Knowing Neurons

Sleep

Brain BasicsConsciousnessNeurological and Psychiatric DisordersSensation and PerceptionSleep

Sleep Paralysis: What Is It and What Causes It?

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 BasicsNeuro PrimerNeurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Neuro Primer: Sleep

Spanish Translation also available here: Neuro Cartilla: El Sueño ~~~ It’s easy to ask: “Why sleep?” But we can also turn the question on its head: “Why wake?” We need… Read More
AgingBrain BasicsNeuro PrimerNeurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Neuro Primer: Aging

What happens to the brain in aging? Normal aging comes with many changes in brain structure and function. As individuals approach the age of 65 years and above, they experience… Read More
ConsciousnessSleep

Our Dreams Have Many Purposes, Changing Across the Lifespan

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]lthough radically different in terms of their content and feel, the range of dream states are just as complex as waking states. If we look across an individual’s lifetime, we… Read More
Big IdeasConsciousnessPhilosophy

Consciousness: The Final Frontier

When I walk through my kitchen, I smell fresh food and feel warmth radiating off of it. These internal, subjective experiences are called qualia. I assume that my refrigerator, my… Read More
Brain BasicsNeurological and Psychiatric DisordersSleep

The inescapable nightmare of fatal familial insomnia

A family curse During the early 1980’s, an Italian physician was investigating a mysterious and dreadful disease that had long plagued his family. In earlier generations, this disease had killed… Read More
Brain Basics

How to Give Thanks Like a Neuroscientist

You’re on your way to the traditional Thanksgiving family get-together. You drive down a familiar street, locate your familiar house, and park in a familiar spot.… Read More
Big Ideas

Learning from Disorder: The Paradox of Information in the Brain

In Dante’s Inferno, the fifth circle of Hell is a place where the wrathful fight each other for eternity.  Similarly, I often consider YouTube comments to be an extracanonical circle… Read More
Did You Know?Sleep

Messing with the ‘Flip-Flop’ Switch: Why Getting Sick Makes You Sleepy

We all know how it feels to be sick.  The fatigue, increased sleep, and general malaise that accompany a cold are the primary reasons people stay bedridden when ill.  Even… Read More
Neuro NewsSensation and PerceptionSleep

Sleep ‘til you’re Hungry. Eat ‘til you’re Sleepy.

Have you ever tried to go to sleep hungry?  Believe me, it doesn’t work.  You just end up lying in bed, listening to your stomach growl, and dreaming about your… Read More
AgingDid You Know?Neurological and Psychiatric DisordersSleep

Sweet Dreams or Amyloid Nightmares

Sleep deprivation has become a badge of honor in our modern society.  Competitions break out in coffee shop lines over who is functioning on the least number of Zzzzzs and… Read More
Neuro NewsNeurological and Psychiatric DisordersSleep

From Turkey Comas To New Disease Treatments

Neurodegenerative disorders, like Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s disease, are devastating.  As you can imagine, witnessing the slow and progressive loss of a loved one’s mental and emotional states is an extremely… Read More
Learning and MemoryNeuro NewsNeurological and Psychiatric DisordersSleep

Let There Be Light!

When I was an undergraduate student, I was an expert at pulling “all-nighter” study sessions prior to exams and project deadlines.  Once everything was said and done the next day, many of my classmates… Read More