The Nerve, Spring 2010, Vol 1, Issue 2

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https://hdl.handle.net/2144/50570

Full Issue: The Nerve, Spring 2010, Vol 1, Issue 2

Editors-In-Chief: Grigori Guitchounts, Kimberly LeVine
Editors: Neil Datta, Doug Hidlay
Associate Editors: Lauren Joseph, Monika Chitre, Natalie Banacos, Jennifer Richardson, Frank DeVita
Artwork: Kayla Ritchie
MBS Staff: Darrien Garay, Megan Mataga, Macayla Donegan, Shea Gillet, Meghna Majithia
Advisors: Paul Lipton, Zachary Bos

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Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
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    Homemade terror
    (2010) Garay, Darrien
    We can forget the emotions that burst from the American psyche in the period following September 11, 2001? Bewilderment, despair, outrage, and a profound sorrow gripped our collective consciousness as we watched the symbols of our country crumble in dust clouds that only temporarily obscured the grim reality that waited to be unearthed. As America reeled from this traumatic blow, one reaction lingered like the scent of rotted meat. We became a nation united in fear.
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    Huemer’s theory of perception: analysis and objections
    (2010) Rubin, Ethan
    In his book Skepticism and the Veil of Perception, Michael Huemer lays out an account of perception that supports a version of direct realism. He states two main theses: that perception is direct awareness of external reality, and that it leads to non-inferential knowledge of that reality. The second claim requires that the first be adequately defended, which is the goal of Chapter IV in particular. In this paper, I intend to map out Huemer’s argument and assess its strengths and weaknesses; each section explaining a key point in his theory. After it has been explained, I will bring up objections to certain aspects of the theory as they appear in the text, and consider the most promising defenses against them.
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    The neuroanatomy of homosexuality
    (2010) Bryson, Claire
    The anterior hypothalamus of the human brain is sexually dimorphic and has been investigated for dimorphism with regards to sexual orientation through examination of postmortem brains of homosexual males, heterosexual males, and heterosexual females. Studies examining the interstitial nuclei of the anterior hypothalamus3 and the anterior commisure have shown correlation to sexually-orientated dimorphism. Through further research, a relationship between the development of these sexually dimorphic regions and steroid hormone levels has been established. Though neither consequence nor causation can be definitively demonstrated from this research, its implications are suggestive of the early differentiation of human sexual orientation and its origins spanning neurobiology and endocrinology.
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    Recognition memory
    (2010) Miller, Danielle
    Recognition memory is a particular aspect of memory that provides the ability for an individual to identify a previously encountered stimulus. There are two prominent theories as to how recognition memory operates. One theory proposes that there are two distinct processes involved in the recognition of a stimulus, called recollection and familiarity1. Another theory, however, denies the independence of the two processes within recognition memory. In this theory, familiarity is primarily thought of as a weak memory, whereas recollection is considered to be a type of strong memory.
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    Depression have you in a funk? Try the special K challenge
    (2010) Sohail, Aisha; Wessell, Jeff
    In high school, they warned us of the dangers of date rape drugs such as Rohypnol, GHB and Ketamine. But current studies demonstrating the clinical uses of these once illicit drugs shed light for their uses as pharmacotheraputics. Rohypnol, or roofies, has been shown to be a potent hypnotic and is used in foreign countries to treat patients with severe insomnia. GHB is now FDA-approved to treat patients with narcolepsy. But what may be most intriguing is that Ketamine (aka Special K) has gone through several clinical trials that implicate it as a powerful antidepressant, working especially well in patients with treatment-resistant depression.
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    Neuroscience and religion: using brains to explore the divine
    (2010) Shah, Pinkey
    Jewish philosopher Martin Buber said that “[M]an cannot approach the divine by reaching beyond the human: he can approach it through becoming human. To become human is what he, the individual man, has been created for.”1 Buber’s is just one of many voices trying to determine the origin and the purposes of religion. Buber believes that understanding religion is understanding oneself. His vague words make it difficult to discern whether he is challenging religious zealots by arguing that their ideas cannot possibly reach beyond the scope of the human mind, or whether he is actually praising religion for its essential simplicity and attractive way of life. Regardless, many theologists and philosophers agree with Buber’s principal argument regarding the reflection of human nature in religious beliefs.
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    Brain battles: the ethical clash of neuroscience and the military
    (2010) Chitre, Monika
    In 1997, a group of people were told a story and shown a slideshow about a series of events. In the middle of the story, a horrific car accident was described, but the beginning and ending portion of the story were emotionally neutral in context. One third of the group was given a placebo one hour before the story was told. One third of the group did not receive any drugs. And the last third received propranolol – a beta-adrenergic blocker typically used to decrease the effects of hypertension. A week later, the subjects who were given the placebo or no drugs at all remembered the emotional portion – the car accident – of the story well. However, those who received the propanolol scored lower on the memory test than any of the other participants.
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    The rise of the cyborgs
    (2010) Garay, Darrien
    Cyborg. It’s a word that calls to mind images of a RoboCop-like organism clanking around in some far off future. However, our notions about the reality of cyborgs may be obsolete. Successful clinical research has taken giant leaps forward in the intimate fusing of brain and machine. Take for example the story of Erik Ramsey.
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    The Nerve, Spring 2010, Vol 1, Issue 2
    (2010) Garay, Darrien; Chitre, Monika; Shah, Pinkey; Sohail, Aisha; Wessell, Jeff; Miller, Danielle; Bryson, Claire; Rubin, Ethan