[En español] You usually hear the term “brain cell” referring to neurons, like they’re the only cell type present in the brain. But that’s far from the case. Neurons can be considered the main cellular unit in our nervous system, as they are the cells that transfer the information by means of electrical and chemical signals. […]
Category Archives: Uncategorized
December
06
The Platypus: Sensing the Body Electric
posted by Catie Profaci
Patti was one of my favorite Beanie Babies. Her bright magenta body and yellow webbed feet exuded a certain sunny optimism, and her strange resemblance to a flattened duck endowed her with an undeniable silliness. I remember feeling a bit confused as to whether she was a real creature or more akin to Mystic the […]
November
29
What’s in an accent?
posted by cdorrier
I was born and raised in the South, but never would have described myself as having any sort of accent until I moved to Southern California. Suddenly people could figure out where I was from as soon as I opened my mouth (a fellow SoCal Southerner was correctly able to pinpoint my accent to the […]
November
01
SfN 2018 NeuWriter Picks!
posted by neuwritesandiego
It’s that time of year again…the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting (SfN) starts on Saturday, and this year it’s happening on our home turf! There are a lot of reasons to be excited about SfN in San Diego…the weather is beautiful (sunny and 79 degrees in November!), neuroscience friends come to town, NeuWriteSD presents a […]
October
25
The Science of Stuttering
posted by Catie Profaci
A special thank you to Kaja Bajc and Jaymie Horak for their incredibly helpful personal input. How is it that someone can sing fluidly but struggle to introduce herself? Or smoothly imitate a foreign accent without trouble, but get stuck on words when speaking without pretense? Stuttering is a communication disorder characterized by disruptions (“disfluencies”) […]
October
18
Follow the Flock
posted by Elena Blanco-Suarez, Ph.D.
[En español] Have you ever tried a cigarette? I have. I was a teen, and holding a cigarette looked pretty cool, but smoking seemed disgusting, and it left a horrible smell in my hair, clothes and fingers. So I didn’t get hooked. But, seriously, why did I even try it in the first place? It […]
October
11
The Neuroscience of Mindfulness Meditation
posted by Timothy Sheehan
When I think of meditation, the first image that typically comes to mind is that of a monk in flowing orange robes somewhere in the mountains of Tibet. Meditation has gotten a facelift in the last decade in pop culture, thanks in part to best selling books like 10% happier by the television journalist Dan […]
October
04
The ethics of human brain surrogacy
posted by Seraphina Solders
“Creepy ‘brain in a bucket’ study spurs medical, ethical debates” … “Yale experiment to reanimate dead brains promises ‘living hell’ for humans” … “Scientists have managed to reanimate disembodied pigs’ brains – but for a human mind, it could be a living hell” … These are just a few of the sensational headlines that came […]
September
27
Close Encounters of the Robotic Kind: A Glimpse of Autonomy
posted by Caroline Sferrazza
Earlier this summer, people around the world were gripped by the story of the young boys from a Thai soccer team who had been trapped inside of a cave after a flood. We watched with fascination – and a healthy dose of apprehension – as plans were formulated to rescue the boys, whose situation was […]
September
20
Glioblastoma: John McCain’s final battle
posted by megkirch
On August 25th, I received a news notification on my phone that Arizona Senator John McCain had passed away, just one day after halting treatment for glioblastoma and little more than one year after diagnosis. I was taken aback. I’d known this was coming, but not that it would happen so quickly. Moreover, the sorrow […]
