Neuro Note #2
For my second Neuro Note I watched a TED Talk titled, Parkinson's, depression, and the switch that might turn them off. Andres Lozano, a Neuro Surgeon, explains in his TED Talk how it could be possible to use deep brain stimulation to excite the areas of the brain affected in neurological diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, depression, and dystonia. This TED Talk made me really excited for the future of this procedure. I can see deep brain stimulation helping many people in the future. I recommend this TED Talk to anyone who is even a little interested in neuroscience, because it was really interesting.
Dr. Lozano used a few examples of this study throughout his presentation. The first example he uses is of a woman who has Parkinson's disease. This lady had uncontrollable tremors that made it almost impossible for her to touch her nose and then touch the doctor's finger. The deep brain stimulation was then applied to her motor functioning cortex and immediately the tremors quit. When I say immediately I mean right at that second. It was amazing. Dr. Lozano then shows a video of a boy with dystonia. Dystonia is a genetic disorder that affects children, and it causes them to twist and contort into movements that aren't natural or good for their bodies. The first video he shows of the boy is when he is around 7 years old and he can't control his muscles or movements, this progressed over the next couple of years to where he could not walk at all. The only way he could get around was crawling. So all of that said, they decided to operate on him and they decided to supress the same area of the brain that they did for the woman who had Parkinson's. The results were incredible. Not only was this boy able to walk again, but present day he also leads a normal life. He made it through college, and you would never know he is the same boy they show with dystonia. The final example Dr. Lozano used was the effects of deep brain stimulation on depression. In a depressed brain the areas of the brain for motivation, drive, and decision making are very inactive while the area for sadness is overactive. Dr. Lozano showed images of deep brain stimulation reversing these effects and making the brain almost back to normal. This example, I feel, will touch closer to home for a lot more people because depression is more talked about today than it was 10-20 years ago.
I chose this TED Talk because I am super interested in the brain. It amazes me how powerful it is, and how much it controls. If there is a way to reverse or alleviate these awful diseases, I think it is important for that information to be shared. I learned a lot in this TED Talk, and I really enjoyed it. I hope I hear more about this procedure in years to come because it seems to really work. I recommend this tend talk to everyone who is interested in neuroscience and the progression of finding cures for brain diseases.
https://www.ted.com/talks/andres_lozano_parkinson_s_depression_and_the_switch_that_might_turn_them_off
Dr. Lozano used a few examples of this study throughout his presentation. The first example he uses is of a woman who has Parkinson's disease. This lady had uncontrollable tremors that made it almost impossible for her to touch her nose and then touch the doctor's finger. The deep brain stimulation was then applied to her motor functioning cortex and immediately the tremors quit. When I say immediately I mean right at that second. It was amazing. Dr. Lozano then shows a video of a boy with dystonia. Dystonia is a genetic disorder that affects children, and it causes them to twist and contort into movements that aren't natural or good for their bodies. The first video he shows of the boy is when he is around 7 years old and he can't control his muscles or movements, this progressed over the next couple of years to where he could not walk at all. The only way he could get around was crawling. So all of that said, they decided to operate on him and they decided to supress the same area of the brain that they did for the woman who had Parkinson's. The results were incredible. Not only was this boy able to walk again, but present day he also leads a normal life. He made it through college, and you would never know he is the same boy they show with dystonia. The final example Dr. Lozano used was the effects of deep brain stimulation on depression. In a depressed brain the areas of the brain for motivation, drive, and decision making are very inactive while the area for sadness is overactive. Dr. Lozano showed images of deep brain stimulation reversing these effects and making the brain almost back to normal. This example, I feel, will touch closer to home for a lot more people because depression is more talked about today than it was 10-20 years ago.
I chose this TED Talk because I am super interested in the brain. It amazes me how powerful it is, and how much it controls. If there is a way to reverse or alleviate these awful diseases, I think it is important for that information to be shared. I learned a lot in this TED Talk, and I really enjoyed it. I hope I hear more about this procedure in years to come because it seems to really work. I recommend this tend talk to everyone who is interested in neuroscience and the progression of finding cures for brain diseases.
https://www.ted.com/talks/andres_lozano_parkinson_s_depression_and_the_switch_that_might_turn_them_off
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