Fuck Yeah Brains!

kappieg:

Vertebrate by Brad Wagner on Flickr.

urhajos:

‘Your Brain on Video Games’ by Terry Fan

(via fuckyeahneuroscience)

neuromatic:

jtotheizzoe:

infoneer-pulse:

Spectacular Brain Images Reveal Surprisingly Simple Structure

Stunning new visuals of the brain reveal a deceptively simple pattern of organization in the wiring of this complex organ.

Instead of nerve fibers travelling willy-nilly through the brain like spaghetti, as some imaging has suggested, the new portraits reveal two-dimensional sheets of parallel fibers crisscrossing other sheets at right angles in a gridlike structure that folds and contorts with the convolutions of the brain.

This same pattern appeared in the brains of humans, rhesus monkeys, owl monkeys, marmosets and galagos, researchers report today (March 29) in the journal Science.

» via Live Science

Haha, that’s hilarious. Simple! Yes, the diffusion mapping of water in billions of neurons that interconnect in ways that we have yet to even fathom. We totally have this figured out. Right?

The connectome is more anatomy lesson than brain map at this point. It draws a guiding track for future discovery, but let’s not let LiveScience or anyone make us think that patterns and pretty pictures mean that we have simplified the workings of the most complex computer on Earth (and maybe elsewhere), m’kay?

This is SO! COOL!

!!!!

(via notesandneurons)

cwnl:

Where Do Dreams Come From?

Until recent years, the study of dreams has mostly been in the dark. With many of the data being inconclusive as it is such an illusive function of the brain to grasp.

But new studies from unexpected places could shed some light on where our dreams are formed, which would in turn explain for such extraordinary visuals when in the act of dreaming.

As some of my old time followers may already be aware of, I have a deep obsession with dreams. So I went and did some personal researching to find out or get some clues on the leading theories of where our dreams may be forged. The following are two separate excerpts one from a Journal of Neurology and another from a Scientific American article on The Science Behind Dreaming:

Abstract:

The term Charcot–Wilbrand syndrome (CWS) denotes dream loss following focal brain damage. We report the first case of CWS, in whom neuropsychological functions, extension of the underlying lesion, and sleep architecture changes were assessed.

A 73-year-old woman reported a total dream loss after acute, bilateral occipital artery infarction (including the right inferior lingual gyrus), which lasted for over 3 months. In the absence of sleep–wake complaints and (other) neuropsychological deficits, polysomnography (sleep study) demonstrated an essentially normal sleep architecture with preservation of REM sleep. Dreaming was denied also after repeated awakenings from REM sleep.

This observation suggests that CWS (1) can represent a distinct and isolated neuropsychological manifestation of deep occipital lobe damage, and (2) may occur in the absence of detectable REM sleep abnormalities. Ann Neurol 2004

In other words:

A very rare clinical condition known as “Charcot-Wilbrand Syndrome” has been known to cause (among other neurological symptoms) loss of the ability to dream. However, it was not until a few years ago that a patient reported to have lost her ability to dream while having virtually no other permanent neurological symptoms.

The patient suffered a lesion in a part of the brain known as the right inferior lingual gyrus (located in the visual cortex). Thus, we know that dreams are generated in, or transmitted through this particular area of the brain, which is associated with visual processing, emotion and visual memories.

Journal ref: Total dream loss: A distinct neuropsychological dysfunction after bilateral PCA stroke

(Source: ikenbot, via scinerds)

detonatevvorldsplague:

Brain

Illustration from an 1890’s anatomy book. 

(via scientificillustration)

VS Ramachandran: The neurons that shaped civilization

This is a short video in which neuroscientist Ramachandran makes a really great work at explaining the fascination of mirror neurons.

[…] there is no real independent self, aloof from other human beings, inspecting the world, inspecting other people. You are, in fact, connected not just via Facebook and Internet, you’re actually quite literally connected by your neurons. And there is whole chains of neurons around this room, talking to each other. And there is no real distinctiveness of your consciousness from somebody else’s consciousness.

(via scinerds)

expose-the-light:

The split brain: A tale of two halves

Since the 1960s, researchers have been scrutinizing a handful of patients who underwent a radical kind of brain surgery. The cohort has been a boon to neuroscience — but soon it will be gone.

Read here

(via scinerds)

expose-the-light:

3D Bioscience by Bob Dyce

(via scinerds)

(Source: scienceygoodness)

brain-food:

Tissue Series, Anatomical Cross Sections in Paper by Lisa Nilsson

These pieces are made of Japanese mulberry paper and the gilded edges of old books. They are constructed by a technique of rolling and shaping narrow strips of paper called quilling or paper filigree. Quilling was first practiced by Renaissance nuns and monks who made artistic use of the gilded edges of worn out bibles, and later by 18th century ladies who made artistic use of lots of free time. I find quilling exquisitely satisfying for rendering the densely squished and lovely internal landscape of the human body in cross section.