How Synaesthesia manifests itself in the brain and in behavior

Topic

How Synaesthesia manifests itself in the brain and in behavior

Instructions 

Please answer FOUR of the following questions. Each question is worth 25 points.

 

  1. Describe the characteristics of mass psychogenic illnesses. What factors can precipitate mass psychogenic illnesses? How and why can culture influence the symptoms of mass psychogenic illnesses?

 

2. How does a person understand that they have ownership over their own body? What happens if a person’s sense of ownership doesn’t function properly?

 

  1. What sorts of environmental and biological factors can cause hallucinations? Why might otherwise normal individuals experience hallucinations? How do hallucinations in individuals’ Charles Bonnet compare to hallucinations with individuals who have schizophrenia?

 

  1. Why does synaesthesia, such as mirror-touch synaesthesia or shared pain, occur? How does synaesthesia manifest itself in the brain and in behavior?

 

  1. Tell me about psychopathy. What are the behavioral and physiological features of psychopathy?

 

What can cause it? How does psychopathy differ/compare with sexual sadism?

 

  1. What are some different types of stalkers and features of stalking (Describe some of their characteristics)? What are some explanations for why stalking behaviors occur?

 

  1. Describe how dissociation functions and different types of dissociation. What are some ways to help people who suffer from dissociative disorders?

 

  1. Choose your own topic related to the readings

Answer Preview 

The second explanation of why synesthesia occurs to explain how the condition manifests itself within the human brain to influence the behavioral outcome among synesthetes over non-synesthetes is studied on disinhibited feedback concept by Ramachandran and Hubbard in 2001 (University of Toronto, 2013). Ramachandran and Hubbard offered substantial explanations to the reasons for the occurrence of synesthesia through the cross-activation concept. The Cross-activation concept implicates that the occurrence of synesthesia is associated with an increase of neural connection that is a result of a decreased pruning between two involved sensory modalities within a synesthete’s brain. Ramachandran and Hubbard made such conclusions from an observatory study concerning the placement of brain areas, one responsible for recognition of letters and the other for recognition of colors, in grapheme-color synesthesia. In their biological explanation, Ramachandran and Hubbard proved that there is substantial proximity of the letter-recognition brain area, the graphene, with the color-recognition brain area, the V4 section.

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