Questions tagged [neuroscience]
For questions on the structure and function of the nervous system.
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Free will and neuron firing
I have been reading a lot about free will and the most recent neuroscience experiments in that field. However, one way question troubles me to which I have never been able to find any study.
We know ...
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What are higher-level and lower-level brain functions?
The human brain can be described as a "Russian nesting doll" in the sense that the most ancient areas of the brain responsible for lower functions are located at its centre while newer ...
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Square root transformation of Poisson process. How Var[P(sqrt(lambda))] ~ 1/4?
I am working on Kaggle Neural data challenge.
A number of spikes given a stimulus are Poisson distributed as
$$Y_i \sim P(\lambda_i)$$
The mean and variance of any Poisson process is given as
$$E[P(\...
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Different plasticity mechanisms in different species
Are the neural plasticity mechanisms behind learning essentially the same across different species? For instance, is STDP assumed to be a standard mechanism in almost anything with a brain, or is it ...
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What does the following sentence mean? I don't understand what they are referring to when they say “saturating concentrations” and “basal conditions”?
Here is the quote:
"Because BH4 is not present in saturating concentrations under basal conditions, it is crucial in regulating TH activity."
This is from Fundamental Neuroscience, page 121.
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Rate of Change in Neural Plasticity
I read that children brain has more neural plasticity compared to adults, with the possible explanation as appeared in this question, pertaining to synaptic changes, where if you learn something, the ...
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Types of receptors on a single synapse or neuron
I have been googling and couldn't find the answer to these questions.
For a given synapse, can a post-synaptic neuron have multiple types of receptors for different neurotransmitters or is typically ...
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1answer
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research based criteria domain and DSM5
Is there any major difference between the two classification systems ?
and why is there no awareness as of yet about research based domain for classifying mental disorders when it for the larger part ...
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Why does sour-tasting food stimulate appetite?
Many appetizers involve vinegar, lemon, etc. Why do they increase appetites? I am looking for a neuroscience explanation.
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Do stronger emotions take longer to process with dreams?
One theory of dreams is they help us process strong experiences. So I wondered whether one needs a longer sleep after some strong experiences partly to give the brain longer to complete the healing/...
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How does the brain interpret electrical brain stimulation?
I believe I understand the natural path, in which stimuli appear and by neural plasticity our brains "learn" these stimuli.
I recently learned about electrical brain stimulation and I was ...
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Does the shape of an neural soma change its function?
My question is particular focused on pyramidal neurons. Although I would like to see a comparison to other neuron types. I am saying this because I am writing a Predictive Processing Library, maybe ...
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How does Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) restore motor functions and non-motor functions in SCI patients
I am an engineer dealing with Brain-Computer Interface, and at the moment, in a clinical context. One area which I came across was rehabilitation for patients suffering from Spinal Cord Injuries or ...
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Do neurons have a single transmitters vesicle per synapse they have?
Do neurons have a single transmitters vesicle per synapse they have? So when they will be activated, each transmitter vesicle is going to one synapse.
Or is it that neurons release some amount of ...
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How does spike-timing-dependent-plasticity help in learning? [closed]
As far as I understand, STDP states that a synaptic connection between two neurons is strengthened if the pre-synaptic neuron fires a little before the post-synaptic neuron and is weakened if the post-...
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Do all neurons have a “job”, or are some waiting to be assigned for a novel stimuli to appear?
Do all neurons have something to do (i.e. all are activated for some known stimuli), and when a novel stimuli appear some of them change in some way so we can learn it? Or is it that we have "new&...
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How does pattern separation works?
I found an article that stated:
"Researchers think neurogenesis helps the brain distinguish between
two very similar objects or events, a phenomenon called pattern
separation. According to one ...
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1answer
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How do neurons know where to send transmitters?
If a single neuron can have thousands of synapses with other neurons, how do each neuron "knows" to which further neuron to send transmitters? i.e. selectivity
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1answer
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Reaction when light is turning on and off
This question comes from a personal experience I've had over the last few days, 'experimenting' on my own.
I have a light bulb in a room that is turning on and off periodically, let's say per second. ...
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2answers
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How to take advantage of the withdrawal symptoms of antidopaminergics?
So this may be a stupid question as I am not trained in neuroscience or psychology at all, but I had an idea about a somewhat counterintuitive approach to psychotropics and was wondering whether if it ...
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In principle, could a brain be rewired to experience more pleasure and/or pain?
I'm not sure if these are two separate questions, but I'm curious: in theory, could an existing adult mind/brain be modified to perceive pleasure/pain signals more intensely than otherwise? Without ...
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Are there any ways to naturally speed up my reaction speed without any drugs?
I play a lot of video-games and did some research online and came to the conclussion that a certain set of things are linked to an above average reaction speed and an general improved cognitive ...
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2answers
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Memory game - short or long-term memory?
There is a game where "a suitcase is packed" and you have to remember all the words or objects that are packed into the suitcase.
Each participant adds a new word to the "chain of words&...
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What is the meaning of “the inner leaflet of their lipid bilayer corresponds to the outer leaflet of the plasmalemma.”
The whole quote is, “Their lumen corresponds topologically to the outside of the cell; consequently, the inner leaflet of their lipid bilayer corresponds to the outer leaflet of the plasmalemma.” The “...
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Surface area in the classic Hodgkin Huxley Model
How can I vary the membrane surface in the classic HH model? I have programmed such a model and now I ask myself how I can change the surface of the compartment, so which parameters I have to increase ...
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1answer
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Will smoking marijuana lightly during teens cause developmental damage to the brain?
If someone were to smoke marijuana lightly during his teens and stop abruptly in his adulthood. Would he suffer from Some type of damage to his short term memory/iq and if so can the damage be ...
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What provides regular neuron spikes for internal urethral sphincter to regularly reclench?
This "Scishow" video is about internal and external anal sphincters, its length is just 3:51. The speaker, Hank Green, says:
The muscle that keeps things from leaking out of your body, your ...
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If exactly one neuron magically disappeared from my brain, would my thoughts be significantly different?
If exactly one neuron magically disappeared from my brain, would my thoughts be significantly different?
One can ask an analogous question about a single neuron (and/or its synapses) being magically ...
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Sleep/Dream and Logical Decisions
I discovered that sleep tends to mitigate the 'stress' that one gets by trying to deal with logical problems like work related tasks and general daily life tasks. Does sleep do this by removing the ...
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1answer
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How to handle single trial ERP (P300)
I am learning to work with EEG data in young and elderly subjects. The goal is to find differences in P300 (amplitude & latency) between both age groups during learning. I analyzed the data based ...
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Why is a low threshold necessary for generating an action potential?
On page 32 of "Principles of Neural Science," it sates that, "...the initial segment of the axon has the highest density of voltage-sensitive Na+ channels and therefore the lowest ...
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Biological Neural Network Modification to Unlearn Understandings
Lets assume that a person grows up thinking that religion X is true religion. So he builds up a profile in ones head and when notion of religion X appears the neurons that is related are fired, giving ...
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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 ...
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Why can’t my eyes gaze around at a constant rate?
I’ve wondered about this for quite a long time, but never thought to ask it anywhere:
I’m assuming most people know what it’s like to watch a bird flying by, you can steadily concentrate as the bird ...
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Interpreting FURA depolarization/calcium assay
I did a depolarization experiment that compared a mock-treated cell line with a treated line. One part of the results are easy to interpret: Treatment resulted in lower 350/380 ratios along the length ...
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What is the size, volume, dimensions etc. of the central lateral nucleus in the anterior intralaminar thalamus in humans?
I have been searching extensively on the internet and journal articles for the size, volume, dimensions, etc. of the central lateral nucleus in the anterior intralaminar thalamus in humans but have ...
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1answer
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How is Pain Subjective and Different from Nociception
So pain is the sensory feeling that tells indiviual that something bad at some part of the body has happened. What I fail to understand is how is pain subjective? If we have touch receptors in the ...
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Is there any correlation between conection and function?
I have been searching why different functions exist in even a similar structure cortex.
The first reason is differences in cortical neuron density.
The neuronal density contour plot (Fig. 1D) reveals ...
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1answer
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What has changed in your brain after electroconvulsive “therapy” (ECT)?
From this Wikipedia article:
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), formerly known as electroshock therapy, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures in the brain (without muscular convulsions) are ...
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A new kind of optical illusion?
By accident, I stumbled over this optical illusion:
It is not a strong one, and maybe you don't experience it, but I see the size of the circles in the second last row decrease from left to right. I ...
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Does the mind create the body?
Everything we perceive is through the 5 senses. That means the body which is perceived through sense of feeling and seeing is also formed as an image in mind or brain?
Is it correct that it is either ...
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How does the brain amplify signals without interfering with pattern recognition?
Signals in the brain normally excite neurons only if they are well known, i. e. because synapses pass them on that grew during learning. But even for well-known patterns I could imagine that without ...
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Is unconsciousness actually superior to the conscious mind?
In Blindsight by peter watts, the author mentions something called a "neurological bureaucracy", in which the conscious mind has little purpose other than acknowledging what has already been ...
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Difficulties in recollecting memory, when execution speed of an action is slow
I learnt to solve Rubik's cube 2 - 3 years ago, I used to practice once in a while, I can solve Rubik's cube within a minute.
One day, I went to my uncle's house, my nephew had a Rubik's cube, I ...
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What are the factors that make the membrane more permeable to Potassium ions than Sodium or Chloride (or any other ions)?
I'm just into my first week of Neuroscience and reading about membrane/action potential. It is my understanding that when the membrane potential changes, it is more K+ ions move across the membrane ...
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Function of the Left Medial Prefrontal Cortex
I am searching for a specific (as specific as is currently known) region of the brain that has a known(?) large role in deductive and inductive reasoning. My research has narrowed me down to the Left ...
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1answer
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What degree of control do we have on eye movements?
When something "new" and "interesting" enters our visual field it can usually happen that our eyes move toward the new target. How "intentional" and "controllable&...
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Can Neuralink really be used for memory implantation?
I think you heard about a company called Elon Musk Neuralinnk.
The ultimate goal of Neuralink is to achieve human memory implantation.
Doctors were prepared to implant the first bionic eye in a human....
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Is there a specific part of the brain that, as far as we can tell, is used for logic?
I am writing a story which includes a surgical procedure to enhance a persons logic. I am looking for a specific part of the brain that, as far as we can tell with decent science, directly influences ...
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Neurological disorders affecting body language
Are there neurological disorders which do not affect the emotions per se but affect how they are expressed by the body?
Say, normally positive emotions are associated with the tips of the lips facing ...
