Questions tagged [neuroscience]
For questions on the structure and function of the nervous system.
167
questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
11
votes
0answers
794 views
What are the neurological differences between varying types of love?
It stands to reason that the biochemical cascade involved when a person experiences love, gives a feeling of well-being and drive.
Studies in neuroscience have involved chemicals that are present ...
7
votes
0answers
241 views
Supplementary Motor Area or Juxtapositional Lobule Cortex
Harvard-Oxford Cortical Structural Atlas now calls the 'Supplementary Motor Area' the 'Juxtapositional Lobule Cortex (formerly Supplementary Motor Cortex)'. I've looked for papers that explain the ...
7
votes
0answers
119 views
What neurological processes occur with 'revulsion'?
As the title asks, what neurological processes occur when we feel revulsion?
By revulsion, I mean the involuntary and voluntary physical and psychological responses far stronger than the aversion ...
6
votes
0answers
1k views
Does testosterone level cause more sexual dream content?
I have long been interested in dreaming, including how dream content can shed some light on brain chemistry.
I did a search on the subject of testosterone levels altering dream content and see some ...
6
votes
0answers
207 views
Is personality dominance a hypothetical construct or is it based in neurobiology?
There are several personality tests which have dominance as trait or type as result.
In addition to this question: How to measure dominance and submissiveness?
How are dominant types constructed in ...
5
votes
0answers
62 views
Using Vagus Nerve Stimulation to treat Depression
I came across an article written recently concerning the use of Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) to treat difficult-to-treat depression (DTD) and other mood disorders (Sackeim, et al. 2020). However, ...
5
votes
0answers
836 views
Long term effect of masturbation on Estrogen receptors
I was writing an article on masturbation and was doing some net based research. I saw on a paper (Phillips-Farfán et al. 2007) that frequent masturbation increases estrogen receptors in the brain.
My ...
5
votes
0answers
134 views
Neuroplasticity and Habit Formation
I am currently reading the book The Brain that Changes Itself and I ran across a passage that explains how habits "take over a bit of the brain map." By this, I thought it meant that each ...
5
votes
0answers
121 views
Is there a tangible benefit of synchronising the sample clock to the laser pulses in a resonant scanning two-photon microscope?
NI data acquisition cards offer a possibility of synchronising data acquisition with the pulses of a 80 MHz Ti:Sapphire laser. This supposedly helps improve the signal to noise ratio, since the true ...
5
votes
0answers
143 views
How does the hippocampus and the "Papez" circuit form a memory?
It is admitted the hippocampus is necessary to the formation of new long term memories. At first, information goes back and forth between various parts of the cortex and the hippocampus. That's how a ...
5
votes
0answers
63 views
How are psychological bio-markers discovered?
Recently, this paper [1] claiming to be able to distinguish bipolar disorder from major depressive disorder via a urine sample has come to my attention.
Despite reading the paper, I'm unable to ...
5
votes
0answers
73 views
Is movement/activity level related to serotonin availability or reuptake rates in the brain?
I'm aware of this research article that explores the relationship between motion and serotonin systems: 5-HT and motor control: a hypothesis.
Based on the article above, it seems to me that a "very ...
5
votes
0answers
69 views
What neurotransmitters can be suppressed/promoted by tDCS
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to modify suppression in the visual cortex and GABA suppression in motor control.
As of now, the exact neurobiological mechanism that ...
5
votes
0answers
164 views
What is the neurobiological basis of Spearman general factor of intelligence?
I found a brief intro to the genetic factor of human intelligence: "Biology of human intelligence" by J A Böök (1976).
Also it is known that gyrus hipocampii is basis of STM which have role ...
4
votes
0answers
59 views
Losing self-control during drug rehab
Is there any research or theories which can prove that exercising too much self control can lead to losing one's self-control regardless the work or activity a person engages into? From an article in ...
4
votes
0answers
23 views
Do I report all anatomical regions in a large significant cluster identified in functional connectivity seed-to-voxel analysis?
I am conducting a resting-state functional connectivity seed-to-voxel analysis on the 25 participants from the NYC test-retest dataset using the CONN toolbox with the Posterior Cingulate Cortex of the ...
4
votes
0answers
64 views
What activity causes the highest level of brain-activity?
I expect balancing on a tightrope and juggling apples while listening to Mozart would trigger more brain activity than say playing chess, and while there are many ways to measure/define brain activity,...
4
votes
0answers
76 views
The same neuron sometimes released different neurotransmitters, so how does this affect our interpretation of computational models?
Most studies I see compare firing rate with some observed variable (stimuli or behavior). However, they treat all spikes the same. But neurons sometimes release different neurotransmitters depending ...
4
votes
0answers
20 views
How common is it to include unmedicated patients in first episode psychosis (or any type of psychosis) studies?
Is anyone familiar with this open access study?
Radua, J., Borgwardt, S., Crescini, A., Mataix-Cols, D., Meyer-Lindenberg, A., McGuire, P. K., & Fusar-Poli, P. (2012). Multimodal meta-analysis of ...
4
votes
0answers
92 views
What are the neuroscience research findings on the importance of breaks in cognitive function and specifically learning?
When I say breaks I mean breaks between periods of the same course, breaks between two distinct courses, single days of, weekends, couple days of, few days of, longer periods of holidays of duration ...
4
votes
0answers
140 views
Will studying formal logic improves logical reasoning?
Reason for asking question:
I am looking to see if there is any good empirical evidence or study that shows or suggests that studying former logic or maybe informal logic would actually improve ...
4
votes
0answers
101 views
Why are there still left handed people?
About 90% of all people are right handed. About 10% of people are left handed. So why has left handedness persisted for so long throughout human evolution? Why does it stick around? What are the best ...
4
votes
0answers
60 views
Why do only about 20% of the people with a heart attack report a near-death experience?
It has been shown that only around 20% of people who get a cardiac arrest and revived could tell something about a near death experience (NDE). But if an NDE is considered to be something with the ...
4
votes
0answers
347 views
What neural mechanism explains the phenomenon that bad memories fade faster than good ones?
Several studies have suggested that negative memories fade faster than positive memories: Walker, Vogl and Thompson (1997) had the subjects kept dairy during a 3-month period, and rated the events on ...
4
votes
0answers
43 views
How separate are the left and right hemisphere vasculature?
It appears as if there are communicating arteries between the right and left hemispheres of the brain, but it is difficult to grasp the larger picture.
To what extent is the blood supply to each ...
4
votes
0answers
65 views
Why does the unilateral 6-OHDA lesion Parkinson's model cause ipsilateral rotations?
As far as I understand, the loss of dopaminergic neurons should hinder movement in the contralateral side of the body, resulting in contralateral rotations when the animal tries to move forward.
4
votes
0answers
105 views
Physiological mapping of frustration
What physiological changes are seen in the brain when a person is experiencing frustration? What effects do these changes have on learning?
Optional background:
I'm trying to figure out an ...
4
votes
0answers
104 views
What is the relationship between topographic maps and sensory memory?
Sensory maps are defined functionally: they exist for a certain time window, are overwritten quickly, are generally inaccessible to introspective control.
Topographic maps are defined biologically: ...
3
votes
0answers
21 views
What is the purpose of having both a ground electrode and a reference electrode in EEG setups?
In almost all electroencephalography (EEG) recording setups, there are two auxiliary electrodes in addition to the ones used to record: the ground electrode and the reference electrode.
I've so far ...
3
votes
1answer
75 views
Lunar cycles linked with mental health issues?
From what I can find...
Anecdotally, my mother used to work in nursing homes for the elderly and found that around the full moon, patients slept less and were more agitated.
Anecdotal evidence ...
3
votes
0answers
22 views
Can we over sensitise people
Is there evidence that "over sensitivising" an indvidual (eg adolescent) makes them less resilient? So to explain, if we ask an individual repeatedly how they feel and if they have been ...
3
votes
0answers
43 views
Can the administration of self-report measures of craving prompt participants with addiction to experience craving during the experiment?
My research focuses on measuring the neural correlates (through resting-state EEG) pre-post an improvisational music therapy session (MT sessions) in clients with substance misuse.
One of my variable ...
3
votes
0answers
36 views
Is there a neurological explanation of acquired tastes?
People acquire tastes through exposure. This includes the "mere exposure effect" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere-exposure_effect). Also, music heard more often are more likely to sound ...
3
votes
0answers
21 views
Neuron specialization in the Visual System
Can someone point me to a good resource to explain how neurons in the visual system become sensitive to visual features? I understand that specific neurons fire for things like direction of motion, ...
3
votes
0answers
27 views
Alternative hypotheses to Hebb's rule
I was reading on wikipedia that there are exceptions to the hebbian rule, and I was curious about the possibilities of other hypotheses of how learning occur in the brain. So I would like to know:
...
3
votes
0answers
44 views
Why does mental work cause fatigue?
In Mental Fatigue: Costs and Benefits, Boksem and Tops advance that mental fatigue results from the brain's decision to save energy:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/...
3
votes
0answers
21 views
What effect does the size of the soma have on firing characteristics?
For example, cells in layer 5 of the neocortex have a larger soma than do other layers. I'm wondering what the functional difference is between smaller and larger soma. On one hand, I can imagine that ...
3
votes
0answers
58 views
Understanding the transition from integrated form to ODE form of neuron models
I'm trying to convert a fairly complicated neuron model from integrated form (a form of the spike response model) to ODE form for use in the BRIAN simulator.
The BRIAN simulator requires neuron/...
3
votes
0answers
16 views
Is there a structural difference between Nerve cells in the Somatic and Autonomic Nervous Systems
Do the actual nerve cells in the Somatic and Autonomic Nervous Systems have a different structure or chemical make up or are they the same thing just separate systems?
3
votes
0answers
28 views
Since we know the 5ht2a receptor impacts learning efficiency why has stimulating it not been tried for alleviating learning disabilities?
If you go on wikipedia or do a search on Google you can quickly find a bunch of articles on the importance of serotonin for impacting the efficacy of learning. Experiments have been run in mice for ...
3
votes
0answers
37 views
What might be the daily experience of someone who does not have an orientation association area?
The orientation association area gives us a sense of our body in time and space.
What would it be like without this part of the brain assuming everything else works normally?
Can the brain separate ...
3
votes
0answers
286 views
ADHD and the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC)
The cingulate cortex plays a significant role in mediating cognitive influences on emotion (Stevens, Hurley, & Taber, 2011).
Lower-than-normal activations within cingulate cortex have been ...
3
votes
0answers
28 views
Is it an issue to use a model for stimulus selection, when the same model is later tested against fMRI data based on those stimuli?
I am planning an fMRI experiment which looks at similarity of human brain activation when prompted with known words.
The goal of the experiment is to compare the similarity of activation with ...
3
votes
0answers
36 views
Task-based fMRI dataset with very simple task (e.g. view stripes)
For my Bachelor thesis I need an fMRI dataset in order to look for causal relationships. I want to be able to confirm my work, so the causal relationships should already be known. Therefore, ideally ...
3
votes
0answers
59 views
Is the phenomenom of “subjective consciousness” or “qualia” formally captured by any state-of-the-art Theoretical Model in Neuroscience?
Is the phenomenon of "subjective consciousness" or "qualia" formally captured or defined by any state-of-the-art Theoretical Model in Neuroscience? If so, can you share a brief summary of such ...
3
votes
0answers
167 views
Are there any practical implications for the purported neuroprotective effects of lamotrigine?
Lamotrigine is an antiepileptic drug used to treat seizures. Off-label, it is used to treat a variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Judging from Google Scholar, lamotrigine continues to ...
3
votes
0answers
55 views
Task-based vs task-positive networks
Do the terms "task-positive network" and "task-based network" refer to the same thing, such as the Fronto-Parietal Control Network (FPCN), as distinct from the task-negative networks such as the ...
3
votes
0answers
75 views
Does increased motor development always occur at the expense of speech development, or vice versa?
It is often said that infants / toddlers* develop in a focused manner. I am specifically interested in the notion that a quick development of speech occurs at the expense of motor skill development ...
3
votes
0answers
76 views
Infants tend to look longer at novel stimuli than at repeated stimuli, is this true in adults?
I have recently read an article in which it is stated, that the researchers can discriminate if a baby knows an object, by looking at the length of time the baby looks at the object. Do adults also ...
3
votes
0answers
61 views
Neurotransmitter detection in the brain
How are the effects of drugs in the brain, in terms of neurotransmitters measured? For example, Selective Seretonin Reuptake Inhibitors are a class of anti-depressants. How was and is this type of ...
