Mental Abilities- Genius, Savant. Autism

1. Explain in detail what "savant syndrome" means.
----> The syndrome of Savant occurs when a person of low intelligence is very talented in a specific area. This syndrome is associated with autism and approximately half of the children who have autism are also victims of the savant syndrome. It is been tested than more boys are associated with this syndrome, than girls. Researches have been done to know the cause of the savant syndrome and have come up with two theories: 1) A change in genes. 2) A damage in the left hemisphere of the brain that affects the right hemisphere. Savant children are very intelligent in areas like mathematical calculations, vision, art and speed. There is nothing bad about being a Savant child since they have a very high IQ in a specific category. 

2. What does genius mean?  Explain the difference between genius and savant.
---->According to the dictionary, a genius is someone who has an exceptional intellectual ability and capacity and is very skilled in any field. The difference between a genius and a savant varies because a genius is skilled and talented in many fields and a savant has a low intelligence and is only skilled in one field or area. 


3. What is a stroke and how could it affect your mental functioning?
---->A stroke occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery or a blood vessel breaks and interrupts the blood flow to the brain. If this occurs, then the brain cells begin to die and not do the function they are required. Depending on the part of the brain in which the stroke occurs, the mental function can have negative effects. If the stroke occurs in the parietal lobe then the speech is affected. 

4. What is a functional MRI and how does it help us understand brain activity?
---->The functional MRI is Magnetic Resonance Imaging that helps physicians to diagnose brain functions and treat medical conditions. It helps us understand brain activity because it produces images of the different parts of the brain like its tissues, bones and organs. It helps diagnose tumors, diseases, etc. 


5. What is the corpus callosum and what role does it play in your brain's activity?
---->The corpus callosum are a lot of nerves that connect the right side of the brain with the left side. It plays the role of communication between both sides. 


6. What is epilepsy and how might it affect your brain's abilities?
---->Epilepsy is a medical condition that produces seizures affecting mental and physical functions. 
7. What is autism?
---->Autism is a general disease of people who lack of communication and relation with other people, interaction with themselves and think they are different. Autistic people are pretty much different than others and have a view of the world different than ours. 
8. What is Asperger's Syndrome?
---->The Asperger's Syndrome is a syndrome that relates to autism. The people who suffer from this are socially isolated and have repetitive speech. They are very clumsy and lack of interest.  




Work Cited:
http://www.healthofchildren.com/S/Savant-Syndrome.html
http://www.stroke.org/site/PageServer?pagename=myth
http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=bodymr
http://www.dyslexia.org/corpus.shtml
http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/about/index.cfm
http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/autism-and-asperger-syndrome-an-introduction/what-is-autism.aspx
http://www.aspergers.com/aspclin.htm

Accidental Genius

Accidents are not always bad. Most of them have negative effects in people, but there exist exceptions. By watching the video, I learned what savant is, which is a person whose ability level may be very low but excels in one exact subject. George is an example of a savant. His ability is very impressive for everyone, even for himself. George is able to say the day of the week of any year, even 2,000 years ago only by making all the calculations needed in his head.  He knows about this without even studying what day of the week was it 500 years ago for example. He is a genius. There was also Kim, who was a girl that could memorize 9 books at a time, when normally people can not even memorize one. She reads her book very quickly and ay read 200 pages or more in an hour. These people have something in common and is a brain injury. They are said to be victims of autism, but that makes them be accidentally genius, because they are very intelligent. Savant people are very smart, intelligent and genius!




work Cited
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.psychologytoday.com/files/u81/2125452242_b670b25bc5.jpg.jpeg&imgrefurl=http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beautiful-minds/201001/conversations-creativity-allan-snyder%3Fpage%3D3&usg=__m13FYaZ-fCBrLh2MMNhEGfgEKgU=&h=311&w=417&sz=36&hl=en&start=0&sig2=ezUA79Y1XVAvto-C_yJ2sQ&zoom=1&tbnid=JuWydb8UYiZIoM:&tbnh=142&tbnw=190&ei=UtxqTdv1K4rWtgeVxIXoAw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dautism%2Bchildren%2Bgenius%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D625%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=672&oei=UtxqTdv1K4rWtgeVxIXoAw&page=1&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0&tx=12&ty=85

Make Me a Genius

Can any ordinary child become a genius? Yes, any child can become a genius. Susan is an example of this. In her childhood she was very normal, but she became genius when her father trained her to become a chess champion. She had to devote her life to chess, even though only men were "capable" of playing because they thought women could not handle thinking in their left brain. Susan proved them wrong by beating chess champions when she was just a child. As she grew older, her brain became very photographic. Susan was able to handle and play 5 chess games in her brain and she may even play chess by phone and without seeing the chess board. She could beat chess champions who were men without having the chess board in front of her. She only need the board in her man. Susan is totally a genius. It is amazing how Susan has this ability to chunk a lot of information in her brain and become a genius. With dedication, devotion and desire it is possible to become a genius. Stimulating a person since childhood is the best thing to do to favorite someone's future. Ordinary persons may become genius. 

Work Cited-
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.storkie.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/boy%2Bgenius.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.storkie.com/blog/index.php/you-tell-us/hilarous-baby-photos/attachment/boygenius/&usg=__ZVpXjBdbOXj1W9p22vlf28152ZY=&h=750&w=1000&sz=80&hl=en&start=0&sig2=rAmZYYzRYnubHk6kyrqBiA&zoom=1&tbnid=MmVoddRduSg2ZM:&tbnh=152&tbnw=209&ei=GXJqTYquCYaztwfl3IDoAw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgenius%2Bboy%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D625%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=143&vpy=104&dur=790&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=182&ty=48&oei=GXJqTYquCYaztwfl3IDoAw&page=1&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

Gifted Children

How come not all of us are gifted children? And only a few exceptions of children are gifted? Mark is an example of these gifted children that are very intelligent because their brain was stimulated at a very young age. He is a very young kid whose brain is very intelligent and gives him the capability of playing 40 different classical music. Its amazing how he may do this and control his left side and right side of the brain at a very small age. He is great at music and with the support of his mother and the people around him, Mark got to play beside his favorite musical teacher. If this child continues practicing his musical skills, someday he will grow to be a great, professional and dedicated musician. Early start of the stimulation of the brain is very important, because it will increase the amount of intelligence.. but there might also be bad stimulation. Parts of the brain may get more stimulated than others and that will cause the brain to be more concentrated in some materials and have difficulties in others. Gifted children are truly gifted, but also have difficulties. 

Work Cited: 
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://podcast.mommycast.com/wp-content/uploads/00014882.jpg&imgrefurl=http://podcast.mommycast.com/archives/823&usg=__VlbR_9Occ8u-kM2vhS2Bgp0O0AM=&h=360&w=540&sz=68&hl=en&start=0&sig2=uqxyGkUvJ-BHIOcINrr9jQ&zoom=1&tbnid=d8aqEgcbrM93AM:&tbnh=138&tbnw=208&ei=_GhqTcqLBIuXtwe5143oAw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgifted%2Bchildren%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D625%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=135&vpy=136&dur=921&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=80&ty=205&oei=_GhqTcqLBIuXtwe5143oAw&page=1&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

Nurture Vrs. Nature

Homosexuality has a lot to deal with Human vrs. Nature. It still has not been establish if we are born having our sexual orientation or if as the years go on we acquire it. This question has been going around through many experiments, deciding if people are born having an orientation for being straight or gay, or if it simply just happens throughout the years. By watching this video, I came up with my own opinion that people do not become gay from one day to another, it is been in their genes since they are born. In the video, I watched different cases about twins were one was straight meanwhile the other one was not. Since children, people become oriented on what they like, who they like and why. Their are cases in which very young boys prefer playing with barbies, painting their finger nails, doing ballet and liking colors pink and purple instead of playing with G.I Joe's, playing soccer and liking darker colors. These guys are most likely to becoming gay since they like doing girl stuff instead of boy stuff. As they grow up they may be called sissies or names like that and they will have a lean on liking men rather than women. There is not only gays in the world, lesbians also exist. They have the same situation as gay children. Young girls who are more influenced in being "boys" and tomboy are more likely to be liking women as they grow up, since they grow up acting like men. Regarding if a person is straight or gay, that does not matter. They can not be socially excluded because of their leaning or appeal for others. Everyone has the same rights and has the right to always enjoy it.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://sp.rpcs.org/rpcsweb/home/upperschool/clubs/Club%2520Images/gsa.gif&imgrefurl=http://sp.rpcs.org/rpcsweb/home/upperschool/clubs/Webpages/Gay%2520Straight%2520Alliance.aspx&usg=__3n0l2j95Zp5kjkT4-XXW5rUq0oQ=&h=409&w=480&sz=219&hl=en&start=0&sig2=4_sZMrlLDy57Anzt9sFOZQ&zoom=1&tbnid=MqdqGqhfwa0wTM:&tbnh=159&tbnw=187&ei=O7phTfj4FcK78gbvxsjVCw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstraight%2Bor%2Bgay%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D625%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=451&oei=DbphTdOdIYWftwfTvZHxCw&page=1&ndsp=14&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0&tx=90&ty=78

Criminal Mind

Why do criminals exist? Why do they harm others? What do they gain? Why are they so mean? There are many types of people in the world, good or evil, tall or short, fat or skinny. Criminals are also a type of people. Due to psychological studies, specialists have come with the solution that criminals exist because of brain injuries. Many have been victims of diverse types of violence or abuse, and this has cause an injury in their brain. It was believed that these types of criminals were followers of the devil and the evil long time ago, but now its been proved that they are victims of brain injuries that cause them to act that way. In the video we saw different examples of brain injuries, for example Terrance. He had a severely brain injury because he murdered his wife and his kids, besides being a very calm person. It all began with a discussion with his wife and later he grabbed her, his teenage daughter and young son and killed them one by one. When these sort of things occur for no reason, there is a serious type of brain damage which affects a person's act. Another example was Arthur. He was an older guy who had approximately murdered 13 persons. He had even raped some girls, but it has been concluded that he made this because he had a severe brain injury. When he was young, he was raped several times and that caused his brain some injuries that lea d him to make these terrible actions. Criminals or bad people are not bad because they want to, they are this way because they are victims of a brain injury they had in their past and as they went older, the injury increased. Having a brain injury is a major problem because it can lead to terrible actions.


Work Cited- 
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Nj14ZLflzAUcIRQpBor8sTW8iT5QHnlU0FBT6lAyw0feKU0Ku1NAb5r-j3nEikndGnkEKKBx6hZjcjUpO5fjGkMGovRHvMuCyXIbIa3H8ebrM4-TU1Vj-JaF91SU6XjjApu2PTq0GSZy/s1600/super-hero-brain-injury.jpg&imgrefurl=http://oldsailor2007.blogspot.com/2011_01_01_archive.html&usg=__hjW9ALMLAHlrhjPUjdZ6kkS1Yns=&h=733&w=338&sz=196&hl=en&start=0&sig2=LTEUn7Hi9KM4I7_-2isYSg&zoom=1&tbnid=C3KIiMDxZg4kBM:&tbnh=164&tbnw=76&ei=HuBhTfORMJG4twepx-joCw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbrain%2Binjury%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D625%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=544&oei=HuBhTfORMJG4twepx-joCw&page=1&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0&tx=25&ty=62

Traumatic Brain Injury

Living with a traumatic brain injury is not fun and nobody would like to live with it. A small accident can lead the way to become a victim of brain injury. These injuries affect the human body a lot. For example, a person that lives with a traumatic injury in the brain suffers of problems like seeing, hearing, smelling, thinking, moving and many more. Everyone has the same vulnerability to become a victim. A car accident may lead you to becoming a victim, or even a bad fall in a sport. Maybe just walking down the road, tripping and falling with your head makes you have an injury in your brain. The brain is the most delicate part of the human body, since it is the controller of our actions.  Any type of accident that affects the brain, will have a level of injury. Nobody would like to love like this. After watching the video, I give thanks to God for letting me have a brain with a traumatic injury, because that is one of the worst problems a person could have. Not being able to think, move, see, etc is a wish nobody asks for.  None of them was happy with their traumatic brain, but they could not do nothing about it. A fight, may get you into this. It is better to think of our actions before making them because this is not a joke. The brain is the most delicate part of our body. 


Work Cited:http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.besttbicaregiver.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/car.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.besttbicaregiver.com/%3Fp%3D28&usg=__9Usz9q3FyNiHsOsyIm3WwEerJdU=&h=365&w=300&sz=13&hl=en&start=0&sig2=02tY6pEsrFDbHVLLnsehgw&zoom=1&tbnid=JA_2ZQZ4gHhVaM:&tbnh=144&tbnw=113&ei=LCRTTdScL4L6tgfZy5XuCg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtraumatic%2Bbrain%2Binjury%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D625%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C191&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=456&oei=LCRTTdScL4L6tgfZy5XuCg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0&tx=38&ty=70&biw=1024&bih=625

Mind Reading with MRI

It is amazing how technology advances everyday! Our brain may be examined and looked in through machines called MRI, but that is not the only thing these machines may do. Now, they may read your mind too! I did not know that a machine was capable of reading someone's mind, but it is incredible how this machine may do this. Not only may it read your mind or know what your are thinking, but it resembles the parts of the brain that are making you think or picture something that way. This is an amazing advance in technology, but at the same time it has its own risks. A person enters a "capsule" and begins to think meanwhile the computer is grabbing all of the information that is being thought and lights up the part of the brain which are working. I can not imagine what this machine, the MRI, will do in a couple of years because it knows how are brain looks like from the inside, it knows what we think of and the parts of the brain that think that way, so imagine what can it do in a couple of years? Could it think for ourselves? This is a very helpful and useful machine for all human beings, since it may also be used as a lie detector machine. This machine is totally incredible! 

Work Cited- http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.gulker.com/blog/wp-content/2006/10/chris_closed_MRI.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.gulker.com/wp/2006/10/24/228/&usg=__vCSk5nyyn15SiMcPXC0rwWDeEo8=&h=488&w=449&sz=108&hl=en&start=0&sig2=30Nr7B2l1pBiRckOBemiPA&zoom=1&tbnid=CYcRC6p4OVqKrM:&tbnh=147&tbnw=141&ei=aCFTTcS-NMG78gaYs8WjCg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmri%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D625%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C16&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=348&vpy=87&dur=9452&hovh=234&hovw=215&tx=165&ty=182&oei=XSFTTfyxNYigtwfourGECw&esq=3&page=1&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&biw=1024&bih=625