Lesson 3 - Stereotypes, Labels, Sample Size, and Side Effects

The Brain

Time Magazine (Canada, 2004) featured an article that exemplified the advantages and disadvantages of pharmaceutical-based treatment for children with abnormal behaviours. One of the individuals interviewed in the article, Jessi, speaks of the differences in her personality when she is taking her medication and when she is not taking her medication. This type of side effect, a marked difference in personality, is called emotional liability. Her story begins with a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) in kindergarten. Being sent to the “time-out-chair” many times a day was the result of her inability to foresee the consequences of her actions. The first drug she tried took away her appetite completely; eventually, the doctors had to switch medications. While it is now working well, to find the proper dosage with the second drug took a long time . With this medication, Jessi is able to concentrate in school, but without it, she cannot focus on school work. While taking her medication, she is very shy and does not say much or participate in conversations. When off her medication, she is outgoing, spontaneous, and talkative. Having this emotional liability as a side effect sometimes depresses Jessi, but the alternative, the inability to focus, is worse.

The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. The structural and chemical composition of this organ is astounding. Formed and molded from interactions among our genes, life experiences, and environment, the brain receives, co-ordinates, and distributes information to orchestrate how we think, feel, learn, and behave. To perform these functions, the brain must effectively communicate with all its cells. Failure to do so may cause or contribute to brain dysfunction and mental illness.

Watch the video below on the teenage brain.

Please refer to the diagrams of the brain below, which shows the areas of the brain believed to be responsible for various afflictions. The table below explains the role that each part of the brain plays.