Knowing Neurons- Neuroscience Articles, Infographics, SciArt, Book Reviews, and Videos.

Comic of a person in bed surrounded by worried faces, witches, out-of-body experiences, and ghosts. Illustrated by Rajamani Selvam.

Sleep Paralysis: What Is It and What Causes It?

December 30, 2019December 30, 2019 Mira Rakicevic 1 Comment Anxiety, Cataplexy, circadian rhythm, EEG, Electromyogram, Genetics, Hallucination, hypnagogic hallucination, Hypnopompic, Insomnia, Narcolepsy, NREM sleep, parasomnia, PER2, Polysomnography, REM sleep, Sleep, Sleep Apnea, Sleep Atonia, Sleep paralysis, stress, Vestibular-motor Hallucination

Sleep paralysis is a type of REM parasomnia or abnormal behavior that takes place during the REM sleep cycle. Also known as sleep atonia, this condition refers to the feeling… Read more

Brain Books by Knowing Neurons. The Case Against Reality by Donald Hoffman. Illustrated by McCall Sarrett & Jooyeun Lee.

Big Ideas Brain Books Consciousness Evolution of Cognition Sensation and Perception

Book Review and Author Interview: The Case Against Reality by Donald Hoffman

December 6, 2019December 7, 2019 Joel Frohlich 1 Comment Brain Books, Cognition, Color, Consciousness, Evolution, Evolutionary Game Theory, Hallucination, hard problem of consciousness, Illusion, Interface Theory of Perception, mathematics, Motion, Necker Cube, Occam's Razor, Orientation, Perception, Physicalism, Psychology, Quantum mechanics

A full interview with Donald Hoffman follows this book review Does the moon still exist when you’re not looking at it? In a provocative new book titled The Case Against… Read more

An artistic take on the "monkey-to-man" cartoon, depicting the final result as a larger human near fast food with a red warning sign around it. Illustrated by McCall Sarrett.

Big Ideas Brain Basics Brain Development Culture

Brain, Healthy Fats, and the Importance of Fitting Into Your Genes

November 27, 2019November 27, 2019 Marco Travaglio 0 Comments Attention, Brain Fat, Cortex, dementia, depression, DHA, Diet, Dopamine, Dorsal Attention Network, EPA, Evolution, Fat, Fish Oil, Frontoparietal Network, Genetics, Monounsaturated Fat, Neurological Disorder, Neurotransmitters, Omega-3, Omega-6, Polyunsaturated Fat, serotonin, supplements

Our brains are extremely rich in fat. Indeed, about two thirds of the human brain is composed of fat, 35% of which consists of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids. What are… Read more

Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT) Feature Image

Infographics Movement Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders Sensation and Perception

Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease [Infographic]

November 13, 2019November 13, 2019 Rajamani Selvam 0 Comments Autosomal dominant, Autosomal Recessive, Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease, Electromyogram, Genetic Mutation, Genetic Testing, Muscle Atrophy, mutation, myelin, Nerve Conduction Study, peripheral neuropathy, Sensory Loss, X-linked Dominant

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is a peripheral neuropathy disorder that affects various genders and ethnic groups worldwide. Nerve cell abnormalities are associated with this disorder and are linked to symptoms such as… Read more

Infographics Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Autism Spectrum Disorder [Infographic]

November 6, 2019November 5, 2019 Rajamani Selvam 0 Comments Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Infographic, language, Neurodevelopmental Disorder, Social Communication, Vaccines

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in language acquisition and social communication. The disorder is referred to as a “spectrum,” as individuals can exhibit a… Read more

Brain Development Infographics Movement Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Alternating Hemiplegia [Infographic]

October 16, 2019October 16, 2019 Rajamani Selvam 0 Comments Alternating Hemiplegia, ATP, Autosomal dominant, de novo mutation, Genetic Counseling, Infographic, Movement, Neurodevelopment, Paralysis, Physical Therapy, Seizure

Alternating Hemiplegia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects children. A characteristic symptom of the disorder is repetitive episodes of paralysis on one side or both sides of the body. The… Read more

Feature image depicting a fetus in the womb of a pregnant woman experiencing pain shortly after birth and having that pain show up later on in adulthood. Illustrated by McCall Sarrett.

Aging Big Ideas Brain Development Sensation and Perception

How Pain in Newborns Can Have Lifelong Consequences

September 18, 2019September 17, 2019 Denis Duagi 0 Comments Analgesics, Brain development, Chronic Pain, EEG, Excitatory Neurons, fMRI, GABA, Glycine, Inhibitory Neurons, Neonatal Pain, Pain, Sensation, Somatosensory, Tactile fibers, Touch

You probably don’t remember anything from when you were an infant. However, chances are that you experienced some pain immediately after you were born. You might have needed an IV… Read more

A sleeping brain on the left versus a brain lifting weights on the right. Illustrated by Rajamani Selvam.

Big Ideas Culture

The Neuroscience of Motivation and How to Improve It

September 4, 2019September 4, 2019 Marco Travaglio 0 Comments Dopamine, Insula, Limbic, Mesolimbic Pathway, Motivation, MRI, neurotransmitter, Nucleus accumbens, Prefrontal Cortex, Reward-Seeking Behavior, Ventral Tegmental Area

Motivation can be a hard thing to come by. Whether at home, at school or at work, most of us have been in a situation where we know exactly what… Read more

Image split in half with two backgrounds, day and night, with a watch in the center. A face on the watch is half awake on the day side of the image and asleep on the night side. Illustrated by McCall Sarrett.

Collaborations Neuroscience Technologies Sleep

What I Learned from Tracking My Sleep with Fitbit for Two Months

August 28, 2019August 28, 2019 Joel Frohlich 0 Comments Blood Oxygenation, EEG, Fitbit, Non-REM Sleep, Photoplethysmography, Polysomnography, PPG, REM sleep, Sleep, Sleep Apnea

If someone had told me a year ago that he sleeps with his watch on at night, I’d probably wonder just how eccentric of a personality I was dealing with.… Read more

Infographics Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Canavan Disease [Infographic]

July 3, 2019July 3, 2019 Rajamani Selvam 0 Comments Aspartoacylase, Autosomal Recessive, Brain Disorders, Canavan Disease, Development, genetic, Infographic, Leukodystrophies, myelin, White matter

Canavan Disease is a rare and fatal neurological disorder, in which the ability of neurons to transmit information is impaired due to damaged white matter in the brain. The disorder… Read more

Feature image of a labryinth next to an ear (as a play on the inner labryinth of the ear). Illustrated by McCall Sarrett.

Brain Basics Movement Neuro Primer Sensation and Perception Space Neuroscience

Neuro Primer: Vestibular System

June 26, 2019June 26, 2019 Alexa Erdogan 1 Comment balance, BPPV, Cupula, Endolymph, Gravity, Microgravity, Movement, Orientation, Otolithic Organs, Otoliths, Saccule, Semicircular Canals, Sensation, Space neuroscience, Utricle, Vertigo, Vestibular Ocular Reflex, Vestibular system, VOR

Have you ever watched shaky camera footage taken by someone running frantically through the forest? The camera shot shakes and bounces, making it difficult to get a clear view of… Read more

"What is Consciousness?" Professor Dave Explains in collaboration with Joel Frohlich

Big Ideas Brain Basics Collaborations Consciousness Podcast

What Is Consciousness? [Podcast Collaboration]

May 16, 2019May 16, 2019 knowingneurons 0 Comments Cerebellum, Collaborations, Consciousness, Integrated Information Theory, mind uploading, Podcast

What exactly do we consider “consciousness”? How much do we know about it already and how much more do we have to learn? Joel Frohlich of Knowing Neurons recently spoke… Read more

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