The Autonomic Nervous System

The Autonomic Nervous System The Autonomic Nervous System is a widespread system of nerves that innervates, with the exception of skeletal muscle, nearly every process in the body. This Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) is a completely unconscious process which is responsible for maintaining homeostasis, as well as having many other functions such as control of digestion. The Autonomic Nervous System was first discovered, and studied by Walter Gaskell (Purves, Augustine, Fitzpatrick and Hall, 2001) who had his work on the ANS first published in 1916, two years after his death. He discovered that certain physiological effects, such as an increase in heart-rate, could be achieved by stimulating certain nerves branching off from the first few thoracic spinal cord segments. Using this, and other similar studies, he then theorized that each system in the body was innervated with two sets of nerves that had opposing functions (Purves, Augustine et al., 2001). These two sets of nerves we now know to be the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic branches of the Autonomic Nervous System; though recently a third branch has been separated from the others and called the Enteric Nervous System, which is found solely in the gut and the supporting features such as the Pancreas (Barker and Barasi, 1999). Although the ANS plays an unconscious process, it can sometimes be over-ridden by conscious thought; one example of this is in breathing, although breathing happens automatically without any need for purposeful thought, it is possible to take control of your breathing, such as holding your breath, or exhaling forcefully (to inflate a balloon for example). As the Autonomic Nervous System is such an important part of the nervous system, studying it and knowing how it works, and how it is controlled, is also very important; in this essay I am going to talk about the three different branches of the Autonomic Nervous System and their functions and differences, and then explain how they are regulated in the brain. The Sympathetic Nervous System When we are faced with what our bodies consider to be a threat we have to be prepared to, either stand and face the danger (fight), or get ourselves out the situation as quickly as possible (flight); this is the job of the Sympathetic Nervous System. These Fight or Flight responses are designed to give us as much of a physical advantage as possible, such as: making sure enough oxygen is reaching our muscles as possible by increasing heart-rate and dilating blood vessels, saving energy by slowing down lesser-needed processes such as digestion, dilating our pupils so we take in as much light as possible thus improving our vision, and makes our hairs stand on end so we look as big and ferocious as possible; all of these would have given us an edge over any predators we faced. The main nerve-trunks of the Sympathetic Nervous System leave the Central Nervous System from the Thoracic and Lumbar segments of the spinal cord, this is also known as the thoraco-lumbar outflow (Bakewell,1995). The cell bodies of the Sympathetic pre-ganglionic neurones are found in the lateral horn of the spinal cord between segments T1 and L2. Some of these pre-ganglionic fibres of the Sympathetic Nervous System synapse with the post-ganglionic fibres in a long chain, known as the Sympathetic Chain, that runs the length of the spinal cord, although some have a separate ganglion outside this sympathetic chain; from the ganglion, the post-ganglionic neurones then synapse with their target-organ. Post-ganglionic Sympathetic neurones have a very extensive network of dendrites that are innervated by many pre-ganglionic neurones; but there are roughly 10 times as many post-ganglionic sympathetic neurones than pre-ganglionic neurones, this divergence is thought to aid with coordination o f activity between neurones projecting from different segments of the spinal cord (Kandel, Schwartz, and Jessell, 2000). The Parasympathetic Nervous System The Parasympathetic Nervous System works in opposition to the Sympathetic Nervous System and therefore gives rise to Rest and Digest responses, which act to rebuild the energy stores that were depleted in the previous period of Sympathetic activity. These responses include: slowing down the heart-rate, stimulating digestion, and constricting the pupils. The cell bodies of Parasympathetic Pre-ganglionic neurones are found mostly in the brainstem, with some in the sacral segments of the spinal cord. In the brainstem, these cell bodies are found in the EdingerWestphal nucleus in the midbrain, which is related to the Oculomotor nerve, the Superior and Inferior Salivary nuclei found in the Pons, and related to the Facial nerve and Glossopharyngeal nerve, and in the Dorsal motor Nucleus of the Vagus nerve, in the medulla and the Nucleus Ambiguus. Because of the location of the cell-bodies of the Parasympathetic Nervous System, the it can also be called the Cranio-Sacral outflow (Bakewell, 1995). There are a few contrasts between the Sympathetic Nervous System and the Parasympathetic, apart from their opposing actions; the first and most obvious of these is that, in the sympathetic nervous system, all the preganglionic neurones are very short, most making synapses in a chain that runs very close to the spinal cord, meaning they have much longer post-synaptic neurones (as the pathway is disynaptic), whereas in the parasympathetic nervous system, the pre-ganglionic neurones are much longer and almost reach their target organ before making a synapse with a post-ganglionic neurone. This is an important difference as pre-ganglionic neurones are myelinated and therefore conduct action potentials a lot faster than the unmyelinated post-ganglionic neurones, suggesting the the parasympathetic nervous system works slightly quicker than the sympathetic (Kandel et al. 2000). Another difference is that there is a lot of divergence in the Sympathetic Nervous System, as previously discussed , whereas in the Parasympathetic Nervous System there is a lot less, with the ratio of Pre-Ganglionic Neurones to Postganglionic Neurones being 1:3, although this is highly dependant on the tissue as in some it is nearly a 1:1 ratio. Thirdly, both Pre-Gnaglionic and post-Ganglionic neurones in the Parasympathetic Nervous System use Acetyl Choline (ACh) as their Neurotransmitter, whereas Post-ganglionic neurones in the Sympathetic Nervous System use Noradrenaline; this is important as it has lots of clinical applications for drugs that target specifically the Sympathetic or Parasympathetic Nervous System. The Enteric Nervous System The Enteric Nervous System is a unique branch of the Autonomic Nervous System that is found lining the sides of the digestive system, specifically the oesophagus, stomach, intestines and secretory glands such as the pancreas (Bear, Connors, and Paradiso, 2007). The Enteric Nervous System is responsible for the control of the tension of the walls of the gut and monitoring the ever-chaning chemical balance within the digestive system, these are highly important functions in digestion. The special property of the Enteric Nervous System is that it can act reasonably independently from the rest of the Central Nervous System, leading to it sometimes being referred to as The Little Brain. The cell bodies of the Enteric Nervous System are connected together in two major structures known as plexuses; these are the myenteric plexus and the submucous plexus, these plexuses line the walls of the gut in two separate layers and control peristalsis, internal mucous levels and every other important aspect of the digestive system, including a role in secretion from the pancreas and gall bladder. Though the Enteric Nervous System is a separate function of the Autonomic Nervous System that deals almost solely with the digestive process, it contains as many neurones as the entire spinal cord does, meaning it has a very. Unlike the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic branches of the Autonomic Nervous System which are limited to either 1 or 2 Neurotransmitters, the Enteric Nervous System has been shown to have as many as 20 possible Neurotransmitters, though they have yet to all be proven to act as Neurotransmitters in this system (Gershon, Kirchgessner and Wade, 1994). The Enteric Nervous System has also been shown to play a role in Immune Responses (Hansen, 2003). Higher Control of the Autonomic Nervous System As the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Branches of the Autonomic Nervous System work, for the most part, in opposition to each other, there must be some higher control coordinating them to work in harmony, and the first step of this is in the Nucleus of the Solitary tract (Kandel et al. 2000); here, the nucleus receives afferent input from the Facial, Glossopharyngeal and Vagal nerve, and firstly sends this information to both the brainstem and the spinal cord, where basic functions of the Autonomic Nervous System are carried out, but more cleverly, the Nucleus of the Solitary Tract also takes in other information and combines it, the Nuclei of the Solitary tract also project to the Periaqueductal grey, which also receives information from the hypothalamus, the periaqueductal grey takes all this information and then projects to the Reticular Formation of the Medulla, where it controls the co-ordination between behavioural activity and the autonomic nervous system, and example of this is that when doing heavy exercise (behavioural), its important your heart-rate increase so your muscles can get a greater oxygen supply from the blood (autonomic). Another important control of the Autonomic Nervous System is in homeostasis, there needs to be cooperation between the baroreceptors or chemoreceptors for example, and the most useful branch of the autonomic nervous system, so hair can stand on end on cold days to preserve heat, for example; this is the job of the hypothalamus (Kandel et al. 2000) as the hypothalamus receives input from pretty much every sensory pathway in the body; a dated study from Swanson and Sawchenko (1983) proved that the Paraventricular Nucleus of the Hypothalamus had descending pathways to the Autonomic Nervous System. As well as direct control over the Autonomic Nervous System, the Hypothalamus also has an indirect influence over it through the use of relays in other parts of the brain (Squire, Berg, Bloom, du Lac, Ghosh and Spitzer, 2008). In conclusion, the Autonomic Nervous System is a diverse and widespread system that innervates nearly every aspect of the body, meaning that a threatening stimulus can elicit a whole range of responses throughout the body, from increasing heart rate to diverting blood from the gut and widening blood vessels, this means that the whole body is very quickly and efficiently prepared to face the danger, and then the entire body can quickly calm down again to replenish resources; and not only this, but because of its connections with the hypothalamus and other higher centres, the Autonomic Nervous System isnt limited to reacting to physical changes, such as body temperature, but it can react to even mental stimuli such as emotions or the anticipation of something. This is important in evolutionary terms, there is little point in reacting to a danger once it has already causes damage so the heightened physical performance needs to come in anticipation of a danger, so that when the danger p resents itself, the fight or flight response is at its strongest. As this is such an important process in the body, many studies have been carried out into it, and continue to be carried out, and much work is being done on diseases of the Autonomic Nervous System, as, obviously, they have such a dramatic effect on the sufferer. References Bakewell, S., (1995) The Autonomic Nervous System. Practical Procedures 5(5) Barker, R., A. and Barasi, S. (1999) Neuroscience at a Glance, Blackwell Publishing Bear, M. F., Connor B. W. and Paradiso, M. A. (2007) Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain, Lippincott Williams Wilkins: a Wolters Kluwer business Gershon M. D., Kirchgessner A.L. and Wade P.R., (1994) Functional anatomy of the enteric nervous system, Springer Berlin Heidelberg Hansen, M. B., (2003) The Enteric Nervous System II : Gastrointestinal functions. Pharmacology Toxicology, 92(6) 249-257 Kandel, E. R., Schwartz, J. H. and Jessell, T. M., (2000) Principles of Neural Science, McGraw-Hill Medical Purves, D., Augustine, G. J., Fitzpatrick, D. and Hall, W. C., (2008) Neuroscience 4th Edition, Sinauer Raj K. Goyal, M.D., and Ikuo Hirano, M.D., (1996) Mechanisms of disease: the enteric nervous system. The New England Journal of Medicine, 334(17) 1106-1115 Squire, L.R., Berg, D., Bloom, F.E., Du Lac, S., Ghosh, A. and Spitzer, N.C., (2008) Fundamental Neuroscience 3rd Edition, Elsevier Swanson, L. W. and Sawchenko, P.E, (1983) Hypothalamic integration: organisation of the paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei. Ann. Rev. Neuroscience 6 269-324

Employment Benefits in the Fast Food Industry Essay example -- Essays o

Employment Benefits in the Fast Food Industry The fast food industry has been expanding rapidly over the past years. It has become a part of our culture. In the book Labour Relations in the Global Fast-Food Industry, Robin Leidner quotes from Eric Schlosser who wrote the popular Fast Food Nation , â€Å"According to one estimate, there are approximately 2.5 million fast-food workers in the United States, making them the country’s largest group of low-paid workers (Leidner 11). Those 2.5 million fast-food workers are now working at Subway, McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, KFC, etc. The American fast food industry was built on the promise of low prices and fast services. Therefore, the corporations have to keep the labor and other operating costs down. Employees who work in fast food restaurants receive low wages and minimal benefits. In the past, many fast food workers tried to unionize themselves for guaranteed wages and benefits; yet, they have failed as many times as they ha ve tried. I argue that fast food employees should get basic benefits such as health insurance, personal days and sick days, and perhaps a 401K plan because these hard workers are worth the benefits they should receive based on their commitments and contributions to the company. I feel it is unfair for them to receive low wages and no to minimum benefits while the company earns great profits. Some argue that the burger flippers and cashiers at fast food chains do not deserve high wages and full benefits because most of them are unskilled and uneducated. Some of these workers are grateful to the franchises for giving them opportunities for jobs based on their lack of skills and education. Most of these employees are teenage... ..., they should be qualified for greater benefits. From the commitments that employees put into their jobs, the company should appreciate their efforts by offering something more in return to the hard workers. Although the business goal is to make more profits, and fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s achieve this goal by reducing employment wages and benefits, the fast food corporations should recognize the effects of negative publicity. McDonald’s seem to have more negative publicity compared to Starbucks because Starbucks offers more benefits to their employees but less dangerous and easier jobs. Although they are both growing rapidly, Starbucks may be extending longer than McDonald’s based on their quality products and employee’s loyalty. The fast food industry should work harder to compete and maintain good workers as the labor market is getting tighter.

Mass media violence and the effects on children Essay

Violence on television has been an issue that has plagued man from the day it was invented. Numerous shows depict violent acts such as rape, murder, and other such acts that many people consider inappropriate for adolescents. According to some studies the average child watches about 27 hours of television week. In some cases it is as much as 11 hours a day on a weekend. With the current amount of violence that is on television today these same studies estimate that the average child sees 8,000 murders and 100,000 acts of violence before finishing elementary school. In 1992, there were over 1,800 acts of violence shown on television a day, over 360 those showed an act involving guns. Media scope’s National Television Violence Study found that 57% of television programs aired in 1994 and 1995 contained some violence most of these were cartoons. So the question is, should we ban violence from the television or should we just leave it the way it is? Some people believe that it should be banned from stations that show children’s programs to prevent the exposure of those children. Sometimes children see a great amount of violence on television, they begin to think that this is right and start to imitate the acts that they see on television, which are not the things that the parents want the children to learn from. One example of this is a thirteen-year-old boy who shot his best friend’s father and then put salt in the wounds. When he was asked why he did this he said that he had seen the same thing on a movie the day before. Psychological research has shown three major effects of seeing violence on television: Children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others. Children may be more fearful of the world around them†¦ Children may be more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways toward others. Children who watch a lot of TV are less aroused by violent scenes than are those who only watch a little; in other words, they’re less bothered by violence in general and less likely to anything wrong with it. One example: in several studies, those who watched a violent program instead of a nonviolent one were slower to intervene or to call for help when, a little later, they saw younger children fighting or playing destructively. Children often behave differently after they’ve been watching violent programs on TV. In one study done at Pennsylvania State University, about 100 preschool children were  observed both before and after watching television; some watched cartoons that had a lot of aggressive and violent acts in them, and others watched shows that didn’t have any kind of violence. The first group were less likely to share and more prone to hit or be destructive. Prime time programs average eight hostile acts per hour; children’s shows four times as much. People as a society today tend to over react to incidents where children are involved. The problem arises when some demented child who has serious mental problems and can’t define reality and fiction does a horrendous crime and blames all his problems on a show that he saw where two people kill each other. I can see the relevance of this argument but I can’t honestly believe that 50% of children can’t tell the difference between reality and the images they see on television. Without being taught children make their own assessments of the reality status of television programs. The opposing sides of this issue are the parents whose children are viewing the violent material and the television stations that broadcast the shows. Parents can help by just observing their children. Because there is a great deal of violence in both adult and children’s programming, just limiting the number of hours children watch television will probably reduce the amount of aggression they see. In addition: Parents should watch at least one episode of the programs their children watch.Parents can encourage their children to watch programs that demonstrate helping, caring and cooperation. Parents can protect children from excessive TV violence in the following ways: ï‚ · Point out that although the actor has not actually been hurt or killed such violence in real life results in pain or death. ï‚ · Refuse to let the children see shows known to be violent, and change the channel or turn off the TV set when something offensive comes on, with an explanation of what is wrong with the program. ï‚ · Disapprove of the violent episodes in front of the children, stressing the belief that such behavior is not the best way to resolve a problem. ï‚ · To offset peer pressure among friends and classmates, contact other parents and agree to enforce similar rules that limit the length of time and type of program the children may watch. Studies show that these non-violent types of programs can influence children to become more kind and considerate. Although there are different views on the impact of TV violence, one very strong summary is provided by Eron (1992) in his recent congressional testimony: There can no longer be any doubt that heavy  exposure to televised violence is one of the causes of aggressive behavior, crime and violence in society. The evidence comes from both the laboratory and real-life studies. Television violence affects youngsters of all ages, of genders, at all socio-economic levels and all levels of intelligence. The effect is not limited to children who are already disposed to being aggressive and is not restricted to this country. The fact that we get this same finding of a relationship between television violence and aggression in children in study after study, in one country after another cannot be ignored. The causal effect of television violence on aggression, even though it is not very large, exists. It cannot be denied or explained away. We have demonstrated this causal effect outside the laboratory in real-life among many different children. We have come to believe that a vicious cycle exists in which television violence makes children more aggressive and these aggressive children turn to watching more violence to justify their own behavior.† (p. 1) others believe that violence makes television more interesting and that if you take it off the air that the programs will be more boring and that they will go to the networks that are showing the violent programs that are interesting. The problem with this issue is the right of free speech. The networks have the right to show any thing that they want. The government does regulate some of the programs but they can’t see them all. Television viewers argue that if networks were forced to take the violence off the air that they would lose viewers and then they would lose the sponsors that they depend on. They also believe that this would be denying their freedom. Television stations have received many complaints from the public regarding the content of the violent shows that they show on their networks. A poll was taken in March 1993 showed that 72 percent of Canadians believe that TV entertainment shows contain too much violence. Major networks like NBC and CBS have received a great deal of criticism because there are viewed the most. However the major networks have said that most of the violence is shown on cable networks and not on their networks. Some networks are saying that violence is not the worst thing on TV. They say that sex, drug use, and alcohol abuse on television is more influential than the violence that is shown. As a result, the networks do not think about limiting the violence on  programs is as big a priority as limiting the sexual content or the drug use. The government has the right to cancel or edit any program that they see fit but the problem is that they don’t see all the programs before they are aired to the public. But because of the pressure of society, networks are becoming diligent in keeping a leash on what is said and done on their stations. Modern technology has come up with ways to regulate the violence and the type of television watched by kids. The summer of 1993 marked an important milestone for the issue of television violence. Due to the work of Senator Paul Simon (D-IL), the industry met and discussed the issue media violence with media activists. For the first time the industry leaders acknowledged that there might be some reason for concern. The broadcast industry and the cable industry both agreed to monitor their offerings for levels of violence. UCLA was chosen to monitor broadcast television, while Media scope was contracted to do the same for cable television. The final V-chip may not be a chip, but a modification of existing technology in TV sets, i.e., and the closed-captioning system. According to industry spokesmen, modification to the existing closed-caption to include the V-chip rating would not be difficult. A rating code would be carried within an unused portion of the television signal, the black bar that appears when the horizontal hole on a television set goes out of whack and the picture rolls. It would be an improvement over existing technology that allows parents to block an entire channel, since the V-chip could automatically block-selected programs. The Electronic Industries Association has been working on a V-Chip technical standard for more than 3 years. Many people have comments on the v-chip. President Bill Clinton looks on the V-Chip as giving the remote control back to the parent. The administration supported the V-Chip and has aided in the formation of a means to create a rating system. Senator Paul Simon, a longtime critic of the industry, surprised and disappointed many when he opposed the concept of the V-Chip and the legislation, which incorporates it into new television set. In an article written for Business Wire and also in a speech on the floor of the Senate he argues that: ï‚ · The V-chip is no substituting for the industry disciplining itself ï‚ · in areas of high crime where children watch 50% more TV, the V-chip would not be used ï‚ · Teenagers  will find a way around the V-chip. ï‚ · They will see the programs at the homes of other children ï‚ · it will take years for the V-chip to be in all TV sets TV needs to be cleaned up now. ï‚ · Will the V-chip distinguish between gratuitous, glamorized violence and other types? ï‚ · Will broadcasters shy away from any programming deemed to be violent? ï‚ · It will be a pro for cable and a negative for broadcast television. Yet it is broadcast television that has made the most progress in lessening violence. ï‚ · For 10- to 14- year-old males a negative rating will have drawing effect. ï‚ · In short the V-chip is a gimmick  there are some problems however with the v-chip. Some of these are: ï‚ · There will certainly be problems that are related to the implementation of the rating system and the use of the V-chip. ï‚ · Will the rating be carried just at the beginning of the program or will the rating be carried throughout the program so if a program is turned on in progress the rating will be read by the chip and the program will be blocked? ï‚ · Would each episode of a show be rated or would shows be given just one rating, regardless of content from week-to-week? ï‚ · If â€Å"R† ratings are limited to a post-9PM, would that mean that reruns of those shows could not air in the lucrative 7 PM8 PM time known as prime access, when the studios make their money back on programming? ï‚ · Some worry that a more detailed rating system could be used by pressure groups to target certain television programs. Advertisers could be forced not to advertise certain rating categories. ï‚ · It will be a huge job to rate 300,000 hours a year, plus the programs that are available for re-runs. The violence that is on TV is not the only way that children are exposed to. Video games are more based to violence because they sell more than any other type of game. Music is also a very good way to expose children to violence. Here are some facts related to the topic that I found on the Internet about games, the Internet, TV, and music industry. VIDEO GAMES AND CYBERSPACE VIOLENCE ï‚ · The Internet, a global â€Å"network of networks† is not governed by a government or private entity. This vacuum leaves no checks or limits on the information maintained or made accessible to users. No person or entity owns  the Internet, leaving no one accountable for the accidents, which occur, on its highways. ï‚ · The incidence of violence on the Internet is difficult to quantify because the technology has moved faster than our capability to monitor it. Evidence of violence is anecdotal rather than statistical mainly because communication on the Internet is private. Reported cases of abuse are relatively infrequent, but as the technology continues to advance, there is potential for great harm as well as great good. ï‚ · The Oklahoma bombing suspect obtained a copy of the â€Å"Turner Diaries,† a book which advocates the violent overthrow of government, off the Internet. Whereas before, one would have had to know exactly where to look and be pre-disposed to search for the book, the Internet made it easily accessible to a global audience. ï‚ · Although there has been less research on the effects of violence in video games and the Internet because they are new and changing technologies, there is little reason to doubt that findings from other media studies will apply here too. Young children instinctively imitate actions they observe, without always possessing the intellect or maturity to determine if such actions are appropriate. Due to their role-modeling capacity to promote real world violence, there is deep concern that playing violent video games, with their fully digitalized human images, will cause children to become more aggressive towards other children and become more tolerant of, and more likely to engage in, real-life violence. MUSIC VIOLENCE ï‚ · The Parents Music Resource Center reports that American teenagers listen to an estimated 10,500 hours of rock music between the 7th and 12th grades alone – just 500 hours less than they spend in school over twelve years. ï‚ · Entertainment Monitor reported that only 10 of the top 40 popular CDs on sale during the 1995 holiday season were free of profanity, or lyrics dealing with drugs, violence and sex. ï‚ · A recent survey by the Recording Industry Association of America found that many parents do not know what lyrics are contained in the popular music their children listen to. ï‚ · In September 1995, Warner Music Group bowed to public pressure and announced it was severing its 50% stake in Inters cope Records, home to Nine-Inch Nails and controversial rap artists Snoop Doggy Dog, Dr. Dre. , and Eminem. Rap artists simply turned to a different distribution network and their CDs continue to hit the stores with lyrics, which glorify guns, rape, and murder. Bibliography: http://tvschedules.about.com/tvradio/tvschedules/msubviolence.htm?iam=mt&terms=%2Bchildren+%2Band+%2Bviolence+%2Bon+%2Btelevision http://interact.uoregon.edu/mediaLit/FA/MLArticleFolder/kalin.html http://www.aap.org/advocacy/childhealthmonth/media.htm http://www.nctvv.org/ http://www.sofcom.com.au/TV/violence.html http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/social/tv.htm NAESP Homepage, http:/www.owt.com/cheifjo/qtvviolc.html,2000

Supreme Court Prediction Paper - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1695 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/08/16 Category Law Essay Level High school Tags: Supreme Court Essay Did you like this example? Often times lawbreakers enjoy arguing to justify a crime they committed by saying that they do not remember such a thing happening. In some cases, their argument is valid, but in most cases it is a pitiful excuse to stall punishment. This legal issue was raised in the Supreme Court case, Vernon Madison v. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Supreme Court Prediction Paper" essay for you Create order State of Alabama, where a man sits on Alabamas death row after killing a police officer. The issue questions whether or not Vernon Madisons eighth amendment right is being violated. To consult this matter, both parties and Judges from the circuit and trial courts used the Ford and Panetti standard to analyze this case. The Ford and Panetti standard refers to two separate precedent cases that involved similar circumstances. To better understand the Ford and Panetti standard, it is important to understand the importance of the outcomes from both cases. In the Ford case decided in 1986, a Florida court sentenced Alvin Bernard Ford to death for first-degree murder. From the time of the murder, trial and sentencing phase, Ford was not suffering from any mental defects. After he was sentenced to death, his mental health deteriorated. After much litigation, in a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court held that English common law found executing the insane savage and inhumane. In the Panetti case, Scott Louis Panetti was convicted of first-degree murder and was sentenced to death. In a psychiatric evaluation, it was found that Panetti was aware of his crime and because of that the district court found him sufficiently sane to be executed. The U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed this decision, but the U.S. Supreme Cour t disagreed. In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that the Fifth circuits analysis of Panettis mental condition was treated as irrelevant as long as he was somewhat aware of the states reasoning of putting him to death. The court also stated that the state unreasonably applied Ford by failing to give Panetti a fair chance to present his psychiatric evidence. With this, the court expressed that they hoped that future expert psychiatric evidence would magnify which delusions might distort an inmates sense of reality so much as to render him incompetent to be executed. Initially, the state of Alabama ruled against Madison stating that the defendant did not make a threshold showing insanity. Meaning Madison failed to show that he is delusional. The U.S. Court of Appeals reversed holding that when dementia is accepted as a relevant basis for incompetency, hes clearly incompetent. In oral argument, the petitioner argues before the Supreme Court that someone who has a disability that renders them inept to the time, place, or rationally understanding the circumstances of their offense, then they are incompetent; backed by proven medical records and accounts of past situations. They present to the court that the state was unwilling to consider any evidence about mental state that was outside of the scope of insanity, delusion, or psychosis. The petitioner wants the Supreme Court to affirm the U.S. Court of Appeal, while the respondent wants to carry out their death sentence arguing that Madison is aware and competent enough to be put to death. The three Justices behavior that will be examined in order to predict if they will vote to affirm or reverse are Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, and Justice Stephen Breyer. With all the given information, Chief Justice Roberts will likely vote to affirm the U.S. Court of Appeals decision to reverse Madisons death penalty based on a few reasons. It was interesting to observe Chief Justice Roberts behavior during oral arguments as he immediately disrupted the petitioner to try and grasp a firm understanding of what was being argued. In the very beginning of oral arguments, he had no problem admitting that he was having a tough time understanding what the issue was. This led him to constantly interrupting and questioning to clarify what the petitioner was trying say. Concurrently, other associate justices grilled the petitioner and eventually Chief Justice Roberts fell back and did not say anything else until it was time to hear the respondents argument. It is commonly understood by researchers that when a justice continues to interrupt someone that they are likely to vote against that side, and this was not the case in this occasion. Chief Justice Roberts showed less interest while Thomas R. Govan, on behalf of the respondent, argued the states side of the case. There was a point when the Chief Justice implied that he understood what the respondent was saying when Govan explained how an MRI can show mental illness, but not rational understanding. This implied that Roberts, for the most part, comprehended at least partially of the states argument. Towards the end Roberts seemed to agree with some of his fellow justices when they were questioning Govan. Since Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was considered at the courts swing voter is gone, there has not been anyone to replace and acquire this title, but it looks like Roberts will vote liberal on this issue, because if not, the court may dead lock 4-4 resulting in Madisons death. The matter does not involve the executive or congress, and for that matter, Roberts would deliberately make sure of it because according to an interview Roberts did a while back he said, The justices speak for th e constitution.while elected officials work for the people. This comment implies that Roberts top priority is to serve justice according to the constitution. It also proves that he is deferential to precedent. He asked Govan, So are all we arguing about whether Mr. Madison himself meets the Ford and Panetti standard? He proved this when he effectively shortened Madison down to a simple application of precedent. The Ford and Panetti standard says that incompetent people cannot be executed. According to his behavior, it appears that his behavior is predominately motivated by legal principles much like legal model, because in this case, if he were motivated by anything else his vote would likely be conservative. On the other hand, Justice Samuel Alito made it very clear that he will vote to reverse the U.S. Court of Appeals, allowing Madison to be put to death. While other liberal justices focused on the issue of Madisons general state of competency, Justice Alito focused on one aspect that was irrelevant to most justices which was the amnesia issue mentioned during oral arguments. His questioning focused on a very narrow topic and seemed as if he was misunderstanding Stephensons argument on behalf of the petitioner throughout his entire open arguments. Justice Alito said, I dont understand youre answer. I cant think of a situation in which a person would lack memory of the commission of the offense without that being based on a mental condition. This comment very well represents Justice Alitos misunderstanding of the petitioners point. It was evident that Justice Alitos focus was off when other liberals would interrupt by stringing the focus back to what was actually being argued; Since med ical records prove that Madison is not able to understand the things around him due to dementia, he is incompetent to be executed. They would not allow Alito to relabel the case as one about amnesia rather than insanity. Justice Alitos support to execute Madison comes by no surprise considering his notorious history of urging such behavior. In Glossip v. Gross, an earlier case involving the issue of whether a particular drug that Oklahoma wants to use in executions adequately reduces inmates pain that the intense suffering caused does not amount to cruel and unusual punishment, Justice Alito delivered the opinion of the court and had an unsympathetic choice of words when doing so. He included, .because it is settled that capital punishment is constitutional, it necessarily follows that there must be a constitutional means of carrying it out.we have held that the constitution does not require the avoidance of all risk of pain. This shows that Justice Alito has been in favor of capital punishment before and based on these comments, there would have to be convincingly enough evidence to sway him the other way. Going into Madisons case, Justice Alito appears to have had a preconception based on precedent cases before this one. With this, it would be extremely hard to convince him that Madison ought to not be put to death regardless of his vascular dementia that is deteriorating his memory. This elutes to the belief that his voting behavior is motivated solely by his partisanship under the attitudinal model that posits a justice will pursue their sincere preferences. Justice Stephen Breyer will vote to affirm the U.S. Court of Appeals, which will save Madisons life. Justice Breyer has a history in dissenting in conservative ruled cases involving the 8th amendment and death penalty cases. Just like Justice Alito, Breyer voted in the Glossip v. Gross cases, but instead, he was one of which who voted against and dissented. This prior voting history gave insight as to how Breyer would look at Madisons case. Breyer interrupted Govan many times which indicated that he was not agreeing with much of Govans argument. He especially did not agree with the Govans point that he believed Madisons real claim was that dementia should exempt him from execution. He cut Govan off at one point and said, He does not recall his crime.and he has a severe inability to orient himself to time and place. He was insinuating that Madison would of course not be able to be saved under just the claim of amnesia, but under Ford and Panetti, he should be let off the hook since th is standard says that incompetent people can not be executed. Although it is hard to say, Justice Breyer will most likely vote based on the attitudinal model, because in oral arguments he was more concerned with Madisons condition rather than precedent. Out of these 3 justices, Roberts seems to be the essential vote that may swing the outcome either way. If he decides to vote liberal to save Madisons life, the decision will likely be 5-3 with of course conservatives dissenting including Justice Alito.