Biology 202 Web Paper 2

I first learned about synaesthesia in my cognition class last fall. I was fascinated yet perplexed by the idea that some people are able to see colors when they look at letters or taste foods when they hear certain sounds. I did not understand how a perceptual stimulus could evoke a response from a sensory mechanism different from its own. I soon learned that this effect arose due to “links” in the brain that connect the regions responsible for different senses. However, what exactly are these “links” in the brain and how do they give rise to synaesthesia?

The topic ofchildhood depression is an increasingly growing field of psychology because itis an increasingly growing problem that has no good solution. Treatment foradult depression includes many kinds of therapy, some neurological work, andmedication. Treating many problems adults have with medication has been mostuseful, but can we use the same medication that treats adults, on children?

Controlling food intake and energy balance are an important homeostatic mechanism of the human body, partly mediated by dopamine (DA) pathways in the cerebrum. DA augments the behavioral drive for stimulus reward, although it is not directly responsible for the hedonistic sensation itself. However, this feedback pathway is subject to pathologic reinforcement through aberrant behaviors, which paradoxically could reinforce both the overconsumption of food in Binge Eating Disorder and excessive dieting in Anorexia Nervosa.

Jim Wiltsee
April 14th, 2009
Professor Grobstein
Neuro Paper II

        The gaunt frame, the lifeless skin and hair, the fidgeting with what little food there is on the plate, these

trademark symptoms alert most people to the fact that someone they know might have anorexia. However,

no one seems to know exactly what causes anorexia or how to treat it. This has been the subject of much

scientific debate recently, and there is evidence that neurobiology plays a part in this disease.