Locked-In Syndrome
Imagine a world in which human communication is executed through the simplicity of thought. No muscle action- no nodding, smiling, slapping, pointing, speaking, or feeling...just through the immobile and inconspicuous medium of thought. This is an example of a locked-in patient. In a locked-in condition, the patient's ability to move his/her limbs, neck, and even muscles is brought to an abrupt halt. Messages ordered by the brain do not reach the muscles that consequently carry out the physical tasks of the brain. The locked-in syndrome leaves the victim completely paralyzed sparing only the eye muscles in most cases.
The reason for this disability is most commonly due to lesions in the nerve centers that control the muscle contractions, or a blood clot that blocks circulation of oxygen to the brain stem. Brain-stem strokes, accidents, extreme spinal-cord injuries, and neurological diseases are other main causes for the syndrome (5). Axons that carry brain signals leave the larger motor areas on the surface of the brain and direct their signals towards the brain stem. It is here where they converge linking one another to form a tightly packed bundle called the motor tract. The brain stem motor tract is extremely sensitive; thus even the slightest impact of a stroke can lead to destruction of the axon bundles resulting in a total paralysis (1). For a locked-in patient, depending on the severity of the stroke, the sensory tracts may or may not be affected. These tracts also form axon bundles and determine the functioning of the feel, touch, and pressure perceptions.
What is interesting is that while total paralysis of the external body is a likely possibility, the eye muscles and brain functionin...
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...o the stability of peace. Today it is about reading peoples' minds for them, what then does tomorrow behold? As long as research is done with the intention of bringing hope and light into a person's life, I continue to admire in awe the achievements in science today.
Sources Cited:
1. 1) National Health Institute Page, excellent for Science and Health information.
http://accessible.ninds.nih.gov/
2. 2) Ian Parker, " Reading Minds": The New Yorker, January 20, 2003.
3. 3) abc home page, good website.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/
4. 4) Cleveland Clinic Websire, vast research material.
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro03/web1/www.clevelandclinic.org/health
5. 5) National Institute of Health, one of my favorite websites for the field of healt
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro03/web1/www.nih.gov
Society seems to be divided between the idea if science is more harmful than helpful. We live in a world where humans depend on science and technology to improve important aspects of society, such as medical machinery, which supports the fact that science is more of a friend than a foe. Science is advancing every day. The United States has come a long way with its ongoing developments, giving individuals a chance to improve society as a whole. Not only does the United States benefit from such growth, but every modernized country does so as well. Through science and technology, individuals learn from past endeavors and apply it to present and future projects, paving the way for new discoveries and efficient enhancements
...ior of persons with PVS or in a locked-in state. I know believe that even in patients who are vegetative or locked-in, brain does equal behavior regardless of I-function status.
As victim count continues to rise, its difficult to see how such great numbers of men, women and children are bought and sold every year. Trafficking can be found in many forms, including: prostitution, slavery, or forced labor (Harf and Lombardi, 2014). It wasn’t until the 1980’s that international human trafficking became globally noticed. With the lack of government intervention and control in several nations, and the free trade market, slavery once again became a profitable industry (Harf and Lombardi, 2014). As previously mentioned, easier movement across nations borders is one of the outcomes of globalization. It is also what makes human trafficking so easy today. It is estimated that about 20.9 million people are victims across the entire globe (United Nations Publications, 2012); trafficking accounts for 32 billion dollars in generated profit globally (Brewer, n.d). 58 percent of all human trafficking was for the purpose of sexual exploitation, and of this 55-60 percent are women (United Nations Publications,
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Dr. Michael Shermer is a Professor, Founder of skeptic magazine, and a distinguished and brilliant American science writer to say the least. In His book The Moral Arc: How Science Makes Us Better People he sets out to embark on the daunting task of convincing and informing the reader on sciences’ ability to drives the expansion of humanity and the growth of the moral sphere. Although such a broad and general topic could be hard to explain, Shermer does so in a way that is concise, easy to understand, and refreshing for the reader. This novel is riddled with scientific facts, data, and pictures to back up shermers claims about the history of science, humanity and how the two interact with one another.
Did you know that Institutions throughout NYC are legally violating Black and Hispanic citizens civil rights? These circumstances are the result of the NYPD’s attempt to protect the greater good of NYC; Stop and Frisk is the policy that attempts to accomplish this matter at hand. Stop and Frisk constantly targets Black and Hispanic citizens, therefore it does not promote a just and equitable society due to it viewing these ethnicities as more likely to commit a crime. The origin of Stop and Frisk traces back to the Supreme Court case of Terry V. Ohio, which took place in 1968. Terry, an experienced plainclothes officer, stopped and frisked three suspicious men; one produced a gun with no permit. This Supreme Court case essentially claimed Stop and Frisk to be constitutional under the Fourth Amendment (PBS Newshour). Stop and Frisk can essentially limits the rights of certain individuals because it gives the NYPD permission to avoid the Fourth Amendment, which protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. The NYPD is given permission to stop and frisk an individual under the circumstances of probable cause: if an article or substance capable of causing serious physical injury or is not ordinarily carried in pubic places by law-biding persons is present and in plain view, or if the stop and frisk is supported by oath of affirmation (FindLaw). Stop and Frisk negatively impacts Black and Hispanic citizens in NYC because it promotes institutional racism.
In Making Gun Control Happen the author, Patrick Keefe, writes as a supporter to gun control. He states that one obvious change would be to “mandate a criminal background check for all gun purchases” in order to stop criminals from obtaining a weapon. [Keefe] Although obviously what criminals do best is break laws, as a result they would probably smuggle guns illegally anyways. The idea of the background check is to distinguish the responsible, law abiding citizens from the crooks and thugs. Therefore it is a great example of the many wrong things with gun control. The second amendment says, "A we...
Provost, Brittani. “A Long History.” human-trafficking-today.blogspot.com. n.p., 11 November 2012. Web. 14 April 2014. .
L. R. Hochberg, M. D. (2006). Neuronal ensemble control of prostetic devices by a human with tetraplegia. Nature, 164-71.
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