Tag Archives: neuroscience

August 25

An Appetite for Epilepsy

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Have you ever wondered what really makes up your body? Well, even if you haven’t, you’ll be surprised to know that there are trillions of microorganisms living inside you, so many that they outnumber your actual body cells 10 to 1: for every one of your cells, there are 10 microorganisms. That’s right, you’ve got […]

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August 18

The Fear of Missing Out

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There is no shortage of slang to be found on the internet. In recent years, a piece of slang in the form of an acronym has piqued my interest – FOMO. This acronym stands for “fear of missing out,” and is something I am certain most people can relate to. Despite its prolific use in […]

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July 28

Sharks-Sensing the Body Electric

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One of the greatest fears people have about going into the ocean is the fear of being attacked by a shark. Although this fear is not truly warranted, as cows kill more people annually than sharks do [4]. But what is it about sharks that makes us so afraid of them? One major factor is […]

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July 21

Media Misrepresentations of Mental Illness: Dissociative Identity Disorder

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It’s no secret that watching movies can create lasting impressions on viewers. This is true in cases of medical dramas, where viewers are introduced to rare diseases through interactions with fictional patients seeking help. It is also true of mental health conditions – both in the cases of television and movies, it has become increasingly […]

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July 15

Brains love bone juice

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Skeletons as a hormone-secreting organ In the early 2000s, researchers in Dr. Gerard Karsenty’s group were studying a protein secreted by bones named osteocalcin (OCN) to see  if it played a role in bone mineralization (i.e. how our skeleton attracts the minerals needed for its structure). Even though they found that OCN isn’t involved in […]

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July 07

The Forgotten:

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Image source: “New Awakenings: The Legacy & Future of Encephalitis Lethargica (EL)” (Sparacin 2012) Some call it “the sleepy-sickness”, others encephalitis lethargica. This mysterious disease, lost to time, bears its colloquial name because those who contracted it entered an “all-enveloping trancelike sleep” (1); and some of those who entered this sleep, did not awake for […]

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June 03

Axolotls: First Ones to the Fountain of Youth

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Introduction If you look at today’s $50 Mexican peso (left), you won’t see the image of a past president or monument. Instead, you’ll see a lone salamander with outstretched arms and gills in the middle of a lake. For centuries, this small creature, known as the axolotl (ax-oh-lot-al), was well known to the people that […]

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May 26

Why does breathing slowly make us feel better?

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You’ve heard it before – during moments of overwhelm, take slow, deep breaths. But how exactly does controlling our breath influence our physiology and ultimately impact our mental well-being?

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May 11

Brains  ~in Space~

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[En Español] Brains have been evolving for 500 million years to exist on a planet with gravity. However, when astronauts enter outer space, their brains have to overcome some serious challenges contrary to the way they were designed. Astronauts report all types of side effects, both during their time in Space and upon their return […]

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April 14

“Fearless” climbers: how the amygdala mediates fear

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Rock climbing, both in a specialized gym and outdoors on natural rock formations, is a very popular hobby here in Southern California. Some people find it exhilarating and enjoyable, while others are simply terrified. Like with any athletic venture, climbers assess risk before embarking on new routes, and may quell their fears with the knowledge […]

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