The Beginning

We see almost every day a pregnant women. It seems very simple to conceive a child probably because we see it so often. However it is not a simple task. Many connections must be made, precisely one after another as if setting of a chain reaction. The mother must be extremely careful to take good care of herself for her actions will effect her child's development. 
I find it really interesting how the brain is developing as we are beginning to form inside our mothers womb. It is a fascinating process that we all go through but were unaware of it until we learn about how we came to be. We were all tiny cells that came together and continued to multiply over and over again until they began to take shape. A brain, spinal cord, heart, eyes, hands, etc. All from these cells. 
The brain begins to form fairly early compared to the other parts of our bodies. The brain is said to begin taking its form around the second week of life. That is super insane. How can cells form together and create all these things. The brain is forming itself as is the spinal cord, midbrain, hindbrain, and forebrain. All are needed for specific purposes which we consider to be mundane. 
The other interesting thing its the neurons and how they develop. Their development is divided into five parts: Proliferation, migration, differentiation, myelination, and synaptogenesis. These are all very crucial for neurons as they need to be ready to face the outside world. Each stage helps the neuron mature and grow so they can be in tip top shape.   

Marijuana

People in the united states are very prone to using marijuana or cannabis. In 2008 researchers found that 46 % of the united states population had tried marijuana at least once in their life time. I think that the amount of people that use marijuana in the united states is at such a high rate and keeps increasing because people can see that it is not as harmful as it was once thought to be. For example when "reefer madness" was filling up people's minds with nonsense. People are way more educated now.

The effects of marijuana use in the brain, THC activates the reward system in the brain and stimulates brain cells to release the chemical dopanine (just like many other drugs). Marijuana can even cause hallucinations if using a potent strain of the drug, short term effects may include relaxation, heightened perception, an increase in appetite and sometimes panic. The effects of marijuana vary incredibly from user to user. Some of these effects can be very helpful for example when suffering from any type of sickness that decreases your appetite or makes you nauseous. In my opinion the use of marijuana should be explored in a deeper form and be viewed as a positive thing rather than the opposite.

Local Neurons

Local neurons are basically really tiny cells. They are given the name local because they only interact with the cells surrounding them, aka their close neighbors. 
A few years back I got my wisdom teeth taken out (all four in one go). The doctor had me take a pain killer before my scheduled appointment and I was on a chill pill (I have bad nerves). When I went into the surgical room I had local anesthesia around my gums. After around an hour I was free to go home and recover which turned out to be the longest two weeks of my life.
Now after reading a bit about neurons and how they work I can more or less understand why anesthesia works to numb the area  that will be worked on. The local anesthetic was affecting my local neurons by blocking out the pain signals to the brain.  

There was another interesting point made at the end of the reading regarding the statement "we only use 10% of our brain". This was in response to the fact that the local neurons are small and would only affect us if they were bigger. However, that statement isn't true. We do not use 10% of our brain; we are able to use our whole brain capacity. Karl Lashley was one of the neuropsychologist who studied brain capacity and conducted an experiment with rats. He would take out parts of rats brain to see when they would be unable to get through a maze. That was answered when he took out 90 percent of the brain. With only 10 percent remaining the rats were confused and could not successfully get through the maze. (This means that with only 10% of our brain remaining we cant do much.)

What I found interesting this week (1)

So this week was about basic theories, animal research, and brain stuff. I really liked reading about animal research the most because throughout my psychology courses many books talk about animal experimentation. I thought it was fascinating how they could condition animals to do just about anything with rewards.
I did not however think if it was for the animals' best interest. I do think that animals are useful in learning about behavior and as test subjects for testing new medication but if the animal is just being used for something useless then that is not good. As long as it has a reasonable justification and the animal isn't put through pain I'm all for it. But if something could replace the animal altogether that would be even better.

This website provides information towards why animals are used for research I liked it because it is easy to follow and the information is crisp and clear.
http://www.understandinganimalresearch.org.uk/