Brain Disorders:

This week in Psychology we continued learning about the brain, but we focused on brain disorders.  A brain disorder is an abnormality in the brain that results in impared functioning or thinking.  Brain disorders are very common, and usually occur during development in utero, or after a serious head injury.

I realized I knew more than I thought about brain disorders as each group presented.  Epilepsy is the disorder my group presented.  It was very personal to Alyssa and I.  We each have a family member with the disorder, so we had a bit of extra information rather than just research.  In brief, Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder.  It occurs when the brain sends electrical impulses quicker than normal, which triggers unexpected seizures.  Other than Epilepsy, I found Synesthesia to be a very confusing, yet intruging disorder.

Synesthesia is a disorder when a person's sensory organs pick up more than one sensation.  For example: A person with Synesthesia could smell images, taste words, or even hear colors.  It is thought that Synesthesia can be hereditary, yet it is more common in women.  It is also a thought that many famous people from our history had this disorder.  Below is a picture showing what color each person saw while playing the piano.

      

After doing a little more research on Synesthesia and seeing this picture, I realized many talented people had a brain disorder and still did impressive things.  Each presentation in class also showed me that all brain disorders aren't bad.  Savant syndrome is a disorder that gives people intense concentration so that they can focus and basically become a master at something that really interests them.  Most savants still suffer from poor social, comprehension, or communication skills; yet they have amazing memory, artistic, or even musical skills.  

Questions?  Comments?  Concerns?  Post your thoughts!