Graphic by Eilidh McNaughton By urŠka veberičDiscovering someone’s likes and dislikes is one of the foundational methods of getting to know a person. The preferences of an individual not only give us insights into their hobbies but in addition indicate which personality traits they possess. Dating apps have been one of the popular platforms to meet significant others in the last five years, with traffic reaching new highs recently due to the pandemic. On such platforms, people often pose basic questions such as: Where are you from? What kind of music do you like? Do you like the outdoors? But there is one question you should always ask someone to determine if you are compatible with them, and that is: Are you a dog or a cat person? The question of pet preference has been thrown around carelessly, without any additional thought besides if the person you are questioning is a cat or a dog person. However, enquiring about somebody’s affiliation with canine or feline worlds can be one of the keenest questions you can present to someone, as it will reveal who they really are. Here is why.
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Graphic by Eilidh McNaughton by rebekah wattsIt has been more than a century since ‘plasticity’ was first used to describe the brain as modifiable (Berlucchi and Buchtel, 2009; as cited in von Bernhardi et al., 2017). Neural plasticity, also known as neuroplasticity or brain plasticity, is defined by Cramer et al. (2011; as cited in von Bernhardi et al., 2017) as the nervous system’s ability to respond to stimuli by altering its structure, connections, and functions. This psychological phenomenon is a crucial part of neural development and the functioning of the nervous system when responding to environmental changes, ageing and injuries (von Bernhardi et al., 2017). Galván (2010) suggests that different variations of neural plasticity that can be clearly seen between young infants and adults. Generally, infants experience a variation of plasticity that influences how the neural system will be organised, at a foundational level, whereas the variation of plasticity experienced by adults modifies and reorganises the existing structure of the brain. Psychological research has allowed an expansion of our knowledge surrounding neural plasticity, with the 1980s introducing neuroscientific animal studies that demonstrated functional plasticity in the cerebral cortex of the brain (responsible for functions such as perception, memory, and voluntary physical movement) (Nudo, 2003).
Graphic by Eilidh McNaughton by urška veberičThe terms “mommy issues” and “daddy issues” have been increasingly popular when describing one’s problems in romantic relationships. But can we blame our difficulties within relationships on our parents? Technically, yes, but only to a certain extent. Humans love patterns and will therefore seek them out in order to make sense of the world that surrounds them. However, what people do not realise is that there is a pattern which often occurs in human behaviour, specifically human relationships. The relationship you have established in your infancy with your mother, father or any other primary caregiver will influence your romantic relationships.
Graphic by Eilidh McNaughton By Rebekah wattsPhineas Gage was a railroad worker who, in 1848, was involved in an accident when an explosion propelled a long metal rod through his head. The rod caused serious injury to his left prefrontal cortex, entering through his left cheek and leaving through the midline of his skull anterior. The consequences of this accident were widely reported and caused a wave of disbelief amongst the public. Immediately after the event, Phineas Gage was still able to walk and communicate, but arguably what was more surprising was that he remained consciously aware through most of the period following the incident (Neylan, 1999).
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