Because the human brain is so complicated and has little capacity to regenerate, it is vulnerable to the effects of damage and disease. Losing part of the vast network of cells, or changing the level of a neurotransmitter, can have devastating results. Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases are examples of disorders of the nervous system in which brain cells gradually die. In disorders of the mind, such as schizophrenia and depression, the symptoms are caused by more subtle changes in the brain that are as yet poorly understood.
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/exhibitions/brain/22.asp
Monday, July 30, 2007
Your brain
How does your brain work?
Your brain is the hub of your nervous system. It is made up of 100 billion nerve cells - about the same as the number of trees in the Amazon rainforest. Each cell is connected to around 10,000 others. So the total number of connections in your brain is the same as the number of leaves in the rainforest - about 1000 trillion.
Your nervous system has two parts:
Central nervous system
Your spinal cord receives information from the skin, joints and muscles of your body. It also carries the nerves that control all your movements. Your brain is the most complicated part of your nervous system. It receives information directly from your ears, eyes, nose and mouth, as well as from the rest of your body via the spinal cord. It uses this information to help you react, remember, think and plan, and then sends out the appropriate instructions to your body.
Peripheral nervous system
Some of your peripheral nervous system (PNS) is under your voluntary control - the nerves that carry instructions from your brain to your limbs, for example. As well as controlling your muscles and joints, it sends all the information from your senses back to your brain. Other parts of your PNS are controlled by the brain automatically. This is the autonomic nervous system. It manages some things your body does 'without thinking' like digestion and temperature control.
Your brain is the hub of your nervous system. It is made up of 100 billion nerve cells - about the same as the number of trees in the Amazon rainforest. Each cell is connected to around 10,000 others. So the total number of connections in your brain is the same as the number of leaves in the rainforest - about 1000 trillion.
Your nervous system has two parts:
Central nervous system
Your spinal cord receives information from the skin, joints and muscles of your body. It also carries the nerves that control all your movements. Your brain is the most complicated part of your nervous system. It receives information directly from your ears, eyes, nose and mouth, as well as from the rest of your body via the spinal cord. It uses this information to help you react, remember, think and plan, and then sends out the appropriate instructions to your body.
Peripheral nervous system
Some of your peripheral nervous system (PNS) is under your voluntary control - the nerves that carry instructions from your brain to your limbs, for example. As well as controlling your muscles and joints, it sends all the information from your senses back to your brain. Other parts of your PNS are controlled by the brain automatically. This is the autonomic nervous system. It manages some things your body does 'without thinking' like digestion and temperature control.
Senses of how the brain work
Sense
In order to keep us alive, the brain uses a set of sensory organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin) to tell us some of what is going on in the outside world. Remember, we can't hear like a dog, smell like a bear, or see like a hawk. In fact, when compared to the rest of the animal kingdom, human senses seem quite limited.
Our ears hear sound only within a certain range
Our eyes see light in the visual range but not infrared or ultraviolet light
Our perception of touch requires a certain level of pressure
Our sense of smell only helps us if a scent is powerful or nearby
Despite these limitations, our powerful human brains can still integrate the information from all of our different senses and use it to create an internal representation of the external world.
Everything we experience is filtered by our senses. All sensory signals (sound, sight, taste, touch) initiate a cascade of processes in the brain that alter brain structure and function. This process of creating some internal representation of the external world (i.e., information) depends upon the pattern, intensity, and frequency of neuronal activity produced by sensing, processing, and storing signals.
Experience creates a processing template through which all new input is filtered. The more frequently a certain pattern of neural activation occurs, the more indelible the memory becomes. All living organisms have mechanisms to sense and respond to changes in their environments. These mechanisms respond continually and are designed to keep our body's systems in a state of equilibrium or homeostasis.
We have sensory mechanisms to tell the brain what is going on in the internal world of the body. For example, we have special sensory apparatuses that tell the brain the concentration of oxygen in the blood. Other systems sense the concentration of salts (e.g., too much salt causes a sensation of thirst) or gases such as carbon dioxide. These internal sensory mechanisms, like the five senses for the external world, help the brain continuously monitor and act to maintain life.
Process
Once our sensory apparatuses have translated physical or chemical information from the outside (or inside) world into neuronal activity, this set of signals travels up into the brain to be processed. Sensory information from the external environment and the internal environment enters the central nervous system at the level of the brainstem and midbrain.
As this primary sensory input arrives, it is matched against previously stored patterns of activation. If the pattern is unknown, or is associated with previous threat, the brain will activate a set of responses that are designed to help promote survival. (This alarm response is at the heart of the post-traumatic symptoms seen in so many maltreated children.)
http://www.childtraumaacademy.com/amazing_brain/lesson01/page03.html
In order to keep us alive, the brain uses a set of sensory organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin) to tell us some of what is going on in the outside world. Remember, we can't hear like a dog, smell like a bear, or see like a hawk. In fact, when compared to the rest of the animal kingdom, human senses seem quite limited.
Our ears hear sound only within a certain range
Our eyes see light in the visual range but not infrared or ultraviolet light
Our perception of touch requires a certain level of pressure
Our sense of smell only helps us if a scent is powerful or nearby
Despite these limitations, our powerful human brains can still integrate the information from all of our different senses and use it to create an internal representation of the external world.
Everything we experience is filtered by our senses. All sensory signals (sound, sight, taste, touch) initiate a cascade of processes in the brain that alter brain structure and function. This process of creating some internal representation of the external world (i.e., information) depends upon the pattern, intensity, and frequency of neuronal activity produced by sensing, processing, and storing signals.
Experience creates a processing template through which all new input is filtered. The more frequently a certain pattern of neural activation occurs, the more indelible the memory becomes. All living organisms have mechanisms to sense and respond to changes in their environments. These mechanisms respond continually and are designed to keep our body's systems in a state of equilibrium or homeostasis.
We have sensory mechanisms to tell the brain what is going on in the internal world of the body. For example, we have special sensory apparatuses that tell the brain the concentration of oxygen in the blood. Other systems sense the concentration of salts (e.g., too much salt causes a sensation of thirst) or gases such as carbon dioxide. These internal sensory mechanisms, like the five senses for the external world, help the brain continuously monitor and act to maintain life.
Process
Once our sensory apparatuses have translated physical or chemical information from the outside (or inside) world into neuronal activity, this set of signals travels up into the brain to be processed. Sensory information from the external environment and the internal environment enters the central nervous system at the level of the brainstem and midbrain.
As this primary sensory input arrives, it is matched against previously stored patterns of activation. If the pattern is unknown, or is associated with previous threat, the brain will activate a set of responses that are designed to help promote survival. (This alarm response is at the heart of the post-traumatic symptoms seen in so many maltreated children.)
http://www.childtraumaacademy.com/amazing_brain/lesson01/page03.html
The Amazing Human Brain and Human Development
Beginning with the Human Brain
Despite its complexity, the brain maintains some key actions. The brain senses, processes incoming signals, stores elements of this information and input, and acts on the incoming information.
How information enters, and is processed by, your brain. Image courtesy of Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D.
How information enters, and is processed by, your brain. Image courtesy of Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Knowledge
Great reading articles follow the link and arm yourself with knowledge.
http://www.apa.org/topics/topicptsd06b.html
http://www.apa.org/topics/topicptsd06b.html
Mind/Body Health: The Effects of Traumatic Stress
What is a Traumatic Stress Reaction?
People who experience or witness horrible events such as school shootings, combat, rape, torture, natural disasters, accidents or other things in which their physical safety and life -- or the safety and life of others -- was in danger have experienced a traumatic stress. People who are repeatedly exposed to life or death situations, such as EMT and rescue squad workers, police officers, fire fighters and medical personnel on burn wards or trauma units where stress levels and mortality rates are high also witness trauma. Anyone who has experienced these things has experienced a shock and, even if all ultimately escape danger, the people who lived through the event may feel like life “just isn’t the same anymore.” People may experience a variety of reactions, many of which are understandable in the context of experiencing or witnessing traumatic events such as the hurricanes. Experiencing physical or emotional symptoms in response to a traumatic event is normal and is called a traumatic stress reaction.
Physical Symptoms of Traumatic Stress
Anyone affected by the hurricanes or other traumatic stress may experience:
· Fatigue· Being easily startled· Headaches· Sweating· Gastro-intestinal problems
Emotional Symptoms of Traumatic Stress
Those affected by traumatic stress may feel:
· Fear· Anger· Guilt· Anxiety· Reduced awareness· Feeling like you are numb or not part of the world· Helplessness· Hopelessness
What is PTSD?
PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is similar to a stress reaction and, in fact, many people who have experienced a traumatic event do develop PTSD. Those with PTSD may experience many of the same emotional and physical symptoms as those with a traumatic stress reaction. Those with PTSD, however, experience trauma along with intense fear, helplessness or horror and then develop intrusive symptoms (such as flashbacks or nightmares). Their symptoms will last more than a month and get in the way of normal life.
Traumatic stress is not uncommon. In fact:
· About 70 % of U.S. adults have experienced a severe traumatic event at least once in their life and one out of five go on to develop symptoms of PTSD· Approximately 8% of all adults have suffered from PTSD at any one time· If you include children and teens, an estimated 5% of all Americans will develop PTSD during their lifetime or more than 13 million people· About one in 10 women will develop PTSD symptoms during their lifetime or double the rate for men because they are much more likely to be victims of domestic violence, rape or abuse.· Almost 17% of men and 13% of women have experienced more than three traumatic events during their life.
The Mind/Body Connection
Suffering traumatic stress can affect your emotions as well as your body and the two are so connected that it can be hard to tell the difference. For instance, traumatic stress can cause you to lose concentration, forget things, or have trouble sleeping. It may be difficult to determine on your own whether these symptoms are because you do not feel well physically or because you are still upset. Traumatic stress also can lead you to eat in unhealthy ways or to eat foods that are not healthy, and those eating patterns can affect how you sleep or how your stomach feels. Stress can cause headaches, but the pain from the headaches can also make your stress worsen.
Because the body and the mind work in concert, traumatic stress can cause a cycle that makes it seem like the body and mind are working against one another, worsening symptoms like pain and fatigue.
Coping with Traumatic Stress
There are things you can do to help yourself if you have suffered traumatic stress as a result of an event such as a school shooting.
- Give yourself time to heal. Anticipate that this will be a difficult time in your life. Allow yourself to mourn the losses you have experienced. Try to be patient with changes in your emotional state.- Ask for support from people who care about you and who will listen and empathize with your situation. But keep in mind that your typical support system may be weakened if those who are close to you also have experienced or witnessed the trauma.- Communicate your experience in whatever ways feel comfortable to you - such as by talking with family or close friends, or keeping a diary.- Find out about local support groups that often are available such as for those who have suffered from natural disasters. These can be especially helpful for people with limited personal support systems.- Try to find groups led by appropriately trained and experienced professionals such as psychologists. Group discussion can help people realize that other individuals in the same circumstances often have similar reactions and emotions.- Engage in healthy behaviors to enhance your ability to cope with excessive stress. Eat well-balanced meals and get plenty of rest. If you experience ongoing difficulties with sleep, you may be able to find some relief through relaxation techniques. Avoid alcohol and drugs.- Establish or reestablish routines such as eating meals at regular times and following an exercise program. This can be especially important when the normal routines of daily life are disrupted. Even if you are in a shelter and unable to return home, establish routines that can bring comfort. Take some time off from the demands of daily life by pursuing hobbies or other enjoyable activities.--Help those you can. Helping others, even during your own time of distress, can give you a sense of control and can make you feel better about yourself.- Avoid major life decisions such as switching careers or jobs if possible because these activities tend to be highly stressful.
When Should I Seek Professional Help?
Many people are able to cope effectively with the emotional and physical demands brought about by a natural disaster by using their own support systems. It is not unusual, however, to find that serious problems persist and continue to interfere with daily living. For example, some may feel overwhelming nervousness or lingering sadness that adversely affects job performance and interpersonal relationships.
Individuals with prolonged reactions that disrupt their daily functioning should consult with a trained and experienced mental health professional. Psychologists and other appropriate mental health providers help educate people about common responses to extreme stress. These professionals work with individuals affected by trauma to help them find constructive ways of dealing with the emotional impact.
With children, continual and aggressive emotional outbursts, serious problems at school, preoccupation with the traumatic event, continued and extreme withdrawal, and other signs of intense anxiety or emotional difficulties all point to the need for professional assistance. A qualified mental health professional such as a psychologist can help such children and their parents understand and deal with thoughts, feelings and behaviors that result from trauma.
APA is grateful to Paul J. Rosch, M.D.. President, The American Institute of Stress, for his help in developing this fact sheet.
http://www.apahelpcenter.org/articles/article.php?id=122
People who experience or witness horrible events such as school shootings, combat, rape, torture, natural disasters, accidents or other things in which their physical safety and life -- or the safety and life of others -- was in danger have experienced a traumatic stress. People who are repeatedly exposed to life or death situations, such as EMT and rescue squad workers, police officers, fire fighters and medical personnel on burn wards or trauma units where stress levels and mortality rates are high also witness trauma. Anyone who has experienced these things has experienced a shock and, even if all ultimately escape danger, the people who lived through the event may feel like life “just isn’t the same anymore.” People may experience a variety of reactions, many of which are understandable in the context of experiencing or witnessing traumatic events such as the hurricanes. Experiencing physical or emotional symptoms in response to a traumatic event is normal and is called a traumatic stress reaction.
Physical Symptoms of Traumatic Stress
Anyone affected by the hurricanes or other traumatic stress may experience:
· Fatigue· Being easily startled· Headaches· Sweating· Gastro-intestinal problems
Emotional Symptoms of Traumatic Stress
Those affected by traumatic stress may feel:
· Fear· Anger· Guilt· Anxiety· Reduced awareness· Feeling like you are numb or not part of the world· Helplessness· Hopelessness
What is PTSD?
PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is similar to a stress reaction and, in fact, many people who have experienced a traumatic event do develop PTSD. Those with PTSD may experience many of the same emotional and physical symptoms as those with a traumatic stress reaction. Those with PTSD, however, experience trauma along with intense fear, helplessness or horror and then develop intrusive symptoms (such as flashbacks or nightmares). Their symptoms will last more than a month and get in the way of normal life.
Traumatic stress is not uncommon. In fact:
· About 70 % of U.S. adults have experienced a severe traumatic event at least once in their life and one out of five go on to develop symptoms of PTSD· Approximately 8% of all adults have suffered from PTSD at any one time· If you include children and teens, an estimated 5% of all Americans will develop PTSD during their lifetime or more than 13 million people· About one in 10 women will develop PTSD symptoms during their lifetime or double the rate for men because they are much more likely to be victims of domestic violence, rape or abuse.· Almost 17% of men and 13% of women have experienced more than three traumatic events during their life.
The Mind/Body Connection
Suffering traumatic stress can affect your emotions as well as your body and the two are so connected that it can be hard to tell the difference. For instance, traumatic stress can cause you to lose concentration, forget things, or have trouble sleeping. It may be difficult to determine on your own whether these symptoms are because you do not feel well physically or because you are still upset. Traumatic stress also can lead you to eat in unhealthy ways or to eat foods that are not healthy, and those eating patterns can affect how you sleep or how your stomach feels. Stress can cause headaches, but the pain from the headaches can also make your stress worsen.
Because the body and the mind work in concert, traumatic stress can cause a cycle that makes it seem like the body and mind are working against one another, worsening symptoms like pain and fatigue.
Coping with Traumatic Stress
There are things you can do to help yourself if you have suffered traumatic stress as a result of an event such as a school shooting.
- Give yourself time to heal. Anticipate that this will be a difficult time in your life. Allow yourself to mourn the losses you have experienced. Try to be patient with changes in your emotional state.- Ask for support from people who care about you and who will listen and empathize with your situation. But keep in mind that your typical support system may be weakened if those who are close to you also have experienced or witnessed the trauma.- Communicate your experience in whatever ways feel comfortable to you - such as by talking with family or close friends, or keeping a diary.- Find out about local support groups that often are available such as for those who have suffered from natural disasters. These can be especially helpful for people with limited personal support systems.- Try to find groups led by appropriately trained and experienced professionals such as psychologists. Group discussion can help people realize that other individuals in the same circumstances often have similar reactions and emotions.- Engage in healthy behaviors to enhance your ability to cope with excessive stress. Eat well-balanced meals and get plenty of rest. If you experience ongoing difficulties with sleep, you may be able to find some relief through relaxation techniques. Avoid alcohol and drugs.- Establish or reestablish routines such as eating meals at regular times and following an exercise program. This can be especially important when the normal routines of daily life are disrupted. Even if you are in a shelter and unable to return home, establish routines that can bring comfort. Take some time off from the demands of daily life by pursuing hobbies or other enjoyable activities.--Help those you can. Helping others, even during your own time of distress, can give you a sense of control and can make you feel better about yourself.- Avoid major life decisions such as switching careers or jobs if possible because these activities tend to be highly stressful.
When Should I Seek Professional Help?
Many people are able to cope effectively with the emotional and physical demands brought about by a natural disaster by using their own support systems. It is not unusual, however, to find that serious problems persist and continue to interfere with daily living. For example, some may feel overwhelming nervousness or lingering sadness that adversely affects job performance and interpersonal relationships.
Individuals with prolonged reactions that disrupt their daily functioning should consult with a trained and experienced mental health professional. Psychologists and other appropriate mental health providers help educate people about common responses to extreme stress. These professionals work with individuals affected by trauma to help them find constructive ways of dealing with the emotional impact.
With children, continual and aggressive emotional outbursts, serious problems at school, preoccupation with the traumatic event, continued and extreme withdrawal, and other signs of intense anxiety or emotional difficulties all point to the need for professional assistance. A qualified mental health professional such as a psychologist can help such children and their parents understand and deal with thoughts, feelings and behaviors that result from trauma.
APA is grateful to Paul J. Rosch, M.D.. President, The American Institute of Stress, for his help in developing this fact sheet.
http://www.apahelpcenter.org/articles/article.php?id=122
A new kind of war
With thousands of returning troops who may need help battling trauma, civilian and military psychologists alike are finding new ways to help.
BY MARK GREERMonitor StaffPrint version: page 40
In her work with U.S. veterans, psychologist Kaye Baron, PhD, may be seeing the opening salvos of a new war--one for mental health. The private practitioner in Colorado Springs, Colo., near the Fort Carson Army Base, serves a lot of military families affected by U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. She is also a contract psychologist for a local government agency for which she has evaluated more than 75 military personnel who have returned from Iraq showing depression and irritability and reliving intense emotional trauma--some of the classic signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
"I've seen a lot of PTSD symptoms, if not full-blown PTSD," Baron says. "The social withdrawal, the nightmares, the sleep disturbances, the memory and concentration problems, the anger, the lack of trust--I'm seeing all this within the troops coming back from Iraq."
Baron's contacts through her evaluations and work with military families are among the first of what at least one study says could be many more military personnel returning from Iraq suffering--or who will later suffer--from PTSD. While the majority of troops show resilience from the stresses of war, some do or will need help with PTSD symptoms.
Already, in one recent army report, more than 1,000 troops reported PTSD symptoms--and troops' reluctance to admit problems may mean the real number is higher. In a war characterized by intensely stressful surprise attacks and street fighting, that number may only increase, some psychologists predict. Unfortunately, a lack of research means psychologists are still working to fully understand PTSD.
Service providers have observed what is now known as PTSD for decades. Called anything from operational fatigue to shell shock, the disorder acquired its current name only in 1980, when PTSD was added to the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. And research on the early signs and symptoms of combat trauma is scant. Most research on Vietnam War veterans did not take place until 1980s.
Read the rest here
http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr05/war.html
BY MARK GREERMonitor StaffPrint version: page 40
In her work with U.S. veterans, psychologist Kaye Baron, PhD, may be seeing the opening salvos of a new war--one for mental health. The private practitioner in Colorado Springs, Colo., near the Fort Carson Army Base, serves a lot of military families affected by U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. She is also a contract psychologist for a local government agency for which she has evaluated more than 75 military personnel who have returned from Iraq showing depression and irritability and reliving intense emotional trauma--some of the classic signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
"I've seen a lot of PTSD symptoms, if not full-blown PTSD," Baron says. "The social withdrawal, the nightmares, the sleep disturbances, the memory and concentration problems, the anger, the lack of trust--I'm seeing all this within the troops coming back from Iraq."
Baron's contacts through her evaluations and work with military families are among the first of what at least one study says could be many more military personnel returning from Iraq suffering--or who will later suffer--from PTSD. While the majority of troops show resilience from the stresses of war, some do or will need help with PTSD symptoms.
Already, in one recent army report, more than 1,000 troops reported PTSD symptoms--and troops' reluctance to admit problems may mean the real number is higher. In a war characterized by intensely stressful surprise attacks and street fighting, that number may only increase, some psychologists predict. Unfortunately, a lack of research means psychologists are still working to fully understand PTSD.
Service providers have observed what is now known as PTSD for decades. Called anything from operational fatigue to shell shock, the disorder acquired its current name only in 1980, when PTSD was added to the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. And research on the early signs and symptoms of combat trauma is scant. Most research on Vietnam War veterans did not take place until 1980s.
Read the rest here
http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr05/war.html
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