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Neuroscientifically Challenged
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- May 14, 2016
- 06:16 PM
- 202 views
What's really the deal with toxoplasma gondii and human behavior?
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
T. gondii cyst in a mouse brain.
For a simple protozoan, Toxoplasma gondii has experienced something of a meteoric rise in popularity over the past several years. Actually, to be fair T. gondii has garnered quite a bit of interest since the 1930s, when it was discovered the parasite could be transmitted from a mother to a fetus in the womb, sometimes resulting in severe congenital disorders. Curiosity about T. gondii grew significantly in the early 2000s, ........ Read more »
Parlog A, Schlüter D, & Dunay IR. (2015) Toxoplasma gondii-induced neuronal alterations. Parasite immunology, 37(3), 159-70. PMID: 25376390
- March 19, 2016
- 11:36 PM
- 336 views
The amygdala: Beyond fear
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
THE AMYGDALA SHOWN ALONG WITH OTHER LIMBIC SYSTEM STRUCTURES.
The amygdala---or, more appropriately, amygdalae, as there is one in each cerebral hemisphere---was not recognized as a distinct brain region until the 1800s, and it wasn't until the middle of the twentieth century that it began to be considered an especially significant area in mediating emotional responses. Specifics about the role of the amygdala in emotion remained somewhat unclear, however, ........ Read more »
LeDoux, Joseph. (2007) The Amygdala. Current Biology. info:/
- January 31, 2016
- 07:09 AM
- 418 views
Coal tar, dyes, and the unlikely origins of psychotherapeutic drugs
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
While it may be difficult to imagine in a day and age when psychiatric medicines are advertised as a way to treat nearly every mental disorder, only 65 years ago targeted and effective psychiatric medicines were still just an unrealized aspiration. In fact, until the middle of the 20th century, the efficacy and safety of many common approaches to treating mental illness were highly questionable. For example, one method of treating schizophrenia that was common in the 1940s........ Read more »
López-Muñoz, F., Alamo, C., cuenca, E., Shen, W., Clervoy, P., & Rubio, G. (2005) History of the Discovery and Clinical Introduction of Chlorpromazine. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 17(3), 113-135. DOI: 10.1080/10401230591002002
- December 15, 2015
- 10:56 PM
- 166 views
The neurobiology of headaches
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
Headaches are one of the most common neurological complaints; most people will experience headaches at some point in their life and close to 50% of the world's population is estimated to be suffering from a headache disorder at any point in time. The World Health Organization considers headaches to be one of the most disabling conditions people experience based on the impact chronic headaches can have on quality of life.There are more than 200 different types of headaches, which are broadly clas........ Read more »
Burstein, R., Noseda, R., & Borsook, D. (2015) Migraine: Multiple Processes, Complex Pathophysiology. Journal of Neuroscience, 35(17), 6619-6629. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0373-15.2015
- November 22, 2015
- 10:30 PM
- 360 views
History of neuroscience: The mystery of trepanation
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
In 1867, an archaeologist and diplomat named Ephraim George Squier sought out the help of Paul Pierre Broca, the esteemed anatomist and surgeon. He was trying to solve a mystery about an ancient Incan skull that had been given to him by a wealthy artifact collector in Peru. In addition to its age, the Neolithic skull had a unique feature: on the top of the cranium a rectangular piece of bone had been removed. The presence of several cross-cuts surrounding the hole suggested that it was not a sim........ Read more »
Clower, W., & Finger, S. (2001) Discovering Trepanation: The Contribution of Paul Broca. Neurosurgery, 49(6), 1417-1426. DOI: 10.1097/00006123-200112000-00021
- November 15, 2015
- 06:51 AM
- 360 views
Know your brain: Vestibular system
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
Where is the vestibular system?The vestibular system is comprised of several structures and tracts, but the main components of the system are found in the inner ear in a system of interconnected compartments called the vestibular labyrinth. The vestibular labyrinth is made up of the semicircular canals and the otolith organs (all discussed below), and contains receptors for vestibular sensations. These receptors send vestibular information via the vestibulocochlear nerve to the cerebellum and to........ Read more »
Khan S, Chang R. (2013) Anatomy of the vestibular system: A review. NeuroRehabilitation, 32(3), 437-443. info:/
- November 7, 2015
- 06:50 AM
- 465 views
Capgras delusion
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
Think for a moment about the people in your life whom you are closest to and most familiar with---those whom you see, talk to, and maybe share intimate moments with on a regular basis. Perhaps this would be your spouse, partner, parents, siblings, or friends. Now, try to imagine waking up tomorrow and, upon seeing one of these people, being overcome with an unshakable feeling that it is not really them you are seeing. Even though you know it sounds crazy, you can't stop yourself from thinking th........ Read more »
Young, G. (2008) Capgras delusion: An interactionist model. Consciousness and Cognition, 17(3), 863-876. DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2008.01.006
- October 9, 2015
- 06:41 AM
- 543 views
The neuroscience of traumatic brain injury
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as many as 1.7 million people in the United States experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year, over 15% of which are thought to be sports-related. Despite the relatively high prevalence of these injuries, however, it seems we are just beginning to appreciate the true extent of the effects they can have on the brain. Awareness of previously unrecognized consequences to TBI and repeated TBI--along with the realization that........ Read more »
Blennow, K., Hardy, J., & Zetterberg, H. (2012) The Neuropathology and Neurobiology of Traumatic Brain Injury. Neuron, 76(5), 886-899. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2012.11.021
- September 15, 2015
- 02:52 PM
- 516 views
Know your brain: Blood-brain barrier
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
Where is the blood-brain barrier?The blood-brain barrier surrounds most of the blood vessels in the brain. It is a structure that is formed primarily due to the establishment of tight junctions between endothelial cells (i.e. cells that line the walls of blood vessels). There are also several other cells and proteins contributing to the blood-brain barrier complex; for example, processes called astrocytic end-feet extend from astrocytes to surround blood vessels and provide support to the endoth........ Read more »
Ballabh P, Braun A, & Nedergaard M. (2004) The blood-brain barrier: an overview: structure, regulation, and clinical implications. Neurobiology of disease, 16(1), 1-13. PMID: 15207256
- August 25, 2015
- 03:13 PM
- 576 views
Microbes and the mind: Who's pulling the strings?
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
There are many examples throughout nature of microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, and parasites influencing the neurobiology and behavior of their hosts. For example, the rabies virus enters the nervous system almost immediately after a bite or scratch and travels to the brain, where it influences neural activity to make aggressive behavior more likely. This, of course, is beneficial for the virus as it increases the probability its infected host will make contact with another susceptible host........ Read more »
Cryan, J., & Dinan, T. (2012) Mind-altering microorganisms: the impact of the gut microbiota on brain and behaviour. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 13(10), 701-712. DOI: 10.1038/nrn3346
- July 7, 2015
- 03:50 PM
- 666 views
The powerful influence of placebos on the brain
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
The term placebo effect describes an improvement in the condition of a patient after being given a placebo--an inert substance (e.g. sugar pill) the patient expects may hold some benefit for him. The placebo effect has long been recognized as an unavoidable aspect of medical treatment. Physicians before the 1950s often took advantage of this knowledge by giving patients treatments like bread pills or injections of water with the understanding that patients had a tendency to feel better when they........ Read more »
Wager, T., & Atlas, L. (2015) The neuroscience of placebo effects: connecting context, learning and health. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(7), 403-418. DOI: 10.1038/nrn3976
- June 16, 2015
- 10:23 PM
- 877 views
Know your brain: Default mode network
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
Where is the default mode network?The default mode network (sometimes called simply the default network) refers to an interconnected group of brain structures that are hypothesized to be part of a functional system. The default network is a relatively recent concept, and because of this there is not yet a complete consensus on which brain regions should be included in a definition of it. Regardless, some structures that are generally included are the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate........ Read more »
Buckner RL, Andrews-Hanna JR, & Schacter DL. (2008) The brain's default network: anatomy, function, and relevance to disease. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1-38. PMID: 18400922
- June 3, 2015
- 10:03 PM
- 580 views
Deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease: Uncovering the mechanism
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
Parkinson's disease (PD) belongs to a group of diseases that are referred to as neurodegenerative because they involve the degeneration and death of neurons. In PD a group of structures called the basal ganglia, which play a role in facilitating movement, are predominantly affected. The substantia nigra, one of the basal ganglia nuclei as well as one of the most dopamine-rich areas in the brain, is severely impacted; by the end stages of the disease patients have often lost 50-70% of the dopamin........ Read more »
de Hemptinne, C., Swann, N., Ostrem, J., Ryapolova-Webb, E., San Luciano, M., Galifianakis, N., & Starr, P. (2015) Therapeutic deep brain stimulation reduces cortical phase-amplitude coupling in Parkinson's disease. Nature Neuroscience, 18(5), 779-786. DOI: 10.1038/nn.3997
- May 13, 2015
- 12:38 PM
- 737 views
Know your brain: Orbitofrontal cortex
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
Orbitofrontal cortex (in green)
Where is the orbitofrontal cortex?The orbitofrontal cortex is the area of the prefrontal cortex that sits just above the orbits (also known as the eye sockets). It is thus found at the very front of the brain, and has extensive connections with sensory areas as well as limbic system structures involved in emotion and memory.What is the orbitofrontal cortex and what does it do?The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a poorly underst........ Read more »
Stalnaker, T., Cooch, N., & Schoenbaum, G. (2015) What the orbitofrontal cortex does not do. Nature Neuroscience, 18(5), 620-627. DOI: 10.1038/nn.3982
- May 6, 2015
- 10:06 PM
- 642 views
Limitations of the consensus: How widely-accepted hypotheses can sometimes hinder understanding
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
To those who believe strongly in the scientific method, it really is the only approach to understanding the relationship between two events or variables that allows us to make assertions about such relationships with any confidence. Due to the inherent flaws in human reasoning, our non-scientific conclusions are frequently riddled with bias, misunderstanding, and misattribution. Thus, it seems there is little that can be trusted if it hasn't been scientifically verified.The scientific method, ho........ Read more »
Moncrieff, J. (2009) A Critique of the Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia and Psychosis. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 17(3), 214-225. DOI: 10.1080/10673220902979896
- April 20, 2015
- 09:49 PM
- 1,008 views
Know your brain: Cochlea
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
Where is the cochlea?
cochlea and cochlea in cross-section. image courtesy of openstax college.
The cochlea is a coiled structure that resembles a snail shell (cochlea comes from the Greek kochlos, which means "snail"); it is found within the inner ear. It is a small--yet complex--structure (about the size of a pea) that consists of three canals that run parallel to one another: the scala vestibuli, scala media, and scala tympani.What i........ Read more »
Møller, A. (1994) Auditory Neurophysiology. Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology, 11(3), 284-308. DOI: 10.1097/00004691-199405000-00002
- April 13, 2015
- 06:43 AM
- 667 views
Let there be light: how light can affect our mood
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
If you're looking for an indication of how intricately human physiology is tied to the environment our species evolved in, you need look no further than our circadian clock. For, the internal environment of our body is regulated by 24-hour cycles that closely mirror the time it takes for the earth to rotate once on its axis. Moreover, these cycles are shaped by changes in the external environment (e.g. fluctuating levels of daylight) associated with that rotation. Indeed, this 24-hour cycle regu........ Read more »
LeGates, T., Fernandez, D., & Hattar, S. (2014) Light as a central modulator of circadian rhythms, sleep and affect. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 15(7), 443-454. DOI: 10.1038/nrn3743
- March 28, 2015
- 08:20 PM
- 624 views
The neurobiological underpinnings of suicidal behavior
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
When you consider that so much of our energy and such a large portion of our behavioral repertoire is devoted to ways of ensuring our survival, suicide appears to be perhaps the most inexplicable human behavior. What would make this human machine--which most of the time seems to be resolutely programmed to scratch, claw, and fight to endure through even the most dire situations--so easily decide to give it all up, even when the circumstances may not objectively seem all that desperate? Suicide i........ Read more »
Turecki, G. (2014) The molecular bases of the suicidal brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 15(12), 802-816. DOI: 10.1038/nrn3839
- March 14, 2015
- 11:54 PM
- 821 views
New approaches to epilepsy treatment: optogenetics and DREADDs
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
Epilepsy refers to a group of disorders that are characterized by recurrent seizures. It is a relatively common neurological condition, and is considered the most common serious (implying that there is a risk of mortality) brain disorder, affecting around 2.2 million Americans.The seizures associated with epilepsy are not homogenous; they can have a drastically different presentation depending on the patient, the part of the brain the seizure originates in, and how much of the brain the seizure ........ Read more »
Krook-Magnuson, E., & Soltesz, I. (2015) Beyond the hammer and the scalpel: selective circuit control for the epilepsies. Nature Neuroscience, 18(3), 331-338. DOI: 10.1038/nn.3943
- March 3, 2015
- 10:36 PM
- 662 views
Know your brain: Pineal gland
by neurosci in Neuroscientifically Challenged
Where is the pineal gland?
Pineal gland (in red). Image courtesy of life science databases.
The pineal gland is considered part of the epithalamus, which is one the main structures that makes up the diencephalon. The pineal gland was so named because it has a pine-cone like appearance. Unlike many structures in the brain, the pineal gland is unpaired; in other words, many brain structures like the hippocampus or amygdala are symmetrical........ Read more »
Dora Sapède,, & Elise Cau. (2013) The Pineal Gland from Development to Function. Current Topics in Developmental Biology. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-416021-7.00005-5
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