Posts Tagged ‘Neurons’
What’s normal? When it comes to the brain, it’s hard to say, and that’s why we need to study global neurodiversity
In a small village in India—a place so remote it has no electricity, no telecommunication system, and no cars or buses—a research worker prepares to place an EEG headset on a female villager’s head. The woman, who earns $3.75 a day laboring in a nearby rice paddy and who has never ventured outside her village, eyes…
Read MoreThe NeuroGeneration and Humankind’s Quest to Enhance the Brain
Some people may be uneasy with the idea of “brain enhancement,” but the quest to boost our brainpower is nothing new; it is an essential part of human nature. Ever since Homo sapiens emerged nearly 200,000 years ago, we have been searching for ways to upgrade the hardware and wetware in our heads, and we’ve…
Read MoreStudy finds lifelong neurogenesis in the hippocampus, but rates decline with age and, especially, Alzheimer’s disease
___ Old brains still make neurons, study finds, offering a possible way to protect against Alzheimer’s (STAT): “Reports of old brains’ decrepitude have been greatly exaggerated, scientists reported on Monday, unveiling results that contradict a much-discussed 2018 study and instead support the idea that human gray matter is capable of generating new neurons up to…
Read MoreBrain Teaser: Ready to stimulate those neurons in your temporal lobes?
Language is primarily processed in the temporal lobes–on the sides of your brain, next to you temples, mostly on the left side–and different areas in the temporal lobes deal with different aspects of language. For example, the Wernicke area supports your ability to understand words, whereas the Broca area allows you to produce language or…
Read MoreDARPA paving the way for a future brain-based Internet
___ DARPA Wants Brain Interfaces for Able-Bodied Warfighters (IEEE Spectrum): “Until now, the neuroscience programs at DARPA, the mad science wing of the Department of Defense, have focused on technologies for warfighters who have returned home with disabilities of the body or brain. For example, programs have funded research on prosthetic limbs that are wired…
Read MoreStudy finds continued birth of new neurons (neurogenesis) well into our 70s
___ New brain memory cells develop well into old age (Reuters): “Well into our 70s, we continue to develop new cells in an area of the brain responsible for new memories and exploration of new environments, scientists report. “These new brain cells sustain our abilities to make new memories, learn, and cope with the environment,…
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