Please read A Surgeon's Life from AoM.
After reading the chapter, go to your textbook and see what it has to say about the topics raised in the chapter. This might be difficult so if there is even something remotely similar in the text go ahead and read up on that. When you have done this, please respond to the following questions.
What did your text have to say the topics raised in this chapter? What information was provided in the text? What additional details did your text provide?
What did you think about this chapter? Why? What are three things you will remember from what you read in the chapter? Why? What was one thing that you really liked that was in the chapter? Why? What was one thing that you disliked that was in the chapter? Why? What do you now know about your brain that you didn't know before reading the chapter? Has this chapter made you think about other issues about the brain? How does this chapter relate to the material in the earlier chapters?
Please make sure you use the terms, terminology and concepts you have learned so far in the class. It should be apparent from reading your post that you are a college student well underway in a course in psychology.
Please use spaces between your paragraphs to make your post easier to read - thanks in advance
Let me know if you have any questions.
After reading the chapter I became interested in how a person with Tourettes speaks. Tourettes can be linked to random outbursts of language, sometimes even profanity. In Bennett’s example, he tends to randomly speak in a high pitched voice different from his own and say random word phrases or names. Even Bennett’s children help seek out unique names that they add to their list of ideas for appropriate outbursts that their father can use. After researching in my textbook (Kellogg, 2003) on the topic of speech production I found some interesting facts. During normal speech a person usually plans ahead of time in their head on what they will say out loud and how it should be presented, but this does not always occur with people who have Tourettes. Specifically, normal speech begins with deciding what grammar to use and the phonology of it meaning what tones the person will use. It is obvious that with Tourettes the mind does not attempt to work through those processes.
I chose the chapter in my textbook entitled Language Production. Although it did not go into any details or examples of Tourettes it did inspire me to look at how language is formed. This chapter was very dry and had very few examples at all which made learning a little more difficult. What it did explain was some theories behind speech errors. It went on to describe errors such as the “Freudian slip,” with which I am already familiar with. If you have not heard of this before a Freudian slip was coined by Sigmund Freud who believed if someone misspoke they were in reality revealing their unconscious wishes. One thing I did learn about when it comes to speech errors is what spoonerism is. After reading an example it was easy to understand that a spoonerism is when two segments of separate words are switched around to form a combination of an entirely incorrect word. For example if I wanted to say the words, “red and blue,” I might accidently say, “rue.”
Another topic in which I did learn new information about was acquired aphasia. I read this to be a loss of speech production which can be caused by damage to the left frontal cortex. Those with acquired aphasia could have difficulty learning to comprehend language and speak it as well. Their language tends to be short phrases or only single words. I recall reading this section because it is something I have never heard of before and sounds like it would be difficult growing up with acquired aphasia.
What I really liked about this chapter was the diagram that was shown that laid out the way in which sentences are formed by individuals. For most people, we take the ability to form sentences for granted when in fact it is a complex process. What I did not like about this chapter was the difficult vocabulary that was entailed. None of the uncommon language terms were defined or explained well. This made it hard for me to comprehend the information. Yet, after reading this chapter I can respect the ways in which our brains help us to use language and understand language. A simple thing like forming whole sentences is a process in which our brains work to simplify. This chapter on language production has me wondering about how children learn language from their caretakers. I remember learning about some examples in which children were left alone for years and did not know how to speak at all because they were not taught. This in turn makes me believe that even though our brain is equipped with the ability to communicate, language still must be learned.
There wasn't really anything in the textbook I have for this class on Tourette's Syndrome, which is a shame because after reading from AM that seems to be where I'm really lacking information; but there were things in the text that relate to TS. The three main topic areas in the book that would relate to Tourette's Syndrome (or other topics brought up in the reader) are memory, attention, and perception.
The reason memory is included is because there was an occurrence in AM where Bennett had no idea he had accidentally begun to indulge in one of his compulsions during surgery. He had began to say "hideous" during one of his surgeries. The reason this was so interesting to me is because not only did he have no memory of this AFTER the surgery, but he didn't have any memory of him cutting himself off mid-word either. Apparently, it is entirely possible to make a decision about something moral or ethical automatically.
This leads to the next relevant topic from the reader and text, attention. As previously stated there are functions that occur without our cognitive focus, we don't have to "tell" our brain to do them. Attention is highly relevant to this chapter because of something I noticed about Bennett's behavior. When in the operating room, Bennett had very few signs of his disorder. It was almost as if he was so intent on concentrating on his task that his disorder seemed to lie dormant for the most part.
Perception wasn't really brought up directly in AM, but I feel it's important to discuss in terms of cognitive psychology because everything we experience as individuals is based off of things we've learned or felt, and things that are in our heredity. An example of perception from the reader is the feelings that Bennett developed about working in the hospital. At first he was uncomfortable allowing people to see the ticks that he had, but over time he adapted and grew comfortable with the people surrounding him. Part of this may have to do with familiarity over time. Whatever the case may be, he had a feeling of security and acceptance in his work place which allowed him to relax around his colleagues and may have led to him completing his job more effectively.
In all honesty, the textbook was not as useful as I would have hoped for this topic. There was nothing in it that I could find about Tourette's Syndrome and I had a hard time finding information that would bring it into perspective for me. However, I found it useful in giving me a base of information mentioned above about memory, perception, and attention.
I put a lot of emphasis and enjoyment in reading about peoples' experiences so I greatly enjoyed reading about the process Bennett went to in order to be comfortable working. I like how he took baby steps to allow the better part of him show and disregard his insecurities about his ticks. He also embraced some of the compulsions he had. He has a brick wall in his home he can throw things at, he taps on things, and he skips in the hallways at work because they're not JUST disturbances to him. They are also stimulating. I also like how for the most part he seemed "normal", he was able to be fully functional in society. Not only is that contrary to how the media portrays Tourette's Syndrome, but it's taking initiative to better himself as a person and live a fully functional life.
I really didn't like the fact that there was an extreme lack of information about what exactly Tourette's Syndrome is, it talked briefly about it effecting the subcortex and being a disorder that is primarily based around the subconscious; but that's really about it.
This reading makes me feel the need to really re-evaluate how I feel people respond to high stress situations and how people cope with various disorders. I also really need to reconsider what kind of decisions are made without cognitive awareness. I know that a vast majority of our processes are done without us actually thinking about doing them, but I had always thought ethical and moral decisions were ideas that required thought, but apparently they CAN be decided without active conscious thought.
The most similar topic in my text that relates to the reading of this chapter was about the mind-body issue. This issue relates to what we have discussed in class, where the brain is the physical structure and the mind is what the brain does.
The text explained the difference between the two concepts but also how they work together. It gave good examples of each. The mind is the processes carried out by the brain, for example, thinking, perceiving, judging, or making jokes (Solso, MacLin & MacLin, 2005). In contrast, the body is made up of physical components and things that are governed by laws. For example, the regions of the brain as well as the brain as a whole.
I found this concept to relate to the chapter in AoM because at numerous points throughout the reading it seems as though Bennett’s brain and mind are not on the same page. The best example of this is when he is operating. He describes his Tourette’s by saying that “it never even crosses my mind” when in the operating room. Another example of this is when he appears to be driving smoothly, the author states that “one has the feeling not that the Tourette’s was in any way being suppressed but that the brain and the mind were in a quite different mode of action.”
I found this chapter to be really interesting, especially the portions of Bennett’s story when he did not suffer from his tics when he was performing complex tasks that required a practiced rhythm.
One of the first things I really liked and will remember about this chapter is how the author introduces the syndrome by stating that Tourette’s must be seen from multiple perspectives and not just from one. It takes biological, psychological, and moral-social viewpoints (pp. 78) as well as, personal perspectives of those affected by the disease in order to understand its complexity.
Another segment of the chapter that I really enjoyed was when the author was watching Bennett at work. It was fascinating to read about how his tics just seemed to disappear for the critical times of operating. I will admit that, reading into these sections, I was a little weary, much like the author was, in the skills that Bennett would be able to perform.
Finally, I found one of Bennett’s descriptions of his condition to be very interesting. He called Tourette’s “a disease of disinhibition. He says there are thoughts, not unusual in themselves, that anyone might have in passing but that are normally inhibited.” This reminded me a lot of Freud’s description of the Id. Although dissimilar in that the Id is more about inappropriate thoughts and fantasies, but very closely related in that someone with Tourette’s receives immediate gratification from “disinhibiting” thoughts or actions, for example, by sudden outbursts.
I really liked one of the first footnotes that talked about where certain tics can originate. I found it very interesting to read that certain tics can develop themselves through personal past experiences. This was not something I was aware of; I had always thought that those with Tourette’s had the same tics throughout their lifetime.
I mentioned earlier that the chapter talked about how Tourette’s needs to be understood from different perspectives. The only thing I did not like as much about this chapter was that it did not go into great detail about the perspectives of Tourette’s dealing with biology or what portions of the brain are directly affected by Tourette’s. The chapter mainly focused on the inner, personal perspective of someone with Tourette’s.
I think that after reading this chapter I better understand the topic in class about how the brain and mind are linked. This chapter did a good job of showing an example of this and how, in some diseases, the connection of the brain and its processes can become disconnected. I think that this is also how this chapter relates to the previous ones in that the other individuals seemed to have similar problems.
One particular thing mentioned, sparked my interest but does not really have anything to do with the subject of this chapter. On page 94, the author talks about experiencing a sense of déjà vu. I have always wondered what happens in the brain during these sensations. Is there a certain portion of the brain that is affected during this time? Or is it an instance where the brain and the mind are not on the same page?
Reading Activity Week #3
A Surgeon’s Life
I chose to talk about Skill Learning. My book had a lot of information regarding the topic of skill learning which relating back to the chapter on the surgeon, had to be done to great detail. Skill Learning refers to the gradual improvement of performance with practice that “generalizes to a range of stimuli within the domain of processing”. One main thing that is important in defining Skill Learning is to understand that the processes of skill learning cannot be attained if these skills have been lost or impaired already. Skill Learning can be broken down into two main areas; sensory-motor and perceptual skills.
This chapter was very cool. It was cool because I would never have thought that a person with Tourette’s syndrome would be able to perform surgery or be a doctor at all. People with Tourette’s syndrome have a bad reputation for being very jittery and physically unstable so for me to read this section was very eye opening and very cool.
Three things that I will definitely remember from this chapter is one, that there is a person that is able to actually perform surgeries successfully. It is just very shocking. Another thing that really suck out for me is that so many people were accepting of a surgeon that have tourettes. Many people waited for him to perform on them. With the reputation that most people with Tourettes have it is surprising that so many people are willing to rely on someone with jittery hands to perform surgery on them. That would really scare me, personally. It just goes to show that once you get a reputation of being a good surgeon, people will go beyond their comfort zone to get the help that they need. It also goes to show that the surgeon is actually a good surgeon and does good work because if he messed up, I don’t think that anyone would trust his or her surgery to him. The third thing that I thought was interesting from this chapter was the fact that once Dr. Bennett got in his “zone” during the surgery, it was like he has never had tourettes. He was perfectly calm and steady and knew exactly what he was doing.
One thing that I had a really hard time getting over was the idea that Dr. Bennett had tourettes and that he was licensed to perform surgery. Obviously that is mean to say and some cases are different than others, but I just really couldn’t get over the fact that Dr. Bennett was licensed to perform surgery on people.
One thing that I learned about this chapter besides the fact that some people with tourettes could perform surgery is the fact that they have periods of time when they aren’t jittery or have their symptoms. To explain, Dr. Bennett spends his mornings exercising on a bike while smoking a pipe and reading a medical book. During this time he was like any other person. He didn’t have the jitters, he didn’t say random things, he was just him, working out and relaxing. I never knew that people with this disorder could have periods of time where they have no symptoms of their disorder.
This chapter relates to the others by talking about rare cases of people who have disorders and have beat the odds to make something out of themselves. It is cool to see these people work as hard as they can to become professional at something that most people (like myself) would never think that these people could do. Also, one thing that the book talked about was Skill Learning and that has really tied into all the chapters that I’ve read so far. These people have something that everyone else does not and yet they have used their abilities to learn something (skills) that may not have been possible.
I thought this chapter was the most interesting of the chapters we have covered so far in class. Prior to the AM reading, I had little knowledge of Tourettes disorder. Dr. Carl's case in this chapter really opened my eyes to show me how how this disorder really effects the daily life and activities of those who have Tourettes.
Unfortunatley my textbook does not discuss Tourettes disorder and does not have very much information on similar disorders. After researching my book, I came across the topic of Automatic and Controlled Processes. Automatic processes involve no conscious awareness and people experiencing this type of process are unaware of the activities they are performing. On the other hand, Controlled processes are accessible to conscious control and require the awareness to perform such tasks. This topic relates to our AM reading because Bennett describes his convulsions and obsessions as happening unconsciously and without his knowledge or planning. Tourettes is a disorder that is unpredictable and happens unconsciously.
My favorite part of this chapter would be that even though Dr. Carl suffered from this disorder since the age of 7, he has managed to make a healthy and successful lifestyle. I really enjoyed reading about how his childhood made him tougher and he was about to get an education, start a career and raise a family. I enjoyed reading about his success and motivation that he has despite his unfortunate disorder.
The first thing that I will remember from this chapter would be relationship of "it" and "I" which is the disease and self. The reading described that Tourette's and the self shape themselves each to the other which gets more and more complex over time. Eventually, the disorder and the self become a single and works as a whole. The "it" & "I" relation can be both constructive as well as destructive.
The next idea that I will remember from the chapter is that those who suffer from Tourettes does not mean that their future is limited. As I previously stated, Dr. Carl was able to manage his disorder and build a career and raise a family. This idea was interesting to me and I'll remember it because I think often times we judge others who have a disorder and assume their future and goals are limited and they will not have as much success as those who do not have a disorder.
The last idea that I will remember is that with the Tourettes disorder, the compulsions, obsessions, and word use will all vary from time to time. Dr. Carl explained that he used the word "hideous" because it suddenly appeared to him one day two years ago. He also stated that the word will disappear some day and he will begin to say another word instead. "I get hung up with a word for two or three months. Then, suddenly it's gone, and there's another one in its place." This idea was interesting to read about because with the Tourettes disorder, the compulsions and obesessions will vary throughout their lifetime and there will never be only one set of words or actions that they practice forever.
Overall I really liked reading the chapter about Bennetts challenge with Tourettes. I didn't find anything that I disliked about this reading. I agree with balkb's blog that the reading could have gone more in depth with discribing what Tourettes actually is besides tics, compulsions, obsessions, etc. I would have liked to read more if there are any known causes or what brain structures play a role in this disorder.
This chapter gave me more information about the brain that I had not previously thought about or learned. It is interesting to read about these types of cases that people experience and how their brain still functions and allows them to live a normal life for the most part despite their disorder. After reading about Turrettes in this chapter, I now think about how all brain disorders really require support, patience, and motivation of not only the patient but their family & friends as well. It's important to have a great support system, like Benetts family, in order to have a happy and successful life.
I really do wish that there was something in the text about Tourette's syndrome, because it is not usually something that is touched on in many classes (even ones that are based on disorders). Looking for a related topic in the book was pretty difficult, but I also found something in my book about automatic processing.
Automatic processing is a type of processing that occurs without intention and at a cost of only some of a person's cognitive resources. Bennet refers to his disorder as something that is part of him and part of his being.. at one point he refers to it as something that is somewhat innate, something that is primative and important. He knows that he is doing these things, but they just sort of occur and don't necessarily affect his other cognitions. He can continue on with his life without his tics affecting his life so immensly that he cannot do certain things during the day.
Another way this links is the example in his operating room. In the textbook it talks about a Shiffrin and Schneider study on automatic processing and how distractions can affect this automatic process. When Bennet was operating he could focus on being a surgeon and still talk with his collegues, but as soon as someone came to bring him information about something unrelated his tics would come back. He could no longer focus on the situation at hand and completely fell apart.
This chapter was another really good one. I really enjoy the fact that you can almost relate to the people he talks to in the book. These people do have diseases or disorders, but they are still human and can still function in certain ways that some people think aren't possible (like a Tour. person being able to be a surgeon).
I was sort of suprized by his violent tendencies. The fact that he would throw things at his fridge or make knife marks on things kind of showed a weird side of Bennet. While I know that he just had certain impulses it makes me wonder if he has control on certain ones or not. If he had an impulse to stab someone, could he stop himself or would he have to go through with it? It may be that his compulsions to do things don't go to this sort of degree, but he still felt the need to chuck things across the room, why not chuck things at a human being?
Another really awesome thing from the reading pointed out by the author was the possessiveness of the disorder. He talked about Tour. as being a disease that one feels as part of their personality, as part of them.. rather than something like parkinsons that is felt as, "outside the self". Tour. people feel one with their symptoms and feel like it is their will to do these things. The person who calls their "Toby" and the other that calls theirs "Mr. T" is a light side to the disease, it is not necessarily something that weighs them down.
The last and most obvious thing to talk about here is the fact that he is a surgeon. When I first read this, I was terrified. The author also went to mention that he knew 5 people with Tour. who were surgeons. Before reading the chapter I was mortified because of what I knew about Tour. With this disease I knew you had certain uncontrollable behaviors, like shouting out random phrases or certain movements at random points in time. I was terrified because I pictured someone trying to cut someone open, and then severing an artery because they had a sudden tic of their operating hand.
When I continued to read, I felt more relieved. To learn that he seemed to have some control over his compulsions when he was working was something that really intrigued me. How was it that he could just stop his compulsions for a period of time when he was focused? I wondered if this was something to do with the fact that he was just not thinking about his compulsions.. and if this could be some sort of strategy for helping people with this disorder, a sort of B. Mod. technique if you will.
Again, I liked the chapter for what it was...I got to jump into a person's life and learn about them and their perspectives on a disorder they live with on a day-to-day basis. The one minor thing that I didn't like would have to be the fact that I wanted more. I wanted to know more about the actual disease, and not even the textbook could help me there. I wanted to find out more about the actual processes that happen in the brain with this disease and other things related to this.
As far as what I learned about the brain, I really did learn that this disorder does not really affect the way a person functions.. but more so just causes distractions to the person and other people around them. Bennet was able to live like a normal person, although with higher anal standards than most about certain things. In the other chapters the author dwelled more on the inner workings of the brain, but it seemed like this was absent in this chapter. I would have liked to have known if there were specific areas directly affected by this disorder, but this is just what we are left with.
Tourette's is a fascinating illness. Just when I was sure that it was a motor difficulty, I find out it is more than that.
One of the most outstanding topics in the chapter covered by Sacks was the idea that Tourette's can be controlled but not really. It can be sidestepped in certain circumstances--for instance when Bennet contains himself on first acquaintance and is able to do surgery tic-free. Sacks makes the point that the degree to which the Tourettes is expressed is based solely on Bennet's mental state--or his conscious awareness of himself.
This being said, consciousness is itself a very broad topic. The consciousness involves memory to a certain degree, according to my text book. The way I understood it, it is basically long-term memory being brought into working memory for immediate use. But that is just the way that I understood it. This is certainly involved with Bennet because he has verbal tics the origins of which he does not remember. So if it something he does not remember, why does he have a tic for it? There simply is no reason. But this implies that even if we cease to remember something, it remains in our brain and the Tourette's tics can tap into those.
The text book also mentions priming, and that is the mechanism through which we realize something in our long term memory is relevant to the present and bring it into working memory. Of course, more simply put, it is something in the environment that reminds us of something in our memory and induces recall through association. Priming has to be somehow related to Tourettes because, in Bennnet's case, the ticing is not present all the time. It comes and goes. I find it reasonable to assume that his environment might call for certain tics. Indeed, he says himself that if he does not sit next to the glass lamp, he does not feel compelled to tap it.
Of course, whenever consciousness is mentioned, something has to be said about sleep and that is completely irrelevant to Bennet, though I suppose someone might have noticed if he tics or does not tic during sleep. But it has not been noted in Sack's book.
All his difficulties considered, I have great respect for Dr. Bennet. What he had to live through could not have been easy but he pulled through anyway--even if most of the time he was not aware that his difficulty was a documented illness. But the fact that he remained active is amazing. He drives! He might never have been involved in a car crash, but I still would not feel safe with him on the wheel. I cannot imagine how he got his driver's license. And how on earth can he fly a plane? I understand that there is motor coordination involved in driving and flying a plane and doing surgery, but he tics when he does these things and that cannot be safe (except when he does surgery).
There is one part that I found overrated. Dr. Bennet talks about his anger issues. He says he has severe cases of rage. Rage is something that we all do and we all make rash decisions when we are angry. We all feel like hitting things and destroying things. (I got so angry once, I flying the toaster and broke it. We had to get a new one.) The idea that violent things can be done when angry is not the least bit unusual. Unless they are depicted as having mental problems, in movies, murderers are all angry. Anger and violence go hand in hand. And if Bennet's tics are related to his state of mind, then it would naturally follow that he should have violent tics when he is angry.
I do not see how this chapter relates to earlier chapters.
The text book I purchased did not have a chapter that addressed Tourettes or compulsive behaviors exactly. Instead it did have information in a few areas that I thought related to reading from AM. The topics I read about in my text book included: mental effort, automatic process, controlled process, and executive decision.
Mental effort depends on the amount of available attention capacity - or how much of you attention is elsewhere. When reading about Bennett’s tics and his impulses I learned a lot that I did not know before. He has impulses that he cannot control. A lot of what he does is inflicted by rage - which makes sense once I though back to what I had seen of tourettic people in the past. Reading about mental effort made me wonder about a few things in Bennett’s case and all for all people with tourette for that matter. Are these impulses so strong that they cannot be avoided or controlled? That when an impulse hits does it consume all of Bennett’s attention that there is nothing left in capacity for mental effort. Unless his impulse is met/addressed that effort will not be put towards anything else? Then again in the AM reading it said, “there is no distinction between the memory, the knowledge, the impulse, and the act - all come or go together as one.” With this statement it makes me think that Bennett needs no mental effort to fulfill an impulse. Or maybe it is a seemingly unconscious process - he does not realize that the tics and impulses consume his full capacity…
In my text I read about automatic processing and controlled processing. To some extent I would think that Bennett’s ‘disease’ is an automatic process. My text defined automatic processing at unintentional, unconscious, and undemanding of attention. In the AM reading it said that Bennett ‘forgets’ that he has tourettes when he is consumed by a task and his rhythm is fluid and uninterrupted. Are his impulses unconscious? Could they be a reaction to his environment - a reaction to an interruption in his rhythm?
When I read about controlled processing in my book I thought that it also explained some of Bennett’s behaviors. How could tourettes be automatic and controlled processing? In AM Sacks said that the more time he spent with Bennett the more obvious his tics became. While driving in the car after few days Sacks mentions that Bennett holds back less and his tics occur more often. A controlled process is defined as intentional, conscious and they demand attention. So, if Bennett can reduce or subdue his impulses around new people then how much awareness does he have of his disease?
Finally I read about executive control, this is when the brain’s activities are monitored. It is a function that makes sure that when there is something new, a break in a routine, the brain and person respond accordingly. An example my book gave was stopping by the grocery store on your way home from work instead of driving straight home. Your brain has to make sure that your old habit is broken this time so that you remember to go to the store. When thinking about Bennett - is his brain missing this? Or are his impulses so strong that his executive control system cannot override it. Or when his executive control does try and intervene that is when his impulses/rage fight back in order to keep his rhythm?
I thought this chapter was very interesting. I know basically nothing about tourettes other than funny you tube videos - they are not as funny when we know the reality of these people’s conditions. Three things that I will remember about this chapter is that one, there are medications for tourettes. Yet not all of these medicines work or address the whole disease. Bennett mentioned that when he was on medication that changed his behavior or took away the tics that he felt less like himself. It makes sense, he has had this disease since he was in his early teens. It makes Bennett stand out and I can see why he now identifies with it as part of himself. I will also remember learning that tourrettes is about impulses and rage. When Sacks describes when Bennett is demanding his son’s attention. Is it an impulse to have one’s attention. Was it rage that made him demand the attention? Lastly, I will remember that even though Bennett has these great impulses that does not stop him from being a successful surgeon. He can get into a rhythm, ‘in the zone,’ and perform surgeries successfully.
One thing that I like about this chapter is that Bennett’s wife and family (and the town they moved to) are so understanding and supportive. I wonder if Bennett’s treatment to his and sons and his behavior around his sons have had an negative impact on them. With things being thrown around the house and sudden impulses of rage. Or are they more understanding and can function better under situations that are very stressful? One thing that I did not like about this chapter - or really that I found depressing is the amount of anxiety these people may feel. I wonder if it is the same feeling that people with OCD have when they do not get to finish a ritual. Or can people with tourettes even get to that point. Are their urges and impulses so great that they must fulfill every one?
I did not know the full extent of the brains ability to reason and avoid these impulses that everyone feels. For example, sometimes when I am driving next to semis I want to swerve and see if I could drive under them - I am glad I can resist that urge! Other issues with the brain that chapter makes me think about is Bennett (and in general) coping ability. How does Bennett cope with these extreme impulses and concerns. Sacks mentions during his stay with Bennett he sees a new program about a missing or injured child and immediately Bennett starts verbalizing his concern for his son. If Bennett feels this extreme emotion is his reasoning off? How does he deal that stress?
Much of this chapter is relatable to earlier reading. One that stands out to me most is Bennett’s identity being found partly in his disease. He was diagnosed until late in his life and had grown up with these tics - he was married before he gained awareness that there are others that have same tics and conditions. I also think that if Bennett had had early intervention/ treatment as a young teenager that maybe his brain would have had the plasticity to learn to control these impulses. Maybe that is unrealistic to completely lose your diagnosis or tourettes but I wonder if it possible that Bennett would have tourettes to the same extent?
Cognitive Psychology Second Edition - Kellogg
After reading about Bennett all I could think of is how important a multi-dimensional approach to psychology is. Despite having a disorder that is grounded mainly in brain chemisty dysfunction, Dr. Bennett learned the mechanics of his Tourette's and adapted.
I am somewhat surprised how strong an effect Dr. Bennett's own mentality seemed to influence his disorder. I was extremely surprised that without traditional Tourette's medication he was able to phase out his tics effortlessly if he was in a situation that required his focus. Bennett's lifestyle allowed him to sort of indulge his Tourette's least disruptive compulsions seemed to be what really helped him adapt and excel.
I don't think I actually disliked anything in this chapter mainly because of Bennett's complete adaptation to his Tourette's. Instead of speaking of his Tourette's like a curse he seemed to talk about it like it was just another aspect in life that can be dual-edged. To him, Tourette's was just like any other part of life that could eventually wear on a person once in a while.
The main thing this chapter has me interested in is looking into is how cognitive therapy can have such drastic improvements in a disorder without having to rely entirely on pharmaceutical options. It is truely amazing to read how much a person's mentality can influence a disorder like Tourette's.
Unfortunately, there was no information about the Tourette syndrome exactly in my book. So, I chose a 6topic that correlates one of the issues of Tourette. I was wondering about the language effects of it, the involuntary word pronunciation.
In my textbook I found some information about aphasic patients. What attracted my attention was the difference between such damage and language related problems for Tourette patients. In case of aphasia we are most likely observe speech impairment connected with the recognition of or distinction between a lexical item and its form. Either in speech perception or speech production, oral or writing form, the patients experience difficulties in naming the objects, or defining their meaning from the form.
Some of those cases, and the most interesting in my opinion, give us an opportunity to detect the connections between the mental vocabulary and the knowledge storage itself. For example, in Warrington and Shallice (1984) study two patients who suffered herpes simplex encephalitis affecting both temporal lobes were able to define inanimate objects. On the contrary, they could not give an adequate definition to the animate concepts (for example, animals). These and many other cases show us that the mental vocabulary and the whole process of speech perception and recognition are deeply connected with the inner knowledge of a person.
What is so peculiar with the Bennett’s case then? The words he pronounced were somehow connected with the subconscious part of the mind. It is not an inability to define the object, to describe it; it is not the anomia. They certainly reflect the necessity for repetition of certain actions, on=n the articulatory level as well. But beside this they are connected with the thinking process. To which extend? Do they actually reflect it in a relatively significant part? And why does it all stops during the time of surgery that Bennett provides? I could not find the answers in the literature yet, but the problem really interests me, so I will keep on searching.
As I was searching through the textbook, I wanted to find a topic that slightly could relate to Tourette's, but was not directly stated in the story. As I was looking I ran into the topic of attention. Bennett in the story did not have tics during surgery because his attention was focused on one specific thing. In the story they compared it to many people with Tourette's often being athletes because they can stay focused on one thing (a race) and then after the race is over they can release their tics, obsessions, or compulsions. Memory is another topic I was interested in, due to the fact that one of his tics was a past girl friend's name.
The textbook talked about how our ability to understand information we perceive is limited to two main areas: sensory and cognitive. I found this interesting because so many of Bennett's tics are due to a sensory experience. The textbook states that there are five main areas of attention. They include: "processing capacity and selective attention, level of arousal, control of attention, consciousness, and cognitive neuroscience." The textbook goes on to talk about how whether we are listening to our friend talk, but secretly listening to gossip behind us, or if we are watching a football game, but cannot pay attention to everyone at once, we tend to focus our attention on once specific thing otherwise we are distracted. This seemed to be the same case with Bennett in surgery. If someone told Bennett that his wife wanted him to pick something up after work, he would lose his focus (or attention if you will) and his tics would start again. Whereas, when he was only focused on surgery he could complete the whole process "tic-free."
One thing that I already somewhat already mentioned, but I found very interesting is the fact that one of his tics involved the name Patty, which was one of his formal girlfriends. It seemed as though the Tourette’s "tapped into" his memory bank to retrieve that specific tic and that really interested me. That is something I will easily remember.
The fact that Bennett's tics were so obvious and frequently occurred, but then when he was in surgery for 2 1/2 hours they disappeared completely shocked me. I could somewhat understand the smaller procedures which took 10-20 minutes, but I did not think that he could go that long without a tic. I was very surprised to hear him say that he seems to just forget that he has Tourette’s and only focuses on the surgery. It almost makes me think that if he had other specific tasks, which required his full attention, he may not show tics there either.
The last thing I really enjoyed and will remember in the chapter was the fact that his family had a creative name list. It was interesting to learn that people with Tourette’s become very cued into names that are bizarre, sound funny, or just clever. In the story it stated that names like this are more likely to be remembered and for some reason I specifically thought about interviews and if people with more bizarre or clever names obtain jobs more just because they were remembered over five Joes.
I really liked how Bennett had so many obstacles to overcome in his life and he knew from a young age that he wanted to be a surgeon and did just that. He was extremely driven to succeed. In the story when they were referring to his reading for college I cringed. I cannot imagine trying to make my book symmetrical or have any compulsions with words and letters. I cannot imagine the hours he spent on reading something he was truly passionate about.
One thing I disliked in the chapter (only because I was very curious) is that it talked about Bennett being adopted, but never went past that. I wish there was a way to trace Bennett's family and see if Tourette’s ran in his family or how he ended up with the disease. I know that specifically many people in his family would not have been "diagnosed" with it because it is so new, but I wonder if his family had "odd behaviors." I also wish they would have stated the likelihood that his children would have developed Tourette’s.
I learned that if people have an overstimulation of L-DOPA they could possibly have the "throwing tic" or more aggressive and violent behaviors. It was interesting to hear about how Tourette's may just be a release of the instinctual and primitive part of the brain. In the story it stated that haloperidol was a drug that would help with Tourette's systems, but Bennett felt that it also took away a part of him and left him feeling more sluggish. Prozac was another medicine listed and it stated that it would help with the obsessions and rages, but not the tics. It is just interested to learn how these drugs affect the brain in some aspects; however, in the case of Bennett and haloperidol it seemed the side effects of the drug were worse than Tourette’s.
This chapter really makes me want to learn specifically how the different drugs affect the brain and what side affects they may have. This chapter makes me want to learn about memory and attention and find out how they are affected with different diseases like Tourette’s. It is all interesting, because Bennett suffered from this disease, but was so brilliant and bright and could easily function in everyday life as a surgeon (and he could drive a car and fly a plane).
I think this chapter relates to the previous two because it almost appears as if all three people (at some point) do not really see themselves as less fortunate or as even having a problem. In the end of the first story Mr. I states that he cannot imagine having color vision anymore and he really feels like he is more privileged (especially at night). Mr. G really did not understand that he was stuck in time and was unable to move on, but he was still very optimistic and never seemed troubled by what happened to him. In Bennett's case when he was helping the patient who had excess skin he mentioned that the man was strong and could just hide in a closet, but instead he goes on with his life. Mr. Bennett does the same thing. He has this disease that greatly affects the 1 in 1,000 people that get it, but he does not act that way. He seems to cherish what he has and has truly accomplished a lot in his life.
It was challenging to find a related topic in the text to Tourette’s. What did stick me was while reading that Bennett could focus his attention during surgery and he forget about his Tourette’s and therefore would become asymptomatic. So I read up on the topic of attention in our text. As our book says, we cannot focus our attention on too many things at one time so many things are tuned out. We all do this very often. We pick what we find important at the time. Like sitting a room, listening to the teacher lecture, we do not hear the quiet hum of the heater; well, we do hear it but we don’t pay any attention to it, if we did we wouldn’t take in as much from the lecture. As I sit here and type this blog I do not focus on the sound of me clicking the keys or it would slow or stop my steady flow of thinking and transporting that thought to this screen. According to the text, there seems to be about five aspects of attention: processing capacity and selective attention, level of arousal, control of attention, consciousness and cognitive neuroscience.
The processing capacity and selectiveness is simply the natural process of paying attention to some stimuli and tuning out others. Having control is exactly as it sounds: paying attention to your favorite TV show rather than your annoying sister who is nagging you. Automatic processing is what your mind has learned to do automatically (drive, brush teeth, type). Cognitive neuroscience is the brain and CNS that are the support for attention. Lastly, consciousness is the process that brings the stimuli into the conscious realm. For example, that humming of the heat at school if asked what you are hearing at the exact second you may become consciously aware of the noise you had ignoring previously.
As far as this chapter from Sacks, A Surgeon’s Life, I found it very enjoyable. In fact, I think it is my favorite chapter so far from this book. I found the topic very interesting and new to me. I have, of course, heard and new some basic information about Tourette’s but that was as far as it went. Therefore I learned a lot from this chapter. Three things I will remember from this chapter is the fact that his Tourette’s would stop when he performed surgery, even for hours at a time as long as there was no interruption. This makes me very curious about the workings of the mind of a person who has Tourette’s. The second thing is that his kids found new names for him to say. I liked that his family has such a caring and involved role and were trying to be creative to help out. The last thing would be the curious behavior of all the people in this chapter. No one, not his co-workers, not the community, not the paitents, no would even bat an eye at his awkward lunging, touching (even with his feet), and outcries. I have a hard time seeing that happen around our area, sadly.
I liked Sacks honesty in this chapter. He was honest and said that his driving scared him. He was honest and said he had mixed feelings about flying with him. It seems to me that many authors would try to paint themselves an indifferent, upstanding person who did not have these normal thoughts to something that they are not experienced with. In this chapter, I cannot identify any one thing that I did not like.
I learned a lot about Tourette’s in this chapter. Most amazing was the role of attention. I did not know they also had such strong compulsions (like touching the light above his head). Or that Prozac would help violent thoughts in some but aggravate them in others. Just the different way their thought process works is intriguing. I hope to learn more.
The story of Dr. Bennet gave me an insight I've never had into Tourette's syndrome. The story describes a life of intrusive thoughts and obsessions, constant cues drawing attention. The Tourettic mind seems to be constantly searching for new stimulation. When the author describes eating with Bennet he paints a scene in which the doctor periodically shifts his attention to the wall or the lamp above his head. These are called tics and are the main symptom behind Tourette's but this account has made me think of the disorder in terms of attention. The chapter in the cognitive text book says that our brain sorts through the information it receives and decides what is salient, or relevant enough to direct our attention to. This process is influenced by our long term experiences so that our brain picks out cues from the environment. These cues act to divert our brain to the stimulus. We have all heard our name and turned our attention immediately to the source of the sound. Even if we were totally engrossed in some other activity the sound of our own name snaps us out of it. The book refers to this phenomena as the cocktail party effect. Normally although our brain is constantly scanning the information it receives we are still able to tune out unimportant cues, or at least return to our task without too much interference in our mental state. Dr. Bennet seems to be unable to ignore these cues. The book basically says that our brain, or we consciously, exercise control over stimuli and determine what information is passed for further processing, but Bennet's brain seems to focus on some cues and cause him distress. He developed mechanisms, like tapping someone or repeating a phrase, to alleviate the anxiety. These hehaviors, in my opinion, were probably acquired behaviorally. They were just associated with tension release and Bennet's brain assaults him with so much information that he developed compulsions to do anything to relieve the stress.
Cherry's study (1953) demonstrated the brain's amazing ability to focus on stimuli when it wants to. Participants were exposed to two spoken messages and told to shadow, or repeat one word for word, and ignore the other. The participants did very well at shadowing the message even when another message was being played at the same time. They could not remember the message however. Perhaps the brain had to focus most of it's processing power to tune out the irrelevant message, and could not commit the shadowed message to memory. The filter model describes the brain as being able to process information in a way that is limited to the number of neural impulses produced. A graphic representation of the single-channel theory implies that sensory information is stored temporarily before it is filtered.
The Attenuation Model is an interesting take on attention. It is proposed that in our mental dictionary some words are coded to have a much lower threshold to grab our attention, for example our name or hometown. In this case it does not matter how much neural processing power is involved in each stimuli, only its place on the hierarchy of relevant cues.
The problem with attempting to localize attention to one area of the brain is that the brain receives input from 5 sensory systems and so has to monitor attention over all of them simultaneously. The frontal lobe, though, is thought to be the center of control over our attention. A figure in our shows areas in the temporal lobes and frontal lobes responsible for word processing and the parietal lobe responsible for sensory attention. An area identified as the fusiform face area (FFA) has been been shown using PET and CT scans to be particularly active when processing faces and the parahippocampal place area responds when stimulated by places perhaps creating mental maps.
This chapter was heart-warming, yet chaotic. It was really fascinating to learn how an entire community and family could conform to such a unique and unusual condition to one person. Moreover, considering Bennett does the type of work he does is even more astonishing. This is the type of story that can really inspire anyone with a conidtion that their is a chance to lead a "normal" existence.
I will always remember my own feelings of distress and increased anxiety while reading this chapter. I remember imagining Bennett every time the author would describe his tics and repetitive motions and verbalizations. Inside, I felt like I was about to explode just reading about them.
It will be easy to remember how inspirational the story is because of the situation. As a surgeon, it is remarkable that he is able to have the type of focus that he does given his condition. Reading about his early days in the town Branford, Brittish Columbia; he had no patients, but soon he had won the towns heart.
Lastly, I will certainly remember his personality. Bennett had a positive, infectious personality that can easily make someone feel better. This would be an individual that you would certainly feel privledged to know and someone that the world needs more of.
Not so much of a disliking, yet a disturbing part of the chapter for me is contradictory to the ideas I presented above, yet I'll state them anyways. It is difficult to comprehend someone with such a persistent and constant disorder being a surgeon. Obviously, he is well-respected and trusted and I may as well be able to develop that trust given appropriate interaction with Bennett, but it is still really hard to accept.
From a general standpoint, I think we all stereotype the disorder of "tourettes" based on what we see on television. I know I used to think of the disorder in the restricted boundaries portrayed in the film "What about Bob?" when the characters are jumping up and down on the bed shouting profanities. This disorder is clearly much more broad than this stereotype. The humor that is associated with this aspect of the disorder has probably created these generalizations.
As hard as it is for many individuals to understand a disorder like this and not simply say, "Just don't do those things", I have always been curious about the human brain and why people are unable to understand and adapt to individual differences. In specific, Tic disorders and many Axis I disorders. It would be interesting to discover who is more impaired; the ones with the disorders or the ones who can not understand them.
I feel as though each chapter has provided some unusual occurences of individuals being labeled with disorders, yet ultimately being happier than all of the "normal" people of the world. Again, I ask the question I had above, which side is REALLY "mentally ill"?
While my textbook didn't have any information on Tourette syndrome itself, it did cover a number of topics that are closely related to it. The textbook discussed the subject of attention in great detail, making it easy for me to compare the information in the textbook with that of the chapter in AoM. In our AoM book, Dr. Bennett constantly has motor and phonic tics as a result of his Tourettes. Sacks observes that Dr. Bennett has no control over these tics and they are present, for the most part, all the time. The most interesting part of Dr. Bennett's case is that when he is performing surgery he does not experience tics. The same effect occurs every morning when Dr. Bennett uses his exercise bike while smoking a pipe in order to read up on the work for the day ahead. This goes right along with what the textbook has to say about attention. When Dr. Bennett is in the operating room, his mind must be attentive to all the complex surgical tasks in front of him. These external stimuli are attended to and later processed in his brain. Solso (2001) states that neurological capacity is limited and the stimuli present in our environment is too much for our brains process entirely; therefore, in Dr. Bennett's case, his neurological capacity is filled when performing important surgeries or multitasking in the morning. As long as the limited processing capacity or selectiveness is not interrupted by some form of consciousness, the tics subside temporarily. Dr. Bennett described some of his difficulties with these kinds of interruptions in the chapter, explaining that once his rhythm was thrown off by outside demands his tics returned. When he operates he has an entirely new identity. He is a "surgeon at work." The only external cues that are attended to by his brain are those in the operating room. The textbook provided a great example about selective attention, comparing it to a flashlight in a dark room. We aim the flashlight and process the information that we need and get rid of or organize the other information.
This chapter, like the other two chapters we've read from the book, was a great read! I've always associated Tourettes more with the verbal tics than the physical. I found it profound that a person like Dr. Bennett has come so far in life despite all the barriers in his way. The first thing I will remember from this chapter is how Sacks went into detail about "flow" and the shift from one persona to another in people with Tourettes. It's amazing how tics can be normalized instantaneously by the most basic musical flow or physical performance. My favorite part in the reading came when Sacks wrote,"Here is one seeing something at as much higher level than the merely rhythmic, quasi-automatic resonance of the motor patterns; one is seeing (however it is to be defined in psychic or neural terms) a fundamental act of incarnation or personation, whereby the skills, the feelings, the entire neural egrams of another self, are taking over in the brain, redefining the person, his whole nervous system, as long as the performance lasts." He then goes on to talk about how everyone transitions through these personas every day. I will also remember this section of the chapter because I knew of a theatre student here at UNI who I was told had Tourettes. His phonic tics were seen as a possible problem in his major but when he got on stage, his tics disappeared.
Another thing I will remember is Dr. Bennett's issues with obsessions and anger. The book didn't talk about these issues to begin with and it took me by surprise to read about the "ugly side" of the story. It was also disheartening to hear the example he gave about the missing boy on the news and having to go check up on his son immediately. The book didn't talk about the prevalence of these particular problems but from the sounds of it, they can be a very dysfunctional part of life for a person with Tourettes.
The last thing I will remember is Dr. Bennett's ability to drive cars and fly planes. At first I was amazed a person with such disruptive tics could even get a drivers license, let alone a pilot's license. While reading I couldn't get it out of my head, but, after reading about flying, I was definitely more amazed he could drive. He told Sacks that he knew the area well and not a lot of people drove the roads he did. Despite his reassurances, I still can't believe the lack of accidents on his driving record.
I liked the chapter because it was the typical feel good story about a person overcoming an obstacle they had no choice about. I found it especially interesting that he didn't get a diagnosis of what it was until well into his lifetime! He didn't let it consume his life. In fact, he considered it a part of himself he wouldn't part with! I didn't like how the chapter didn't go more into his family history of Tourettes or that Dr. Bennett didn't know any more. I would also be interested to know if there was anything else Dr. Bennett does that makes the tics go away besides surgery and his early morning routine.
Before this chapter I had little idea about how the brain processes external cues. I hadn't thought about the neurological capacity at all, especially in my own day to day life. The whole concept of flow is incredible and I think most people have had the experience of regaining consciousness after what I can only describe as being "in the zone."
This chapter is very similar to the other chapters in that Mr. I, Greg, and Dr. Bennett all regained a large degree of normalcy when exposed to certain external stimuli. Mr. I's art helped his transition to a world of black and white. Greg became coherent and so alive when he listened to Grateful Dead. And Dr. Bennett became a different persona behind the surgical knife.
I could not find anything in my text on Tourettes. I do not say that out of laziness in truth it would have been helpful, as I find I know very little about the disorder. I do not feel as if the book fully helps me understand either. I found it rather difficult to follow the book because so many of the behaviors seemed similar to those of one suffering from OCD. One symptom that appeared to stand out the most dealt with his outburst in regards to the possibility that his children were hurt. Sack’s calls it a tic stating, “Sometimes the Tourette’s manifests itself in obsessive thoughts and anxieties.” Bennett then goes on to describe how he taps on the wall and states, “I hope it won’t happen to mine.” This particular symptom rings of OCD calling fourth the question of whether or not this self -diagnosis was wrong. That by his own diagnosis he may of influenced the psychiatrist. This is one thing that really struck out to me. The lack of information given in regards to Tourettes. I have difficult reading into the chapter because I feel like I am missing so many pieces. This paragraph kills two birds in one stone for me, because it is also something I did not like about the book. Sacks does not do a good job at describing Tourettes, or that Bennett’s ability to control his tics, around people he doesn’t know actually has a term. It’s called premonitory signs, and this not only occurs in victims of Tourettes but also in those who suffer from epilepsy. It has to deal with what we may define as an itch but scientist call sensory phenomena. That Bennett’s urge to touch his arm may have been caused by this.
One thing I enjoyed that I will also remember about the book is Bennett’s acceptance in the workplace. Often times we forget (as we are dishing out mental labels left and right) that mental disorders still have a stigma. Not only that, but they are just that a disorder that can affect the work place. And when you have a supportive set of peers these issue can be lessened.
Another thing that I will remember from the book is the prevalence of Tourettes and its complexity. Overall, the book showed that Tourettes is a rather diverse symptomatic disorder compiled of motor and phonic tics ranging in their severity and frequency. That often times these symptoms are due from a mix of sensory phenomena and anxiety.
Overall, I did not learn much about the brain. The pathology wasn’t really discussed in the chapter. Upon my own research I found that it is due to a particular gene and also the environment. That sometimes Tourettes can be caused by post-streptococcus an autoimmune process that also leads to OCD behavior in children.
When looking at other things in the book I don’t feel as if this chapter really relates. I found this chapter not really gratifying. It was rather superficial in its exploration of Tourettes. It showed a man living with a disorder, but didn’t really discuss how this disorder may have occurred. Why and how he developed a sense of his premonitory signs. Overall, I found this chapter to be really dissatisfying.
After reading "A Surgeon's Life" I was left wondering how he managed to block his tics while performing surgery. My text doesn't have much information that pertains specifically to tourrettes, but there is some information on how individuals have selective attention and on the topic of cognitive load. I felt that this sort of matched up with the way the surgeon could put the tics off and ignore the impulses while he was concentrating. The text discussed a few types of selective attention, starting with shadowing where one intentionally blocks one type of input to concetrate on another entirely. this can be seen when a person is on the telephone and ignoring someone in the room who is talking to them. Another type of selective attention is attenuation in which we use some sort of mental filter that lowers the strength of the unattended sensation. A great example would be like when you are reading and filter out the noises of what is going on in the room around you. More interestingly is what is called the late attention model. This model assumes all the info is getting in, and all of it is being processed, but only those things we find pertinent get attended to. this would be like when you are in a crowded room and you recognize your name being said in a conversation near you. This model suggests that you may have been hearing the conversation the whole time, but not listening to it the whole time. Another theory deals with the capacity of our attention, and basically says that we can do only so much before our divided attention causses us to have lowered performance. These also seem to work together so that we can only block so much before we over burden our cognitive load.
The chapter was neat, I think tourrettes is an interesting disorder. I have a friend with a mild form of tourrettes but it doesn't compare to what the surgeon goes through. the severity of his tics is somewhat hard to imagine... and who thought it was a goos idea to see how well he did with surgery? I think it is so amazing that the tics stop when he is performing medical procedures. It would be so interesting ot watch him at work. Another thing I thought was interesting was the discussion about reaction times in tourettes patients. I had never heard of this before, and it makes me wonder if maybe it might have something to do with the tourrette mind making allowances for the person to have faster reaction times so that they can compensate and realign themselves, catch themselves, etc, when they tic. Of course whatever causes the tourrettes may have an effect on reaction times. I'm not really certain if there has been alot of research done to look at this, but it would be interesting to read.
As for how this chapter relates to other chapters, I think the main theme is that there are people in this world who have what we may see as disabilities, and they see these things as gifts or an alter way of living. We can learn so much about how the brain functions by looking at those who have damages or disorders. I think what Sacks really wants us to see is that there are other ways of seeing our world, there are other ways to live, some that may be hard for us to understand how to (like living in a world devoid of color... even the concept of color). The majority of us believe there is one way to live, one way to think, one way to percieve things, one standard way our brains should work. Sacks finds those who are the outliers in our world and shows us that there are different ways to be.
I was interested my the apparent motivation of Bennett to actually keep the "tics" that he has. He said that on medication that controlled his tics, he no longer felt like himself. I found this a little strange, and wondered what would motivate him to want to keep his tics.
Bennett says in the chapter how he likes his tics. He calls them "stimulation".
In my textbook, I read up on motivation. There are many factors in motivation, but one chemical motivator is the neurotransmitter dopamine. It is suspected to play a factor in drug addiction as well. Dopamine acts like the brain's "reward" system, and gives out a sense of enjoyment for activities; especially basic rewards like food and sex. The dopamine system is also affected by Parkinson's. I think it would make sense that Bennett's dopamine system "rewards" him for his tics. The fact that he can "control" them when it would be disastrous for him to indulge in them (like when he is in surgery) makes this make even more sense. I don't think that he is consciously aware of the fact that it does give him a sense of pleasure to tic though.
Bennett's condition and occupation does make me nervous. I am amazed by his ability to suppress his urges when he needs to, but I can't help but wonder what would happen if sometime he couldn't. I also never knew how violent Tourette's syndrome could be, or how much it resembled Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. I thought that it mostly was an error in the retrieval processes of the brain, but I obviously was mistaken and uninformed.
Bennett is an amazing man in many respects. He overcame his own barriers to become a respected and obviously well-liked surgeon. I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if I myself had strange urges to move or speak in strange ways that I didn't know why I did. I'm not sure if I could handle it. It makes me kind of nervous to think that the brain can do these things without my own conscious thoughts. I thought it was more disturbing because of the fact the author said he was a quiet, dignified man, but mostly focused on Bennett's tics and the somewhat strange things he did.