Entries from March 2008
I’m going to start by saying that Reproduction block is going to be a good one simply because it has nothing to do with brain & behavior (B&B). B&B was a good block, just 7 weeks too long and stupor inducing by the end. The reproduction block promises to be new and interesting but no less intense work wise than the first 10 weeks of this semester. In fact I think the general consensus of the class is one of surprise at the amount of work we have had already. I have a feeling that the level of material will remain this intense for the remainder of the block, given the schedule and what we need to cover in the next month. Strangely enough, pregnancy and birth will not be covered until the very end…
Categories: 2nd year · Reproduction
This is a repost of a post I did well over a year ago. I’m putting under the Neurology week 9 banner because the week covered Alzheimer’s disease and I thought it would be fitting. Though I have learned a lot since originally posting this piece, the impact that Mr. Utermohlen’s art has on me is unchanged. Over the next week I will post several pieces of his work to give you a sense of what I mean.
From November 2006 ….
I have always held a certain fascination with the human mind. I find myself continually surprised at how integral the mind-body connection is and how little I know of brain and behaviour. I enjoy the philosophical side of the field, though I’ll leave those discussions and arguments for those that are far more eloquent than me. I am amazed at the physiological senses that mold our perception of being and most of all at the altered states of realty that result from mental illness. Mechanistically, matching the physical breakdown of cerebral processes with the deterioration of behaviour is hard for me to understand at this level of my education and I find myself immersed in stories related to the fields of Neurology and Psychiatry. I think this is why when I came across the story of William Utermohlen in the New York Times, I was completely engrossed.
The story, as reported in the NYT, is that William Utermohlen was an artist who in 1995 was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is a progressively degenerative neurological disorder which eventually leads to dementia through the gradual loss of neurons in the cerebral cortex. In essence, the area of the brain responsible for memory dies, and with it there is also a loss of learned skills as well as spatial and temporal disorientation. The disease eventually leads to a host of behavioural changes and motor abnormalities, including complete incontinence.
The NYT article states that “when William learned that he had Alzheimer’s disease he began to try and understand it by painting himself.” The paintings which were originally quite detailed and realistic show change to a more abstract form as the disease progressed year to year. The art portrays how William’s sense of space and his ability to translate his world to the canvass gradually begins to slip. It’s hard as an observer not to project a certain sadness on the paintings as one begins to realize how much of the artist’s ability has changed forever and how diminished his world has become. Rarely does one get such a glimpse into the patient’s perspective such as this and it is only through William’s artistic ability that outsiders can experience this sense of loss first hand.
[The original article, "Self-Portraits Chronicle a Descent Into Alzheimer’s",was published in the New York Times on 2006/10/24 by DENISE GRADY]
Categories: 2nd year · Neurology
It was a short week this week as Monday was a holiday in what is labeled (at least on the schedule in front of me) as “Spring Break”. In this shortened week we covered mood and personality disorders in a flurry of lectures. By the last class on Friday I can say that I was left more confused about these types of disorders than the start of the week. The problem, for me at least, is that we have left the realm of definite explainable phenomenon and moved into the more subjective field of psychiatry. Psychiatry is fascinating in the sense that you have many different possible explanations for the same phenomenon with little evidence for any one in particular. There seem to be many hypotheses for the same disorder with no clear cut theory that brings it all together. This is fascinating as an observer but frustrating to deal with as a learner.
Aside from the regular lectures and labs, this was the week where third year begins to creep into the mindset. The class had several causal presentations about the format of the classes and the challenges present in 3rd year. Also, the results of the rural placements (considered to be part of the family practice component of 3rd year) were released giving many a sense of where they will be for a month in the summer. Although I did not get any of my top picks for the rural placement, I was happy nonetheless because I got placed into a smaller community that meets the criteria I was looking for (essentially – small, but not too small). The community is similar to the one that I was placed in last year and had received positive reviews from the class of 2009 overall. The preceptor that I am placed with is new, which means that there may be a bit of learning curve for the both of us, but aside from that I’m pretty happy about how it sorted out. This is especially true since a number of my friends did not even get their 30th choice – a problem faced when you have more students than preceptors and a rant that I will save for another day. After a long year of lectures there is finally something to look forward to and I can’t wait for summer!
The image is from Adbusters and is one of my favorites. See the rest of their spoof ads here.
Categories: 2nd year · Neurology
