Mood molecule

Chemistry of THE Brain Molecules, Mood, AND Mental Illness... 

Chemistry of the Brain Molecules, Mood, and Mental Illness 71... 

Researchers at Texas A M University discovered that mood, blood pressure, and surgery recovery time can be influenced by art — but not just any kind of art. Patients who had Picasso reproductions in their rooms fared worse than those with blank walls, while some of those who gazed at Monet s water lilies recovered more quickly. I think Hans Selye must have loved beautiful paintings, too. After all, he was himself an artist of sorts. He carved part of the cortisol molecule into the cement outside his window when he was living on Milton Street near McGill. It s still there — a silent testimonial to the man my parents dragged me to see on that stressful day so long ago. 

In more recent times, people have become used to the idea that mood can be altered by complex organic molecules such as alcohol, opium and cocaine, but it is fascinating that a simple inorganic salt — a very small ion (Li+) or a bit of rock (LijCOj) — can alter this subtle aspect of the mind. 

Mood changes continue to be reported in association with corticotropin (15). Emotional instability or psychotic tendencies can be aggravated, while euphoria, insomnia, and personality changes such as hypomania and depression can be precipitated, sometimes even with psychotic manifestations. Although it seems reasonable to assume that one is dealing here mainly with an effect of the glucocorticoids secreted in response to corticotropin, it should be recalled that segments of the corticotropin molecule themselves have effects on brain function and could conceivably play a role. 

Organic molecules are minute, nonobjective sculptures, or are considered abstract when they resemble familiar, identifiable objects. They have shapes that are curvilinear, angular, or geometric (or a combination). Just as in macroscopic sculptures, these shapes can express movement and direction. If one considers organic molecules to be amazing tiny sculptures of the stuff of which matter is made, such a microsculpture can evoke an emotion or set a mood in the same way that a macrosculpture evokes emotions and sets moods. 

Considering the tetrahedral shape of methane, construct a multiple-methane-molecule sculpture, or draw a picture of such an arrangement. Explain why the sculpture or drawing is abstract or nonobjective. How do the shapes in the sculpture or drawing evoke a mood or emotion How do the shapes show direction or movement ... 

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