the nerve blog |
Beating Stress
With finals week approaching, stress levels are at an ultimate high. Stress can manifest in physical and psychological symptoms such as headache, impaired concentration, and change in eating and sleeping habits, which are all factors that can negatively impact one’s performance. Methods to manage anxiety during this stressful time include getting enough sleep, having a […]
The Neuroscience Involving Habits
A habit is behavior that becomes automatic after regular repetition. The pervading thought used to be that habits are formed to free the brain, so it may perform other tasks, and to an extent, that is still true. However, a recent study conducted by MIT neuroscientists has found that a small region of the prefrontal […]
Does Thanksgiving Turkey Really Make You Tired?
Thanksgiving traditions tend to vary from house to house, but one thing seems to remain constant: turkey. We stuff ourselves with turkey and (possibly) cranberry sauce, as if its our last supper. A common desire after eating is to nap – as if eating is a strenuous activity. A well known explanation for this is that the turkey […]
Winter Blues or PMS?
Women have a pretty bad rep when it comes to hormones. We get it all the time, in memes, as jokes in TV shows, or in the form of the amusing side comment, “It’s that time of the month again, eh?” with a crass wink. Yes yes, females have a tendency to be moody. For […]
Neuroscience and the Greatest Minds
The Pyramids of Giza is one of “the Seven Wonders of the World,” which required Ancient Egypt to utilize complex knowledge in mathematics and architecture to figure out how to construct such landmark from the beginning. Some beholders are in such disbelief that they believe a greater force than the ancient civilizations built it for […]
How Dreams Are Shown Through Brain Activity
For the longest amount of time, sleep and dreams were a complete mystery. At best, only educated guesses could be made as to how and why we dream from scientists such as Sigmund Freud, who claimed that sleep was a “safety valve” for unconscious desires. Essentially, no concrete theory for the process of sleep could […]
Conformity
Conformity is determined by a variety of situational and individual difference factors. Situational factors tend to increase when subjects are in groups that have been previously successful, when subjects are asked to give public responses while facing an opposition, when the stimuli are ambiguous or difficult, or when members are interdependent or unanimously opposed. Individual […]
The Paradox of Cell Death
“Apoptosis” is Greek word that literally means “falling of the petals from a flower or leaves from a tree” [1]. This description contrasts with the typical textbook definition: apoptosis is programmed cell death, caused by the Diablo gene. The literal translation stresses the evolutionary significance and benefit of apoptosis. While apoptosis can be detrimental, it […]
Free Will
Most people believe that they have complete control over every conscious decision that they make. However, research shows that in some cases, conscious decision follows the onset of neural activity preceding a voluntary, self-initiated movement or task. In an experiment published in 1983, the recordable cerebral activity, or readiness-potential, that precedes voluntary motor acts was […]
Language and the Child’s Brain
You may have heard that it is a good idea for children to learn more than one language at a young age (especially toddlers) and that children learn languages more easily than adults. Why is it though, that learning early is advantageous for children? And is the claim that it is easier for children to […]