Binging Babies

It is hard to deny that United States culture is heavily influenced by consumption of controlled substances, especially alcohol. This influence becomes particularly concerning when it involves youth. But I am not going to get into the obvious effects of media on alcohol consumption and the negative effects alcohol consumption has on society at large. While these are important topics to be discussed, I would like to highlight some neurobiological studies showing the dysregulation of hormones and increase of neuroimmune danger signals caused by high levels of alcohol consumption. Understanding the extent of drinking, especially binge drinking (characterized by a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher), is vital to developing effective alcohol related policies regarding youth.

This semester I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Magdalena Szymanska share her research about binge drinking effects on the brains hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis, which is important in the response to stress. In preliminary studies Dr. Szymanska showed that rat corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH), arginine vasopressin (AVP), and corticosterone (CORT) levels were altered in rats exposed to binge levels of ethanol (the chemical in alcohol that causes intoxication). Her subsequent research showed that dysregulation of theses hormones persists into adulthood (Szymanska 2011). In some of her even more recent research she has produced evidence that binge levels of alcohol consumption during adolescence can cause genetic changes that are passed down to rats children. Since the HPA axis has been shown to be important in the regulation of stress, research like Dr. Szymanska’s is important to help understand how alcohol induced dysregulation of hormones and modification of gene expression effect psychological disorders.

In 2012 Dr. Ryan Vetreno and Dr. Fulton Crews published a study that examined the effects of adolescent alcohol consumption (again in rats) on increased neuroinflammation and cognitive performance. Vetreno and Crews randomly assigned rats to either a test group that received intragastric ethanol or a control group that received intragastric injections of water. Then the effects of alcohol consumption were evaluated using immunohistochemistry and Barnes maze spatial and reverse learning assessment. Immunohistochemistry along with polymerase chain reaction is a biological lab technique used to quantify the amount of expression of a gene. In this study it was used to look at HMGB1, a molecular signal of neuroinflammation. Vetreno and Crews found that alcohol consumption caused increased levels of HMGB1 (aka the “danger signal”) in adult rat prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain that is important for cognitive functions). The Barnes maze was used to assess the correlation between cognitive deficits and increased gene expression of prefrontal cortex “danger signals”. Ventro and Crews found that while the ability of rats to form spatial memories was not impaired, their ability to unlearn and replace the formed spatial memories was impaired (they had impaired reverse learning abilities). This group of experiments helps us to understand how prefrontal cortex biological changes due to alcohol consumption relates to deficits cognitive abilities.

These are just two studies of many that help us understand how molecular and genetic changes in the brain due to adolescent alcohol consumption correlate to different psychological deficits. There is a lot more work that needs to be done to really understand how the adolescent brain is affected by alcohol and how those effects can be reversed. Personally, I hope that research findings like these can be adapted to serve as effective deterrents to keep youth from consuming large amounts of alcohol.

Articles:

Przybycien-Szymanska MM, Mott NN, Paul CR, Gillespie RA, Pak TR (2011) Binge-Pattern Alcohol Exposure during Puberty Induces Long-Term Changesin HPA Axis Reactivity. PLoS ONE 6(4): e18350. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0018350

Ventro RP, Crews FT (2012) Adolescent Binge Drinking Increases Expression of the Danger Singnal Agonist HMGB1 and Toll-Like Receptors in the Adult Prefrontal Cortex. Neuroscience 226: 475-488.

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." -Gandhi

Arthur Kramer, the director at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, came to talk about what the effects of exercising can have on your brain and body. I was very excited to hear Dr. Kramer speak because I heard that the topic was about how exercising can help improve your brain. We've all heard of the stats on what exercising can do, but even I was unsure about the specific effects exercising can have on the brain. I just know the common response, "Exercise is good for you!" but could never scientifically explain why. Dr. Kramer began to explain how exercising, even walking everyday, can have a significant long-term effect on someone's mental health. He continued to go into detail about his studies and data that he's collected. I wish I could explain and share everything I learned from him, but I'm going to focus on when he mentioned the link between exercising and Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by plaques and tangles, abnormal clusters of proteins that form in the brain. These proteins are made up of pieces called beta-amyloid. Beta-amyloid is then what form the plaques in the brain of an Alzheimer's patient. These clumps of beta-amyloid are what is thought to block the signaling at synapses between neurons. Dr. Kramer talked about the experiment with mice testing whether or not exercise would have an effect on the production of beta-amyloid. Once the mice were put on a track wheel, the number of beta-amyloid reduced. Even though this was tested on mice, this seems to be a pretty reassuring discovery that exercising can help reduce the chances of forming beta-amyloid clumps, reducing the chances of Alzheimer's disease. Art Kramer spoke of many other experiments that showed how exercising reduced the chances of developing Parkinson's disease or Multiple Sclerosis. His talk was very inspiring and motivating to push people even more to exercise. By knowing the science behind the long-term effects of exercising, I am beyond motivated to get back to a regular work out schedule and also motivating my family and friends to work out. Exercise doesn't necessarily need to be running 6 miles, lifting large weights, or P90X, but can instead start off as walking everyday or swimming some laps a few days a week. Depending on someone's fitness level, the amount of exercise they do can vary and there is nothing wrong with starting off at a comfortable exercise routine. Anyone can work up to achieving a higher fitness level. It is better to start exercising, even if that means starting off small because it's better than doing nothing at all.

Huntington's Just Want to Lay Down

Exercise! Wow the one shot cure

Dr. Kramer’s lecture raved about the benefits of exercise in aging and as a way to help delay and even prevent the onset of mental disorders and cognitive degenerative diseases in some cases. I thought that these finding were amazing and immediately felt the need to get up and get moving, keeping the body healthy to keep the mind well lubricated so to speak. However what really caught my attention was not the benefits that exercise provided but the one exception to this almost perfect treatment. Very briefly Dr. Kramer mentioned that exercise helps virtually everything except for Huntington’s disease. It wasn’t hard to then ask why and what makes Huntington disease so special.

So what is Huntington’s Disease?

            Huntington's disease is caused by a defect on chromosome 4 that causes a part of DNA, called a CAG repeat, to occur many more times than it is supposed to. As individuals with this disease have children the abnormal replicates become increasingly abundant. Normally, this section of DNA is repeated 10 to 28 times but in persons with Huntington's disease, it is repeated 36 to 120 times and with each added replication the chances of developing this disease earlier in live rises. (PubMed 2011) What makes it particularly devastating is the fact that these replicated sequences can seriously mutate and denature proteins and as a result lead to disorders like paranoia, hallucinations, uncontrolled body movements (jerking, twitching and eye spasms) and dementia in some cases.

So how does exercise affect it?

            In a study published in 2010 researchers looked at the effects of exercise on rats with Huntington’s disease, what they found was interesting. They concluded that “exercise impaired motor performance and reduced striatal volume and age of disease onset in a HD mouse model. In addition, total lifespan, progressive weight loss, hyperglycemia, reduced neurogenesis, deficits in immature neuronal morphology; intra-nuclear inclusions, decreased GCL volume and impaired cognitive performance were not changed by exercise.” (Potter et al. 2010) So not only was exercise unable to prevent the onset of HD it actually induced its onset earlier in the rat’s life. A similar study done by Renoir et al. in 2012 looked at the effects of exercise on depressed rats with HD and found similar results, the rats that showed increase activity levels were seen to perform poorly on Morrison’s water maze and also shown increase motor disorders measured by the number of missteps that the rats made.

But why?

I have no idea, it could be a number of things but perhaps the increased metabolism rates of active individuals not only speeds up bodily functions but accelerates abnormal replications of the CAG sequence found in Huntington’s Disease and as a result causes the disease to occur earlier in the organisms life. There isn't a lot of new research that is published yet but I feel in the coming years that this topic might become really hot really fast.   

Work Cited

Board, A.D.A.M. Editorial. "PubMed: Huntington's Disease." Huntington's Disease. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 30 Apr. 2011. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001775/>.

Potter, Michelle C., Chunyan Yuan, Conwell Ottenritter, Mohamed Mughal, and Henriette Van Praag. "Abstract." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 07 Dec. 2010. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2998194/>.

Renoir, Thibault, Terence YC Pang, Michelle S. Zajac, Grace Chan, Xin Du, Leah Leang, Caroline Chevarin, Laurence Lanfumey, and Anthony J. Hannan. "Treatment of Depressive-like Behaviour in Huntington's Disease Mice by Chronic Sertraline and Exercise." Treatment of Depressive-like Behaviour in Huntington's Disease Mice by Chronic Sertraline and Exercise (2012): n. pag. Mar. 2012. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3372723/>.

Exercise and the Hippocampus

Dr. Art Kramer presented his research on the cognitive effects of exercise on November 30th to a rapt audience, myself included. There are plenty of reasons to exercise: increased cardiovascular endurance, stress reduction, and overall body appearance and tone. But, it can be easy to fall off the exercise bandwagon sometimes. I try to workout a maximum of five days a week; sometimes I only make it to 2 or 3 days, and I sometimes I get too stressed with school and validate skipping the gym entirely. For me, it's easy to rationalize not exercising to strengthen my heart because I'm 21 and don't really need to think about that. School often takes precedence. However, what if exercising and working your body helped with school in the long run?

Dr. Kramer discussed how exercise can improve connectionism and aging, and how exercise can also improve cognitive functioning in children. High-fit children were less distracted by music when they were in the simulated street crossing and had way better decision making skills. These are very clear and apparent reasons to get up and exercise, even when you're stressed! The subject of exercise and the brain is actually what first spurred my fascination with neuroscience a few years ago. I remember reading a paper about how the old adage "The brain cells you're born with are the only ones you've got" was actually false, and how research was found neurogenesis and new cell production in the hippocampi of rats who ran regularly. This really got my attention, and is something that I am interested in researching with adults and depression. Most doctors recommend exercise for depressed patients, but this is definitely an area that could use more exploring in terms of the actual neurological affect of exercise on the brain and why it improves depressive patients functioning.

If exercise improves hippocampal volume and thus aging and emotional coping, everyone should really get the recommended amounts of exercise for their own sake. However, working out and being healthy can be confusing sometimes because there's so many options, and so many conflicting ideas for what kind of exercise is the most beneficial for each person. In a study by Kirk Erickson and colleagues (including Dr. Kramer as well!), the researchers attempted to elucidate exactly this. They compared individuals who either took place in an exercise condition with moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or in a toning and stretching condition. They found that the aerobic exercise increased hippocampal volume by 2% and increased associated BDNF levels (Brain derived neurotrophic factor, a nerve growth factor) (Erickson et al. 2010). Hippocampal shrinkage is associated in aging, so this has huge implications for aging and Alzheimer's prevention!

References:
Erickson, K. et al. (2010). Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory, PNAS, 108(7), 3017-3022.

Exercise and Alzheimer's

On November 20, 2013, Dr. Art Kramer from the University of Illinois came and spoke about the effects of physical activity on the brain and cognition. He spoke of research done on high and low fit children and an experiment of a stimulated street crossing, similar to Frogger. The high and low fit children did about the same at first, but when they were distracted by music, the high fit children were making better decisions about when to cross.

I found it very interesting that there was a difference between this children and it make me wonder about the effect of exercise in preventing or delaying degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. Dr. Kramer touched on it for a minute about how it might be able to set the clock back, but I decided to look further into it. According to the Mayo Clinic, physical exercise is currently the most effective way to prevent Alzheimer's. (Lunde, 2008) There is evidence of this in a study done at the University of Chicago with mice that have been bred to develop the brain plaque that can cause Alzheimer's. Only some of the mice were allowed to exercise and those that were had 50-80% less plaque than the mice that were not allowed to exercise. The exercising mice had less plaque because they produced more of an enzyme that prevents the plaque. (Lunde, 2008)

In conclusion, if you did not have enough of a reason to exercise before, this should get you to the gym very quickly.

Lunde, A. (2008, March 25). Preventing alzheimer's: Exercise still best bet. Retrieved from   
          http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alzheimers/MY00002

Art Kramer: An even better reason to exercise (as if we really needed another)

I attended Art Kramer's talk with two of my close friends. By the time we left the event, we had made a pact to be exercise buddies during the upcoming semester. We'll see how well that plan holds up, but it got me thinking: why was Art Kramer's presentation so much more motivating than the MILLIONS of other reasons that there are to exercise regularly? The fact that exercising is good for us has really never been disputed, unless you're injured nothing but good can come of it. However, we often think of the benefits as being purely aesthetic and physical. Sure, it's great to feel good, look good, and stay physically healthy into old age, all of these are extremely desirable benefits. However, I would argue that, especially as we age, we are much more attached to our mental acuity than to our physical well-being. Physical decline is uncomfortable and inconvenient, mental decline is debilitating. On a certain level we ARE our minds; to lose mental capability is essentially to lose a part of ourselves. People seem to have a much easier time coming to terms with the physical losses of aging. Can't play a sport that you used to enjoy anymore? It's a bummer, but after all I am getting older. Can't find your car keys or remember the name of a distant acquaintance? That's it, it's over, the dementia is here. So, Kramer's studies give us a special sense of hope. Something that is usually never associated with mental preservation has suddenly become an option, even when mental faculties seem to be on the way out. The study that Kramer presented about the effect of exercise in patients that already had Alzheimer's, MS and Parkinson's was probably the most impressive to me. It's easy to believe that exercise could have a positive effect in people who still have a healthy brain, but when it can improve or help lessen the effect on already diseased brains you know that it is rather powerful. What did I take away from this talk? It's never too late to improve your mind and exercise really does help everything.

Can Exercise Make You Smarter?

The Art Kramer talk was one of the most influential talks I have ever attended. Kramer emphasized a point that everyone has heard at least once in their lifetime, exercise is great for you. Kramer presented this argument with many studies and experiments and quite frankly, even with my busy schedule he got me to go to the gym. He gave various examples about how exercising allows the brain to shrink less in areas that become smaller with age and that exercise can even turn the elderly into incredible athletes. He gave the example of Olga Kotelko, a 94 year old female who started exercising at age 75 and has won 26 world records and was named a world class field athlete. Kramer has become an expert in this field of study and through many years of research he has proven that aerobic physical activity increases neurotransmitters in the brain and therefore there are more neuronal connections that trigger better functional connectivity in the brain. This also leads to the phenomenon that aerobic physical activity can help decrease diseases that involve a decline in cognition, like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. The whole presentation presented the benefits that come with exercise, such as decreases in anxiety and depression and increases in one’s well-being and self-esteem. Overall, Art Kramer was able to support his original opening statement about the flexibility of your brain, you either use it or lose it.

Exercise and the Brain

Senile. When you hear this word the next reasonable step is to visualize an elderly person. As one ages, the loss of mental faculties is the most well-known characteristic. This outcome was thought to be inevitable before researches found an easy way to slow and reverse this process. Art Kramer of Beckman Institute for advanced Science and Technology discovered the positive effect of exercise on the brain. It is known that increase in physical activity will decrease the risk of diabetes, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, and many other diseases. However, what has now been discovered is that the degrading of cognition can be slowed down by performing simple physical workouts. Dr. Kramer and his lab have tested older adults that have significant improvement in brain function and test much better on cognition experiments. Even more recently, scientists have now discovered that exercise promotes neurogenesis. What was once believed that humans could not grow new neurons has evolved to new belief of “ brain cell growth through exercise”.  Even more exciting is that they may be able to create a pill to promote brain development. A certain part of the brain that is stimulated by neurogenesis is the hippocampal area. Through endurance exercise, scientists have discovered that a protein called FNDC₅ is released into the bloodstream. When this protein reaches the brain another protein, Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor(BDNF), is also releases, which promotes nerve growth and reconnection of synapses. The hope is that scientist will be able to capture the protein that directly stimulates neural cell growth and offer to Parkinson and Alzheimer patients.  Even though, it has been seen to increase hippocampal growth in mice, researchers are still studying these effects and looking forward to the release of this drug to degenerative disease patients. Even if a person does not have these specific diseases, the idea of neurogenesis and slowing the aging of your brain should encourage you to turn off the tv and break a sweat.

 http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2013/10/13/how-exercise-makes-your-brain-grow/ 

Biotechnology in Animals

At the Neuroscience Banquet Emily Anthes came and spoke about her book Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts. Most of the experiments that she talked about took place with animals and what stuck out to me was at the end of the talk when she talked about being pre-science and pro-animal. It made me think, how can people be so against testing on animals when it has brought such good things to the human race? Things like cures for diseases and vaccinations. It has even done things for veterinary medicine.

Since there are many animal activists that are against any kind of animal testing or anything they believe violates an animal's rights, I wanted to see what the benefits were for the animals. Since Frankenstein's Cat was about animals and biotechnology I focused on that when researching. We as humans have been using selective breeders for a long time. This is how we currently have so many breeds of dogs which are actually the most diverse species in the world (Anthes, 2013). Although there are some things that are bad for the animals, there are also benefits to selective breeding. One example is improving resistance to disease (BBC, 2013). This should be like music to an animal activists ears. Being a dog owner myself, I can say that I am happy that the selective breeding of dogs has helped create animals that can maybe be with us longer than they would have otherwise. Also, selective breeding can "remove characteristics that can cause injury" (BBC, 2013).

Therefore, I believe that some animal activists need to take a closer look at what some of this animal testing and selective breeding can do for animals and for people. It is the only way we can continue to progress in the medical and biotechnology world.

Anthes, E. (2013). Frankenstein's cat: Cuddling up to biotech's brave new beasts. (1st ed., p. 5). New   
          York: Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
BBC. (2013). Ethics guide: Biotechnology. Retrieved from  
          http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/animals/using/biotechnology_1.shtml

Kramer & Mammen on Exercise

Professor Arthur Kramer from university of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana gave a lecture at Loyola University Chicago on November 20^th on his research done on the effects of physical activity and exercise on the brain and cognition.  With his years of research he has found that aerobic if strongly associated with better functional connectivity in the brain.  This is due to increased brain plasticity caused by exercise.  Therefore, aerobic exercise can help decrease diseases that result in a decline in cognition, such as the progression of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.   It also helps increase brain volumes in regions which normally decrease in volume with age, such as the hippocampus.  Kramer also mentioned how benefits lie in decreases of anxiety and depression, and increases in self-esteem, which are all innately advantages to one’s well-being.

Science Daily further explored this phenomenon by studying an experiment done by PhD candidate George Mammen.  Mammen published a review in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine when he found that moderate exercise can prevent depressive episodes.  This study stands out from the rest because it was the first longitudinal study that actually looked at exercise and mental health changes in the same individuals over the course of 26 years.  Mammen notes that genetic factors do play a large role, but we can influence those factors and their effects by controlling other aspects of our lives, such as physical exercise.  We need to consider exercise as a preventive measure so we can wean our society off prescription medicines.  For example, if a person has a long standing family history of depression in older age, they can be encouraged to exercise moderately starting a young age in order to prevent the onset of depressive episodes.

1.       George Mammen, Guy Faulkner. Physical Activity and the Prevention of Depression. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2013; 45 (5): 649 DOI:10.1016/j.amepre.2013.08.001

2.       University of Toronto (2013, October 28). Moderate exercise not only treats, but prevents depression. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 30, 2013, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­/releases/2013/10/131028163003.htm

Art Kramer Talk

I really enjoyed the Art Kramer Talk. It basically emphasized the point that we've all heard countless times from our parents and elders: that exercise is good for you. Kramer showed how much it's good for you, and how exercise affects the brain directly. One aspect that really caught my attention was his demonstration of how exercise affects the ability to multitask. It's interesting how children who are fit are also able to do multitasking better than those children who did very little exercise. He proved this with the video of the treadmill experiment where a fit child is able to cross the road while talking on the cell phone, but if a less fit child does the same, it would not work.  The most interesting part of the talk was the part about Olga Kotelko, who woman over 90 years who is still a Canadian track athlete. At such an age she can actively run and compete in races. Her exercise increases neurotransmitters in the brain and allows greater neuronal connections, which in turn causes her activeness in sports. Exercising allows the brain to shrink less as you age. 

Everybody's Chance for "Mind Control"

Earlier this November Loyola's Neuroscience Society hosted a banquet and invited Emily Anthes, author of Frankenstein's Cat, to speak during it.  In Frankenstein's Cat Anthes discusses a variety of issues such as: cloning, prosthetics, and "mind control" and the ethics of it.  Recent breakthroughs in the field of neuroscience have allowed for some researchers to begin to design technologies that allow the brain of organisms, like beetles, to be hacked into and used to control their movements.  During her lecture at the banquet Anthes focused on this idea of "hacking" into the bugs brains and also the ethics of doing so.  She mentioned in her lecture, and her book, that a company now sells cockroaches along with a "brain hacking set" that any interested consumer can buy.  

The debate about whether these kinds of products are ethical or not rages on.  Those in support claim it is a great way to get the younger generation interested in neuroscience, while those who oppose claim we are taking away the organisms free will.  An interesting counter argument to this is proposed by Greg Gage in an NPR article.  He claims that this isn't controlling the insects mind but simply making them turn in a certain direction because they perceive a stimulus on that other side, similar to making a horse turn using reigns.

I think this is an important discussion those in the field of neuroscience and the general public need to be thinking about.  Although I agree that this type of technology is not "mind control", I still believe it is important to figure out where we draw the metaphorical line.  As with any big decision that needs to be made, pros and cons need to be weighed.  Anthes shows both sides in Frankenstein's Cat and discussed both in her lecture.  On one hand an insect could be used to spy on citizens and begin George Orwell's "Big Brother" government.  On the other hand, the bugs could be used to help in rescue missions.  The list of pros and cons continue to grow and it is important that both sides be heard.  I think Anthes does a great job of giving both sides of the story and allowing people to become educated on the costs and benefits of this new technology.  As with any new discovery, we must be cautious of its powers but not afraid to use it for the betterment of humanity.  Scientific journalists, like Anthes, help get the word out about these new developments in many fields and allow the discussion to begin on what is right and what is wrong.  I, for one, find there to be great benefits in a lot of these new developments, but think we should proceed with caution and make sure we know what we're doing.  In the end, what is most important is that every person can make a well educated, personal decision on what they believe is right and wrong in this rapidly developing "brain hacking" technology.  


Anthes, Emily. Frankenstiens Cat: Cuddling up to Biotech's Brave New Betasts. N.p: np., n.d. Print.

Staff, NPR. "What's Creepy, Crawly And A Champion Of Neuroscience?" NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2013

New Technology Coming Our Way!

Emily Anthes came to Loyola University Chicago on Saturday, November 2nd to talk about her most recent book Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts. I immediately became interested in learning about what scientists are currently researching and testing on. Emily Anthes reported to the audience about the scientists' work and I know that everyone was engaged. She talked about tapping into beetles brains and being able to navigate them. Then she went on to navigating mice and how scientists are able to stimulate certain neurons that would signal the mice to turn left or right. It was fascinating! 

After eating a delicious dinner I obviously researched more about biotechnology and found an article about how scientists accidentally found a gene that could be activated to regenerate cell growth. Lin28a is a gene that is silenced after a certain point in one's life. Scientists found that the Lin28a gene could be triggered back to its embryonic stage and cause a cascade of chemical reactions that generate energy. A scientist accidentally found this gene when he clipped off the toes and ears of mice as an identification technique and was surprised when they grew back. These scientists immediately became interested to find out if it could work on humans to grow limbs back but limitations are always present. By testing on mice, isolating genes, and incorporating technology into our studies, the young scientists and researchers of today can continue to achieve great lengths in the scientific world. Thanks to Emily Anthes talk, and after reading her book, I became very interested in learning more about this field of science and technology and finding out what experiment or idea could come true tomorrow.

URL: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=new-limb-regeneration-ins

How Would You Like Your Offspring

How would you like your offspring?

     

Ready-made to succeed

In Anthes’ discussion she touched base on genetically modifying our species in a sort of “upgrade” fashion, a process that leaves the individual with a heightened sense or leverage in an ability like let’s say creativity. What really got my stomach turning wasn’t the idea of a designer baby but the social outcomes that could arise from babies being designed to be genetically better than others and how readily this technology could become available if you could afford it. Why this made me uncomfortable was the possibility of elitist modifying their offspring to be extraordinary creatures while leaving those who could not afford to “upgrade” their children stranded to ride the wave of evolution. Natural vs. Artificial talent would become blurred and for a time could be very unfair to unmodified individuals as they compete for spots in a competitive job market or even just school in general. We all know what it’s like to sit next to that one person who studies the night before an exam and through some gift of god manages to score higher than you on it, the very test you studied for a week for. Now imagine that as an entire social class and it isn't hard to see how this advantage could lead to a large gap in social class.

But how realistic is modifying our genes and tailoring mutations for a specific trait?

Easier than you think believe it or not, while traits are not based on single genes most of the time with enough digging we could uncover what and how these sequences of amino acids serve their functions. In an article by James Shapiro entitles “How Natural Genetic Engineering Solves Problems in Protein Evolution” he reviews the process of domain encoding. In the world of genetics it has been readily accepted that a single amino acid substitution is rarely associated with a change in function. James states that “how proteins changed their size, formed completely novel structures, or combined the capacities to bind multiple different molecules were difficult to account for on the basis of successive single amino acid substitutions. “(Shapiro,2012). Where the variation and function lays is in these sequences of amino acids called “domains”, what is interesting about domains is the fact that we can mix and match different ones to produce a new trait that either has a function similar to the whole of its parts or no function at all. In order for these domains to survive in nature however they needed to be beneficial to the organism but if the secrets to creativity and intelligence, even vision are traced to the domain level then it is possible that these “upgrades” may be plausible.

What about the little guy?

Anthes also made a comment about our duty as a species to help out other species that could not fend for themselves. So if we modify our species to excel past what was originally possible we have a duty to genetically modify the animals around us so that they can have a shot at this evolution highway. That’s all fine but what about the members in our species who still can’t afford modifications, don’t we have a duty to ensure that they too receive equal say and chance at these “upgrades”. What then happens to their children, will “upgrades” available to impoverished communities consist of last years model hand me downs or will winning a chance to have their children upgraded be like playing the lotto? In my opinion it is a really cool idea but with all the politics and chance for segregations and unfair treatment I feel like it’s not worth the hassle.         

Works cited

Shapiro, James A. "How Natural Genetic Engineering Solves Problems in Protein Evolution."The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 May 2012. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-a-shapiro/genetic-engineering_b_1541180.html>.

Art Kramer Talk: To the Future and Beyond

Art Kramer's talk was really good because it told us what I think society has known for years-- exercise is good for you!-- but he was able to present it with proof as well as theories to explain just exactly why you should be hitting the gym. What really struck me in his presentation, however, was the video of the lab near the end. His point was on showcasing the cognitive effects of high activity levels in children, but what I was fascinated by was the technology of virtual reality was actually being used in a lab! With the introduction of the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset, the gaming world had begun to take a turn towards more immersive game play, but now it could be used to help further science. Participants would be able to be observed in what would be either impractical or unethical settings, something that severely limited the realm of psychology and neuroscience. With virtual reality, variables in the situation would only be a matter of programming, giving researches strict control even in a more natural setting. With how fast the technologies available to researchers are advancing, I almost feel as if it's only a matter of time until the race for "which lab would be the first to use a holodeck" begins.

Emily Anthes Talk: Our Responsibility

In her talk about animal robotics, Emily Anthes, author of Frankenstein's Cat, brought up the ethical question of whether we as scientists, society, or even just as citizens of the animal kingdom owe it to other animals to share the power of recent advances in biology and technology. If we have the capability to improve the lives of other animals, is it our moral responsibility to do so? How far is its reach, to all animals, or only the species that we use in our experiments?

It's a nice idea in theory, the great, good, and gentle humans bestowing godly graces on the other, more unfortunate animals, a sort of universal marxism between all fauna of the planet-- but it's also complete fantasy. I don't think we owe it to use our discoveries to improve animal lives at all. Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to say all ethical guidelines to the treatment of animals, both inside and outside of the lab, should just be thrown to the wind, but we have to draw a line somewhere. It's one thing to try to better our own race-- we want that and we understand the consequences to some degree-- but to go out and play god among the other animals is foolish and impractical. By bettering one species we risk throwing the delicate balance of an ecosystem out of whack and by improving all species... well, what would be the point? The prey would be better at escaping the hunters, but the hunters are better at catching the prey. Also, implanting any biotech is out the window because good luck finding funding for that, let alone just the process of capturing every single animal. And for those who are sacrificed for research, while valiant, would have probably lived only marginally longer or shorter out in the wild; animals take advantage of other animals all the time. 

Really, we're just really better off left learning how to help ourselves first. 

Talk: Art Kramer

Exercise is a vital part of every human's lifestyle, or at least it should be. Even before birth, one's mother is encouraged to participate in light physical activity up to three times a week for her unborn child's benefit. As one grows older, he is in charge of his own health and exercise is continually strongly encouraged. However, with older age comes broken bones, arthritis, and difficulty doing activities one previously did flawlessly. But at this age, is exercise really that important?

Art Kramer strongly believes that old age is no excuse. He uses the example of Olga Kotelko to make this point. This 93 year old woman holds 23 track world records since she turned the ripe age of 75. Every day she participates in five hours of light activity and one hour of vigorous exercise. Of course, it is ridiculous to expect every senior citizen to have such a flexible schedule or the energy to endure it.

However, some exercise is encouraged for senior citizens, whether it be walking or weights. This does more than help the body, it helps the mind. Aerobic fitness has been linked to better functional connectivity and better cognition in general. In fact, more exercise increases one's brain volume incredibly, even at an old age. There was also an increase in activity in the hippocampus, caudate nucleus, and thalamus.

This just proves that it's never too late to care for your body. This increase in brain activity can be accomplished whether one is 35 or 75. You don't need to become Olga Kotelko to accomplish this either. Just a little bit of exercise every couple days will do the trick... Do it for your brain!

Emily Anthes Extra Credit

I was extremely excited about seeing Emily Anthes speak at the Neuroscience banquet, but perhaps not for the most obvious of reasons. Yes, I enjoy her writing, the topics she covers, the way she writes. I've really enjoyed reading Frankenstein's Cat and blogging about it for our Neuroscience Seminar, and I think she is extremely adept at making science easy to understand. That is her job, after all. However, what I was really interested to hear about, and luckily she spoke about it during the Q and A following the talk, was how she ended up in the career she is in. As a psych major and neuroscience minor who rarely finds myself drawn to the more "typical" careers in the field (research, etc.), it is always exciting to see someone who has stayed within the sciences, but found a unique and creative way to apply it. As college students we so often get hung up on what we should be doing, what most people are doing, or what we are expected to do. As a result we spend very little time thinking about what we want to do, what we love, and what we are passionate about. Emily Anthes did just that, when she discovered she wasn't cut out for lab work, instead of powering through, like so many students do, she sought out something she enjoyed more and made a new path for herself. I think that this should be a much more common topic of thought and discussion in the sciences. While the typical careers paths will always be popular and necessary, there are other ways to make yourself a place in the sciences, ones that are also necessary and should be getting more attention and praise. If we motivate more young people who are passionate about science, but perhaps not in a typical way, to go out and advocate for the sciences, perhaps as a writer like Anthes, or in other careers, they could do wonders for public opinion and acceptance of science, something that is sorely needed. Anthes did a good job reminding us that everyone has something to contribute, even if it's what is typical or expected. Sure, many science major ARE passionate about the typical paths, and that's great, but maybe if just a few of us follow our passions in different directions we can enter, or create, new and different career paths that can be equally as useful.

Emily Anthes: DRONES are a reality

The idea of drones has developed from the active imagination of scientist. No longer a distant goal but is reality. The government has taken advantage of these imaginations and used these drones to help the military in their various endeavors. However, these drones do not look like they are robots from the movie Star Wars,  but the designs are completely incognito. Instead of having noticeable drones flying over battle fields, scientist made the drones small and similar to insects. Which was very beneficial because not only are they hard to target but they are  easy to maneuver in small spaces. The purpose that they have been used is to spy on those across enemy lines. Or they are flown around corners ahead of soldiers, and they can know what lies before them.  Emily Anthes author of Frankenstein’s cat spoke on the negative sides that come along with a completely robotic drone. Since these drones were so small the batteries must be small and thus these drones are short lived. Thus DARPA, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, funded some researches that would find a better way to build these spy instruments. A professor from the University of Berkeley realized that the use of real life beetles would be better. He took advantage of the insects innate knowledge to fly, and knew the only thing that needed to be done was to find a way to manage their flight pattern. The best way to do this was to tap into the body’s control system, which was their nervous system. The motor and flight control of the brain was prodded with wires that would stimulate the neurons in these sections. When certain neurons were stimulated by remotes, an individual was now able to control the flight coordination of the beetles.  Amazingly science continues to progress and turn science fiction to reality. 

http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/future-drone-surveillance-swarms-cyborg-insect-drones 

The New Generation

Talk: Emily Anthes

                Today, the use of neuroscience to alter the means by which an organism operates is a very real possibility.  In her talk, Anthes explores how biotechnology is changing the future of our furry companions.  She attempts to uncover how we can use cloning to protect against endangered species, create prosthetics to help injured animals, and employ genetic engineering to create disease resistant livestock on farms.

                While Anthes' piece was a promising one, an article by Susanne Posel sheds light on another aspect of biotechnology.  The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has a two billion dollar annual budget allocated towards research into creating a super solider as well as developing a synthetic police force.  Working on unraveling the human genome,  Posel claims that DARPA hopes to manipulate certain gene expressions.  DARPA was like to enhance the ability of military soldiers to regrow limbs lost in battle. 

                One of the most controversial topics that Posel addresses in the Department of Defense's hope to "enhance" a soldier's ability to "kill without care or remorse, show no fear, fight battle after battle without fatigue and generally behave more like a machine than a man".  A lot of this research is dependent upon understanding the wiring of the human brain and manipulating it to create desired affects.  This research is being furthered by Jonathan Moreno, professor of bioethics at Pennsylvania State University.  The Pentagon has provided 400 million dollars to this research. 

                Posel's article highlights many possible advancements in biotechnology, but it also poses many possible ethical obstacles.  If the technology for these types of modifications  is fully developed, what kinds of moral barriers will result when there is an attempt at actually implementing this technology?  The risk of battle is a great one, but it seems that these changes are rather invasive. 

Sources:

                 Anthes, Emily. Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

                Posel, Susanne. "DARPA Continues Human Experiments to Create Human Super Soldiers."Www.occupycorporatism.com. N.p., 25 Sept. 2012. Web.

Treat the Brain Like Muscle

Talk:  Art Kramer on the neural effects of exercise. 

                Like Art Kramer,  writer Rebecca Bragg believes that physical exercise improves mental and neurological function throughout all stages of life.  This is founded on the theory that exercise triggers a kind of "domino effect" that starts with the release of chemicals that support increased blood flow.  In turn, this causes the brain to perform more efficiently in a multitude of ways.  

                In her article What Does Exercise Do to the Brain?, Bragg breaks her argument into four sections.  The first section analyzes how physical exercise protects against neurological damage.  Research has shown that people who exercise regularly may be at a dramatically reduced risk of contracting serious disabling brain diseases.  Published in the 2006 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, a six year study involving 1,740 adults showed that those who exercised three or more times a week had a 40% lower risk of Alzheimer's disease. 

                In her second section, Bragg argues that physical activity enhances the ability to learn and remember by triggering the creation of new neurons in the brain.  Carl W. Cotman of the University of California at Irvine found that cognitive improvements in rats who had unlimited access to running wheels lasted for seven days after they stopped exercise.  He also found that improvements in memory and learning ability in animals that exercised everyday and animals that exercised on alternate days were the same. 

                In her third section, Bragg discusses how physical exercise can help alleviate depression, anxiety and other mood disorders.  One study, conducted by the Southwestern Medical Cneter in Dallas found a reduction of approximately 50% in symptoms of depression among adults age 20 to 45.  These subjects participated in a 30-minute aerobic workout three to five times a week. 

                In her last section, Bragg addresses the theory that physical exercise allows for the reversal of age-related brain impairment.  While protecting against neurological disease, a series of studies published in October 2008 edition of British Journal of Sports Medicine suggested that exercise may even reverse some of the age-related damage to learning and memory.   The lead author of this piece was actually Art Kramer.  Although the claims made by this study remain controversial, it generated worldwide media interest. Kramer reports that they can "safely argue that an active lifestyle with moderate amounts of aerobic activity will likely improve cognitive and brain function, and reverse the neural decay frequently observed in older adults".

                Sources:

                Bragg, Rebecca. "What Does Exercise Do To The Brain?" PositScience. N.p., 12 Dec. 2012. Web.

Art Kramer extra credit

On November 21^st, 2013 Art Kramer presented the effects that physical activity has on the brain.  He began his presentation by discussing two types of knowledge. Fluid knowledge is greatly portrayed in our working memory while crystalized knowledge involves recalling information from our long-term memory.  Art Kramer introduced the audience to Olga Kotelko who did not start exercising till her mid seventies. One study that Kramer talked about assessed the effects of exercise.  Animals either had access to a running wheel or they didn’t.  They were measured using electrophysiology and histology. The results showed an increase in neurotrophins, enhanced synaptogenesis, and enhanced angiogenesis. From these results we could see that exercise does positively influence cognition.  Another study Art Kramer mentioned was one about walking helping cognition.  The study included three hundred forty nine healthy women that were fifty-five or above.  Although this study as well as the other studies mentioned by Kramer was correlational they all seemed to show signs that physical activity does have an effect on cognition.  Kramer mentioned “ People get hurt because they don’t lift weights and tend to fall, break their hips and end up in nursing homes”. Kramer showed us a clip that studied how participant’s multi task in the real world.  This study pointed out that the ones to make better multi tasking decisions were those who were more fit.  His PowerPoint addressed “fitness intervention can increase the brain volumes that normally decline with age”.(Kramer) Overall everyone can benefit massively from exercising.  You are not only helping your body but also your brain.

Sources:

Kramer, Art. “Taking a Hike: Train your Body, Enhance your Mind and Brain.” PowerPoint presentation. Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL. 21 Nov 2013 

Yesterday Arthur Kramer came in to talk about the effects of exercise on the brain. He started off the lecture by explaining the mass amounts of research and funds he is doing, which would make anyone jealous yet envious. He then proceeded to tell us about his famous research involving exercise and its effects on the brain. His studies looked at people of all age groups ranging from the elderly to the very young and they all seemed to have a positive correlation between exercise and intelligence. In the elderly they examined aspects of white matter and grey matter in order to determine the individual intelligence of the elderly. They measured the level of their crystallized intelligence,  and fluid intelligence, the capacity to think logically and solve problems.  Although there is not much of a known reason behind the fact, and there are a lot of correlational reasoning behind different aspects of physical activity, it showed that both forms of intelligence improved over a six month period of those who walked more often then those who did not. Arthur Kramer also examined the benefits of exercise of those suffering from degenerative brain disorders such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's. They found that in every disease that they studied, they showed improvement in cognitive activity after a period of exercise after a year.
The next series of tests he talked about involved young children. Their set up to test the children was impressive in the aspect that it analyzed logical reasoning in a fun way that kids would enjoy. In order to do this, the neuroscientists  set up three screens set up around a self moving treadmill. The screens then projected three different angles of a street, a frontal view, right view, and left view. the children were then instructed to try to make it across the street without getting hit by a "car". They found that the children who exercised more often were more likely to make it across the street. It wasn't because the more athletic children were faster runners. The children generally made better decisions when they had the health benefits of exercise. Although there are many aspects to the human brain that we do not understand yet,  there should not be any denial that exercise helps cognitive functioning for all individuals.

Working on Working Memory

In The Ravenous Brain, author Daniel Bor explores the depths of consciousness; how it may be explained within the brain, its great abilities, and its limitations.  Bor relates consciousness with attention stating that, "what I attend to is what I'm conscious of" (Bor pp. 112), while what we do not attend to falls to the unconscious mind.  Our ability to take this vast amount of information in, attend to it and filter it into the few parts we choose to be conscious of is an amazing feat, one that our brain has an astounding ability for.  We use our attention to "filter the billions of pieces of information streaming into our senses... into a maximum of three or four conscious items" (Bor pp. 135).  While this may seem limiting, it has shown to be extremely beneficial.  Being able to focus on these few items allows us to "boost" our processing of each attended item and to analyze them in a variety of ways.  As Bor explains, our initial filtering of information into our attention is often called "working memory."  Our working memory, as explained earlier, appears to be quite limited, with only a few objects capable of being in conscious attention at a time.  A study by Steven Yantis suggests that working memory may be limited to only 4 conscious items.  Also surprising is that this number appears to be the same in monkeys and in newborns (Bor pp.137).  So is our working memory really so unimpressive that monkeys and newborns can fill it with just as much as we can?  What all of this talk about limitations doesn't explain is just how good we are at attending to those few objects in our consciousness.  Bor give the example of the color red.  If we see a plain red wall our attention goes to it and our signal of "red" gets boosted.  "Non-red color-coding neurons may be suppressed" along with some of our other senses possibly allowing the red wall to grab all of our attention (Bor pp. 139).  Okay, so this isn't very impressive, we can look at a red wall and really know that it is red, that's not giving much support to the impressiveness of our working memory.  Thankfully, Bor continues this example with the object now being "Angelina Jolie on the big screen... wearing a red dress" (Bor pp. 139).  This object has what Bor calls an "internal hook" to it which the brain can "latch onto."  Once we see Angelina Jolie and her red dress all information related to her becomes activated: Brad Pitt, her previous roles, how she speaks, and again that she is wearing a red dress.  This information seems to instantly come to us and it does simply because we have given our attention to Angelina Jolie in a red dress.  Now that is a much more impressive feat for working memory.  As Bor continues he explains that some studies have tried to improve our working memory, and some methods are quite efficient at doing so.  Chunking, for example, allows a person to "chunk" groups of information together so that they only have to remember those groups rather than the entire set of information.  For example remembering 630-847-773 (all Chicago-land area codes) is much easier than remembering each individual number.  While discussing this idea Bor briefly mentions the "World Memory Championships."  This is a truly incredible event, and Joshua Foer, wrote a great book, Moonwalking With Einstein, about how he trained his working memory in preparation for America's Memory Championship.

Joshua Foer quickly finds out what we already know, that our working memory is extremely capacity limited.  Being a good journalist though, he continues working for his story and trains hard to become a "mental athlete" and improve his performance in a variety of mental, mostly memory, tasks.  Foer, like so many of us, plateaus in his performance and realizes what Bor explained throughout chapter 4, attention is consciousness, or in Foer's case, attention is better performance.  As proof of this Foer and most mental athletes adopt of method of performing with earmuffs, and blinders to focus their attention solely on what's in front of them.

Joshua Foer during his training. Photograph: Christopher Lane

This exemplifies the importance of attention on our working memory and consciousness.  What is truly amazing is the capacity mental athletes push their working memory towards.  By the end of the book Foer sets, what was then, the American record for memorizing an entire deck of cards with the time of 1 minute and 40 seconds.  While this sounds incredible, the world record is now below 30 seconds. Memorizing decks of cards is just one of the many tasks these mental athletes excel at, yet Foer admits that his life is still filled with forgetting keys and in the grand scheme of things memorizing phone numbers and book quotes are no longer necessary or life altering improvements.  What Foer and all mental athletes do show us and what Bor attempts to explain, is that even with a very limited working memory, we are capable of utilizing this information in an unimaginable variety of ways and using that related information to expand our memory greatly.     

Bor, Daniel. The ravenous brain: how the new science of consciousness explains our insatiable search for meaning. New York: Basic Books, 2012. Print.

Foer, Joshua. Moonwalking with Einstein: the art and science of remembering everything. New York: Penguin Press, 2011. Print.