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This article covered specific parts of the brain / neural network that activate when the subject

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This article covered specific parts of the brain / neural network that activate when the subject attempts to give value, classify by order of value, and empathize with others' values, among other persuasive/valuation trains of thought. i thought that it was very interesting how these seemingly similar thought processes of handling valuation and persuasion would activate different parts of the brain as opposed to the same area of the brain. These three parts that are discussed, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, ventral striatum, and temporoparietal junction, were described to be enabled by different stimuli. In the given example, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum helped to determine what type of persuasion technique more strongly influenced the subject, and the temporoparietal junction was more active when the subject attempted to empathize in order to persuade another party. This simple information on the parts of the brain that respond to persuasive stimuli is being actively utilized by neuroscientists to persuade policymakers and the public on matters significant to them. I had not realized how meta these neuroscientists could become by using their own research to persuade others to help fund and further their research, and I found that to be amusing.

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In the article, Neural Networks Behind Persuasion, it discusses the complexity of neural networks of how our brains evaluate and assess persuasion. The article states, “Recent neuroimaging research reveals a number of key brain regions and networks involved in persuasion, including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, the ventral striatum, and the temporoparietal junction,” thus implying that different parts of our brain respond to persuasion and we value the alternative that we prefer. Through neuroimaging, we are able to see parts of the brain that have the most activity when given persuasion messages. It is important to know what matters to the audience, in order to successfully persuade. Those who are better persuaders, are better empathizers as well, as it involves an understanding and emphasizing personal value. The psychology behind persuasion is an interesting topic that can be further delved into, as we are influenced by empathy, communication, personal values, attitudes, etc. to be persuaded.

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Neuroscientists must often persuade policymakers and the public to fund their work. Due to this, how researchers communicate is essential.  Brain regions that deal with evaluating self-relevance and value are associated with persuasion such as the ventromedial prefrontal cortex,  temporoparietal junction, ventral striatum. Researchers determined this through neuroimaging and looking for increased activity in brain regions when given persuasive messages about wearing sunscreen. What I found interesting about this article was how persuasion is different depending on the personal values of a person. Something is more persuasive to someone if it appeals to their own values and can vary depending on their culture and social upbringing. Since persuasion depends on understanding what matters to the audience, better persuaders are also good empathizers. This led me to question how some psychopaths are such good persuaders when they aren't able to empathize as well as the average person (also depends on the degree of the psycopathy). Some people even consider psychopaths to be better equipped for some areas of the workforce since they won't crack under stress, are confident, and have charm. If anyone has had any background in psychopathy or has any thoughts on this, feel free to respond.

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This article regarding the virus SARS-CoV-2 discusses the ability of the virus to infect the brain (and subsequently the central nervous system) through three observed methods: the olfactory nerves (nasal cavity) that may lead straight towards the brain, angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2) that destroys the barrier between the blood and the brain and allows entryway into the brain, and a cytokines storm, which also disrupts the blood-brain barrier similarly to ACE-2. What most drew my attention was the statement that "current therapeutic approaches such as antiviral drugs and traditional Chinese medicine merely alleviates the symptoms ... these therapeutic strategies may cause side effects in CNS." Performing trials of both clinical drugs and traditional Chinese medicine on the virus seemed to have minimal effect in fully curing the patient of the COVID-19 symptoms. Furthermore, these strategies had caused side effects in the central nervous system,  hinting towards the idea that either the treatment may have elicited some reaction of the virus residing in the CNS, or that the treatment was intended to directly affect areas around CNS, but ultimately had little effect on the virus itself. Nonetheless, seeing as SARS-CoV-2 is able to infect patients on a neural level, it would be very beneficial to place stronger focus on these neuro-complications in order to further the data and research on COVID-19.

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COVID-19 Pandemic: Consideration for Brain Infection

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COVID-19 Pandemic: Consideration for Brain Infection

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This article, The COVID-19 Pandemic: Consideration for Brain Infection, delves into the potential of the COVID pandemic resulting in neuroinfection via SARS-CoV-2. Throughout this pandemic we have found that the virus not only causes respiratory complications, but also affects the Central Nervous System as seen with a case study in Beijing in which a patient’s cerebrospinal fluid tested positive for the virus. SARS-CoV-2 can intrude into the host cells because of a protein called ACE-2 which is found in brain tissue and promotes the virus from infecting the CNS. Many patients have suffered from neurological symptoms that can be traced back to the virus entering through the nasal cavity. Another possibility is that a cytokines storm triggers the infection in the brain. Currently, there is no vaccine and only therapeutic resolutions.

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The article mentions how the virus can enter host cells via interaction with the ACE-2 receptor. There are other ways that the article mentions but I want to focus on this protein. This enzyme is very abundant throughout the brain and the article suggests it can penetrate and destroy the blood-brain barrier. I find this interesting because blood is toxic to the brain. This makes sense to as why strokes can occur if infected.  ACE-2 is an important enzyme that helps modulate inflammation and blood pressure, so obvious symptoms from a neural infection related to this protein would be inflammation and hypertension. Sana summarized the article very well so I won't go too much into the other points. Since the virus can bind to ACE-2, I think that could tell us something about the structure , which could potentially help with finding more effective treatment, however, as the article states, as of now, there is no vaccine or effective treatment to prevent the infection, but other approaches can help alleviate the symptoms.

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In the article, The COVID-19 Pandemic: Consideration for Brain Infection, it discusses how the novel COVID-19 virus can result in severe neuroinfection. The virus is a “multi-organ” impact, where it affects the lungs, heart, blood, vessels, eyes, nose, kidney, livers, intestine, and especially the brain.

It invades the central nervous system, thus affecting the brain, causing inflammation, strokes, damage to nerves, etc. Those who already have high risk factors of contracting COVID-19  such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, dementia, etc., COVID-19 will directly severely affect the brain and the rest of the body. The article states, “On the other hand, as there is no vaccine or effective treatment to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection, current therapeutic approaches such as antiviral drugs and traditional Chinese medicine merely alleviates the symptoms caused by this virus.” This implies that while there may be no vaccine yet for the virus, therapeutic approaches can ease and reduce symptoms. The best ways to protect yourself would be to follow pre-cautions given by authentic sources such as the CDC, news, etc. Maintaining social distancing, wearing a mask, washing your hands frequently, etc. are the best ways to protect yourself against SARS-CoV-2.

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Starting next Monday, members will receive a neuroscience-related scientific journal via email for review containing information about the article as well as the discussion post. The weekly discussion post is due every following Monday, a week after receiving the weekly email.  Members are also expected to reply to at least one other post made by another member.