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 […]
Tag Archives: memory
September
12
Your Mind on Trial
posted by Timothy Sheehan
The British television series Black Mirror has, at times, been disturbingly prophetic. In season 2’s The Waldo Moment, a crude comedian runs for Parliament to disparage the system only to find himself a front-runner. In April 2019 Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian who had previously played the role of Ukranian President on a popular TV show, […]
July
05
Where does Alzheimer’s disease begin?
posted by Seraphina Solders
Sometimes I forget what day of the week it is, where I put my keys, or when a friend’s birthday is- but I never stop to wonder if these brief moments of forgetfulness are normal or a sign of something more serious. For many, occasional short-term memory loss is a normal part of getting older, […]
May
24
Baby I Swear it’s Déjà Vu
posted by megkirch
It’s one of the most bizarre sensations in the world: feeling like you’ve entered some sort of time loop and are re-experiencing something that’s already happened before. The rational part of you knows that this is a new experience, and yet, you can’t shake the feeling that you’re somehow reliving a brief moment of your […]
March
15
Remember Tomorrow?
posted by Jarrett Lovelett
We humans have an impressive ability to plan for the future — lapsed New Year’s resolutions and overambitious project planners notwithstanding. We can make decisions in the present (like bringing an umbrella) that make our lives easier in the future (we stay dry). Among the animal kingdom, this capacity is distinctly rare. Even animals […]
August
11
Alzheimer’s disease: back to the basics & exploring new frontiers
posted by Catie Profaci
When my grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), I wanted to better understand what exactly was happening in his brain as his memory slowly deteriorated. Perhaps this drive came from innate scientific curiosity, or perhaps burying myself in the gritty molecular details was my attempt at escaping from the emotional gravity of the situation.
July
07
Just Keep Remembering (and Forgetting)
posted by megkirch
[En español] “I suffer from short-term memory loss. It runs in my family… At least I think it does… hm. Where are they?” Thirteen years ago, a little blue fish with a memory problem became one of the most lovable animated characters of all time. In Finding Nemo, Dory (voiced by Ellen Degeneres) constantly forgets […]
June
09
Forget About It
posted by Barbara Spencer
[En español] In the midst of studying for finals, forgetting is the enemy. You can easily remember the lyrics to your favorite 90s hit, but the names of the 12 cranial nerves elude you. We often think about forgetting as something pathological. We become frustrated by that all too familiar tip-of-your-tongue feeling and in extreme […]
June
02
Your Brain on Thirsty Thursday
posted by Catie Profaci
Alcohol: loss of motor coordination, a sense of invincibility, amplified emotions, loss of inhibition, hazy memory, blackout. What kind of crazy things are happening in the brain?! How does alcohol even get into the brain?!
April
21
Heavy on my Mind: Lead Poisoning (Part II)
posted by Caroline Sferrazza
When I first heard about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, I didn’t have the slightest idea how serious the problem was. Sure, I’d heard that lead was no good for you. I thought back to the day I moved into my first apartment in New York City and the superintendent handed me a pamphlet […]
