Anosognosia for Hemiplegia: A Window into Self-Awareness
You wake up in a hospital bed, scared, confused, and attached to a network of tubes and beeping equipment. After doctors assault you with a barrage of questions and tests, your family emerges from the sea of unfamiliar faces surrounding you and explains what has happened; you have had a stroke in the right half of your brain, and you are at least temporarily paralyzed on your left side. You wiggle your left toes to test yourself; everything seems normal. You lift your left arm to show your family that you are obviously not paralyzed. However, this demonstration does not elicit the happy response you expect; it only causes your children to exchange worried glances with the doctors. No matter how many times you attempt to demonstrate movement in the left half of your body, the roomful of people insists that you are paralyzed. And you are, you just do not know it. How is this possible? You are suffering from anosognosia, a condition in which an ill patient is unaware of her own illness or the deficits resulting from her illness (1).
Anosognosia occurs at least temporarily in over 50% of stroke victims who suffer from paralysis on the side of the body opposite the stroke, a condition known as hemiplegia (1). Patients with anosognosia for hemiplegia insist they can do things like lift both legs, touch their doctor's nose with a finger on their paralyzed side, and walk normally (2). These patients are much less likely to regain independence after their stroke than patients without anosognosia, primarily because they overestimate their own abilities in unsafe situations (3). However, the implications of the illness go far beyond those for patients who suffer from it; anosognosia brings questions of the origin of self-awareness to the forefront. How can someone lose the ability to know when she is or is not moving? Is this some type of elaborate Freudian defense mechanism, or is this person entirely unaware of her illness? How is self-awareness represented in the brain, and is this representation isolated from or attached to awareness of others? Though none of these questions are fully answerable at this time, research into anosognosia has provided scientists and philosophers with insight into some of these ancient questions of human consciousness.
The question of "denial" versus "unawareness" is at the heart of debate between psychologists and neurologists about the origin of anosognosia (3).
In her essay “On Being a Cripple,” Mairs describes her path of acceptance of her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis by declaring that she is a “cripple” in alternative to the more broadly acceptable terms: disabled or handicapped. Her essay is written with humor, satire, an open heart, and open eyes. Mair’s purpose is to describe her acceptances of her condition by using rhetorical elements and appeals, such as ethos and pathos, in order to allure her audience.
Phantom pain refers to the phenomenal experience of pain in a body part that has been amputated or deafferented (Flor, Nikolajsen & Jensen, 2006). The characteristics of phantom pain have been described to occur in quick and sudden attacks of pain shooting up and down the amputated limb as well as cases of constant, excruciating pain whilst intensely perceiving the amputated limb to be cramped or postured abnormally (Katz, 1992). Approximately eighty percent of amputees report suffering from or at least experiencing some level of phantom pain post amputation; therefore it is a prominent issue (Flor, Nikolajsen & Jensen, 2006). Phantom pain is neuropathic pain that has no individual trigger but instead a plethora of psychobiological aspects of neuroplasticity that contribute to the cause of phantom pain (Grusser, Diers & Flor, 2003). The following will: outline the role of the peripheral and central factors associated with phantom pain and discuss the cortical reorganisation of the somatosensory cortex in relation to phantom pain.
In today's global economy, energy is one of the most crucial and sought after commodities. Who supplies it and how much they supply determines how much influence they have over other countries as well as the global economy. This is why hydraulic fracturing is currently such an important and controversial topic in the United States. Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as "fracking" or hydrofracturing, is the process of using pressurized liquids to fracture rocks and release hydrocarbons such as shale gas, which burns more efficiently than coal. This booming process of energy production provides a much needed economic boost, creating jobs and providing gas energy for Americans. The efficiently burning shale gas reduces carbon emission from electricity production plants, reducing carbon footprints on the environment. However, the process of hydraulic fracturing uses millions of gallons of pressurized liquid, which contains toxic chemicals, and some of this water is left over undealt with. The air near fracking sites is often also polluted and unsafe for nearby community residents. Injecting millions of gallons of water laced with toxic chemicals into the rock thousands of feet deep can cause earthquakes, causing a safety hazards for all nearby areas. Hydraulic Fracturing makes rare natural gases easily attainable, boosting the economy and reducing carbon emissions. However, the negative side effects such as contaminated water and air, make hydraulic fracturing a process that may not be worth the benefits.
In “A Hunger Artist” Kafka portrays the artist as an obsessed person with starving himself. Not even death matter as long as he gets that attention he wants from society. Kafka wants society to be the reason that artist became they way he is now. “He worked with integrity, but the world cheated [the artist] of his reward” (Kafka 144). The Hunger Artist no longer has anything significant in his life but the only thing that makes him the way he is because he wants the public’s attention. Society demands are high and not easy to achieve, to the point where the artist was the center of attention in big cities with beautiful girls waiting to help him come out of his cage. But now he is in small cage, neglected by everyone, even when it comes to fasting “no one [counts] the days, no one, not even the hunger artist himself, [know] his extent of his achievement” (144). In the end, the hunger artist body could no longer sustain himself after the long-lasting fast, however society was moving on and he was not. Society was the downfall of his life, wanting public attention is not easy with a cruel society that demands change and new entertainment.
Purpose Statement: The purpose of this paper is to divulge in the glorious history of Ferrari.
2. Andrews K, Murphy L, Munday R, Littlewood C. Misdiagnosis of the vegetative state: retrospective study in a rehabilitation unit. Brit Med J 1996; 313:13-16.
There are many parallels and differences between Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” and "A Hunger Artist". Kafka portrays these differences and similarities very effectively through his utilization of elements such as transformation, dehumanization, and dedication to work. Through his works, Kafka communicates with the reader in such a way that almost provokes and challenges one’s imagination and creativity.
Whether the U.S. government should strongly keep monitoring U.S. citizens or not still is a long and fierce dispute. Recently, the debate became more brutal when technology, an indispensable tool for modern live, has been used by the law enforcement and national security officials to spy into American people’s domestic.
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