Category: Coffeehouse #3 (Annotations)

In the book “Progress in neurobiology- The Effects of Cannabinoids on The Brain” by Angela Ameri. Ameri speaks about the abstract long- and short-term effects that cannabinoids have on the brain. She also breaks down the cannabinoids effect on the activity of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area- mesolimbic pathway. According to Ameri she states “The acute effects of cannabinoids as well as the development of tolerance are mediated by G protein-coupled cannabinoid receptors. The CB1 receptor and its splice variant CB1A, are found predominantly in the brain with highest densities in the hippocampus, cerebellum and striatum”. This means that with the brain, once the cannabinoids reach the brain our dopamine increases drastically creating this feeling of euphoria. This makes it easy for one to get hooked onto this feeling because of the excessive dopamine produced in our brain, and because THC attaches to the receptors that are concentrated in certain areas of the brain. It activates them and affects a person’s memory, pleasure, movements, thinking, concentration, coordination, and sensory and time. THC or also known as Tetrahydrocannabinol is a chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects. It is one of the many compounds found within the resin secreted by glands of the marijuana plant. She also goes on to explain what the active primary constituent of the hemp plant is. Its full name being tetrahydrocannabinol or for short THC. I believe that this book will be very useful for helping me write my research annotated bibliography because it has lots of scientific research behind it to back it up. I believe that Angela Ameri chooses this topic and genre to inform people of the effects that marijuana has on the brain as well as its consumers. As a German biologist and a member of the international brain research organization, she wants to spread awareness of a drug that has been widely used worldwide for centuries. Reading her book is something to consider if anyone is interested in knowing more in depth about how the brain works on drugs, and its long-term effects as well as its overall compounds that have us hooked.

Ameri, Angela. Progress ­in neurobiology- the effects of cannabinoids on the brain.  Department of pharmacy and pharmacology of natural compounds, university of Ulm, Publishing, England, July,1999

In the book “marijuana and madness: psychiatry and neurobiology” by Cambridge university press. Cambridge university goes in depth about the overview of psychiatry and neuroscience of cannabis, but more specifically sativa and its affect towards those with mental health issues such as depression. Cambridge particularly emphasizes on psychotic disorders. This helps us outline a lot more of our developments on the understanding on the human cannabinoid system. Cambridge also links this known knowledge to the clinical and epidemiological facts and about the impact of consumption it has on people since marijuana is constantly evolving and changing becoming stronger over the years. According to Cambridge university they state, “One of the reasons may be that the depressed are much less likely to come to the attention of treatment services than are those who are psychotic. Furthermore, some symptoms of cannabis dependence may mimic those of depression and so comorbid depression may go undiagnosed”. Cambridge university believes that over time, the increased rates of cannabis use, depression, and suicide among young adults have concerned the public because of the roles of substance abuse. Given the parallel rises, this makes many believe that non-psychotic mental disorders and cannabis may be linked and is understandable. Because of the evolution of stronger strains there are now 3 types of strains produced which are, Indica, sativa, and hybrids. Indica’s make a person feel more relaxed, sleepy and calm while the sativa strain is meant to make you feel more productive, upbeat, and keeps you up. Hybrids are something that’s been produced a bit more recently as a mixture of the two strains. The only thing that these strains all have in common is the crash effect they all have towards the end of the high, they make you feel slumped and tired. I believe castle choose this topic and genre to make people more aware that smoking or consuming marijuana causes mental issues and is gravely linked to specific individuals with depression. Since this is a topic that is mostly overlooked and doesn’t receive much attention.

Marijuana and Madness: Psychiatry and Neurobiology, edited by David Castle, and Robin Murray, Cambridge University Press, 2004. 

          In the article “Cannabis effects on brain structure, function, and cognition: considerations for medical uses of cannabis and its derivatives” by Alison C Burggren, Anaheed Shirazi, Nathaniel Ginder and Edythe D. London this group of psychiatry that specialize in behavioral sciences. According to the article it states, “substantial evidence for the role of the endocannabinoid system in neural development and understanding that brain development continues into early adulthood, the rising use of cannabis in adolescents and young adults raises major concerns. Yet some formulations of cannabinoid compounds are FDA-approved for medical uses, including applications in children”. The use and consumption of marijuana has been steadily increasing within the group of adolescents and   young adults. This is concerning because the use of marijuana among young adults affects their still developing brains, making them more vulnerable to this drug’s harmful effects. It can affect their grades, relationships, and physical health making them become more depending of the drug over time, almost like a crutch. I believe that the purpose of these psychologists creating this article was to inform, update and consolidate relevant findings to inform attitudes and public policy regarding the recreational and medical use of cannabis and cannabinoid compounds.

Cannabis effects on brain structure, function, and cognition: considerations for medical uses of cannabis and its derivatives. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse written by Burggren, Shirazi, A., Ginder, N., & London, E. D. (2019)

Dr. Lenore E Walker, an American psychologist and founder of the Domestic Violence Institute established in the 1970s, published “The Battered Woman Syndrome” in 2009. However, she had previously popularized her battered woman syndrome model as well as her tension-reduction theory in the late 1980s; which were ultimately used in court for domestic violence-related trials. In “The Battered Women Syndrome” Walker proposes that “women,” or rather people, spiral into a syndrome-like state when experiencing domestic violence. And this is supported by the idea of the tension-reduction theory; which exemplifies the cyclical matter in which domestic abuse commonly presents itself. This theory is composed of three distinct stages associated with recurring domestic abuse; the tension-building phase, the acute battering incident, and the honeymoon phase. Referring to her study in psychology, Walker suggests and often argues that recurring domestic violence, rather than being seen as a random occurrence of episodes, should be psychoanalyzed as the cyclical pattern that immobilizes a victim both psychologically and physiologically, placing them in a syndrome like state unable to free themselves from the consequential amount of power and control held over them. So, theoretically, we have a legitimate psychiatric diagnosis in support of domestic violence victims, yet society continues to ignorantly follow the culture of victim-blaming. *Will go into depth about Walker’s theories*

Walker, Lenore. “The Battered Women Syndrome” Springer Publishing Company, 2016

Sherry Hamby, a professor of psychology at the University of the South and the founding editor of the APA’s Psychology of Violence journal, speculates that the biggest factor that promotes victim-blaming is something called the just-world hypothesis; The idea that people deserve what happens to them, and thus people feeling the strong need to believe that we all deserve our outcomes and consequences. This idea is upheld by pretty much anyone involved or not in any situation presented. And this is a dangerous mindset to have. Blindly believing that human beings are simply innately responsible for their circumstances is ignorant, yet we experience this type of response so often. Why is this? Hambly explains that maybe holding victims responsible for their misfortune is partially a way to avoid admitting that something just as unthinkable could happen to you—even if you do everything “right.” In other words, people are quick to blame the person in front of them, often enough the victim, so that they can feel safe themselves. It’s a surface-level response coming from a subconscious fear. Barbara Gilin, a professor of social work at Widener University supports this notion having dealt with criminal cases. She states that whatever the crime, people tend to default to victim-blaming thoughts and behaviors as a defense mechanism in the face of bad news. Gilin notes that, while people tend to be able to accept natural disasters as unavoidable, many feel that they have a little more control over whether they become victims of crimes, that they can take precautions that will protect them. Therefore, some people have a harder time accepting that the victims of these crimes didn’t contribute to (and bear some responsibility for) their own victimization. Suppose that a neighbor’s child was assaulted. Surely, that will never happen to their child because that other parent must have been doing something “wrong.” It’s such an easy mindset to keep, especially when looking in from an outside perspective, completely free to opinionate on a matter that only incites fear.

* One more to post, I have the source, but have to fix up the writing. *

Did you know there was once a plague even deadlier than Covid-19?In an article “Plague was one of history’s deadliest diseases-then we found a cure” by Jenny Howard. She speaks on the disease that ravaged everything in its path. Howard states, “Plague is one of the deadliest diseases in human history, second only to smallpox. A bacterial infection found mainly in rodents and associated fleas, plague readily leaps to humans in close contact. Plague outbreaks are the most notorious epidemics in history, inciting fears of plague’s use as a biological weapon.” She goes on to describe more in depth about The Black Plague, explaining its way of spreading, its side effects and its death rate. According to National Geographic, for hundreds of years it was a mystery how plagues spread, but due to microscope advances and years of observation the mystery was solved and a concrete answer has surfaced. Howard introduces us to Alexandre Yersin, the person who discovered the bacteria called “Yersinia pestis” in 1894. The bacteria was highly dangerous, causing the immune system to disable by injecting deadly toxin into the infected defense cells. Once the defense cells are out of the way, the bacteria can multiply with ease. The plague can be distinguished by two sub plagues, pneumonic plague and bubonic plague. The bubonic plague is the most common form, which causes swollen lymph nodes, causing the skin to turn black giving it the nickname “Black Death”. Symptoms including vomiting and fever. The pneumonic plague is the most infectious form, since it was an advanced stage of the plague that moved into the lungs. This caused the plague to become airborne, infecting people through contact with coughing particles. Therefore, either plague was very dangerous, even reaching a 100 percent death rate if left untreated.

In addition, I researched the article “The Black Death” by The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. These Editors speak on the origin and cause of many outbreaks of this plague. The Editors state “Having originated in China and Inner Asia, the Black Death decimated the army of the Kipchak khan Janibeg while he was besieging the Genoese trading port of Kaffa (now Feodosiya) in Crimea (1347). With his forces disintegrating, Janibeg catapulted plague-infested corpses into the town in an effort to infect his enemies. From Kaffa, Genoese ships carried the epidemic westward to Mediterranean ports, whence it spread inland, affecting Sicily (1347); North Africa, mainland Italy, Spain, and France (1348); and Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Germany, and the Low Countries (1349). A ship from Calais carried the plague to Melcombe Regis, Dorset, in August 1348. It reached Bristol almost immediately and spread rapidly throughout the southwestern counties of England. London suffered most violently between February and May 1349, East Anglia and Yorkshire during that summer. The Black Death reached the extreme north of England, Scotland, Scandinavia, and the Baltic countries in 1350”. The Editors go in depth about the origin of the Plague and how it was able to reach other countries and infect the people in each respective country. Even after the period of time where the Black plague was at its peak, there were recurrences of the plague in 1361-63, 1369-71, 1374-75, 1390. It was suggested that, during that period of time the plague was introduced to Europe where climate change affected the population of rodents that became infected with plague carrying fleas. Therefore, showing a more clearer route of the plague and how it covered most of Europe.

13TH Documentary. Directed by Ava DuVernay, produced by Kandoo Films, Netflix, and Forward Movement, 2016.

In the 13th Documentary on Netflix, we get an analysis of the 13th Amendment and how it reinforces modern day slavery and how it contributed to America’s history of racial injustice. The documentary explains how African Americans were filled inside of prisons at a much faster and disproportionate rate than any other race. Throughout the documentary, multiple laws that affected the rate of African Americans being arrested were also brought to light as well as how corporations capitalized on the exploitation that African Americans faced. I believe that this documentary was incredibly informative about the depth of the racial injustice that exists in America. Many people aren’t aware about a lot of the policies being created or that were created that directly harmed many minorities. People are usually only aware of the general idea of racial injustice but not the specifics of the situations going on. I believe that this documentary will be very useful in helping me write my research annotated bibliography because it has a lot of information for me to use that is related to my research question. In fact, I picked this topic and my research question because of this documentary. I believe that Ava DuVernay chose this genre because she wanted to inform everyone about the history of racial injustice in America within the prison system and how the 13th Amendment has a loophole that people have used to exploit African Americans. In my opinion, this was a very good genre for everyone to view to learn more about racial inequality. It tackles the subject of more recent times regarding racism and it still affects people’s lives to this day. It may be a little bit explicit in some parts because it shows footage of actual cases of police brutality, but it’s not overbearingly explicit. This documentary is definitely something people could watch or share to help be more informed on subjects like this. 

Kusha, Hamid. Islam’s Challenge to American Penology. New York, Ashgate Publishing, Routledge, 2009

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/citytech-ebooks/reader.action?docID=438776#

In Hamid Kusha’s book titled, “Islam’s Challenge to American Penology,” we get a look into how Islam impacted African Americans lives in prison as a form of redemption. Specifically in Chapter 7, “Islam’s Challenge To American Penology,” the author talked about the disproportionate and mass incarceration of African Americans and how it’s a form of modernized segregation. Kusha claimed that the American criminal justice system fails to execute true justice because of the “socioeconomic priorities and proclivities of the American Justice Market.” Chapter 7 was especially interesting and most related to my research question. The 13th Amendment was to end slavery, but that amendment allowed for African Americans to be placed in a situation not identical to, but similar to the previous conditions. This chapter touches up on some of the faults within the criminal justice system and what the intentions behind so many of the failures of the criminal justice system are. It connects to the loophole of the 13th Amendment because this amendment enabled exploitation through the criminal justice system where African Americans get filled inside of prisons and do harsh labor for not nearly enough money. Kusha chose to write this book because he wanted to inform everyone about the conditions that African Americans went through through America’s prison system and how the criminal justice system is failing to bring real justice and instead is targeting minorities. Also, he wanted to inform everyone about how Islam helped many African Americans in prison reach a better condition. This was also a very informative piece, it enlightened the audience about the intentions of the people in power in law enforcement and the criminal justice system, corporations, and politicians. It also offers insight on one way African Americans found a way to persevere through the conditions that they were faced with.

Frykholm, Amy. “Criminal injustice: Michelle Alexander on racism and incarceration.” The Christian Century, Vol. 129, Issue 10. April, 2012

https://go-gale-com.citytech.ezproxy.cuny.edu/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=cuny_nytc&id=GALE|A294506176&v=2.1&it=r

https://www.christiancentury.org/article/2012-04/criminal-injustice

Amy Frykholm’s article, “Criminal injustice: Michelle Alexander on racism and incarceration” is an interviewing piece where civil rights lawyer Michelle Alexander gives her take on racial injustice within the criminal justice system and law enforcement within the past 40 years, claiming that “these policies have created a permanent underclass of disenfranchised convicted felons who are overwhelmingly black and Latino.” Reading the article gave a deeper perspective of systemic racism. Alexander talked about how there are communities that actually rely on prisons to maintain economic stability and growth. The labor in prisons is cheaper and minimum wage laws are allowed to be ignored with prison labor, so prisoners get paid very low wages and get charged extremely high prices for services like using the phone. Alexander performed very passionately and was especially informative about how the upper class and many corporations benefit from the mass incarceration of African Americans and prison labor. Because of how profitable it is to use prison labor compared to any other method, many corporations including private health care companies have invested in prison labor. I believe that Frykholm chose to interview Alexander because she wanted to report from the perspective of someone who worked in the law enforcement system about racial injustice. This article was intended for anyone to read and was an excellent choice because of the professional and informative nature of it. The information came from someone credible, a civil rights lawyer herself, and the interview was very specific and it didn’t take mental gymnastics to understand what the message was. Alexander articulated herself very clearly. 

Have you ever thought about how many students suffer from mental health?. In document  ”Improving College Students Mental Health”, From: Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection Publisher: Gale, a Cengage Company Author: Kerry McDonald. College students experience high rates of depression and anxiety because they have been overly coddled and lack the tools to deal with everyday stress. More specifically, McDonald demonstrates that students cannot face their own responsibilities for being pampered. The reason for the anxiety is because they had a spoiled adolescence where they could not deal with stress and anxiety. This is because the parents always face their children’s obstacles and do not give them the opportunity to face a circumstance on their own. One of the most important things parents can do is let their college-age children face their own reality and begin to take responsibility for themselves. According to the document ”Improving College Students Mental Health”, by Kerry MacDonald, says “McDonald expresses concern that parents prevent children from developing the tools necessary to deal with their problems. Further, the author asserts, colleges focus too much on trauma and mental illness, ” This reveals that college helps students develop into mature, responsible and independent adults but parents are not letting their kids grow independently. This is the cause of improving college students’ mental health by teaching them that they should face their own obstacles in life because there is not always going to be a parent that will guide you in all steps. It’s important to understand that being independent will increase your ability to work better on your own conflicts. 

      Another example is this document “I didn’t know I Had Depression Until It Hit Me For The Second Time”. From Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Publisher: Gale , a Cengage Company. Author: Rachel Simon. Have you ever thought about depression, oh how it feels?.Well I believe that sometimes we might confuse sickness or a bad day with depression. Many people assume that depression is easily identifiable, manifesting itself as persistent sadness that doesn’t lift. Others might make bad decisions when it gets to anxiety and not knowing how to deal with it. More specifically you should always stand up for your emotions and feel free to speak up on how you are feeling because without any help you will not be able to control your anxiety or depression. It’s important to take anxiety really seriously because one decision will not make your anxiety go away. College students should try to be prepared for a new beginning when it come to college because it’s important to know that now you’re on your clown and you have to courage yourself to a new journal for your future  According to the documents “I Didn’t Know I Had Depression Until It Hit Me for the Second Time” by Rachel Simon it says “Depression does not work like that, of course. Moving to a new environment can certainly help, but helping is different than healing”. This demonstrates that changing a lifestyle may help your ability of thinking and how it impacts your life but emotionally you can still be affected because you’re not having the right treatment or a professional adviser that will tell you how to deal with your anxiety. This shows me the importance of awareness in society.

   Lastly my third document “What Parents Can Really Do to Help Prepare Their Teens for Success” Author: Kerry McDonaldFrom: Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Publisher: Gale, a Cengage Company.Show me that parents can help their teens by guiding them for a better future and how life can get hard but they still need to move on and prevent mental health. Teachers and parents should  find a way to make students feel more secure about them and how anything is possible when hard work is put on. Teenagers need a purpose and mission to give their lives meaning because they need to prepare themselves for a new chapter in a life. Sports or a part time job should be a way students may control their anxiety and depression because they will have their mind busy and spend their time in a productive way. College students  may grow to be responsible and to  understand the adult world and be surrounded by a diverse group of mentors and engaged in authentic, real-life pursuits. This is how parents can prepare college students for a better future in college. In the documents  it says “ they should consider trading a well-schooled life for a well-lived one. They can encourage their teens to get jobs and gain beneficial work experience—and make sure that their kids handle it all independently, learning through trial and error”. This demonstrates that Kerry Mcdonald  wants to show society that working and letting students be more independent might help for their upbringing since they will see life a little more realistic. Also students have opportunities to improve their leadership and interpersonal skills while also increasing their self-confidence. This is important for students because it will  improve their mental health and also control their anxiety through time.

Have you thought about the effect the covid-19 pandemic has had on you or your families health? In an article “Public health ethics and the Covid-19 pandemic” written by author Alhaji Aliyu. She speaks on the impacts and effects of covid-19 . Alhaji states “the covid-19 pandemic has revealed the world’s interconnectedness and has exerted pressure on world leaders, policy makers and public health authorities to make ethically challenging decisions on public health containment measurements. More notably, she describes how we had to rely on public officials for announcements about restrictions and lockdowns in place because us as civilians couldn’t do much to bring the pandemic under control. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the disease epicenters are in the Americas (USA and Brazil) and Asia pacific (India).It is pertinent to evaluate the global public health response to COVID-19 focusing on surveillance, isolation, quarantine social distancing, travel restrictions, universal masking, and contact tracing (CT). Alhaji shows how public health measures often raise difficult and intricate questions about the relationship between the state and it’s citizens and organizations that are affected by public policies. public health ethics challenges against social, political , economic and societal structures. Therefore, the importance in managing the pandemic in an organized coordinated global response is an ethical duty.

Another example in the report “Experiences, impacts and mental health functioning during a COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown”. Concentrated on documenting the breach of COVID-19 experiences and their impacts on college students and explore associations between patterns of COVID-19 experiences and psychosocial functioning during the prolonged lockdown. Authors Teresa López-Castro, Laura Brandt, Nishanthi J. Anthonipillai, Adriana Espinosa and Robert Melara, In May 2020 reported their findings which highlight significant impediments to multiple areas of students’ daily life during this period (i.e.home life, work life, social environment, and emotional and physical health) and a vast majority reported heightened symptoms of depression and generalized anxiety.  Moreover, those who reported the loss of a close friend or loved one from COVID-19 (17%) experienced significantly more psychological distress than counterparts with other types of infection-related histories.This demonstrates the current study explored the experience and impact of the unprecedented stressors of a COVID-19 outbreak-exposure to possible contagion of a life-threatening pathogen and a 78-day government-mandated home confinement-on a diverse NYC college sample. We found significant disruptions in the daily lives of the sampled students, in line with the city’s status as one of COVID-19’s highest-impact zones, coupled with high psychological distress. Furthermore, this shows that the covid-19 pandemic not only had an effect on public health but students’ everyday lives as well.

Blumer, Dietrich. “The Illness of Vincent Van Gogh.” American Journal of Psychiatry (2002)   ajp.psychiatryonline.org. 4 April. 2002

In Blumer’s work titled “The Illness of Vincent Van Gogh” we get a summary of the life of Vincent Van Gogh and the mental illnesses he had to endure during his last two years of his life. This contains detailed information of the people surrounding Van Gogh and how this caused his emotions problems to turn into a meltdown and what is soon to be known to be caused by temporal lobe epilepsy precipitated by the use of absinthe. It also detailed how his depression and bipolar aspects are clear in his history and life. I believe this will help me with my research essay by giving me more information about how these illnesses impacted his personality and his relationships with his family, friends and lovers. Dietrich Blumer, MD was a board certified psychiatrist in Memphis, Tennessee and leading figure in the lead of epilepsy as it relates to psychiatry. He was a Professor Emeritus at University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine. He has two publications of his own on psychiatric aspects and several publications which he worked on with others while affiliated with University of Tennessee and other places. This is peer reviewed and contains actual and accurate facts about the life of Vincent van gogh. According to the work that was published, “the highlights of van Gogh’s life are reviewed and discussed in an effort toward better understanding of the complexity of his illness”. This work was reviewed and researched on by doctors in medicine, MD, for everyone to better understand Van Gogh’s mental illness and its impact on his life. I found this source to be useful to me as it shines light on specific parts of van gogh’s life and who he really was. “Theo described Vincent in a letter to their younger sister as follows: “It seems as if he were two persons: one, marvelously gifted, tender and refined, the other, egotistic and hard hearted. They present themselves in turns, so that one hears him talk first in one way, then in the other, and always with arguments on both sides. It is a pity that he is his own enemy, for he makes life hard not only for others but also for himself.”

In this youtube video, “The letters of Vincent Van Gogh” with Ephraim Rubenstein posted by ArtStudentsLeagueNY, we get a summary of a lecture given by Rubenstein where he elaborates on the writing and emotions of the letters of Vincent Van Gogh that he wrote to his brother Theo. “The letters document their closeness there are periodic estrangement and subsequent reconciliations they chronicle Vincent’s fear of abandonment” Van Gogh was a lost soul; a young person trying to find his way, trying to figure out the meaning of his existence while at the same time grappling with all the essential problems; his work, family, love objects, but overall his mental health; fighting with himself and his illness all in one. I believe this will help me more as the letters are real, most importantly it is an elaboration of Van Gogh’s life, his thoughts and thinking at that time. Ephraim Rubenstein is an artist, his work is represented in numerous public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, etc. Rubenstein is an active teacher, he is currently on the faculty of The Art Students League of New York, where he teaches Life Drawing and Artistic Anatomy, the Seminar in the Literature of Art and numerous workshops in various aspects of painting, drawing and materials. The purpose of this is to better understand Vincent Van Gogh through his letters especially as a mentally ill artist, but through one’s artist perspective. Based on the genre chosen it was a good choice as the intended audience are those interested either with art or the history of an artist, in this case Vincent Van Gogh and Rubenstein is credible for this as he is an artist himself as well as a lecturer and goes in depth behind Van Gogh’s letters. I believe this source will be useful to me as the letters were an important part of Van Gogh’s life and shine light to his mental health and his perspective through his life, as well as his art.

In Bailey Martin’s book titled, “Starry night: Van Gogh At The Asylum” we get a summary of a fully illustrated account of Van Gogh’s time before and at the asylum in Saint-Remy. Van Gogh wrote very little about the asylum in letters to his brother Theo, so this book sets out to give an impression of daily life behind the walls of the asylum of Saint-Paul-de Mausole and looks at Van Gogh through fresh eyes, with newly discovered material. Martin Bailey is a leading specialist on Van Gogh and an arts journalist. He is a London-based correspondent for The Art Newspaper. Bailey has curated several exhibitions on Van Gogh, including one at Tate Britain in 2019, and has written extensively on the artist. His books include The Sunflower Are Mine, Studio of the South, and Starry Night. Bailey is credible enough to write these books, he is knowledgeable not only in Van Gogh life but his artwork as well. It was a good choice for his audience being for anyone interested in Van Gogh and his time at the asylum before and during it. I found this book useful to me as it shines light on how impactful Van Gogh’s illness was on his life. The reason being that his illness caused him to be bipolar and alienate those around him, in this case his friend Paul Gauguin, the artist whom he had been working for awhile in Arles. Van Gogh’s illness revealed itself: he began to hallucinate and suffered attacks in which he lost consciousness. In this attack he used a knife and ended up losing an ear, and ending up at the asylum.

According to an article from “American Psychological Association” it states “Based on a review of the current literature, the new task force report (PDF, 285 KB) reaffirms that there is a small, reliable association between violent video game use and aggressive outcomes, such as yelling and pushing. However, these research findings are difficult to extend to more violent outcomes”. During this study the only aggressive behaviors found were yelling and pushing when playing video games. Other than that, the American psychological association haven’t found any other aggressive and/or violent behavior. People most likely are yelling and pushing during them playing video games because they would like to win others playing the game. They would push others so they could distract others playing the game. In doing this they will have a sort of advantage in winning. These reactions are very common for people playing video games, but not limited to them. When playing other games such as tag or hide and go seek people will do these types of behavior to make people lose. In reality these behaviors are common in most people even in adults not only people that play video games. The American Psychological Association has run many studies to provide information on this topic. 

Source : https://www.apa.org/science/leadership/bsa/report-violent-video-games.pdf

In Addition CBS News has done their own studies to help people understand if videogames are responsible for the violent behavior that many people have. In the article”Do violent video games lead to criminal behavior?” by Michael Casey, it states, ”One can never know for sure whether playing violent video games causes violent criminal behavior, because it is unethical for researchers to allow participants to engage in violent criminal behavior in their laboratory experiments”. Meaning that scientists aren’t so sure if video games are the cause of the violent behavior due to the people that participated in the experiment couldn’t and weren’t allowed to do criminal behavior after playing video games. This causes the experiment to not have one hundred percent of results that lead to a final answer. How will scientists get an answer if the participants can’t commit a criminal act? Another quote from the article is “ But the task force also found that the video games alone can’t explain this aggression. Rather, it concluded that the “accumulation of risk factors,” such as antisocial behavior, depression, trouble at home, delinquency or academic problems, also played a role.” For an answer to finally be given they will need to figure out the person first and if all factors such as rough childhood or depression or other things are causing that person to be violent or aggressive. Not only does video games that have violence can cause violent behavior but it can contribute to it making the situation worse.

Finally, award-winning writer and photographer Robert Preidt, who also has 20 years of experience, in his article “No Evidence Violent Video Games Lead to Real Violence:Study” he goes on to say that “The possible link is often brought up after mass shootings where perpetrators had an interest in violent video games.” For example, the shooting that took place in Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were murdered, and injuring 17 others. The shooter was Nikolas Cruz, someone who liked to play the most recognized and popular video game, Call Of Duty, as he did this violent act he would quote some lines of the game. Which sparked the question again, does video games cause violence, Robert Preidt goes on to say that “But some experts suggest that other factors, such as mental illness and/or easy access to guns, are more likely explanations for mass shootings.” which was true for the case of Nikolas Cruz who suffered from depression, ADHD and autism. In my opinion Robert Preidt article is well informed. 

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