Neuroscience deals with the structure and function of the nervous system and its components in biological organisms.
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33 views
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 ...
3
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1answer
126 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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2answers
159 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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2answers
125 views
Does the speed of electrical impulses through neurones decrease with age?
From what I read on the NatGeo app, it stated that the speed of the electrical impulses that are sent by a neurone will be approximately 332 kilometers per hour.
Will the speed of this electrical ...
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1answer
48 views
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
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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0answers
48 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 ...
3
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2answers
117 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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70 views
Why do the brains of cocaine-users shrink faster than the brains of non-cocaine users?
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/04/cocaine-may-age-the-brain.html?rss=1
Cocaine-dependent individuals showed a significantly greater-than-normal age-related decline in gray matter in ...
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0answers
84 views
If D1 receptors stimulate adenylate cyclase (through GPCRs) and D2 receptors inhibit it, then why do mutations in both have similar effects?
D1 and D2 both refer to specific types of dopamine receptors.
I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that the D1 receptors are in regions different from D2 receptors.
I know that adenylate ...
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3answers
141 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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2answers
89 views
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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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 ...
2
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1answer
30 views
Could silicon oil block Na+ ion channels in the membrane of an axon and prevent Na+ influx?
Could silicon oil block Na+ ion channels in the membrane of an axon and prevent Na+ influx?
I have been wondering if Na+ influx could have been a diluting factor in anterograde fills. If so, could ...
2
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1answer
50 views
How stable is in vivo whole cell patch clamping?
For a head fixed animal, how stable is the current state-of-the-art whole cell recording from a cortical neuron? The animal's breathing, and heart beat must move the neuron relative to the recording ...
2
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1answer
138 views
Why apes started to contemplate and become altruistic? [closed]
I was asking this first on philosophy forums, but it is suggested, that answer could be found from evolutionary view of point, so here we go:
Again my question raised when thinking of myths, their ...
2
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0answers
40 views
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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0answers
29 views
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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0answers
55 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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0answers
47 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 ...
2
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0answers
50 views
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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0answers
114 views
Are inflammation and anxiety connected?
I've been reading a curious paper about the use of cannabis, and one of the passages piqued my interest:
There’s also been a lot of work done on another constituent of
marijuana, cannabinoid, ...
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3answers
123 views
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
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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1answer
550 views
How do dopamine agonists like amphetamine/methylphenidate affect acetylcholine signalling?
Do they increase it, or is the effect mostly neutral?
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1answer
78 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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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
67 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
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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1answer
480 views
What are the positive and negative effects of insulin on cognitive function?
A UCLA study seems to imply that insulin interferes with cognitive function.
The DHA-deprived rats also developed signs of resistance to insulin, a
hormone that controls blood sugar and ...
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0answers
17 views
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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0answers
62 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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17 views
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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0answers
35 views
The relationship between the currents of intracellular and extracellular ions of a cell
In a cell, assume that only sodium, potassium, chloride and calcium ions can cross the membrane and their currents are: $I_{Na}$, $I_{K}$, $I_{Cl}$ and $I_{Ca}$, across the whole membrane. There is ...
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0answers
30 views
Does Dorsal Raphe Nuclei firing pattern change in response to voluntary breathing?
I'm reading this paper, which discusses how Serotonin may be involved in motor functions of mammals: 5-HT and motor control: a hypothesis .
The paper includes the following diagram of the Dorsal ...
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0answers
68 views
What triggers creative thought in humans?
Creativity, innovation and ideation. Is there something in the brain that makes the brain think that way, as opposed to "normal baseline". What triggers creative thought in humans?
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0answers
70 views
Why is membrane potential not zero at equilibrium?
For the squid giant axon, the membrane potential computed by the Goldman equation is -60mV. And the Nernst potentials are (the differences between the K+ and the Na+'s Nernst potential and the ...
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0answers
39 views
Text/resource with information on all skeletal muscles and their motor units
Something analogous to an encyclopedia on baseball players with a list of all thier stats would be ideal.
I'm not looking for just generic muscle names, locations and illustrations.
Good answers ...
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1answer
75 views
Does the Parasympathetic Tract of Colon Sigmoideum Travel with Nervus Vagus and its Nucleus Dorsalis Nervi Vagi?
I have the following tractus now:
nucleus parasymphaticus sacrales -> nervus splanchnic -> ganglion
terminalis -> colon sigmoideum
The tract is parasympathetic.
It suggests me that it should ...
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1answer
52 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
91 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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1answer
64 views
If inhibiting S6 kinase decreases protein translation, then could inhibiting S6 kinase could possibly slow down long-term potentiation in neurons?
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P70S6_kinase...
Phosphorylation of S6 induces protein synthesis at the ribosome.
P70S6 kinase is in a signaling pathway that includes mTOR (the
mammalian ...
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1answer
3k views
How reversible is decerebrate posturing caused by brain stem damage?
This is a follow-up question to How likely would Abraham Lincoln be to survive his wounds today?
You don't have to see a CT scan or autopsy to know if the brainstem is
injured (directly or ...
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0answers
14 views
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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0answers
19 views
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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1answer
44 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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0answers
65 views
Could somebody explain this to me in layman terms [closed]
this is the conclusion of my fathers report
A calcified broad based right paracentral disk protrusion at C3–4, producing marked compression of traversing & foraminal right C4 nerve root & ...
