Source: The Post and Courier, June 6, 2008. “Hit-run response prompts uproar” Associated Press
Summary: A 78-year-old man was the victim of a hit-and-run accident in Hartford, Connecticut. The man lay in a busy street, but no one went to him to see if he was dead. Four people called 911, but no one gave him any assistance. The police chief of Hartford said that the citizens have “no moral compass”.
Application: People saw what happened, but also saw someone on a cell phone, and assumed that 911 was notified. Consequently, they did not do anything to help the man. In bystander effect, the chances of someone helping during an emergency are reduced when there are a lot of people around. Many pedestrians and motorists witnessed the hit-and-run, but no one came to his assistance, and only four people called 911. This is classic bystander effect.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Mental Health
Source: MUSC. The Catalyst, June 6, 2008, P. 16. “Mental health fun walk raises money, awareness” by Bryan Counts
Summary: MUSC employees participated in the 4th Annual Mental Health Month Fun Run/Walk on May 17th at Hampton Park. It was organized by the Charleston Area National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the Institute of Psychiatry. Proceeds from the event benefit NAMI outreach programs of support, awareness and education.
Application: First, social support to help persons suffering from and those affected by those people is a healthy coping mechanism. Second, exercise is important to mental health, since the neurotransmitter endorphin is released during physical exercise. Endorphins produce intense feelings of happiness, and can induce sleep in high doses. Third, educational psychologists, we learned in the first chapter, are dedicated to educating the public about mental health, and this 5K run helped do this by bringing awareness of mental health to the public.
Summary: MUSC employees participated in the 4th Annual Mental Health Month Fun Run/Walk on May 17th at Hampton Park. It was organized by the Charleston Area National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the Institute of Psychiatry. Proceeds from the event benefit NAMI outreach programs of support, awareness and education.
Application: First, social support to help persons suffering from and those affected by those people is a healthy coping mechanism. Second, exercise is important to mental health, since the neurotransmitter endorphin is released during physical exercise. Endorphins produce intense feelings of happiness, and can induce sleep in high doses. Third, educational psychologists, we learned in the first chapter, are dedicated to educating the public about mental health, and this 5K run helped do this by bringing awareness of mental health to the public.
The Hypothalmus and Temperature Regulation of the Body
Source: Nursing 2008 June, Vol. 38 No. 6. “Fever and Hyperthermia” by Robin M Beard and Michael W. Day
Summary: After describing the differences between fever and hyperthermia, this article explained how the body reacts to pyrogens, such as viruses, by releasing endopyrogens, also called cytokines. These cytokines act on the hypothalamus, causing it to release prostaglandins, which causes the body to reset its body temperature. Fever caused by pyrogens is evaluated to find the virus or bacterium that is causing the fever. The fever is a good reaction of the body to help it fight them. In hyperthermia, the body is impaired in its ability to lose heat, either because of medications that many older people take for various reasons, or because of external heat, or both. Dopamine receptors in the hypothalamus are inhibited, resulting in resetting the temperature higher than is healthy. The fever is the cause of damage in this case, not a symptom, so the body temperature must be reduced aggressively.
Application: This article explained the role of the hypothalamus as the temperature regulator of the body. Located deep in the forebrain under the thalamus, the hypothalamus has many functions. It also helps regulate hunger, thirst, and sex drives. It is surrounded by blood, so it is directly senses balance or imbalance in all the factors that can be derived from analysis of the blood. With its connections to the autonomic nervous system, it is perfect for response to many types of diseases and conditions.
Summary: After describing the differences between fever and hyperthermia, this article explained how the body reacts to pyrogens, such as viruses, by releasing endopyrogens, also called cytokines. These cytokines act on the hypothalamus, causing it to release prostaglandins, which causes the body to reset its body temperature. Fever caused by pyrogens is evaluated to find the virus or bacterium that is causing the fever. The fever is a good reaction of the body to help it fight them. In hyperthermia, the body is impaired in its ability to lose heat, either because of medications that many older people take for various reasons, or because of external heat, or both. Dopamine receptors in the hypothalamus are inhibited, resulting in resetting the temperature higher than is healthy. The fever is the cause of damage in this case, not a symptom, so the body temperature must be reduced aggressively.
Application: This article explained the role of the hypothalamus as the temperature regulator of the body. Located deep in the forebrain under the thalamus, the hypothalamus has many functions. It also helps regulate hunger, thirst, and sex drives. It is surrounded by blood, so it is directly senses balance or imbalance in all the factors that can be derived from analysis of the blood. With its connections to the autonomic nervous system, it is perfect for response to many types of diseases and conditions.
General Adaptation Syndrome
Source: Movie: Into the Wild
Summary: After a childhood of witnessing his parents arguing, his father physically abusing his mother and verbally abusing his sister and himself, Christopher graduates from college, donates $24,000 to an organization that feeds the world’s hungry, and disappears from his family. Christopher is a very intelligent, sensitive person who became so cynical about the world because of his parents, that he tried to make sense of it all by making his way to Alaska to experience “The Wild”.
Application: His encounters with many people along the way make for a very interesting story with a lot of applications of psychology, but I want to focus on Christopher’s childhood. Hans Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) can be applied here. The abuse that Christopher witnessed and experienced as a child was alarming when he first realized what was happening to his mother. This led to the resistance stage, since the abuse continued totally out of Christopher’s control throughout his childhood. A few coping strategies developed as Christopher got older, such as social support when he protected his sister and comforted her, and eventually escape, when he left everything and went “into the wild”. The exhaustion stage manifested itself in Christopher’s unrealistic assessment of the dangers of living completely off the land in a harsh environment like Alaska. Although he had read many books about survival, he was not prepared.
Summary: After a childhood of witnessing his parents arguing, his father physically abusing his mother and verbally abusing his sister and himself, Christopher graduates from college, donates $24,000 to an organization that feeds the world’s hungry, and disappears from his family. Christopher is a very intelligent, sensitive person who became so cynical about the world because of his parents, that he tried to make sense of it all by making his way to Alaska to experience “The Wild”.
Application: His encounters with many people along the way make for a very interesting story with a lot of applications of psychology, but I want to focus on Christopher’s childhood. Hans Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) can be applied here. The abuse that Christopher witnessed and experienced as a child was alarming when he first realized what was happening to his mother. This led to the resistance stage, since the abuse continued totally out of Christopher’s control throughout his childhood. A few coping strategies developed as Christopher got older, such as social support when he protected his sister and comforted her, and eventually escape, when he left everything and went “into the wild”. The exhaustion stage manifested itself in Christopher’s unrealistic assessment of the dangers of living completely off the land in a harsh environment like Alaska. Although he had read many books about survival, he was not prepared.
PTSD and Dementia
Source: The Post and Courier, June 6, 2008, “Jury to resume deliberations in trial of man accused of rape” p. 3B
Summary: Brandon Vernard Johnson, 24, is on trial for the rape of an 82-year-old woman. Neighbors saw him partially naked on top of her inside her home and called the police. The woman could not testify because she suffers from dementia. Prior to the attack, the woman took walks in her neighborhood and visited local shops. The rape reportedly caused the onset of posttraumatic stress syndrome. The defense attorney alleges that the dementia onset was before the rape, which led to the attack.
Application: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) involves negative responses after a traumatic event, generally with intrusive, unwanted nightmares, vivid memories or even flashbacks (the person feels as if they are actually experiencing the trauma again) of the event. Rape is a common cause of PTSD, and high tech brain imaging has actually detected changes in brain function and structure cause by PTSD. Dementia is a broad category of neuropsychological disorders that are a major disturbance in not only memory, but also perceptual ability, language, or learned motor skills. According to our text book, the causes of dementia are age, disease, drugs or other chemicals, or other unknown causes. PTSD is an incredibly stressful, one of the worst known stressors, so for that to be a factor contributing to the elderly woman’s dementia is very believable. As a juror, I would convict Mr. Johnson without a shadow of a doubt.
Summary: Brandon Vernard Johnson, 24, is on trial for the rape of an 82-year-old woman. Neighbors saw him partially naked on top of her inside her home and called the police. The woman could not testify because she suffers from dementia. Prior to the attack, the woman took walks in her neighborhood and visited local shops. The rape reportedly caused the onset of posttraumatic stress syndrome. The defense attorney alleges that the dementia onset was before the rape, which led to the attack.
Application: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) involves negative responses after a traumatic event, generally with intrusive, unwanted nightmares, vivid memories or even flashbacks (the person feels as if they are actually experiencing the trauma again) of the event. Rape is a common cause of PTSD, and high tech brain imaging has actually detected changes in brain function and structure cause by PTSD. Dementia is a broad category of neuropsychological disorders that are a major disturbance in not only memory, but also perceptual ability, language, or learned motor skills. According to our text book, the causes of dementia are age, disease, drugs or other chemicals, or other unknown causes. PTSD is an incredibly stressful, one of the worst known stressors, so for that to be a factor contributing to the elderly woman’s dementia is very believable. As a juror, I would convict Mr. Johnson without a shadow of a doubt.
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