Chiari Malformation

A young teacher with a rare neurological disorder has been warned she could die if she laughs too hard, because it could push her brain out of her skull.

Carolyn Gibbons, 23, suffers from a condition called Chiari malformation, which means the lower part of her brain is too big. This can block the flow of fluid to her head through her spinal canal, she endures blurred vision, slurred speech and crippling migraines and any sudden movements feel like her head ‘is about to pop’, jerking movements, such as during a fit of giggles, could cause her brain to herniate into the top of the spinal column - raising the risk of sudden death

I want to eat brains!

What have you got in your head?  by Sara Ansanghi

 

A series of human brains made with different foods.

Neurons (in blue to yellow) growing on top of astrocytes (in red, helper cells within the nervous system) in a human stem cell embryoid body (a cluster of differentiating human embryonic stem cells).

Image by Juan Carlos Izpisúa, Center of Regenerative Medicine in Barcelona.

Blood Brain Barrier

 

Blood-brain barrier. Confocal light micrograph of a section through a blood vessel in the brain, showing the arrangement of cells that form the blood-brain barrier. The lumen (interior) of the vessel runs horizontally across the upper frame. The endothelial cells that line the blood vessels of the brain are packed more tightly than elsewhere in the body. This barrier protects the brain from many potentially harmful molecules and micro-organisms, but also presents a challenge for the administration of drugs to the brain. Surrounding the blood vessel are glial cells (green), which provide structural support for neurons (nerve cells, red) and supply them with nutrients and oxygen. It is also thought that glial cells help maintain the blood-brain barrier.

Brain Tissue

 

Light micrograph of a section cut through human nervous tissue showing nerve cells in gray matter of the brain. Nerve cells are seen as cell bodies (brown) with round central nucleus.

Time for Class!

Anatomy taught by human dissection is an important part of medical training for surgeons, and postmortem examination provides vital clues to the pathology of diseases and thus their treatment.

This picture shows an antiquated method of removing the brain after it is severed from the body - from a 1905 manual of postmortem pathology by Henry W. Cattell (note the lack of gloves).

Hydrocephalus

Hydrocephalus, also referred to as “water on the brain,” is a condition in which the cerebral spinal fluid is unable to drain from the brain, causing a backup of fluid in the skull. The ventricles enlarge to accommodate for the excess fluid, pressing on different parts of the brain and causing a variety of symptoms.

Some people are born with this condition while others develop it at some point in their life. In children, it can cause their heads to swell, as their skull’s “soft spots” have not yet hardened, allowing them to stretch in order to accommodate for the extra fluid. In older people, the head cannot expand because their skull bones are fused together. This means that the pressure on the brain is intensified, causing severe headaches that may be coupled with vomiting, sleepiness, and difficulties with balance, among other things.

If this condition is left untreated, it can cause brain damage, loss in mental and physical abilities, and even death. If caught early and treated quickly though, most children can recover.

Eating Less Makes Your Brain Younger

Eating Less Makes Your Brain Younger link
By Alasdair Wilkins
12/19/2011

Studies have shown that putting someone on a near-starvation diet eating 70% of usual food consumption will extend lifespan greatly. Mice placed on these extreme diets show greater cognitive abilities than their counterparts and they are less aggressive. Most excitingly, they only rarely develop Alzheimer's disease, and when they do the symptoms tend to be much less severe than in those of other mice. Effectively, caloric restriction is keeping mouse brains young.

And now Italian researchers have discovered what molecule is effected by this caloric restriction; CREB1. the molecule activates genes linked both to longevity and to the proper, more efficient functioning of the brain. We already knew that CREB1 helps regulate brain functions like memory, learning, and control of anxiety, and that aging reduces the effect of this molecule. Now we know that reduced caloric intake can improve the molecule's performance, and even slow the onset of aging in the brain.

In fact, it seems that the benefits of caloric restriction in the brain are all to do with CREB1 - when the molecule is removed from the mouse's brains, caloric restriction has no cognitive benefit. The researchers believe this same mechanism should exist in humans. Team leader Dr. Giovambattista Pani says he hopes to discover new drugs that can super-charge the activation of CREB1 without having to endure such an extreme diet. If they are successful, we could keep our brains younger and fitter than ever, while still being allowed to enjoy a good meal.

Nicotine Primes the Brain For Cocaine

Nicotine Primes The Brain For Cocaine, Says Study link
Shari Roan
November 2nd 2011

A study on mice found a deep correlation with nicotine and later cocaine addiction. There were two groups of mice, one group was exposed to nicotine while the other (the control group) was not. The former group showed many more signs of addiction than the control group. Another study done shows that 81% of youth that started to do cocaine do so in months where they weer actively smoking cigarettes. The researchers intend on going on to human trials next and if the same correlations are made then would potentially make less smokers mean less cocaine addicts.

The Taste of Cheese

The Taste of Cheese link
David McRaney
October 19th 2009

A lovely and slightly humorous website I discovered recently called You Are Not So Smart: A Celebration of Self Delusion is pretty entertaining and informative. It takes different things we take for granted and tells you why your belief about it is wrong (hence, why you are not so smart).

The article I am posting talks about the taste of cheese. Apparently liking cheese is a cultural thing. There was a study done where they took the smell of brie (a personal favorite cheese of mine) and had people smell it. One bottle was labeled cheddar cheese and another was labeled body odor and apparently people who smelled the former said it smelled delicious and those that smelled the second bottle were revolted. They then did the same study using an MRI machine, researchers saw the brain areas associated with food light up for one group and the areas for revulsion light up for the other. Oh the power of suggestion!

Brain Parasite Directly Alters Brain Chemistry

Brain Parasite Directly Alters Brain Chemistry - T gondii Affects Dopamine link
November 4th, 2011

An infection by the brain parasite Toxoplasma gondii, found in 10-20 % of the UK’s population, directly affects the production of dopamine, a key chemical messenger in the brain. University of Leeds' findings are the first to demonstrate that a parasite found in the brain of mammals can affect dopamine levels. While the work has been carried out with rodents, lead investigator Dr Glenn McConkey believes that the findings could ultimately shed new light on treating human neurological disorders that are dopamine-related such as schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Parkinson’s disease.

How Stress Affects the Brain

Of Rats and Men: How Stress Affects the Brain link
Bill Jenkins
November 1, 2011

Studies have shown that stress seems to affect rat and human brains in the same ways. Under stress, nerve cells of the prefrontal cortex shrink, resulting in slower performance on attention-shifting tasks. But, an interesting twist, there apparently seems to be the opposite reaction with the neurons in the frontal cortex which are believed to affect our response-reversal tasks (where we are able to change our answers to questions depending on context). The studies also showed that once the stress is gone our brains bounce back to normal relatively fast.

Knowledge For The Taking!

Ah, I love the internet.

For a radio series that talks about everything neuroscience go check out Gray Matters: link

For video interviews of different neuroscientists (including Hubel and Wiesel!): link

For a ton of autobiographies by neuroscientists: link




I will no doubt be posting from these sites, so forgive me if I post something you read already; I just have to share the wealth as I come across it. Enjoy!

Staying Sharp

How AWESOME! There are "Staying Sharp" conferences put on by the Dana Foundation which have neuroscientists talking about their research and afterward have Q&A sessions with the audience. The next two will be in New York. If you happen to live close to New York I highly recommend checking one out, and then telling me all about it.

The next Staying Sharp conferences are on November 12th and November 19th from 10 am to about 1 pm. It is a FREE event! Here is the site for more information and to reserve your seat: link

A New Nuance to Neurons

A New Nuance to Neurons link
Zhaolin Hua, Sergio Leal-Ortiz, Sarah Foss, Clarissa Waites, Craig Garner, Susan Voglmaier, Robert Edwards
August 23rd, 2011

Vesicles, the tiny neurotransmitters released from one terminal to the next neuron to send along the electrical message, has always believed to be of either two pools. In one, the recycling pool, the vesicles are sent to the next neuron to send along the message and then repackaged to be used again. In the other, the resting pool, it appears they just sit there to the side and do nothing. About 80% of all vesicles appear to be in the resting pools. Scientists could never determine or understand the reason between the two pools or what the resting pools function was for. And not only that but they couldnt tell the difference between the different kinds of vesicles other than by their location because visually they appeared the exact same. It was believed that where they happened to end up determined what pool they were in as opposed to being preassigned what their function will be and thus executes it.

In their paper, Edwards and his colleagues show that vesicles in the two different pools contain different proteins and that these differences determine how they behave. Using a technique for labeling proteins with glowing molecules derived from jellyfish, they were able to show that a protein called VAMP7 is present at high levels in the resting pool rather than the recycling pool, which contains more of other synaptic vesicle proteins.

This shows that the body makes and maintains different pools of vesicles containing different proteins for different purposes: release or some other function. According to Edwards, the observation has far-reaching implications for our understanding of how neurotransmitters are packaged, transported and released from neurons.

According to Edwards, resting vesicles are involved in a separate not-well-understood process in which neurons spontaneously release vesicles, which may help them adjust the types of connections they make with each other as well as the strength of those connections. This process may play a role in neurological diseases, many of which are characterized by changes in the type and strength of synapses.

Ready to Learn?

Ready to Learn? Brain Scans Can Tell You link
Anne Trafton
August 19th, 2011

A team at MIT studied the parahippocampal cortex (PHC) and found that when it is active you are less likely to remember what it is you are studying or doing at the time. The PHC is generally considered to have to do with memory recall and is itself wrapped around the hippocampus, the part of the brain that has to do with memory formation.

Traditionally, scientists have believed that memory is based on the inherent memorability of specific events, with strongly emotional events likeliest to be remembered. More recently, cognitive neuroscientists have found that the brain’s ability to consolidate, store and retrieve information is also important. “The significance of this study is that it suggests that beyond the inherent memorability of things, and how well the memory systems are working, there’s a huge role to be played by how well prepared you are to process what’s coming in,” Turk-Browne says.

Theoretically this method could be used to determine when a student is best prepared to learn new material, or to monitor workers who need to stay alert, but they still have a ways to go to make that possible or available to the general public.

10 Things an Electromagnetic Field Can Do to Your Brain

10 Things an Electromagnetic Field Can Do To Your Brain link
By Esther Inglis-Arkell
October 21, 2011

10. Shred its DNA
9. Stimulate its growth
8. Train you off of food and water
7. Make you spin in circles
6. Pacify you completely
5. Alter your morality
4. Take out your power of speech but leave your ability to sing
3. Induce pain, disorientation, and deep fear
2. Cause seizures, comas, and death
1. Make you see ghosts


To learn more of the studies done for each of these visit the link.

Action Potentials

This is a really great video that explains how neurons pass along messages through their axons using action potentials. The animation helps to visualize and understand it a lot better than I could probably do in words on here. Enjoy!

Brians Lacking Connections Function Normally

Brains Lacking Connections Function Normally link
October 20, 2011

The fMRI on the left is a normal healthy brain.

The scan on the right is the one with AgCC 

and as you can see both scans look practically identical.

People born without the corpus callosum (the main bundle of nerves connections the two hemispheres of the brain) are diagnosed with agenesis of the corpus callosum (AgCC). Its been found that those with AgCC have remarkably normal communications across the gap of the two halves of the brain.

The resting state network in fMRIs look essentially the same in those with normal brains and those with AgCC.

Those with AgCC are missing approximately 20 million connections that are normally there.

AAbout one third of people with AgCC have autism. These findings of re-networking the brain may give them insights on the brains of autistic people.




You may have heard of the studies done in the 1960s by Roger Sperry called the Split-Brain experiments. Essentially what happened was that the patients were experiencing some pretty brutal seizures and the only way to try and stop them was to sever the corpus callosum. Upon doing so they came across a lot of unexpected results. Through many experiments with these patients they found out that the two hemispheres were no longer able to communicate with one another and thus gave birth to the whole idea that each hemisphere has its main objectives (like right hemisphere is more artsy while the left is more analytical and logical). They also found that the left hemisphere tends to make up answers to questions when it does not know the direct answer and instead of admitting as much makes up a logical explanation.  you can find more at this link. I just found the correlation really fascinating because up until now you always hear about the differences and what would happen if the corpus callosum was ever severed...but who knew the brain was SO plastic that if born without one it would be able to manage just fine?! It would be interesting to see at what age if ever the corpus callosum would have to be removed/severed that the individual could hope to one day function properly again. A new study for a different day I suppose, but it sure is fascinating!

Bodies Exhibit

This was a body in the Bodies exhibit that was touring the US for quite some time (actually Im pretty sure it still is). I had the luxury of being able to see the first exhibit in Chicago several years ago. Truly incredible, if it is ever showing in your area I highly recommend seeing it, it really is quite the experience. The ability to observe human bodies in such detail is something no one should ever miss, it really just blows you away at how truly intricate we all are.

Quantum Minds: Why We Think Like Quarks

Quantum Minds: Why We Think Like Quarks link
By Mark Buchanan
September 5, 2011

Quantum mathematics can now be applied to more than just quantum theory but also seemingly the mind, decision making, language, search engines, etc.

Quantum mathematics can apparently be applied to language. For instance you would think that if a thing, X, is also a Y, then a "tall X" would also be a "tall Y" - a tall oak is a tall tree. But thats not always the case. A Chihuahua is a dog but a tall Chihuahua is not a tall dog; "tall" changes meaning by virtue of the word next to it. The structure of human conceptual knowledge is quantum-like because context plays a fundamental role.

Computer scientists realized that the mathematics they had been building into search engines was essentially the same as that of quantum theory.

Peter Bruza suggests the reason is to do with our finite brain being overwhelmed by the complexity of the environment yet having to take action long before it can calculate its way to the certainty demanded by classical logic. Quantum logic may be more suitable to making descisions that work well enough, even if theyre not logically faultless.

Some psychologists argue that strict classical logic only plays a small part in the human mind. Peter Gardenfors argues that much of our thinking operates on a largely unconscious level, where thoughts follows a less restrictive logic and forms loose associations between concepts.

Without Language Numbers Make No Sense

Without Language Numbers Make No Sense link
By Bob Holmes
February 7, 2011

The study studied Nicaragua people who created their own sign language but that had no vocabulary for numbers. These "homesigners" were tested by summarising picture stories in which numbers played an important role. Spanish speaking Nicarguans who weren;'t deaf and deaf people who used American Sign Language performed these tests flawlessly. But homesigners were only accurate at counting numbers up to three or four. For example holding out 9 fingers to represent 10.

They can approximate but have no way of getting to the precise number.

The researchers are still not sure which component of language is crucial to developing an accuarte number sense.

Brain 'Rejects Negative Thoughts'

Brain 'Rejects Negative Thoughts' link
By James Gallagher
October 9, 2011

80% of people are optimists even if they dont label themselves as such.

When people hear positive news, all people have more activity in the brain's frontal lobes, which are associated with processing errors. With negative news, the most optimistic people had the least activity in the frontal loves, and the least optimistic had the most.

Optimistic people have a lower risk of heart disease and a lower death rate, but they also underestimate risks.

Rhythmic Secrets of the Brain

UCLA Researchers Discover Rhythmic Secrets of the Brain link
By Randolph Jonsson
October 9, 2011

We learn when stimuli are repeated frequently enough that our synapses respond and become stronger. It's been discovered that this change in synaptic strength has an optimal "rhythm" or frequency.

The more distant the synapse is from the neuron's body, the higher the frequency is required for optimal strengthening.

Synapses also strengthen best when frequencies are exactly timed in perfect rhythm. Take away the beat and even with the ideal frequency synaptic strengethening is appreciably compromised.

They also discovered that a synapses optimal frequency changes once it learns.

"Our findings suggest that we can use these tools to deliver the optimal brain rhythm to targeted connections to enhance learning" said Mayank Mehta. Their work will be most beneficial to those with learning disabilities.

Memes

hahahha brain memes!!

Growing A Brain In A Dish

Growing A Brain In A Dish link
By Jeffrey Toney
May 25, 2011

That doughnut shape decorated with bright green spots, some connected by red pathways, amidst sky blue neighbors could be an artist's creation, but is the result of a creative scientific attempt to grow an active brain in a dish, complete with memories. Really.

The team at University of Pittsburg stamped adhesive proteins onto silicon discs. Once the proteins were cultured and dried, cultured hippocampus cells from embryonic rats were fused to the proteins and then given time to grow and connect to form a natural network. The researchers disabled the cells' inhibitory response and then excited the neurons with an electrical pulse.

Primary rat hippocampal cultures were capable of forming ring-shaped networks containing 40-60 neurons.


This is rather incredible, to be able to grow neurons from scratch? The implications this could have for diseases is quite profound!

Rat Neurons

Rat neurons grow in neurospheres

link

This website, nikonsmallworld.com, is definitely worth checking out if you ever have the time. It is a photography contest held every year for everything super teeny tiny. There are some really spectacular shots in there. Also it is a touring exhibit! They are going to be in Indianapolis next starting Oct 14th. I have no doubt I'll be posting more pictures from here from time to time but just had to have a little blurb on the site itself. Enjoy!

Brain Surgery Using Sound Waves

Brain Surgery Using Sound Waves link 
By Emily Singer
July 21, 2009

Doctors in Switzerland performed successful surgeries on 9 patients using only sound waves. Seriously. A new ultrasound device, used in conjunction with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), allows neurosurgeons to precisely burn out small pieces of malfunctioning brain tissue without cutting the skin or opening the skull. An experimental version of this ultrasound device is currently being tested in five medical centers around the globe. In addition to using it with Parkinson's patients and those who suffer other movement disorders, scientists plan to test the technology as a treatment for brain tumors, epilepsy, and stroke. The nine patients in the Swiss study suffered from chronic pain that couldn't be treated with medications; the ultrasound surgery successfully destroyed a small area of their thalamus, bringing relief from the pain without other, significant side effects. They hope to start testing the machine on Parkinson's patients, in an effort to bring them relief from some of the the physical side effects of that disease. But not every functional neurosurgeon will accept this new approach, because you cannot do a test before the lesion is made. Scientists are developing ways to use high-intensity focused ultrasound to modulated brain activity in a localized area, which would enable functional testing of the target area before it is destroyed. 

Oh what the implications this has! A non-invasive way to do brain surgery, absolutely incredible. And oh you could use this technology for all sorts of surgeries! This is absolutely remarkable, I hope to hear more about these advances soon.

This Thimble-Sized Microscope Could Revolutionize Neuroscience

This Thimble-Sized Microscope Could Revolutionize Neuroscience link
By Robert Gonzalez
September 14, 2011

Once upon a time catching a glimpse of a mouse's brain used to be a ton of work considering how energetic they are. They either had to be held down in place or be trained to walk on a moving platform (not really sure how that helps scientists see into their brains, but hey if it works then it works). But now using this mini microscope (which weighs less than 2 grams) allows scientists to constantly observe mice brains all day long and they are small and light enough that they really dont inhibit the mice in any fashion and they act totally normal, even if it is a funny looking hat.

Monkeys Can Feel Virtual Objects Using A Brain Implant

Monkeys Can Feel Virtual Objects Using A Brain Implant link
By Robert Gonzalez
October 5, 2011

An international team of neuroengineers have developed a brain-machine interface that's bi-directional (meaning that not only are there signals going from the brain to the body part [like fingertips] but there are also signals going from the fingertips back to the brain) which is something they were having a problem with figuring out how to do up until now. So with this particular brain implant the monkeys were literally able to "feel" the texture of virtual objects because it is signaling to those specific neurons that that is whats going on. This technology is a huge breakthrough and will first and foremost make a difference in quadriplegics lives, let alone what we will do to further advance this technology to other areas of our lives.

Standing in Awe

 

This is how I currently feel. Like there's nothing else in the world, it's just me standing in front of a brain trying to figure it out.

HIV Disrupts the Blood-Brain Barrier

HIV Disrupts the Blood-Brain Barrier link
April 15, 2011
40 to 60% of patients with HIV suffer from HIV-related dementia, but why? The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a network of blood vessels with special properties (tight junctions) that keep harmful substances and pathogens out of the central nervous system (CNS). According to the June issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, HIV weakens this barrier by infecting a group of small cells crucial for the maintenance of the BBB: Astrocytes. Considering the important role of the BBB in maintaining CNS homeostasis the findings published in this study may be an important step towards a more complete understanding of HIV-related cognitive impairments.


Interesting! And I just finished reading an article on the important roles of different glial cells today, including astrocytes! This is really quite a finding about HIV, and it looks like we continue to get closer and closer to finding a cure. But of course the first step is understanding how it works before figuring out how to stop it.

The Brain's Silent Majority

The Brain's Silent Majority: How the Other 90 Percent of Your Brain Works  link
By Bruce Goldman
"Fall" 2009

What a great read! The article's focus is on glial cells (latin for glue) and our long overdue understanding of what their functions are. It's funny because the main focus of pretty much any neuroscientist out there is on the neurons, which of course ARE very important and talented, but thanks to scientist Ben Barres we also now know a lot more about what the majority of the cells in our brain do.

There are three types of glial cells; astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes. Each one having their own individual job functions in the brain.

Astrocytes, making up a cool 50% of cells in the human brain, are the least understood glial cell of the three, but also apparently has the most interesting job skills. First and foremost it appears they have a lot to do with where and when synapses form (an experiment was done where neurons were in a lab all by themselves, and they seemed finally and even functioned fine by sending along electrical signals. But when they took a closer look they noticed the synapses were few and far between and even then they didnt function as well as they normally do. After adding astrocytes there was an immediate improvement, where a lot more synapses were formed and their messages conveyed a lot faster!) Astrocytes also take care of housekeeping functions such as feeding the neurons (supplying nutrients, energy-rich molecules and neurotransmitter precursors) or mopping up after them (for example, speedily slurping up spent neurotransmitter molecules from the synapses so that the next signal will be a clean one). Astrocytes also secrete a protein called thrombospondin (trying saying that three times fast!) during brain development and when brain maturation is complete thrombospondin expression shuts down everywhere in the brain except the hippocampus (which you should know by now is the center where new memories are formed and where neurogensis still occurs). But, interestingly enough, when the brain is injured astrocytes turn back on thrombospondin expression. Barres asks: Could those astrocytes be playing a part in inducing and repairing synapses in the injured brain? They of course are not sure one way or another, but it sure looks that way doesnt it?

It is also worth noting thrombospondin is one of only two genes that are far more highly expressed in human brains than in those of other primates. The connection is currently unknown.

Oligodendocytes, which account for roughly 40% of the cells in the human brain, extrude a fatty product called myelin, which insulates neuronal surfaces and speeds signals along axons. Myelin is largely responsible for giving heavily myelinated regions of the brain (the "white matter") their lighter color.

Microglia, which make up to about 10% of the cells in a human brain, serve as an immune function in our brains, which are somewhat impervious to immune cells attempting entry from across the blood-brain barrier. Microglia are thought to migrate into the brain in early development, before the barrier is in place. I find this really interesting, I suppose I never thought of our brains to have a "barrier" to otherwise potentially helpful cells in the rest of our body. Its good to know it has its own security team.

So there you have it folks. The neurons may be celebrities, but they surely didnt get there all by themselves!

Online Articles

So I have this lovely little toolbar called Stumble Upon. It's a great time waster but every once in awhile you can really come upon something truly interesting. Here are some articles I have read online in the last couple of days and why I found them so interesting. You'll also be able to find the link to each article next to the titles in case you find it interesting enough to go read for yourself.


The Benefits of Meditation link
By Anne Trafton
May 5, 2011


This really seems to be a hot topic in neuroscience studies right now, a lot of books are coming out on it (most notably Buddha's Brain by Rick Hanson, a book I intend on getting around to one of these days if my stack of books ever manages to shrink a little). Anyway this article took the tone of how people who meditate are able to achieve alpha rhythms and maintain them a lot more easily than people who don't meditate at all. Alpha waves help make you better at focusing in part by allowing  you to better regulate how things that arise will impact you. Alpha waves flow through cells in the brains cortex where sensory information is processed. The alpha waves help suppress irrelevant or distracting sensory information. God the brain is cool. I really ought to start brushing up on my meditation if I'm ever going to get the 4.0 gpa I need to get into Emory.

Chinks in the Brain Circuitry Make Some More Vulnerable to Anxiety link
By Yasmin Anwar
February 9, 2011


This article is really interesting because the studies it refers to has found TWO different neural pathways that play a role in how we develop and overcome fears. The first pathway is an overactive amygdala, which is home to the brain's primal fight-or-flight reflex and plays a role in developing social phobias. The second involves activity in the ventral prefrontal cortex, which is a neural region that helps us to overcome our fears and worries. The study found that some participants were able to mobilize their ventral prefrontal cortex to reduce their fear responses even while negative events were taking place. Which is good news because there seems to be potential to train people who are not naturally good as doing so to be able to and thus help those who are chronically anxious or those living in dangerous or stressful situations. This is all great news because there have always been two ways of helping those with anxiety disorders, either by cognitive therapy or by drugs. And now scientists will be able to predict which treatment will be more effective depending on which of the two neural vulnerabilities the patient has.


New Neurons Help Us to Remember Fear link
By Robert Sanders
June 14, 2011

The discovery of neurogenesis (the process of creating new cells in the brain) in our hippocampus is surely old news by now. Although there is something we haven't been able to figure out yet; WHY does neurogenesis occur? Well a study recently done helps shed light on at least one reason, "The brain's emotional center, the amygdala, induces the hippocampus, a relay hub for memory, to generate new neurons...In a fearful situation, these newborn neurons get activated by the amygdala and may provide a 'blank state' on which the new fearful memory can be strongly imprinted." In Mind Wide Open by Steven Johnson, the book I just finished, he talked for about a whole chapter on how its the amygdala that stores a second "rough" copy of fearful memories (generally called flashbulb memories) that collect a quick sketch of the situation and some contextual details surrounding the threat, and you may not be conscious of why but your amygdala will act up the next time you encounter a similar situation, even if its a non-threatening one (for example, the author talked about witnessing 9/11 and how ever since then he feels particularly anxious on days that have perfectly clear blue skies, even though its not a direct threat in any fashion that's his amygdala trying to tell him to be on the look out). So even though you're having a pleasant day and totally relaxed, your amygdala is still working and will sound the alarms if something similar to a previous threatening event happens. Its your own personal built in security team. And this article now explains that process a little bit more clearly on WHY we are able to, even though usually subconsciously, have such a clear memory response to similar events; because they are completely fresh neurons that have that memory imprinted on them for that exact purpose. 


Near-Death Experiences Explained link
By Benjamin Radford
September 23, 2011

I've always found this sort of thing fascinating, we are delving into why some people have "spiritual" experiences that turn out to have nothing to do with spirituality at all. "Near-death experiences are the manifestation of normal brain function gone awry, during a traumatic, and sometimes harmless event...In the book Dying to Live by Susan Blackmore she notes that many near-death experienes (such as euphoria and the feeling of moving toward a tunnel of white light) are common symptoms of oxygen deprivation in the brain." I particularly liked the words of Caroline Watt, "A survey has shown that 82% of individuals who have survived being actually near death do not report a near-death experience. That would seem to undermine the idea that these experience give a glimpse into life after death." Well said, sister.


Lasers Spark Breakthrough in Neuron Regeneration link
By Yang-Yi Goh
September 26, 2011

I highly suggest reading this article yourself, I have half a mind of just copying and pasting it all here. Its actually a very short read but cram-packed full of information and thought-provoking ideas (my kind of article!). But here goes the best recap I can manage: Lasers are able to build up the complex microscopic scaffolding that is needed to deliver and support lab-grown replacement cells. These lasers give scientists a whole new level of control and flexibility because of how much smaller and more intricate it is than existing scaffolding. In the cases of disease like Alzheimers the scaffolds could be harnessed as vehicles that deliver cells to damaged locations along the peripheral nerves, spinal cord and brain, and incite neural regeneration. HOW COOL! Apparently tissue engineering is where its at! The article says that they still believe they are another decade off from having this sort of technology readily available for everyone but its definitely making a lot of progress. It really just blows my mind how far we are coming as a species. And the rate of technology is improving at an accelerated rate, before you know it we will just never die unless we decide we are just tired of being alive.

My Story

My current pursuit of studying neuroscience has lead me to an obvious path; college. I live in Atlanta, Georgia so after looking online for about five minutes I realized which school would be the best for me to go to: Emory University. If you dont know Emory by just me saying their name, believe me when I tell you they are one of the best Universities in the US with one of the best programs in an array of medical studies, including neuroscience. Now, a little background about me. I went to high school in Indiana, and was a fair student. I got by on about a 3.0-3.2 without really trying very hard. It's kind of silly but I never felt challenged, so I never felt the need to overexert myself with my academia. I then went to Indiana University for a year after which I dropped out because I didn't know what I was doing there and felt like I was wasting my money, time, and energy. And again, didn't really push myself since I didn't have a goal to look ahead to and ended my year with a 2.8 gpa. I moved to Atlanta and have been loving it ever since. Now, as you can imagine, Emory is very prestigious and hold their entering students to a high standard if you are to be accepted. I, of course, do not make the cut. So about two weeks ago I did a tour of Emory and sat in on a information seminar, and afterwards I talked with an admissions adviser and told him what my situation was and asked for guidance on how to go about getting accepted. I was not disappointed, the adviser was more than understanding of my situation and said he admired my current drive for following such a highly regarded and difficult program. He then went on to tell me about Georgia Perimeter College and said to go there and get my Associates. That will allow me the chance to get my gpa up to Emory's standards and also get all my prerequisites out of the way so once I transfer to Emory I will start as a junior and only have to take classes required for my neuroscience degree. Not only that but it'll save me 80-100 thousand dollars in the process (by not attending Emory for the first two years). Not a bad deal! So I just put in my application the other day for GPC and will hopefully start classes in January. And, fingers crossed, some of my credits will transfer from IU. And the best part is, I'm excited! I'm excited to get back to school and start delving into the world of neuroscience. Now I know I probably wont be able to start taking those classes til I get to Emory (in another year or two) but now that I have a goal in mind I feel more prepared than ever to exceed in my classes. I hope this gusto doesn't leave any time soon, it's very invigorating having this passion pushing me forward. It feels good. It feels like I have a purpose, a challenge that I am ready to rise to and accomplish. I'll talk more on how things are going once things start to progress.

Mind Wide Open by Steven Johnson

Mind Wide Open: Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life link
by Steven Johnson
May 3, 2005

Every time I read Mind Wide Open I remember why its been such a staple in my life for the last five years. Its personable with anecdotal stories of his experiences delving into his own mind. He's funny and you can just tell he writes how he talks making it that much easier to understand this complex topic and also be able to relate to it by going "Oh yeah I've experienced that before!". Now that I am on this neuroscience kick I figured it would be good to start with what I already have so I decided to reread Mind Wide Open and take notes on it. So here are some of my favorite excerpts.


-There are four current theories of consciousness:
1. Inanimate objects, like broccoli and teakettles, are conscious in some different way from us. That qualia (the brains representation of both the external world and the body's mental state - the "faceness" of a loved one, or the "emotioness" of the emotional feeling) is a property of matter itself, and the human brain is simply the most advanced qualia recording apparatus yet evolved.
2. Something unique exists in the configuration of cells that makes consciousness happen in brains and not broccoli.
3. A mystery substance not yet understood by science - quantum behavior perhaps, or some kind of spiritual life force - that turns a bunch of interconnected cells into a feeling brain.
4. One of the properties of consciousness is that it cant explain itself regardless of how far we come scientifically.
I find this extremely interesting, I suppose I have never considered consciousness before or where it comes from. This is definitely a topic I intend to delve into further, Johnson offers a couple of recommendations on books to look into if you're interested in this topic; The Feeling of What Happens by Damasio, Consciousness Explained by Dennett, The Race for Consciousness by Taylor, and The Emperors New Mind by Penrose.
-For language to evolve, humans needed a viable theory about the minds of other people - otherwise, they'd just be talking to themselves. What a great thought! It's funny, but oh so true. We really had to have realized that other people have the same emotions and feelings as we do to have found the need for language to communicate with one another.

-The bigger the society in which the individual lives, the bigger its neocortex is relative to the rest of the brain. To thrive in a complex society, you need a big brain and vice versa.

-When you track a projectile flying through the air, your brain intuitively calculates its point of origin by imagining its trajectory in reverse. Ha!

-Sue Carter studied prairie voles, who are well known for being monogamous for their whole lives (very uncommon, less than 5% of all mammalians are). When she injected oxytocin into their brains they formed even more tenacious bonds than usual. And when she injected a oxytocin blocker they instantly became polygamous and didn't form any pair bonds. Well now I know how monogamy happens... or doesn't. Us humans obviously dont have nearly enough oxytocin to keep us totally loyal and monogamous. I wonder once this information becomes more well-known if people will seek having more oxytocin put into their brains to become truly monogamous with their partner. Would that be romantic? The new true way of getting married?

-Speakers are 46% more likely to laugh than listeners and only 15% of the sentences that triggered laughter were humorous in any way. And you're 30 times more likely to laugh when you're with people than when you're alone.

-Laughter is an instinctive form of social bonding, the largest amount of human laughter occurs in childhood - rough&tumble play, chasing, etc. Its a way of pair bonding with parents and reinforces parenting through the "tougher" years. And thus we have childhood to thank for laughter. Thank you childhood!

-Sadness is marked by a decrease of activity in the prefrontal cortex, while happiness triggered an increase in such activity. Prefrontal cortical activity is a strong predictor of idea generation and overall liveliness of thought. One of the side effects of the way the brain creates the feeling of sadness is a reduction in the overall umber of thoughts that the mind produces. Isn't that interesting? Now is it sadness that causes us to decrease our prefrontal cortical activity or is it a decrease in prefrontal cortical activity that causes sadness? That is one thing that I suppose we will never truly know, but at least you know the next time you are feeling blue and not having many grand ideas that once the sadness passes you will regain your super awesome powers of having the best ideas ever.

-Only using ten percent of your brain is a sign of efficiency, not underachievement. Arguing that we'd be better off with one hundred percent is like raving how great Shakespeare would have been if he'd managed to use all 26 letters in each of his words, instead of a small fraction of the alphabet. I myself have heard someone saying the same thing before (how if only we used 100% of our brain...) and even then I thought they sounded ridiculous, but I couldn't place why or an argument to say otherwise. But I love how Johnson stated his argument, its a good metaphor. I'm pretty sure our brains would overheat and explode if we used 100 percent of it constantly.


Next up is Synaptic Self by Joseph LeDoux. I read a lot of articles online today and will make a post on those in the next day or two as well. I hope you are finding this all as fascinating as I am! Cheers!

Experiencing What I'm Reading

Something really amusing happened last night. I am currently reading Mind Wide Open by Steven Johnson again and I just finished the preface which mentioned a particular occurrence when you're in a mildly interesting/relaxing conversation with a friend and they happen to mention something that is particularly stressful to you (a deadline you had forgotten about or an ex that you hate) and suddenly your sympathetic nervous system kicks in and your heart beats a little faster and you might start to sweat a little and then your friend then says something interesting/funny that makes you completely forget what you were just stressing about. As the conversation continues on you are still feeling the anxiety from the previous stressor in your mind/body, but cant remember why you are feeling anxious and have to retrace the conversation back to whatever it was so you can place the feelings you are having to something rational. Well that happens because the verbal conversation part of your brain happens in a different area than the emotional evaluations (and is the area that releases chemicals in accordance with your emotions that are attached to your thoughts/conversation). Apparently there is a time lag between those two different areas, the former takes only milliseconds to take place and react whereas the emotional reactions to what is being said can take seconds to even minutes to take place. And even then the chemicals are released all throughout your body so it can take even longer for them to subside. I find all of this extremely fascinating and is precisely the reason why I want to study this in depth. So! All of that being said, we had two friends spend the night last night that are on their way back to Indiana and they were going to leave super early in the morning to get on the road. So in the middle of the night I wake up from a sound out in the living room, its all still dark and I turn over and realize my boyfriend is still in bed next to me and its NOT him that's already up (when it usually is). Oh my god. Someone is breaking into our house. So I tap him on the shoulder with adrenaline screaming throughout my body and I finally realize that we had friends stay the night and they are getting up and leaving. All of this happened within probably about five seconds from the moment I was startled awake but it took me probably about ten minutes before I could calm myself down enough to be able to fall back asleep. In those minutes I found it really amusing because this is precisely the kind of thing the book was talking about. Even though I KNEW that no one was in the house that shouldn't be there and everything was absolutely fine and dandy, I could still feel the adrenaline pumping in my veins, my heart beating rapidly, my sweat glands enacting, my mind as awake and sharp as if someone splashed me with cold water. I love science.

Pictures of the Mind by Mariam Boleyn-Fitzgerald

Pictures of the Mind: What the New Neuroscience Tells Us About Who We Are link
By Mariam Boleyn-Fitzgerald
April 17, 2010

Here are some of my favorite passages and opinions on them.


-People who experience less pleasure in response to food might overeat to compensate, whereas people who experience more pleasure stop because they are satisfied. How fascinating! They did fMRI scans that came up with this conclusion, a conclusion that is basically the exact opposite of what we have always thought about the obese.

-Happiness circuits are among the most plastic circuits in the brain. Now isn't that a lovely insight?

-There is something called a "dark network" which is basically a network that is buzzing when we are doing nothing at all and goes dark when figuring out a problem or doing an activity. Its thought to play an important role in learning, memory and in maintaining energy equilibrium in the brain. Isn't that interesting? Even when we think we aren't using our brain, we are. and it turns out to be an important part to our very existence as an intelligent race.

-The larger a persons neural response to increases in the public good the more likely they will give [money] voluntarily. Not that astounding of a discovery, but an interesting study nonetheless.

-Scientists are incredibly close to "erasing" (taking away the emotional aspect of) memories. Most notably this could be used in helping people with PTSD and not having the emotional responses to memories of war, rape, violence, etc. The book talks about scientists who have already been able to achieve this with a drug and other scientists who have serious ethical issues with it. Does this effect the real "you"? By doing this can it make you not learn from your experiences? Personally, I think its a chance for people who are truly suffering from PTSD to have a second chance to live a normal life. This erasing method doesnt actually make them forget the memory, they recall it just fine, they just aren't traumatized by it any longer and that is something that those patients could really use.

-30-40% of people who have temporal lobe epilepsy have intense spiritual experiences. Like talking to god, or feeling connected with the universe, etc. I found this very interesting. It went on to talk about how the left hemisphere, the "logical" side of the brain, often tries to come up with "rational" explanations of things occurring in the right hemisphere that it cant account for, for instance a seizure in the temporal lobe making you feel all these emotions you cant explain, and thus the best explanation for such pleasurable experiences (which are in reality just chemicals being released in your brain) is a connection with god or the universe. There was also a particularly enjoyable quote from scientist Ramachandran, "God is the ultimate confabulation by the left hemisphere".



So there you have it! It is a spectacular book full of tons of really interesting information on a vast amount of different topics (in concerns to the brain of course). The book actually took an unexpected turn towards meditation and mindfulness at the end and how it actually does a lot of good things to our brain, and can produce high-frequency gamma activity, which is believed to be an indicator of neural synchrony. There is a lot of research being done currently on the link between meditation/mindfulness and happiness and other benefits.

Neuroscience is an up and coming field and there really are no limits to what we can study and what we will find. And that's a big reason why I am finding myself jumping in with both feet. Be expecting a lot of neuroscience related books in the future.

Coming next, my thoughts on Mind Wide Open by Steven Johnson and my favorite passages. This book has been my favorite book for at least four or five years, I am rereading it once again to take notes, like Ive always wanted to, and to look at it with fresh eyes and a new-found passion.

An Email to a Friend

This is an email I sent to a good friend that pretty much encompasses everything I have to say about my recent desire to pursue neuroscience:

So call me a nutcase but the last couple of days I've been contemplating pretty heavily going back to school to get a degree in neuroscience. I'm looking up the programs they have at local universities and of course Emory's is by far the best. They are nationally recognized for their program in neuroscience. They also are expensive as fuck. But, aside from the money issue, I was looking at the courses that are required for the four years and as I was reading over the list I literally got tears in my eyes from how excited I was and how interesting all the classes would be. Yeah, chemistry and calculus are mandatory to pursue a BS in neuroscience but I understand the necessity for them. I wont be taking chemistry to just get through chemistry, I'll be taking chemistry because it actually pertains to an interest of mine.  Being able to see the goal ahead of me would, I think, push me to do better in classes that I don't have an immediate interest in. Neuroscience man! It makes me laugh out loud! But it's a topic I've been vastly fascinated by and read books on for years. Since I was in middle school. There is no doubt about it that it has always held my interest. Anyway, I just had to share with someone and I'm not going to go leaping into anything yet (I do tend to get carried away with myself sometimes). I'm just going to continue doing research on it and sit on it for awhile and take it one step at a time and be sure it's what I want to do. It's just so funny because I'm reading this book on neuroscience and I found it so interesting that I started taking notes on it in a notebook and then I found all these lectures from professors on neuroscience online so I'm going to start watching those and taking notes on those and I'm like wtf…if I'm doing this for FUN this is something I must really be interested in enough to go to school for. And what would I do with my degree in neuroscience? I'd be one of the scientists doing research and studies all the time. How fucking cool would that be? I wonder what sort of money those guys make…but at the same time its like who cares?! I would be delving into things no one has ever seen or considered before, completely new territory and also something that we all have right inside our own heads. It's a fascinating prospect that really just excites me to no end!