A book by Oliver Sacks
Chapter 2, The Lost Mariner
Jimmie G. was admitted to the Home of the Aged near New York City in 1975. A note accompanying him described him as helpless, demented, confused and disoriented. His initial examination by Dr. Sacks revealed a 49-year-old handsome, healthy, cheerful, warm man. On interview, he spoke eloquently of his school days, described his hometown in detail, discussed the homes he and his family lived in and even remembered his phone numbers from the time. He recalled graduating from high school, being drafted in 1943 and serving on a submarine. He spoke of his shipmates and could tap Morse code effortlessly. He said he loved the Navy, but thought he should go to college when he got out in 1965. He spoke of his brother in accountancy school and his brother’s girlfriend. When asked what year it was, he confidently explained it was 1945. FDR was dead, and Truman was president. He said he was 19 when asked how old he was. The doctor handed him a mirror and asked him describe what he saw. Jimmie G. turned ashen and grabbed his chair’s arms. Clearly he was shaken. Dr. Sacks led Jimmie to a window and quickly the patient was absorbed in watching a children’s baseball game. The doctor left to put the mirror away, and when he returned, he found Jimmie still gazing out the window. Jimmie greeted him as if he had never met Dr. Sacks before. He showed no memory of the discussion he had just had or the mirror incident. In fact, he thought he was in a hospital and asked if he worked there. Further testing showed him to be intelligent, quick-witted and logical. He had no problems solving complex puzzles if they could be solved quickly. The longer the activity took, the more likely he was to forget what he was doing. In short, he was totally lost in time – unable to remember people or conversations that took place just minutes ago. As it turned out, Jimmie developed a severe drinking problem after getting out of the Navy. Dr. Sacks diagnosed him as having Korsakov’s syndrome, due to alcoholic degeneration of the mammillary bodies. Jimmie had fragments of memories from his time in the Navy in the mid-60s, but nothing of substance. Dr. Sacks tried to help give Jimmie a “foothold” in the world around him by giving him a journal to write in. He was to describe his day in hopes that reading his past experience would help with his amnesia. Jimmie kept losing the diary, and when he did find it, he recognized his handwriting but had no memory of the events he recorded or even writing them. Based on his profound memory issues, it was decided that Jimmie would stay in the Home for the Aged. His brother visited him occasionally, and Jimmie recognized him, but didn’t understand why his brother was so old. He found solace in church, taking Communion and being totally focused and aware of his actions. He loved music and could follow simple dramas. He also began to tend the hospital’s garden – at first greeting it as a new garden each day, but eventually becoming more familiar with it than the home. Dr. Sacks guessed it was because he patterned the garden on those he remembered from his childhood days.
This chapter of Dr. Sacks book tracts well with Chapter 4 – Consciousness: Dreams, Hypnosis and Drugs. The severe alcoholism that caused Jimmie’s memory loss and its affect on the mammillary bodies in his brain would help bolster the chapter’s description on the dangers of heavy alcohol use over time. In addition, The Lost Mariner relates to the Chapter 6 on memory, providing additional perspective on the fragility of memories and offering insight into how memories may or not make us who we are. I was drawn to this book by the title, but found Jimmie’s situation horribly sad. He was constantly stuck in the moment, never knowing where he’d been or what to expect. But as Dr. Sacks wrote about seeing his patient in the garden, in church, listening to music and watching television, he learned that people are much more than their memories. That discovery made me understand that my mother is much more than what’s in her memory. Dr. Sacks wrote, “Perhaps there is a philosophical as well as clinical lesson here: that in Korsakov’s, or dementia, or other such catastrophes, however great the organic damage and Humean dissolution, there remains the undiminished possibility of reintegration by art, by communication, by touching the human spirit: and this can be preserved in what seems at first a hopeless state of neurological devastation.” Yeah, what Dr. Sacks said.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Study: Psychopaths’ Brains Wired to Seek Rewards
All Things Considered on WFAE
Aired at 10:12 am, March 27
While scientists know psychopaths lack emotions, including empathy, fear and remorse, they’re beginning to think that psychopaths may have a neural abnormality that leads them to seek money, sex and fame -- rewards -- at any cost. A team of Vanderbilt graduate students conducted a test on community volunteers using brain scans to monitor dopamine levels. They found that the volunteers who scored higher in psychopathic traits had correspondingly higher levels of dopamine and greater activity in brain areas related to seeking and enjoying rewards. That correlation may explain the antisocial, aggressive behavior seen in psychopaths who are so intent on reward that nothing else matters. Student Josh Buckholtz said he and his team used “average people” who took a test that measured psychopathic traits. None of the volunteers had committed violent crimes, but the study results still have relevance for diagnosed psychopaths. Current thinking says psychopathic traits operate on a continuum. Ultimately, the study could lead to a way to target the reward system as a way of reducing aggression and antisocial behavior.
This radio piece relates to concepts presented in Chapter 14 – Psychological Disorders. The piece could lead to discussion about issues affecting antisocial personalities. How does a person who doesn’t feel fear or remorse feel pleasure? Why can he or she feel one end of the spectrum and not the other? Do people with this disorder act out so they feel something – anything – even if it’s negative?
Aired at 10:12 am, March 27
While scientists know psychopaths lack emotions, including empathy, fear and remorse, they’re beginning to think that psychopaths may have a neural abnormality that leads them to seek money, sex and fame -- rewards -- at any cost. A team of Vanderbilt graduate students conducted a test on community volunteers using brain scans to monitor dopamine levels. They found that the volunteers who scored higher in psychopathic traits had correspondingly higher levels of dopamine and greater activity in brain areas related to seeking and enjoying rewards. That correlation may explain the antisocial, aggressive behavior seen in psychopaths who are so intent on reward that nothing else matters. Student Josh Buckholtz said he and his team used “average people” who took a test that measured psychopathic traits. None of the volunteers had committed violent crimes, but the study results still have relevance for diagnosed psychopaths. Current thinking says psychopathic traits operate on a continuum. Ultimately, the study could lead to a way to target the reward system as a way of reducing aggression and antisocial behavior.
This radio piece relates to concepts presented in Chapter 14 – Psychological Disorders. The piece could lead to discussion about issues affecting antisocial personalities. How does a person who doesn’t feel fear or remorse feel pleasure? Why can he or she feel one end of the spectrum and not the other? Do people with this disorder act out so they feel something – anything – even if it’s negative?
Stress: Portrait of a Killer
Aired 11 pm, Wednesday, March 31, WTVI
The effects of stress on baboons, macaque monkeys, rats and humans are explored in this PBS special. Doing research in the field in Africa, researcher Robert Saplosky states that no zebra running for its life would understand that fear of public speaking causes the release of the same hormone they feel when fleeing. He looks at highly striated societies – such as our own and that of baboons and macaque monkeys – to chronicle the debilitating effects of stress. In a baboon troop, he found that subservient animals had high blood pressure. In the macaque clans, he found that lower ranking macaques had higher levels of cholesterol, artery blockages and lower levels of dopamine than higher ranking animals. He also discovered that when his favorite baboon troop lost all its high-ranking, aggressive males to rotted meat found behind a restaurant -- the stress vanished, too. All that were left in the troop were females and low-ranking males, “the good guys” that didn’t beat up the females and weren’t aggressive. New adolescents joining the group learned quickly that aggression was not tolerated. The program also showed the brain changes of lab rats exposed to constant stress. Their brain cells and the hippocampus shrunk. “Stress makes you stupid. Stress a human big time and the hippocampus pays,” Saplosky says. A 40-year investigation into the health of 28,000 employees of England’s civil service segment shows chronic illness among the lower rank-and-file employees who feel they have no control over their future or their work. Higher ranking employees who make decisions about their jobs and work flow are much less likely to have health problems. The chromosomes of a group of mothers with disabled children are examined. Researchers found that the cap ends of the chromosomes are affected. The amount of stress and years of stress make the ends shorter, leading eventually to the unraveling of the chromosome. An enzyme released when stress is relieved seems to repair the damage. The women find stress relief during weekly meetings with other mothers dealing with disabled children. Saplosky also mentioned the need for the right kind of stress. “Provide the right kind of stress, and we line up for up. People ride roller coasters to feel stress in a safe way.”
This PBS special is right in line with the concepts in Chapter 11 – Stress and Health. The symptoms of stress and their effects on the body are presented in detail – from high cholesterol to cardiovascular disease to changes in cell structure. The show clearly detailed the damage we do to ourselves when we choose Type A lifestyles or feel abused by our place in the hierarchy of society. I was very interested in learning that stress and stress hormones have the same effect on other primates as they do on us.
The effects of stress on baboons, macaque monkeys, rats and humans are explored in this PBS special. Doing research in the field in Africa, researcher Robert Saplosky states that no zebra running for its life would understand that fear of public speaking causes the release of the same hormone they feel when fleeing. He looks at highly striated societies – such as our own and that of baboons and macaque monkeys – to chronicle the debilitating effects of stress. In a baboon troop, he found that subservient animals had high blood pressure. In the macaque clans, he found that lower ranking macaques had higher levels of cholesterol, artery blockages and lower levels of dopamine than higher ranking animals. He also discovered that when his favorite baboon troop lost all its high-ranking, aggressive males to rotted meat found behind a restaurant -- the stress vanished, too. All that were left in the troop were females and low-ranking males, “the good guys” that didn’t beat up the females and weren’t aggressive. New adolescents joining the group learned quickly that aggression was not tolerated. The program also showed the brain changes of lab rats exposed to constant stress. Their brain cells and the hippocampus shrunk. “Stress makes you stupid. Stress a human big time and the hippocampus pays,” Saplosky says. A 40-year investigation into the health of 28,000 employees of England’s civil service segment shows chronic illness among the lower rank-and-file employees who feel they have no control over their future or their work. Higher ranking employees who make decisions about their jobs and work flow are much less likely to have health problems. The chromosomes of a group of mothers with disabled children are examined. Researchers found that the cap ends of the chromosomes are affected. The amount of stress and years of stress make the ends shorter, leading eventually to the unraveling of the chromosome. An enzyme released when stress is relieved seems to repair the damage. The women find stress relief during weekly meetings with other mothers dealing with disabled children. Saplosky also mentioned the need for the right kind of stress. “Provide the right kind of stress, and we line up for up. People ride roller coasters to feel stress in a safe way.”
This PBS special is right in line with the concepts in Chapter 11 – Stress and Health. The symptoms of stress and their effects on the body are presented in detail – from high cholesterol to cardiovascular disease to changes in cell structure. The show clearly detailed the damage we do to ourselves when we choose Type A lifestyles or feel abused by our place in the hierarchy of society. I was very interested in learning that stress and stress hormones have the same effect on other primates as they do on us.
It's Me of the Dog
Aired 11 am, Tuesday, March 6, Animal Planet
Dog trainer Victoria Stilwell helps a family deal with their three very large dogs – Guinness, a 120-pound lab that pounces on swimmers in their family’s pool, barks constantly when removed from poolside and is uncontrollable on walks; Jovie, a mixed breed 12-year-old with barking issues and arthritis that may cause her to be snappy; and Justice, an overweight mixed breed with serious barking issues. All three dogs storm the front door whenever someone knocks or the doorbell rings. The family deals with the door-rushing problem by installing a static mat that shocks the dogs when they stand on it. The dogs still storm the door by leaping over the mat to avoid the shock, but once outside, they refuse to cross the mat to come back inside. Victoria throws away the ineffective mat and teaches the family to keep the dogs in the living room by blocking them physically initially, and then by using hand signals, praise and treats as reinforcers when the dogs respond appropriately. She also desensitizes the dogs to their front door aversion by walking them through several times so they learned there is no shock associated with the front door. Next, she tackles Guinness’ poor walking style by stopping every time he pulls the lead. Guinness turns to look at Victoria, who is no longer following. He learns that pulling means stopping, and he would much rather walk. Victoria fixes the barking issue at the pool by taking the dogs inside every time they bark so they can’t see the pool. They learned after two or three times that barking meant removal, and they stopped barking. She also taught the family to swim with Guinness calmly and to support his body in the water. After watching him scratch several people, Victoria saw that he was panicking in the water, not trying to “save” people as the family thought. For Jovie’s biting problem, she recommended that no one be allowed to touch the old dog to prevent potential bites. To celebrate their success at correcting their dogs’ bad behavior, the family threw a pool party. None of the dogs charged the front door as guests arrived, but remained in the living room with the family using their newly learned hand signals. None of the dogs barked frantically during the pool party despite being corralled onto the screened porch where they could see the activity, but not participate.
All of these training techniques are presented in Chapter 5 – Learning. Shaping is demonstrated as Victoria uses a series of stages to teach the dogs to enter through the front door. Operant conditioning is used to teach the dogs to stay in the living room. They’re given treats on a variable interval schedule of reinforcement. Operant conditioning is also used to teach the dogs not to bark when someone is in the pool. Punishment is used consistently and immediately as the dogs are removed from where they want to be and isolated. As is common in most cases, Victoria had more problems training the owners than the dogs. I watch this show often. I’m amazed by how she gets dogs to do what she wants so quickly.
Dog trainer Victoria Stilwell helps a family deal with their three very large dogs – Guinness, a 120-pound lab that pounces on swimmers in their family’s pool, barks constantly when removed from poolside and is uncontrollable on walks; Jovie, a mixed breed 12-year-old with barking issues and arthritis that may cause her to be snappy; and Justice, an overweight mixed breed with serious barking issues. All three dogs storm the front door whenever someone knocks or the doorbell rings. The family deals with the door-rushing problem by installing a static mat that shocks the dogs when they stand on it. The dogs still storm the door by leaping over the mat to avoid the shock, but once outside, they refuse to cross the mat to come back inside. Victoria throws away the ineffective mat and teaches the family to keep the dogs in the living room by blocking them physically initially, and then by using hand signals, praise and treats as reinforcers when the dogs respond appropriately. She also desensitizes the dogs to their front door aversion by walking them through several times so they learned there is no shock associated with the front door. Next, she tackles Guinness’ poor walking style by stopping every time he pulls the lead. Guinness turns to look at Victoria, who is no longer following. He learns that pulling means stopping, and he would much rather walk. Victoria fixes the barking issue at the pool by taking the dogs inside every time they bark so they can’t see the pool. They learned after two or three times that barking meant removal, and they stopped barking. She also taught the family to swim with Guinness calmly and to support his body in the water. After watching him scratch several people, Victoria saw that he was panicking in the water, not trying to “save” people as the family thought. For Jovie’s biting problem, she recommended that no one be allowed to touch the old dog to prevent potential bites. To celebrate their success at correcting their dogs’ bad behavior, the family threw a pool party. None of the dogs charged the front door as guests arrived, but remained in the living room with the family using their newly learned hand signals. None of the dogs barked frantically during the pool party despite being corralled onto the screened porch where they could see the activity, but not participate.
All of these training techniques are presented in Chapter 5 – Learning. Shaping is demonstrated as Victoria uses a series of stages to teach the dogs to enter through the front door. Operant conditioning is used to teach the dogs to stay in the living room. They’re given treats on a variable interval schedule of reinforcement. Operant conditioning is also used to teach the dogs not to bark when someone is in the pool. Punishment is used consistently and immediately as the dogs are removed from where they want to be and isolated. As is common in most cases, Victoria had more problems training the owners than the dogs. I watch this show often. I’m amazed by how she gets dogs to do what she wants so quickly.
Tommy
A rock opera by The Who
Released in theaters in 1975
Tommy begins in the 1940s as Tommy’s father, a pilot in the Royal Air Force, is shot down in World War II. His mother, Nora Walker, is working in a factory when she gets the news. She’s pregnant and gives birth to a son she names Tommy. As Tommy grows into a young boy, she takes him to a camp where she meets Frank, a camp counselor. Believing her husband dead, she begins a relationship with the friendly camp counselor. Frank and Nora are in bed when Capt. Walker – not dead, but badly scarred – finally comes home and walks in on the couple. He and Frank fight, waking Tommy with the noise. Tommy enters his mother’s bedroom just in time to see Frank smash his father over the head with a lamp, killing him. Frank and Nora tell Tommy, “You didn’t see it. You didn’t hear it. You never heard it. Not a word of it. You won’t say nothing to no one. Never tell a soul what you know is the truth.” Consequently, Tommy suddenly becomes deaf, mute and blind, reacting to nothing and to no one. His mother marries Frank and searches for cures for her son. She takes Tommy, now a young man, to a cult where alcohol and drugs are used as sacrament. Then she takes him to the Acid Queen who injects him with LSD. Neither “treatment” works. She leaves Tommy in the care of his pedophilic uncle and his abusive cousin. Tommy’s mother finds him staring in mirrors and is frustrated by his ability to see himself, but no one else. Tommy follows his own figure into a deserted junk yard one night, stumbles into a pinball machine and begins to play. He eventually dethrones the Pinball Wizard to become champion. Money and publicity follow him. Now wealthy and privileged, Nora takes Tommy to one more medical specialist who tells her, “His eyes can see. His ears can hear; his lips speak. All the time the needles flick and rock. No machine can give the kind of stimulation needed to remove his inner block.” Tommy continues to stare into the mirror, and his mother, in a drunken rage, throws him through it. He emerges from the trauma with sight, speech and hearing intact. He becomes a cult figure himself and opens his own camp. His followers wear sunglasses, ear plugs and put corks in their mouths and play pinball to imitate the trauma Tommy felt. They rebel against Tommy eventually, burning the camp and killing his mother and stepfather. Tommy survives the massacre and faces the world with a new understanding of the world and society.
Tommy clearly suffers from a conversion disorder. He becomes deaf, blind and mute upon seeing someone he trusted kill someone else – having no idea that the dead man is father. There is no reason for physical problems. His problems are all psychosomatic. This movie illustrates concepts presented in Chapter 14 – Psychological Disorders. I saw the movie many times the year it was released. Roger Daltrey was great to look at and the music was outstanding.
Released in theaters in 1975
Tommy begins in the 1940s as Tommy’s father, a pilot in the Royal Air Force, is shot down in World War II. His mother, Nora Walker, is working in a factory when she gets the news. She’s pregnant and gives birth to a son she names Tommy. As Tommy grows into a young boy, she takes him to a camp where she meets Frank, a camp counselor. Believing her husband dead, she begins a relationship with the friendly camp counselor. Frank and Nora are in bed when Capt. Walker – not dead, but badly scarred – finally comes home and walks in on the couple. He and Frank fight, waking Tommy with the noise. Tommy enters his mother’s bedroom just in time to see Frank smash his father over the head with a lamp, killing him. Frank and Nora tell Tommy, “You didn’t see it. You didn’t hear it. You never heard it. Not a word of it. You won’t say nothing to no one. Never tell a soul what you know is the truth.” Consequently, Tommy suddenly becomes deaf, mute and blind, reacting to nothing and to no one. His mother marries Frank and searches for cures for her son. She takes Tommy, now a young man, to a cult where alcohol and drugs are used as sacrament. Then she takes him to the Acid Queen who injects him with LSD. Neither “treatment” works. She leaves Tommy in the care of his pedophilic uncle and his abusive cousin. Tommy’s mother finds him staring in mirrors and is frustrated by his ability to see himself, but no one else. Tommy follows his own figure into a deserted junk yard one night, stumbles into a pinball machine and begins to play. He eventually dethrones the Pinball Wizard to become champion. Money and publicity follow him. Now wealthy and privileged, Nora takes Tommy to one more medical specialist who tells her, “His eyes can see. His ears can hear; his lips speak. All the time the needles flick and rock. No machine can give the kind of stimulation needed to remove his inner block.” Tommy continues to stare into the mirror, and his mother, in a drunken rage, throws him through it. He emerges from the trauma with sight, speech and hearing intact. He becomes a cult figure himself and opens his own camp. His followers wear sunglasses, ear plugs and put corks in their mouths and play pinball to imitate the trauma Tommy felt. They rebel against Tommy eventually, burning the camp and killing his mother and stepfather. Tommy survives the massacre and faces the world with a new understanding of the world and society.
Tommy clearly suffers from a conversion disorder. He becomes deaf, blind and mute upon seeing someone he trusted kill someone else – having no idea that the dead man is father. There is no reason for physical problems. His problems are all psychosomatic. This movie illustrates concepts presented in Chapter 14 – Psychological Disorders. I saw the movie many times the year it was released. Roger Daltrey was great to look at and the music was outstanding.
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