When you think of Ancient Egypt, you probably conjure up images of hieroglyphics, the Sphinx, pyramids. Maybe you’ll imagine an embalmer burning the midnight oil, hunched over a corpse, candles flickering all around, casting shadows.And if you think of the brain in relation to the Egyptians, you’ll most likely imagine a hook going up a … Continue reading Ancient Egypt and Neuroscience
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Brain Imaging Alphabetical Soup: Making Sense of CAT, PET, MRI, fMRI, SPECT: CAT Scans
We've all heard the abbreviations: CAT, PET, MRI, fMRI, SPECT.Now what the heck do they all mean? Brain imaging has an interesting start. But generally, brain imaging techniques fall into two broad categories: Structural imaging, and Functional imaging. Structural imaging does just what its name implies: it provides images of the structure of the brain. … Continue reading Brain Imaging Alphabetical Soup: Making Sense of CAT, PET, MRI, fMRI, SPECT: CAT Scans
Mosso and Bertino: Brain Injury to Imaging Inventions
The earliest ways of peering into the brains of people was invasive, and sometimes, fatal. Consequently, most subjects were those who were mentally disabled, those who had mental illnesses. Therefore, we now know more about dysfunction than we do function. However, this isn’t a bad thing, considering that it’s through dysfunction that we can better … Continue reading Mosso and Bertino: Brain Injury to Imaging Inventions
A neuron can be represented as an electrical equivalent circuit
A neuron can be represented as an electrical equivalent circuit, which is a mathematical model that represents all of the major electrical properties of a given neuron. An equivalent circuit is made up of batteries, capacitors and resistors.Basically, the model gives us a relatively intuitive idea of how currents are caused by ionic movement and … Continue reading A neuron can be represented as an electrical equivalent circuit
Pro-social behavior in rats is modulated by social experience
It seems that spending time with others does more than make you happy, it makes you more empathetic. In a research study done by Inbal Ben-Ami Bartal, et al., rats who were exposed to other rats were more likely to help that.There were two types of rats used, while type albino rats, and rats with … Continue reading Pro-social behavior in rats is modulated by social experience
Fruit Flies show decision-making capabilities, study says.
Fruit Flies show decision-making capabilities, study says.Think your average fruit fly isn’t intelligent? Think again.Drosophila melanogaster, or the fruit fly, may have decision-making capabilities, according to research performed by neuroscientists at the University of Oxford's Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour.Fruit flies can distinguish between different sorts of odors, including sweet and bitter. Flies can … Continue reading Fruit Flies show decision-making capabilities, study says.
Water-Filled Pores of Ion Channels
The water-filled pore of an ion channel is important in transporting ions across the cell membrane. But how does this water-filled pore work? Well, we know that ions attract water because water is bipolar: it has an unequal distribution of charges. The oxygen atoms tend to attract electrons, so it has a slightly negative charge, while … Continue reading Water-Filled Pores of Ion Channels
Ion Channels and Ion Pumps
Signaling in the brain depends on the rapid response of neurons to changes in stimuli. These rapid responses are due to the presence of ion channels in the nerve cell membrane. Each ion channel is primed to respond to specific stimuli, either chemical or physical. They also have the property of heterogeneity: there are different … Continue reading Ion Channels and Ion Pumps
Myelin
We know that neurons are encapsulated by myelin. But what makes the myelin? The brain contains two major classes of cells: neurons and glia. Glia are responsible for creating the myelin sheath, as well as having many other functions. There are different kinds of glia, including Schwann cells, oligodendrocytes, astroctytes, microglia, and more. The Schwann cells … Continue reading Myelin
Clathrin Coats and Endocytosis
So we all know that organelles and cellular materials move about. One way that endocytic traffic occurs is via clathrin-coated vesicles. The clathrin coat, which is made of proteins, interacts through receptors with extracellular molecules that are going to be taken up into the cell. In other words, the clathrin-coats help facilitate endocytosis. Clathrin-mediated uptake … Continue reading Clathrin Coats and Endocytosis
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