Pros And Cons Of Abolitionists

Emma Rothermel
BioPsych Extra Credit Essays First Exam (#1)
10/6/15

Extra Credit Essay about Abolitionists and Minimalists #1

Hannah,
I know how you feel about ethical position in research because I have known you for 22 years since you are my older sister. Specifically, in terms of animal testing for scientific studies, I know how strongly you are against testing and harming animals for the benefit of humans. I wanted to let you know that you are not alone, and in fact there are ways to use animals in testing without doing harm to them. In the scientific field, you would be known as an ‘abolitionist’. By favoring firm ideas that all animals have the same rights as humans and any animal use for testing is completely unethical, you prefer
for no animal testing to be done for the benefit of science. Since animals cannot consent, your argument is completely valid. Your views are definitely valid as human subjects ultimately are favored to learn about the human brain. Humans can obviously take direction and follow what the researcher wants done in the study. Reports can also be made directly from the person themselves about the experiences they had subjectively. And the most obvious reason being that studying the human brain is most easily done when experimenting on human brains. Comparing non-human brains to human brains is sometimes irrelevant because of the corpus callosum and how humans have folds in their brains, while most animals do not. However, there are many structures in the brain that do prove to be helpful when studied in animals, as well as committees to oversee the procedures done on animals used for research which is where I would like to offer you a new suggestion to your thinking. While using human subjects are ideal for neurological research, it is not always possible due to legal and ethical issues. The term ‘minimalist’ is one that describes a person who favors firm regulation and place ethical consideration on type of animals used and amount of stress they are under while being tested. Minimalists exist because they realize that underlying mechanisms of behavior is brain structure is often seen in studies with other species and that when they two are compared, evolutionary advances are seen. In fact, there are so many people who see the value in animal testing but want firm regulations, that all colleges are required to have an institutional animal care and use committee that oversees research being done on campuses and determines the procedures that can ethically take place. I’m not asking you to change your opinion on the matter of animal testing because as your sister, I know how passionate you are about it. I just ask that as a future clinician, if I ever have to work with animal research that you don’t judge me for being ok with it since I consider myself to be a minimalist. I hope we can find a middle ground of appreciation for each other’s interests and values in the near future. Love, Emma
Extra Credit Essay about the Autonomic Nervous System #2

Courtney,

Remember when you went sky diving this summer when you studied abroad in England?
Remember how you felt in the plane when the door opened and you were on the very edge about to jump out? The feeling of your stomach dropping, a rush of alertness, shaking, and an accelerated heart/lung pattern should ring some bells for you. Well those ringing bells are actually just your autonomic nervous system nerves being put to work. The autonomic nervous system is broken into sympathetic and parasympathic branches. The sympathetic branch in the one that made you feel the way you were feeling moments before you fell to the earth after jumping out of a plane. That ‘flight or fight’ response you were having was a release of norepinephrine in the reaction because your hypothalamus told it to in an efferent signal. The release of NE prepares the body for actions as it increases heart rate, blood pressure, respirations and attention. Essentially, your body is slowing all other less necessary processes to allow it to be fully invested I the situation at
hand. While the sympathetic nervous system was acting when you were prepared for the jump, I bet the feeling you had after your feet had landed on the ground was a sense of relief and after a few moments you felt more relaxed.
This is the parasympathic branch in action. This branch, referred to often as the ‘rest and restore’ behaviors because it works against the sympathetic system to counteract it’s effects. The same organs that were being told to ‘fight or flight’ moments ago are innervated also by the parasympathic system telling it to rest. Perhaps you felt your heart rate lower, breathing return to normal, and you regained an appetite. The ability to sense your heart rate slowing and internal processes returning to normal is through the use of afferent messages, otherwise known as signal from sense organs and internal processes to give feedback to the
CNS. What is fascinating is that your body is doing this on its’ own without your conscious effort or awareness. This means that it’s a defense mechanism for your internal organs, vessels and glans that allow you to survive in situations where danger is happening. You, best friend, still amaze me that you had courage to go out and do that, I hope that someday I will be able to overcome my fear and feel the full capacity of my sympatric system working. You’ll have to come with me!

Sincerely, Emma