Neuroscience deals with the structure and function of the nervous system and its components in biological organisms.
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Hippocampal regulation of hypothalamus
What is the difference between CA1-CA4 hippocampal subfields and dentate gyrus (DG) in negative regulation of hypothalamus? I`ve found only evidence that GR expression is more in CA1-2 and DG, while ...
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Why do neurones use chemical signalling at synaptic junctions?
Problem. When a neurone fires, it sends an electrical signal that jumps down the axon via the nodes of Ranvier very rapidly. At a synaptic junction, chemical brownian diffusion signalling with ...
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Why does it hurt more when you touch a nerve directly?
I am not a biologist nor know much about biology (so please explain in layman's terms) however I have always been curious as to why this is.
What causes the difference in pain between touching an ...
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1answer
25 views
Are there neuronal firing artifacts produced by head movement?
I'm experimenting with a consumer-grade ElectroEncephaloGram (EEG) sensor and have created the image below using the device. Because the sensor on the device does not use a suction cup, there are a ...
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How does a pinched nerve cause pain (at the molecular level)?
Is this due to pressure differentials in the surrounding tissue? (Is it possible to have a pinched nerve without compression of the surrounding tissues, and does this cause pain?)
What are the ...
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Why is saltatory conduction faster than continuous conduction?
How does spacing apart sodium and potassium channels allow the action potential to travel faster down the axon? This is the reason always cited for saltatory conduction and myelination, but my mental ...
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Have there been any mechanisms proposed for normalization in probabilistic population codes?
I heard a talk recently by Dora Angelaki about multi-sensory integration. Part of the talk was about bayesian inference with multiple noisy sources of information. I know that there has been a lot of ...
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1answer
58 views
Why do I see an inverted image of an object when I close my eyes?
If I stare at an object for a long time and close my eyes, at first I can still see the object with my eyes closed. But the image I see with my eyes closed is inverted: dark colors appear as light and ...
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60 views
Does sexual arousal inhibit functions of prefrontal cortex in human females as well as males?
I've read somewhere, that when a human male experiences sexual arousal, his prefrontal cortex and, hence, his ability to reason and make rational decisions, is being heavily inhibited. Sounds pretty ...
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What is the function of nodes of Ranvier in axons?
In a neuroscience class I'm taking, it was explained that myelin covers axons in sections, the uncovered sections are called nodes of Ranvier, and signals propagate much faster in the covered ...
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Carrying or packaging capacity of SAD B19 dG rabies virus
I'm wondering about the carrying capacity also referred to packaging capacity or loading capacity (how many base pairs can be packed efficiently into virions) of the pseudotyped rabies virus SAD-dG as ...
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How long does Lentivirus take to express in vivo mouse neurons?
Does anyone know how long it takes for a standard Lentivirus vector to express its genes (under a strong promoter such as CAG, CB7, etc.), after injection into the brain of a mouse?
By hearsay I ...
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72 views
How exactly does marijuana damage brain cells?
I've heard that THC can cause permanent damage to brain cells. I've also heard this reffered to anti drug propaganda. Another theory i've read is that temporary effects reduce intelligence but long ...
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1answer
49 views
How do axon terminals report to the soma?
It is important to bear in mind that the distance between a neuron's axon terminal and its soma can be extensive, up to about 1m in the human body. The fastest transport along the axon is 400mm/day ...
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54 views
Why Do Nerve Signals Get Crossed?
First off, I don't know if this is a normal healthy thing to occur. There have been many times where I have an itch on say my arm and I scratch it, only to feel the scratching elsewhere on my body. I ...
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70 views
Is it technically possible to make someone see something when their eyes are closed?
I'm writing a little article and need any information about how human vision works and latest
technologies and discoveries around. Actually its not a professional article. Its for a group of my ...
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1answer
89 views
Least painful way to die
There is a lot of talk about inhumane treatment of animals and how we don't kill them in the proper way. I wonder how much research is done on this subject. What is the overall least painful way for ...
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128 views
Why do neurons die so fast without oxygen and nutrients?
Some human tissue can survive without oxygen a couple of minutes, even hours.
Why are the neurons are so "weak" and depends so much on oxygen and other nutrients and cannot live without them for ...
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1answer
107 views
Zombie Ant Fungus?
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is a parasitoidal fungus that alters the behavior of the infected.
Source: Wiki page.
How is the fungus able to alter the behavior of the infected to such specfic ...
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1answer
41 views
Are there any neurotransmitters that trigger all neurons?
I'm reading into the basics of the nervous system, and am intrigued by neurotransmitters. I understand that certain neurotransmitters can trigger more than one neuron type, and may be used as ...
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1answer
51 views
Does one neurotransmitter travel all the way through the nervous system?
Nerve impulses of course go really fast, but the neurotransmitters have to travel through millions of nerves, so how can it go that fast?
Is it a sort of relay with lots of neurotransmitters taking ...
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1answer
61 views
Serotonin - Does being aroused make you sleepy?
My Psychology text book says Serotonin causes "Sleep, arousal levels and emotion"
Does this really mean that when you are being aroused, Serotonin is released, which in turn makes you sleepy? If so, ...
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1answer
43 views
A good textbook on Neuroscience [closed]
I want to start learning Neuroscience. Can someone give me an advice about a nice textbook for beginners? I'm particularly interested in the application of Neuroscience in programming and AI ...
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Does frequency of eye blinking reveal anything about human biology/nervous system?
I'm looking at an output of a single dry sensor EEG headband with the sensor positioned above left eye. As a side effect of it's placement, the device picks up eye blinks, and some eye motion as ...
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Can we disambiguate competing molecular mechanisms of learning and plasticity by measuring electrical activity of neurons?
I have been reading with fascination about the several molecular- and cellular-scale mechanisms and structural changes that underlie what we refer to as long-term plasticity. For instance, [1], [2], ...
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1answer
58 views
What is the biochemical reason for mental fatigue?
Is it known exactly why the brain needs sleep? What's dropping low / going high when we experience mental fatigue? I can see why low glucose could result in mental fatigue, are other reasons known?
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118 views
Systems identification in small neural network
When analyzing data from cortex, we often try to understand what each neuron does in terms of its inputs from other neurons - a specific kind of a systems identification strategy. Most current ...
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Why do we yawn?
I've read a new study which suggests that yawning may help you keep a cool head. Also, the findings might hold some hope for sufferers of insomnia, migraines, and even epilepsy.
Is there any ...
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44 views
Why do antidepressants have a delayed onset of action?
Why do antidepressants take so long to reach efficacy? I've read of theories about it perhaps being due to the strength of negative feedback via serotonergic and adrenergic autoreceptors during the ...
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1answer
53 views
Which Receptors are Involved in the antidepressant effects of SSRIs?
From what I've read the major receptor subtypes involved in the antidepressant effects of SSRIs are:
5-HT1A
5-HT2C
5-HT3
5-HT6
Please cite journal articles to back up your claims, I don't want any ...
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Which Receptors are involved in Psychedelia/Psychosis?
Which receptors are involved in Psychedelia/Psychosis? I know that the 5-HT2A, 5-HT3, D2, κ-opioid and NMDA receptors are likely involved in psychosis.
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How does Serotonergic (5-HT2A mediated) Psychedelia work?
How does serotonergic (5-HT2A specific) psychedelia work? I've read that there are some theories that it might involve the induction of a glutamate release in certain regions of the brain involved in ...
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43 views
How does the eugeroic modafinil work?
How does the drug, modafinil (Provigil), exert its eugeroic (wakefulness-promoting) effects? I've read that it works by increasing dopamine and histamine concentrations in the CNS and by serving as a ...
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1answer
94 views
Why do humans alone have the capability to have religious/spiritual experiences?
What is it in our brain that makes having such experiences possible? I assume other species don't have these. Sure there are instances in the natural world where you can see individuals of the species ...
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122 views
Do neurons secrete multiple neurotransmitters, or just one type?
I know that neurons communicate between each other by filling the junction between dendrites with neurotransmitters.
What interests me is if a single neuron only works with one type of ...
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174 views
Why do we feel tired if we sleep excessively?
When we eat, finally we feel full. I know which mechanism causes the sensation of being full. But when we sleep excessively we often still want more sleep. Why does this happen? Is there a mechanism ...
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1answer
66 views
Do adjacent axons in a nerve influence each other?
Suppose I have a nerve fiber consisting of several axons all running in parallel to each other. When an action potential is generated in a certain axon, this will alter the concentration of sodium ...
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1answer
53 views
What kinds of arousal can a human brain experience?
I've been reading about the new phenomenon called "arousal addiction". The context in which this term is used is Internet, Porn and/or video game addiction(cummulatively Internet Addiction Disorder - ...
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172 views
Effects of exercise on the brain
I am well aware of the phenomenon of neurogenesis induced by exercise, as well as the dopamine release that results from exercise. I am really interested in neuropsychology and the effects of exercise ...
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1answer
70 views
Neuroscience of temperature regulation and perception
The hypothalamus is known to be important in the regulation of body temperature, but I'm curious whether anyone knows about the neurocircuitry of perceived temperature. It seems like there could be a ...
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In scuba diving, are nitrogen narcosis and high pressure nervous syndrome the same thing?
In training for scuba diving, they tell you that when you're bellow 100 ft or so you have to watch out for changes in mental state that resemble drunkenness. The cause of these mental disturbances is ...
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2answers
112 views
Physiological indicators of happiness and well being
If I understand it correctly, levels of serotonin in the brain can indicate if a person is happy. What other physiological measures indicate happiness or well being for a humans?
I am looking for ...
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2answers
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Is warmth/temperature sensed linearly or on a different scale?
I understand that the atmospheric temperature is sensed relative to external body temperature. However, is the sensation of warmth registered linearly, or is it on a logarithmic scale, similar to ...
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Why does getting certain chemicals in cuts hurt?
More specifically, shampoo. What are the mechanics of detecting a noxious chemical stimulus in terms of which receptors recognise what, how do they do it, and how is this information relayed to the ...
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198 views
Do memories have mass?
If it were possible to live forever, would our brains grow infinitely with the number of memories that we store? Or would we remove old memories as we create new ones?
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Action Potential Distribution On Synapses
This is a biology+physics question. Since there is no biology section, I am asking here.
In brain, when a neuron reaches to threshold value, it fires an action potential. In most graphics, that is ...
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1answer
169 views
How do neurons form new connections in brain plasticity?
I've been reading about brain plasticity and how the brain can "rewire" itself.
One of the things that is not clear to me - how neurons can establish new connections. Does this rewiring mean that ...
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2answers
155 views
Why is Botulinum toxin the most potent poison known?
Botulinum toxin (trade name Botox) inhibits acetylcholine release in neurons and causes botulism, an acute paralytic disease which leads to nerve degeneration and takes a long time to recover. I've ...
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3answers
140 views
Is there such thing as “half-life” of dopamine?
If a dopamine is released at T=0 and binds to receptor D2, what determines the time when the concentration of this neurotransmitter bound to the receptor reaches half of the original concentration? In ...
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Do effects of caffeine on human body change with habitual use?
I've been reading about homeostatic nature of a lot of neurobiological processes - the brain is trying to maintain a balance by desensitizing receptors, re-uptaking and breaking down ...
