The human brain is an intricate organ that has intrigued mankind for years, and will continue to do so until all of it’s mysteries are revealed. A lot of questions have been answered about the mysteries of the mind, but as questions are answered new ones become apparent. Our brain is responsible for everything our body is capable of, from breathing, motor function, feeling emotions, and even hormone production. When humans discovered this, they also discovered there are possible ways of interfering with the brains ability to perform it’s necessary tasks.
One of the possibilities they discovered were types of tumors, or lesions, growing on the hypothalamus. With this discovery, they found that brain lesions resulted in a malfunction in hormone regulation, creating an incorrect communication between other regions of the brain, and endangering the health of the individual. The first part in understanding the human mind, is identifying all of it’s individual parts and establishing their functions. The hypothalamus is a part of the brain located below the thalamus, and above the pituitary gland and brain stem (Sargis, 2015).
It is the part of the brain responsible for linking the nervous system to the endocrine system through hormone production (Saleem, 2007). The hypothalamus’s main function, is to maintain homeostasis, which is a process in which the body produces signals and hormones to “maintain the body’s status quo system-wide” (hypothalamus, 2015). The hormones produced by the hypothalamus control basic things such as moods, the sense of hunger or dehydration, sex drive, the feeling of exhaustion, and body temperature regulation.
The hypothalamus is important to the brains structure because it can detect abnormalities in blood pressure, electrolytes, body weight, and fluid balance, and corrects the, by producing the hormones needed or relaying the information to other parts of the brain. Objects that can prevent these temperamental, complex tasks are brain lesions A brain lesion is an abnormality of the brain found in an MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging scan, that doesn’t have the same appearance as brain tissue.
It is usually a dark or light spot ranging in size and severity, and are more likely to be discovered because of an unrelated incident requiring an MRI scan (Brain Lesions, 2014). The first thing to understand about the hypothalamus, is how it connects the surrounding parts of the brain with the endocrine system. This is done through a long complex system leading to hormone production. The Hypothalamus reads information transmitted through the body’s nervous system when our bodies encounter a change, and it produces the desired hormone to let other glands in the brain know what hormone needs to be produced to counter effect the change.
Some examples of the hormones produced and their functions produced are anti-diuretic hormones, responsible for communicating water content in the body, oxytocin, largely controlling the reproductive system, and thyrotropin-releasing hormones, controlling physical body weight, muscle mass, and mood (Brainy Hormones). There are many more, but if any of the hormones becomes unbalanced, it will produce major health problems. Lesions prevent hormone production depending on the type they resemble. There are two types of lesions, functional and nonfunctional.
The scientists at Mayfield Brain and Spine share that, “Functional lesions secrete abnormal levels of hormones and interfere with the normal hormone regulation process” (Web). This is stating that the hormones normally received and distributed are being overridden by the hormone produced by the lesion. A nonfunctional lesion does not produce a hormone, but it can grow to become a size causing equally as disrupting effects. They can grow to push agains optic nerves, causing massive headaches or nausea, or they can cut off communication between synapses because of their size.
The second thing to understand about the hypothalamus is how it fits together in the brain with the other regions. Compared to modern technology, it acts like a wifi router to the rest of the brain. A wifi router reads information from the web and distributes the information it gathers to the desirable device through invisible radio waves. The hypothalamus is capable of reading your bodies information, and distributing the information through hormones to the other parts of the brain. If there is a lack of communication between parts of the brain, the person will soon discover “un-relatable” side effects.
Meaning, the person will know something is wrong, but not know why. The body depends completely on hormones to retain its homeostasis, so a lot of health factors become threatened when there is an imbalance. With to much of the anti-diuretic hormone the body can experience water retention, diluted blood, and seizures. While on the other hand if there is too little of the hormone the body will experience dehydration and a drop in blood pressure. To much of the thyrotropin-releasing hormone and the body will undergo weight loss, weakness in muscles, extreme sweating, and excessive menstrual flow.
The effects if there aren’t enough of the hormone are fatigue, depression, weight gain, constipation, cold body temperature, constipation, and irregular menstrual cycle (Brainy Hormones). All of these symptoms, and many more, can be caused by a lesion on the hypothalamus. The final thing you have to understand is self diagnosing brain lesions. All of the symptoms listed above are very common with many other diseases from the flu to a simple cold. There is no definite way to tell if your brain contains lesions or not without an MRI or some other form of testing.
Each functional lesion is responsible for creating different hormones, and each can be diagnosed with its symptoms. Statistically about 50% of functional lesions produce prolactin, diagnosed through noticeable changes in sexual behavior such as erectile dysfunction, a sudden stop in menstruation, developments of breasts in men, and lack of sex drive in both male and female. 20% of active lesions produce growth hormones. This is diagnosed through abnormal growth in hands, feet, face, and a rare disease called gigantism. The other 30% of lesions is not as easily diagnosed, but can be just as dangerous (Brain Lesions).
Still, most of the diagnosis explained are common with aging people, or related to other illnesses. The best way to identify if you have lesions is to consult your doctor. The researches at Mayfield Brain and Spine share how they diagnose an individual for lesions. First, the doctor will obtain your personal and family medical history and perform a physical examination. In addition to checking your general health, the doctor performs a neurological exam to check mental status and memory, cranial nerve function (sight, hearing, smell, tongue, and facial movement), muscle strength, coordination, reflexes, and response to pain. Brain Lesions) There are treatment options for lesions fortunately.
Most of the lesions found within the brain, are not cancerous, so they can be treated in many different ways depending on age, health, and a few other factors. One of the easiest ways to eliminate the problem is medication. This is common for elderly people who aren’t capable of undergoing a major operation to remove the growth. Medication doesn’t eliminate the lesion, but it can stop it from producing unwanted hormones. The second item of treatment is surgery. This is a minimally invasive surgery meaning no large, or visible cuts will be made.
A surgeon makes a small incision in the patients sinus cavity, and through the nostril, inserts a computer aided device to safely reveal, and cut the growth out of the brain. This procedure is a high risk operation, and is commonly practiced with younger patients. It is also commonly done when the lesion has become more of a health hazard then the body can handle. Finally, radiation can also remove a lesion. Since a lesion is also a type of tumor, it can be treated as a cancerous cell and be eliminated through radiation treatments.
This form of treatment is common when the lesion isn’t dangerous, but over time has a high chance of becoming so (Brain Lesions). All together, with the information gathered, it is clear to see that lesions are a very dangerous medical condition. It should very taken care of as soon as possible, but it should also not be blown out of proportion on its severity. Brain lesions can be visible through physical signs as well as emotional, but are not always accurately diagnosed. Humans have the capability to solve a lot of the worlds mysteries. The mind itself, though, has not been fully solved and discovered.
