Selam Wolday

Period 3
10-26-15
Annotated Source List
Barnard, N. D. (2013, March). Feed your brain. Vegetarian Times, 72-75. Retrieved from
EbscoHost database. (Accession No. 85632313)
Summary:
Dementia is a blanket word that covers any memory loss disorders. Alzheimers disease
is also covered under that word. The author writes about the different types of foods and how
they affect peoples thought processes. They did an experiment where they found out that a
person who had ate 12 grams of saturated fat was 300% less likely to have dementia that a
person who had twice that number. This article states that trans fats are also worse for the
hippocampus which is the center for storing and recalling memory. Fats arent the only ones
linked to dementia, metals such as iron and Copper need to be in balance with what your body
needs. Too much or too little of these can cause troubles and getting them from beans and other
natural sources is the best way. Keeping the amount of vitamins you need in check is also a way
to prevent the erosion of memory. The best ways to support the hippocampus is to first eat grapes
as researchers found out. It is not the alcohol content in wine that helps, but the grapes. The
anthocyanins shield the brain. Next, to do exercise, especially aerobic exercises. Finally to get
more sleep. In young people, most of the time forgetfulness happens because of the lack of sleep.
The brain needs to process the events of the day, and this happens while we are asleep.
Application to Research:
This article was meant to persuade an audience to live a certain way so there could
definitely be more bias. Overall very useful in using science to explain and support claims.

Carr, N. (2010). The shallows: What the internet is doing to our brains. New York, NY: W. W.
Norton and Company.
Summary:
This internets impact can only be discovered by looking at human history of thinking.
But, science can also map out what changes are made. The biggest one is: the internet
discourages deep thinking from happening. In fact it does the opposite, it encourages being
distracted. It has become the biggest mechanism to change the brain since books. it sends the
right amount of stimuli to the right place in the brain for individuals to be allured and for people
to come back for more, until the different sounds and sights make us excited. Nicholas Carr
describes the visual effects, that jump up at the user and the colorful lights that are also exciting
to see and make internet use a repetitive and routine. The amount of information anyone can get
from google in a second is astoundingly impressive, it makes you come back. The internet works
on the reward system. It promotes its use by creating appealing, catchy imagery and it gives the
user rewards like instant gratification as an incentive. It requires less attention of the world
around us and more attention of a device connected to the internet, unlike anything else before
because there is already a lot of information coming from the device, there is no need to look at
anything else. It focuses our attention on the internet, but then the focus focus divides it on
multiple other thing still on the platform of internet. The mind is so preoccupied with the internet

Selam Wolday
Period 3
10-26-15
world, it can not keep up with the real world (around them). Teens and young adults are more
susceptible to this because they want to be connected to their friends and they get trapped in the
web.
Application to Research:
Why the internet is so addictive and the changes caused by it that could be harming us.

Conners, K. C. (2001). Diet, IQ, and learning. Feeding the brain: How foods affect children (pp.
123-156). Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books.
Summary:
All around the world, people believe that there are certain foods that increase brain
function for the better to make you smarter. However, do environmental factors really affect the
IQ of a person of is it all in the genes? Though most genes are hereditary, the environment can
change some traits. The example given in the book is height of Asian American immigrants. The
same principle applies with smartness though the gene has the most affect. The study was done
around children whose parents receives financial help with getting better food before around the
age of one and their older siblings. The study checked if nutritional enrichment at a younger age
helped increase IQ. The first graders, who were also the younger sibling, had an average of 15point increase in IQ. The other experiment, done on older children, gave children supplements,
placeboes, or nothing. Again, the children with the nutritional supplements faired better on the
IQ test. The part they did well, the nonverbal IQ, on tested on skills not learned. The right
hemisphere lags in development verses the left hemisphere, and it is responsible for this type of
development, so this experiment determined that the right hemisphere is more vulnerable to
nutritional changes. A key in this study could be thiamin deficiency. Thiamin deficiency was the
most prominent deficiencies during that study. It is used in the body to create cell membrane in
the brain and spiral cord system. From those, the conclusion comes that certain foods at certain
times can harm or benefit us.
Application to Research:
Different nutritional deficiencies on the intelligences of children (6-7, 11-13 years old).

Cotman, C. W., & Berchtold, N. C. (2002). Exercise: A behavioral intervention to enhance brain
health and plasticity. Trends in Neurosciences, 25(6), 295-301. Retrieved from
http://resulb.ulb.ac.be/facs/ism/docs/ behaviorBDNF.pdf
Summary:
Exercise can improve neuroplasticity by promoting neural factors that help neurons grow
(BDNF). plasticity is important in all times of life. Whether it be for gaining knowledge, for
memory or for overcoming/slowing down mental disease such as Alzheimers, the brain needs to
be flexible to retain the information it is getting. The importance of neural elasticity in people

Selam Wolday
Period 3
10-26-15
especially in memory has been proven on rats and mice. They voluntarily exercised on a wheel
and were forced into swimming after that for the stress it puts on them (high stress can decrease
BDNF). The results of the two different groups are very different. The exercise group showed
sustained neural connections, presumably from exercise, while non-exercise group showed loss
of neural connections, like what happens usually. The increase in IGF-1, a neurotrophic factor
that is associated with exercise, is the following: mRNA increase in the brain causes more of the
gene is sent to the the rRNA to be made into protein (neurons). This finding proved the actual
molecules have an effect on the brain not just the overall health. Exercise is most effective in the
hippocampus. it permits neurogenesis to enhance memory.
Application to Research:
A link between exercise and neuroplasticity and how that is important for a person to
have an elastic brain. Also, what exercise is promoting in the brain to have these effects and what
is happening when BDNF are unleashed in the brain.

Deardorff, J. (2015, May 7). The best exercise may be physical. Chicago Tribune. Retrievedfrom
http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/sc-hlth-0506-exercise-for-the-brain20150430-story.html
Summary:
Exercise does help with making your body healthier, but his article suggests that exercise
helps with storing memory as we age. It was always thought that the brain sends messages to the
body but the body does not send anything back, but this new study says that exercise helps
strengthen the brain the most, out of the other muscles. The research was divided into 3
generations: young children, pre-teenagers and late adulthood. Children are always moving, and
this is essential for developing stronger muscles to learn to walk and talk. The problem this
generation faces is that children are looking at screens all day and not moving as much. Pre-teens
who were part of this study, and did an hours worth of exercise were able to focus more and
were able to understand things quicker, than those who did not do the exercise. It also increased
their ability to multitask. When we get older, the hippocampus, the area in the brain where
learning and memory happens, tends to decrease in size. However, if a person, in late adulthood
exercises almost every day for half an hour, it has shown to combat the decrease of beta
amyloidal plaque, which happens in people with Alzheimers.
Application to Research:
This article may be used if I were to show the correlation of exercise to the brain. I can
also find an article that says something about the brain and why it resists when we try to go to the
gym.

Dougherty, D. (2009). Making the paper: A tiny receptor variation explains nicotine's power over
the brain. Nature, 384. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE

Selam Wolday
Period 3
10-26-15
%7CA197363461&v=2.1&u=hcpub_hebron&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w&asid=55c255f2fa02e
7ab8bf6856364ef9dc0
Summary:
Nicotine, unlike other drugs targets the reward part of the brain. It contracts muscles by
binding to them. If it contracted other body muscles the way it does for brain muscles, it could
kill a person. Dennis Dougherty decided to see why nicotine binds differently to receptors that
are exactly the same, the brain receptors and the muscle receptors. He made an artificial
chemical receptor that made cation-[pi] interaction where positive and negative charged formed a
reaction, but it was nicotine did not use this reaction with muscle cells as they later proved. He
and his colleague Henry Lester finally uncovered that the receptors are not identical. They found
out that one amino acid change is the reason for the different reactions of nicotine to the brain
and muscle cells. The body cells did not change to bind with nicotine."If it also activated the
receptor in muscles, humans would probably die instantly from smoking." Dougherty hopes this
leads to a way to helps people stop smoking and doing other drugs.
Application to research:
This Journal was very hard to read, but it does tell you how and why nicotine acts one
way with brain cells and another way with body cells.

Gaidos, S. (2010, 3 March). Making light of sleep. Science In Context. Retrieved from:
http://bit.ly/1Gf3Bmm
Summary:
This website article talks about why we cant sleep at night but say up on our phones.
The internal clock in the body resets itself every day. It resets using sensors in the eye,
specifically in the retina. Blue light is special because it is the color of the sky. When screens
omit the blue light, it wakes people up because the brain thinks it is still daytime. The brain sends
and melatonin when it is time for you to go to sleep. However, when it sees the blue light, it does
not send the hormones to wind the person down. Researchers came to this conclusion by making
a summer camp where there was No sunlight, no clocks, no TV or texting. Teens play, read, eat
and, of course, sleep. Then they monitored their brains, heart rate, and muscle activity. And
again, when they get got half a sample of students to where orange tinted glasses for a week, and
the other half to go by with their average day. Then, they checked the amount of melatonin in
their saliva. The students that had sunglasses produced melatonin 30 minutes later than the
control group. Researchers suggest limiting blue light exposure in the nighttime and also spend
10-15 minutes at around 9:00-10:00 looking outside in the morning to fix that problem.
Application to research:
This article is not exactly what I am looking for but it does show how blue light or screen
light affects people, in particular adolescence. I want to know how the blue screen light has
affected this generations brain verses how the other generations brain works because they did

Selam Wolday
Period 3
10-26-15
not have much computer exposure. Question: Do computers affect anything else except sleep
patterns?

Hillman, C., & Gomez-Pinilla, F. (2013). The influence of exercise on cognitive abilities.
Comprehensive Physiology, 403-428. Web.
Summary:
There is a stronger correlation in preteens versus any other group of children of
better cognition and fitness. What was more interesting is that preteens who were physically
fitter by aerobic testing did better in every aspect of the Stroop task except in memory. BDNF, a
protein in the brain, is promoted by exercise. As a cause of that, the protein promotes the
stimulation on neurons in the aspects of learning and remembering; it promotes neuroplasticity.
Going down to the molecular size, BDNF is increasing the firing speed of the neuron as it goes
down from the receiving side to the sending side. When neurologist are scanning the brain, they
look at older people to see what aging loss has occurred, then compare them to the brains of
those who have the independent variable to find a difference. Another way to it has been proven,
that exercise works is by testing it on animals. Normal loss includes gray matter from the all but
occipital cortex. The journal continues in depth about exactly what part neural connection affect
what part of the brain. It goes on to explain that there a huge advantages to those that have or are
in danger of having serious mental illnesses.
Application to research:
This goes down to the molecular structure of why exercise has an effect. This was
literally how the two mediums are connected. Explain how the components of things other than
exercise can change the brain. Note To Self: Go back to the journal because there is lots of
detailed information that cannot be described in a one page summary.

How the web affects memory. (2011, November/December). Harvard Magazine. Retrieved from
http://harvardmagazine.com/2011/11/how-the-web-affects-memory
Summary:
The internet is changing the way our brain remembers. Instead of our brain remembering
the information that we want, it remembers where to find the information that we want, as Daniel
Wegner found in his study Google Effects on Memory: Cognitive Consequences of Having
Information at Our Fingertips. The internet is now in this system that psychology called
transactive memory source, where the brain divides the way it remembers things. It also happens
in different instances Technology [is] becoming virtual extensions of our memory. Instead of
remembering the way to peoples houses, we have a GPS to do it for us. In two of the four
experiments, subjects were told to memorize a phrase. Those who were allowed to saved the
phrase on a computer did worse than those who were not allowed to save it, but the people who
did save the phrases could easily recall where it is placed. There is no answer on the effects of
the reliance of computers to our brain and thinking. We might not be using them in the same way,

Selam Wolday
Period 3
10-26-15
but we are still using our brains to remember. This could also lead to understanding why we do
this.
Appliance to research:
This is one of the only articles about computers and the brain that I have found. There has
not been lots of research on this topic but its very interesting how our brain has adapted to the
world in the last 15 years of wide internet use.

Kansas City Live TV. (2013, February 20). KCL - power foods can help improve memory and
cognitive brain function [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ccKJ3KsXB2I
Summary:
In this interview between Dr Neal Barnard and Kansas City Live, Dr Barnard brains
down a three-step program to get rid of sluggishness and become more attentive using food. 1)
The accumulation of amyloidal plaque is also seen in Alzheimers patients. This is cause by the
consumption of saturated fat, trans fat, and metals and to get rid of it, one must eat fruits with
antioxidants. 2) Dr Barnard recommends a weekly regiment of walking (30 minutes every other
day) to boost memory. 3) Getting enough sleep at night; it is the time when the brain processes
the information acquired from the day. There are 2 parts of the night, the first part is saving the
memories formed, the second part is to regulate emotions and feelings. The doctors final
recommendation is for everyone to eat vegetarian foods (AKA vegetables) because they boost
the brain with all their vitamins and Minerals.
Application to research:
This is my first interview to do as a reading report. I am not sure if interviews are reliable
because the man is trying to sell his book, but his comment are consistent with the information
being said by others.

Khan, N., Raine, L., Donovan, S., & Hillman, C. (2014, December). The cognition implications
of obesity and nutrition in childhood. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child
Development, 51-71.
Summary:
Children with obese parents or mothers that had gestational obesity have a higher risk of
obesity. This chance of obesity is a problem because when obese the development of white
matter in the corpus collusum increases. The measurement of how obesity affects children is
flawed because researchers often use the body mass index that does not account for different
things such as sex and age. The one experiment that does not use the BMI shows the change in
cognition processing and speed. The big change that was observed is the change in reading and
spelling before puberty. In addition, a 10 year old with normal body fat answers slower when

Selam Wolday
Period 3
10-26-15
they have sensed they did an error but a person with high body fat is less sensitive to sensing an
error and therefore stay at the same pace. This is important because paced reaction time indicates
cognition problems. The same children also showed less precision in activities relating to
inhibition verses those who were healthier in the same age. Going back to when we are infants,
the brain is almost fully the same size it will be when we are adults by the time we are two. So
because of it is crucial time of brain development. Vitamin B is essential at this time; eating the
required amount can decrease neural tube defects. Children have shown to improve on a picture
vocabulary test if the mother had consumed vitamin B during the 3rd week of pregnancy.
Specifically the lack of choline (Vitamin B) resulted in worse memory in adulthood.
Application to research:
I drifted of topic slightly because I was looking at the obesity factor rather that healthy
versus unhealthy food but still helpful.

Khan, N. A., Raine, L. B., Drollette, E. S., Scudder, M. R., & Hillman, C. H. (2015). The relation
of saturated fats and dietary cholesterol to childhood cognitive flexibility. Elsevier, 95,
51-56.
Summary:
The researchers got children between the ages of 7-10 and experimented to see if there is
a correlation between health, obesity and cognition. Researches recorded the childrens sex, age
IQ, socioeconomic status, BMI (body mass index) and how far into puberty they are in. There
were 66% healthy and 34% obese weight children. They were then given a test and they had to
remember a pattern where the colors blue and green as well as the shapes circle and square. Then
the program tried to steer them to the right direction of the answers. the goal was to see if
weight/obesity reaction time and accuracy of answers (cognition). The results are as follows.
There was not a big difference with what the reaction time and accuracy between the 2 groups of
children as well as sex was related. When looking at non-hppocampal memory storage, there was
a negative correlation between the memory and saturated fat intake. Though they found a
correlation between the cognition and obesity the researchers still analyzed that the correlation
was not strong enough to determine what exactly how cognition is affected
Application to research:
Very complex journal to read; definitely not made for a teen in high school. Im not really
sure that I interpreted it correctly.

Landon-Murray, M. (2013). Thinking in 140 characters: The internet, neuroplasticity, and

intelligence analysis. Journal of Strategic Security, 6(3), 71-82
Summary:

Selam Wolday
Period 3
10-26-15
Decades of research has shown that the brain is ever changing and neurons are ever
connecting to other neurons, usually known as neuroplasticity. Research such as the one done by
Michael Merzenick, where he severed the sensory nerves in a few monkeys hands, and the brain
found another way to recuperate for the loss of the nerves, or the one done by the University of
Alabama, where they helped stroke victims strengthen other parts of their brain, to do the job of
damaged parts, has proven that the brain changes even after childhood is over. The internet can
change the brain because of its neuroplasticity. Nowadays, everything is becoming digital.
Newspapers and magazines are becoming an extension of the internet, not individual businesses.
The internet is affecting the way we read written words. When people say that people are
scrolling through their feed mindlessly, it is quite accurate. There is less interest with what we
are reading because of the amount of info in their device. Because the internet is easily
accessible, there is less of a strain in our minds to remember the information given. The use of
the imagination and creative thinking is also taken away from us because of this. Our attempt to
multitask as we are using our devices has also shown that, the human brain is not meant to be
doing two things at once.
Application to Research:
Incidentally, this research paper also mentions Nicholas Carrs book The Shadows. I
should probably read it, it would be relevant to my research. The same themes as the last article
suggests that there are consistent findings.

Lim, D. (2012). Food and addiction. Nutrition Action Health Letter, 39.4, 3-7.
Summary:
Yale Professor Kelly Brownell suggests that the reason that Americans are getting fatter
is because the food industry is changing the food people eat to make them more appealing
outward, and make them like drugs in the brain to get eaters addicted to the product. But if some
foods start taking over the brain to create a biological demand... In a small study,
undergraduates were shown be to food dependent, to have no self-control when there was food
around while knowing the consequences. More severe cases are rare, but scientist are more
concerned about the big group of people who have to have unhealthy foods to start of their day.
A study done at Brookhaven National Laboratory changed it all because it proved that the
neurotransmitter dopamine, the pleasure chemical, was lacking in subjects who were obese vs.
subjects who were healthy weight, as it is in drug users. So junk food like drugs hijack[s] the
system of reward, to make people crave it more by making dopamine less effective. There is a
stronger reaction to a picture of the stimulus than there is of the stimulus itself, which is also why
people relapse if they are in that same environment they were in as they were doing drugs. The
foods also disrupts the frontal cortex that is responsible for rationalizing to make addicts like
rats, they react on impulse. The most addicting foods are sugars, over processed or highly or not
eating a mixture of foods.
Application to research:

Selam Wolday
Period 3
10-26-15
The explanation of addiction helps explain who each of my lifestyles can also be
addictive in nature if they have the key to disrupt neural firing.

Marijuana abuse. (2005). National institute of drug abuse research report series, 1-8. Retrieved
from http://sks.sirs.com
Summary:
A person under the influence of marijuana sees more vibrant colors and sounds and time
seems slower, they may get hungry thirsty, and sometimes they may feel scared and anxious. All
of these symptoms are a response to what is happening in the brain. Using marijuana also
surpasses the brain from creating and storing new memories by. THC binds to the parts of the
brain that deal with coordination and quickness. This often leads to accidents involving the
person that does the drug because they go driving while under the influence. Being heavily under
the influence of marijuana nothing compared to the influence that alcohol with a small amount of
marijuana has. If higher regiment of the drug is consumed by eating, there is more of a chance
for hallucinatory results. THC also affects the processing of short-term memory by disabling the
hippocampus from forming memory. Regular use of the drug also quickens the lost of neurons
that the elderly show. This was tested by scanning the brain of rats that had been exposed to THC
for 1/3 of their lifespan. Other potential risks include addiction, chronic lung illnesses and
cancers.
Application of Research:
This aricle is exactly what I am looking for. It describes the effects that the life style has
on the brain and what that translates to in human behavior.

Maxnen, A. (2006, June 6). Antipsychotic deflates the brain. Nature. Retrieved from:
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100606/full/news.2010.281.html
Summary:
Participants in the experiment were given schizophrenia medicine (Haloperidol) to see
how the brain was effected. Their brains shrunk within a space of 2 hours and it could go back to
its original size in 1 hour. This was a new find because it was know the brain shrunk, but that
was observed in a period of days. The thousands of neurons that are destroyed by the drug cause
the shrinkage. The protein BDFN is used in the body to create the connections neurons have, so
believe the drug targets it. The change that is shown on the outside is seen in driving. Drivers on
this drug are seen to have a slower reaction time and less control over the car. Haloperidol
surpasses receptors called D2 receptors to prevent the illusions from happening in the
schizophrenic and it is also known for having numerous side effects. This experiment has created
some concerns because the dosage given to the participants was higher than usual and also the
receptors being targeted are also linked to addiction.
Application to research:

Selam Wolday
Period 3
10-26-15
It is also following the format of the reference book. It is also about drugs so it is still
useful but it may not be needed because I have multiple articles about drug influence and effect
on the brain.

McEwen B. (n.d.). Neurobiology of stress and adaptation: Implications for health psychology,
behavioral medicine, and beyond. Psychology and the Real World. 24-30.
Summary:
Allostasis and Allostic load refers to the reaction of the body to the stress of the
environment. The body is trying to keep itself in stable condition while adapting to the
environment. The body can get hormones up to the brain with ease, and this specific hormone
more commonly known as IGF-1 that controls the production of neurons in the hippocampus,
which is important when in trauma because it keeps the brain going. The weathering effect
states that with more traumas, lifespan decrease because the alliostic loads. The paper also says
that the brain is a middle of stress, because of three things: it says what is stressful and what is
not, it reacts when it thinks it is stressed, and there are lots of changes going on constantly.
Application to Research:
I think that this reading from a book, really ties everything in with my research. All of the
subtopics I have chosen create stress, and this stress is then affecting the brain. This means that
all of the lifestyle choices only indirectly change brain function.

Orr, T. (2003, November). Pumping up your brain: Exercise conditions your muscles--and your
brain! So come on and start on your workout! Current Health.
Summary:
This article is aimed students that are stressed, to help alleviate their stress using aerobic
exercises. Being stressed affects both the brain and the body and sitting on the couch or doing
hobbies that dont require movement are shown to be less effective at stopping restlessness that
doing some exercise. Aerobic exercises are the ones chosen by the author because they are meant
for this purpose. They are suppose to relax you by taking deep breaths and doing slower, static
movement, that other (anaerobic) exercises. The author mentions 3 exercises, Yoga, Tai Chi, and
Pilates. Yoga works by making the mind and the body connected, more aware of each other.
Because it is slow and steady, it relaxed the brain while slowly making you body stronger. Tai
Chi also used the slow, inspired by animals relax the body though one started from China and the
other from India. Pilates was created by a therapist for strengthening the core muscles. These
three have also shown to decrease the mental sicknesses, cardiovascular diseases and headaches,
as most stressed students complain about.
Application to research:

Selam Wolday
Period 3
10-26-15
This is made for my audience and but it doesnt give insight on the inner workings of the
brain only the result of the what happens.

Perez-Polo, R. (2015, December 7). [Email interview by the author]

Summary:
I asked a few questions to my advisor through email and these are his answers. The
reason that the things we do physical affect the thing that happened in the brain is because they
use the same system. The immune system and other systems the talk to each other, use neurons
to communicate with others of that system. Exercise, in particular, enhances the creation and
maintenance of neurons. Has never done research about internet addiction, but there is research
that says exposure to the internet in large quantities of time is negative. The brain uses a quarter
of the energy in the body, so the change in nutrition can be felt very much so in the brain because
its not getting the right amount of energy as it should have. The increase of dementia may not
have anything to do with the different foods but with the average lifespan being longer. The
increase in unhealthy foods is causing redness, which is a sign of the bodys rejection of the
stimuli. There have been many experiments showing exercise paired with a healthy diet increases
the memory capacity in animals. That and healthy surroundings (Little pollution, stress free
environment) have in children and exercise in older people, and having a social life expands
cognitive abilities.
Application to Research:
It is really nice to finally have an interview and to have someone who answers your
questions with me having to look for then for a whole week.

Perez-Polo, R. (2016, January 5). [Personal interview by the author].

Summary:
When sex cells are developing, they could have better genetics because their parents won
the genetic lottery, everyone is the same. As Mr Perez-Polo stated everyone is a tabula blanca.
But, as cells become children, they are growing the choices parents make (the environment)
affect the mental capacity of a child (i.e. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome). So peoples genetic make up
does not matter, mostly, its the environment that makes the difference.Most of the energy
generated in the brain when people are younger (60%), goes to the brain. This in a crucial time,
as the brain is developing rapidly, to have good nutrition because a dip in energy is sensed in the
brain easily and the consequences could be felt in for a long time after. Because a lot of the
energy is going to the brain even after childhood; lack of nutrition is experienced in humans by
feeling light headed and other symptoms. The changes caused by junk food not being nutritious
enough is reversible, but it gets harder the younger the subject was when the changes came. One
of the known changes made in the brain because of the environment, is the neurotransmitter
systems are altered. When one is specifically talking about teenagers, there is an added twist to
it: hormones. The new changes from the environment mixed with the natural changes of puberty

Selam Wolday
Period 3
10-26-15
means a bonus change in behavior and brain function. This is also a new experience for the
human race because humans have not lived this long before to experience it. People would
usually die around the mid-30s. Because the brain is plastic, it can help with overcoming
addictions and habits.
Application to Research:
Get some feedback on questions that I had, that could not be answered by papers or
articles.

Recent findings from Yale University highlight research in addiction medicine. (2012, 30 Jan).
Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1LiSniw
Summary:
New research done about drug abuse, shows that most people believe that that is a mental
disorder in the mind more that the lack of self-control. The psychologists at Yale University
concluded, some genetic information could make the people who have them susceptible to being
a drug addict. Another condition that can affect a persons chances is the environment. This
addiction can affect the person later on as their go to the next stages of addiction. They minimize
the negatives and only remember the positives of that drug, even if they do not get the same
outcome, referring to the high, as they did before. They now seek out for that drug more and
more, and their ability of getting clean becomes less and less. The drug also alters the learning of
the person, so they think differently. There is a biological change in them as well. Finally, the
drug causes those cravings mentioned earlier changes by changing the inner workings of the
brain. That is the transition of the addict.
Application to Research:
The article I used was more of a review of the actual journal, so it wasnt as detailed as I
wanted it to be. It gives the general gist of the paper but I think the primary resource would have
been a lot better. Question: What are the best ways to treat addictions?

Rewiring your gray matter: The brain: You can teach an old brain new tricks. neuroplasticity
promises to give a whole new meaning to 'changing your mind'. (2000). Newsweek, 63.
Retrieved from Opposing Viewpoints in Context database. (Accession No. GALE|
A58422322)
Summary:
The program Fast ForWard, helps kids who struggle to catch the difference between the
sounds some letters make. In the 1950, psychologists believed the brain was set in stone by the
age of three, but as heavy research was done in the 1990s, there came new evidence that the
brain evolves as there is more input from stimuli i.e. neuroplasticity. Scientist believe that with
the new century (the article was written in 2000), there will be more advancements in this field to

Selam Wolday
Period 3
10-26-15
better alter the brain of those who are mentally ill and those who want to better train their brain.
Going back to Fast ForWard, the programs does exactly as said before, it trains the brain to be
more sensitive to problem sounds such as r and l for those who are native Japanese speakers. It
has been proven to work for 90% of for the 25,000 children trained 11 times faster that the
regular way of learning! This new find can also trick the brain to make it do things faster, like
how experienced instrument players sometimes have one neuron firing for all fingers instead of
one for each. People suffering from a brain damage can also retrain the brain to function without
the lesioned part. Neuroscientist dont just want to help people with serious illnesses, but coaches
who want to better train their athletes and racists that have neurons that work overtime when they
see a race they do not like. Researchers believe that it all narrows down to neuroplasticity.
Application to Research:
Neuroplasticity as a tool for those who need help rebounding after brain damage of want
to better their brain

Reynolds, G. (2015, 12 Aug). A little exercise for the mind. The New York Times. Retrieved from
Opposing Viewpoints in Context database.
Summary:
Another article showing that exercise can benefit the brain in older age. The institutions
decided to find out how much exercise is needed to feel the full effects of exercise. People from
the age 65 and up were chosen because this is when we start shown signs of decreasing mental
function. They were tested to see where they were at and were assigned a group. Control group
did not have an assigned amount of hours of exercise, experimental group 1 did 50% of the 150
minutes of recommend exercise time, group 2 did 100% of the 150 minutes, and group 3 did
150% of the recommended minutes. The exercise was mostly on treadmill with some participants
on the elliptical; this continued for 28 weeks. There was a clear physical difference between the
groups. There was an increase in fitness as the amount of time exercising increased. In the
psychological aspect, those who exercised showed a big difference in thinking; especially in the
areas that were suppose to decrease as age increases. However, the big question is, which amount
of exercise was most effective? The answer: all of them. There was not much of a difference
between the 50%ers and the 150%ers, though more exercise means better health and better brain
indirectly. Dr Burns, the leader of the experiment, is not satisfied with his conclusion; he wants
to find the exact time to encourage people to go to the gym. He plans to do more research on
Alzheimers and exercise. He still recommends 25 minutes of walking around to keep the mind
as strong as it can be.
Application to research:
Another source to add to the exercise collection of reading reports. More evidence to
solidify what I have found in other reports.

Selam Wolday
Period 3
10-26-15
Reynolds G. (2015, 21 Oct). Lifting weights, twice a week, may aid the brain. New York Times.
Retrieved from: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/21/lifting-weights-twice-a-weekmay-aid-the-brain/
Summary:
This study focuses on how weight lifting affects the creation of white matter of the brain
in elder women between the ages of 65-75. White matter is the material that takes the area of the
brain after it decreases in size, like a placeholder. The women where set up in three groups by
random assignment and were given an exercise to do. The control group did minimal anaerobic
activity, and the two control groups did once, or twice a week anaerobic exercises. After the
women were taught how to do the activity, they were let alone for a year to see the long term
effects of the exercises. After the year was done, they took scans to see if there were changes in
the brain from before. The brains of the women who did the lighter exercise showed an
increase in white matter, while the brains of the women who did activities with lifting weights
two times a week showed less development white matter. This experiment was done to find how
to decelerate the creation of holes or lesions as the article called them of the white matter.
Application to Research:
Exercise being one of the subtopics and memory loss being a side effect, this was right up
my alley. Question: where does the white matter come from and why doesnt the brain just create
more neurons to replace the once that were lost?

SciShow. (2012, March 24). Your brain is plastic [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KLPxDtMqe8
Summary:
The brain is always changing in structure so that we can learn more and different things.
The circuits of out brain connect to other brain cells to adapt to the new learning. This is neural
plasticity. If we were to look at the brain of a new born baby versus the brain of a toddler there
are over 12500 more synapses, connections between neurons and brain cells, in the toddlers
brain. When you grow up, there is only half the amount of synapses in your brain, but that does
not mean that human reach a peak as a toddler. The synapses are used to remind us of
information but when you know this information you no longer need them. The loss of these
synapses is Synaptic Pruning. Synapses is short term, but when you are learning something
important your brain begins to create the stronger synapses that turn in to long term memories.
Application to Research:
This video goes well with the last article because they both talk about memory; this one is
more about what actually happens in the brain while the other one is about how we affect what
happens in the brain. I think that this will be the base of the research because; this is what is
actually being affected.

Selam Wolday
Period 3
10-26-15
Stafford, T. (2012, April 24). Does the internet rewire the brain? BBC future. Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120424-does-the-internet-rewire-brains
Summary:
The brain can be changed by everything we do. The articles main argument was that
reading (the invention of books) and TV were also highly scrutinized when they were first
created, but now looking at us now, there is little harmful change caused by reading and
watching TV. In fact, there has been change to the brain that could be considered positive; People
in bands have bigger a motor cortex on one side or another, depending on their instruments,
because they use them more. Because we use the internet (social media) as an add on to our
social lives, there is no need to worry. If it was distracting us from actually meeting face to face,
then there would be a danger. The mental games that are highly popular on the internet, to boost
up brain function are also unnecessary because the internet is making you exercise your brain.
Application to Research:
This article in contradictory to what I have been reading. It is by a journalist and there
isnt an experiment to back up the information.

Taylor, J. (2012, 4 Dec). How technology is changing the way children think and focus.
Psychology Today. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-powerprime/201212/how-technology-is-changing-the-way-children-think-and-focus
Summary:
Jim Taylor writes about in this article on the Psychology Today website about the effects
of the technology on children. His theses his that children are mostly impacted by the
environment around them for their later years. His main point is that attention is very important
for thinking. it is very malleable in children and their environment has a lot of impact. If a child
spends most of their time reading, they have to focus , imagine and visualize what they are
reading. When watching a movie, you do not have to focus as much and the visualizing is being
done for you, same with the internet. Technology is rewiring your brain , to work a different way.
He states that children nowadays "become less adept at remembering things" but he also states
that they have become "more skilled at remembering where to find things". Playing video games
can improve attention span and reaction quickness.
Application to Research:
I really like this website and this article. It is extremely clear to me what the author are
conveying .If I decide to go with the topic of how the different generations are work and how
society and technological advancements are effecting the brain I think this will be very helpful to
me. Question: can you see a physical change in the brain of the 2/3 generations of people that
have had different technological experiences in life?

Selam Wolday
Period 3
10-26-15
Tucker, P. (2010). What the internet is doing to our brains. The Furutist. Retrieved from Science
in Context database. (Accession No. GALE|A229531545)
Summary:
In the past, our brains were designed to be alerted by everything around them, for safety
reasons. This was a good thing because we would be aware if danger was lurking by and we
would have the instinct to move; it helped us survive. After the invention of books and reading,
our brains developed to be calmer and to have a longer attention span. With this development, we
were able to make ingenious inventions such as the wheel and the printing press, as the article
said, but also, we were able to get ahead in the subjects of science and math. This required lots of
focus and reading especially on those who were to add to what knowledge we already had. This
was also good because we do not need to be that aware of our surroundings anymore, we arent
in the same type of danger. Now with the invention of the internet, the develops of the human
brain mentioned in the last sentences, are being undone. The internet is shortening our attention
span by the amount of information we get in a short period of time, all in one place. Nicholas
Carr, the author of the book The Shadows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains also
believes that our short-term memory is virtually nonexistent because we do not care to remember
anything anymore. Even if we do care to remember, the amount of information available is
making it hard for our brain to process it. What is perhaps most frightening about, this ghost of
our collective future self, is how much, and how quickly, we have come to resemble him
already.
Application to Research:
This is very interesting to me. This was what I wanted my topic to be on and Im glad Im
back to it.

Other Topic:
Dixon, Hayley. (2013, 8 Sep). Global warming? No, actually were cooling, claim scientists. The
Telegraph. Retrieved from:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/climatechange/10294082/Globalwarming-No-actually-were-cooling-claim-scientists.html
Summary:
This web article was written by Telegraph writer Hayley Dixon. There is 533,000 square
miles of ocean covered by ice. There has been a pause of global warming for a while. The
original prediction about the arctic melting was wrong and the global temperature has been on a
cooling trend. Humans have only caused an increase 0.8C with emissions uncertainty is getting
bigger within the academic community about global warming. The article also includes an
alternate to global warming. The world has been having warming trend and cooling trends. The
last warming trend was during 1980s and 1990s and now we are in a cooling trend for the next
15 years as said by Professor Anastasios Tsonis.
Application of Research:

Selam Wolday
Period 3
10-26-15
This article seems very one sided compared to the other one. It was only trying to destroy
the evidence of global warming than to show the facts for and against it. From what I know
about global warming, the name is misleading because it does not just mean the warming of the
climate of the planet, but a change in the climate warming and cooling so this article further
helps the argument for Climate change. Question: what is causing these trends?

Lubman, J. & Dadny, Scott. (2014, 5 June). Climate change 101 with Bill Nye the science guy
[Video File]. Smithsonian.com. Retreived from: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ist/?
next=/videos/category/3play_1/climate-change-101-with-bill-nye-the-science/
Summary:
Scientists have already observed and understood the change of climate in the atmosphere,
but since we have been creating more of the chemicals that do the greenhouse effect (carbon and
methane) the temperatures have been steadily raising. This is replicated by getting two jars
(earth) under heating lamps (sun) but put a source of CO2 in one. The one with more carbon
should be hotter than the one with the regular amount of carbon. This is a problem because it
affects the water cycle, which in turn brings more extreme weather. The earth has been on that
regular cycle for approx. one million years but humans have burn an unseen amount of fossil fuel
in the past 100 years. 35 billion tons of carbon dioxide is produced every year and 55% of that is
absorbed by the eco-system but the rest is in the atmosphere. With that much in the air, we can
see the differences in weather now, more and more of the aggressive weather such as storms and
droughts. It is still revisable if we act now.
Application to Research:
I really enjoyed this video, it explained things very clearly to me, but it did not go in
depth very much. It explained the reason why the world is warming and what the consequences
very well. I also liked how he concluded, by saying, we should separate fact from fiction to start
fixing this problem. Question: if the consequences are so serious, why is no one doing anything
about it? Why arent people taking it seriously?