Dr. Spencer Reid (thisiscalm) wrote in marinanova, @ 2013-11-29 22:45:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | :class, alex karev, artemis crock, hatsuharu sohma, kitty pryde (aoa), sam winchester, spencer reid, yuuki kuran, zero kiryuu |
247 // Criminology Class // open to all!
[ It’s the tenth criminology class. That deserves something a little different and Reid has been wondering for a while about whether or not he’s gone about this the right way. These people aren’t law enforcement and even if they are, their worlds are so different. He’s been making it up as he goes along so far, but maybe… maybe it would be a good idea to go back to the basics.
So that’s what he’ll be doing. ]
Good afternoon. [ A small smile and some awkward shifting. ] We’re going to do something different today… I thought it would be a good idea to go back to some basic psychology. It’s a necessary requirement to understand why people do what they do, whether it’s due to biological, environmental or societal causes.
There will be handouts at the front of the classroom for those that want them. We’ve also copied up some for the previous classes… at least the ones I held. You can pick them up at the end of the lecture. And for any new participants… please remember that whatever I say in a lecture may not apply to your world. I can only draw experience and knowledge from the research that has been done back home, so… your mileage may vary.
Alright! Let’s begin!
BIOLOGY — The Anatomy of the Human Brain.
[ He’s drawn out a somewhat crude picture of a human brain, side view and top. ]
As most of you know, the human brain is divided into left and right hemisphere, as well as the different structures: frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, temporal lobe, cerebellum and the brain stem. Furthermore there are smaller structures within these, such as the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala and hippocampus. We’re not going to go into great detail of what these actually do, but it’s important to know the very basics to understand how different injuries, chemicals or defects can affect the brain.
Let’s start with the frontal lobe. Some would say that this is the most sophisticated part of the brain and also the structure that houses the personality, in a matter of speaking. Most of the dopamine sensitive neurons are located here — we’ll go back to neurotransmitters in a moment — and this means that the frontal lobe houses the parts of the brain related to rewards, attention span, short-term memory tasks, planning and motivation.
Injuries to the frontal lobe often result in a complete change of personality — a famous case study is Phineas Gage who on September 13 1848 received a major injury to the left frontal lobe as a result of a railroad accident. [ Be glad he doesn’t have pictures. ] Although he survived the accident and returned to something close to a normal life, his friends said that he was no longer Phineas Gage. He could no longer understand the consequences of his actions and lost all his money on gambling. Women were warned not to be around him alone, because there was no telling what he’d do seeing as he could not see his actions as something wrong.
A decrease in frontal lobe functions is common among psychopaths, for those of you who remembers that lecture. [ The tiniest of pauses. ] It can also be related to autism and schizophrenia. [ Throat-clearing. ] Next, amygdala which is related to emotion and most of all fear… [ And so the lecture continues, moving through the more important structures of the brain. ]
[ Wiki. Anything on human brains goes. ]
NEUROLOGY — Functions and Dysfunctions of the Neural Pathways
[ Another awesome drawing, this time of the function of a nerve cell. ]
Just like the peripheral nervous system, the brain is made up of neurons, or nerve cells. In addition to the neurons there’s also glial cells or glia, whose main functions are to hold the neurons in place, insulate them from one another, supply them with nutrients and oxygen and destroy pathogens and any dead neurons that may exist. The third important component of the neural system is myelin, an electrically insulating material that forms a layer or myelin sheath around the axons of neurons. They are essential to proper neural functioning and illness or deficiencies in myelin can cause a lot of problems. Maybe you’ve heard of multiple sclerosis? That’s one commonly known illness that is caused by the deterioration of myelin.
A lack of myelin in the brain can also be the cause of decreased brain function. Grey matter is a term a lot of people are familiar with when it comes to the brain, but the white matter is even more important for normal functioning. [ He draws another diagram. Not nearly as neat but the cerebral cortex is easy enough to spot. ] The white matter is what allows the different parts of the cerebral cortex to communicate and research have shown that several diseases may be caused by a deficit of white matter — Alzheimers and Parkinson’s disease are two examples, but schizophrenia, autism and even dyslexia have potential links to white matter loss.
Damage to the structures of the brain can also result in several functional and perceptional difficulties- [ And here follows a brief (for Reid) description of brain damage and the different dysfunctions that can come from it. ]
[ Wiki. ]
TOXICOLOGY — Neurotransmitters and Drugs
Neurotransmitters are chemicals that allow the nerve cells to send messages between one another, resulting in a desired action or reaction. A sufficient classification would be to divide them into amino acids, peptides and monoamines, but this isn’t anything you need to remember… the neurotransmitters that are important for our subject tho, you should remember. Dopamine, epinephrine and seratonin. These are released by synapses, which in turn are divided into excitatory and inhibitory. By tampering with these synapses, you can create an unnatural reaction in the body: for instance, some sleep aids work by increasing the inhibitory neurotransmitter that let’s through chemicals that allows the body to go to sleep, thus increasing the chance of those chemicals working. Similarly, antidepressants tamper with the synapses in such a way that a larger dose of seratonin is released.
I’m sure you can see the benefits of chemicals effecting the synapses in the terms of medicine, but drugs can also effect the synapses negatively and cause longterm damage. Most commonly known drugs such as opiates and caffeine do just that — opiates such as morphine especially take the place of the body’s natural chemical that reduces pain and alleviates tension, which is why they’re so addictive. Unfortunately we build up a tolerance over time, which requires higher doses of the chemical and from there the body builds up a growing dependency — an addiction. For example: alcoholism… [ And here follows a description of the neuropharmacology of alcoholism. This section of the class continues in much the same way, explaining the functions of different drugs on the nervous system. ]
[ Wiki ]
Q&A
[ A Q&A thread can be found here for all your question-based needs! There is also a suggestions box available — just note that your character is dropping a note in the box in the subject header and it will be brought up during the next class! ]