What are three (3) facts you learned about the brain that you didn’t know before? Please be sure to provide examples.
Why do you personally think that learning more about the brain is helpful in studying psychology? Please be sure to provide examples.
If you could choose any nervous system disorder to study, which disorder would you choose, and why? Look up three (3) facts about your chosen disorder to share with your classmates.
Sample Solution
1. One fact I learned about the brain is that it can store more memories than we realize – up to 2.5 petabytes (or a million gigabytes) of data! This makes sense given how our brains are constantly taking in new information from our environment and using this to help inform our decisions or actions. For example, when you learn something like a new language, your brain will store this knowledge in its long-term memory for later retrieval with practice and effort.
Sample Solution
1. One fact I learned about the brain is that it can store more memories than we realize – up to 2.5 petabytes (or a million gigabytes) of data! This makes sense given how our brains are constantly taking in new information from our environment and using this to help inform our decisions or actions. For example, when you learn something like a new language, your brain will store this knowledge in its long-term memory for later retrieval with practice and effort.
2. Another interesting fact I discovered about the brain is that it has an amazing ability to adapt and reorganize itself over time; this process is known as neuroplasticity which describes how neural pathways of communication between neurons can be altered due to external stimuli such as changes in behavior or environment. As an example, studies have shown that those who practice playing instruments often display significant changes in the areas of their brains associated with memory recall and motor skills – indicating just how plastic the organ actually is.
3. Lastly, I learned that sleep plays a major role in helping us consolidate memories by allowing our brains to reinforce newly crafted connections between synapses while also clearing out any unnecessary data at the same time too – thus allowing us retain important information better than if we were awake for longer periods without restful breaks throughout them.
I personally believe learning more about the brain is helpful when studying psychology because understanding how it works gives us greater insight into why individual’s respond differently towards certain situations or conditions; being able examine behaviors on both psychological and neurological levels allows psychologists to craft tailored therapeutic approaches catered specifically towards their client’s needs rather than relying solely on broad generalizations which may not always apply universally across all people.
If given the opportunity, I would choose Tourette Syndrome as my disorder of choice to study due largely because it presents an interesting challenge in terms of therapy: while physical tics associated with these types of disorders are relatively easy to control through medications available today, addressing underlying psychological issues such as anxiety or depression which commonly accompany TS cases require much more delicate intervention from trained professionals who understand what kinds of treatments will work best depending on each individual case. Three facts about Tourette Syndrome include: 1) It usually begins during childhood but can persist into adulthood; 2) There is no cure for Tourette’s but symptoms generally reduce over time; 3) Individuals with TS often experience other co-occurring conditions such as OCD or ADHD alongside their condition as well.
