Elena's Legacy. Texts written by Elena, excerpts from texts she liked, her artworks.

Monday, January 29, 2018

Psychology Essay: Gothic Psychology

The purpose of the present essay is to relate Gothic art and Gothicism to psychology. Theoretically, Gothic art, literature and ritualistic appearance may be linked to many psychological elements, such as romance, despair and helplessness. By the way, learned helplessness refers to a mechanism in psychology that describes an individual so hopeless as to give up entirely, since none of that individual’s efforts are likely to influence the outcome in any efficient matter. Researchers first established the effect in a laboratory experiment.

Neuroscience has seldom examined Gothic subjects directly, although the close field of psychology certainly has. Various writers describe the behavioural science emanating from Gothic literary works (novels published in the late 1700s and 1800s) as influenced by societal and political issues, such as social status inequalities. Psychological undercurrents of the Goth subculture tradition have also been discussed at large in the literature. The image below relates to a variant of Gothic and Goth expressive fashion:

Goth Couple Dancing Ballet. Dance schools and academies across the world teach samba, cumbia, rumba, merengue, bachata, reggae, lambada, waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, cha-cha-cha, tango and other ballroom dances and, yet, ballet remains unmatched. Further, ballerinas are also associated to music through decorative doll uses on jewelry cases. Gothic ballet. Image: Image: © Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

Festivals are held worldwide in Germany and Russia, among other places, for Goth music, youth culture and style. Apparel can be found in many specialized stores, as well as medieval and Victorian era shops, and those of an erotic nature.

Psychologists have wondered about the motivation behind associated lifestyles, and certain theories suggest that a dark and somber outlook paradoxically helps to foster a sense of security in some people. Additionally, the customs intertwined with otherworldly forces may serve to create an illusion of power. A similar function may underlie the highly technologically advanced prosthetic eyes, and other high-tech replacements, in the Star Trek series’ and movies’ (science fiction) cybernetic alien race – the Borg (known for assimilating other civilizations they deemed worthy, and incorporating them into the hive mind or the Borg collective). In such drastic environments, the intrinsic human need to belong appears at odds with autonomy. Still, the shared knowledge at times came in handy even for those few who have successfully departed the Borg society, namely Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and subsequently, Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). Hopefully, the present paper made a good contribution to the discussion of the interrelation of Gothic style to psychological theory.

How to Write A Successful Essay in Psychology

Psychology is a marvellous field with a lot to offer to the diligent student. However, even though it is a social science and not a hard and applied science as physics, it is still a difficult topic. Most undergraduate students in psychology find that there is a lot to read and to write. So, how to write a successful academic paper in psychology or in any other of the behavioural sciences?

Rogers Dome at night in Toronto city. Image: Elena

During my undergraduate years I found that the biggest problems when in came to essay is lack of time. Naturally, avoiding procrastination greatly helps in these endeavours. The shows on TV might be interesting and the outings offered by your new roommates might be even more tempting than a night in watching reruns of your favourite sitcom, but those papers aren’t going to write themselves, and those terms terms aren’t going to grade themselves either. And, you, assuming want the best grade you can possibly get.

Three girlfriends who just received an A grade on a psychology paper. Image: Elena

First of all, it is important to have a good atmosphere to write a paper. You must have a good desk, or whichever other space and furniture you choose to write your assignments on (or in, as in the case of a couch or a bed). Hey, no one said you must sit at a desk to write a successful essay, the important part is that you are comfortable. The next and probably most important element, is understanding the assignment. While it may seem trivial, a lot of students take it for granted just how crucial answering the questions outlined in the assignment handout actually is.

A psychology student who failed to hand in his or her term paper. Transformed into a gargoyle as a result. Image: Elena

Okay, so you got your assignment question, you decided on an essay topic, not too narrow so as to have enough information and research published on the subject, but not too broad either so that you can become somewhat of an expert on the issue you will be discussing in your paper. Obviously, it is imperative not to plagiarize. Any words and even ideas taken from other authors must be credited to the sources. Luckily, there exist manuals on the different referencing styles to avoid plagiarism.

The Saturn (Rain)

The Saturn

The Orpheus I spacecraft encountered the Saturn system and uncovered a host of wonders concerning the planet, its intricate ring system, its swarm of attendant satellites. Perhaps, most interesting of these was Titan, known to have an atmosphere rather like that of the primitive Earth, a dense haze layer composed of complex organic molecules, and perhaps a surface ocean of liquid hydrocarbons. A range of observations was made of rings of debris surrounding the Saturn.

These structures might be in the process of coagulating into new planetary systems, and suggest that planets might be overwhelmingly abundant among the stars of the Milky Was galaxy. In fact, life was found unexpectedly nibbling on sulfur compounds in very high temperature vents on the Earth’s ocean floor and many evidence has accumulated suggesting that comets are periodically sprayed into the inner solar system, triggering the extinction of many species on Earth.

Saturn. Image in public domain.

Great regions of intergalactic space have been uncovered that seemingly are depleted in galaxies. New and important components of the universe bearing on the question of its ultimate fate have been suggested.

(Extract from The Rain, the famous SF novel by Elena and George)

Social Chemistry and Friendship

Friendship is a subject viewed from many perspectives. Obviously, most people in this world have friends, and thus who do not, suffer the tragedy terribly more often than not. Then again, friendship, is not always linked to peers, sometimes people name as their best friends their parents or their siblings.

Further, one common feature among friends is understanding. Friends tend to understand us and also to accept us as we are, a commodity quite rare in the present world. Interestingly enough, psychologists would not leave a subject such as friendship undiscussed and especially social, psychologists have a lot to say about friendship. For example, social psychologists say that friendships are more often formed between people who live in proximity to one another, as well as who share similarities.

Do you want to be my friend? Image: Elena

Friends often also offer social support. Social support need not always be tangible; it could be just the feeling that someone is there. In fact, some social psychologists maintain that real best friends can spend years without talking to each other and still remain friends. Is it true? There as many answers as there are opinions.

Chemistry is another ball game altogether. Chemistry most often refers to the mutual feelings between relational or sexual partners. In the sense of relationships, it is often said that for a couple to stay strong throughout the years, they must be best friends before everything and anything. After all, even the most beautiful girl or handsome young man, have their looks fade with time in the majority of cases, so there has to be something more to keep the couple together, to keep the flame alive, to relentlessly rekindle the romance.

Some people say love is friendship on fire. Others say that you cannot have love, or more precisely a romantic relationship, without friendship. Yet, other, skeptic ones at that, fail to believe in either love or friendship. A sad perspective and an even sadder world if you ask us, but then again…

Neurohormones and Neurotransmitters

In neuroscience, the study of the nervous system, neurons, as well as neurotransmitters and neurohormones are often discussed. Both of these chemicals naturally produced by the body influence almost everything that undergoes in the organism. The aim of the present section is to outline the main facts known about these chemical messengers.

The main neurotransmitters in the brain are GABA, adrenaline or epinephrine, serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline or norepinephrine. GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is the predominant inhibitor (neurotranmitters can result in excitation or inhibition of nerby neurons once they are discharged into the synaptic cleft and before reuptake), while serotonin is responsible for mood, thermoregulation and has tryptophan (found in pasta and other comestibles) as its precursor. Dopamine is largely credited in the reward circuitry.

In biology, one is often told that most living organisms live to maintain homeostasis, or the status quo. Along these lines, quantities of neurontranmistters must be in balance for the body to function at its best. For example, too little dopamine may result in Parkinson’s disease (which is why the effects are counteracted with the medication L-Dopa, which constitutes synthetic dopamine). Conversely, too much dopamine may result in schizophrenia, some studies have found that individuals with the mental illness had more D2 receptors (dopamine has a total of 5 receptor types – D1, D2, D3, D4, D4=5). Likewise, a serotonic pathways dysfunction may be the leading cause of MDD (Major Depressive Disorder, commonly called depression). Logically, medications such as Prozac (brand name for fluoxetine) are part of the SSRI group, which prevents serotonin reuptake, resulting in more of the neurochemical in the brain, and thus, better mood.

To perceive light, several players take part in the process. First, the receptors (rods and cones, located on the retina – the back of the eye), the the optic nerve transmits the information to the thalamus (also called the brain’s relay station), and only then, the transduced energy makes it to the visual cortices located in the occipital lobe. Image: Copyright © Elena

The difference between neurotransmitters and neurohormones is that the latter are hormones produced by neurons, while the former, while also produced by brain cells, are not. Examples include oxytocin and gonatropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). Oxytocin, together with vasopressin, has been demonstrated to influence bonding in relationships. Perhaps the most famous such case centers on the praririe vole, a mammal forming long-term relationships due to increased oxytocin and vasopressin release.

The problem of neurology is to understand man himself (Wilder Penfield). Photo : Megan Jorgensen.

GABA

GABA is short for gamma-aminobutyric acid, there are two predominant receptor types for this amino acid neurotransmitter: GABAA and GABAB (Enna & Mohler, 2007). GABA mutations affect reactivity to drugs and behavioral phenotype (the expression of the genotype, in turn the collection of polymorphisms inherited). GABA plays an important role in neural development and functionality of the central nervous system (CNS). The human nervous system is composed of the CNS and the PNS (peripheral nervous system).

The CNS contains the brain, the cerebellum and the spinal cord. The PNS encompasses all connective neural projections (the longest nerve fiber in the human body runs all the way from the spine to the big toe).

As highlighted by Kern & Ziemssen (2007), within the PNS, there is the autonomic or visceral nervous system (ANS), which consists of two parts the sympathetic and parasympathetic, and is primarily responsible for involuntary functions. The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for unconsciously performed actions such as breathing, thermoregulation, sleep and heart rate. The sympathetic nervous system is activated when the situation calls for a prompt decision, known as the fight-or-flight response, where as the name indicates, the organism must choose whether to confront the situation or escape from danger. Since its inception, the response has been extended to included the “or freeze” option. Neurons are brain cells that transmit information using neurochemicals. The neural body is called the soma, while its “tail” is called an axon; dendrites are cortical projections from the neuron’s cell body.

Gray matter comprises neural somata, while white matter is mostly axons (lighter because of myelin).

Myelin is a fatty substance and severe starvation depletes it, resulting in brain damage in extreme cases. Most axons are myelinated, which speeds up transduction of electrical current. In the cerebral cortex of mammals, neurotransmitters can have excitatory or inhibitory effects on neurons close to the synaptic cleft. The synapse if the space between neurons and the cleft is where the neurochemicals are discharged once a depolarized neuron “fires”. Depolarization occurs when sodium enters the cell, while potassium exits, due to membrane permeability, creating an action potential.

A cortical cell no longer polarized is ready to discharge; a refractory period refers to the time lapse during which it is impossible for a brain cell to be stimulated or fire. Thus, there are excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs). Neural responses are usually recorded using surface electrodes. GABA is a major inhibitor in the human CNS (McCormick, 1989). GABA antagonists (agents such as picrotoxin, bicuculline and phaclofen that hinder GABA production) lead to convulsions. As introduced above, the GABAA receptors mediate the early onset IPSP, while the GABAB have to do with its late counterpart. GABA synthesis is dependent on alpha-decarboxylation of glutamate (Martin & Rimvall, 1993), although other GABA precursors have been documented (Yamasaki et al., 1999).

Sepkuty et al. (2002) examined what happened in rats with impaired GABA availability using antisense treatment (a molecular genetics techniques). Reduction of GABA, and consequently of inhibitory signals, led to limbic hyper-excitability and epilepsy (a condition characterized by [epileptic] seizures and profound stochastic neural over-activity).

References:

Enna, S. J. & Mohler, H. (2007). The GABA receptors (3rd ed.). Totowa, NJ: Humana Press Inc.
Kern, S. & Ziemssen, T. (2007). Review: Brain immune communication psychoneuroimmunology of multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis, 14 (1): 6-21.
Martin, D. L. & Rimvall, K. (1993). Regulation of gamma-aminobutyric acid synthesis in the brain. Journal of Neurochemistry, 60 (2): 395-407.
McCormick, D. A. (1989). GABA as inhibitory neurotransmitter in human cerebral cortex. Journal of Neurophysiology, 62 (5): 1018-27.
Sepkuty, J. P., Cohen, A. S., Eccles, C., Rafiq, A., Behar, K., Ganel, R., Coulter, D. A. & Rothstein, J. D. (2002). A neuronal glutamate transporter contributes to neurotransmitter GABA synthesis and epilepsy. The Journal of Neuroscience, 22 (15): 6372-9.
Yamasaki, E. N., Barbosa, V. D., de Mello, F. G. & Hakoc, J. N. (1999). GABAergic system in the developing mammalian retina: Dual sources of GABA at early stages of postnatal development. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 17 (3): 201-13.