von Hofsten. Either way if early sings such as the eye patterns that Rogers saw can lead to early EEG testing and early diagnosis it would be a step forward.
Another very popular discussion at the meeting was genetics and the prevalence of autism in families. A lecture given by Conrad Gilliam discussed genetic screening and a dozen different chromosomes that have been shown to contain incongruities in autistic individuals. From my own understanding of genetic screening, without one specific mutation on a specific chromosome to look for it would be difficult to give a sure diagnosis using this method. With Down syndrome amniocentesis can be used to see the extra copy of chromosome 21, but in autism no one chromosome is a cause making this method very unstable. One possible effect that gene abnormalities could have is, in brain development for example, when neurons are developing each one has a specific area to travel to, but if those signals are interrupted and the neuron does not travel to the correct place it could result in deficiencies in some areas and in others special talents. In an article in Time magazine Claudia Wallis writes “Autistic people have been shown to use their brains in unusual ways: they memorize alphabet characters in a part of the brain that ordinarily processes shapes. They tend to use the visual centers in the back of the brain for tasks usually handled by the prefrontal cortex.” This could be explained with the above genetic theory. Also discussed as a part of the discussion on genetics was the prevalence of autism in families with autism. Studies done on language and social communications on autistic twins, autistic non-twin siblings, and the parents of the children showed support for genetic factors and also suggested a higher rate of autism in families. The Autism Genome Project (AGP) gave lectures on their first findings in their completed genome scan. Their preliminary findings showed two chromosomal regions and three other possible sites that could have susceptibility to autism. Research in this area is still being analyzed and could provide more breakthroughs when fully deciphered.
The next subject of the meeting was neurobiology and neuroanatomy. “Cynthia Schumann and David Amaral at the MIND Institute at UC Davis reported that the size of the amygdala (an area of the brain that regulates emotion, anxiety and fear) was larger in young children but not adults with autism.” These findings potentially explain emotional and anxiety symptoms in children and adolescence with autism. Studies done by Gene Blatt showed two different neurotransmitter systems; the glutamine and the GABA systems. One of the systems; the GABA system uses a neurochemical known to slow down neuron action. A dysfunction was found in these two systems in individuals with autism which could cause a disruption of the neurons ability to ‘talk’ to one another. This lead to a discussion of the “underconectivity’ theory. This theory says that the brain regions have difficulty communicating with each other in those suffering from autism. “Marcel Just suggested that while different areas of the cortex may be ‘activated' normally in individuals with autism, different brain areas may not be working together effectively, leading to a lower degree of integration of information from sensory and motor inputs.” Mirror neurons were also discussed at the meting showing that a dysfunctional mirror neuron system “could explain many of the core symptoms of autism.” Also EEG could be used to monitor mirror neurons and therefore diagnose autism at an earlier age.
The final discussion was one of the most important; treatments. Current medications and FDA approval for which was discussed citing a need for more research into which medications are working and what symptom they treat. Risperdal, a medication used for aggression, has been called into question due to its affect on the glutamine and GABA systems discussed earlier. Other medications used to control seizures have been shown to be effective and others still are being tested to determine effectiveness.
To conclude the author of this article wrote “The International Meeting for Autism Research provides scientists the opportunity to learn from other researchers so that major discoveries and advances can be made even faster. Scientists cannot conduct research without the ongoing collaboration, input and updates of the most current findings in all areas of autism research, and this meeting makes these advancements possible.” The importance of a meeting such as this one is immeasurable. It is great to make a breakthrough, but without sharing your findings and collaborating with other researchers working towards the same goal, nothing can be done and science cannot move forward.
Works cited:
“Researchers, Scientists Share New Autism Research Findings”. Autism Speaks. June 2006. 7 Mar. 2007.
Wallis, Claudia . “Inside the Autistic Mind”. Time 7 May 2006. 1 Mar. 2007
Recently I discovered this source while searching on the Autism Speaks website. This is a relatively important breakthrough in my research. The source itself is an overview of the International Meeting for Autism Research that took place in June 2006. It brought together almost 900 scientists all actively studying Autism. It outlined every aspect being researched and all of the latest breakthroughs in autism research.
One of the first issues discussed at the meeting was early diagnosis. Currently autism cannot be properly diagnosed until age 2 but Sally Rogers, a researcher at the High Risk Baby Siblings Research Consortium, discussed her findings in a study done on 6 month old babies. She found faint sings of autism in children that were more prone to looking at their mothers mouth rather that into their eyes. This shows an early disconnection with the person closest to them, a very usual symptom of autism. This makes me wonder about whether this can be associated with the mindreading studies I have been using. They too tested infants around 6 months and found that they were not yet able to mindread, only more towards seven or eight months did this ability begin to show in the tests done by Prof Claes von Hofsten. Either way if early sings such as the eye patterns that Rogers saw can lead to early EEG testing and early diagnosis it would be a step forward.
Another very popular discussion at the meeting was genetics and the prevalence of autism in families. A lecture given by Conrad Gilliam discussed genetic screening and a dozen different chromosomes that have been shown to contain incongruities in autistic individuals. From my own understanding of genetic screening, without one specific mutation on a specific chromosome to look for it would be difficult to give a sure diagnosis using this method. With Down syndrome amniocentesis can be used to see the extra copy of chromosome 21, but in autism no one chromosome is a cause making this method very unstable. One possible effect that gene abnormalities could have is, in brain development for example, when neurons are developing each one has a specific area to travel to, but if those signals are interrupted and the neuron does not travel to the correct place it could result in deficiencies in some areas and in others special talents. In an article in Time magazine Claudia Wallis writes “Autistic people have been shown to use their brains in unusual ways: they memorize alphabet characters in a part of the brain that ordinarily processes shapes. They tend to use the visual centers in the back of the brain for tasks usually handled by the prefrontal cortex.” This could be explained with the above genetic theory. Also discussed as a part of the discussion on genetics was the prevalence of autism in families with autism. Studies done on language and social communications on autistic twins, autistic non-twin siblings, and the parents of the children showed support for genetic factors and also suggested a higher rate of autism in families. The Autism Genome Project (AGP) gave lectures on their first findings in their completed genome scan. Their preliminary findings showed two chromosomal regions and three other possible sites that could have susceptibility to autism. Research in this area is still being analyzed and could provide more breakthroughs when fully deciphered.
The next subject of the meeting was neurobiology and neuroanatomy. “Cynthia Schumann and David Amaral at the MIND Institute at UC Davis reported that the size of the amygdala (an area of the brain that regulates emotion, anxiety and fear) was larger in young children but not adults with autism.” These findings potentially explain emotional and anxiety symptoms in children and adolescence with autism. Studies done by Gene Blatt showed two different neurotransmitter systems; the glutamine and the GABA systems. One of the systems; the GABA system uses a neurochemical known to slow down neuron action. A dysfunction was found in these two systems in individuals with autism which could cause a disruption of the neurons ability to ‘talk’ to one another. This lead to a discussion of the “underconectivity’ theory. This theory says that the brain regions have difficulty communicating with each other in those suffering from autism. “Marcel Just suggested that while different areas of the cortex may be ‘activated' normally in individuals with autism, different brain areas may not be working together effectively, leading to a lower degree of integration of information from sensory and motor inputs.” Mirror neurons were also discussed at the meting showing that a dysfunctional mirror neuron system “could explain many of the core symptoms of autism.” Also EEG could be used to monitor mirror neurons and therefore diagnose autism at an earlier age.
The final discussion was one of the most important; treatments. Current medications and FDA approval for which was discussed citing a need for more research into which medications are working and what symptom they treat. Risperdal, a medication used for aggression, has been called into question due to its affect on the glutamine and GABA systems discussed earlier. Other medications used to control seizures have been shown to be effective and others still are being tested to determine effectiveness.
To conclude the author of this article wrote “The International Meeting for Autism Research provides scientists the opportunity to learn from other researchers so that major discoveries and advances can be made even faster. Scientists cannot conduct research without the ongoing collaboration, input and updates of the most current findings in all areas of autism research, and this meeting makes these advancements possible.” The importance of a meeting such as this one is immeasurable. It is great to make a breakthrough, but without sharing your findings and collaborating with other researchers working towards the same goal, nothing can be done and science cannot move forward.
Works cited:
“Researchers, Scientists Share New Autism Research Findings”. Autism Speaks. June 2006. 7 Mar. 2007.
Wallis, Claudia . “Inside the Autistic Mind”. Time 7 May 2006. 1 Mar. 2007
"The Mind's Mirror" Summary
Journal 12: Summary 6:
I have discussed before in my “research, research everywhere…” post my issues with being able find sources, but many of them have the same information. It is similar in this source, however there is a good bit of new mixed in with all of the old information so, although this may be little shorter than normal, I will only summarize the new and more relevant issues discussed in this article. This article written by Lea Winerman discusses an aspect that has been slightly allusive to me until now.
She discusses a study done by Marco Iacoboni in which mirror neurons were shown to be used in determining intention. In the study, the participants were shown a video of a woman at a tea party picking up her cup. Then they were shown a video of the same tea party with crumbs and dishes scattered on the table indicating it was over. The same woman was shown picking up her cup in this context as well. Finally the cup was shown alone in no context. The EEG results showed much more activity in the mirror neuron area during the videos of the tea party than when the cup was removed from context. This shows that the brain was working more to recognize that in the first video the woman was lifting the cup to drink from it and in the second video she was lifting it to clean it. Less brain stimulation occurred during the video of the cup out of any context. The brain worked less to recognize a simple picture on a screen than it did when processing intention and context. "This suggests that the neurons are important for understanding intentions as well as actions," Iacoboni says. Vittorio Gallese, MD, PhD, at the University of Parma is very experienced with mirror neurons and has this to say about their importance in society “This neural mechanism is involuntary and automatic, with it we don't have to think about what other people are doing or feeling, we simply know. It seems we're wired to see other people as similar to us, rather than different. At the root, as humans we identify the person we're facing as someone like ourselves."
Works cited:
Winerman, Lea. “The Mind’s Mirror”. APA Online . Volume 36, No. 9 October 2005. 7 Mar. 2007. < http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct05/mirror.html>
I have discussed before in my “research, research everywhere…” post my issues with being able find sources, but many of them have the same information. It is similar in this source, however there is a good bit of new mixed in with all of the old information so, although this may be little shorter than normal, I will only summarize the new and more relevant issues discussed in this article. This article written by Lea Winerman discusses an aspect that has been slightly allusive to me until now.
She discusses a study done by Marco Iacoboni in which mirror neurons were shown to be used in determining intention. In the study, the participants were shown a video of a woman at a tea party picking up her cup. Then they were shown a video of the same tea party with crumbs and dishes scattered on the table indicating it was over. The same woman was shown picking up her cup in this context as well. Finally the cup was shown alone in no context. The EEG results showed much more activity in the mirror neuron area during the videos of the tea party than when the cup was removed from context. This shows that the brain was working more to recognize that in the first video the woman was lifting the cup to drink from it and in the second video she was lifting it to clean it. Less brain stimulation occurred during the video of the cup out of any context. The brain worked less to recognize a simple picture on a screen than it did when processing intention and context. "This suggests that the neurons are important for understanding intentions as well as actions," Iacoboni says. Vittorio Gallese, MD, PhD, at the University of Parma is very experienced with mirror neurons and has this to say about their importance in society “This neural mechanism is involuntary and automatic, with it we don't have to think about what other people are doing or feeling, we simply know. It seems we're wired to see other people as similar to us, rather than different. At the root, as humans we identify the person we're facing as someone like ourselves."Works cited:
Winerman, Lea. “The Mind’s Mirror”. APA Online . Volume 36, No. 9 October 2005. 7 Mar. 2007. < http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct05/mirror.html>
Friday, March 2, 2007
Research, Research Everywhere, but not a Source to Cite
Journal 11:
Type into Google ‘Mirror Neurons’ and see how many results pop up. 927,000 to be exact. This could give an indication of how much information there is on the subject, but to delve a bit deeper we must actually click on some of these 927,000 results. The name Vilayanur Ramachandran , now deeply encoded into my long term memory banks, is everywhere on these sites. He is the leading researcher in this area and is one of the only experts in these particular neurons. Several studies have been done in the United States and several more in countries ahead in neuroscience technologies like China, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Switzerland and Canada. All of the studies done, even with a very wide variety of variables, have the same conclusion. In 80% of the tested individuals with autism spectrum disorders a malfunction in their mirror neuron system is exposed. Many of the sources found using Google are accounts, summaries, and results from these same handful of experiments. Because of the similarity in procedure and results of these studies I am having a lot of trouble
finding new sources to use that will not make all of my papers the same drone of information just presented in a different box with a new shinny bow. There is plenty of support for the theory, but not a lot of unique views on the subject because the topic is still relatively new to researchers. However, type ‘autism’ into Google and over 16,600,000 results come out. In discussing the implications of mirror neurons in autism I must establish what autism is and why mirror neurons could be a large piece of the puzzle in some cases of autism. There is not a set standard for what exactly autism is and I will need to discuss that in great detail in my paper. I believe that with expansion and explanation, I can easily write an eight page paper discussing this topic extensively without struggling.
Type into Google ‘Mirror Neurons’ and see how many results pop up. 927,000 to be exact. This could give an indication of how much information there is on the subject, but to delve a bit deeper we must actually click on some of these 927,000 results. The name Vilayanur Ramachandran , now deeply encoded into my long term memory banks, is everywhere on these sites. He is the leading researcher in this area and is one of the only experts in these particular neurons. Several studies have been done in the United States and several more in countries ahead in neuroscience technologies like China, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Switzerland and Canada. All of the studies done, even with a very wide variety of variables, have the same conclusion. In 80% of the tested individuals with autism spectrum disorders a malfunction in their mirror neuron system is exposed. Many of the sources found using Google are accounts, summaries, and results from these same handful of experiments. Because of the similarity in procedure and results of these studies I am having a lot of trouble
finding new sources to use that will not make all of my papers the same drone of information just presented in a different box with a new shinny bow. There is plenty of support for the theory, but not a lot of unique views on the subject because the topic is still relatively new to researchers. However, type ‘autism’ into Google and over 16,600,000 results come out. In discussing the implications of mirror neurons in autism I must establish what autism is and why mirror neurons could be a large piece of the puzzle in some cases of autism. There is not a set standard for what exactly autism is and I will need to discuss that in great detail in my paper. I believe that with expansion and explanation, I can easily write an eight page paper discussing this topic extensively without struggling.
“Inside the Autistic Mind" Summary
Journal 10: Summary 5:
I for one have always been a fan of Time Magazine. No matter what the subject the writers at Time have always had a way of drawing me in and fixing my mind to whatever it is the article is about. This article “Inside the Autistic Mind” by Claudia Wallis is no different. Although the article disagrees with much of what I have been researching I feel that it is necessary to include this point of view in my sources and in my paper. The article begins with a short introduction to a young girl named Hannah. Hannah has a relatively strong case of autism and for the first thirteen years of her life was unable to speak beyond a few repeated phrases. Wallis describes in beautiful detail the groundbreaking moment that Hannah made contact with her outside world for the
first time. Using a method called facilitated communication, a system using a keyboard and a facilitator to help controll the communication, Hannah was able to tell her mother that she loves her. Facilitated communication has been the subject of some controversy. Those who appose this method say that the person helping to control the communication is really the one creating the communication, but with Hannah at the keyboard it is clear that her life has been changed. Shortly after this first emotional outreach, Hannah is now learning algebra, biology, and history. Hannah, now nearly 15, is dealing with being autistic in a way that many cannot. With her keyboard she is able to communicate her feelings about being autistic and the nearly 13 years of her life she spent in silence. She writes “Reality hurts.” Although the emotions are difficult for her to handle, Hannah is able to explain her actions and abilities and offer insight into the autistic disorder. For example Hannah explains why she does not look at things directly but rather she uses her peripheral vision to see because her sight is overly sensitive to light.She also has a hypersensitive sense of hearing, being able to hear things at one end of their home that is happening on the other side. Also it has been discovered that Hannah has some very unique gifts. Upon being given a list of 30 math questions Hannah immediately typed the answers to all 30. Hannah has a photographic memory.
Wallis continues on to explain “Autism is almost certainly, like cancer, many diseases with many distinct causes. It's well known that there's a wide range in the severity of symptoms--from profound disability to milder forms like Asperger syndrome, in which intellectual ability is generally high but social awareness is low. Indeed, doctors now prefer the term Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD). But scientists suspect there are also distinct subtypes, including an early-onset type and a regressive type that can strike as late as age 2.” She describes that many problems in the brain are found in autistic individuals; problems with neurons (like mirror neurons), oversized areas, disconnections between lobes, and many other irregularities, but it is difficult to pinpoint weather these abnormalities came about because of the autistic disorder or if they are what caused it. Furthermore other symptoms are beginning to be dispelled, like inability to love or lack of emotional connections thanks to cases like Hannah’s. Also symptoms like spinning, head banging, and repetition appear to be more a way of coping then just a physical symptom. A quote used later in the article brings some insight into the reason for these actions “Chandima Rajapatirana, an autistic writer from Potomac, Md., offers this account: ‘Helplessly I sit while Mom calls me to come. I know what I must do, but often I can't get up until she says, 'Stand up,'. [The] knack of knowing where my body is does not come easy for me. Interestingly I do not know if I am sitting or standing. I am not aware of my body unless it is touching something ... Your hand on mine lets me know where my hand is. Jarring my legs by walking tells me I am alive.’”
Further more, other possible causes for autism have been discussed, like high levels of mercury in the body, but no one cause can be singled out. Researchers believe that there is a combination of genetic and environmental factors implicated in the cause of autism. Genetic factors have been long studied and Wallis explains “An identical twin of a child with autism has a 60% to 90% chance of also being affected. And there's little doubt that a vulnerability to ASD runs in some families: the sibling of a child with autism has about a 10% chance of having ASD”. There have been abnormalities found on chromosomes 2, 5, 7, 11 and 17 and as David Amaral, research director of the MIND (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) Institute, says “We think there are a number of different autisms, each of which could have a different cause and different genes involved,". Regardless of the causes, over 300,000 school age children suffer from the effects of this disorder all in their own ways. The most upsetting cases are those like Hannah’s. Those who “have a lively intelligence trapped in a body that makes it difficult for others to see that the lights are on.” Or a boy stricken with a very severe case of autism; nable to speak or sustain his attention from one moment to the next, yet this boy is tragically aware of his situation. As Wallis writes “How many other autistic kids, Merzenich wonders, ‘are living in a well where no one can hear them’?” For some like Hannah, who is now preparing for college, life after so many years of silence can become a cacophony of happiness. But still some remain in silence waiting for us to breakthrough that two-way mirror. We have come so far in scientific breakthroughs and perhaps the answers are right around the corner, but for now we will continue doing everything in our power for those suffering from autism.
Works cited:
Wallis, Claudia . “Inside the Autistic Mind”. Time 7 May 2006. 1 Mar. 2007
I for one have always been a fan of Time Magazine. No matter what the subject the writers at Time have always had a way of drawing me in and fixing my mind to whatever it is the article is about. This article “Inside the Autistic Mind” by Claudia Wallis is no different. Although the article disagrees with much of what I have been researching I feel that it is necessary to include this point of view in my sources and in my paper. The article begins with a short introduction to a young girl named Hannah. Hannah has a relatively strong case of autism and for the first thirteen years of her life was unable to speak beyond a few repeated phrases. Wallis describes in beautiful detail the groundbreaking moment that Hannah made contact with her outside world for the
first time. Using a method called facilitated communication, a system using a keyboard and a facilitator to help controll the communication, Hannah was able to tell her mother that she loves her. Facilitated communication has been the subject of some controversy. Those who appose this method say that the person helping to control the communication is really the one creating the communication, but with Hannah at the keyboard it is clear that her life has been changed. Shortly after this first emotional outreach, Hannah is now learning algebra, biology, and history. Hannah, now nearly 15, is dealing with being autistic in a way that many cannot. With her keyboard she is able to communicate her feelings about being autistic and the nearly 13 years of her life she spent in silence. She writes “Reality hurts.” Although the emotions are difficult for her to handle, Hannah is able to explain her actions and abilities and offer insight into the autistic disorder. For example Hannah explains why she does not look at things directly but rather she uses her peripheral vision to see because her sight is overly sensitive to light.She also has a hypersensitive sense of hearing, being able to hear things at one end of their home that is happening on the other side. Also it has been discovered that Hannah has some very unique gifts. Upon being given a list of 30 math questions Hannah immediately typed the answers to all 30. Hannah has a photographic memory. Wallis continues on to explain “Autism is almost certainly, like cancer, many diseases with many distinct causes. It's well known that there's a wide range in the severity of symptoms--from profound disability to milder forms like Asperger syndrome, in which intellectual ability is generally high but social awareness is low. Indeed, doctors now prefer the term Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD). But scientists suspect there are also distinct subtypes, including an early-onset type and a regressive type that can strike as late as age 2.” She describes that many problems in the brain are found in autistic individuals; problems with neurons (like mirror neurons), oversized areas, disconnections between lobes, and many other irregularities, but it is difficult to pinpoint weather these abnormalities came about because of the autistic disorder or if they are what caused it. Furthermore other symptoms are beginning to be dispelled, like inability to love or lack of emotional connections thanks to cases like Hannah’s. Also symptoms like spinning, head banging, and repetition appear to be more a way of coping then just a physical symptom. A quote used later in the article brings some insight into the reason for these actions “Chandima Rajapatirana, an autistic writer from Potomac, Md., offers this account: ‘Helplessly I sit while Mom calls me to come. I know what I must do, but often I can't get up until she says, 'Stand up,'. [The] knack of knowing where my body is does not come easy for me. Interestingly I do not know if I am sitting or standing. I am not aware of my body unless it is touching something ... Your hand on mine lets me know where my hand is. Jarring my legs by walking tells me I am alive.’”
Further more, other possible causes for autism have been discussed, like high levels of mercury in the body, but no one cause can be singled out. Researchers believe that there is a combination of genetic and environmental factors implicated in the cause of autism. Genetic factors have been long studied and Wallis explains “An identical twin of a child with autism has a 60% to 90% chance of also being affected. And there's little doubt that a vulnerability to ASD runs in some families: the sibling of a child with autism has about a 10% chance of having ASD”. There have been abnormalities found on chromosomes 2, 5, 7, 11 and 17 and as David Amaral, research director of the MIND (Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) Institute, says “We think there are a number of different autisms, each of which could have a different cause and different genes involved,". Regardless of the causes, over 300,000 school age children suffer from the effects of this disorder all in their own ways. The most upsetting cases are those like Hannah’s. Those who “have a lively intelligence trapped in a body that makes it difficult for others to see that the lights are on.” Or a boy stricken with a very severe case of autism; nable to speak or sustain his attention from one moment to the next, yet this boy is tragically aware of his situation. As Wallis writes “How many other autistic kids, Merzenich wonders, ‘are living in a well where no one can hear them’?” For some like Hannah, who is now preparing for college, life after so many years of silence can become a cacophony of happiness. But still some remain in silence waiting for us to breakthrough that two-way mirror. We have come so far in scientific breakthroughs and perhaps the answers are right around the corner, but for now we will continue doing everything in our power for those suffering from autism.
Works cited:
Wallis, Claudia . “Inside the Autistic Mind”. Time 7 May 2006. 1 Mar. 2007
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Peer review sessions 2/8 and 2/22
Journal 9:
I admit I have been slightly neglecting my blog of lately and (admittedly because the professor said she is checking blogs this weekend) I need to catch up. I am a little unclear on what exactly I am missing from my blog, but upon checking other blogs I have realized that a lot of other people used an explanation of peer review days as an entry and I will be doing the same. It may be a little out of order but better late that never.
Peer review 2/8: Important figures paper
I began on the day we did our first peer review. After giving my papers to Shelly and Ann I stressed to them my extreme misuse of the comma. I have always been comma happy in my writing and recently, due to being screamed at for using to many commas, I have been neglecting comma use in my papers. I reread the chapter on commas and even though I enjoy the comical styling of our Grammar and Style book,
but it was not of the utmost help. It could just be that I am comma stupid and incapable of grasping the enigma that is the comma. Anyways, after a long silence during which much reading occurred, Ann was the first to discuss my paper. She started with a compliment saying that I had done a nice job with only some minor mistakes. She pointed out a run-on sentence in my first paragraph, an awkward sentence and an unclear explanations in my second, and some capitalization problems in my third. The main thing she showed me was my works cited page. I had forgotten (because it has been quite a long time since I have written a WC page) to use a hanging indent. Mrs. Mangun (my really cool Senior year English teacher) would be kicking me in the head if she saw my works cited page. It was a mess. Next to review my paper was Shelly. Shelly I could tell was a bit shy when it comes to reviewing other peoples work. She is very nice and I think kind of afraid to offend someone if she points out errors so she only a few things about missing commas and unclear passages to show me but it was still very helpful to me. My session went very well and I appreciated what both the girl had to say about my paper. Next Ann gave us her paper and explained that she had misunderstood the assignment so the paper was not exactly on the right subject but to just go with the flow and so we read her paper. I went first when I was done reading her paper. Other than not being on the right subject it was very well written. He had a nice flow and a good tone in her writing. I pointed out some repetitive words and awkwardly sounding sentences but honestly there was not much there to correct ( I was not just being lazy). Last but not least we read Shelly’s paper. Her topic is the Wright brothers and their role in aviation so it was a pretty interesting paper and enjoyable to read. Ann went first this time and pointed out many of the things I had noticed as well. Some minor punctuation and awkward sentences, but when it was my turn I pointed out her quotes. She had quoted some thing that really didn’t need to be quoted and some stuff that that I though needed to be paraphrased and not quoted. I did my best in the short time we had left in class to explain the rules for quoting and citations and her works cited page. I ended up commenting on her blog with some more helpful information because we did not have much time left in class by the time we got to her paper. Overall, Shelly’s paper was very well written as well. She has a unique writing style and an interesting topic. All together I think the peer review session was helpful to everyone and we used the class time well.
Peer review session 2/22: Important issues paper
This peer review session was a little mixed up due to the fact that we only had 5 people at the beginning of class, so we all traded papers as one big group. No one really said anything about their papers before we began reading so I kind of said to anyone listening my spiel about my paper. I had been rushed that week to finish my paper and barley got 2 ½ pages done for the peer review. I explained that the paper was not completely coherent because I jot down ideas and write as ideas come to me and then go back and add and fix stuff later and I had not had enough time to completely add and fix things. I had 3 papers to read and everyone else had 3 or 4 each so we took a lot of time reading (nearly ¾ the class time) and slowly we all started handing back papers and chattering quietly. Mostly we all just commented on the sides of the paper and Ms. Hanes lectured us on citations and using Wikipedia as a source so we really did not have time to talk to each other about our comments, but I talked to Shelly and Casey about their papers before I left. I got a lot of good comments on my papers even tough we didn’t all talk. I think this class session went well also.
I admit I have been slightly neglecting my blog of lately and (admittedly because the professor said she is checking blogs this weekend) I need to catch up. I am a little unclear on what exactly I am missing from my blog, but upon checking other blogs I have realized that a lot of other people used an explanation of peer review days as an entry and I will be doing the same. It may be a little out of order but better late that never.
Peer review 2/8: Important figures paper
I began on the day we did our first peer review. After giving my papers to Shelly and Ann I stressed to them my extreme misuse of the comma. I have always been comma happy in my writing and recently, due to being screamed at for using to many commas, I have been neglecting comma use in my papers. I reread the chapter on commas and even though I enjoy the comical styling of our Grammar and Style book,
but it was not of the utmost help. It could just be that I am comma stupid and incapable of grasping the enigma that is the comma. Anyways, after a long silence during which much reading occurred, Ann was the first to discuss my paper. She started with a compliment saying that I had done a nice job with only some minor mistakes. She pointed out a run-on sentence in my first paragraph, an awkward sentence and an unclear explanations in my second, and some capitalization problems in my third. The main thing she showed me was my works cited page. I had forgotten (because it has been quite a long time since I have written a WC page) to use a hanging indent. Mrs. Mangun (my really cool Senior year English teacher) would be kicking me in the head if she saw my works cited page. It was a mess. Next to review my paper was Shelly. Shelly I could tell was a bit shy when it comes to reviewing other peoples work. She is very nice and I think kind of afraid to offend someone if she points out errors so she only a few things about missing commas and unclear passages to show me but it was still very helpful to me. My session went very well and I appreciated what both the girl had to say about my paper. Next Ann gave us her paper and explained that she had misunderstood the assignment so the paper was not exactly on the right subject but to just go with the flow and so we read her paper. I went first when I was done reading her paper. Other than not being on the right subject it was very well written. He had a nice flow and a good tone in her writing. I pointed out some repetitive words and awkwardly sounding sentences but honestly there was not much there to correct ( I was not just being lazy). Last but not least we read Shelly’s paper. Her topic is the Wright brothers and their role in aviation so it was a pretty interesting paper and enjoyable to read. Ann went first this time and pointed out many of the things I had noticed as well. Some minor punctuation and awkward sentences, but when it was my turn I pointed out her quotes. She had quoted some thing that really didn’t need to be quoted and some stuff that that I though needed to be paraphrased and not quoted. I did my best in the short time we had left in class to explain the rules for quoting and citations and her works cited page. I ended up commenting on her blog with some more helpful information because we did not have much time left in class by the time we got to her paper. Overall, Shelly’s paper was very well written as well. She has a unique writing style and an interesting topic. All together I think the peer review session was helpful to everyone and we used the class time well.Peer review session 2/22: Important issues paper
This peer review session was a little mixed up due to the fact that we only had 5 people at the beginning of class, so we all traded papers as one big group. No one really said anything about their papers before we began reading so I kind of said to anyone listening my spiel about my paper. I had been rushed that week to finish my paper and barley got 2 ½ pages done for the peer review. I explained that the paper was not completely coherent because I jot down ideas and write as ideas come to me and then go back and add and fix stuff later and I had not had enough time to completely add and fix things. I had 3 papers to read and everyone else had 3 or 4 each so we took a lot of time reading (nearly ¾ the class time) and slowly we all started handing back papers and chattering quietly. Mostly we all just commented on the sides of the paper and Ms. Hanes lectured us on citations and using Wikipedia as a source so we really did not have time to talk to each other about our comments, but I talked to Shelly and Casey about their papers before I left. I got a lot of good comments on my papers even tough we didn’t all talk. I think this class session went well also.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
"Understanding Autism: Insights from Mind and Brain" Summary
Journal 8: Summary 4:
To further explore the Theory of Mind deficit in autistic individuals we must look further into what theory of mind is. Theory of Mind (ToM) is a persons ability to attribute mental and emotional states to themselves and to others. In autism it has been widely agreed that a fully developed ToM is missing . Autistic children have trouble understanding purpose and emotion in situations. In tests done by Baron-Cohen et al on normally functioning four year old individuals, autistic individuals with a mental state of about four years old, and individuals with down syndrome, they were told a story about two girls. One girl placed a marble into a basket and then leaves the room. Then the other girl takes the marble while the first girl is away and places it into her box. The first girl then comes back. The participants were asked where girl number one would look for her marble. The group of normally functioning individuals answered that the girl would look into her basket for the marble because she did not know it was not in the basket. However 80% of the autistic individuals answered that she would look into the box, even though they answered that the second girl had put the marble in her basket and she did not know it had been moved. Furthermore 86% of the individuals with down syndrome answered correctly. This test shows an obvious deficit in ToM in the autistic individuals. Many theories have been devised concerning the reason for this deficit including but not limited to the mirror neuron theory.
Works cited:
Hill,;Elisabeth L.Frith,Uta "Understanding Autism: Insights from Mind and Brain"
Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences, Vol. 358, No. 1430, Autism: Mind and Brain. (Feb. 28, 2003), pp. 281-289.
To further explore the Theory of Mind deficit in autistic individuals we must look further into what theory of mind is. Theory of Mind (ToM) is a persons ability to attribute mental and emotional states to themselves and to others. In autism it has been widely agreed that a fully developed ToM is missing . Autistic children have trouble understanding purpose and emotion in situations. In tests done by Baron-Cohen et al on normally functioning four year old individuals, autistic individuals with a mental state of about four years old, and individuals with down syndrome, they were told a story about two girls. One girl placed a marble into a basket and then leaves the room. Then the other girl takes the marble while the first girl is away and places it into her box. The first girl then comes back. The participants were asked where girl number one would look for her marble. The group of normally functioning individuals answered that the girl would look into her basket for the marble because she did not know it was not in the basket. However 80% of the autistic individuals answered that she would look into the box, even though they answered that the second girl had put the marble in her basket and she did not know it had been moved. Furthermore 86% of the individuals with down syndrome answered correctly. This test shows an obvious deficit in ToM in the autistic individuals. Many theories have been devised concerning the reason for this deficit including but not limited to the mirror neuron theory.
Works cited:
Hill,;Elisabeth L.Frith,Uta "Understanding Autism: Insights from Mind and Brain"
Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences, Vol. 358, No. 1430, Autism: Mind and Brain. (Feb. 28, 2003), pp. 281-289.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Using the Mirror Neuron Theory for early diagnosis and therapies for autism
Journal 7:
So far in this blog I have only discussed the evidence for the existence of a mirror neuron system and its correlation to symptoms of autism, but what I have not yet discussed could possibly be the most important aspect; the reason the research has been conducted in the first place; finding a cure, or at least being able to further diagnosis and therapies for those suffering from the disorder. Due to the fact that these theories are fairly new and testing takes a great deal of time, only educated hypotheses can be made for possible treatments at this time, but I think it is important to include these possibilities into my research as the next steps to be taken in this field.
First, the possibility of early diagnosis comes from the EEG machine. In the experiment described in an earlier post, where EEG machines were used to detect the responses of the mirror neuron system to stimuli, the objects being detected were
called Mu waves. A Mu wave is one of many Electromagnetic waves in the brain ranging from 8-13 Hertz. These Mu waves “arise from synchronous and coherent electrical activity of large groups of neurons in the human brain”. The waves are measurable with an electroencephalography or (EEG) machine. Many tests have been done observing the Mu waves with the EEG machine and it has been found that the Mu waves in the brain are suppressed when a person makes a voluntary movement. Also, it has been noted that the Mu waves are suppressed when watching someone else perform a task as well. In autistic individuals the mu waves are suppressed when doing an action, but not when seeing an action done. These findings suggest that EEG machines can be used to diagnose autism within weeks of birth. EEG machines pose no risk to infants, although it may be a little difficult to get a newborn to stop struggling long enough to put the cap on. Earlier diagnosis of autism means many things in the autism community. A few advantages of early diagnosis are early therapies and interventions and an understanding of the learning difficulties associated with autism. This could also mean great leaps forward in the way autism education is approached.
There have been many suggested therapies with these new theories that could lead to better treatment options for autistic individuals as well. One such suggestion is biofeedback. Basically, biofeedback could be used to “used to display the mu waves and then use visual feedback of the display of the mu waves to teach children how to suppress the mu waves.” very little research has been published in this area, but still more is being conducted. The few published studies show very promising results with improvements in almost all areas using biofeedback.
Another possibility is correcting a chemical imbalance that may be disabling the mirror neuron system. Researchers believe that using certain neuromodulators could stimulate the mirror neurons that are associated with emotional responses; an area affected greatly in autism spectrum disorders. These along with many other innovative ideas are in testing right now and results seem to be very promising.
Works Cited:
“Mirror Neuron Theory”. Nov. 2006. 21 Feb. 2007
Olds, Jim. Krasnow Director's Column. 23 Oct.2006 . 26 Feb. 2007
What’s New in Neurofeedback. Kaiser,David. July. 2006. Vol. 9 No. 7 26 Feb. 2007.
So far in this blog I have only discussed the evidence for the existence of a mirror neuron system and its correlation to symptoms of autism, but what I have not yet discussed could possibly be the most important aspect; the reason the research has been conducted in the first place; finding a cure, or at least being able to further diagnosis and therapies for those suffering from the disorder. Due to the fact that these theories are fairly new and testing takes a great deal of time, only educated hypotheses can be made for possible treatments at this time, but I think it is important to include these possibilities into my research as the next steps to be taken in this field.
First, the possibility of early diagnosis comes from the EEG machine. In the experiment described in an earlier post, where EEG machines were used to detect the responses of the mirror neuron system to stimuli, the objects being detected were
called Mu waves. A Mu wave is one of many Electromagnetic waves in the brain ranging from 8-13 Hertz. These Mu waves “arise from synchronous and coherent electrical activity of large groups of neurons in the human brain”. The waves are measurable with an electroencephalography or (EEG) machine. Many tests have been done observing the Mu waves with the EEG machine and it has been found that the Mu waves in the brain are suppressed when a person makes a voluntary movement. Also, it has been noted that the Mu waves are suppressed when watching someone else perform a task as well. In autistic individuals the mu waves are suppressed when doing an action, but not when seeing an action done. These findings suggest that EEG machines can be used to diagnose autism within weeks of birth. EEG machines pose no risk to infants, although it may be a little difficult to get a newborn to stop struggling long enough to put the cap on. Earlier diagnosis of autism means many things in the autism community. A few advantages of early diagnosis are early therapies and interventions and an understanding of the learning difficulties associated with autism. This could also mean great leaps forward in the way autism education is approached. There have been many suggested therapies with these new theories that could lead to better treatment options for autistic individuals as well. One such suggestion is biofeedback. Basically, biofeedback could be used to “used to display the mu waves and then use visual feedback of the display of the mu waves to teach children how to suppress the mu waves.” very little research has been published in this area, but still more is being conducted. The few published studies show very promising results with improvements in almost all areas using biofeedback.
Another possibility is correcting a chemical imbalance that may be disabling the mirror neuron system. Researchers believe that using certain neuromodulators could stimulate the mirror neurons that are associated with emotional responses; an area affected greatly in autism spectrum disorders. These along with many other innovative ideas are in testing right now and results seem to be very promising.
Works Cited:
“Mirror Neuron Theory”. Nov. 2006. 21 Feb. 2007
Olds, Jim. Krasnow Director's Column. 23 Oct.2006 . 26 Feb. 2007
What’s New in Neurofeedback. Kaiser,David. July. 2006. Vol. 9 No. 7 26 Feb. 2007.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
"Imitation, mirror neurons, and autism" Summary :
Journal 6: Summary 3:
One commonly associated deficit in autism is an absence of ‘theory of mind’. The theory of mind or ToM as defined by Premack and Woodruff, who first described this theory in 1978, as the ability to “attribute mental states and to use these invisible postulates to explain behavior in everyday life”( Qtd. In Chari). In a broader definition as described by Encarta MSN.com’s dictionary ToM is “concepts of mental activity: the way somebody conceives of mental activity in others, including how children conceptualize mental activity in others and how they attribute intention to and predict the behavior of others”. The problem with trying to use the ToM exclusively to explain autism is that some major symptoms, such as an inability to imitate other people and delays in or a complete lack of language development seem to either counter or steam from somewhere else completely than the ToM.
To account for this seeming discrepancy we must examine imitation as a precursor for a theory of mind. You must first be able to imitate something; to see someone do and then do yourself, before you are able to breakdown in your own mind the possibility of what and why they have done this, thus being able to understand the doer’s situation and apply it to their own lives. To apply this to a deficit of ToM in autism we can show a deficit in imitation. In 21 studies done, 19 showed at least some level of an inability or unwillingness to readily imitate other humans in autistic individuals. These findings suggest a problem with the ability of the individuals to properly map the actions of others.
Patients with damage to their front left lobe of their brain have shown huge deficits in their ability to imitate actions, though they have the physical ability to. This coincides with the idea that imitation relies on the representations of actions and is associated with the part of the brain that has been damaged in these individuals. This area has been studied in non-human primates and a system of neurons called the mirror neuron system (MN system) has been discovered, which is responsible for coding the actions of the primates. It is not possible to directly study humans in the same way as these primates to show the sure existence of a mirror neuron system in humans, but EEG tests strongly suggest such a discovery.
Mirror neurons involving hand motions in primates are thought to have evolved into speech capabilities in humans, and thus “by acting as a bridge between perceived and performed actions and speech, the MN system is thus suggested to have provided the foundations for the evolution of dialogue”. The mirror neuron system is also associated with the ability to ‘put yourself into someone else’s shoes,’ and as stated earlier, this is associated with the development of a theory of mind.
All of this can be applied in autism by showing a malfunction in the mirror neuron system. I have already discussed the studies described here for showing the disjunction in mirror neurons in autistic individuals so I will not describe them again. (refer to posts 2 and 4 for explanations).
There is no empirical evidence that the existence of a MN system is utilized in imitation and thus the development of a theory of mind and that a dysfunction in the MN system can lead to the autism, but the evidence presented thus far can strongly suggest such a conclusion.
Works Cited:
Chari, Satyan. “The “Theory of Mind” Hypothesis: Explaining Autism”. 2003. 10 Feb. 2007
Encarta World English Dictionary [North American Edition], 2006. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. 10 Feb. 2007
Williams, J.H.G, Whiten, A, Suddendorf, T, Perrett, D.I. Rev. of Imitation, mirror neurons, and autism. 19 Mar. 2001. 10 Feb. 2007
One commonly associated deficit in autism is an absence of ‘theory of mind’. The theory of mind or ToM as defined by Premack and Woodruff, who first described this theory in 1978, as the ability to “attribute mental states and to use these invisible postulates to explain behavior in everyday life”( Qtd. In Chari). In a broader definition as described by Encarta MSN.com’s dictionary ToM is “concepts of mental activity: the way somebody conceives of mental activity in others, including how children conceptualize mental activity in others and how they attribute intention to and predict the behavior of others”. The problem with trying to use the ToM exclusively to explain autism is that some major symptoms, such as an inability to imitate other people and delays in or a complete lack of language development seem to either counter or steam from somewhere else completely than the ToM.
To account for this seeming discrepancy we must examine imitation as a precursor for a theory of mind. You must first be able to imitate something; to see someone do and then do yourself, before you are able to breakdown in your own mind the possibility of what and why they have done this, thus being able to understand the doer’s situation and apply it to their own lives. To apply this to a deficit of ToM in autism we can show a deficit in imitation. In 21 studies done, 19 showed at least some level of an inability or unwillingness to readily imitate other humans in autistic individuals. These findings suggest a problem with the ability of the individuals to properly map the actions of others.
Patients with damage to their front left lobe of their brain have shown huge deficits in their ability to imitate actions, though they have the physical ability to. This coincides with the idea that imitation relies on the representations of actions and is associated with the part of the brain that has been damaged in these individuals. This area has been studied in non-human primates and a system of neurons called the mirror neuron system (MN system) has been discovered, which is responsible for coding the actions of the primates. It is not possible to directly study humans in the same way as these primates to show the sure existence of a mirror neuron system in humans, but EEG tests strongly suggest such a discovery.
Mirror neurons involving hand motions in primates are thought to have evolved into speech capabilities in humans, and thus “by acting as a bridge between perceived and performed actions and speech, the MN system is thus suggested to have provided the foundations for the evolution of dialogue”. The mirror neuron system is also associated with the ability to ‘put yourself into someone else’s shoes,’ and as stated earlier, this is associated with the development of a theory of mind.
All of this can be applied in autism by showing a malfunction in the mirror neuron system. I have already discussed the studies described here for showing the disjunction in mirror neurons in autistic individuals so I will not describe them again. (refer to posts 2 and 4 for explanations).
There is no empirical evidence that the existence of a MN system is utilized in imitation and thus the development of a theory of mind and that a dysfunction in the MN system can lead to the autism, but the evidence presented thus far can strongly suggest such a conclusion.
Works Cited:
Chari, Satyan. “The “Theory of Mind” Hypothesis: Explaining Autism”. 2003. 10 Feb. 2007
Encarta World English Dictionary [North American Edition], 2006. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. 10 Feb. 2007
Williams, J.H.G, Whiten, A, Suddendorf, T, Perrett, D.I. Rev. of Imitation, mirror neurons, and autism. 19 Mar. 2001. 10 Feb. 2007
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Reflections in the mirror
Journal 5:
I have so far dedicated a lot of time and energy to researching mirror neurons. Every night and usually after English class I am on the computer trying to further this project. A lot of that time on the internet is spent just trying to learn the lingo of neuroscientists so that I can understand their research well enough to be able to summarize it. This topic is one that greatly interests me, but one that is turning out to be difficult to step into overnight. The blog is coming along well and the assignments for class are as well, but I am not so confident when it comes to the final project. One aspect I would like to explore for the final paper is the acceptance of the existence of a mirror neuron system in humans around the world; however all of my efforts to search for information about this have come up empty. I find blips in my resources about research done outside the United States but never in detail.
Another obstacle in my way is; of the 833,000 results that Google gives me 80% of what I have read is about the same two breakthrough experiments I have already used in my blog. It is becoming difficult to find new sources for the blog and for the paper. I am confident I can write the paper with what I have now , with all the comprehensive data and deep explanations required, but I really want to be able to talk about the discovery and acceptance of both mirror neurons and autism as well. Frustration is setting in because I know in choosing this topic I have made things harder for myself, but I could use the push to force myself to become better at writing difficult papers like this one. I know my skills as they are now would get me about ---------- that far in a higher level course, so this will be good for me in the long run anyways.
I’m not looking for pats on the head from the teacher, but I want this paper and this blog to be useful to me after this class, especially because I am deeply considering researching this for the rest of my life. I am going to e-mail Lindsay Oberman, one of the people I have described in my ‘breakthroughs’ post and conduct an interview with her if she is willing and I want to ask her to look at my blog. That adds another level of pressure to keeping this blog as perfect as possible .Through the bit of research I have done I have come to respect her a great deal and I do not want to seem lame. I think there is much I could learn form Ms. Oberman and there is some much appreciated advice that she could give me not only for this project but for my career goals as well.
I have so far dedicated a lot of time and energy to researching mirror neurons. Every night and usually after English class I am on the computer trying to further this project. A lot of that time on the internet is spent just trying to learn the lingo of neuroscientists so that I can understand their research well enough to be able to summarize it. This topic is one that greatly interests me, but one that is turning out to be difficult to step into overnight. The blog is coming along well and the assignments for class are as well, but I am not so confident when it comes to the final project. One aspect I would like to explore for the final paper is the acceptance of the existence of a mirror neuron system in humans around the world; however all of my efforts to search for information about this have come up empty. I find blips in my resources about research done outside the United States but never in detail.
Another obstacle in my way is; of the 833,000 results that Google gives me 80% of what I have read is about the same two breakthrough experiments I have already used in my blog. It is becoming difficult to find new sources for the blog and for the paper. I am confident I can write the paper with what I have now , with all the comprehensive data and deep explanations required, but I really want to be able to talk about the discovery and acceptance of both mirror neurons and autism as well. Frustration is setting in because I know in choosing this topic I have made things harder for myself, but I could use the push to force myself to become better at writing difficult papers like this one. I know my skills as they are now would get me about ---------- that far in a higher level course, so this will be good for me in the long run anyways.
I’m not looking for pats on the head from the teacher, but I want this paper and this blog to be useful to me after this class, especially because I am deeply considering researching this for the rest of my life. I am going to e-mail Lindsay Oberman, one of the people I have described in my ‘breakthroughs’ post and conduct an interview with her if she is willing and I want to ask her to look at my blog. That adds another level of pressure to keeping this blog as perfect as possible .Through the bit of research I have done I have come to respect her a great deal and I do not want to seem lame. I think there is much I could learn form Ms. Oberman and there is some much appreciated advice that she could give me not only for this project but for my career goals as well.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Mindblindness
Journal 4: Summary 2
This book is a very helpful and relevant source. Baron-Cohen presents his theory about Thory of Mind which he calls ‘mindreading’ and delves into the evolution of its components. He describe how the average person, if almost completely unbeknownst to themselves, mindread every day and that that is how we interact with and learn from the world around us. Our interpretation of actions is what allows us to predict and understand situations. He goes further to explain that autistic individuals are what he terms ‘mind blind’. They are unable to interpret the actions of other people. Baron-Cohen describes the world of an autistic individual as being “devoid of mental things.” He discusses how important eye contact and the’ language of the eyes’ are to social interaction. He describes how so many thing can be said in glare such as ’the evil eye’ or what a look of surprise can mean in certain situations. Autistic individual cannot decipher between different eye expressions and Baron-Cohen describes that this too is a result of their ’mindblindness’.
Citation:
Baron-Cohen, Simon. Mindblindness. London; MTI press, 1995.
This book is a very helpful and relevant source. Baron-Cohen presents his theory about Thory of Mind which he calls ‘mindreading’ and delves into the evolution of its components. He describe how the average person, if almost completely unbeknownst to themselves, mindread every day and that that is how we interact with and learn from the world around us. Our interpretation of actions is what allows us to predict and understand situations. He goes further to explain that autistic individuals are what he terms ‘mind blind’. They are unable to interpret the actions of other people. Baron-Cohen describes the world of an autistic individual as being “devoid of mental things.” He discusses how important eye contact and the’ language of the eyes’ are to social interaction. He describes how so many thing can be said in glare such as ’the evil eye’ or what a look of surprise can mean in certain situations. Autistic individual cannot decipher between different eye expressions and Baron-Cohen describes that this too is a result of their ’mindblindness’.
Citation:
Baron-Cohen, Simon. Mindblindness. London; MTI press, 1995.
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Nova Video: Highly Recommended
Do you remember in middle school watching those slightly corny videos from Nova? Well I have found a video by Nova that describes mirror neurons. I highly recommend watching it. I admit it is a bit corny (it is made for middle school and high school) but it is exceptional in explaining the discovery of mirror neurons, the experiments I have described in my posts, and Dr. Ramachadran, who I have described in my ‘Breakthroughs’ post, is featured. Dr. Ramachadran is a notably intelligent person and is very excited about what he does, so the interview is wonderful. If you watched the other video I have posted you might notice that he was in that video as well. Dr. Ramachadran is the leading person currently in his area. The video is a little longer, about 14 minutes, and may be a problem if you do not have a fast connection. My computer is on Kent's network and it took the video about 10 minutes to load so if your patient enough I hope you take advantage of the link and watch this Nova Video
Breakthroughs
Journal 3:
Autism has become one of the greatest mysteries of modern science, with thousands of experts all over the world working to find answers. Since it was first described as its own disorder in 1943 by Dr. Leo Kanner,
cases of autism have continued to rise around the world. The severity of the disorder fluctuates in each case from low to high function cases as described by Hans Asperger who is known for his work with high functioning autistic individuals. The disorder is described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) as being associated with a lack of interest in social situations, poor or no development of communication skills, repetitive behaviors, and impairment in role playing and imaginary play. Due to the areas of impairment and the similarities to brain damage patients, a neurological answer has been sought for many years. Giacomo Rizzolatti,
a neuroscientist at the University of Parma, and his colleagues were the first researchers in the field to discover the existence of mirror neurons in macaque monkeys in the 1980’s. This discovery held many questions for the researchers and they continued to delve into the subject, conducting experiments involving a macaque monkey performing tasks, such as grabbing a peanut, and then watching researchers perform the same tasks. These experiments turned up consecutive evidence that the monkey’s mirror neurons fired in both incidences. The findings were published for the first times in Experimental Brain Research (Vol. 91, No. 1). Shortly after reporting their findings the researchers took the next step to test for mirror neurons in humans. The study turned up the same findings. This was the breakthrough that has lead to many more experiments in this field. A recent study was conducted by Lindsay Oberman and Vilayanur Ramachandran,
yielding new information that could lead to another breakthrough. Dr. Ramachadran of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego is one of the leading figures studying the link between mirror neurons and autism. Dr. Ramachadran has written over 120 papers for a wide variety of medical and scientific journals. His work has
been translated into eight languages and he is known around the world. Ramachadran has been featured in many news and television programs (including the videos I have featured on this blog) and has received a long list of degrees, honors and awards. He has written a number of papers with Lindsay Oberman, another researcher and student at the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California. I plan to e-mail Lindsay to try to set up an interview with her through e-mail or phone due to the lack of information on the internet about her education and involvement in the studies she has conducted.Photos: From top right: Dr. Leo Kanner taken from Autism-Home,Hans Asperger taken from The national Autistic Society’s Website ,Giacomo Rizzolatti taken from Enel , Vilayanur Ramachandran taken from his UCSD website, Lindsay Oberman taken from her UCSD website,
Works cited:
Winerman, Lea. “The mind's mirror.” Monitor On Psychology: A Publication of the American Psychological Association. Vol. 36 Oct. 2005.
http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct05/mirror.html
Friday, February 2, 2007
A look into Gabe's World
I found this video while searching Google video. It is not very long, only about six minutes, and if you do not have a fast enough connection you may not be able to watch, but I found this video to be very informative, and easy to understand. It shows a boy with Asperger’s syndrome and the host of the program performing the experiment I wrote about for my first source. I like the idea of including this video for those of you that are visual learners. I hope you are able to watch it, but if not I have included a brief summery.
The video starts with a boy named Gabe, who has Asperger’s syndrome, which is a mild case of autism; the two terms are often interchangeable. The host describes the disability briefly and then explains that so far a sure cause is elusive, but that there is new research in a promising area: mirror neurons. He describes the function of the neurons and how they are linked to our ability to ‘put ourselves in someone else’s shoes’ and therefore be able to feel and sympathize with that person. After the host explains the function of mirror neurons, he and Gabe are shown hooked up to an EEG machine at the University of California San Diego. They both perform the task of opening and closing their hands, then they watch a video of the same task being performed by someone else. They also watch two people bouncing a red ball and white noise (static) for controls in the experiment. They do not show the results of the EEG test, however the host explains that Gabe’s mirror neurons did not fire when watching the video of the hand on the video screen and did when he was asked to perform the task himself. The host uses the example of a cheerleading squad to show a practical use of the mirror neuron system. The video ended abruptly for me and I could not get it to play the last few seconds so I cannot say how it ended, but I thought this was a very well done video and a great source to post on this blog so I hope you enjoyed if you were able to watch and I hope it better helped you to understand what I am researching.
The video starts with a boy named Gabe, who has Asperger’s syndrome, which is a mild case of autism; the two terms are often interchangeable. The host describes the disability briefly and then explains that so far a sure cause is elusive, but that there is new research in a promising area: mirror neurons. He describes the function of the neurons and how they are linked to our ability to ‘put ourselves in someone else’s shoes’ and therefore be able to feel and sympathize with that person. After the host explains the function of mirror neurons, he and Gabe are shown hooked up to an EEG machine at the University of California San Diego. They both perform the task of opening and closing their hands, then they watch a video of the same task being performed by someone else. They also watch two people bouncing a red ball and white noise (static) for controls in the experiment. They do not show the results of the EEG test, however the host explains that Gabe’s mirror neurons did not fire when watching the video of the hand on the video screen and did when he was asked to perform the task himself. The host uses the example of a cheerleading squad to show a practical use of the mirror neuron system. The video ended abruptly for me and I could not get it to play the last few seconds so I cannot say how it ended, but I thought this was a very well done video and a great source to post on this blog so I hope you enjoyed if you were able to watch and I hope it better helped you to understand what I am researching.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Mirror, Mirror in the Lab
Journal 2: Summary 1
I found this website through Google when I searched for mirror neurons and autism. Through all of the many articles I found this was among the very best for a few reasons. First of all the article is from an accredited university, it is a more recent article, and it is a clear, concise and easily understandable article. The author, Inga Kiderra, starts out by explaining to the reader what the function of mirror neurons are and why they are thought to be connected to autism. The mirror neurons are aptly named and are also sometimes called the “monkey see, monkey do” neurons. These neurons fire in the brain both when an individual sees and then does the same motion. Kiderra goes on to describe an experiment done by a group of scientists from UCSD
with an EEG machine. The study was done on 10 male autistics and 10 control subjects. The experiment involved watching videos of a certain activity, like a waving hand, and then the individuals would wave their hands on their own while they were being monitored to see what area of the brain would respond to the EEG. When the participants waved their own hands the neurons fired, but when watching the video they did not. This suggests that autistics are unable to comprehend what others are doing around them and thus they are unable to essentially learn from their environments. This explains many of the problems autistic children encounter such as problems with speech, and personal interactions. Kiderra brings up the possibility of therapies involving mirrors to trick the autistic brain into interacting with itself. To conclude Kiderra admits that there is still much to learn and much to overcome but that there plenty of opportunity in this new research. Overall this article was a excellent and I recomend it for a general understanding of mirror neurons.
Kiderra, Inga. “Autism linked to mirror neuron dysfunction.” 30 Mar. 2005 Medical News Today. 25 Jan. 2007. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=21971
Picture: A child with autism, wearing an EEG cap to measure brain-waves, watches video of a moving hand. (Credit: Lindsay Oberman)
I found this website through Google when I searched for mirror neurons and autism. Through all of the many articles I found this was among the very best for a few reasons. First of all the article is from an accredited university, it is a more recent article, and it is a clear, concise and easily understandable article. The author, Inga Kiderra, starts out by explaining to the reader what the function of mirror neurons are and why they are thought to be connected to autism. The mirror neurons are aptly named and are also sometimes called the “monkey see, monkey do” neurons. These neurons fire in the brain both when an individual sees and then does the same motion. Kiderra goes on to describe an experiment done by a group of scientists from UCSD
with an EEG machine. The study was done on 10 male autistics and 10 control subjects. The experiment involved watching videos of a certain activity, like a waving hand, and then the individuals would wave their hands on their own while they were being monitored to see what area of the brain would respond to the EEG. When the participants waved their own hands the neurons fired, but when watching the video they did not. This suggests that autistics are unable to comprehend what others are doing around them and thus they are unable to essentially learn from their environments. This explains many of the problems autistic children encounter such as problems with speech, and personal interactions. Kiderra brings up the possibility of therapies involving mirrors to trick the autistic brain into interacting with itself. To conclude Kiderra admits that there is still much to learn and much to overcome but that there plenty of opportunity in this new research. Overall this article was a excellent and I recomend it for a general understanding of mirror neurons. Kiderra, Inga. “Autism linked to mirror neuron dysfunction.” 30 Mar. 2005 Medical News Today. 25 Jan. 2007. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=21971
Picture: A child with autism, wearing an EEG cap to measure brain-waves, watches video of a moving hand. (Credit: Lindsay Oberman)
Autism: Past and Present
Journal 1:
Autism is something I have always been interested in. When I was younger, I remember I would always get Autism mixed up with Down syndrome. I don’t particularly know why I did this; I just associated the two as being the same thing. After a while, I grew tired of not knowing the difference between the two very different disorders and decided to research them. I realized that Down syndrome was a disorder caused by a deformation of the 21st chromosome, which causes mental and physical disabilities. It is a definable and clear disorder.
Autism, I found, was completely different. Autism has been an unanswered question since 1912, baffling and astounding doctors, scientists, and parents. Every case of autism is different with no set standard of cause or symptoms. Autism is like a two-way mirror; a child is in a room by himself, looking at a clouded mirror, unaware that we are on the other side of that mirror looking in at him and trying our best to breakthrough; to let him know we are there.
From the first time I looked up this disorder it fascinated me. It stayed at the back of my mind up until it was discovered that a cousin of mine, Noah, had been diagnosed with autism. I recalled the few babysitting sessions we had had together and found the characteristics of autism there right in front of me. I was never, however, given the opportunity to work with Noah due to family problems. Since then, autism has been the source of a furious thirst, something that I can not seem to quench. When the topic of a research paper was brought up, this was obviously the first thing that came to mind. My previous encounters with fascinating research
sparked my curiosity and my drive to further my knowledge on a subject that has always been at the back of my mind.
The focus for the paper will be on a new theory surrounding the cause of autism; a disruption in mirror neurons. There is still a lot of research to be done in the area, but what has been done so far is astounding. Mirror neurons are being haled by some scientists as the most important discovery of the decade, and by others as an over hyped theory. I'm anxious to begin looking further into the truth about mirror neurons.
The image is of the location of the mirror neuron system in humans from Wikipedia.com.
Autism is something I have always been interested in. When I was younger, I remember I would always get Autism mixed up with Down syndrome. I don’t particularly know why I did this; I just associated the two as being the same thing. After a while, I grew tired of not knowing the difference between the two very different disorders and decided to research them. I realized that Down syndrome was a disorder caused by a deformation of the 21st chromosome, which causes mental and physical disabilities. It is a definable and clear disorder.
Autism, I found, was completely different. Autism has been an unanswered question since 1912, baffling and astounding doctors, scientists, and parents. Every case of autism is different with no set standard of cause or symptoms. Autism is like a two-way mirror; a child is in a room by himself, looking at a clouded mirror, unaware that we are on the other side of that mirror looking in at him and trying our best to breakthrough; to let him know we are there.From the first time I looked up this disorder it fascinated me. It stayed at the back of my mind up until it was discovered that a cousin of mine, Noah, had been diagnosed with autism. I recalled the few babysitting sessions we had had together and found the characteristics of autism there right in front of me. I was never, however, given the opportunity to work with Noah due to family problems. Since then, autism has been the source of a furious thirst, something that I can not seem to quench. When the topic of a research paper was brought up, this was obviously the first thing that came to mind. My previous encounters with fascinating research
sparked my curiosity and my drive to further my knowledge on a subject that has always been at the back of my mind.
The focus for the paper will be on a new theory surrounding the cause of autism; a disruption in mirror neurons. There is still a lot of research to be done in the area, but what has been done so far is astounding. Mirror neurons are being haled by some scientists as the most important discovery of the decade, and by others as an over hyped theory. I'm anxious to begin looking further into the truth about mirror neurons.
The image is of the location of the mirror neuron system in humans from Wikipedia.com.
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