Biological Explanation of Anorexia Essay Example for Free

Biological Explanation of Anorexia Essay The biological explanation for Anorexia Nervosa focuses on the role of neurotransmitters. It suggests disturbances in the levels of serotonin and dopamines are characteristic of anorexia. Bailer et al compared serotonin activity in women recovering from restricting anorexia with those recovering from purging type anorexia with a healthy control group. They found that the group recovering from purging type anorexia had higher serotonin activity. They also found the highest levels of serotonin in women who showed the most anxiety. They concluded that this suggests that the disruption of serotonin levels might result in increased anxiety which is one of the clinical characteristics of anorexia. However it can be argued that anxiety might be caused by anorexia rather than causing anorexia. Despite the evidence, a problem with the serotonin explanation for anorexia is that SSRIs have been found to be ineffective in treating anorexic patients. However, Kaye et al found SSRIS were effective with those recovering from anorexia because they prevented relapse. The explanation for this is that SSRIs only work once weight returns to normal because the malnutrition resulting from anorexia changed serotonin function. Kaye et al have looked at the role of another neurotransmitter in anorexia. They used a PET scan to compare a control group of healthy women with a group of recovering female anorexics. They found an over activity of dopamine receptors in the basal ganglia of women recovering from anorexia. They concluded that increased dopamine levels in the basal ganglia alters the way people interpret rewards and that anorexics might find it difficult to associate good feelings with food. Further support comes from a study by Wang et al who found that obese individuals had low levels of dopamine. This contrasts with the high levels found in anorexics suggesting dopamine is inversely related to body weight. However it is unclear whether levels of dopamine cause anorexia or the altered levels are a consequence of anorexia. Other theories propose that AN is a result of brain damage at or shortly after birth. Swedish research, for example, has shown that significantly more anorectics than would be expected have experienced some kind of birth trauma. British research using scanning devices has shown that there is reduced blood flow in the anterior temporal lobes of anorectics as compared with non-anorectics. The biological explanation suffers from culture bias and gender bias. Research has mainly been carried out in Western clinical samples and therefore cannot be generalised to all cultures which makes it difficult to explain why anorexia occurs in non-Western cultures. Research also tends to mostly use female participants therefore resulting in gender bias and as a result, it is difficult to explain why men might become anorexic which may also prevent them from being given the appropriate treatment. A criticism of the biological explanation is that it focuses entirely on nature which ignores nurture factors. This might hinder recovery if treatment of anorexia is only based on biological factors and ignores the social and environmental factors. Also, the biological approach is deterministic as it suggests that individuals with anorexia do not have any control over their condition because it is caused by changed in serotonin levels which are not directly controlled by them. This ignores the role of free will and choice.

Analysis of Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez Essays -- Papers Hun

Analysis of Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez Richard Rodriguez?s essay, Hunger of Memory, narrates the course of his educational career. Rodriguez tells of the unenthusiastic and disheartening factors that he had to endure along with his education such as isolation and lack of innovation. It becomes apparent that Rodriguez believes that only a select few go through the awful experiences that he underwent. But actually the contrary is true. The majority of students do go through the ?long, unglamorous, and demeaning process? of education, but for different reasons (Rodriguez, 68). Instead of pursuing education for the sake of learning, they pursue education for the sake of job placement. Even from an early age, Rodriguez is a successful student. Everyone is extremely proud of Rodriguez for earning awards and graduating to each subsequent level of his education. But all his success was not necessarily positive. In fact, we see that his education experience is a fairly negative one. One negative that Rodriguez endures is his solitude. Education compels him to distance himself from his family and heritage. According to Richard Hoggart, a British education theorist, this is a very natural process for a scholarship boy. Hoggart explains that the ?home and classroom are at cultural extremes,? (46). There is especially an opposition in Rodriguez?s home because his parents are poorly educated Mexicans. His home is filled with Spanish vernacular and English filled with many grammatical errors. Also, the home is filled with emotions and impetuosity, whereas the classroom lacks emotion and the teachers accentuate rational thinking and reflectiveness. The conflict between the classroom and the home environm... ... are looking at the end product. Then don?t mind changing in order to get somewhere in life. Most know that they need to change. We can?t be educated without changing. The mere word education means change or development. Obviously, students are still learning for the sake of economic utility. Rodriguez may have done his learning for the sake of being an educated man, but it was the end result he craved. Whether someone?s aim is to get a good job or to elevate themselves to a higher level of education, the product of their efforts is what counts. Bibliography: Rodriguez, Richard. Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez. New York: Bantam Books, 1985. The U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. 28 Sept. 2000. The U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. 25 Nov. 2000

Hill presents Edmund Hooper as a violent imposing figure, who shows no sympathy Essay

Hill presents the character Edmund Hooper as a unsympathetic character. Hill’s uses the technique of ‘unmitigated language’ to present Edmund as unsympathetic character; â€Å"You were only tenants then†, Edmund makes no effort to make his sentence any politer. The word â€Å"only† is chosen by Hill to try and ‘degrade’ Kingshaw’s ‘ status and to portray him, inferior to Edmund. Hill continues to show that Edmund is an unsympathetic character; â€Å"When did he die?†. The death of Kingshaw’s father is a personnel matter, and the ‘usual’ person is likely to feel sympathetic towards Kingshaw. Hill purposefully gives the question asked by Edmund no expression, the reader has no idea how Edmund states the question. By not including any expression, the reader is given the impression that Edmund is ignorant to the death of Kingshaw’s father, he is instead focused on being an imposing figure. Edmund is portrayed as an imposing figure and his unsympathetic nature reinforces this view. Furthermore Edmunds actions portray him as a imposing figure; â€Å"Hooper looked at him coldly†, the word ‘coldly’ would suggests lack of emotion and ‘warmth’. Edmunds lack of emotion ‘frightens’ the readers. The reader develops an image of an emotionless child, Edmund shows no emotion towards his father either; â€Å"Hooper stood very still, turning the pencil round and round†, the word ‘still’ can be linked to the lack of motion, Edmund is in one sense ‘frozen’, he emits no emotions, no warmth towards no one. ‘Turning the pencil round and round’ could suggest that Edmund is like an endless loop, he is shown to have no personality and trying to make contact with Edmund is like going ’round and round’, you do not end up anywhere different, you keep on going round in a circle. Finally, Edmund is shown to be violent; â€Å"He raised his fists and came at Kingshaw†. Fists are can be associated with boxing- a violent sport. Edmund with his fists ‘raised’ give the reader and image of a boy ready to fight. The word ‘came’ suggests Edmund can be compared to an object more than a human, which suggests that Edmund is a very unusual human, he is more like an object, emotionless and violent. The violence is emphasised as Edmund has only just met Kingshaw, the mere fact Edmund attacks Kingshaw almost immediately after meeting Kingshaw suggests Edmund does not try to understand Kingshaw, he just attacks Kingshaw to be seen as the superior person. Edmund shows no regret in hurting Kingshaw, â€Å"I’ll bash you again†. The word bash is not associated with humans but objects. It is unusual to say ‘I’ll bash you. Bash is a very violent word and the reader sees Edmund as intimidating and violent. The word â€Å"again† suggests that Edmund will willingly hurt someone, repeatedly. The repetetion of Edmunds violent nature tells gives the image of an imposing character. Hill tries to present Edmund as an imposing figure so that Edmunds character contrasts with Kingshaw. The reader sees Kingshaw as the victim and Edmund as the bully. The conflict between Kingshaw and Edmund is what engages the reader, and as the two characters have opposing personalities, conflict occurs a lot more frequently. The reader continues to read in anticipation that more conflict will occur, the conflict excites the reader and produces suspense.

Racial Politics Freedom Road - 1118 Words

D) Racial Politics: Freedom Road When it comes to the topic of racial politics very few would agree that Howard fast did a great job of covering the main points of the Reconstruction period and Civil rights movement. The advancement of liberated slaves in the reconstruction period covered in Howard Fast’s Novel, Freedom Road, are more vulnerable over the gains made in civil rights over the course of the past 35 years. In actuality things were much more difficult in the reconstruction period than that of what happened in just the short novel. Also the gains made by minorities in the U.S since 1964 are more significant than the accomplishments of Gideon Jackson and his contemporaries, although the characters did a good job at proposing the issue, the events that took place in this period of history are much more than what was portrayed. Although the main character, Gideon Jackson, and his contemporaries made good accomplishments throughout the novel, they were not as enforced as the accomplishments from 1964 up to now. Howard Fast did a decent job at portraying the proposal of civil rights and trying to repeat the reconstruction period but, as in the beginning of the novel to the end, Gideon Jackson got his start to owning his share of land and uniting the colored with whites but was still being harassed by the Ku Klux Klan and nothing was being done to prevent it or stop it. Therefore, the African Americans in this fiction novel never really gained freedom that was promisedShow MoreRelatedThe Challenge For Property Qualifications For Voting907 Words   |  4 Pagesstates, constitutional conventions in the 1820s and 1830s abolished property qualifications, partly because the growing number of wage earners who did not own much property demanded the vote. 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