Download Examine one interaction between cognition and physiology in terms

Examine one interaction between cognition and physiology in terms of amnesia
To examine the interaction between cognition and physiology in terms of
amnesia, one must first understand what they are. Cognition is the physiological
result of perception, learning and reasoning. In other words cognition is the
procedure of processing information using the individualˇs physiological
features. The information being processed can be memory, association, concept
formation, language, attention, perception, action, problem solving and mental
imagery. Amnesia is the loss of memory. In some cases itˇs organic or it is
functional. Organic causes are the result of damage done to the brain whilst
functional causes are psychological, for example MPD (Multiple Personality
Disorder). MPD is a psychiatric disorder that is characterized by having one
“other” personality that controls the behavior in the same body. It is said that
the different personalities take place at random and unwanted. The two or more
personalities act separate from each other and donˇt share any memories. So if
one personality experiences something, other personalities have no idea what
happened. It is then said that this person with MPD is suffering under immense
amnesia. It is generally agreed that MPD is caused by repressed memories or
childhood abuse. There have been various cases of MPD recorded in which
people had from twos to tens of different personalities or from tens to
hundreds. Each personality being unique with its very own memory.
One study was done by the psychiatrists Thigpen & Cleckley in 1954. A 25 year
old woman named Eve White had been experiencing severe headaches,
blackouts and amnesia. Through hypnotism Eve White was able to recall what
happened during her blackouts and it seemed she might be getting well again.
During the next visit to the psychiatrists Eve White held her head as if she
suddenly got a severe headache. But to the surprise of the psychiatrists it was in
fact a different personality who appeared. Eve Black was her name and was the
complete opposite of Eve White. At the time Eve Black knew about Eve White
all along but Eve White had no clue the she had another personality in the same
body. if Eve white was “conscious” Eve Black was still able to make her presence
known by letting Eve White hear voices and giving her headaches. Using tests to
measure the dimensions of the psychological behavior the two doctors
discovered different facts about each of the personalities. After almost a year
headaches and amnesia cases reappeared and during a hypnosis session a new
personality appeared. She called herself Jane and was clearly the most mature
out of the three. It seemed as if Jane was a balance of Eve White and Black. Eve
white had several symptoms that were derived from MPD. She had severe
headaches, blackouts over a period of time where she couldnˇt remember a
thing, voices and dizziness. Eve Whiteˇs greatest worry was her amnesia. But we
cannot fully rely on the data because it was gathered over 50 years ago when
studies were primitive. We cannot be sure if hypnotism really worked, all the
information could have been biast which would make nothing reliable and
therefore not a good example. What we can do is say that in theory if all the
given information is correct that MPD exists and can be treated.
A person with MPD that was caused by a psychological trauma, automatically
creates a type of self-hypnosis, this self hypnosis helps the person dodge any
pain or trauma. It is said that if a victim is set out to recurrent abuse and trauma,
the body can go into a stage where it automatically switches to “self hypnosis”
when there is a danger of pain or trauma. A case study of Mendelsohn et al
presents the possibility that there is a brain “amnesia” center. In the experiment,
the researchers divided the participants into 2 groups- people susceptible to
hypnotic orders and those who were not. Both groups were shown a film about
a life of a young woman. In a week, the participants were placed in a magnetic
resonance imaging scanner and they were induced into hypnotic state. During
that state, they were suggested to forget the movie. And as the studies have
shown, people susceptible to hypnosis, could not recall the movie fully after
going out of hypnotic state, while the opposite group could recall what they
have seen better. Analysis of the brain scans taken during posthypnotic amnesia
and memory recovery showed that activity in some brain regions of those
susceptible to hypnosis were suppressed during memory suppression, while
activity in other regions increased. The weakness is that the scientists tested only
using a movie to see whether the brain will suppress the memory about it when
it is ordered to so. They could have watched the movie without interest and that
is the reason why they did not recall all the parts of it. They should have tested
their hypothesis using other methods to make sure the date is reliable.
The effects of cognition on our physiology are quite significant. The memories
of bad experiences can haunt us and damage the quality of our life. Our
subconscious can put us in a hypnotic state in which we cannot feel any pain
or trauma. By doing so we have no memory of whatever just has happened to
us. Therefore we recall that we blacked out and suffer under amnesia when in
fact our brain moved or deleted the memory so that it cannot hurt us or
traumatize us.
"Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) Causes, Symptoms, Signs, Diagnosis and
Treatment by MedicineNet.com." Web. 04 Nov. 2009.
<http://www.medicinenet.com/dissociative_identity_disorder/article.htm>.
"AS Psychology." AS Psychology holah.co.uk. Web. 03 Nov. 2009.
<http://www.holah.karoo.net/thigpenstudy.htm>.