the nerve blog |
A Portrait of Perception
Many a scientist has noted in the light of recent discovery that what has been scientifically elucidated has often been artistically intuited even hundreds of years before. Many phenomena of psychology or even physics have been illuminated first through the intuition and hypersensitive reflection of art. Illusions within the visual arts that modify perception of […]
The Creator Inside Our Minds
Through humanity’s existence there has been a backbone of culture, tradition and out of that has come religion. Since ancient times, humans as a species have devoted their time and mental capacity to a higher being that we cannot physically perceive nor interact with. There are varying viewpoints from different disciplines that try to explain […]
Neuroscience to Help Astronauts in Spaceflight
Have you ever wondered what it feels like to return to Earth after flying around in space? Until now, astronauts in training wondered the same thing. Upon returning to Earth after spaceflight, astronauts may experience neurological symptoms such as dizziness and loss of balance. In the past, scientists had no way to replicate these symptoms […]
William’s Syndrome and Autism: Two Extremes on the Social Spectrum
Are you an extravert or an introvert? It is likely that if you have not been asked this directly, you have been tempted into the bi-categorical systemization in the privacy of your internal self-judgment. These two prototypes which show some truth in the extremes of human sociability are represented in the symptoms of William’s Syndrome […]
Replacing Neurons
Imagine: a mad scientist with a ray gun shoots at a neuron somewhere in cortical layer IV of your visual area MT, burning it up in a matter of microseconds (just for fun, imagine also that the ray gun leaves everything else intact). With one neuron missing, you probably won’t notice any perceptual change. But what […]
Subconscious Security: Our Next Big Life Investment?
Have you seen the hit summer movie, Inception, yet? If not, I recommend you to, because it’s mind bottling (Yeah, Anchorman’s Ron Burgundy would approve). Either way though, seen it or not, the movie tweaked my curiosity about the ever-growing interaction between technology and our brains, our minds. In the movie, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Cobb, […]
Turns out, size doesn't matter.
“What’s so special about the human brain? It turns out that we’re no better endowed between the ears than you would expect for a primate of our size.” To see how Suzana Herculano-Houzel thwarted the conventional correlation of brain size to intelligence, read more here.
Light-Up Brains
Studying neurological disorders and identifying the brain regions associated with them often involves selective activation and deactivation of neurons. Blue light has been used in the past to activate cells, but recently Stanford University neuroscientists have figured out a way to use different colors of light to inhibit neurons. Their growing area of research, optogenetics, […]
The Brain Game: Frolick in the cerebellum, outwit nanobots in the brainstem, puzzle together memories in the hippocampus…
Neuromatrix You are a secret agent infiltrating a top-secret neuroscience research facility. Your mission: to track down and root out the Nanobots that have invaded the brains of the scientists there. If you fail, the Nanobots and the secret entity that spawned them will take over the Earth, reprogramming the human brain into docile submission. […]
Reading Good for You
Research has shown that reading stimulates white matter growth, improves memory, and in general makes you smarter. If you think any of those things are good for you, visit Project Gutenburg, a collection of thousands of free e-books. Disclaimer: reading is not intended to cure any disease. Consult your physician before engaging in excessive reading. […]