Brain Basics

Brain Basics Sensation and Perception 

Tick, Tock: Your Brain’s Inner Clock

April 25, 2018April 25, 2018 Jenn Tribble 0 Comments circadian rhythm, David Eagleman, Dopamine, Einstein, emotional state, five senses, Perception, Sensation, stress, temporal pattern, Time

ime: one syllable, four letters, but one of the nebulous constructs of our world. Many bright scholars and philosophers have attempted to understand time as a primary sense, including Albert… Read more

Brain Basics Did You Know? 

No, You’re Not Left-Brained or Right-Brained

February 15, 2018February 15, 2018 Joel Frohlich 0 Comments Cerebral, Cerebral hemispheres, Expierments, Fibers, fMRI, Functional MRI, Harry Potter, Hemisphere, Hogwarts, Lateralization, Left, Left brain, Nerve, Nerve fibers, Neuroanatomy, Neuroimaging, Right, Right brain, Split brain, Visuospatial abilities, VS Ramachandran

At the fictional Hogwarts school for witchcraft and wizardry in the Harry Potter series, students are sorted into different school houses by a magic hat based on their personalities. Similarly,… Read more

Brain Basics Neuro SciFi 

The Life and Times of the 10% Neuromyth

February 13, 2018February 13, 2018 Gabrielle Torre 3 Comments Black Mirror, Brain, Brain boosters, Default mode network, Epilepsy, fMRI, Functional MRI, Human, Human Brain, Human potential, Humans, Movies, MRI, Myth, Neuroimaging, Neuromyth, Neuroscience, Neuroscientist, Pop Culture, Science Fiction, Seizure, TV

How much of your brain are you using right now? The science fiction answer would be “10%.” And, if you’ve watched enough bad sci-fi, using 100% of your brain would… Read more

Brain Basics Did You Know? Sensation and Perception 

Neuronal Communication: Electricity and Neurotransmitters

January 24, 2018January 23, 2018 Jenn Tribble 0 Comments Brain, Dopamine, GABA, glutamate, Network, Neuron, Neurons, neurotransmitter, Perception, Receptor, serotonin, Synapse

ith approximately 86 billion neurons in the human brain, it is a complex piece of machinery in charge of movement, sensation, decision-making, and more. Behaviors cannot arise from the work… Read more

Brain Basics Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders Sleep 

The inescapable nightmare of fatal familial insomnia

October 31, 2017October 31, 2017 Sean Noah 1 Comment Brain, Cortex, Disease, Disorders, Fatal Familial Insomnia, FFI, Genetics, Insomnia, Molecular neuroscience, Neuroscience, Prions, Psychiatry, Sleep, Sleep disorders

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 Did You Know? Movement Sensation and Perception 

What is the cerebellum?

October 23, 2017October 22, 2017 Cari Ritzenthaler 1 Comment balance, Brain, Cerebellum, Coordination, granule cell, Infographic, Knowing Neurons, Movement, Neuroscience, Proprioception, Purkinje cell, Vestibular system

Learn about the mini brain you have at the base of your skull!… Read more

Brain Basics Neuroscience Technologies 

The Brain’s Building Blocks: Of Protons and Voxels

September 27, 2017September 27, 2017 Gabrielle Torre 0 Comments Alzheimer’s disease, Autism, Biology, Computational Biology, Computer Science, Electromagnetic Forces, Interdisciplinary, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Magnets, Morphometry, MRI, Neuroimaging, physics, Proton Spin, protons, Radio-frequency Waves, stroke, Voxels

hat’s in a brain? That which we call a voxel by any other name would sound far less confusing. Imagine all of the atoms in your brain. Now imagine how these… Read more

Brain Basics Neuro News Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders Neuroscience Technologies Videos 

Lighting Up The Brain With Optogenetics

September 22, 2017September 22, 2017 Brainfacts.org 0 Comments Algae, Biomimicry, BrainFacts.org, Channelrhodopsin, Deep Brain Stimulation, Optogenetics, Parkinson's Disease, Retina, Video

Scientists studying pond scum discovered its peculiar ability to sense light, even without eyes. This discovery would eventually lead to a technique called optogenetics, one of the most powerful techniques… Read more

Brain Basics Brain Development Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders Sensation and Perception 

Schizophrenia in a Vial? The Story of Ketamine

September 20, 2017September 24, 2017 Joel Frohlich 2 Comments Anesthesia, Antidepressant, Antipsychotic drugs, Brain, cognitie symptoms, depression, Dissociation, Dopamine, glutamate, Ketamine, negative symptoms, neurotransmitter, PCP, Perception, phencyclidine, positive symptoms, Schizophrenia, Sensation, Synaptic Connections

Note: Ketamine is a controlled substance in the US and many other countries. Do not use ketamine illicitly. magine an injection that briefly gives you schizophrenia. Now imagine that this… Read more

Brain Basics Learning and Memory 

Learning about Language from Birdsong

August 25, 2017August 24, 2017 Brainfacts.org 3 Comments Basal ganglia, birdsong, brain facts, BrainFacts.org, language, Learning, motor skills, singing, vocal behaviors, Vocal Learning, Zebra Finch

Songbirds are one of the few known species who learn to speak (or sing) like we do. That makes them the perfect case study to learn about the origins of… Read more

Brain Basics Brain Development Did You Know? Learning and Memory Sensation and Perception 

Reading: The Brain’s Best Hijacker

July 26, 2017July 28, 2017 Gabrielle Torre 2 Comments Brain, Cortex, Development, EEG, Fact, fMRI, Knowing Neurons, Learning, Neuron, Neurons, Neuroscience, Prefrontal Cortex, Reading, Research

What are you doing right now? I’m no psychic, but I can say for certain one thing that you’re doing: reading. You’re reading this sentence, word by word, and extracting… Read more

Big Ideas Brain Basics Did You Know? 

Why Does Music Make Us Feel So Much?

July 12, 2017July 13, 2017 Amy Thomas 1 Comment Adiel Mallik, anhedonia, Daniel J. Levitin, Dopamine, Emotion, feeling, McGill University, Mona Lisa Chanda, Music, Naltrexone, NTX, Nucleus accumbens, opioids, reward circuit, serotonin

Whether you’re listening through tinny iPhone headphones on your morning commute or crying at a John Mayer concert, there is a special place in our hearts for music. But what… Read more