For questions about the biology of the nervous system.
7
votes
1answer
54 views
Fusiform Face Area (FFA) for within class recognition?
Is there any evidence (papers, studies, etc) that the Fusiform Face Area is used for any other type of recognition besides facial recognition? I remember hearing or reading a long time ago that ...
4
votes
2answers
70 views
How would synapses behave if resting potential was zero?
Assuming that the resting potential is zero and the other mechanisms were exactly the same, how would it affect the generation of spikes in terms of excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic ...
1
vote
3answers
136 views
Getting started with EEG data
I want to get started with getting signals from EEG and learning on how I can read data. I have some programming skills, so designing a database and manipulating data with ruby (python seems also ...
2
votes
3answers
133 views
Computational Neuroscience software
What are the most common software tools you use in your day to day work in computational neuroscience?
I am referring to neuroscience tools like GENESIS and NOT to generic tools like Excel.
0
votes
1answer
42 views
Does every human brain have the same shape?
Apart from the general structure (6 layer cortex, same areas, etc.) does every brain have the exact same number and arrangement of sulci, gyri, etc?
Do these elements have the same shape?
3
votes
0answers
34 views
When did neurotransmitters derived from monoamines first appear in evolutionary history?
When did neurotransmitters derived from monoamines first appear in evolutionary history?
What are main the points in evolution for monoamines based on the neurotransmitter system ?
Edition
I'm ...
2
votes
1answer
50 views
Can prolonged neural adaptation lead to HPPD?
The human brain adapts to a constant stimulus of our neural system. For instance, if we ride a train and look out of the window for a long time and the train stops, we have the feeling of slowly ...
2
votes
0answers
27 views
Are there useful applications for three channel consumer EEG?
I stumbled upon the consumer EEG Melon (at Kickstarter). It has three electrodes and is advertised as measuring how "focused" you are. In the FAQ it says:
The Melon headband has three electrodes. ...
4
votes
0answers
30 views
What is the mechanism behind unihemispheric sleep in animals?
It is known that dolphins have the ability to sleep with only one half of their brain at a time.
According to this popular science source:
Dolphins sleep by resting one half of their brain at a ...
1
vote
0answers
24 views
Are there neurological conditions that can be worsened by B group vitamins?
I know that vitamins B6 and B12 are very important for the brain function, and both are involved in metabolism of homocysteine. Buildup of homocysteine has been associated with cognitive impairment. ...
5
votes
1answer
147 views
What are the effects of social rejection on the brain?
What are the effects of social rejection on the brain?
If the external circumstance can not change, how can the impact on the brain be reduced?
What is the average sensitivity to social rejection ...
-2
votes
2answers
70 views
Does not practicing the brain erode its power? [closed]
Does not practicing the brain erode its power? If so, are perpetual brain exercises recommended to prevent (or increase) its power (chess, puzzles, etc)?
3
votes
0answers
46 views
How do SSRIs work?
I've found a reasonable explanation on Wikipedia...
SSRIs are believed to increase the extracellular level of the neurotransmitter serotonin by inhibiting its reuptake into the presynaptic cell, ...
11
votes
3answers
243 views
Is there a better way to describe brain activity than EEG “brain waves”
I've been reading about EEG brain waves, which are specific waveforms that are observed on the EEG output, and are usually scored by humans. This concept has been around for quite some time.
Is there ...
5
votes
1answer
78 views
Neurotransmitters appearance in the evolutionary process
Recently I disagreed with the assumption, that lots of neurotransmitters came within recent 10,000 years of Homo Sapiens evolution.
Judging from the available information sources, there is possibility ...
6
votes
1answer
45 views
In a central pattern generator based on reciprocal inhibition, how does one “side” get picked over the other to start out?
Consider two neurons, A and B, which reciprocally inhibit each other. If both of the neurons receive input at the same time, it seems to me that no oscillation will occur between the two. Such would ...
5
votes
1answer
103 views
What computerized EEG analysis algorithms are there?
I got a commercial-grade EEG headband and am trying to look at the data it outputs. The headband quantifies raw EEG signal from a single forehead dry sensor into a range of EEG bands (alpha, beta, ...
7
votes
0answers
42 views
Have there been any mechanisms proposed for normalization in probabilistic population codes?
I heard a talk yesterday 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 ...
9
votes
1answer
81 views
What is the difference between psychophysics and neurophysiology?
I'm an engineering student who is doing some subjective tests.
What are the difference between psychophysics and neurophysiology?
Is it correct that in the latter case, we have to implant to read ...
3
votes
0answers
22 views
How many thalamocortical relay cells synapse onto each spiny stellate cell in neocortex?
I am curious about how many different thalamocortical relay cells synapse onto each layer IV spiny stellate cell, on average? The answer is likely to be different per region and species, of course. I ...
3
votes
2answers
80 views
What brain skill does Nonogram (Picross) games develop?
I've been playing Nonogram Picross a lot lately. I really like it and you can always find a harder challenge but I would hate to waste my time for nothing.
What brain skill does Nonogram (Picross) ...
3
votes
0answers
140 views
Is human Central Nervous System arousal related to choice of activity?
I'm interested in learning more about the central nervous system (CNS) arousal and the choice of what people do and how they feel about it.
Lets define CNS arousal in the context of this question as ...
10
votes
1answer
159 views
Does cognitive training enhance dopamine release?
Joe Hardy reports on a study by Backman et al (2011) in Science, where from the authors report:
Updating of working memory has been associated with striato-frontal
brain regions and phasic ...
-1
votes
1answer
49 views
Practical Use For a Neuroimager [closed]
You may be aware that neuro-imagers have become much cheaper and many are available with a SDK. I think this will open up a huge gateway for much more intimate human interfaces. However, I am stumped ...
3
votes
0answers
33 views
What are the common nutritional deficiencies in western countries related to reduced mental performance?
What are the common nutritional deficiencies in western countries related to reduced mental performance ? I've heard about omega 3, folid acid, and vitamin D deficiencies, the last two are now reduced ...
5
votes
2answers
373 views
Is variation in human brain size related to mental functioning?
It seems that the head size of human beings has evolved to be relatively similar, yet there is still some amount of variation. While I'm sure the correlation is not absolute, I read that larger heads ...
2
votes
0answers
35 views
How much information does the somatosensory system produce?
Are there any approximations of how many bits of information human somatosensory system produces? Especially mechano-receptors as measured in average number of bits per area of skin per second?
I've ...
9
votes
1answer
110 views
In C. elegans, which neuron has the largest span, and why is it this large?
The model organism C. elegans is about 1 mm in length. This is quite small. In fact, some C. elegans neurons span >25% of the length of its body (ref.).
This observation leads me to the following ...
2
votes
0answers
33 views
How do humans perceive height or vertical drop?
I'm looking at this video: Neil Burgess: How your brain tells you where you are, which discusses neurons within the brain that help people remember where stuff is in relation to other objects.
I'm ...
8
votes
1answer
142 views
What causes short-term dysphoria following intense pleasure?
I'm interested in the phenomenon of short term Dysphoria:
Dysphoria is a state of feeling unwell or unhappy; a feeling of emotional and mental discomfort as a symptom of discontentment, ...
4
votes
1answer
67 views
Does the Hodgkin-Huxley Model take into account the action of the ion pumps (e.g., Na-K-ATPase)?
After the firing of a neuron, the sodium and potassium concentration differences vanish.
It requires some time for cell to actively transport the ions in and out to re-establish the balance.
Does ...
4
votes
1answer
46 views
How can the aversion response be explained neurologically?
If Dopamine and Dopamine D2 receptor is involved in craving, wanting and clinging towards something or incentive salience
Dopamine is closely associated with reward-seeking behaviors, such as
...
10
votes
4answers
402 views
If someone becomes a split-brain patient, which side will “maintain” the continuity in their consciousness?
The brain injury might apparently produce two "independent" consciousnesses, and I'm wondering where the original person's "consciousness" would "transfer".
We had a debate on this over at Reddit ...
3
votes
1answer
120 views
How are qualia localized in consciousness?
I understand that evolution incorporated arbitrary qualia into the default network to inform consciousness (the largest cranial global processing information subnetwork) about properties and qualities ...
2
votes
0answers
42 views
Do widespread brain toxins explain violence rates?
Saw this: http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/01/lead-crime-link-gasoline
Lead emissions from tailpipes rose steadily from the early '40s
through the early '70s, nearly quadrupling over ...
3
votes
0answers
37 views
Structural descriptions of neuronal networks are important for understanding brain dysfunctions; which dysfunctions, in particular?
In a recent paper, we find this quote:
The brain contains vast numbers of interconnected neurons that constitute anatomical and functional networks. Structural descriptions of neuronal network ...
2
votes
1answer
49 views
Is the energy of an action potential divided among multiple axon terminals?
My understanding is that the bulk of an axon is myelinated, greatly adding to the efficiency of transmitting action potentials. However, the axon terminals are not myelinated. I'm wondering if the ...
7
votes
1answer
63 views
How does one study the effect of a dietary supplement on cognition?
I've really enjoyed this talk by Molly Crockett: Beware neuro-bunk. The speaker outlines the limitations of modern neuroscience when accessing the effectiveness of dietary supplements intended to ...
9
votes
2answers
155 views
What are different ways to determine centroids of fMRI activation, their drawbacks and perks?
I'm reading an older article on bilingualism (Kim, Relkin, Lee, & Hirsch, 1997) for a seminar. They were interested in the spatial separation of two languages in early and late bilinguals. They ...
12
votes
3answers
407 views
Research suggesting conscious control over brain region activation?
Has there been any research proving, disproving, or exploring the concept of conscious activation of specific brain regions?
To elaborate on this:
I've read that performing processing tasks causes ...
7
votes
2answers
91 views
What neural mechanism explains the tendency to visually attend to the whole scene before attending to details?
I have the intuition that human vision first attends to large-scale objects and then small-scale details. Is there any mechanism in the visual cortex that will explain this phenomenon? Is there a ...
1
vote
1answer
124 views
Possibility of perfect virtual reality [closed]
Is it biologically possible to build a "perfect" virtual reality, in which the person in that world cannot distinguish it from the real world? (e.g. as in the movie The Matrix)
From my knowledge ...
8
votes
1answer
153 views
What causes laughter?
I was looking at this video from VSauce: "Why did the chicken cross the road?", where several facts about this old joke are exposed and explained.
At some point, (6:59) Michael explains that there is ...
6
votes
3answers
120 views
Can neural spiking in an organism temporarily cease?
I'm interested in modeling human brain spiking activity.
Are there cases in which neural spiking completely ceases in an organism and yet later resumes?
I've considered:
hypothermic drowning, but ...
3
votes
1answer
72 views
Abstract idealized mental visualization improves motor task performance
I practice martial arts (Aikido), which involves a lot of rotation.
When practicing, I find that holding an abstract image in my head, instead of thinking about the actual technique, improves my ...
0
votes
1answer
88 views
Do internet memes say something about how the brain works? [closed]
I've been thinking about what the current internet memes, most notably the "advice animals" can say about the human brain/mind. I know that in the "old days", there were folk sayings and folk wisdom, ...
7
votes
1answer
205 views
Is performance reducible to brain activity in an unambiguous way?
As a preface, let me assume that the entirety of mental states and their corresponding behaviors in a person are entirely reducible to the physical activity of neurons sending a variety of chemicals ...
14
votes
1answer
252 views
Have the abilities of John Lorber's patients with limited cortical mass been further evaluated in adulthood?
Short of minor lesions or infarcts, most high-functioning adults have an intact cerebral cortex. Yet, a surprising result published anecdotally in Science in 1980 caused a lot of scientists to take ...
3
votes
0answers
29 views
What regulates the strength of motoric signals?
I've seen cognitive/roboter models where the input signals from the sensors are directly used as the signal for outgoing motoric control.
This doesn't make much sense, because obviously we're able ...
8
votes
1answer
268 views
Is there a region of cortex which over a period of development becomes the seat of self?
Background
Mountcastle's hypothesis, which is based on the observation of uniform cortical anatomy, suggests that the there might be a uniform cortical "algorithm". The only reason that some cortical ...
