- What breaking up does to your brain
- You've heard the Wilhelm Scream, even if you've never heard of it
- Another week, another new dinosaur
- Turns out black panthers actually have spots, we just couldn't see them before, Hope there is time to update this.
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Beginning with the article which got my attention the most, the revealing of spots on the Black Leopard prove that there is more to be discovered even in the entities we think we know all about. The fact that technology was used to uncover this previously invisible feature, goes to show that we are truly evolving in our means of innovation and discovery. Although this discovery may have been rather small, it is going to pave the way to potentially more revelations through the study of the local Leopard population as well as decrease the number of poachings which occur, especially in Africa where it has become the main cause of endangerment of species. Also along the lines of discovery, is the new dinosaur that has been found called the Zhenyuanlong. This dinosaur found in northeastern China is said to be one of the Velociraptor's closest cousins. Both dinosaurs were similar in body structure, which raised the implication that the Velocirpator, like the Zhenyuanlong had feathers as well. A curious finding of the Zhenyuanlong was that it had wings even though it's arms were much shorter than those of the Velociraptor, which raises the question, "Why did wings evolve?" Hopefully with more research and possibly more discoveries, we will be able to newer that question. Moving onto studies related to humans, a scream, although seemingly simple in what it is, has been found to vary. The variation of a scream depends on its "roughness" or oscillation in volume causing the people around the screamer to react in such a way that is dependent on the level of activity in the Amygdala, which is the center of the brain which processes emotions. In general, a scream is unique in that it is a universal sound in a world with a plethora of languages and cultures which is quite fascinating. Staying within the realm of psychology, there has been a breakthrough in the study of romantic relationships, specifically on the brain activity of someone who got "dumped". Besides emotional pain, it has been found that parts of the brain responsible for registering physical pain are activated as well, which makes a break-up seem more than just an emotional separation between two people. The reason for this being a difficult process for some people, is that the initial bond triggers the same areas of the Brain responsible for processing the effects of addictive substances such as Nicotine.
The brain works in such interesting ways. It is such a unique and sophisticated part of the body; it is unbelievable how much information it can retain and process. The article about what happens to the brain after a breakup explains how the brain plays such an integral role in regulating emotions and what the body feels. For instance, it explains how stress signals in the brain can affect the heart, digestive system, and immune system. It surprised me to hear that extreme stresses could cause takotsubo cardiomyopathy, in which a person could literally die of a “broken heart.” Additionally, the article about the Wilhelm scream was quite fascinating. I definitely recognize the scream, especially from the Star Wars movies. The article claims that screams are universally identifiable since the roughness of a scream prompts a response from the amygdala, which is a part of the brain that is in charge of fear conditioning. It is astonishing how people all over the world respond to a scream in a similar way, despite vast cultural differences. Also, the article about the discovery of the Zhenyuanlong was intriguing in how it proved that the Velociraptor had feathers and was actually the size of a lapdog. Before now I would not have realized the scientific inaccuracies in the Jurassic Park franchise’s physical depiction of the raptors; in the movies, they were scaly, much larger than a person, and looked more like giant lizards than prehistoric birds. Like the author, it fascinates me how fossils like those of the Zhenyuanlong and Velociraptor, “capture evolution in action.” The fact that the dinosaurs possessed wings yet had no use for them is just one example of an unsolved mystery of its evolution. These dinosaurs are ancestors of the chickens, turkeys, and even bluebirds that we see in our world today, and what happened over the years to change a ferocious dinosaur like the Velociraptor or Zhenyuanlong into a bird that we could see in our own backyard is unbelievable. Finally, the article about the black panther got my attention because it showed how it was truly not that different from the leopard. The only thing that made the two cats different was their melanin pigmentation, and it is pretty cool how a simple camera hack was able to prove this once and for all.
I was most intrigued by the article about the spots on black panthers. The spots on black panthers blend in with their coat and were never seen before. However, a modification to the field cameras allowed for researchers to see the spots. Black panthers produce enough melanin, masking their spots to the human eye in visible light. The field cameras are modeled to have light sensors that go into infrared mode when it gets dark. When the light sensors were blocked, the spotted fur coat became visible. I found this article to be interesting because there is so much we as humans don’t know. If the light sensors had never been blocked, we would still be thinking of black panthers as large cats with a solid coat. The pictures would never have the potential to study leopards and possibly reduce poaching numbers. The dinosaur article was also very fascinating. It was interesting to learn that the Velociraptor was a smaller, feathered dinosaur, not the ginormous, scaly creature it has been depicted as. Their arm bones were designed for big wing feathers with anchor points. A new dinosaur called the Zhenyuanlong was one of the closest cousins of the Velociraptor. It was also covered in feathers and the Zhenyuanlong provides insight as to how the Velociraptor’s body structure may have been. The questions asked by the author towards the end of the article caught my attention, as they focused on evolution. Discovering the Zhenyuanlong has prompted many questions as to the purpose of its wings and how modern birds developed/ used use their wings. The Zhenyuanlong is large compared to most birds, and even has shorter arms than the Velociraptor. This brings about the question – why would the Zhenyuanlong have wings? With new discoveries being made about dinosaurs, specifically bird-like dinosaurs, these evolutionary questions could be answered.
The article about the Zhenyuanlong, a newly discovered dinosaur, included some interesting facts and even some more questions about evolution. The article began by pointing out the inaccurate depiction of Velociraptors in the movie Jurassic World. These well-known dinosaurs were “lapdog-sized predator[s] covered in feathers” unlike the movie’s picture of them as big and scaly. The arm bones of Velociraptors each have a row bumps which are the same size and shape as the quill knobs of birds today. The new dinosaur helps paleontologists understand how the feathers on Velociraptors really looked. Found in an environment suitable for preserving parts the usually decay sooner, the Zhenyuanlong is known to have been covered in feathers looking just like a bird. These types of dinosaurs mark a significant point in evolution. They are close relatives of birds, and they indicate the transition from dinosaurs to their descendants today. New questions also arise. Why did they evolve to have wings? Was there a reason other than for flying? With more fossil discoveries, answers to these questions can be found.
Another fascinating discovery is that black leopards actually have spots. All it took was a simple modification to the cameras to see this feature. Researchers took pictures of the leopard with a flash of infrared light revealing that the cat’s coat is not as it seems. It is good to read that this information will be used to cut down on poaching.
I enjoy learning about the brain, so the article “Here’s What Breaking Up Does to Your Brain” was very intriguing. It was surprising to find out the same parts of the brain triggered from new stages of love are also sparked after a break up. Dopamine is released causing a craving for more which gives a person the motivation to get what he/she needs. After the break up, the brain still wants more but is not getting the expected response. The loss of a romantic relationship causes pain. There is activity in the brain regions for controlling distress and responding to physical pain. The stress, in severe cases, can even lead to death with a condition called takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Aside from the rare cases, the pain eventually fades. The brain tries to help with moving on over time.
This week, all four articles were truly appalling. However, I managed to narrow the articles down to two, “Here’s What Breaking Up Does to Your Brain” and “Scientists Do a Simple Camera Hack and Reveal “Black” Leopards’ Spots.” The first article was about how the human brain copes with heartbreak. Apparently, even after a breakup that could have occurred just five months ago or even six years ago, the human brain recollects earlier memories all the way back from lovely conversations to photographs of the ex-lover, indicating an obsession of love. This happens due to “reward” neurons that have been signaled from the caudate nucleus and the ventral tegmental area of the brain. These parts of the brain demonstrate the “puppy love” stage, once a photo of the euphoric time is shown to the person obsessed. Surprisingly, yet not so surprisingly, these parts of the brain are also the parts of the brain that respond to cocaine and nicotine. I was interested when I read this part. It just shows how the human brain has overlaps between obsessive love and drugs. It also helped me understand how certain people cannot get over breakups for a long time. Furthermore, once the reward neurons are in place, redundant floods of the neurotransmitter dopamine are released too. This dopamine gives off a strong craving for motivation that lures one into trying out other behaviors to get more of whatever is necessary. Unfortunately, the “necessity” would be the obsession: the ex-lover. This part continued to interest me, but scare me as well. Not only can break ups be devastating, but they can be obsessive to super-obsessive. Similar to drugs, the brain’s reward systems are expecting the past relationship to be put into place, but are not receiving its responses. Just like a drug, such as nicotine or cocaine, this leads into the downward spiral of drug addiction. As a result, trying to contact the ex is the next step. The outcome of that is usually not swell… like sending a drunk text to the ex. What I found interesting was what Lucy Brown had to say. Unlike other forms of cognitive social rejection, romantic fails hit humans hard the most due to the primal connections we have linked inside our brains. This part of the article made me think bilaterally. Although love is spellbounding enough to bring humans together, it can be the element that can hurt one so much. With such an emotion, it makes the world seem much more blissful, yet terrifying. Two people who fall in love on the first try is wonderful, but for those that have been stuck on their ex is clearly not. Love may be the one emotion to touch hearts dearly, but it can the same to make one go depressed, obsessive, and even quite crazy after a while… Yikes!
The other article that I found quite interesting, “Scientists Do a Simple Camera Hack and Reveal “Black” Leopards’ Spots,” had researchers using a simple hack to modify field cameras, as the spots on black panthers were revealed. In visible lighting, it was easier to see the black panther appearing solid-colored, while the spots were clear in infrared light. I found it astonishing how different lighting can make an animal appear so different. In regards to light sensitivity toward these cats, a flash of infrared light was shown. Plus, the cameras had light sensors and had switched to infrared mode when it became dark. After blocking the light sensors, a shot of a spotted leopard was shown, demonstrating the experiment at hand. I found it remarkable how light, shots, and flashes come into play when dealing with various creatures. In this article, a black leopard was discovered to have spots just by using a simple camera hack. Thus, it just stands to show how certain techniques can identify organisms in a different light: both figuratively and literally.
After reading all of the articles, I thought that the article about the new dinosaur discovery was the most interesting. A new dinosaur, the Zhenyuanlong, was discovered in Northeastern China. It is described as being two meters long, from its snout to its tail and covered in feathers. The Zhenyuanlong is considered to be a close cousin of the Velociraptor. The discovery of the new dinosaur in China has provided scientists with a better image of the feathers of the Velociraptor. When fossils of a Velociraptor are observed, their arm bones contain a row of bumps. Theses bumps are similar to the quill knobs of today’s birds, which means that the Velociraptor had feathers. Scientists have never seen what the feathers of the Velociraptor looked like but the discovery of the Zhenyuanlong has provided them with an image.
The article about what breaking up and its effects was also interesting. A breakup can have a huge effect on the brain. Many studies have been conducted in order to find out what happens to the brain after a breakup. Researchers found that there was increased activity in the parts of the brain that controls distress and the part that collects pain. They also observed that a breakup could have effects on the other parts of the body. In extreme cases, a person’s heart can weaken from stress and result in death.
I first watched the video about the Wilhelm scream before I read the article. I found it strange that I had never noticed it before. It made me wonder why this certain sound effect was being used repeatedly. I thought that the article made a few interesting points. The article notes that when screams of fear contained higher levels of roughness, the more frightful the scream is. It also stated that only alarms such as buzzers were able to affects participants of a study the same way a scream did.
I also liked the article about the black panther. Black panthers contain spots that are invisible in visible light. When their spots are exposed to infrared light, their spots can be easily seen. Scientists who were working in Malaysia blocked the light sensors in the field cameras (so that the cameras would take pictures of objects exposed with infrared light) and they were able to see images of the panther and its spots. This article made me wonder if other animals are hiding any features from human eyes that can be only seen in special lighting.
I find neuroscience to be extremely fascinating, so I thought the article on how the brain reacts to breaking up to be the most interesting this week. The article states that after a break up, anything that reminds you of your ex triggers parts of the brain including the caudate nucleus. This brain part is located in both hemispheres and plays an important role in storing and processing memory. Some studies have shown that this area of the brain might also have a part in the formation of obsessive compulsive disorder. The article itself also discusses that this part of the brain responds to various addictive drugs. When comparing the function of the caudate nucleus to the actions of many people after a break up, it makes sense that it would be related. The reward neurons mentioned in the article produce large amounts of dopamine. A lack of dopamine and other neurotransmitters, including serotonin, causes depression. So when a break up takes place and you are deprived of the person who causes the reward neurons to produce dopamine, it could explain the feelings of depression associated with ending a relationship. Since romance is associated with some of the same brain systems pertaining to hunger and thirst, I wonder if animals also feel the same psychological pain when rejected by a potential mate. Another article that I found interesting was the Wilhelm scream article. Multiple studies were mentioned that showed the rougher a scream is, the more fearful it was thought to be. This theory seems to be strongly supported, but I want to know why it is this acoustic feature that triggers a fear response. Maybe a future study could look into why the amygdala, the brain part associated with fear, is activated by rough sounds.
While all four articles did a solid job of invoking my interest, it again was quite clear which two stood out to me the most. Beginning with my favorite, the article about the newly unearthed and discovered dinosaur Zhenyuanlong provided valuable insight about its close relative, the Velociraptor. While many works in today’s popular culture that focus on prehistoric predators depict velociraptors as scaly, smooth, and overly reptilian, paleontologists have known for quite some time that those depictions are not entirely accurate. The fossil of the Zhenyuanlong, found in northeastern China was clearly covered in feathers. Exhibited in its remnants, hairy filaments coat much of its body, larger veined feathers stick out from the tail, and big quill-pen-feathers line the arms, layered over each other to form a wing. Looking at Zhenyuanlong, the Velociraptor is seen to be more fluffy and feathered than its popular rendition of scaly and reptilian. The discovery of Zhenyuanlong is a significant one because it illustrates the keystone principle of evolution marvelously. This newly discovered dinosaur is the closest relative to today’s birds and even then it is peculiarly large. This poses an entirely new set of questions for the scientific community. What led these creatures to evolve to have wings? The other article that I really took time to carefully consider was the article that discussed how black panthers really do have spots that are not visible to the naked eye. I find it quite interesting that spots on a leopard that are not visible to humans can be revealed through a simple camera hack. The sole reason that the spots of black panthers are not visible to humans is that they have enough melanin to mask them. Researchers hope to use the spotted pictures to identify and protect local leopard population from poachers.
I read about the article on Black Panthers with spots and I found it intriguing that they had secret spots hidden on their skin. I always imagined that they were pure black and only yellow leopards had black spots. These leopards were found in Asia, Russia, and China while their color blends in with the environment and their coat. The reason why we found out all this is because of the cameras were being hacked. Our technology is increasing and we also learned that not everything we see in the world is what it looks like. With new technology growing everyday, we will be able to discover things that were in front of our eyes that we were never able to see.
I also read the article about what happens to your brain when you broke up with someone you used to love. I found this the best article to read about this week because I was able to understand how the brain works like when you break up with someone. For example, your brain goes nuts when you break up which makes you do things that aren't good for you. This kind of rejection is the most painful because it is like a life changing event. When the person you love leaves you, your chest gets tight and you have a sick feeling to your stomach because it feels like you heard bad news. Getting dump can feel like a lot of stress because your heart becomes weak which in a rare condition can lead to death. I also liked the fact that Neuroscientist Brown said to think about how that person doesn't deserve you instead of thinking about the relationship. Lastly, I wonder if animals have the same kind of emotions that humans feel when being dumped by someone?
The article I found most interesting this week is “Here's What Breaking Up Does to Your Brain.” It doesn’t matter how long you have dated the person, but everything the reminds you of that person triggers your brain. Including the neurons in the caudate nucleus and the ventral tegmental area. These parts of the brain are also the parts that respond to nicotine and cocaine. The article then goes on further to compare how the brain responds to addictive drugs and break ups. They are similar in the way that the brain always leaves you wanting more when it come to an end. When the neurons in the caudate nucleus are activated dopamine is released. Dopamine then activates parts of the brain that makes you want more. The graving then motivates you to try anything that will help you get whatever it is you need. Studies have shown that the reward regions are not the only part of your brain that activates when you go through a breakup. There is also brain activity in the regions that “control distress and respond to physical pain.” When this part of the brain is triggered, it releases stress hormones that affect the heart, the digestive system, and the immune system. In severe cases the stress can create a condition that is known as the broken heart syndrome, which can lead to death. Luckily cases like these are rare. Evidence shows that after a breakup your brain is working very hard to help you move on. The part of the brain that is known as the frontal cortex takes these impulses and averts behavior. Basically, your brain is regulating your emotions and stops you from doing some crazy things. As time goes on the pain of breakup goes away.
Out of all four of the articles, the one about the effects of a breakup on the brain immediately caught my attention. I was originally only aware of the emotional changes that could take place after a breakup, but I was not aware of the fact that it’s the biological changes that take place in the brain that triggers these emotional changes. It was interesting to read about how any reminder of a past relationship triggers activity in the “reward” neurons that also takes place when one is addicted to cocaine and nicotine. I think that this comparison illustrates just how out of control or irrational one can act after a breakup. Furthermore, I did not realize that a breakup not only affects one emotionally but also physically. I was surprised to read that the region of the brain that controls distress and responses to physical pain was active among the participants of the studies, even when there was no physical injury. In addition, I was initially shocked to read that “broken heart syndrome” was a real, potentially life-threatening, condition that could result from stress on the heart. Although the studies were only conducted on those who were broken up with, I think studying the brain activity of individuals who broke up with others could provide useful information on the emotional changes they experience. Perhaps they also experience physical pain and an “addiction” to love to a certain degree.
Moreover, I was also intrigued by the article that discussed why screaming is universally identifiable. Although hearing people scream occurs in everyday life, I have never considered the fact that screams are universal vocalizations. I found it interesting that the high rate at which the volume of a scream changes makes it identifiable to anyone, and that the level of “roughness” of a scream can determine how fearful it is. It is amazing how people can instantly make the association of the level of fear with the “roughness” of a scream, without needing to take time to analyze it. I think this illustrates the immediate reactions and instincts of humans when they detect that something is wrong. However, I think it would also be interesting to see how people react to screams that are not vocalized out of fear, and if they are able to decipher between the different types of screams.
Out of all four articles, the one that intrigued me the most was the "Here's What Breaking Up Does To Your Brain" article because i felt it was a very relatable article, especially for teenagers who are starting to create romantic relationships and have to deal with the processa and pain of breaking up. When I had seen people after a breakup, I had always thought they were exaggerating the pain and were being obsessive and attention-seeking. However, this article opened my eyes and showed me that the pain felt by a breakup is caused by conflicting neural systems in the brain. After reading the article, many of the actions and thoughts of a person who has been broken up with make a lot of sense now. For example, hearing a song and immediately relating it to the person they loved, because actions such as that triggers activity in "reward" neurons in certain areas of the brain. I had always heard the quote "love is a drug" and I think it applies strongly to this article. The part of the brain that light up during breakups and the early stages of love also respond to cocaine and nicotine, which makes love a very powerful drug. The fact that "the brain's reward systems ares still expecting their romantic 'fix'" explain why sometimes couples get back together or can't stay away from each other' it's not their lack of self-control, but rather the reward system in the brain that motivates them to do something dumb. I think it would be interesting to see if both people in the relationship react the same way to a breakup, especially if there were certain circumstances that caused the breakup, such as adultery or abuse.
The article "what breaking up does to your brain" fascinated me the most as it's the story of every other person. In today's generation who hasn't gone through all the love problems and breakups but the interesting thing is we have never thought how brain plays a crucial part in this. Neuroscience explains how it doesn't matter whether you were with your ex-lover for six months, four years or more, a breakup throws your brain back into the obsession of early love. Everything that reminds you of that person triggers activity in 'reward' neurons inside the caudate nucleus and the ventral tegmental area of the brain. Surprisingly these are the same parts of the brain that light up where someone is in love. We usually get craving for various things, but craving for love is in a way mechanical process. The dopamine activates circuit inside the brain that create a craving for more. This encourages you to try out your best in every possible manner. I have always wondered, why some married couples behave in a way as if they were never in love, well this is because as a romantic relationship develops into long term partnership, that obsession fades away. In contradiction to this, after break up all those old can't - get - enough feelings come flooding back. The reward systems are still expecting to romance therefore it is now the part of your brain that's going to motivate you to do something really dumb. Lucy Brown, a neuroscientist confirms that the motivation is more extreme than for the other forms. Pain is obvious in love. People say, if you aren't going through pain in a relationship, it's not real love. When your love leaves you, chances are You will feel devastated. Two studies prove that reward system is not the only systems lit up inside the brain, there's other activity that controls and distress. In the end, basically there must be some mechanism that can slowly erode and weaken connections in the brain attachment pathways, but scientists are not sure. When you are heart broken, there's no reason that you can't try things that encourage your brain to rewire itself. In fact immediately after a break up your brain is working hard to get you to move on. In short it is trying to regulate your mind and help you start putting your life back together.
After doing the previous assignment on the " New Dinosaur " article, dinosaurs have just got me. "Another week, another new dinosaur" this article is by Zhao Chuang. He confirms that a real velociraptor has a lap dog sized predator covered in features, unlike the one shown in Jurassic world. Paleontologists found that at the arm of velociraptor are bumps for features. Zhao studied this with his colleague Junchang Lü. The new dinosaur Zhenyuanlong, is one of the closest cousins of velociraptor. Zhenyuanlong is covered with feathers. This is a dinosaur that looks just like a bird, which is astonishing to me as one can never relate or compare a bird and a dinosaur. They say look at Zhenyuanlong and you see what the real velociraptor would have been like. It is amazing how we discover a whole new dinosaur based on an idea and other dinosaur which is related to it but it doesn't end here. This opens up a whole new mystery to solve. Why did the wings evolve ? Did they evolve for flight, or did they first develop for something else.
The article that caught my attention first was the one that explained how breaking up affects the brain. Love is often seen as a force that cannot be explained by science, so it was very interesting to see how science could be applied. Seeing that infatuation was comparable to addiction to cocaine made me wonder how strong an emotion could actually be. The process of falling in love is explained in the article - the caudate part of the brain combines the rush with emotions (as different parts of the brain work together), and the ventral tegmental area, part of the rewards system, creates the positive feelings. This area of the brain releases dopamine, which energizes the person and keeps them craving for more. This process is felt again after a breakup, initiated by anything that reminds a person about the relationship. Although this all occurs in the brain, the pain can be physical. Areas in the brain that control reactions to pain are activated, which, although rare, could lead to "broken heart syndrome" and eventually death.
I also enjoyed reading about the discovery of black panthers' spots. Although the finding itself was interesting, it is great to see that the new information could be used to regulate the leopard population.
The article that I found the most interesting was the spots of back panthers. Because black panthers produce a large amount of melanin the spots on the black panther bled in with their coat and make them appear to have a solid coat. With a slight moderation of the camera, the light sensors were blocked and the spots on the fur of the black panther became visible. If that slight moderation of the camera was never made, we would have most likely still presumed that black panthers have a solid coat. This goes to show how much more there is to learn about the organisms that share our Earth when new things are being discovered everyday.
The article about the Wilhelm scream was also very intriguing. The article says the level of roughness of a scream determines how fearful the scream is. A scream is a universal sound and no matter where you are, it generally means the same thing. People tend to scream for different reasons. For example screaming during a roller coaster is different from the scream you make when you are running away from something you may be afraid of.
The study of our brain and how it reacts to everyday events has always been of interest to me. There is almost always a psychological reason explaining why humans act a certain way in certain situations, and it's amazing how science can explain the simplest of occurrences around us. More specifically, reading about how the brain behaves after a breakup was interesting. Seeing people react so dramatically after a breakup has always been an enigma to me, but this article manages to explain the process quite well. I was also quite surprised to find out that no matter how long you stayed with your partner - the process is still the same. I wonder if the process varies depending on how connected you were to your partner and whether you broke up with your partner or vice versa.
Despite instantly recognizing the scream in the video, I was surprised that I never pinpointed that same scream in multiple movies and other media. Screams are most definitly the universal indicator for fear, only more evident by the fact that that same scream was used in multiple movies across several countries and languages. However, before this article, I didn't stop to think that screams could indicate more feelings than one, and that these feelings could be portrayed universally, across many languages and cultures. Expressions of feelings like these unite cultures and languages despite many differences, and it allows us to understand other people as our own.
I didn't expect a paleontologist to actually enjoy Jurassic World. I did, however, expect them to call out the movie on some of its inaccurate portrayals of the dinosaur world. I think it's amazing that these paleontologists are able to make conclusions on a certain species of dinosaur according to what they find about other dinosaurs. Studying how some dinosaurs differ slightly from others and how they manage to evolve into the animals we know today is very interesting, and it also helps scientists understand how we humans came to be after thousands of years.
The first article that I chose to read this week was “Here’s What Breaking Up Does to Your Brain”. I chose to read this article because the title of it caught my attention as I never thought about how much a brain has to do with a break up. I found it interesting how it stated that a break up is like falling in love but in reverse. After thinking about that statement for a little while it made sense. How a break up throws your brain back into the obsession of early love fascinates me. The turning on of reward neurons in a brain releases neurotransmitter dopamine which turn on circuits to make you crave more of your ex. A brain’s reward system is still expecting to get their share of romance but is not, so they make you catch more feelings and emotions. This system is the same one that makes you do something dumb to try to get back in touch with your ex. A study showed that part of the brain that control distress and physical pain lit up after someone went through a break up. So, when experiencing a break the pain really is real!
The second article that I chose to read was the one about the Wilhelm Scream. After watching the video, I realized that I have heard the scream in a lot of shows and movies that I have seen. I have never put that much thought into how a scream sounds the same no matter where characters are in the world or in space. I agree with the professor named David Poeppel when he said that “Screams are the one uncontroversially universal vocalization”. I find it compelling that a scream can either represent a shrill of pleasure or even a cry in pain or a squirm in fear. The rougher a scream is, the louder the alarm in someone else’s brain that something is wrong.
This week, the article "A Scream Is the Same in Every Language" immediately caught my attention. I found it interesting how when one screams, the loudness changes much faster, between 30 and 150 times a second, and that the faster this changes, the more "rough" it sounds. The scariness or alarm of a scream is interpreted by how rough a scream is. The video was great because it really did put into perspective how screams are interpreted in different ways depending on how rough they are.
Learning about how break ups are connected to the brain seemed intriguing to me as well. Neuroscience explained the whole idea very well. When someone is in love, the same parts of the brain are activated as the use of drugs such as cocaine and highly dangerous substances like nicotine give. Although people not involved in the breakup may think that the people involved are overreacting, it has been proven that the brain wants a reaction, and so it triggers the same memories over and over to try and make the person respond. The systems involved with hunger and thirst are the same as being in a breakup. This explains why it actually hurts to be in a breakup. In fact the parts of the brain responsible for controlling how one reacts to pain feels disturbed leads to many effects, which unfortunately are negative. What surprised me the most was that one condition can lead to death! Recently I have tried reprogramming a lot of the things in my life to create new neuropathways in my brain, in turn leading to a positive life. The same goes with heartbreak and the best way to move on is to make a conscious effort in changing one's way of thinking.
From the articles this week the first one that caught my attention was “Here’s What Breaking Up Does to Your Brain”. I have always been interested in neuroscience and seeing how relationships with others can effect brain chemistry, I found it fascinating. The fMRI machine was used to evaluate the feelings brought when loved ones were brought into the mind and the areas that lit up were the same to cocaine/nicotine addiction. So initially this brought up the question Can you be addicted to loving someone? If love releases repeated floods of dopamine creating the sense of needing more it may be a possible conclusion. However, these intense feelings will not immediately fade after a breakup your Brain still seeks an emotional response/reward promoting more rash behavior for stimulation. The pain you feel after a breakup is as real as breaking a bone! the study mentioned in the article showed that the part of the brain that controls distress or physical pain lit up after the person experienced a tough break up.
The second article that I chose to read was the one about the Wilhelm Scream. After watching the video I quickly realized that I have heard this scream before. I guess it's true that a scream is the same in every language no matter where it might be. The Wilhelm scream is thought to be recorded by Sheb Wooley and since then it has made countless appearances in dozens of dramatic scenes in theater. Learning about the roughness/tones of screams and how they trigger different emotional responses in us made me think differently on how I feel about responding to urgency.
The article that intrigued me the most was what breaking up does to your brain. Millions of people unfortunately go through enough breakups in their lifetime. Then they may go trough a period of "withdrawal" from their ex girlfriend or boyfriend. People want love believe it or not; people crave love and without it feel empty and miserable. Psychologically there are explanations of human interactions and reactions to certain things etc, however in this article it shows how science can explain everyday reactions that humans develop after certain altercations. I always thought of course people act the way they do after a breakup it's because their heart is broken and they lost someone special, but this article surprised me I was also quite surprised to see how breaking up was compared to an addiction to cocaine. This shows how after a breakup some people can lean towards drugs in order to fulfill that need that isn't available for them. This made me realize and understand how some people can become so crazy after a breakup. It's like their brain has gone ballistic due to the addiction or craving of what they once had. This made me question how strong emotions could be. In the article they explain the process of love. 1) the caudate part of the brain combines with emotions. 2) the ventral tegmental area (part of the rewards system), creates positive feelings. An area of the brain releases dopamine which energizes the person and keeps them craving for more emotions which release these feelings. Once a breakup occurs this process is started again. It is instigated by anything that reminds the person about their past relationship. Painful reactions can also be an effect of breakups which are started by certain areas in the brain which could eventually lead to "broken heart syndrome" or eventually death. I never believed someone could actually die of a broken heart, but after reading this article it seems rare but true. These negative effects are something I wish to never have after a breakup. Moving on is the best way to cure yourself of a terrible breakup, even if that means "faking it till you make it".
"A Scream is the Same in Every Language" was the article that drew my attention this week. In a normal conversation, the volume of a person's voice will change between four and five times a second. However, when a person screams, the frequency of how often the volume of the voice changes between 30 and 150 a second. This makes the voice sound rougher, which the amygdala reacts to. The amygdala is what causes fear to course through a person's body, and the rougher the sound, the more strongly the amygdala reacts, which means the more fear the person will feel. Despite the many barriers that keep humans from communicating, this built in, for lack of better word, alarm system conveys a clear message across languages through a more primitive mechanism in our minds.
I also considered the article "Scientists Do a Simple Camera Hack And Reveal "Black" Leopards' Spots" to be one of my favorites. Not because it is particularly surprising or fascinating, but because I have a certain love for the "big cats" of the world. Black panthers were always at the top of my list right next to leopards and lions, but I never thought much of how similar leopards looked compared to black panthers. Now that technology has shown the black panthers to actually be leopards, I just keep looking at pictures of the two and wondering whether or not it could have been caught earlier without needing to see the spots, or if the melatonin levels that separate the the black leopards from the rest would have simply kept the secret. It's funny to think about how we view the world. Everything we think we know has only come from what we've discovered, and obviously, what we know is only part of the story. This article is an effective reminder that human knowledge is limited and needs to be expanded to really understand this world that we live in. What we km now today can be completely different from what we learn tomorrow.
The first article that caught my eye was that which regarded the the Wilhelm scream and how the single sound effect was used in several well known films. What interested me the most was the fact that the scream is a universal vocalization that can be understood by anyone and at the same time convey various emotions. The emotion the scream expresses depends on the roughness, or the rate of change at which one's volume changes. Fear, enthusiasm, pleasure, and pain can all be interpreted from a single scream depending on the roughness of the scream.
The other article to grab my attention was the article discussing the new dinosaur discovered in Northeastern China. The Zhenyuanlong is a close relative to the Velociraptor and further proves that the Velociraptor is a small, feathery dinosaur as compared to its bulky and scaly portrayal in the Jurassic Park films. The discovery of the Zhenyuanlong and the true appearance of the Velociraptor are also excellent displays of evolution in the process, showing how the two spcecies of raptor would evolve into modern birds of prey.
The revelation that black panthers actually have spots is mind blowing and will definitely prove to be a crucial fact in later research of black panthers and the reduction of poaching. The human eye can often fail to detect certain details in the world around it, and in the case of the black panther and its spots, this is further proven to be true. To think that such a simple hack such as blocking the light sensors on a camera would lead to the revelation of spots on black panthers is extremely fascinating.
Furthermore, I would never suspect that a break up could affect and trigger the brain in such miraculous ways. I find it interesting that "broken heart syndrome" is a real life terminology that in extreme cases can lead to death. Learning the science behind a break up has helped me better understand what people going through a break up are dealing with internally and emotionally and is truly an eye opener. I would highly recommend that anybody going through a break up should read this article as it will give them knowledge as to why they feel the way they do.
When I first saw this weeks assignments, my eye was instantly drawn to the Wilhelm Scream Compilation. Before even starting the video, I knew this was going to be a lifechanging event and it truly lived to its expectations. I would like to start off by saying that all future action movies, including the classics like Star Wars, are now potentially ruined for me. Whenever I watch an exciting scene or dramatic action stunting, I will always be on the look out for the Wilhelm Scream. I’ve heard that one scream over and over enough times in that three minute and fifty two second long video for the shriek to be permanently imprinted in my brain. Now, I feel if I ever hear that particular noise again, my subconscience will trigger and bring me back to this particular video and its grainy images of various movie scenes. Furthermore, I would like to discuss the actual usage of the scream. I’m sure it’s a beautiful, historical sound but Hollywood please, step up your game. I’m sure the industry can conjure up tons of creative and different sounds of absolute terror. Nonetheless, it was an enlightening experience and I’m sure the Wilhelm scream will reapear during the course of my life. On a different note, but no less interesting, is Diane Kelly’s “Heres What Breaking Up Does to You,” an article of the very dramatic, yet very real broken heart. There are parts in a brain, called “reward” neurons, that store all the wonderful memories a person and his or her ex-beloved shared. When one gets dumped, the brain gets rebooted and floods those obsessive memories of their first love. It is also the parts that administer responses to cocain and nicotine; Kesha was right, your love really is a drug. In romantic movies, the girl somehow gets misunderstood and dumped, leaving her both mentally and physically hurting. This is actually true, seeing as the brain is in control of your entire body and although there is no actual damage done physically, the brain’s reaction to the pain of the break up can cause physical pain and uncomfort. But time really will tell, because the pain slowly fades away as the drug affect of love becomes a distant memory.
The Wilhem scream instantly grasped my attention and I watched the video before even looking at the other articles. It is incredible how one sound effect can be used so universally thoughout so many films. As a young child, I always thought that the Wilhem scream was only used for Star Wars and that is where the sound effect belonged. After hearing it multiple times in other films, I assumed that the other film stole the sound from Star Wars. Once hearing it in enough films, I came to realize that it did not originate from Star Wars, but it was actually a widely used sound effect. The video further prooved that by showing that although it was used a fairly large number of times in Star Wars, it was used in a number of other films, some even older than Star Wars. It really is immensely interesting have one simple sound effect can be so widespread and used so frequently.
The other article that caught my attention was the new dinosaur fossil discovery, since I touched upon last week's dinosaur article. I was glad to read that exactly what i was hopeful for in my last comment happened in this past dinosaur finding. I was hopeful that these new dinosaur fossils could give us information to learn more about the species of dinosaurs we already know about. The Zhenyuanlong, being very closely related to velociraptors, gave us great amounts of information about the already discovered velociraptors. The biggest of these discoveries is the fact that velociraptors most likely had feathers. This leads to whole new questions about the evolution of wings and for what purposes they could have been used for besides flight. I am still hope that with these recent discoveries paleontologists can put together more pieces in our knowledge about dinosaurs. I am also glad to see the frequency of these finds and hopefully that will continue, so we can maximize our understanding of these prehistoric creatures.
Before reading the "Here's What Breaking Up Does to Your Brain" article, I never could have fathomed how intense the human body can respond physically to an emotional catastrophe such as heartbreak. The article began by explaining how the brain responds to love and its corresponding emotions. Through the release of dopamine by the reward neurons in the brain, romance can have two different effects. When you are in a relationship and are able to get the "romantic fix" the dopamine makes you crave for, it gives you motivation to be with your lover. However, when the "romantic fix" response is not returned, the body can begin to act irrationally, such as wanting to do careless acts or feeling self-fabricated pain.
The part of the article that interested me most was the section on the pain we feel after a breakup. It is expected that one would feel emotional distress, but as someone who has never gone through a breakup I never expected that this emotional distress could lead to physical pain. I used the term "self-fabricated" before to describe this pain because the article stated that the parts of the brain responsible for monitoring pain sensations from the outside world were not alerting our body of anything, however the systems they are connected to were telling our body that pain was occurring. One of the side effects of these systems activating is the release of stress hormones. I was amazed when I read that enough of these hormones could actually cause damage to the cardiovascular, digestive, and immune systems.
The article Here’s What Breaking Up Does to Your Brain easily grabbed my attention the most. Most people, me included, would think that the heart in the sense of loving someone, and the brain, function differently and that one couldn’t possibly break down something like a break-up scientifically. However, this article has proven me wrong. I find it interesting how its similar to a domino effect in the sense that after the break-up anything that reminds one of the person in which one had the relationship with triggers activity in “reward” neurons which then releases dopamine. Dopamine being a chemical usually associated with pleasure, creates a craving for more causing people to try satisfying whatever they’re craving; in this case, its their partner. However, after a break-up they lose that person that is special to them and their reward systems are still expecting something and not getting anything. Similar to withdrawal they look for a replacement, in an effort to try and get things back to how they were resulting in possibly regretful actions. I find it interesting how something like a drunken call on an ex, an action that seems so truly impulsive can be broken-down and the reasoning behind it can be explained. I also found it interesting how activity in brain regions that control distress in combination with releasing of stress hormones could affect the heart, digestive and possibly immune system. As well as how in certain extreme cases can eventually lead to death due to “broken heart syndrome.” “Broken heart syndrome” is the result of a system that stimulates a cascade effect as mentioned in the article, which is referring to the hormone system, and the hormone system is very important. For example, the hormone system regulates many things within the body from the growth of the body to the body’s metabolism. It’s also the only method of long distance communication in the body, allowing it to carry out complex reactions such as “broken heart syndrome.” In addition, in the article they touch on science not knowing what’s going on in the brain of a dump-er but is able to look at the activity in dump-ees. I find it interesting how we’re able to observe the activity of the brain and see what chemicals are being produced as well as what regions of the brain are being active and then correspond certain chemicals and regions as certain emotions. The human mind is such a complex and fascinating part of the body and the fact that something as straightforward and seemingly simple as a break-up can be observed and broken down is truly amazing.
The article that first caught my attention was the one on the discovery that black Panthers actually have spots. Before the discovery, many people viewed blank Panthers and leopards as physically different. However, with a simple change in the field cameras used to capture pictures of them showed that this is actually not true. The black Panther has enough melanin to keep their spots hidden and therefore never allowing us to see their spots either. With just a small change in the cameras by blocking the light sensors, the discovery was made. With this discovery, who knows how much other knowledge we can gain concerning the appearances of many other species.
The other article I read was on the discovery of the Zhenyuanlong. The Zhenyuanlong was discovered in northeastern China and the fossil and facts show that it closely resembled a bird. Unlike what many people think, this dinosaur actually also resembles a Velociraptor. Many people have portrayed velociraptors as big, scaley dinosaurs, as they were portrayed just like that in many movies such as Jurassic World. However, velociraptors have a row of bumps on their arm bones identical to the size and shape of those on a modern day bird. This and many other new discoveries have proven them to actually be small and feathered dinosaurs.
The article that really amazed me was the one about black panthers’ spots. With a small tweak on field cameras, scientists were able to discover that black panthers have hidden spots that are masked by the black pigment, melanin in their skin. The field cameras are modeled to have light sensors that go into infrared mode when it gets dark. When the light sensors were blocked, the scientists were able to identify the animal and notice the spots. I find it intriguing that their spots aren’t visible to the human eye. This brings me to ask the question – can other animals see the spots on the panther? The camera filter can also help with identifying other animals and maybe even discovering something else. I was also interested in the article on the new dinosaur. The Zhenyuanlong helped to prove that Velociraptors have feathers due to the “Simple hairy filaments coat much of the body, larger veined feathers stick out from the tail, and big quill-pen-feathers line the arms, layered over each other to form a wing.” This is something that I did not know and find fascinating. Whenever I picture any dinosaur in my head, I always imagine the creature having hard, rough, scaly skin. I would have never imagined that it would have feathers. This discovery is important because it gives scientists more information about the evolutionary connection and transition between the birds we have now and dinosaurs. However the new Zhenyuanlong has wings but cannot use them to fly. This brings up new questions such as why did wings evolve and what else would they be used for? There are many different birds now that have wings but cannot fly.
After reading all of the articles, I found it astonishing that a simple camera trick could reveal unknown spots on a black panther. I wonder what else will be discovered using the infrared camera. The other article that was fascinating is the What Breaking Up Does To Your Brain. Being interested in the brain and how certain emotions and actions effect it I found that this was very informative. To know that certain items could be attached to memories of you ex boyfriend or girlfriend. To know that one could die from takotsubo cardiomyopathy or “broken heart syndrome,” which can occasionally lead to death. However, the pain usually fades from 6 months to 2 years, which means a person could be heartbroken up to two years. It truly is amazing to learn how your brain works when it comes to romantic relationships.
Every day, humans make new discoveries that show us things are not always as they seem. The black panther may appear to be a single shade of black, but that is not the case. Scientists learned, after finding a new angle of research, that the big cat has spots just like its relative, the spotted leopard. With the "simple camera hack" they used, scientists can now learn more about the black panther and about leopards in general—and they can even apply this knowledge to researching other animals of a similar ilk. This small hack enhances research methods and can help save countless animals from poaching. Another new discovery, that of the Zhenyuanlong dinosaur in China, has given scientists a better understanding of how velociraptors looked. The fact that both of these dinosaurs had feathers and wing-like structures seems hard to believe; most imagine dinosaurs as large, scaly monsters with sharp claws and teeth. As scientists make more discoveries like these, our perceptions of dinosaurs continue to evolve. This discovery further reinforces the evolutionary connection between dinosaurs and modern day birds. It is interesting that the Zhenyuanlong has short arms, because this makes us wonder why the dinosaur had wings and what they were used for. This also causes scientists to question why wings developed in the first place. By continuing to make advancements in paleontology and other scientific fields, scientists can put together the pieces left behind by time and solve the mysteries of the past. The article about the Wilhelm scream, which explained how quicker oscillation of volume induces a "rougher" sound, was incredibly intriguing. To think that there is such complexity behind a simple noise made out of fear is astounding. The brain links roughness of sound to fear; the amygdala processes a scream and determines, based on its roughness, how alarmed it should be. Fear comes so naturally to humans. When even the slightest thing seems out of place, a person's instinct is to let out a sound indicating their fright, whether that sound be a gasp, a squeak, or more commonly a scream. The intricacies of human emotions and their effects on the brain go even deeper, as explained in the article, "Here's What Breaking Up Does to Your Brain." The brain reacts to feelings of love the same way it does to drugs such as cocaine. When a person is deprived of this love, the brain responds by craving more of it, much like the withdrawal symptoms of drugs. The response to the deprivation of love is much more severe because romance is linked to the more fundamental portions of the brain. A heartbroken person often physically feels pain because the systems in the brain that control the body's reaction to physical pain are very active following a breakup. The body is then put under stress, which can lead to weakening of the cardiac system and even death. This "broken heart syndrome" is not only limited to humans. Swans, which have only one partner for their entire lives, often die soon after their mates because their bodies cannot handle the physical pains that come with the deprivation of love. It is terrifying to think that love not only destroys a being emotionally, but it is also a physical detriment because of the brain's control over the entire body.
What interested me the most was the article about the new-found "fluffy, feathered poodle from hell". As we know, dinosaurs are an amazing field of discovery which has expanded so much over hundreds and thousands of years. People have discovered so many different dinosaur species and other forms of them, which is where the Zhenyuanlong comes in. When I opened the article and saw the picture of this new feathered velociraptor I was immediately intrigued. I recently watched Jurassic World and the velociraptors that were in the movie were very different than its new relative. The discovery of this new dinosaur helped paleontologists make more accurate connections to the real velociraptor. It is interesting that the Zhenyuanlong was said to look just like a bird but it was still considered a dinosaur. It could just be an evolving ancestor of modern day birds, but considering why the creature even had wings is a mystery which again changes all view of evolution. It is hard to believe that these small, feathery creatures could be the closest relatives to both dinosaurs and modern day birds. The article about the camera hack which revealed “black” leopards’ spots was also very interesting. It is amazing how just some change of the way we look through the lens of a camera could show you so much more that you never knew about. All that the scientists had to do was just let the camera switch to the infrared mode when it got dark and block the light sensors and soon enough they got a clear picture of spots on a black panther that nobody would be able to clearly see with the naked eye. This simple hack could help scientists research more unknown and hidden facts about other animals and maybe even make it easier to expand on already present research. The article about the universally identifiable scream got me thinking quite a bit. I never actually thought about this universal scream until I read this article and it really is an odd topic. The more a sound has that rough acoustic feeling to it the scarier it sounds which is why screams of panic or terror can be somewhat ear-splitting at times. It makes sense why the scream activates the amygdala, which is because this part of the brain plays a role in fear conditioning. The Wilhelm Scream was used in various scenes in every Star Wars and Indiana Jones movie, causing fans and filmmakers to take notice, hence why now it has become bigger than just a sound effect, and the name “Wilhelm Scream” has been used for everything from a band name, to a beer, to a song title, and more. Last but not least, breakups. It’s funny how relationships can make someone feel like the happiest person ever or end up hurting them the most, which is one of the mysterious of our brain. The brain has a weird way of dealing with emotions and other feelings and in this case, desire. Two studies that looked at brain activity inside people who were deep in the throes of a breakup found multiple things going on in the brain. It showed activity in brain regions that control distress, response to physical pain, and systems telling the body that something awful was happening. Turning on these systems can release stress hormones, affecting the heart, the digestive system, and even the immune system. As said, in some extreme cases, the stress can cause “broken heart syndrome,” which can sometimes lead to death, but thankfully that is very rare. One good thing is that immediately after a breakup your brain is working hard to get you to move on and not let your body compel you to do something bad. Over the time the brain well help one heal and control the emotions but unfortunately that can take a while.
To start, I found the article about how the brain reacts after a breakup the most intriguing of the four articles. Being in a relationship myself, I felt I was able to relate to the article and found it fascinating to know that there was a reason to why a person feels so heartbroken after an event such as this. As it turns out, when a person is "dumped", the brain activates reward neurons as well as the ventral tegmental area of the brain, which are the same parts that are activated when actually in the early stages of love. Much to my surprise, it is also the area of the brain that is activated when it comes to nicotine and cocaine. It is clear to me now why so many girls are so eager for love, they are actually addicted. When this area is activated, dopamine is released in the brain, causing a person to have the motivation to acquire whatever it is that person needs or in this case, their beloved. In the beginning of a relationship a person's need for their partner is extremely strong, but as the relationship progresses, this feeling slowly decreases. When broken up with, the brain's reward system reacts negatively, leaving that person in sadness and desperation for their loved one. Not only does a person change mentally from a breakup, but physically as well. In fact, the brain activates the brain regions that control distress and the response to physical pain. This shows that the brain is aware that something terrible is happening and responds with physical pain. Although heartbreak does cause some physical changes, I never would have guessed these changes to be deadly. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or "broken heart syndrome", can occur in serious cases causing the heart to enlarge and become very weak leading to death. Although being "dumped" can lead to pain and motivation to win back your beloved, there is evidence that the brain also tries to move on at the same time. Luckily the pain will only last a couple of months to a couple of years, letting the heartbroken eventually move on to the next person.
The next article about the black panthers was very fascinating as well. In my opinion, I have always found black panthers extremely pretty and unique cats. After reading the article I have found that black panthers are not as unique as I had once thought. They actually were found to have spots just like leopards. Much like common house cats that have different breeds such as a calico or tabby, the black panther is just is a different breed of leopard and not its own species. A human is not able to see the spots because the black panther has enough melanin to hide them. But by using an infrared light which takes pictures of these wild creatures, scientist were able to see their hidden spots. It amazes me how a simple change in the frequency of lighting can uncover secrets science has yes to discover. This really shows how much we still do not know about this world and its miraculous wildlife.
The brain is one topic that I have always be interested in, so once I saw the article “Here’s What Breaking Up Does to Your Brain”, I immediately clicked on it. It has never occurred to me how much work and changing the brain has to do after a devastating break up. I found it extremely interesting that a breakup can send your brain back to the time when you were obsessed with the person early on in the relationship. Everything that makes you think of you ex-love gets activity going in the “reward” neurons which releases neurotransmitter dopamine which makes you want more of what you can no longer have. Now it makes sense why people sometimes do crazy things after a breakup, because they are trying to fulfill this strong desire. I also find it very interesting that a person actual feels physical pain after a breakup, and how the parts of the brain that react to distress and physical pain react to it. Breakups really are something serious and the way the brain reacts to them proves it.
The next article I read was of course the one about the discovery of spots on black panthers. I was very surprised to learn that black panthers do in fact have spots that blend in with the rest of their coat. They contain enough melanin, which makes the human eye unable to see their spots. While our eyes may be unable to see these spots, field cameras that give off ultraviolet light are able to capture the spots. This technological advancement and discovery alone shows how fast technology is growing and gives us a glimpse of what amazing things we may be able to do and discover someday.
After reading all four articles, I was most intrigued by the articles about what breaking up does to your brain and the new dinosaur. After reading the article about what breaking up does to your brain, I learned that a break-up makes you a specific type of crazy. Every time you see a reminder of that person, you're actually falling in love in a reverse way. This is interesting because it shows the worst part of a break-up is very close to when it happens. This amazed me because I thought that break-ups get worse as time moves on until you move on. I was also amazed at the fact that you can actually feel the pain of a break-up. In some cases, break-ups can even lead to death due to broken heart syndrome. One of the most interesting things I learned is that your brain is trying to help you to move on right after a break-up. This helps illustrate why some people can get over an ex quicker than others. If you want to get over a break-up quicker, Lucy Brown explains that you should think about how bad your ex was when she comes to your mind. Moving on to the next article, there was a another new dinosaur that was discovered. The new dinosaur that was found was one of the closest cousins to the Velociraptor. It is called the Zhenyuanlong. This dinosaur was covered in feathers when it existed, and this helped us prove that Velociraptors had feathers. These two dinosaurs help show evolution occurring as they are very close relatives to birds. This new dinosaur had feathers but most likely did not fly, so scientist are beginning to ask question about the evolution of feathers. In conclusion, this new dinosaur helps us answer questions about the Velociraptor, but it also brings new questions to light.
Love is a weird thing, many parts of the body feel different things at different times and most of the time the things we feel are uncontrollable and I knew most of that but after reading the first article I learned so much more. I really did not know that the brain was so involved with all this information dealing with love. It’s interesting to learn that there are so many pain receptors in the brain and how they react after a breakup. Also what I found interesting was that there are certain things that can change after a break up that don’t even have to do with the feeling of love. For example, many things are going on throughout the body and brain after the breakup and your digestive system or immune system can be affected by this absence of love. I find the human body and brain so interesting so seeing that one thing changes so many other things interests me.
The second article I read was the one discovering a new dinosaur. This article interested me but also got me to think a little bit. I enjoy hearing about new dinosaurs, learning about them and of course love watching all the Jurassic park movies. After finishing the article I was really thinking if it was possible for there to be a dinosaur with feathers. It didn’t really make much sense to me because there was never a dinosaur I hear of that ever had feathers. So it got me wondering what took them so long to realize that the velociraptors really had feathers? Its really an interesting thing to think about and after seeing all the Jurassic park movies and seeing the velociraptors with out feathers it just seems odd if they were to have them. The picture at the top of the article really caught my eye and made me want to read the article and figure out what the ne dinosaur was.
The brain is one of the most incredible parts of the human body. In the article, "Here's What Breaking up Does to Your Brain," it is explained that after a break up the feelings that you had originally had for the person come flooding back to you. You may have not been obsessed with your lover at the end of your relationship, but now that you have been dumped those feelings come flooding back. This is caused by dopamine, which causes a craving in the brain, leaving you wanting more after the break up. After reading I was also amazed that a break up can be compared to the pain of cut. I never believed that it was actual pain. It is really incredible that a so called "broken heart" can lead to death like any other disease or medical issue. The brain is incredible to learn about and I am very interested to learn about how the brain of the dump-er functions after the break up as well.
I also took a great interest in the article about the new dinosaur. I was very intrigued by the scientists opinion of the depiction of The Velociraptors in the new Jurassic Park film. After watching the movie I had viewed Velociraptors as these large scaly creatures, but scientists say that Velociraptors were not that. After discovering the newest dinosaur the Zhenyuanlong,the closest cousin of the Velociraptor, they could see what the real Velociraptor looked like. They say it would have been fluffy and feathered. Not only does the discovery of the new dinosaur allow scientists to figure out what the real Velociraptor would have looked like, but it also gives scientists insight on the evolution of birds. It is simply amazing to see how new discoveries lead to so many different things.
I especially liked the "Black" Leopard spots article because I found it very interesting that just a modification of a camera could make such a huge discovery. Black panthers produce enough melanin to hide their spots therefore humans cannot see it. However, researchers put the cameras into infrared mode which revealed the spots. Blocking the light sensors was a great idea. The fact that these researchers discovered these spots that couldn't be seen before shows that we are growing in technology.
The brain is such a different and unusual part of us, and in reality we only use a very small fraction of our brain. If any at all ;) whoever said love is a drug is right. To think that love could have the same effect as cocaine is ridiculous. When we are in love the brain gives of the endorphin dopamine which is a feel good response. In simpler or actually difficult words a breakup is a lot like stopping a drug addiction. We begin to feel nostalgic about our partners and older memories start flooding back instead of the recent ones. That’s why people love the beginning of a relationship and feel different about it versus later in a relationship. So next time we drunk call or text an ex-partner, drunk on life and fruit punch of course, you have your brain to thank. What I find fascinating is that we actually feel the pain that our brain tricks us into thinking. Because our brain is so too busy to tell our body to calm down is reacts in pain telling us something awful is happening. Broken heart syndrome is actually a real thing?!?! Sometimes sucking it up can be hard. But all of this emotion and feelings depend on the person. Time really is the medicine for anything. As time goes by our brain recollects and realizes how foolish we were to react that way in the first place.
The unveiling of the Zhenyuanlong in Northeastern China helped scientists verify the fact that the Velociraptor had feathers. The skeletons portray evolution because it shows the transition from dinosaurs to the many feathered animals that live among us all over the world.
It is amazing how the black panther has tricked the human eye for so long. These powerful big cats have enough melanin to conceal their spots. Black panthers' spots are visible with the help of a field camera that gives off a flash of infrared light. The discovery of these spots just shows how much technology has advanced over the years and with new technology developing, scientists can uncover more that has yet to be explored.
When taking a glance at the titles of the articles, "Here's What Breaking Up Does to Your Brain" had easily caught my attention. Since i have been in a few relationships myself, i can relate to this article very well. Having a connection with someone, both physically and mentally can put someone in a state to be in love. However, when one gets dumped the brain has a very strong affect on how someone would function. Everything that would remind them of their love would begin to trigger activity in the "reward" nervous inside the caudate neclous and the ventral tegmental part of the brain. This happens to be the same part of the brain which responds to drug addictions, such as cocaine and nicotine. When the reward neurons releases floods of neurotransmitter dopamine, the brain gets motivated to crave your ex love. This leads you to want to get their attention in ways such as calling them and trying to find a way to see them. Lucy Brown, a neuroscientist explains that the romantic rejection is something that changes ones life because they brain feels it as the same level as feeling hungry or thirsty.
The brains activity does not only lit up the rewards region of the brain but also the same region related to to the responds to physical pain. It begins to tell the body that something awful is happening. This is why you feel something in your stomach or your chest. In some extreme measures, it could lead to takotsubo caridiomyopathy, which is deadly. Thankful, research has shown that this awful heartbroken feeling begins to fade in the matter of six months to two years.
A breakup can be a terrible thing, and what's interesting is how your body reacts when your lover leaves you. When you are in a relationship, you tend to want more and more of that person, and you need more "feelings". When you have been in a relationship for a long time, that goes away for the most part. But when you lose your loved one, it goes in reverse. You start craving more and more of your loved one and he/she will be all that you think about...similar to cocaine. What's interesting is that a breakup triggers the same parts of your brain as drugs. It's also intriguing that a breakup can cause you real pain. I know how painful a breakup can be, but it's strange to think that the pain can be real. It alerts your body that something bad is happening and can make you feel awful.
It was amazing to find out that black panthers are actually black leopards! They just have enough melanin in their fur to mask their spots, making them appear completely black. The photos in the article were fascinating, and if I didn't know any better, I would think that they are actually leopards! I wonder if this is also possible with other black animals.
Jurassic World was one of the many, many movies I've seen over the summer. One dinosaur in particular was depicted in the movie, attacking fellow citizens, was the Velociraptors. The flying dinosaur was shown as being this huge, feathery monstrosity. The feathers were shown as being big and colorful. However the real Velociraptors are uniquely different. Keeping this in mind, we have never been able to know what the feathers actually looked like. With the help of the recently discovered Zhenyuanlong fossil, we are now able to have a mental picture of what the Velociraptor would look like. They would have looked like a big hairy poodle from hell. New dinosaur discoveries make it easier to mentally picture other dinosaurs.
-Mehak Kapoor
(my email uses my middle name Simone, as it says Simone Kapoor for this post and my earlier post)
To be very honest, the moment I saw the article 'What breaking up does to the brain", I clicked on it. For some reason, after reading it, I came to the realization I was not very interested. I then searched for another article given, and came across an article with a keyword being 'leopard.' Cats are my favorite animal, and leopards are one of the four bigger cats; so I was immediately hooked on! The main idea discussed in this article was that black panthers do indeed have spots. These animals can be found from Asia to Africa. In these continents, leopards and black panthers are known to be the same animal. The common misconception however has remained that their fur coat is solid black, but a simple camera hack performed by scientists proved this idea wrong. They have so much melanin in their skin, that to the naked human eye, the spots seemed to be all one color. This was because the spots barely varied in color thus blending in to the rest of the coat. This 'magical' camera hack spoken of before was actually quite simple. Field cameras were placed all around to work in the day and the night. To avoid scaring off the animals, the cameras would instead give an infrared light flash. The results in the pictures showed evidence of spots!
-Akanksha Kale
The science of the brain is an evolving one. There is so little we know about the brain when we come to terms with how many complex and moving parts there are in it. Harmonizing a topic like the common break up and the brain would seem ridiculous to some, but it actually serves an incredibly intriguing purpose. Romance is a drug; it is not often thought of as one but it operates the same way. Dopamine, as it's so called the "happy" neurotransmitter, is released in response to the presence of your romantic partner during the honeymoon phase. It's a time when relationships are still blooming and your significant other's very being is all you need to feel good. Addiction doesn'tjust occur around drugs. It occurs around anything that gives you a feeling of pleasure that you find yourself needing often. Most often it is a substance like nicotine or cocaine that people would label as addicting, but behaviors such as video games and romanticizing can display similar aspects. Reading this article must've been a huge sigh of relief to anyone who found themselves going mad after a breakup. It's a normal reaction and it doesn't mean that there's something wrong with you. I thought it was kind of cool too because it gave me insight into how people must feel about long distance relationships. Although contact is important, that same feeling of romantic obsession can be felt with somebody you might've never met in person; and when that person leaves, it can cause you so much pain. Discoveries in the fields of emotional science leave us feeling a little better about ourselves once we understand what we feel and how we feel it; eventually, we'll also be able to deal with those feelings based on what we know.
The article that immediately caught my attention was the one about the black panthers. I could not believe that just simple enhancement of a picture revealed the spots masks by their fur. Due to this discovery, it is clear that the black panther is not so different from leopards as previously thought, and because of this new found information poaching will be reduced. The article about break ups was really interesting; the human brain is such a complex organ but despite knowing this, I was still surprised to find out that the feelings you have from a relationship with another person triggers activity in the reward center of the brain. In a way it is like an addiction, and when a break up occurs, your brain needs the romance that is had gotten used to. It does not matter if it was a long-term relationship or short term, your brain expected to receive romance and when it did, the brain released dopamine which sends pleasure signals to your body, telling you that you need more time with your love. When this beloved has left, your brain craves the romance it is being deprived of and therefore that person is now in physical pain. Everyone has heard of the expression of dying from a broken heart but who know it could actually happen! This disease is known as broken heart syndrome and it can potentially kill you. Of course all of this is going on in the brain of the person who was dumped, but scientists are not sure about what is happening to the one who initiated the break up; do they feel the effects as strongly or do they move on relatively quickly? Fortunately the pain eventually goes away, but only with time.
I found the article on black panthers to be especially captivating, because it is interesting how an animal thought to be different from the spotted leopard was actually the same creature, just with enough melanin to mask the spots. The discovery of using infrared cameras and blocking the light sensor just goes to show how creative and ingenious scientists are, and what other discoveries scientists can make about seemingly unrelated species.
Being a prospective neurologist, one can see how an article on the neural activity regarding break-ups can catch my eye. When you break up with someone, do you get the feeling that everything you see, touch, smell, or any interaction you have reminds you of that person? That is your reward neurons firing, increasing the feeling that you need this person back in your life. It is interesting how reward neurons activate, the same neurons that respond to cocaine and nicotine, to increase the flow of dopamine and create that "I want more" feeling. Not only does the craving feeling come, though, but the area of the brain responsible for feeling physical pain or distress activates, affecting the immune system or heart. This could lead to takotsubo cardiomyapathy, or broken heart syndrome. In some cases, this could lead to death, so a break-up could literally kill you. Although you feel these emotions rushing in you, eventually that craving and distressed feelings will go away as your brain tries to fix itself. Reading this article, it intrigued me that break-ups can be almost as bad as some physical pain, and in come cases much worse. I intend to read more on this, and find out more about the processes in the brain as a break-up is occurring.
The two articles that I read was "What breaking up does to your brain" and "black panthers actually have spots". Of the two, I found "what breaking up does to your brain" more interesting. As a high school student, I've had friends who came crying to me about their breakups, not exactly sure what to say or how to comfort them because I have absolutely no idea what if feels like or what they are going through. It really surprised me that the part of the brain that lights up when in love is the same part that lights up in response to cocaine and nicotine. This leads to the question, if the same part of the brain responds to falling in love and cocaine/nicotine, is it possible that falling in love can treat a cocaine/nicotine addict? I also found it very surprising that people could actually die from "broken heart syndrome". I think in the future, science and technology will be so advanced that humans will be able to alter or block the neurons that feel the pain from breakups.
I never knew that black panthers actually have spots, but that I think about it, it makes sense. For example, a person with very dark eyes looks like they don't have a pupil because the pigment in their eyes is relatively the same color. However, when you see a person with very light eyes, light blue for example, it is evident that they have a pupil. I think it would be very cool if we try looking at animals under different lighting, because as stated in the article, what we see under visible light may be completely different from what we see under infrared light.
It is very intersting that there are dinosaurs with feathers. The new dinosaur with feathers shows that evolution occurs. That a velociraptor had feathers and weren't that huge. They are very intersting and we should find more info on these animals.
Blank panthers have spots which is very intersting. They have melanin that hide the spots and make them look like they don't have any.
Of the articles presented, the article entitled " What Breaking up Does to Your Brain" particularly caught my interest. The main point that this article was trying to get across was how the physiological effects that occur in the brain during a break-up are similar to the ones that occur during the obsessive early stages of love. Regardless of the length of a relationship, any sentimental factors that remind the person of their significant other provokes activity to ignite in the "reward" neurons located in the brain. Due to the triggering of these "reward" neurons, it cause mass amounts of the neurotransmitter dopamine to repeatedly be released in the brain. This results in an intense craving to once again be in love. When the award system is unable to acquire the romantic flux it is desiring, it attempts to get a response by motivation the person to do something unintelligent. A breakup can also trigger systemic effects throughout the body. For example, the releasing of stress hormones can indirectly affect the cardiovascular, immune, and digestive system. I found it interesting that there was an actual physiologic affects that occurs in the brain that explains why people feel specific emotions and react the way they do.
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