Reefer Madness Might Not Be So Mad

Marijuana's popularity has sky rocketed since the 1970's, with recent studies showing that teenagers these days prefer marijuana over cigarettes. Medicinal marijuana is now legal in 28 states and soon to be more, while it is legal for recreational usage in eight states. The legalization of marijuana has been a hot topic of debate in the past few years, with the main argument being that it has adverse effects on the brain. 

Dr. John Csernansky from Northwestern discussed his study in class about the brain structure similarities between individuals that smoked marijuana regularly in adolescence and people who have schizophrenia. He emphasized the similarities that existed in the hippocampus of both people who smoked marijuana regularly and people with schizophrenia, implying that continual regular usage of marijuana can lead to schizophrenia-like symptoms when older. 

Due to the controversial nature of marijuana research, there are many studies that outline both positive and negative effects of smoking pot, making it hard to discern between what is right and what is wrong.  In a recent study published by Time magazine, researchers discovered that people who smoke marijuana regularly on average had lower BMI's, had less diabetes, and were generally healthier than the rest of the population. The study, published in The American Journal of Medicine, followed over 4,600 men and women. The authors controlled for other variables such as age, sex, income, alcohol usage, and cigarette smoking, which are known to have an effect on diabetes. It was discovered that people that smoked weed regularly had a higher carbohydrate metabolism than non users and that their fasting insulin levels were lower. Smokers also had higher levels of lipoprotein, the good cholesterol, which can prevent heart disease. 

References:

http://healthland.time.com/2013/05/21/marijuana-the-next-diabetes-drug/?iid=sr-link10

Memory Modification and Ethical Implication

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Human civilization’s greatest talent is our drive for curiosity but it is also our greatest downfall. Nuclear fusion is a great example of this; it was discovered hydrogen nuclei can react with other hydrogen nuclei, which became the basis for the nuclear bomb. Dr. Joseph Vukov is a brilliant professor who came and talked to us about memory modification techniques, it’s ethical implications, and what the future holds for this life changing procedure. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), deep brain stimulation, and psychopharmaceuticals can give humans better control over their perceptions and their overall being. New developments are being made in memory modification techniques in order to get in and delete a memory that once caused the individual heartache and inexplicable traumatic episodes.

Molecularly, an enzyme has been uncovered by researchers that shows the strengthening of learning when enzyme presence is enhanced and weakening of learning when enzyme presence is blocked. An isoform of protein kinase C called “protein kinase M zeta” (PKMzeta) is the miracle memory molecule in question when discussing modification and enhanced recall of memories. Another way to selectively erase and modify memories is through the use of optogenetics, which uses light to manipulate nerve cells that have been sensitized to light. Researchers were able to neutralize or re-associate negative memories with positive emotions to “rewire” the brain’s notion of that specific memory.

But what would it be like to wake up one morning and have your family or work life erased from your memory. Those core pieces of your identity make you who you are and if someone were to remove those memories, you would not feel as yourself. This is where the ethical portion of memory modification comes into play. Memories are evidence for things that have taken place and if you cannot recall an event that is of importance, your self-credibility is lowered. If you were a witness to a crime and the bad guys modify your recollection of the event, you may unintentionally help the robbers become acquitted of their crimes. If we create a technology that modifies the inner workings of our mind, there needs to be a mark or some type of tag attached to neurons in order for the individual and other to recognize these memories have been changed.

On a positive note, memory modification can help many patients suffering from neurological problems and episodes of terror from past events. Acute onset flashbacks and night terrors due to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are very common in soldiers that have experienced life changing events such as a death or war. “I wish I could forget”, it’s such a haunting phrase when you realize how much someone would have to suffer to utter those words. To wish to block out a certain portion of their life because the memories bring too much pain is unfathomable.  Having the ability to erase those memories from the soldier would allow them to accommodate quicker to civilian life and have less instances of traumatic episodes.

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             Memory modification techniques can prove essential to our next leap as a society but we need to realize the value of a good life. If we can evaluate what a good life means, we will ethically understand the power of this modification technique. If we understand the nature and use for memory modification, this breakthrough would allow for the treatment of psychological diseases and may ultimately even lead to a breakthrough in the psychotherapy field. The overall health of humans would vastly be improved because we will be able to explore the inner workings of our minds as well as already being able to treat most physical disabilities. Let’s avoid another nuclear bomb event and create ethical rules before introducing memory modification techniques to the general public.

Bibliography

Glanzman, David L. “PKM and the Maintenance of Memory.” F1000 Biology Reports 5 (2013): 4. PMC. Web. 15 Dec. 2016.

TEDxTalks. "Altering What We Remember and Forget with Neuro Technology | S. Matthew Liao | TEDxCERN." YouTube. TedX, 30 Nov. 2015. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.

Improvement of Hearing in Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia disorder is depicted as a long-term, destructive brain disorder that begins during neural development. Individuals with this disorder tend to have delusions, are socially awkward, and have progressive deterioration of their cognitive abilities. Dr. John G. Csernansky, from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, presented his research regarding neural adaptation and the long-term course of schizophrenia. Csernansky referred to people with schizophrenia as having a broken mind and created his own model for the brain disorder. His model explained the origin of the schizophrenic biological process occurring in neural development along with the tendency of children to be shy, troublesome making friends, and problem with fine motor skills. After this premorbid state, until around fourteen or fifteen years of age, the teenager enters a prodromal state characterized by the onset of psychosis. The affected person typically starts to lose friends, develop more distractions, hear their thoughts spoken aloud, and find special meaning in ordinary objects. In addition, Csernansky distinguished positive symptoms of schizophrenia as experiences that normal people do not have for example, thought disorganization. Negative symptoms were described as social withdrawal, social awkwardness. After the onset of psychosis, the neurodegenerative disorder enters a progressive state involving delusions and paranoid themes. I found it particularly interesting that Csernansky mentioned the content within the delusions and paranoia often reflects the cultural upbringing of the individual. In the progressive state, usually schizophrenics start to receive treatment, but the treatment only seems to better the negative symptoms of the disorder while psychosis is still evident throughout their lifetime. The human brain physically grows until around fourteen years of age. Csernansky said that white matter continues to grow, further developing the brain and basically fills in the spots where the grey matter eventually thins out. Previous work indicated that grey matter decline is more exacerbated in schizophrenia. Csernansky provided neuroimaging evidence of anatomical progression involving changes in the anterior regions of the caudate and thalamus. Thus, he focused on the frontal and temporal cortical structures where he found cortical thinning and associated the increase in grey matter decline with a more disturbed thalamus. Csernansky concludes with saying that schizophrenic patients require more cognitive activation in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to fulfill tasks as opposed to normal people. Furthermore, there is a possible adaptive mechanism that can compensate for the neuroanatomical changes in cognitive function in people with schizophrenia.

The long-term course of schizophrenia is extremely difficult to deal with. Whether it’s the deterioration in cognitive deficits, or detrimental effects of psychosis, finding ways to communicate with people in regards to this neurodegenerative disorder is an obstacle that many people face. Columbia University Medical Center offers evidence in improving hearing with their journal, Hearing deficits in schizophrenia tied to specific brain receptor, with the utilization of D-serine and auditory training exercises. Dr. Joshua T. Kantrowitz, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at CUMC, explaining the essence of voice tone, “ This inability to detect subtle changes in pitch can also make it difficult to "sound out" words while reading, with over 70 percent of patients meeting criteria for dyslexia and further exacerbating communication problems in social and work situations.” Kantrowitz and his research team chose 40 schizophrenic patients and 42 healthy patients who had to listen to multiple tones and indicate which tone was higher. The pitch difference of the tones decreased as the test went on, and once the subjects were not able to pick the higher pitch, researchers would increase the pitch difference again. Kantrowitz says, “People with normal auditory plasticity usually get better at discriminating between the two tones as the test progresses, reflecting the ability to learn”. The results showed he was correct because non-schizophrenic subjects distinguished tones with a different in pitch of 3%, while schizophrenic patients averaged 16%. Thus, the auditory plasticity of schizophrenic subjects is impaired and the CUMC research team proposed that an NMDA receptor abnormality could play a part in this deficit. The NMDA receptor is crucial for long-term potentiation in both memory and learning and its activation involves binding of both glutamate and glycine. Researchers gave some schizophrenic subjects the amino acid glycine, or D-serine, one time a week up to three weeks, while other schizophrenic subjects were given a placebo. Results showed that schizophrenic individuals who took D-serine for two consecutive weeks improved tone detection, but schizophrenic patients who took D-serine for only one week did not see improvement. Understanding that D-serine with different auditory training exercises improves pitch detection in schizophrenia, researchers can test the use of different glycine and glutamate agonists to see if they make NMDA activity more efficient. Both glycine and glutamate binding are needed in order for the NMDA channel to open and allow an influx of calcium to rush into the cell. The controlled activation and deactivation of NMDA receptors ultimately determines the effectiveness of synaptic plasticity, memory, and learning. Learning from Csernansky’s presentation that psychosis, cognitive deficits, and the miscommunication that schizophrenics experience on a daily basis, finding the most effective learning-enhancing drug can possibly improve the long-term auditory deficits in schizophrenic patients. Moreover, making the NMDA receptor more functional would help alleviate the negative symptoms of schizophrenia including social awkwardness, inability to act, and thought disorganization that causes confusion/delusions in schizophrenics. Csernansky’s research should also be followed up on because identifying a possible adaptive, compensatory mechanism would spark methods to counteract the deterioration of cognition seen in schizophrenia.

Works Cited

            Columbia University Medical Center. "Hearing deficits in schizophrenia tied to specific brain receptor." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2 December 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161202150855.htm>.

Northwestern University. "Map Of Your Brain May Reveal Early Mental Illness." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 July 2009. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709095431.htm>.

Cannabis Usage and Its Effects

            Cannabis usage has become very popular among American adolescents. Access to cannabis has become easier as many states are legalizing the usage of marijuana. However, excess usage of cannabis can lead to long term defects in individuals, as evident by numerous studies that are being conducted. Thus, it is important to study cannabis in full detail by fully understanding the scope of its influences to better help individuals who may be addicted and to inform others about the possible consequences.  

            In an article published in the Columbia University Medical Center in April of 2016, Heavy cannabis use associated with reduced dopamine release in brain, the researchers found evidence of a failing dopamine system in heavy marijuana users. The experiment was comprised of 11 adults between the age of 21 and 40, who were extremely dependent on cannabis (Columbia University Medical Center). This group was examined in comparison to a control group of 12 healthy individuals (Columbia University Medical Center). Through the experiment, Dr. Abi-Dargham and the other researchers found that long term heavy usage of cannabis impairs the dopaminergic system, which has negative effects on learning and behavior (Columbia University Medical Center). This highlights important consequences of long term excessive usage of cannabis. This can impair the working memory and lead to attention deficits.  

            In another article, Dr. Mikael Kowal, from Leiden University, studied the effects of cannabis on dopamine related functions, such as creative thinking and recognizing one’s own mistakes. Dr. Kowal conducted the experiment with 40 regular users of cannabis and had a control of 20 non-users who were given a placebo (Leiden University). Looking at the data comparing the two groups, he saw that cannabis users were less good at brainstorming, less good at recognizing mistakes, and had lower dopamine productions (Leiden University). This shows the important effect on the dopaminergic system from excessive usage of cannabis. Dr. Kowal was able to conclude that cannabis users are less good at creative thinking and are less likely to be aware of the mistakes that they make in comparison to non-cannabis users (Leiden University). This study and the study done at the Columbia Medical Center both highlight the importance of the harmful effects on the dopamine system from the excessive usage of cannabis. Impairments in the dopamine system can then lead to impairments in memory, attention deficits, poor creative thinking, and the inability to know that one is making mistakes.  

            One of the researchers that is studying Cannabis usage is Dr. John Csernansky, Lizzie Gilman Professor & Chair in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. In his talk, he discussed about one of his studies, where he looked at schizophrenia patients with and without a past cannabis use disorder. He found that a past cannabis use disorder during adolescence can be associated with hippocampal morphology and episodic memory impairments later in life (Smith et al.). Dr. Csernansky’s talk about cannabis usage helped to better portray the effects of long term usage of cannabis. His discussion relates back to the findings in the aforementioned articles especially in terms of memory impairments, which has an important dopamine component.

            Understanding the important role dopamine plays and the effects on the dopamine system is important to understand effects of cannabis usage. Through my research with Dr. Stephan Steidl, I was able to study how reward predictive cues activates the dopamine system in rats. Helping to better understand the dopamine system is especially important in individuals with drug addictions and memory concerns. This finding relates back to the research that Dr. Csernansky has done, where he was able to see impairments in episodic memory on cannabis using individuals. This finding also ties back to the research at the Columbia University Medical Center as well as the research of Dr. Kowal from Leiden University. The research being done to better understand cannabis usage will allow us to better educate adolescents about the dangers of cannabis usage and help those who are long time users.  

Works Cited

Cannabis and the Brain. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2016. <http://s2.lemde.fr/image/2012/09/06/534x0/1756764_4_8784_cannabis-adolescents-le-cannabis-herbe-a_994ab17aad29a137240e7d43571b65c4.jpg>.

Cannabis. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2016. <https://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/cannabis.jpg>.

Cannabis Usage. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2016. <http://images.lpcdn.ca/641x427/201204/29/496037.jpg>.

Columbia University Medical Center. "Heavy Cannabis Use Associated with Reduced Dopamine Release in Brain." ScienceDaily, 14 Apr. 2016. Web. 10 Dec. 2016. <https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160414214826.htm>.

Leiden University. "Cannabis Reduces Creativity, but User Generally Not Aware." ScienceDaily, 4 Oct. 2016. Web. 12 Dec. 2016. <https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161004125829.htm>.

Smith, Matthew J., Derin J. Cobia, James L. Reilly, Jodi Gilman, Andrea G. Roberts, Kathryn I. Alpert, Lei Wang, Hans C. Breiter, and John G. Csernansky. "Cannabis-Related Episodic Memory Deficits and Hippocampal Morphological Differences in Healthy Individuals and Schizophrenia Subjects." Web of Science. Hippocampus Journal, Sept. 2015. Web. 14 Dec. 2016. <https://apps.webofknowledge.com/full_record.do?product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=1&SID=P1QEYrmXhbvPBnvZNtU&page=1&doc=1>.

Is Marijuana affecting your mental health?

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that is characterized by psychosis, delusions, and hallucinations. Dr. John Csernansky has done quite a lot of research on schizophrenia including studies that map the different brain structures. Schizophrenia causes significant physical deterioration of the brain over time. Although most people have seen or read about schizophrenia in the media, many people do not fully understand how it must be for these individuals. It is not distinguishable through physical appearance, but it can be noticed in behaviors and body language. There are some signs of schizophrenia that show up as a child or teenager called Prodrome that embodies some type of departure from the normal brain development. Some of these signs include, shyness, social awkwardness and withdrawal, and even a drop of academic grades. Then, the first episode of psychosis appears as young adults. However, until the psychosis becomes a symptom, these signs cannot lead to a clinical diagnosis.  

Now, cannabis is gaining popularity in the United States, as many States have recently legalized recreational marijuana, including in my home state, California. Thus, it was very easy to find articles about cannabis, its health effects and its popularity among young adults. I worry that if cannabis is becoming more popular, and its recreational use increases, so will any negative effects. Although it has a low tendency of addiction, this drug could cause any number of negative long term health issues.  According to an article on marijuana from Scientific American, medical marijuana was popular at first for its ability to relieve pain, nausea, and muscle stiffness. Temporarily using cannabis for medical reasons seems to be ok according to doctors, but long term use and young adult use of marijuana can impair functions and even harm the developing brain.

Dr. Csernansky also studied the effect that cannabis has on Schizophrenia by comparing biological differences in patients with a history of cannabis use. Since there are signs that may show up even as a child, this must mean that schizophrenia must be acquired at birth even if there are no diagnosable symptoms until young adulthood. Therefore, smoking marijuana is not going to cause people to develop schizophrenia but instead, if they are already predisposed to the condition, cannabis use can cause an early onset. As Csernansky’s research implies, the earlier the onset of schizophrenia, the worse the symptoms will be. However, I found in a New York Times article that drinking and drug use has significantly decreased. Contrary to my concerns, the use of marijuana among young adults will hopefully continue to decrease.

References:

Smith M., et al. Cannabis-related episodic memory deficits and hippocampal morphological differences in healthy individuals and schizophrenia subjects. Hippocampus. 2015 September; 25(9): 1042-1051.

Khamsi, Roxanne. How Safe Is Recreational Marijuana? Scientific American. 2013

Reuters. Drinking, Drug Use Largely Down Among U.S. Teens in 2016. The New York Times. 2016

Erasing Bad Memories

Imagine a moment in your life where you got bullied or experienced an embarrassing moment in front of your crush. Everyone’s first instinct is to say “I wish I could get rid of that moment.” With the advancements in technology, that day might not be far when memory modification could become part of everyday life. We see drugs such as Adderall and caffeine being used around us to enhance our cognitive abilities to ace an exam or to exceed at a project. The concept of altering our cognitive abilities and memories isn’t a new topic in the scientific world. There have been numerous amounts of experiments performed thus far to test the effects of specific drugs on our brains whether it’s to find a cure for a disease or to discover the impact on cognition and memory but now the question of modifying memories has become very popular. I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Joseph Vukov from Loyola University Chicago speak about findings on memory modification; he discussed the benefits of memory modification along with the ethical issues that coincide it.

               

   Dr. Joseph Vukov mentioned certain circumstances in which memory modifying technologies would be a good thing. One such example is in soldiers with PTSD. These individuals had no control over the situation they were in and developed a disorder with no fault of their own. Wouldn’t it be a relief to relieve soldiers of the memories that are causing the PTSD? Most individuals would say yes but the problem occurs when considering all the details of applying the memory modification. When would the treatment be provided: before or after coming from war? What would be the specific guidelines for the treatment? Who will determine whether an individual receives memory modification? The topic has been sparked but there are too many questions left to be answered. Hopefully with time, we can figure out the logistics behind the technology.

                 

                  If we altered our memories, wouldn’t that change our personality and our perspective on life? This is another important question that is also raised. A lot of the decisions we make are based on past situations and outcomes. If we got rid of all of our bad memories, then what will be the motivation of our future goals and desires. For example, if you were bullied as a child, you might be part of organization that are anti-bullying. Without the negative experience of being bullied, you might not be part of those organizations or sympathetic towards victims of bullying.

                  We already know that memory isn’t a tape that can be rewinded but rather it can be modified and gaps are filled in as we try to recall something. A study by Susumu Tonegawa from MIT showed that planting false memories in a mice brains was possible. The brain doesn’t distinguish between real and false memories; the neural mechanism for memory didn’t change when a false memory was implanted.

                  Another study performed by Li-Heui Tsai discovered a gene called Tet1 that is important to extinct memory. By enhancing the gene, there might be a possibility to replace terrifying memories with more positive memories of the situation. The experiment tested the effects of this by conditioning mice to fear a specific cage when they were mildly shocked. After the mice formed the association between the cage and being shocked, the mice were put in the cage but weren’t shocked. Later on, the mice with normal Tet1 weren’t afraid of the cage due to the new memories of no shock replacing the old memories of being shocked. Mice lacking Tet1 remained fearful of the cage. The experiment shows that Tet1 plays a role in memory. The results might be useful in soldiers with PTSD because enhancing the Tet1 in these individuals might replace their awful memories with more positive ones. 

 

                  Memory modification technology is an increasing topic which integrates many areas of studies such as Psychology, Philosophy, and Neuroscience. While experiments are being conducted on the scientific aspect of the topic, it’ll be interesting to see how the ethical aspect turns out. Who will determine whether an individual receives treatment? A Physician? A Psychologist? Until these guidelines are formed, we’re left to our imagination and movies.

Sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/?term=24298144%5BPMID%5D&report=imagesdocsum

https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/102511

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12152-008-9009-5

Images:

http://www.newsky24.com/memory/

https://racezone3.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/caffeine.jpg

http://media.mercola.com/ImageServer/Public/2014/April/memory-improvement.jpg