Your brain is plastic! It has the remarkable ability to modify its connections and to be rewired as a result of your experiences and the neural activity generated by them. This ability is known as plasticity. Neurons in the central nervous system communicate across synapses, the small gaps between two adjacent neurons that allow the […]
September
10
Autism Spectrum Disorders; is all about genetics
posted by Jorge Urresti
The basics of ASD genetics Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by repetitive behaviors, language and communication deficits, and restricted interests. ASD has a prevalence of 2% of the population, and is usually diagnosed before age 3. One important aspect of ASD is that it shares a wide number of […]
September
03
Microglia as Architects and Designers for Your New Brain
posted by Jess Du
[En español] While neurons tend to get the spotlight in the brain, there’re tons of other cell types working in the background to support brain health and function. Microglia are one such cell type, often described as the immune cells of the brain, patrolling and gobbling things up like white blood cells do in the […]
August
27
The Neuwrite Times
posted by Jess Du
We here at NeuwriteSD have been hard at work creating a print edition of some of our recent articles. This is something we have done in the past to hand out at local science communication and outreach events, and for the first time we are posting a pdf version of The Neuwrite Times online. Huge […]
August
20
Meet Marta Pratelli – A Researcher Exploring the Roadmap of the Brain
posted by Ariane Pessentheiner
Let me first introduce myself and tell you why I started to write about fellow scientists at UC San Diego. Choosing a profession isn’t an easy decision for most people. Some people, however, have an early calling. I knew when I was twelve that I was going to study Biology. I was fascinated by all […]
August
13
Diffusion MRI: Mapping the structural highways of the brain
posted by Seraphina Solders
Some of my favorite scientific images to look at come from scanning the human brain with a tool called diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (or diffusion MRI). These images depict the long fibers that connect one part of the brain to another in a color-coded fashion, with a beautiful result: a colorful map of the brain’s […]
August
06
Racism and Birth Inequities, From Biology to Society
posted by Laura Beebe
Image Credit: UNICEF Black mothers in the US are 3-4x more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white mothers (NPR/ProPublica). In addition, 40.6% of Black births are preterm, compared to 33.1% of white births (CDC). Compounding evidence suggests that the lived experience of racism in the US, rather than genetics, health behaviors (e.g. smoking), […]
July
30
What’s happening in the brain with COVID-19?
posted by Emily Baltz
[En español] What are the neurological symptoms of COVID-19? At this point, most of us are familiar with the common symptoms of COVID-19: fever, cough, sore throat, muscle ache, diarrhea, and fatigue. We also know that the worst complications can be pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Acute respiratory distress syndrome can lead to hypoxia […]
July
23
Postictal Blues
posted by Donovan Cronkhite
Intro On the morning of January 12th, 2020, I woke up to the sound of my phone vibrating. It was my mom because it was her birthday and I had told her to call me the night before. I had the perfect plan: at approximately 2 a.m. that morning, I snuck into the house (I […]
July
16
Perks of Being a Trichromat
posted by egeyalcinbas
As a youngster, many excursions with my grandmother would end with her pointing out the breathtaking combination of hues that graces the sky during golden hour. She would be sure to mention the weather predictions that stem from our folklore: Warm mixtures of pink and lavender, she would tell me, means that tomorrow will be […]
