Phantoms in the Brain The writings of Oliver Sacks and others have shown us that we can learn much about ourselves by looking closely at the deficits shown by people with neurological problems. V.S. Ramachandran has seen countless patients suffering from anosognosia, phantom limb pain, blindsight, and other disorders, and he brings a remarkable mixture of clinical intuition and research savvy to bear on their problems. He is one of the few scientists who are able and willing to explore the personal, subjective ramifications of his work; he rehumanizes an often too-sterile field and captures the spirit of wonder so essential for true discovery. Phantoms in the Brain is equal parts medical mystery, scientific adventure, and philosophical speculation. Watch the full documentary now (playlist - 1 hour, 39 minutes)
Subliminal Stimuli Explained Subliminal Articles There is a lot of misunderstanding about the term subliminal and how subliminal messages, especially those found a subliminal CDs, work. Subliminal messages are not just verbal commands. They can take the form of a single hidden word, entire sentences or even images which elicit an emotional response at a subconscious level. Therefore most subliminal messages, in popular use, are better referred to as "subliminal stimuli". The word "subliminal" is used to refer to anything that is registered by the brain but is only offered to the senses below the threshold of conscious perception. Subliminal stimuli refers to anything that stimulations the brain and senses at a subliminal level. For example an image may be shown so quickly to an individual that all he or she is consciously aware of is a flash of light or imperceptible image. Likewise a verbal message may also be hidden, or "masked", behind other sounds so that the words being spoken are imperceptible.
BrainMind.net Lecture 3 The Left Hemisphere From: Neuropsychiatry, Neuropsychology, Clinical Neuroscience by Rhawn Joseph, Ph.D. (Academic Press, New York, 2000) Language, Consciousness, Handedness, Aphasia, Apraxia, Alexia Agraphia, Depression, Schizophrenia, Ego-Centric Speech & The Origin of Thought Handeded and Hemispheric Functional Laterality The left half of the brain controls the right hand. Among 80-90% of right handers, and over 50-80% of those who are left handed, the left cerebral hemisphere provides the neural foundation and mediates most aspects of expressive and receptive linguistic functioning (Frost et al., 1999; Pujol, et al., 1999). As demonstrated with functional imaging and blood flow studies, when reading, speaking, and naming, the left hemisphere becomes highly active (Buchel et al., 1998; Evers et al., 1999; Frost et al., 1999; Peterson et al., 1988, 1990; Price, 1997; Pujol, et al., 1999). The Language Axis "Gnosis" means to "know" Agnosia means, not to know.
BrainMind.net It has now been well established that the right cerebral hemisphere is dominant over the left in regard to the perception, expression and mediation of almost all aspects of social and emotional functioning (e.g. Borod, 1992; Cancelliere & Kertesz, 1990; Freeman & Traugott, 1993; Heilman & Bowers 1995; Heilman et al. 1985; Joseph 1988a; Tucker & Frederick, 1989; see below), including the recall of emotional memories (Cimino et al., 1991; Rauch et al., 1996; Shin et al., 1997). This emotional dominance extends to bilateral control over the autonomic nervous system, including heart rate, blood pressure regulation, galvanic skin conductance and the secretion of cortisol in emotionally upsetting or exciting situations (Rosen et al. 1982; Wittling, 1990; Wittling & Pfluger, 1990; Yamour et al. 1980; Zamarini et al. 1990). However, this dominance does not appear to extend to the immune system (Meador et al., 1999). Aphasia & Depression Wernicke's Area
BrainMind.net When hallucinations follow depth electrode or cortical stimulation, much of the material experienced is very dream-like (Gloor 1990, 1992; Halgren et al., 1978; Malh et al., 1964; Penfield & Perot 1963) and consists of recent perceptions, ideas, feelings, and other emotions which are similarly illusionary and dream-like. Indeed, the right amygdala, hippocampus, and the right hemisphere in general (Broughton, 1982; Goldstein et al., 1972; Hodoba, 1986; Humphrey & Zangwill, 1961; Kerr & Foulkes, 1978; Meyer et al. 1987) also appear to be involved in the production of deam imagery as well as REM sleep (chapter 10). For example stimulation of the amygdala triggers and increases ponto-geniculo-occipital paradoxical activity during sleep (Calvo, et al. 1987), which in turn is associated with REM and dreaming. The Right Hemisphere & Dreams. Forgotten Dreams. Most individuals, however, have difficulty recalling their dreams.
The Dark Side of Oxytocin, the Hormone of Love - Ethnocentrism Yes, you knew there had to be a catch. As oxytocin comes into sharper focus, its social radius of action turns out to have definite limits. The love and trust it promotes are not toward the world in general, just toward a person’s in-group. Oxytocin turns out to be the hormone of the clan, not of universal brotherhood. A principal author of the new take on oxytocin is Carsten K. In a report published last year in Science, based on experiments in which subjects distributed money, he and colleagues showed that doses of oxytocin made people more likely to favor the in-group at the expense of an out-group. These nationalities were chosen because of a 2005 poll that showed that 51 percent of Dutch citizens held unfavorable opinions about Muslims, and other surveys that Germans, although seen by the Dutch as less threatening, were nevertheless regarded as “aggressive, arrogant and cold.” Well-socialized Dutch students might be unlikely to say anything derogatory about other groups. In Dr.
Targeting nicotine receptors to treat cognitive impairments in schizophrenia Smoking is a common problem for patients with schizophrenia. The increased tendency of patients diagnosed with this disorder is to not only smoke, but to do so more heavily than the general public. This raises the possibility that nicotine may be acting as a treatment for some symptoms of schizophrenia. Nicotine acts through two general classes of brain receptors, those with high and low affinity for nicotine. Two papers published in the January 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry suggest that drugs that stimulate these alpha-7 subunit-containing nicotinic receptors might enhance cortical function and treat cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia. In their study of healthy monkeys, Graham Williams and colleagues at Yale University and AstraZeneca found that very low doses of AZD0328, a novel drug that acts as an alpha-7 agonist, produced both acute and persistent improvements in their performance on a spatial working memory task. Dr.
Increased Interstitial White Matter Neuron Density in the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex of People with Schizophrenia To view the full text, please login as a subscribed user or purchase a subscription. Click here to view the full text on ScienceDirect. Figure 1 Neuronal nuclear antigen (NeuN)–positive neurons (A) below grey matter (grey matter/white matter border represented by dotted line). In superficial white matter from (B) control and (C) schizophrenia subjects. Figure 2 Density of neuronal nuclear antigen + immunopositive interstitial white matter (neurons/mm2) in (A) superficial white matter and (B) deep white matter in control subjects (squares) and schizophrenic cases (triangles). Figure 3 Superficial neuronal nuclear antigen immunopositive interstitial white matter neuron (IWMN) density (neurons/mm2) negatively correlates with gray matter somatostatin (SST) expression in control subjects and schizophrenia cases (control, squares; schizophrenia, triangles). qPCR, quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Somatostatin (SST) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) expression in IWMN cells.
Magnetic manipulation of the sense of morality : Neurophilosophy WHEN making moral judgements, we rely on our ability to make inferences about the beliefs and intentions of others. With this so-called “theory of mind”, we can meaningfully interpret their behaviour, and decide whether it is right or wrong. The legal system also places great emphasis on one’s intentions: a “guilty act” only produces criminal liability when it is proven to have been performed in combination with a “guilty mind”, and this, too, depends on the ability to make reasoned moral judgements. MIT researchers now show that this moral compass can be very easily skewed. Liane Lee Young of MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Science and her colleagues asked participants to make moral judgements about different variations of a number of scenarios. These scenarios differ in the beliefs underlying Grace’s actions and in their outcome. Whether or not these findings extend to real world judgements remains to be seen. Young, L., et al. (2010). Saxe, R. & Kanwisher, N. (2003).
Neural Networks Forget Information Quickly Researchers have figured out the speed that neural networks in the cerebral cortex can delete sensory information is a bit of information per active neuron per second. The activity patterns of the neural network models are deleted nearly as soon as they are passed on from sensory neurons. The scientists used neural network models based on real neuronal properties for the first time for these calculations. Neuronal spike properties were figured into the models which also helped show that the cerebral cortex processes were extremely chaotic. Neural networks and this type of research in general are all helping researchers better understand learning and memory processes. More details are provided in the release below. Out of mind in a matter of seconds Surprising rate at which neuronal networks in the cerebral cortex delete sensory information The dynamics behind signal transmission in the brain are extremely chaotic. How reliable is such a pattern? Notes about the research: Contacts: Prof. Dr.
How Our Brains Make Memories Sitting at a sidewalk café in Montreal on a sunny morning, Karim Nader recalls the day eight years earlier when two planes slammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. He lights a cigarette and waves his hands in the air to sketch the scene. At the time of the attack, Nader was a postdoctoral researcher at New York University. He flipped the radio on while getting ready to go to work and heard the banter of the morning disc jockeys turn panicky as they related the events unfolding in Lower Manhattan. Nader ran to the roof of his apartment building, where he had a view of the towers less than two miles away. He stood there, stunned, as they burned and fell, thinking to himself, “No way, man. In the following days, Nader recalls, he passed through subway stations where walls were covered with notes and photographs left by people searching desperately for missing loved ones. Nader believes he may have an explanation for such quirks of memory.
SEX ADDS YEARS TO YOUR LIFE ... The Flashing Images above are designed to provide a "Mental Image" of what takes place when your brain's Pleasure Pathway is stimulated by activities associated with feeling good. Science now believes positive stimulation of your built in reward system can add many quality years to your life. Few activities stimulate our pleasure pathway more than Sexual Intercourse........... Science has concluded our Pleasure Pathway plays a much greater role in our lives than just the survival of the species. Regular sexual activity is so beneficial to our health it is amazing how seldom it is discussed within this context. The intimacy and bonding you receive from remaining sexually active are more vital to your long term health than most people think.