I found this week’s lectures and
discussions to be very interesting and relevant to our generation’s youth. I
especially found the discussion of Carl Jung particularly interesting because
it brought up amazing insight into what makes each individual unique, while
still being interconnected with everyone’s past and present. Jung claims of this “interior spiritual world
whose existence we never suspected opens out and displays contents that seem to
stand in sharpest contrast to all our former ideas” that demonstrates a true
interdependency on science and art (Jung). Jung foils into this week’s
discussion on illegal drugs. Illegal drugs are definitely a huge focal point
for this week, as we are provided with concrete examples as to how these
illegal drugs have effects on the human mind. Drugs directly affect
neurotransmitters in the brain; people often experience strange side effects
such as hallucinations or seeing objects that are not actually in existence.
Drugs have been known to greatly influence famous paintings, songs, and other
artistic masterpieces throughout the year. One example is the Beatles allegedly
being on LSD that influenced one of their greatest hits “Lucky in the Sky with
Diamonds.” The Scientific American Global states, “the potent mix of creativity
and madness is imposed on writers and creative artists by the randomness of the
genetic dice roll, but many artists with healthy minds chose to…induce madness
with drugs to reach new summits in their art.” I found that the scientific
research that has been deduced about the repercussions of dugs to the brain is
very relevant for our generation because more and more students and young
adults are ignorantly experimenting with drugs.
I also found this week’s discussion of the Brainbow to be fascinating
because it explained the neural connections and how synaptic pathways in the
brain are formed. Neurons in the brain communicate through synapses, which are
created both before birth and in the years after. The Brainbow discussion truly
demonstrates how children’s brains are do delicate and a sponge. During these
years, if children are abusing illegal drugs, it can cause permanent
damages. If Brainbow is used to study
early brain development, it will allow us to better understand how neural
connections form in a developing child, which will allow us to understand the
association of child development within a specific environment. 
Works Cited
"Brainbow." Center for Brain Science. N.p., n.d. Web.
17 May 2015.
<http://cbs.fas.harvard.edu/science/connectome-project/brainbow>.
Creativity,
Madness and Drugs." Scientific American Global RSS. N.p., n.d.
Web. 17 May 2015. <http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/creativity-madness-and-drugs/>.
"Jung.org." Jung.org.
N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2015. <http://www.jung.org/Pres_ltr.htm>.
Vesna,
Victoria. “Neuroscience-pt1.mov.” Online video clip. YouTube. Youtube, 17 May
2012. Web. 15 May 2015.
Hi Andrea,
ReplyDeleteI like that you focused your blog on the topic of illegal drug use. I found this proportion of the unit to be very interesting. I wrote a lot about hallucination drugs like LSD and am intrigued at the power and creativity of the brain. It is scary the way that our mind and body can experience complete separation while under the influence of these drugs. While they are highly dangerous and deadly, you do make a valid point that illegal drugs have inspired the creation of some of America's most famous art pieces and musical assembles.
Hi Andrea,
ReplyDeleteI like that you focused your blog on the topic of illegal drug use. I found this proportion of the unit to be very interesting. I wrote a lot about hallucination drugs like LSD and am intrigued at the power and creativity of the brain. It is scary the way that our mind and body can experience complete separation while under the influence of these drugs. While they are highly dangerous and deadly, you do make a valid point that illegal drugs have inspired the creation of some of America's most famous art pieces and musical assembles.