Posted by All of the neurons in our brain carry an electrical charge. The neurons in our brain use the action potentials to generate these electrical impulses. Neurons are used to transport information through different areas of the brain. Neurons’ specific purpose is communication. It is through the electrical charge and impulses that the information is able to be passed throughout the brain. The brain is then able to send this information throughout the rest of the body. The electrical charge of our neurons is extremely important to the overall functioning of our body. However, sometimes these electrical signals can be disrupted. The disruption of the electrical charges results in our body having a seizure. A seizure is caused when the electric patterns in our brains become disrupted. Seizures can look very different. In all seizures the individual will lose consciousness. Some individuals will blankly stare while having a seizure. The most common seizures result in the individuals losing muscle control. Their muscles start to shake very intensely (severity of the shaking is based on the type of seizure). The disruption in the neuron’s charge can be caused by a number of different things. Many seizure disorders can be genetic or caused by other health issues that impact the charges of our neurons. Other triggers include sleep deprivation, dehydration, stress, menstruation, other triggers can be much more specific to the person. These specific triggers can impact our neuron charges so drastically that they can no longer function in the way they are supposed to. This causes a sort of back fire.
We can look at our brain as a computer system. When a computer is properly functioning all systems are a go. All aspects of the computer and its systems are running smoothly. However, sometimes a certain program in our computer may start to malfunction. Maybe water was spilt into the electrical system, or maybe a virus has taken over a part of our computer system. These malfunctions cause a disturbance in the functioning of the entire system. The system then shuts down and can not function properly. The computer system glitches. After the computer system has forcibly shut itself down, it often will reboot itself. The computer slowly wakes up and most of the time it begins to run as it should. This is extremely common to individuals who have seizures. The seizure causes the brain to go into a shutdown mode. The brain can not properly function with the electrical disturbance, it forcibly shuts down some of its programs, this resulting in a seizure. The individual’s body starts to malfunction due to the program shutting down and not running properly. We can compare the forced shut down to the individual losing consciousness. The electrical disturbance can be compared to a system receiving a virus. The virus represents the triggers that cause the electrical disturbance. In most cases the individual who has suffered from the seizure will regain consciousness and their body and strength will be restored, the same way in which a computer will wake up after being shut down and start to function properly. In some extreme cases the seizure can lead to death, the same way that even some computers become so broken they must be thrown away. There are many similarities between the electrical functioning of our brain and the ways in which computers function.
Citations
Brain Basics: The Life and Death of a Neuron | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2022, September 27). Www.ninds.nih.gov. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/public-education/brain-basics/brain-basics-life-and-death-neuron#:~:text=Neurons%20are%20information%20messengers.
Holmes, G. L., & Ben-Ari, Y. (2001). The Neurobiology and Consequences of Epilepsy in the Developing Brain. Pediatric Research, 49(3), 320–325. https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-200103000-00004
Sherman, R., & Pelletier, H. L. (2018). Migraines and seizures (pp. 21–37). Mason Crest.
What happens in your brain during a seizure? (2022, February 3). Www.epsyhealth.com; epsy. https://www.epsyhealth.com/seizure-epilepsy-blog/what-happens-to-the-brain-during-a-seizure#:~:text=During%20an%20epileptic%20seizure%2C%20the
Wong, J. C., Grieco, S. F., Dutt, K., Chen, L., Thelin, J. T., Inglis, G. A. S., Parvin, S., Garraway, S. M., Xu, X., Goldin, A. L., & Escayg, A. (2021). Autistic-like behavior, spontaneous seizures, and increased neuronal excitability in a Scn8a mouse model. Neuropsychopharmacology, 46(11), 2011–2020. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-021-00985-9
While reading your steam project, I learned how seizures can occur at any time and are uncontrollable electrical disturbances in the brain. Neurons in the brain use action potential to generate electrical impulses. The purpose of neurons is communication and are used to transport information to separate parts of the brain. Once the information that is passed through the brain happens, the brain takes that information and sends it throughout the body. Seizures can cause changes within a person’s behavior, movements, and levels of consciousness. This occurs because there is a disruption of the electrical charges in the body. There are different seizures that can occur, however in all seizures that happen, a person will lose consciousness. Side effects of a seizure can cause a person to blankly stare or the most common is losing muscle control. Based on the type of seizure will cause the intense levels of the muscles shaking. Seizure disorders can be genetic or caused by health issues that affect the impact of the charges of neurons. I found it interesting how a trigger can be caused by menstruation. I do wonder if during menstruation what electrical disturbances occur to trigger that seizure. Could it possibly be because of the hormones? Other triggers may include stress, sleep deprivation, and dehydration. By comparing the brain to a computer system, I was able to understand how the brain functions. The effects of a computer having a virus or water spilled on it can cause a disturbance in functioning just like what would happen to a person’s brain.