Brain Disorders :: essays research papers

The brain, which weighs only three pounds and is made up of eighty percent water, is the key organ of our nervous system. It is divided into three different parts: the Cerebrum, the Cerebellum, and the Medulla Oblongata. The â€Å"gray matter† of the brain is about one-eighth inch thick and it gives the brain its gray color. Inside the brain is the cortex, which is made up of billions of neurons. These neurons extend into the cerebral hemisphere and it controls all mental activity. In this report I will be discussing different disorders of the brain and how they affect the every day life of people who may have these disorders. (The Volume Library 900)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first disorder that I will be discussing is a disease called Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (A.D.H.D.). This disease has not just been recently discovered. It was first discovered in the eighteen hundreds by a British physician where the first book about Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder was written, â€Å"Fidgety Phil.† Up until the 1960’s it was called minimal brain function. Medication is not a new treatment either. In the 1930’s a medication called Dexedrine (d-amphetamine) or Desoxyn (methamphetamine), now known as Ritalin, was used. (Wender, M.D. 15)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This disease is present in three to ten percent of school-aged children and four to five percent in adults. A.D.H.D. is more common in boys than in girls. To determine if a child has A.D.H.D., there are not set psychological or laboratory test but the testimonies of the people who are involved in the patients’ everyday life. However there are certain criteria that can define and diagnose symptoms. In many cases medication can reduce and to an extent eliminate A.D.H.D. This is true in about seventy percent of school-aged children who have A.D.H.D. and in about sixty percent of adults who are on the medication. Another plus of the medication is that it is not addictive if it is not abused. To reduce the symptoms of A.D.H.D. in adults therapy may also be helpful. Although, the use of medication to treat A.D.H.D. can be very controversial. (Wender, M.D. 9) Some characteristics of school-aged children with A.D.H.D. are problems in school like math, reading, and spelling because twenty to thirty percent of children have learning disorders. The most common symptom is attention difficulties, distractibility, and hyperactivity. Not all patients of A.D.H.D are hyperactive, therefore a new diagnosis was identified: Attention Deficit Disorder (A.