Power Hour Reading

3/31/16

Power Hour Reading

1. Title of book: Hardwired Behavior: What Neuroscience Reveals about Morality
2. Chapter titles: Neuroscience and Morality, Morality and the Mind, Beyond the Mind Zone
3. Summary: Our brains function in miraculous ways that cause us to act unseen ways, which the author Laurence Tancredi explores in the terms of morality. He first starts off by trying to define morality as it is present in our culture; his viewpoint is that the easiest example to see is religion. He discusses how each religion produce a set of rule which people should live by, an example would be the Seven Deadly Sin in Christianity, which is still present in our society today. Tancredi, however, argues that three of these sins, gluttony, sloth, and lust, can actually be accredited to the function (or dysfunction) of the brain as certain chemicals are released that can classify these sins as addictions rather than simple wrongdoings.
   Tancredi later goes to talk about the mind (which is not the same as the brain-- the brain is the actual, physical organ) and morality. Those who have taken AP Lang will recognize some of the philosophers mentioned in this section of the book. Tancredi pulls ideas from Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, Jean-Paul Satre, B.F. Skinner, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Adam Smith, Socrates, and Aristotle. He also recalls an episode he had with a patient of his (he was also a psychiatrist) who held no qualms about cheating on his wife and abusing drugs. Instead the man only wanted Tancredi to keep his secret, but the scariest part was that the patient felt no remorse for the pain he was causing to those around him. To this, Tancredi questions whether this was an example of too much "free will". Moving away from this idea, Tancredi starts to mention how we develop our morality from childhood to adulthood. Referencing Freud, Tancredi pulls the idea of the ID, Ego, and Superego and the fact that the ID  is innate while our morality is not, as it is part of the Superego and developed by the environment around us. He also looks at another study of research that believed morality was gained in steps and that each step built off the last from childhood all the way to a functioning adult.
   In the third chapter, Tancredi moves more into the actual function of the brain by exploring how we act and how our brain responds to these actions. He mentions current sensory data and stored representation and how these are key motivators of action according to Libet, Platt, and Glimcher. Following this he looks into how damage to certain parts of the brain bring about different character traits such as those with Williams disease.
   Thesis: Our brain is not only a physical unit that causes responses in the body but in fact makes up our entire morality from our emotions and actions to our mind and being.
4. Tancredi's novel is more theoretical than practical since he argues his view on philosophy and uses facts about the brain to support them. Although this book is not research, it can still impact those who read it by giving them a different perspective how they themselves act and alter their views on morality based on Tancredi's own philosophy. The novel itself is credible as the research is thorough and the idea of the philosophers are correctly conveyed. The only downside is that he failed to give his opinion on the ideas of the philosophers, which is a shame since they all have very profound, intriguing theories. I do agree with the philosophers he did choose to incorporate as they are essential to this topic; however, I dislike some of the theories (such as Satre's existentialism and Saint Thomas Aquinas) they presented, which detracted from Tancredi's research for me personally. However, I did enjoy the excerpt that I read and would love to ask why Tancredi chose the philosophers that he did and what he himself thinks of their theories. 

Third Position, Third Update

3/28/16

20 Time Update

   This week I started off by reading some articles about the benefits of art in school (here's one of the article: How California Schools Are Using Art to Boost Achievement). They mention some great benefits such as cognitive function and motor skills in another article. But the question that still stuck with me was these articles seem to focus on the younger generation, what about benefits of the arts in teenagers and adults? I hope to further uncover this answer as my project continues. I will also post the links to these articles on my Facebook page as I find answers to my own questions.

   There haven't really been any setbacks besides filming, but it turned out to be okay since I also got to come up with some more choreography for the piece I hoped to film before I leave on spring break. The piece right now is about 45 seconds long and I'm wondering whether if I should extend it to a minute as it will take a while to come up with those last 15 seconds. My next step right now is to either film what I have or to finish out the phrase and go to a minute, which might not be ideal. I guess we'll see...

Unit 7 Reflection

3/24/16

Unit 7 Reflection

    As we get closer to the end of the year, we've started covering our last few topics. This unit was all about the muscles: how they work, their structure, the different types of movement, injuries, etc. We first started out with the different types of movements, which include motions like flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, rotation, circumduction, etc. However, movement is only one of the muscles various characteristics; they are also contractible, extensible, elastic, and excitable. These characteristics allow muscles to move and work in the way that they do. In fact, we learned just how muscles contract. It's the individual sarcomeres that do the work as actin and myosin filaments slide past each other to shorten the length of our muscle tissue. We then got a little more specific with certain muscles and what actions they perform. Our last lecture was on performance enhancements, which is a very broad category, and surprisingly, not all of the methods mentions were harmful. All in all, it was a very informative unit that definitely got me thinking about how I move. Even though we covered the basics, I would still love to learn about the muscle system in more detail and perhaps look at more of the muscles present in the human body or even animals.
   In order to solidify these new ideas, labs and short projects were utilized in this unit. We did a chicken dissection that helped us identify all the different muscles in our body without having to harm other human beings (always a positive). One of my favorite discoveries of that lab was the pectoralis minor (pictured below) because it was a muscle under a muscle.

Picture taken by Jennifer Poo

On top of the chicken dissection we also did things like making up dances to demonstrate all the different types of muscle movements. For how muscles function we had to create a short video that described the entire process (check out the video here). And, lastly, yesterday we made an advertisement for performance enhancing substances. Well, ours wasn't really a substance as much as it was an action. Either way, the picture below is what we came up with, and I'll say I find it pretty funny.

Ad for massages and myofascial release
Made by Jennifer Poo, Alexandria Tsao, and me

All of these were great ways which helped me solidify all the information I had been learning these past few weeks.
    In addition to doing this unit, our class has also been working on our 20 Time projects, which has been a load of fun. I find myself trying to think of new ideas for my page, but I've been in a bit of a tough spot with time and other schoolwork, which I am trying to change so I can focus on this project. Please feel free to contribute any ideas/ work to my 20 Time page on Facebook-- I would greatly appreciate it.
    Checking in with my New Year's goals, I feel that I have been doing a fairly okay job at maintaining them. However, with so many events during this time of the year I have had a harder time getting to work ever weekend, but I do work out extra days with  my manager, so I guess that's a plus. 

Performance Enhancement Advertisement- Massages

3/23/16

Performance Enhancing Advertisement- Massage

Performance enhancing drugs is a broad term that basically refers to any substance that includes an essential vitamin or mineral. Most are used to help boost muscle, endurance, recovery, and weight loss. They are dangerous, so much so that their cons tend to outweigh the pros. For example, supplements are not regulated, which some performance enhancing drugs are classified as. Without regulation, it is unclear what is added to the supplements; they can even be unbeneficial to the consumer. On top of that, performance enhancing drugs, in general, can lead to acne, high BP, heart attacks, strokes, AIDS, ruined reputation/ career, liver damage, and headaches. Mentally, they can cause "roid rage", mood swings, paranoia, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. However, there are some methods that can be potentially beneficial such as a massage, which relaxes the muscles and speeds up recovery. Yet, this is one of the few methods that work as even strategies such as carb loading or a high protein diet can often go wrong. In the long run, it seems safer to avoid any performance enhancing substances.

Update on 20 Time Progress

3/16/16

2nd Blog Post: 20 Time

    This past few weeks I haven't learned as many facts as I have grown to see different perspectives. What I realized is how many different art forms there are, and how everyone sees "art" in a different light. Hopefully as more people start to participate on the Facebook page I can start to please a larger range of people by having various art forms that suits everyone's tastes.

    Not so much on the topic of my project, but I found that I appreciate art in many of its forms from pictures to music to dancing. I continue to try to find inspiration in other's works, as it pushes me to try and better my "art". The things that I learned about myself I can apply to my project and my audience. Knowing what I know now about the existence of so many different art forms and people's preferences, I can then cater the page to try and please all the viewers.
    One setback I hit was my crazy scheduling this month. I've had a bunch of tests and quizzes, at least 2 or 3 every week since I started, and spring sports also just started up. I'm trying to get my schedule settled again, and everything is starting to calm down, which will hopefully allow me more time to work on my page and videos. Also, I hope to start planning dates to film videos on so that way I cannot fall behind if I give myself a due date. Looking forward, I plan to put out at least 2 videos as well as get a few more people to share their elements on the page. I will also be contacting more people about posting to the Facebook page.
 
PLEASE CHECK OUT THE FB PAGE: An Original Movement

Chicken Dissection Analysis

3/17/16 (Saint Patrick's Day!)

Chicken Dissection Analysis

1. What we did: We started with the breast of the chicken. First we removed the skin, then we made two cuts around the stemum and through the pectoralis major to expose the pectoralis minor. Then we moved to the back of the chicken where we exposed the trapezius and latissimus dorsi. We detached the wing and examined the deltoid, biceps brachii, and tricpes humeralis; here, we also found a clear view of some tendons. We then moved to the forearm of the wing and identified the flexor carpi ulnaris and the brachioradialis. Moving to the inferior part of the bird, we looked at the thigh and found the sartorius, iliotibaialis/ glueus maximum, biceps femoris, semimembranosus, semitendinosus, and quadriceps femoris. After that we moved to the calf and found the gastrocnemius, peroneus longus, and the tibialis anterior. Having completed the dissection, we cleaned up.
   What I learned: This lab helped give me a visual of what we learned in class and in the lectures. It was cool to see the tendons and their insertions and origins. Pulling on the chicken wing show me the functional and physical difference between the two points. The insertion flexes when the muscles moves while the origin remains immovable. Also looking at the chicken wing I also got a broader sense of how the muscles, bones, and tendons play a role in movement. An example would be when we were extending the wing of the chicken, we were moving the forearm and the upperarm, which consisted of the ulna, radius, and humerus. The bones worked together to form the joint with the tendons connected the muscle tissue to the bone and allowed the wing to flex and extend. The muscle tissue itself was the thing that was actually expanding and contracting due to the sarcomeres. Through the lab I also recognized some differences between the chicken's anatomy and our own. For example, the pectoralis muscle group is a lot larger than our own. Another difference is that the calf is marginally larger. Both of these reason are due to the fact that these chickens are specifically and genetically engineered to produce the maximum amount of meat. However, chickens and humans are similar in that we contain the same muscle type of muscles tissue and cartilage, and in addition, we also have basically the same muscle structure as many of the muscles found in chickens are the same in humans. 
2. 



In humans, used for reverse curls;
Extends the wing/ arm



Flexes the leg;
aids in leg curls and power running



Helps flex arms and adduct arms;
aids in pushing movements;
pull wings ventrally








Helps with pulling motion;
adduction of arms






Extends the thigh 



Extends the thigh






Flexes the foot



Abducts arm







Pulls the shoulders down and forward;
Help do recovery stroke in birds



Flexes the hand;
 wrist curls in humans







Pulls hand back;
reverse wrist curls in humans






Extends the thigh and flexes leg






Extends foot;
Flexes lower leg;
Helps stand on toes






Connects muscle to bone






Flexes the wing/ arm



Flexes thigh;
Allows crossing of legs







Extends the foot



Shrugging shoulders;
Pulls shoulders back







Flexes thigh and extends lower leg;
Used in leg extensions in humans

What Happens When You Stretch?

3/14/16

What Happens When You Stretch

(when you don't see the hw correctly because there's a glare on the board so your submission is a day late :( )

• "When you stretch, the muscle fiber is pulled out to its full length sarcomere by sarcomere, and then the connective tissue takes up the remaining slack"

When I stretch I never though about how the muscle lengthens, I always assumed stretching happened as an entire aunt rather than on a microscopic level. I also never knew that connective tissues worked as part of stretching, but now that I think of it I remember some times where that could of happened.

• "the golgi tendon organ records the change in tension...when this tension exceeds a certain threshold, it triggers the lengthening reaction which inhibits the muscles from contracting and causes them to relax"

I never knew about the golgi tendon of the proprioceptors that send signals of our movements, but its interesting how our muscles are triggered to relax into a stretch, I've always wondered how the muscles knew not to recontract.

• "Proprioceptors are the source of all proprioception: the perception of one's own body position and movement"

I can't believe that our bodies are so complex but I guess it makes us the functioning people we are now. I wonder how the proprioceptors know all this info through just the nervous system.

Relate and Review:

     Stretching is the lengthening of all the individual sarcomeres. It starts with a signal from the proprioceptor that tracks basically all our movement. Intrafusal muscle fibers and extrafusal muscle fibers are 2 types of muscle fibers and golgi tendon organs are near the end of the muscle fiber are responsible for determining which part of the muscle stretches first (middle then outer). Golgi tendon transfers other info like tension to trigger the lengthening reaction which stops muscles from contracting and causes them to relax. Golgi's main function is to protect the muscles, tendons, and ligaments from injury. The opposing motion of the agonist vs. antagonist is called reciprocal inhibition as antagonists are inhibited from contracting. The proprioceptors record the change of length which triggers the stretch reflex which attempts to resist change in muscle length by causing muscles to contract. This is why holding a stretch is very important.