Neuroscience deals with the structure and function of the nervous system and its components in biological organisms.
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Density of neurons/cells in the mouse brain
Could someone point out some relevant papers or resources (an online DB maybe?) describing the density of neurons (or, more in general, of cells) in different areas of the mouse brain?
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Brain + ethanol experiment suggestions needed
I need to demonstrate the effects of ethanol on a human brain (or other brain with developed telencephalon) in vitro; ideally the effects on vigilance and/or memory.
Could you please suggest such an ...
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166 views
First discovery of long-term depression?
LTP was first described by Tim Bliss and Terje Lømo in their paper Long-lasting potentiation of synaptic transmission in the dentate area of the anaesthetized rabbit following stimulation of the ...
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112 views
Understanding Membrane / Resting Potential from the perspective of ions?
From wikipedia article RESTING potential: "there is no actual measurable charge excess in either side. That occurs because the effect of charge on electrochemical potential is hugely greater than ...
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152 views
Why is the Patellar reflex not triggered when the tendon is extended slowly?
I have been previously told that the Patellar reflex (knee-jerk-reaction) exists to prevent the hyper-extension of the patellar tendon. Yet if the impact to the tendon is delivered slowly - i.e. by ...
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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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103 views
How are synaptic vesicles brought to the synapse?
I'm reading about how synaptobrevin is used to identify synaptic vesicles for tethering near the synaptic cleft. Since neurons have a synapse and dendrites, I'd like to know how exactly the vesicles ...
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75 views
Which brain regions are D1 dopamine receptors expressed, and which brain regions are D2 dopamine receptors expressed?
This is a follow-up question to If D1 receptors stimulate adenylate cyclase (through GPCRs) and D2 receptors inhibit it, then why do mutations in both have similar effects?.
As a further question - ...
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71 views
If a non-mammal is starved of oxygen for some time, how long would it take the animal's neurons to die?
This is a follow-up question to Why do neurons die so quickly (relative to other cells) when deprived of oxygen?.
I'm particularly interested in the case of reptiles, octopuses, and other ...
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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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194 views
Is it purely the nervous system causing vaginal lubrication (arousal)?
My girlfriend was watching some documentary on TLC about a paralyzed woman getting pregnant. I believe that woman still has some feeling, as she spoke about feeling the effects of a bladder ...
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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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97 views
Latency to audition in human beings?
On average, in a human being with no neurological deficits, how long does it take for a sound which is sensed in the ear to reach the cortex?
Which brainstem structures are most responsible for the ...
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60 views
on/off behavior of neural networks
What causes a group of disembodied neurons in a dish to fire after a silence? If there are no neurons providing a stimulus for more firing (as in a dish of disembodied rat neurons), then why don't ...
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45 views
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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58 views
Somatosensory System
I have a test in my upcoming Neuroscience class, one of the items on the study guide is:
Identify 2 means by which a maintained, constant stimulus produces only a transient excitation of the ...
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47 views
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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Pharmacologically, can tricyclic antidepressants have a side-effect profile similar to neuroleptics?
Torticollis (wryneck, cervical dystonia) is a neurologic movement disorder causing involuntary muscle spasms in the neck. Often, neuroleptics can cause such a side effect. I'm wondering if this ...
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How reversible is DAT upregulation from long-term ADHD medication use?
A mechanism for ADHD stimulant medication tolerance has now been found. See http://neurosciencenews.com/adhd-medication-patient-brains-adapt-dat/.
Here's the thing though: what exactly is the ...
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660 views
How does this illusion work?
I found this image on Google+
If you shake your head you can see a portrait of a person. Can anyone explain how the image is constructed in the brain?
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169 views
Under what circumstances will a human neuron divide?
I read somewhere that a mature neuron loses its ability to divide, except for very specific situations. I was unable to find the description of those situations. What are they?
(I'm sorry I'm not ...
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82 views
What protocol does the nervous system use?
I just read How does an inhibitory synapse communicate to the cell body of a neuron? and found myself asking this question ... hopefully I'm not asking the same thing
Any body possessed of a nervous ...
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93 views
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 ...
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69 views
Bugs' love for light
Do bugs love light bulbs because they resemble the stars or is it the sun? How do they sense the bulb? What is the purpose of this "brightophilia" that has evolved in insects?
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What are the constraints when growing an artificial brain?
Are there any experiments on growing artificial brains from brain tissue?
What are the constraints? Will such tissue grown to the mass greater than that of human brain surpass it in intellect or it ...
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62 views
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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131 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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Are CN3, CN7, CN9 and CN10 the only Parasymphatetic Cranial Nerves?
It has been my thought for a long time that that is the case but I am unsure about it now, since the parasympathetic tract of colon sigmoideum does not seem to have connection with CN 10. It connects ...
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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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118 views
Is there a way for a 19th century scientist to prove that the octopus doesn't revive?
Say a sophiscated scientist in the 19th century noted that applying soy sauce on a dead octopus leads to movement of the legs, as a result of the voltage differences resulting from the salt in the soy ...
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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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78 views
What is the biological basis for the perception of time?
How is the "time axis" of memories encoded in the brain? I guess the time of the event could be "stored" with each event, but how is this translated into neurons etc.?
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What is the purpose of the adrenal medulla?
The adrenal medulla is less of a 'real' endocrine organ like the others in the endocrine system and much more an extension of the sympathetic nervous system. In fact, its chromaffin cells are modified ...
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What evidence gives clues to the physiological basis for conversion disorder?
Conversion disorder has a set of DSM diagnosis criteria, which, among other things, includes ruling out all neurological disease.
However, as the media has shown us (and one could argue a biased ...
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151 views
Is there a relationship between Melatonin, Norepinephrine and depression in humans?
I'm reading a booklet on melatonin published in 1996, titled "Melatonin and the Biological Clock". This particular paragraph caught my attention and I would like to better understand what it means:
...
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278 views
Is it possible for any animals today to have more than one brain?
Is it possible for any organisms in the animal kingdom to have more than one brain?
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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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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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What light intensity determines the start/end of a photoperiod in humans?
I'm reading this article, which discusses the influence of Long Photoperiod (LP) and Short Photoperiod (SP) on melatonin production:
HIOMT drives the photoperiodic changes in the amplitude of the ...
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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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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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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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Can children restore brain cells?
By "children" I mean young people at the age of 10 or lower.
I know that the adult brain cannot restore brain cells, but what about children? I mean, the brain must develop from a few cells to a 90 ...
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444 views
SPINAL CORD: Do the axons from white matter synapse with the cell bodies in grey matter?
After wading through a sea of information, I understand the main differences between the white matter and grey matter of the spinal cord.
I know that white matter contains myelinated axons in the ...
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100 views
Epilepsy explained by computational neuroscience
A few years ago, on my maths masters, I did a module in theoretical neuroscience. I was shown that the mathematical framework the course developed for neurons, with a small adjustment in the ...
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185 views
Is “tonic activity” common for neurons firing in the brain?
I've been reading about Dorsal Raphe Nucleus, a serotonin- rich part of the brain. I noticed mentioning of "tonic activity" - regular pulsing that releases neurotransmitters. On top of this "tone" the ...
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84 views
How is propagation of action potentials terminated once the “message” has been sent/received?
I'm thinking about neurons in the brain that are used for "thinking". As I read about action potentials, I see that an Axon is connected to a Dendrite of a neighboring cell and that there are ...
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90 views
Does body mass have a bearing on reflex speed?
A reflex is an unconscious action in response to some specific stimulus, e.g., blinking an eye, or pulling the hand away from a hot pin
I know from school biology, and reading online that withdrawal ...
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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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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 ...
