Author’s Note: Article originally published in BrainWorld Magazine. Technology has always feared and fascinated people. Revered for its role in shaping society and improving lives - feared for the same reasons. As neuroscience evolves, and technology alongside it, both invasive and noninvasive techniques will be used to view the brain, treat illness, and even enhance … Continue reading Connected: The Fascinating Future of Brain-Computer Interfaces
The corpus callosum is the bundle of never fibers that connect the two hemispheres of the brain. It’s the largest single structure in the brain, with some two hundred million fibers. As a last resort for epilepsy, this bundle can be cut in a procedure known as a callostomy. When this happens, a split-brain patient … Continue reading Split-Brain Patients
Look at the right side of your body. It’s yours, right? Or maybe it’s your neighbor’s… Somatoparaphrenia is caused by damage to the right parietal lobe. The similarity of this disorder to BIID, coupled with the childhood onset of these disorders, suggest both may be congenital disorders, that is, present from birth. The disorder is a … Continue reading Somatophrenia
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
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
The formation of the nervous system during embryonic development is a fascinating topic. The embryo begins as a flat disk with three layers, one of which is the ectoderm from which the skin and nervous system arise.A part of the ectoderm gives rise to the neural plate. In the neural plate, a groove, called the neural groove … Continue reading How the Neural Tube Develops
Inside our craniums is an organ so spectacular, so inconceivably fascinating. This organ weighs approximately three pounds and allows us to perceive our world and understand it. Your brain allows you to predict the future and consequences of actions, engage in empathy towards fellow human beings and even animals not of your own species, and allows you to think … Continue reading Intro Neuroscience
