Benzodiazepines and Barbiturates

Benzodiazepines

In class today, we studied pharmacology of GABA-A receptors, specifically Benzodiazepine's. Of personal interest as I've been on lorazepam (fast acting for agitation, mood swings) and clonazepam (longer lasting). Unfortunately the body develops a tolerance and these don't work anymore.

Nashville next stop in Senseless School Shootings

This time a young white 28 year old female ex-student, walked into an elementary school with assault weapons and just shot 6 people, 3 staff and 3 kids aged 8-9. What a horrible tragedy.   

Why is the US the ONLY country in the world where young kids are getting shot in their own schools every few months? That too with assault weapons. 

This does not make sense. I wonder at the need to even own assault weapons when you live in a city. A gun makes remote sense maybe if you were living in the midst of the woods with a grizzly bear or packs or wolves on the loose. 

Just last week our professor had mentioned how suicide rates dramatically increased amongst women who's partner/boyfriend owned a gun. Why is there such an obsessive need to hand out guns to just about anyone so easily in this country. 

Vanderbilt University Medical Center, located just 4 miles from the school was where all the children were sent - already dead on arrival. How does a hospital emotionally prep for "emergencies" like this?

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/03/31/1167375561/nashville-school-shooting-vanderbilt-hospital

Empathy creates the space for true connection to happen

Towards a more Humane Society. Contemplation, one line a day. This month Empathy

 

Brain Blast

 Every spring, the Vanderbilt Brain Institute puts on Brain Blast event at Nashville Public Library for high schoolers and younger children, with various booths educating children on the wonders of the brain in fun and creative ways. Oh and the screen in the background was showing various images, including some things about autism and neurodiversity. 

Happy 150th Birthday, Vanderbilt

Vandy turned 150. Happy Birthday

Slow Burn

Usually you get to see the Cal-Stanford rivalry during the Big Game every year!

Stanford-Burn in the Night Agent series... Too funny, 

Larkin: "I thought I could read my way to Stanford."

Sutherland: "...you went to Stanford?"

Larkin: "No. Those bastards rejected me. I went to a community college then transferred to Berkeley. When I started my company I hired a bunch of Stanford grads to grab me coffee."

 

ASEBA - Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment

Autism Lexicon [Measures] - ASEBA

 

ASEBA (Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment) measures are used in assessing various behavioral and emotional functioning in children and adolescents. While ASEBA is not specific to autism, it is used to information about co-occurring behavioral and emotional difficulties and help tailor interventions.

Limitations of the ASEBA measures:

• Subjectivity of  reports from informants (parents, teachers, and individuals themselves) which may be influenced by various factors, such as observer bias or cultural differences, which can affect the accuracy and reliability of the results.
• Limited focus on autism-specific symptoms: While ASEBA measures capture a wide range of behavioral and emotional problems, they may not fully capture the unique characteristics and challenges associated specifically with autism
• Lack of developmental context as the ASEBA measures provide a snapshot of an individual's behavior at a specific point in time.

ASEBA includes several sub-measures that target different informants and settings:

1. Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL): This is a parent-report measure that assesses a wide range of behavioral and emotional problems in children and adolescents. It consists of a set of items that capture different domains, such as externalizing problems (e.g., aggression, hyperactivity) and internalizing problems (e.g., anxiety, depression). The CBCL is widely used in both clinical and research settings.
2. Teacher's Report Form (TRF): The TRF is a teacher-report measure that assesses children's behavior in the school setting. It focuses on externalizing and internalizing problems as observed by teachers.
3. Youth Self-Report (YSR): The YSR is a self-report measure designed for older children and adolescents to assess their own behavioral and emotional functioning. It allows individuals to provide their perspectives on their own experiences and emotions.

Scoring and interpretation of ASEBA measures involve comparing an individual's responses to established norms for their age and sex. The measures generate raw scores, which are then converted into standardized scores (T-scores) to compare the individual's behavior to a normative sample. Higher scores indicate greater problems or concerns in the assessed domains.

ASEBA dates back to the 1960s when it was first developed by Dr. Thomas M. Achenbach and has since undergone revisions and updates to enhance its psychometric properties and clinical utility.

Empathy is the ability to hear the unspoken and see the unseen

Towards a more Humane Society. Contemplation, one line a day. This month Empathy

 

CRH-PVN Neuron and Stress Controllability Presentation

I survived it. 

OMG. lot of work went into this intense presentation the last couple of weeks with my classmate James. 

And right after our 50 min presentation, we were given feedback from the 3 TAs (Patrick, Matt & Elena) and by the Prof Teru Nakagawa and Prof Christine Konradi. Other students are literally sent out of the room, so that we could be given individual feedback from the grading team. I got to go first then James. 

Presenting with passion, nerves not intact,
Paper on CRH-PVN neurons stacked.
The audience watched, with eyes on me,
My words and slides, a neuroscience spree

Wind Advisory, Thunderstorm and Tornado Watch

Wind Advisory and Tornado Watch. Tornado missed us but crazy thunderstorm at night, pounding rain and blinding flashes of lightning. 

Thunderstorm brewing, lightning striking 

Electric sky bolts, bit frightening 

Nature's fury, quite enlightening 

Powerful energy, never tiring

The weather is absurd

The weather is truly absurd,

Can't decide. That's the Word!

Snow flurries on Saturday

Spring equinox the next day. 

Two days later, summer hot 

80 F? seriously, what have we got?

Now its pouring rain again

The weather is going insane

Empathy is a muscle that grows stronger with use

Towards a more Humane Society. Contemplation, one line a day. This month Empathy

 

This time last year

 This time last year, I was holding up the Tower of Pisa. LOL. 

Italian Vacation during spring break

Do you know that PhD students don't get spring break like the undergrads. We sure could use that break for sure. Its been a crazy semester. 

I was holding up the Tower of Pisa

With a tilt and a twist, like Galileo's wrist

Galileo throwing objects from the top

Law of falling bodies nonstop. 

Hyperpolarized Neurons on Strike

Working on my friday neuroscience presentation which is draining all my learning neurons. 

My neurons in a state of overloaded hyperpolarization.
Off on unplanned mental vacation.

Won't depolarize, they're stuck in their ways.
Action potential needed anon.

Neurons need to call off strike. 

Empathy is the key to unlocking the door to someone's heart

Towards a more Humane Society. Contemplation, one line a day. This month Empathy

 

1:36 is the new ratio

The CDC just announced that the new dx ratio is 1:36 [Read article]

To give you perspective, back when I was dx in childhood it was around 1:151, when I started undergrad it had come to 1:88. Just during my undergrad, the numbers progressed from 1:64 to 1:54 and by the end of my undergrad, it was 1:44.

And

• (But of course). Autism is reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. [Read article]
• About 1:6 (17%) children aged 3–17 years were diagnosed with a Dev Disability (autism, AHHD, blindness & CP) [Read summary]
• ASD is more than 4 times more common among boys than among girls. [Read article]

The new ratio simply can't be just due to increased dx capabilities or awareness or more adults being dx. What else is going on? We need to be investigating this. 

From https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html
 

Requesting Accommodations

At the Frist Center for Autism & Innovation and Mentra webinar. 

Below are my responses to two questions

What are the most important accommodations to ask for during your time as a student?

Is there a best practice for navigating disability services within institutions, that can often make it hard for neurodivergent people?

Recording  at https://youtu.be/Atq3jYLokDw

Empathy is not just a trait, its a way of life.

Towards a more Humane Society. Contemplation, one line a day. This month Empathy

 

Neurexins and Autism

Neurexins had come up in my Cell Neuroscience course this semester. Connection to Autism. But of course!!

Neurexins are a family of proteins that play important roles in synaptic function. They are involved in the formation, maintenance, and plasticity of synapses, which are the junctions between neurons that allow them to communicate with each other. Mutations in neurexin genes have been linked to a number of neurodevelopmental disabilities, including autism.

A few reasons why neurexin genes might be associated with autism.

• disrupt in function of synapses (& communication between neurons), which could contribute to the autistic social and communication challenges
• disruption in brain development as neurexin genes expressed early in brain development, and play important roles in the formation of neural circuits.
• impact on function of other genes as they interact with a number of other proteins.

More research is needed to understand the exact mechanisms by which mutations in neurexin genes mutations contribute to autism.

Empathy is the art of putting yourself in someone else's shoes

Towards a more Humane Society. Contemplation, one line a day. This month Empathy