Neurofeedback
Our 24/7 society seems to be slowly robbing us of our slumber, but at what cost? Sleep expert, professor of neuroscience and author of Why We Sleep, Dr Matthew Walker, explores all the ways sleep can benefit our brains and our health. There is no major health system within your body or operation within your brain, …
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has rewarded scientists for an amazing voyage of discovery inside the human nervous system – one that has revealed how the myriad tiny signals firing through nerve cells keeps us alive, thinking and moving. Estimates vary wildly, since of course, no-one has counted them all, but there are …
Continue reading "nerve signalling: tracing the wiring of life"
Our brains are famously flexible, or “plastic,” because neurons can do new things by forging new or stronger connections with other neurons. But if some connections strengthen, neuroscientists have reasoned, neurons must compensate lest they become overwhelmed with input. In a new study in Science, researchers at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT …
Continue reading "scientists discover basic principle of neuroplasticity"
The authors of a recent review of research on the effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (EMR) exposure on the brain and nervous system say "With the rapid development of electronic information in the past 30 years, technical achievements based on electromagnetism have been widely used in various fields pertaining to human production and life. Consequently, …
Continue reading "effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation on neurotransmitters"
The mind and the brain are mainly (and perhaps entirely) a single unified system Almost every – and perhaps every – subjective state is correlated with an objective, material brain state. Other than a transcendental factor – call it God, Spirit, Energy, or by whatever name – by definition, what else could be going on …
Continue reading "seven facts about the brain that incline the mind to joy"
Neurons (nerve cells) in the brain form elaborate networks, with each neuron having up to 15,000 connections with neighbouring neurons at contact points called synapses. While the nerve impulse travel through the neuron as an electrical impulse, it does not cross the gap known as the synaptic cleft but rather stimulates the release of a …
Continue reading "neurotransmitters and brain function (a really good summary)"
Neurotransmitters play a critical role in modulating emotions in the brain and serious problems can result if neurotransmitter levels are not optimally balanced. Depression, anxiety or mood swings can all be caused by a lack of a balance in neurotransmitters. Drug therapies given to individuals suffering from these disorders aim to restore that balance. For …
How you experience life boils down to the chemicals in your brain. Happiness, sadness, anger, anxiety – all can be traced to what’s going on inside your head. In the past decade we’ve come a long way in the science of happiness and have a pretty good idea of what happy looks like in your …
Consciousness is arguably the most important scientific topic there is. Without consciousness, there would after all be no science. But while we all know what it is like to be conscious – meaning that we have personal awareness and respond to the world around us – it has turned out to be near impossible to …
Where two neurons meet, a very small gap (synapse) exists between them. The electrical impulse travelling along the axon of the neuron must convert into a chemical signal to bridge this gap. The chemicals that do this are called neurotransmitters. These so-called "chemical messengers" are involved in our different responses to situations. Your emotions depend …