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/sci/ - Science & Math

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7161904 No.7161904 [Reply] [Original]

What was the most enjoyable paper you ever did as a junior undergrad?

>> No.7161909

>>7161904

What are you doing writing papers?

>> No.7161915

>>7161909
Sorry, where I'm from 'paper' often just refers to a class

>> No.7161954

>What was the most enjoyable [class] you ever [took] as a junior undergrad?

What's junior undergrad, like first and second year? None really, they were all pretty much standard intro courses until you get to third year.

Out of all the undergraduate courses I've taken I would say its a toss-up between "Neurochemical Basis of Behavious and Addiction" and "Advanced Concepts in Genetics".

The Neuro course was all about different brain circuits and neurotransmitters and how they relate to addictive behaviour. Really, really interesting stuff. It taught about how different brain circuits are physically/chemically re-wired in addicts so that lower brain structures like the nucleus accumbens and amygdala are given greater control over behaviour, and the prefrontal cortex is given less control. Explains why addicts have lower impulse inhibition and are unable to consciously stop drug seeking and drug taking behaviour, the impulsive lower brain structures win out over the PFC.

The genetics course was all about epigenetics and how the environment can cause heritable changes in gene expression. Also really interesting.

>> No.7161958

>>7161904
english writing as a general ed paper.

>> No.7161960

>tfw finished a physics and maths double major but never written a paper

>> No.7161965

>>7161954
Can you be addicted to Cannabis?
Does this mean that the prefrontal cortex is weakened by any substance or only in terms of control over that substance?
Would it possibly diminish abstraction and/or computation skills?

Really interested by your answers

>> No.7161972

>>7161954
Does that mean addicts have poor impulse control with everything? Even things that have nothing to do with their addiction?

>> No.7161977

>>7161954
I feel like I can't let go of my inhibitions due to generalised anxiety and its ruined my life. always think ahead too much so i can't act freely and impulsively. If i take addictive drugs it could help?

>> No.7161987
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7161987

>>7161965
>Can you be addicted to Cannabis?
Of course you can, the DSM V criteria for having a "substance use disorder" have surprisingly little to do with actual physical withdrawal symptoms and tolerance, and much more to do with the social and mental impacts of substance use:

>1.Taking the substance in larger amounts or for longer than the you meant to

>2. Wanting to cut down or stop using the substance but not managing to

>3. Spending a lot of time getting, using, or recovering from use of the substance

>4. Cravings and urges to use the substance

>5. Not managing to do what you should at work, home or school, because of substance use

>6. Continuing to use, even when it causes problems in relationships

>7. Giving up important social, occupational or recreational activities because of substance use

>8. Using substances again and again, even when it puts the you in danger

>9. Continuing to use, even when the you know you have a physical or psychological problem that could have been caused or made worse by the substance

>10. Needing more of the substance to get the effect you want (tolerance)

>11. Development of withdrawal symptoms, which can be relieved by taking more of the substance.

> Two or three symptoms indicate a mild substance use disorder, four or five symptoms indicate a moderate substance use disorder, and six or more symptoms indicate a severe substance use disorder

As for your other questions, im not entirely sure, I took the course a while ago. From what I remember, I dont think it affects all functions of the PFC (such as complex planning) equally. It more just diminishes impulse control and affects decision making and prioritizing. The nucleus accumbens is heavily involved in the reward pathway, which is activated when taking addictive drugs. From what I remember, by continually activating that circuit through drug use, you strengthen it, and that strengthened circuit is harder for the PCF to inhibit/exert control over.

>> No.7161989

>>7161987
But like I said, I took that course a while ago and am more just going by my general nueroscience knowledge more than any specific fact I learned from that course, so I could be wrong.

>Does that mean addicts have poor impulse control with everything? Even things that have nothing to do with their addiction?
From what I remember, yes. On standard tests of impulse control, addicts perform much worse than non-addicts. But there's the "chicken or the egg" issue here. Do addicts have worse impulse control because theyre addicted to drugs, or are they addicted to drugs because they have poor impulse control?

>>7161977
>If i take addictive drugs it could help?
I think there are better ways of solving this problem than developing a crippling drug habit

>> No.7162011

We had to pick a project for third year analytical chem. I noticed while we were doing our NMR intro lab that there was something crystallizing on one of the liquid He pipes that cooled the magnet. I scraped up a sample, ran an x-ray spec, wrote my own software to calculate the lattice coordinates from the raw data, and figured it out: malachite.

Turns out there was a copper pipe above the machine that was getting condensation on it, and it was essentially forming a stalagmite on the piping below. Anyway, that was the first time I'd ever used my chemistry knowledge to do something really useful, and that's why it's my favourite paper.

>> No.7162017

>>7161987
Plus I'm pretty sure you can be physically addicted. Everyone I know who's tried to quit has complained of headaches and general bitchiness. And then none of them have successfully quit. Of course, that's just one group of my friends, and they're all serious smokers... a dozen joints a day is pretty typical.

>> No.7162236

>>7162017
Oh wow, a dozen joints a day is a lot, I was thinking more like a joint every two days.