Marco Travaglio, Author at Knowing Neurons

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.

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

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

A neuron halfway between winter and summer season backgrounds. Illustrated by McCall Sarrett.

Big Ideas Culture Learning and Memory Sensation and Perception

Is Winter Good for Your Neurons?

January 31, 2019January 31, 2019 Marco Travaglio 0 Comments Attention, Climate, Cognitive, Decision-making, glucose, Memory, Metabolism, seasonal affective disorder, Temperature, Winter

It is that time of the year again. Whilst the Southern Hemisphere is coping with the sweltering heat of the summer, cold is sweeping across the rest of the globe,… Read more

Aging Culture Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Food for Your Brain: Mediterranean Diet May Help Your Neurons Live Longer

November 28, 2018November 27, 2018 Marco Travaglio 0 Comments Aging, Alzeihmer's disease, Brain, dementia, dietary fat, Fat, Food, income, Learning, MeDi, Mediterranean Diet, Memory, Oxidative stress, socioeconomic status

Historians consider it one of the ‘cradles of civilization,’ but for many scientists today the real value of the Mediterranean basin does not lie in its contribution to history. Home… Read more

Neuro News Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Main Bout: New Hopes in the Fight Against Parkinson’s Disease

September 25, 2018December 14, 2018 Marco Travaglio 0 Comments cell replacement therapy, CiRA, Dopamine, induced pluripotent stem cells, iPS Cell Research and Application, iPSC, Muhammad Ali, Parkinson's Disease, Substantia Nigra, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Following his Olympic victory in 1960, Muhammad Ali earned the World-Heavyweight-Champion title in 1964 in one of the most celebrated upsets in boxing history. The much-anticipated fight opened with the… Read more