Category: Human Brain

In this paper, I will discuss and critically analyze how newly born neurons contribute to adult brain function in humans and why their continuous renewal throughout life hints at a functional role for these neurons. Supporting an analysis of newly born neurons and their contribution to adult brain function, I will start by drawing on the study by Spalding et al. (2013), and subsequent developments in this area.

The existence of adult neurogenesis in sufficient numbers to contribute to brain function has been a hotly debated topic, up until advancements in the ability to birth-date hippocampal cells and prove that significant neurogenesis takes place in that area of the brain throughout life comparable with similar historical studies in adult mice’ supporting the notion that it is a contributing factor to human brain function. As far as the limitations of neurogenesis are concerned, this is restricted to the dentate gyrus in humans, as evidenced by Altman and Das (1965) and others, along with the ventricular-subventricular zone of the olfactory bulb (Lois and Alvarez-Buylla, 1994; Lois et al., 1996; Doetsch et al., 1999). Relevant to this essay, I will focus attention mainly on the former, adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN), due its apparent involvement in memory, learning, and mood regulation.

As Spalding suggests, a large number of hippocampal neurons are subject to turnover, which are divided into two distinct populations, those that are replaced, and those non-renewing at the median adult neuronal turnover rate of 1.75% per year or 700 new neurons per day in the hippocampus, also evidencing significant neurogenesis throughout life and only modest decline in neurogenesis during ageing.

Relevant to the subject of brain function, computational models have indicated that the process of older redundant cells being replaced with new neutrons and improved synaptic plasticity, would optimize the effect of new neurons as opposed to an isolated exchange, that would have less influence (Appleby et al., 2011). Due to the localization of neurogenesis to the dentate gyrus, the generation of adult neurons then therefore supports a group that have functionally specific properties as opposed to replacing neurons on a generalized basis.

Certainly a few comparisons are offered by Spalding drawing on neurogenesis in humans and other species. Spalding hypothesizes this is possible by looking at the ratio of old to newborn neurons, concluding that 0.004% of the dentate gyrus neurons are exchanged every day in humans, 0.003-0.006% in two months old mice and 0.004-0.02% per day in 5-16-year-old macaque monkeys. Significantly, Spalding proposes that the proportion of relative adult-born neurons with functions that are unique in the human hippocampus may not be smaller than a middle-aged mouse. Therefore, passing the assumption that the human adult hippocampus may be required to possess the same cognitive adaptability dependent neurogenic quantities well documented in mice. A remarkable difference was also brought to light by Kohler et al. (2012), which showed a slower maturation of newly generated cells in non-human primates than rodents, which had overwhelming physiological implications due to the fact the higher excitability of these cells may be extended in long-living organisms, which has been proposed to express an important evolutionary advantage by permitting increased conflictive flexibility.

Beyond that, further development in this research showed that environmental enrichment, learning and physical exercise also regulate AHN by enhancing the survival and maturation rates of newly generated cells of in rodents (Van Praag et al., 1999; Kempermann et al., 2000; van Praag et al., 2000; Revest et al., 2008; Snyder et al., 2011; Hill et al., 2015; Anacker et al., 2018; Sahay et al., 2011; Strokes et al., 2015; Ishikawa et al., 2016).

All of that said, it should be noted that this deeply refined research in the world of AHN have not (for ethical technical reasons) been achieved yet in humans, so comparability has been limited. Also given only wild specimens were examined in some instances, and therefore diversity of results in studies may increase due to unknown age history of the animal along with capture potentially impacting AHN (Chawana et al., 2014; Wiget et al., 2017). It has also been suggested that the inclusion of greater numbers of specimens along with more detailed descriptions of tissue processing techniques for qualitative-quantitative comparisons of AHN data between the documented mammalian species and humans.

Over the years that followed Spalding, immunohistochemistry techniques have since supported the evidence of AHN in humans, however this was more recently challenged by Dennis et al. (2016), Sorrels et al. (2018) and Cipriani et al. (2018) that reported absent of scarce staining with markets of ANH in humans. Most notably, Seki et al. (2019) showed lower numbers of immature neurons and proliferative cells in the adult human. Conversely, it was showed in separate studies that AHN remains consistent throughout our lifetime (Bolderini et al., 2018; Moreno-Jimenez et al., 2019; Tobin et al., 2019), which raised technical concerns in this field. It’s been speculated the conflicting data relates to histologic methodology or tissue processing limit the detection of markers for AHN to the extent they may become unidentifiable. Conversely, high quality tissues subjected to appropriate histologic pretreatments and short fixation times, thousands of immature neurons can be observed in the dentate gyrus until the 10th decade of human life, indicating AHN occurs prevalently during pathological and physiological ageing.

Worth mentioning here also however that the bulk of work to date on AHN has been limited to post-mortem studies, which while effective, has been of limited therapeutic use. Recent advancements in the field of pattern separation as a proxy for human AHN may pave the way for noninvasive ways to turn AHN into a biomarker for neurodegenerative conditions to aid diagnosis and treatment.

Beyond the variations that manifest physiologically to AHN in human life, more recent exciting studies on animals has supported the dynamic form AHN takes in patients with a number of diseases, most notably neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease (AD), dementia, as well as, stroke, epilepsy, major depression, schizophrenia, cancer and a range of other conditions. Data obtained in patients with AD in particular, the decline in AHN associated with ageing there are additional mechanisms that influence the decrease in AHN (Moreno-Jimenez et al., 2019).

Undeniably based on the afore-mentioned rodent studies, AHN is a source of plasticity in rodents. With the number of new neurons that has been documented in patients with Alzheimer’s disease declining, it is exciting to see what research efforts in the space of protecting cells prior to neurodegeneration. Most notably, uncovering the mechanisms that control synaptic integration and newborn neutron maturation to hopefully find effective regenerative treatments in the human brain.

Ge et al., 2007 and Schmidt-Hieber et al., 2004 suggests hippocampal neurons that are adult-born possess increased synaptic plasticity for a period after their differentiation, looked at in concern with the fact that the dentate gyrus is effectively a ‘bottleneck’ in the neural network and have a profound impact on hippocampal function. In addition, there is the matter of pattern separation associated with the new neurons which acts to store experiences as distinct memories versus the legacy cells, required for ‘pattern completion’ and connect memories with one another. Generalization be caused by the failure of pattern separation, a feature common in depression and anxiety (Kherbek et al., 2012). While this has been challenging to explore in humans, certainly indications that reduced AHN may result in psychiatric disease.

In summary, further research is needed to determine whether reduced neurogenesis is associated with psychiatric disease in humans.

The research about therapeutic inventions are becoming more and more popular as time progresses. However there isn’t much research in this topic to determine whether or not therapeutic techniques actually help the brain or not. In this study, it reported a controlled longitudinal study to investigate pre post changes in the brain grey matter concentrations attribute to participation in an MBSR program.

Mindfulness meditation has been getting more and more attention to researchers , mindfulness is designed to have an ¨in the moment¨ type of behavior that omits judgmental stances, experiences compassion and have a clear state of mind.It has been suggested that this process is associated with a perceptual shift (Carmody, 2009), in which one’s thoughts and feelings are recognized as events occurring in the broader field of awareness.

In earlier years neuroimaging studies were practiced with techniques such as electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In this study, researchers, performed a meditation study that were as follows: no meditation classes in the past 6 months, no more than four classes in the past 5 years, or 10 classes in their lifetime; 25 to 55 years old; no contraindications for MRI scanning (i.e., metallic implants, claustrophobia); commitment to attend all eight classes and perform the prescribed daily homework. Eighteen healthy, right-handed individuals were enrolled in the study, eight male and 10 female, with a mean age of: 37.89 years (S.D.: 4.04 years). Due to discomforts during the first MRI scanning session, two participants did not return for the second session. The resulting sample consisted of six male and 10 female participants with a mean age of 38.0 years (S.D.: 4.1 years). Ethnicities were as follows: 13 Caucasians, one Asian, one African American, and one multi-ethnic. Participants had an average of 17.7 years of education (S.D.: 1.9 years).The control sample consisted of 17 participants (11 male and six female) with a mean age of 39.0 years (S.D.: 9.2 years) and an average of 17.3 years of education (S.D.: 1.8 years). Ethnicities were as follows: 13 Caucasians, two Asians, two African American, and one Hispanic. The groups did not differ in age (t (22.3)= 0.56; P= 0.58),or education (t (30)=−0.56, P= 0.58).And while most of the study seemed solid, I questioned what kind of backgrounds did the people in the studies have, such as what qualified as physically and psychology healthy.

The study’s criteria was based on: no meditation classes no meditation classes in the past 6 months, no more than four classes in the past 5 years, or 10 classes in their lifetime; 25 to 55 years old; no contraindications for MRI scanning (i.e., metallic implants, claustrophobia);commitment to attend all eight classes and perform the prescribed daily homework.The study was conducted for about 8 weekly group gatherings that lasted for 2.5 hours each time, plus 1 full day ( around 6.5 hours) during the week 6 of the course. The training exercises targeted at developing the capacity for mindfulness ( which includes awareness of in the present moments, with no judgments) and include a body scan, mindful yoga, and sitting meditation.

The mindful yoga experiment contained simple, slow movements and gentle stretches which are coordinated with breath and a non harming attitude towards the body. Participants are encouraged to find themselves in their most comfortable, free state of mind to honor their body limitations. It was also advised to do sitting meditation, which is about bringing awareness of the sensations of breathing, then evolve to include awareness of different modalities (such as sounds, sight, taste, other body sensations, thoughts and emotions).

The results of the study were as followed:Improvements in mindfulness repeated measures ANOVAs confirmed significant group-by-time interactions for three of the five mindfulness subscales (acting with awareness: F (1,26)=16.87, Pb0.001; observing: F (1,26)=7.09, P= 0.013; non-judging: F (1,26)= 4.61, P= 0.041; describing: F (1,26)=1.95, P=0.175; non-reactivity: F (1,26)=2.79, P=0.107). Paired t-tests confirmed significant increases in the MBSR group (acting with awareness: t (13)=3.665, P=0.003; observing: t (13)=4.218, P=0.001; non-judging: t (13)=3.580, P=0.003), but not the control group (observing: t (13)=−0.698, P=0.498; acting with awareness: t (13)=−1.991, P=0.068; non-judging: t (13)=0.657, P=0.523; twotailed). That is, MBSR participants significantly increased their mindfulness scores on these three scales.

In other words, the grey matter in the ROI analysis supported the increase in the left hippocampus in the MBSR group, meaning that there was structural change after the 8 weeks of mindful meditation. Also there was an increase of grey matter concentrations in the PCC, TPJ, and the cerebellum in the MBSR, but there was no difference in the brain regions of the control group

This study demonstrates the brain’s gray matter concentration changes in a 8 week mindfulness stress relief study compared to a controlled group. It was hypothesized that the grey matter in concentration would increase 3 and it did! There was a significant increase in the grey concentration matter in the PCC, TPJ, and the cerebellum as explained previously.

Emotions and cognitive roles make a significant impact in the psychological functioning , the morphological changes in these regions might contribute to the positive effects of the meditation to the well being of a person.

According to the researchers, there were some details that needed to be addressed. It was stated that some of the positive effects were not exactly due to the socialization of groups, stress education or the soft exercises. It was also noted that exercise is known to increase the neurogenesis in the hippocampus (van Praag et al., 1999). Since it also has an important role in long term learning, structural changes might be related to the typical learning in the MBSR course to those found in the study of medical students of learning new intel. However, comparing the data founding in the experimental group to the control group, the control group had no significant change whatsoever. Another question that happened was why were these experiments not being performed, well it could have been the lack of resources or it was just the lack of interest, according to a researcher, it is unclear why previous cross sectional studies of meditators have not identified group differences in these regions. It is possible that small differences existed but were not detected due to the lack of power in the previous small cross sectional studies, or that structural changes are transient and change might be maximal when a skill is newly acquired (Driemeyer et al., 2008).

In addition, there was also an absence of change in grey matter concentration and the amount of homework, which mean that the amount of homework and the amount of time spent on it, is not the main force behind the results but it is the MBSR participation as a whole which influenced the changes.

As for the popular press article, it had a particular aspect in which the press didn’t inform particular details such as the kinds of participants that the study gathered or different perspectives, however it did get the main parts in. The study was about how meditation affects the brain throughout time. The article has a personal bias as a skeptic but since there hasn’t been much research i don’t blame them. The author stayed on topic for most of the article, there were a couple of inputs here and there but they aren’t distracting such as the upbringing of the blood pressure and heart disease. The tone of the article was based yet it gave it credit where it deserved. I liked the article, it was simple enough to understand and has a clear upfront of where the author stands.

References

1. Davidson, R.J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S.F., Urbanowski, F., Harrington, A., Bonus, K., Sheridan, J.F., 2003. Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine 65, 564–570
2. Driemeyer, J., Boyke, J., Gaser, C., Buchel, C., May, A., 2008. Changes in gray matter induced by learning — revisited. PLoS ONE 3, e2669.
3. Carmody, J., 2009. Invited commentary: evolving conceptions of mindfulness in clinical settings. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy 23, 270–280.
4. Hölzel, Britta K, et al. “Mindfulness Practice Leads to Increases in Regional Brain Gray Matter Density.” Psychiatry Research, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 30 Jan. 2011, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3004979/.
5. van Praag, H., Kempermann, G., Gage, F.H., 1999. Running increases cell proliferation and neurogenesis in the adult mouse dentate gyrus. Nature Neuroscience 2, 266–270.

Abstract

Indian tradition has a considerable amount of empirical musicology research on studying the cognitive impact of swara (musical notes), sruti (pitch) and laya (rhythm) on the human brain. However, there has hardly been any neuro-scientific exploration of these effects of music on human brain using the inherent strengths of Indian classical music. This paper discuses about the importance and need to have such efforts and also describes some of the original works in this direction.

Introduction

Indian tradition has a considerable amount of empirical musicology research on studying the cognitive impact of swara (musical notes), sruti (pitch) and laya (rhythm) on the human brain. However, there has hardly been any neuro-scientific exploration of these effects of music on human brain using the inherent strengths of Indian classical music. Although the term ‘music therapy’ is popular, many think about it as using certain ragas in treating some diseases. The cognitive or neuro-scientific terminologies in which the human emotions are expressed have to be incorporated into music therapy to make it more of a scientific approach.

It has been observed that many people doing high level intellectual work such as scientific research, finds it easier to do their work while listening to music. Actually, the effect of music on them in tackling some of the most complex problems is not in getting into a mood, but to get into a mode of thinking. That is, the music here acts not just as a mood creator, but it actually does more than that. It elevates the brain to a higher plane of thinking. The same experience has been shared by many researchers. At some crucial junctures in their research process, music helped them to think out of the way, leading to fruitful results. Even though the neurological reasons behind this are still more or less unknown, it certainly offers a research area to be explored further.

Intellectual thinking is not the only area where music can benefit you. Even in areas of physical activities such as sports, it can do wonders. For example, Bengaluru based triathlete Anu Vaidyanathan, who has learnt Carnatic vocal and violin, says music taught her to negate performance-inhibiting feelings like fear and fatigue, and create discipline in thinking and frame solutions to problems.

Neuro-scientific exploration

Considering the immense positive effect music can bring about in our life, it is highly surprising that why there is so little neuro-scientific exploration of the effects of music capitalizing on the inherent strengths of Indian classical music. Carnatic musician and neuroscientist Dr Deepti Navaratna, executive director (southern region) of the Indira Gandhi National Council for Arts (IGNCA), and a former Harvard University professor, says there is very little empirical experiment in Indian classical music these days. But in ancient texts dealing with Sankhya philosophy, the Natyashastra and certain lakshanagranthas in music like Swaramelakalanidhi (written by Ramamatya of the Vijayanagara empire in 1550), the psychological impact of musical concepts has been clearly worked out.

Taking rasa (emotion) as the main point, the dominant take on music therapy in India has been to use ragas to heal. There is a large body of literature dealing with Raga Chikitsa (Raga Therapy), which looks at certain intervals and modes being able to produce certain outcomes.

Dr. Navaratna says that by the time Natyashastra was formalized, the psychological impact of certain melodic structures/rhythmic patterns was worked out to the level of being able to prescribe one-jati (raga precursor) to one rasa.

In a recent electroencephalography (EEG) study on the impact of Indian classical music, especially of Hindustani ragas on individuals, Dr Shantala Hegde [1], Assistant Professor, Neuro-psychology Unit, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, says that after listening to Hindustani ragas, 20 musically untrained subjects showed increased overall positive brain wave frequency power, higher even than that in highly relaxed meditative states.

“Listening to certain ragas, for example Desi-Todi, for 30 minutes every day for 20 days, has been shown to produce a significant decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, to reduce stress, anxiety and depression, and to enhance feelings of life satisfaction, experience of hope and optimism,” says Dr. Hegde.

EEG BASED STUDIES

To advance further in this area, it is important to study and analyze music and see its correlation with the changes it brings about in the neural dynamics. Human brain is the most complex organ found in the Universe, and one of the most important discoveries of the 21st century is that the human brain is organized by Chaos [10]. The working of the brain involves billions of interacting physiological and chemical processes that give rise to experimentally observed neuro-electrical activity, which is called an electroencephalogram (EEG). Music can be regarded as input to the brain system which influences the human mentality along with time. Since music cognition has many emotional aspects, it is expected that EEG recorded during music listening may reflect the electrical activities of brain regions related to those emotional aspects. The results might reflect the level of consciousness and the brain’s activated area during music listening. Such an approach can provide a new perspective on cognitive musicology. The non-linear, non-stationery EEG time series signals recorded from different regions of the scalp is high on temporal resolution and can be best analyzed with the help of various robust nonlinear techniques such as Detrended fluctuation Analysis (DFA) technique proposed by Peng et al. [11].

Due to the advancement of modern technology and high speed computing, this area of research has taken a new dimension. The study of the source characteristics of musical instruments in this perspective is really challenging from the physical point of view. Research on the sound of music involves the estimation of the physical parameters that contribute to the perception of pitch, intensity levels and timbres of all sounds the voice/instrument is capable of producing [3][4]. Of these attributes, timbre poses the greatest challenge to the measurement and specification of the parameters involved in its perception, due to its inherently multidimensional nature. Research has shown that timbre consists of the spectral envelope, an amplitude envelope function, which can be attack, decay or more generally [4], the irregularity of the amplitude of the partials. Timbre is perceived by means of the interaction of a variety of static and dynamic properties of sound grouped into a complex set of auditory attributes. The identification of the contribution of each one of these competitive factors has been the main subject of the acoustics research on timbre perception.

In another study [2], people (both male and female) of different age groups were exposed to different types of Indian classical music (vocal and instrumental), Drone (Tanpura) sound, Folk music (vocal and instrumental), and contemporary music of different genres. EEG signals were recorded while an individual undergoes a specific listening experience as well as in a normal condition without music. The type and character of music changed and the experiment was repeated to obtain replication of the results. The data was preprocessed and ANOVA tests were performed to determine the relation between the mental condition in the presence of music and its absence. Electroencephalography (EEG) data involving the Central Nervous System (CNS) and Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) can provide plentiful information about emotion cognition.

NON-LINEAR TECHNIQUES

The brain is said to be the most complex structure found in the universe and the signals originating from the different lobes of brain are mostly non-linear and non-stationery. Most of the existing studies in this area [5][6][7] do not use non-linear techniques, which is essential to obtain in-depth information behind the complicated waveform of EEG signal.

Non-linear techniques include the following mathematical models:

• Wavelet analysis
• Detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA).
• Multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MFDFA)
• Multifractal cross correlation analysis (MFDXA)

All these techniques make use of Fractal Dimension (FD) or multifractal spectral width (obtained as an output of the MFDFA technique) as an important parameter with which the emotional arousal corresponding to a certain cognitive task, such as listening to music, can be quantified. Moreover, MFDXA is an important tool with which the degree of cross correlation between two non-linear EEG signals originating from different lobes of brain can be accurately measured during higher order cognitive tasks. Hence a quantitative assessment of how the different lobes are cross-correlated during higher order thinking tasks or during the perception of audio or any other stimuli can be made. MFDXA can also be an amazing tool in music signal analysis, where we can estimate the degree of cross-correlation between two non-linear self-similar musical clips. A higher degree of cross-correlation would imply that both the signals are very much similar in certain aspects. This in turn can be used as an important tool to obtain a cue for improvisation in musical performances as well as in the identification of the raga of a musical piece.

EEG signals analyzed in the above mentioned study [2] with appreciable statistics and appropriate protocol provided important new data in the area of neuro-cognitive differentiation of emotion and also indicated prominent change in brain state on application of different music signals related to different emotions. Such techniques can also be used to analyze how rhythm, pitch, loudness etc. interrelate to influence our appreciation of the emotional content of music. The brain electrical response of the person undergoing the study should also be analyzed with global descriptors in order to monitor the course of activation in the time domain in a three-dimensional state space, revealing patterns of global dynamical states of the brain. Another important aspect includes exploration of the resonance characteristics and the amplitude envelope of the musical signals because they play important roles in sound production. The spectral envelope should also be studied in this context to evaluate the attack, decay and steady state timings and the formants/resonant frequencies too. Correlations of the above features and their interdependence should be studied and compared.

Another possibility is to compare the data with available models of emotion, which include the most popular circumplex model, which is a 2-dimensional arousal-valence model and also a 3-dimensional model, based on Hilbert spaces proposed by Ghose [8]. Hilbert spaces are complex linear vector spaces in which length and angle can be defined. They have a rich structure that allows ‘coherence’ resulting, for example, in interference effects as well as ‘entanglement’ which, until recently, was considered a quintessential quantum phenomena. Coherence means that two states, say with different values of some observable (like happiness and unhappiness), can be linearly superposed to obtain a new state which is neither happiness nor unhappiness. Such states are ‘ambiguous states’ which cannot be described by Boolean logic.

The Tanpura is a remarkable drone instrument whose sounding acts as a canvas in Indian Classical Music and provides contrast to the tune and melody without introducing rhythmic content of its own. There are some psycho-acoustically effective ingredients in Tanpura drone that make it almost ubiquitous in accompaniment for Indian music. A study using baseline EEG in the resting condition where the subject has no task to perform was also done in [2]. It hypothesized that drone sounds are sufficiently neutral to the subject in that they are not popping into the fore of cognition, evoking reactions to the stimulus. This assumption was needed in order to define the resting condition where the subject has no task to perform (no-task resting frame). Drone can provide contrast but is not prompting a response. In a laboratory setting, spontaneous brain electrical activity in the form of EEG response were observed during Tanpura drone stimulation and periods of silence. The sound stimulus was given by an electronic substitute Tanpura (EST) that allows controlling of its parameters. The brain electrical response of the subject was analyzed [9] with global descriptors, a way to monitor the course of activation in the time domain in a three-dimensional state space, revealing patterns of global dynamical states of the brain.

CONCLUSIONS

Importance of neuro-scientific exploration of the effects of music on human brain using the inherent strengths of Indian classical music has been discussed in this paper. Also, some of the original works in this direction have been reviewed and various possibilities have been discussed.

References

1. Hegde S (2010) “Music Emotion And The Brain”, Journal of ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Vol. 24, December, 2010
2. Sanyal S, Banerjee A, Sengupta R, Ghosh D (2016) “Chaotic Brain, Musical Mind-A Non-Linear Neurocognitive Physics Based Study”, Journal of Neurology and Neuro-science (ISSN: 2171-6625), Vol-7, January, 2016
3. Scheirer ED (1998) “Tempo and beat analysis of acoustic musical signals”, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 103: 588-601.
4. Aucouturier JJ, Pachet F, Sandler M (2005) ‘The way it Sounds’: timbre models for analysis and retrieval of music signals. Multimedia 7: 1028-1035.
5. Sammler D, Grigutsch M, Fritz T, Koelsch S (2007) “Music and emotion: electrophysiological correlates of the processing of pleasant and unpleasant music”, Psychophysiology 44: 293-304
6. Schmidt LA, Trainor LJ (2001) “Frontal brain electrical activity (EEG) distinguishes valence and intensity of musical emotions”, Cognition & Emotion 15: 487-500.
7. Lin YP, Wang CH, Jung TP, Wu TL, Jeng SK, et al. (2010) “EEGbased emotion recognition in music listening”, Biomedical Engineering 57: 1798-806.
8. Ghose P (2015) “A Hilbert space Theory of emotions” Proc of the International Symposium FRSM-2015, November 23-24, 2015, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, India.
9. Braeunig Matthias, Ranjan Sengupta, Anirban Patranabis (2012) ‘On tanpura drone and brain electrical correlates.’ Speech, Sound and Music Processing: Embracing Research in India. Springer Berlin Heidelberg 53-65.
10. Lehnertz KL, Arnhold J, Grassberger P, Elger CE (2000) “Chaos in brain”. Proceedings of the Workshop. Singapore: World Scientific.
11. Peng CK, Buldyrev SV, Havlin S, Simons M, Stanley HE, et al. (1994) “Mosaic organization of DNA nucleotides”. Physical Review E 49: 1685.

Sleep deprivation alters our brain chemistry, making us feel isolated and irritable. We know that by our own experience by finding it hard to stay focus, to communicate, and to stay positive throughout the day when we have to wake up early in the morning. Most people, nonetheless, do not appreciate and value sleep time due to not knowing that there will be consequences that follow for people who do not sleep enough hours a day. In other words, insufficient sleep time may have a great impact on a person’s well being since sleep deprivation is linked to mental, physical, and emotional health problems.

With many benefits coming from sleep, sleep saves the brain from overworking itself, allowing the brain to restore and repair its tissue and to shut down all the brain unused connections. In addition, sleep assists in restoring fading memories of everyday’s experience. Sleep also enables our creativity and supports our growth. Besides all those beneficial reasons to why we need sleep, we also want to understand what enables our body to fall asleep when dark and wake up in the morning. For the human, we have a biological clock or sometimes referred to as a circadian clock. The circadian clock synchronizes with our day cycle; cues like light and darkness signal the body to either stay awake or to feel drowsy. Suprachiasmatic ( SCN), a nucleus in the brain that is effective in the morning allowing us to wake up by preventing the release of melatonin- a sleep induced hormone that makes us sleepy. At night, the SCN shuts down in order for the melatonin production to be released into the bloodstream. Since our circadian rhythm is light sensitive, artificial light that we are exposed to now a day from the computer screen, tv screen, iPhone screen are causes of why not many people are getting much sleep at night. It is easier for people to replace their old habit of giving their body a difficult time falling asleep by first understanding how sleep deprivation can result in mental health problems.

Sleep deprivation affects our mental health by causing cognitive decline and mental health disorders. With sleep deprivation, our brain has difficulty making and processing new memories. Therefore, we have “difficulty studying, diminished in productivity, [and] tendency to make mistakes” ( Meyers 236). When sleep deprived, our cognition prevents us from being able to effectively carry out normal activities like studying, reading, and driving that require us to think. Besides the decline in cognitive function, Insomnia, a sleep disorder was found to increase people’s risk of developing depression and anxiety, which is linked to persistent problems with falling and staying asleep. In a study shows that people who have major depression are the people who have insomnia. According to a longitude study of Michigan Health Organization, 1000 participants from ages 21-30 have a four times likelihood of developing major depression in the next three years since the time of the study (“Sleep and Mental Health”). Hence, people who struggle to sleep at night, especially, people who have insomnia have a high susceptibility to experience major depression. Often times, people with major depression with their sleep regularly disturbed, at night, in comparison to people with normal depression who sleep without disturbance are more likely to abhorred thoughts of death by suicide. In addition to developing depression, people with insomnia usually have an anxiety disorder. However, people do have a greater risk in developing major depression than anxiety disorder due to“ sleep problems preceded anxiety disorder 27% of the time, while they preceded depression 69% of the time” (Sleep and Mental Health). Even Though having an anxiety disorder is less likely, research shows a significant 27% chance of the time sleep deprivation people will struggle with anxiety disorder. Inflicted with an anxiety disorder, people will persistently and excessively worrying and having no control over their anxiety. Thus, people who have problems with their sleep will result in a reduction in their ability to perform everyday activities.

Besides having a negative impact on our cognitive function, sleep deprivation also affects our immune system, heart, stomach, and muscles. When we sleep our body generates certain proteins, hormones, and chemicals for our body to defend itself from virus and bacteria that cause us to get sick. However, when we are sleep deprived, our body produces less of these substances that maintain our body’s health, making us more prone to diseases. According to Professor Matthew Walker, people who only sleep for 4-5 hours of sleep have a 70% reduction of crucial anti-cancer- fighting killer cells (“ What Happens To Your Body and Brain If You Don’t Get Sleep”). Here, people with less than 7-8 hours of sleep on average have a shorter life due to their body frequently decreasing the cells necessary to fight diseases. In this case, with only a few hours of sleep, anti-cancer killer cells are scarce and not enough to fight most cancers like cancer of the bowel, cancer of the prostate, and cancer of the breast. In addition, our heart also suffers from sleep deprivation because, with 6 hours or less of sleep, our heart pressure rises, that is why “ short of sleep [predicts] hypertension” (Boufis). During our long sleep at night, our heart rate and blood pressure drop in order to function its best the next day. Without enough hours a night for the heart to boost its performance for the next day, we increase our chances of having hypertension (high blood pressure). While our immune system and heart weakened because of our sleep deprivation, the lack of sleep affects the regulation of hormones that control our hunger. When we are sleep deprived “ we reduce leptin, the hormone, a ghrelin…triggers feeling of hunger” (Breus). When we are short on sleep, we increase ghrelin- a hormone that arouses our hunger, for that reason, we tend to get fat by sleeping less than when we sleep more. Lastly, when we have a lack of sleep, our body cannot provide us the human growth hormone (HGH) that allows our muscles to recover and grow. Our body uses this hormone production during sleep to “ use the amino acids presented in the protein we eat” (“How does sleep affect muscles growth?”). Essential to the health of our muscle, failed to sleep 8 hours or more will diminish the strength of our muscles, making us weak. Overall, sleep deprivation not only diminishes our health, but it also associates with many deadly diseases like cancer and high blood pressure that can potentially shorten our life.

Additionally, when sleep deprived, people will be more likely to experience fatigue and frustration. With at least 9 hours of undisturbed sleep, we will be able to wake up in a good mood and feeling energized. In an experiment shows volunteers who were able to pay off their sleep debt with an average of 12 hours of sleep a week and were able to go back to a 7.5 to 9 hours per night of sleep, reported on feeling energized and happy (Meyers 235). As a result, our happiness and how well we feel rely on how we sleep. Low on sleep, a person will feel unhappy and depressed in contrast to a person who sleeps enough hours a day. On the other hand, in an experiment to test sensitivity of sleep-deprived candidates to anger-triggered stimulant shows that:

“While both groups expressed significant amygdala activation in response to increasingly negative picture stimuli, those in the sleep-deprivation condition exhibited a remarkable +60% greater magnitude of amygdala activation…suggest an amplified, hyper-limbic response by the human amygdala to negative emotional stimuli under conditions of sleep deprivation” (“ The Human Emotional Brain Without Sleep-A Prefrontal Amygdala Disconnect”).

Not only does sleep deprivation drains our energy, making us tired throughout the day, it also prevents us from being able to cope with our frustration by intensifying our irritations to external factors that already affect our emotion in negative ways. To understand from a regular person’s experience, a youtube blogger informs us on how sleep deprivation caused her to feel dull, sad, and cranky (“Lack of Sleep Impact Mood, Appetite, & Motivation”). Her mood indicates to us that feeling of fatigue, sadness, and frustration are universal consequences that most people will experience when low on sleep. Therefore, we need to be able to sleep 8 or more hours of unhindered sleep to be able to feel positive and energetic throughout our day.

Although most research studies have shown the negative impact on health for people who sleep less than 8 hours affect a person’s health tremendously, many people will argue that sleep hours for a restful night differ from people to people, depending on a person’s need and his and her age. With sleep, 8 hours a day is usually the right amount of sleep for a healthy mind and body, especially, for adults and seniors. As age decreases, however, sleep hours should increase because age does dictate the amount of sleep a person needs. For example, 13-18-year-olds need 8-10 hours, 6-12-year-olds need 9-12 hours, and infants under 1 need 12-16 hours of sleep (‘American Academy of Pediatrics Supports Childhood Sleep Guidelines’). So when we sleep less than the recommended amount, we will torment our body with the staggering amount of sleep debt that we accumulate over time. A person with a high number of sleep debt can develop insomnia, this sleep disorder puts individuals at risk of developing depression or anxiety disorder. Furthermore, a high number of sleep debt also attributes to our dissatisfaction in our day to day lives because sleep deprivation easily induces feelings of agitation and irritation. Most concerning health issue relating to sleep deprivation would be the increased possibility of us getting inflicted with life-threatening ailments like cancer and hypertension. For this reason, we should sleep the recommended hours a night to prevent getting, ill-temperament, illness, and cognitive impairment.

Thus, by understanding how sleep has such a powerful influence on our body, we need to use sleep as a tool to nourish and maintain our body’s health allowing ourselves to carry on with our day without experiencing tiredness. We want to also prevent future ailments like breast cancer, and other types of cancers that can develop over time, as our sleep time shortens. At the same time, we can heal our mood from feeling tired by creating a sleep schedule that would help our body to gain more sleep. While asleep, our body undergoes many internal mechanisms with the purpose to reboot itself for the next day. Hence, sleep helps our body to stabilize mental, physical, and emotional health.

Works Cited

1. “American-Academy-of-Pediatrics-Supports-Childhood-Sleep-Guidelines.” Site Title, www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/American-Academy-of-Pediatrics-Supports-Childhood-Sleep-Guidelines.aspx.
2. Boufis, Christina. “How Your Sleep Affects Your Heart.” WebMD, WebMD, www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/how-sleep-affects-your-heart#1.
3. Breus, Michael. “Sleep Deprivation and Weight Gain.” Your Guide to Better Sleep, TheSleepDoctor, 5 Apr. 2018, thesleepdoctor.com/2018/04/10/sleep-deprivation/.
4. Harvard Health Publishing. “Sleep and Mental Health.” Harvard Health Blog, Harvard Health Publishing, www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/sleep-and-mental-health.
5. “Home.” Natuurdietisten.nl, www.natuurdietisten.nl/.
6. Insider, Tech. “What Happens To Your Body And Brain If You Don’t Get Sleep | The Human Body.” YouTube, YouTube, 26 Dec. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-8b99rGpkM.
7. “ISSA Blog: ISSA Online.edu.” Www.ISSAonline.edu, ISSA, www.issaonline.edu/blog/index.cfm/2018/does-lack-of-sleep-hinder-muscle-growth.
8. Myers, David G. Myers’ Psychology for AP*. Macmillan, 2010.—. Myers’ Psychology for AP*. Macmillan, 2010.
9. Vegan Adventures with Gene & Jenn. “Lack of Sleep Impacts Mood, Appetite, & Motivation.” YouTube, YouTube, 6 Oct. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ys8g8uqltw.

Rational

The quality of sleep plays a vital role in well being and good health particularly in teenagers. This is because teenagers are going through a lot of physical and hormonal changes in their body, therefore getting a good night sleep is a vital aspect in their life. However multiple environmental factors can affect the hours of sleep a teenager gets every night. This subject is worth further research investigation because parents and teachers have blamed that sleep is affecting teenagers to perform well in school, therefore this needs to be further looked into. It has also been disgusted that the quality of sleep has made an effect on students to remain their engagement and focus during class, which then consequences to poorer academic results.

Evidence

The sleep patterns of adolescents are more likely to change when they hit puberty. It has been found by researchers that the levels of melatonin kick in at a later time in their bodies. These findings have explained later bedtimes in teens (Carskadon 2002). Moreover, teens tend to sleep longer on weekends rather than during the week, this is because they rapidly and frequently change their sleep patterns usually due to their activities with school and environmental factors which affect them.

Meijer and colleagues have made a clinical review investigating the sleep patterns and school performance of adolescents. This study was conducted on 450 dutch students to examine the aspects of engagement during school depending on the quality of sleep they got the night before. It was found that 43% of these young adolescents had trouble getting up in the morning, 15% complained of sleep problems and 25 % did not feel rested during school, however, neither time in bed nor the quality of sleep was associated with these differences (Amy R Wolfsen and Mary A Carskadon 2003). The students who reported having trouble waking up in the morning reported having a lack of motivation to do their best in school on the other hand students who reported feeling more rested had a greater focus during class. This study proves that the quality of sleep certainly has a substantial impact on teenagers on school functioning such as motivation and achievement.

A further research was conducted by Kahn and colleagues on 972 students in Belgium. In this study, participants’ parents completed a questionnaire focused on the quality and quantity of sleep, their child’s behaviour and school achievement. Poor versus good sleepers were compared (poor sleep was defined as the report of sleep latency longer than 30 minutes plus more than one arousal per night on at least 2 nights per week). Out of the 972 students, 14% of them were classified as poor sleepers. This study was based on whenever or not the student met the academic requirements for their grade, failed or behind school as to be reported by their parent. Among all the students, it was found there were 21 % poor sleepers who failed at school and were behind in a grade by one or more years. (Kahn 2013). School difficulties and troubles were found more frequently among the poorer sleepers. Based on this research it can be predicted that school failure and lack of concentration could be associated with lack of sleep and fatigue.

Another study was conducted on European adolescents surveying 600 Dutch students by Hofman and Steenhof. This study was focusing on students’ sleep habits, sleep quality, and performance in school. The variables which were looked at were: weekday bedtimes, rise time, weekend bedtime. These investigators have found an association of better academic performance in school with the students who had a better sleep pattern. It was also pointed out that the use of drug-like substances such as alcohol, caffeine, nicotine affected their academic performance and sleep. (Amy R Wolfson and Mary A Carskadon).

Conclusion

To conclude from the research that has been done on the effects of sleep on the teenage brain, it can be stated that sleep can affect the teenage brain and its functioning during school. There is no definite answer to whether or not teenagers sleep too much or not enough. Many Teenagers have an inefficient sleep cycle because of their busy lives, which then has an effect on their academic achievements results and co-curricular activities.

The memory is a complicated subject, and the constantly changing memory causes many different effects that can harm or hurt someone. The research regarding storing and retrieving memories of the brain’s information is valid because studies show that when remembering events from the past, the brain will take things relevant to the past memory to help you recall it. Also, memories are what make or define a person, and getting older can cause memory loss and cause injury to said person hurt if memory recall is not treated correctly.

How the brain system works, how people receive memories, and where memories are stored. “Your brain has more than 100 billion cells, called neurons.” “When you learn a fact or see an image, the neurons convert that information into electrical impulses.” The chemicals in the brain help to store and receive the electrical impulses. When people learn new things or remember stuff from the past, the system in the brain tries to find things relevant to the past memory, and the fact that the brain holds memories of everyday life which makes it harder to remember the past memories. Some people will only be able to remember parts of the past and not the smaller details. When trying to recall the smaller details, remembering past events from around that time can help you remember the those details from the past. Sometimes people substitute words or numbers for phrases this is called euphemism. When trying to remember things for a test or a competition the brain starts to find keywords or phrases to help you remember it, and trying to recall images relevant to the subject can help people recall the memory better. Also staying healthy and exercising can help the brain with reincorporating memories. Some people believe that eating or drinking certain things will enrich your memory. So, if the chemicals in the brain are given the right alimentary it will help the brain with retrieval of smaller details, and that getting enough nutrients and sleep can requinish your brain cells. The brain has many different factors that people should know because it can help people to get better at recalling past memories.

What memory is, and how it defines a person’s character. “The term ‘memory’ is used in numerous ways and has several technical definitions. In everyday discourse, memory is generally used to refer to the act of bringing to mind information that is retained from the past.” “The information overload’ problem, long recognized in the computing industry, is becoming a major issue in the private citizens too, as retrieving and selectively deleting (forgetting) these data become ever more of a challenge.” Not everyone knows what role memories play in people’s lives. Memories that have been received in the brain defines what that person will be like in the future, the people from the past, and the ones that are around said person helps to shape that person’s memories. Technologically speaking intellect comes from the things around said person and the people who came before said person. Sometimes people have problems remembering things that a person has known their entire life. Scientists are currently finding ways to reconstruct memories in the brain to help people remember what has been forgotten. Skills are not gained by trying to do something, they come from memories and things that have been seen or heard. Which is a part of everyday behavior of humans. Neuropsychologists are people who study the brain. Neuropsychologists are trying to help understand how to help people with bad memory precision be able to remember more and not lose too many more memories. Memories are just information from the past about important events, and things that have been learned like math, science. History, and reading. The more time people spend on a subject the more likely it will become a long-term memory. Most rely on memories but people don’t know how memories are who we are.

When people get older it gets harder to remember the past and it becomes a problem because it is at the fault of the brain. Having confusion can be unfortunate and end up causing a lot of harm to the person diagnosed with confusion. “Confusion is a loss of the ability to make or to retrieve memories together with the loss of ability to interpret sensory information.” “It is accompanied by disoriententation and sometimes distress and it disturbes sleep and physical function.” Confusion is most common in the elderly. Getting diagnosed with acute or chronic confusion can cause distress. Chronic confusion is minor confusion and it is not at critical stages. Chronic confusion is not life threatening as long as you treat it before it gets serious and turns into acute confusion and put said person’s life in danger. Acute confusion is a major deal, it can come out of nowhere and can cause said person to die which makes it so dangerous. If an elderly has acute confusion, the person would need emergency surgery. Elderly who are in emotional distress have a higher risk of getting acute confusion. Also taking a high dose of medication can cause acute confusion. A cause of acute confusion is that the organs will start to deteriorate.Most elderly do not have enough financial coverage to treat chronic/acute confusion. Many of the old are poor and do not have money to pay for their medical bill much less a surgery. Some don’t even have a warm place to sleep or a meal on the table everyday. No one realises how serious confusion can be unless someone tells them, which puts said person in more danger than thought.

The internet seems harmless but it is causing a lot of damage to the brain. The internet has made a drastic change in the human brain to where the brain relies on it constantly. “For millennia humans have relied on one another to recall the minutiae of our daily going-on. Now we rely on “the cloud”- – and it is changing how we perceive and remember the world.” “When presented with new information, we automatically distribute responsibility for remembering facts and concepts among members of our particular social group, recalling some things on our own and trusting others to remember the rest. The human race is relying on technology to give the people the information that is needed instead of trying to figure it out by themselves. People rely on technology to play out the day to day life of humankind. Technology is telling humans what to do and when to do it and is running the lives of the people. Most people are treating technology as if it is human. When people are told to remember something there actually receive more memories than people who are not told to remember it. Most people can not live without technology and have to look up the most simple questions because their memory capacity can not hold the information anymore because the brain is used to being told the answer instead of trying to remember it yourself. A Lot of people are more focused on their phones than the world that everyone lives on. This is becoming a problem because kids in school are more focused on their cellular devices than what the teacher is teaching them.

The brain is very complicated but it is what makes people who they are today, and not understanding it and not knowing the risks of what could happen when people get older can put that person in a lot of danger. But knowing how the brain processes memories can help people learn to find different ways to remember things or even recall some memories long forgotten. Also the internet is like a virus that is infecting the human race day by day and changing the way people see the world. As the years have passed humans have evolved into a much more intelligent species than before, and if everyone learns more about the brain and tries to remember things and not rely on technology can change the lives of many people.

‘Brain training’ is a program of consistent mental exercises purported to improve cognitive abilities and protect from neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia. It is of particular interest to cognitive psychologists researching the potential benefits it has for cognitive development across age groups. If found effective, this would open new research into understanding the limits of the human mind and possibly slowing the process of mental decline associated with aging. Collating evidence from two separate studies, it will be argued that brain training can improve specific task-based performance, however there is still insufficient evidence supporting near-transfer and/ or far-transfer to underlying cognitive abilities. Ackerman, Kanfer and Cadlewood (2010) recruited middle-aged participants to practice Wii brain exercises and reading for domain knowledge. The results indicated considerable improvements on the Wii exercises, less favourable progress for the domain knowledge tests and inconsequential transfer of training from either task to measures of intelligence and perceptual speed abilities (Ackerman, 2010). The second study, by Kable and Caulfield (2017), tested the influence of training executive function on choice behaviour and brain responses in young adults. The researchers identified that commercial adaptive cognitive training has no apparent effects on neural activity, choice behaviour or cognition (Kable, 2017). Together, the evidence is inconclusive on whether brain training produces near transfer to a range of cognitive abilities for both older and younger populations, though it certainly has an effect on specific practice-related tasks.

In Ackerman’s study, the researchers aimed to assess the ‘use it or lose it’ concept, which suggests that older adults tend to process and retain new information less efficiently than young adults. Middle-aged participants were chosen to practice with Wii Big Brain Academy Software and to complete reading for domain knowledge tests, i.e. the two practice conditions comprising the independent variables of the study. The study was targeted at contrasting the effects of these two exercises on three cognitive ability measures-crystallised intelligence (Gc), fluid intelligence (Gf) and perceptual speed (PS) abilities; i.e. the dependent variables within the study. 78 adults between the ages of 50 and 71 were carefully selected via local newspaper and advertisements to perform 20 one-hour Wii training sessions over the course of 1 month. The Wii training exercises involved 15 mini-games that were designed to measure response accuracy and speed. They were also to complete 20 one-hour reading sessions, covering articles on 4 different topics; medical drugs, food, going green and technology. The sample population included 42 men and 36 women, none of whom had prior experience with Wii software. They were all native English speakers, with corrected to normal vision and had each completed at least 1 college-level course. The results indicated that practice affected performance levels, however there was no indication of a Matthew effect-meaning that the repetition of a specific behaviour corresponds to an ‘accumulated advantage’. Moreover, reading during the interim and after the testing periods for domain knowledge resulted in higher performance than during pre-testing. However, neither the Wii training nor the reading assessments conclusively caused specific transfer of training to the three ability tests (Ackerman, 2010).

Ackerman’s study had many strengths and a few minor limitations. The research methodology was reliable, as the researchers took account of practice-only effects on the transfer tasks to accurately assess whether positive transfer occurred in older adults. Through the use of a control group, they minimised any variables that might otherwise occur. The order of assignment for the domain knowledge tests and Wii training exercises was also counterbalanced for the participants, strengthening the credibility of the study by reducing the impact of order. Unlike previous studies conducted to assess transfer of cognitive training in older adults, this study selected participants who were closer to middle-age (no one >80) and therefore whom were more likely to acquire new skills and report positive transfer. The generalisability of these findings may be considered a limitation, because the Wii training tasks may be unrelated to the sorts of cognitive activities that are normally associated with the referent measures for intellectual and perceptual speed abilities. However, there was a substantial degree of variation among the ability composites and Wii task performances. Arguably the cognitive abilities measured may have been irrelevant to the everyday functioning of the middle-aged sample population, although such an argument would logically also extend to any standardised intellectual ability tests administered to adults. The results of the study suggest that the benefits of ‘using it’ in short time periods may be limited to the specific tasks the individual has practiced, rather than to actual cognitive abilities (Ackerman, 2010).

In Kable and Caulfield’s study, they aimed to determine whether training executive cognitive function had any influence on choice behaviour and brain responses by having their participants complete 10 weeks of training with either a commercial web-based cognitive training program or web-based video games. 128 young adults between 18-35 years were recruited after completing a brief IQ test and an in-person eligibility screen. Participants completed blood-oxygen level-dependent fMRI sessions at baseline and following the 10-week training period. Of the 128, 64 active control participants were instructed to complete games 5 times/ week for 30 minutes/ day during a 1-week pre-training period. All of the participants were assigned identical games by Luminosity in a standardised order that rotated among 5 cognitive domains: working memory, attention, flexibility, problem solving, short-term memory and speed. Each game lasted for approximately 2-3 minutes and the 30-minute training sessions comprised of 10-15 games. Within the active control condition, participants received active intervention to account for any nonspecific effects of cognitive stimulation. They experienced the same completion incentives and a weekly review, however their user performance was not tracked and the game difficulty was not adapted within each session to current user abilities. For the non-control group, they experienced adaptive cognitive training, meaning the difficulty of the games increased corresponding to improved performance. The participants also completed a total of 50 sessions over the 10 weeks, performing baseline assessments of delay discounting (i.e., choices between smaller rewards now vs larger rewards in the future) and risk sensitivity (i.e., choices between larger, riskier rewards vs smaller, certain rewards). The basic hypothesis was that executive functions may promote the choice of delayed over immediate rewards. A follow-up study was finally conducted with 35 participants performing cognitive testing battery on 3 occasions, separated by 1 week intervals. The results of the study found no effects of the training condition-the independent variable, on decision-making nor on degrees of sensitivity or in changes of neural activity-the dependent variables. Participants from both groups displayed a similar degree of improved cognitive performance post-treatment, suggesting no real transfer of training. Conclusively, commercial adaptive cognitive training appears to display no substantial effects on neural activity, choice behaviour or cognition (Kable, 2017).

Similar to the previous study, the second study had more strengths than limitations. For one, the researchers used exclusion criteria in selecting their participants, with those exhibiting extreme choice behaviour, such as a self-reported history of neurological, psychiatric or addictive disorders; a positive breath alcohol reading; colour blindness, etc., being ineligible to participate. Secondly, the researchers ensured that the participants in the active control condition were blinded to their specific training condition, indicating that the test performance of these games was more likely to reflect accurately on the participants’ true abilities. The effectiveness of adaptive cognitive training may vary across populations and it is possible that the participants were already functioning at high levels and subsequently would derive little benefit from cognitive training. Another potential limitation is that different results could also be found if different cognitive domains were targeted. Overall, the observed improvements within the study were owing to practice with the cognitive assessments rather than a beneficial effect of commercial training (Kable, 2017).

The data collected from the two studies indicates that although brain training may enhance performance for specific tasks, the possibility that it may serve as an effective tool for developing cognitive abilities across all ages is currently unsubstantiated. The first study investigated the impact of Wii training on an older population’s intelligence and perceptual speed abilities and the second examined the effects of adaptive cognitive training programs, such as Luminosity, on improving decision-making skills and choice behaviour relating to risk sensitivity and delay discounting in younger adults. Neither study identified that brain training can effectively produce near or far transfer to underlying cognitive abilities, indicating that research is still necessary in the domain of cognitive development. Both studies address the issue that variability exists within the cognition of population samples, and therefore it is difficult to ascertain accurately whether cognitive training programs are ineffective or simply redundant. For future research, it may be beneficial to explore ways to control this variable to avoid any inaccuracies in the data, such as through prerequisite IQ tests or long-term testing conditions. As studied, the efficacy of brain training in increasing cognitive abilities remains highly contentious, although the evidence for specific task-based improvement is overwhelmingly positive.

The human brain is the most potent and sophisticated information-processing device. Researchers have carried out extensive studies on the effects of engaging in cognitive training programs for both the younger and the older population. Brain training is a program of regular brain activities that help to improve one’s cognitive abilities. The cognitive ability of the elderly changes as time goes by as they experience a reduction of cognitive function such as attention, memory, and processing speed. The decline in cognitive abilities in older people results in great difficulty in the performance of daily activities; however, using a cognitive training program could improve their cognitive functions. The purpose of this study is to provide evidence that indeed, brain training has a positive impact on a variety of cognitive abilities of both the elderly and the young people.

Schmiedek, Lövdén & Lindenberger, (2010) carried out an empirical study to investigate the effect of brain training on cognitive functions. The study focused on the impact of brain games on the young and the elderly population. The trio examined four categories of cognition: processing speed, level of attention, the executive function, and the global cognitive statutes (Schmiedek, Loveden & Lindenberger, 2010). Their findings indicated that video gaming when used to train the elderly some cognitive functions (Schmiedek, Lövdén, & Lindenberger, 2010). This research formed the basis for many companies seizing the opportunity of producing video games for the elderly to improve some of their cognitive function. Such video games include brain challenge, big brain academy, and brain age. Since the release of video games to help in brain training, their global popularity has grown over time.

Nouchi et al. (2012) argue that the benefit of videogames in enhancing cognitive functions of the elderly is pivotal as it results in the transfer effect of the elderly and younger population. Nouchi et al. (2012) further argue that video games improve both the trained and untrained skills in the elderly and the people. Reynolds (2017) explains that braining exercises improve thinking skills and retention competence. He further suggests that the brain exercises should be combined with intense workouts to amplify it’s benefits to all the people, including those who don’t have mental deficits.

On brain training games, thirty-two older people were taken for the training where they were then divided and assigned to two game groups (Brain Age and Tetris). The task was completed by 14 elderly members out of the possible 16 in the Tetris group and 14 elderly members out of 16 in the Brain age group. All the elderly members recruited had no experience in video games; this was done to maximize the benefit of the research. The elderly participants in both the games played their games for 15 minutes each day, and in a week, they managed to play five days, which happened for four weeks. All participants had a measure of their Cognitive function before and after training. Measurement of the elderly participants fell into four categories (attention, global cognitive status, executive function, and processing speed of the mind). The results of the study showed that the effects of brain training games conducted were transferred to executive function on their minds than to the processing speed.it further indicated that playing brain age after a five-hour training for four weeks could lead to an improvement in cognitive function which includes the processing speed and executive function

In another empirical study by Ackerman, Kanfer & Calderwood, (2010) to examine the impact of training and transfer on the cognitive ability of individuals, 78 older adults of the age between 50 and 71 years were trained for 5 hours and examined for cognitive improvement. Training and transfer aim at improving the cognitive training response of both the elderly and young people. Under the study by the trio, they use control groups to provide a means of accounting for the effect of training and transfer on the targeted task. The suggestive evidence of each transfer identifies whether the training has a positive impact. The first step used in the experiment was direct training, which results in a positive impact on older people. The findings of the study infer that brain exercise, practice, and reading for domain knowledge improves the cognitive function for both populations.

Brain training of the elderly enables them to acquire knowledge and skills through learning. This has been proven to work by Willis (1986), who provided the older people of the age between 64 to 95 years with 5-hour training programs for preparatory reasoning. The experiment found out the direct effect of the training on the performance of the older people. The results show that brain training improves intellectual abilities, which are knowledge, skills, and understanding. Such a train usually has lasting effects because part of the information learnt is retained. The elderly can learn and acquire new knowledge and skills, which lasts in their minds for a very long time.

Brain training challenges the brain to become more efficient. This is according to prior research in the area that postulates that if the mind is used to handling tough tasks, it will automatize and level its cognitive ability to tackling similar jobs. The reason for this situation is the brain restructuring itself to master the challenge and ready itself for the next challenge (Tanaka et, al. 2009). The training is ideal for regular tasks like driving a car. This research point to evidence that training the brain to master certain tasks positively impacts its performance.

Joubert and Chainay (2018) critically examine the impact of combining cognition and physical training of healthy older people. They evaluate how cognitive and physical training enhances cognition. They also determine the benefits associated with direct and transfer training. By combining prior research from various search tools, they review relevant literature, and their findings indicate that cognitive and brain training positively impacts on cognition. However, in their review, they emphasize that each type of training enhances a different cognitive function.

Furthermore, brain training helps the elderly and the young population in boosting their reasoning. The elderly need to carry on with their daily activities like using public transport, shopping, cooking, farming, and managing personal finance. It is argued in the science of health that people who do complex activities or stimulate their brains with activities such as puzzles, crossword, and learning new skills throughout their lives protect their minds from dementia (Dodell-Feder, Tully, & Hooker, 2015). Therefore, brain training helps in preserving the mental function of the elderly.

Integrating knowledge from various studies point out the benefits that both the young and the elderly derive by continuous engaging their brains on training that boost their cognitive ability. The elderly and the young can reason appropriately; therefore, keeping dementia at bay, their efficiency in mastering tasks increases, and them to acquire vital knowledge and skills that are essential in life.

References

1. Dodell-Feder, D., Tully, L. M., & Hooker, C. I. (January 01, 2015). Social impairment in schizophrenia. Current Opinion in Psychiatry
2. Joubert, C., & Chainay, H. (2018). Aging brain: the effect of combined cognitive and physical training on cognition as compared to cognitive and physical training alone – a systematic review. Clinical interventions in aging, 13, 1267–1301. doi:10.2147/CIA.S165399
3. Reynolds, G. (2017). Exercise May Enhance the Effects of Brain Training. The New York Times.
4. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/22/well/move/exercise-may-enhance-the-effects-of-brain-training.amp.html&ved=2ahUKEwisp-_n8ZHlAhVDiFwKHWujCoYQFjARegQIBxAB&usg=AOvVaw2uhw0vk8a501oaLDCB1R-g&cf=1- accessed on 10th October 2019.
5. Nouchi, R., Taki, Y., Takeuchi, H., Hashizume, H., Akitsuki, Y., Shigemune, Y., … & Kawashima, R. (2012). Brain training game improves executive functions and processing speed in the elderly: a randomized controlled trial. PloS One, 7(1), e29676. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0029676
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Language plays big role in our mind map it is what distinguish us from other objects. as human being we should be so thankful that our god make us different language serve many function with the human experience .since it is a tool of communication there is controversial with those psychologists who agree with importance of language such as Chomsky and Piaget while other disagree from this prospective .many theories has been conducted in the last decays.

Chomsky, the first who introduced his studies due language in other words the relationship btw language and mind he said “human being born with predisposition to learn language” that is we were born with the basic rules of language. “Language is system of rules”. He argued that language is in the mind; Innatists. In language acquisition when we born we acquire language through imitation .when we hear a word it goes through many processes in our mind it may translate any message around us …psycholinguist in learning process for example .they believed that language skills where developed step by step (solely) through learning ,listening ,watching, writing ,speaking … .

In his view he developed the theory of Universal Grammar where human being follow similar rules and patterns .when we deal with language we almost using grammar structurisme. His studies were regarded as the best one. In addition to Chomsky’s mentalisme theory. There was another view which is presented by the Swiss psychologist ‘Piaget’ his theory known as the theory of cognitive development .according to him there are four stages in the development of child’s mental processes ; sensory or motor stage , pre – operational stage ,concert operational stage , formal operational stage. He said that transition between those stages.

For the first stage; the child experiments with concert objects in his environment .then in the second stage, he manipulates words and phrases on the basis of his prior understanding of the way concert object can be compared .moved, transferred from their studies we determine that language provides evidence .we believe the existence of mind as a strong relationship.

The brain has most significant rule in our body that we should take into consideration the importance of our health because of many problems as well as diseases that affect the mind such as dualism ( body problem associated with Socrates and Plato .Not only that mind exist…) idealism ..(Denies the existence of mind) and monism (neither the physical nor the mental ultimate reality).

Abstract

A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in aspecific molecular configuration (Britannica). Steroids have many downsides such as kidney failure, liver cancer, and heart attacks. In addition, they have a huge impact on an individual’s memory. Usually, athletes use steroids to recover quickly and workout harder without being tired. The aim is to inform adolescents, bodybuilders, and athletes of dangers of consuming steroids. Due to the rising usage of steroids, they ought to be illegal as to avoid health problems. This topic is not stressed enough through modern society. Therefore, people are not aware of the situation. Organizations and schools should provide educational sessions about the dangers of steroids so teens are aware at a young age of the negative effects of using them.

Thesis Statement: Steroids should be banned due to the increasing rate of school-aged students, bodybuilders, and athletes that consume it. In addition, they shouldn’t be using drugs to enhance their physical activity.

Introduction

A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration (Britannica). Steroids have many downsides such as kidney failure, liver cancer, and heart attacks. In addition, they have a huge impact on an individual’s memory. The aim is to inform adolescents, bodybuilders, and athletes of dangers of consuming steroids. Due to the rising usage of steroids they ought to be illegal as to avoid health problems. This topic is not stressed enough through modern society; therefore, people are not aware of the situation.

Firstly, there are two types of steroids, anabolic and corticosteroids. Anabolic steroids, which are originally called anabolic -androgenic steroids, are addictive although they don’t produce euphoria. Usually, they are prescribed by doctors to cure inflammatory diseases like, lupus, myosotis, and rheumatoid arthritis. The abuse of steroids develops severe addiction. Steroids are addictive due to two factors (Addiction Center). Many people with behavioral disorders resort to using steroids as to feel better about themselves. The obsessive behavior often begins when a person realizes that their physical appearance and strength improved in a brief amount of time.

On the contrary, corticosteroids are extremely different from anabolic steroids. Corticosteroids, such as prednisone, are fast working anti-inflammatories prescribed by doctors to cure allergies, swelling, and asthma (Verywell Health). They don’t have the same effect as anabolic steroids as they don’t promote muscle growth or hormonal adjustments. Corticosteroids have many side effects. For example, excessive weight gain, diabetes, and hypertension. Steroids have huge repercussions on the brain serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitter systems. Dopamine regulates emotions, appetite, and reinforcing effects. While, serotonin regulates sleep patterns, memory operations, and movements.

Furthermore, research has shown that people that already have substance use disorders are prone to abusing steroids. There are many signs of steroid addiction. For instance, individuals might have issues with their families, spending large amounts of money acquiring steroids, continuing to use steroids despite side effects, and isolating themselves and experiencing depression. Additionally, people who take steroids are affected physiologically and may undergo depression, paranoia, and aggression which is also known as “roid rage”.

Teenagers, athletes, and bodybuilders are all affected by the consumption of steroids. Mostly, they use them to enhance physical ability and strength. Overtime, steroids affect teens mobility, mentality, and learning capability. In addition, it affects teenagers bone growth and stops it early. In most sports, when an athlete is tested for steroids and the result is positive they get suspended for a great period of time. For example, Tyson Gay, a track and field champion, was tested positive for a banned steroid and was given provisional suspension (BBC Sport). As for bodybuilders, most of them over abuse the usage of steroids which leads them to death. In contrast, Richard Piana, who took steroids to enhance his muscles spent two weeks in a coma following an overdose and later on died.

Although steroids have many negative impacts, they help in curing some diseases. It can cure sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV and cancer. Steroids also cure rashes and prevent organ rejection in transplant recipients. They also treat Addison’s disease, a condition where the adrenal glands aren’t able to produce even the minimum amount of corticosteroid that the body needs (Mayo Clinic). Research has shown that steroids have also been used in clinical practice since the 1940s in the treatment of chronic illnesses, trauma, burns, surgery, and radiation therapy (Oxford Academic).

Steroids should be banned due to the increasing rate of school-aged students, bodybuilders, and athletes that consume it. In addition, they shouldn’t be using drugs to enhance their physical activity. A study shows that 3.3% of high school students admit anabolic steroid use; another finds 8% of girls and 12% of boys report using steroids to improve appearance, muscle mass, or strength. Steroids have many downsides and negative side effects which affects a person’s health and mental activity. As a result, they are considered illegal in about 8 countries, including the US.

Teachers should educate adolescents about steroid misuse, and how dangerous and unbeneficial it is for our bodies. However, presenting both the risks and benefits will be more persuasive. Research shows that athletes are less likely to resort to steroids if they’re peers and parents disapprove. The Adolescents Training and Learning to Avoid Steroids (ATLAS) program is showing high school football players that they do not need steroids to build powerful muscles and improve athletic performance (National Institute on Drug Abuse). Consequently, students’ tendency to use steroids has decreased drastically.

In conclusion, steroids have many advantages and disadvantages. Illegal use of steroids and abusing them causes many impacts on a person’s health and brain functions. While if they are used in moderate amounts and are prescribed by a doctor then they can assist in curing numerous illnesses. Schools, health facilities, and governments should support the ban of steroids. The solution is to encourage people to have a healthy diet and focus on their bodies without utilizing steroids.

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