/sci/ - Science & Math

what is full time mcdonalds employee?

Do you think that any further science breakthroughs in the brain will just be fixing broken brains? On a related note do think humans can build a better brain?

question. im going to college and thinking of majoring in neuroscience or biology. what would be the advantages of taking the neuroscience route?

>>3055302
Well, not that many. You'd have more job prospects at pharmaceutical companies, but that's about it. You should choose the major you like best though. It's important that you're not stuck doing something you have no desire to do for the rest of your life.

>>3055303
>Do you think that any further science breakthroughs in the brain will just be fixing broken brains?
Sure, the end point is fixing pathology. That's not the only part where breakthroughs are realized though. I see a breakthrough as a sudden increase in our knowledge.
>On a related note do think humans can build a better brain?
In what sense? Design one from the ground up? That's what the people in robotics are doing.

OP's pic looks like Zdzislaw painting.

>>3055309

well chances are, im probably applying to med school and later becoming a neurologist. but which of the two majors would look better to med schools or does it not matter?

OP I like this thread.

So how much specific knowledge do we have in terms of what electrical stimuli result in what responses in the brain? Also how much does this vary person to person?

I had thought we were still a long ways away from being able to plug sensations directly in to the brain so to speak but some recent stuff I've seen with artificial eye research and the like makes me wonder.

What are your thoughts on deep brain stimulation and possible applications for psychological disorders?

>>3055335
I'd say neuroscience would look better if neurology is what you're going for. You would have already taken classes like neuroanatomy and such which would make med-school easier. Most neuroscience programs also include a lot of physiology and general anatomy, a lot of biology and biochemistry, but not stuff like ecology.

>>3055339
Quite a lot is known about the specific pathways from senses to their respective parts of the cortex, the different cellular pathways involved, and decoding of stimuli by primary sensory areas. That's not really the problem (although of course our knowledge isn't perfect either). The difficulty lies in connecting electrical equipment to neuronal ensembles in a neuron-specific manner. One electrode going into one neuron is extremely unstable, and the body tends to reject exogenous apparatuses, causing neurons in direct contact to die off.

>>3055353
Awesome. I'm actually involved in a project with DBS and OCD patients (not on the clinical side though, but we do measurements from the accumbens).

The clinical benefits are obvious though, and the success rate is high. It's also fairly versatile and can be used for a verity of disorders, not just psychiatric ones.

>>3055362

thank you for the advice

>>3055432
anytime

>>3055392
how do you connect to the one pathway which is so extremely small and uncooperative?

also i ve seen the "impulse" in the pathway is measured as a potential difference ( in volts ) . if in electronics volts represent the potential difference of electric charge present between two points in a circuit what does volts stand for in neuroscience ?
from where does an electric charge comes from ?

>>3055580
>how do you connect to the one pathway which is so extremely small and uncooperative?
Well, that's the problem. We can't, at the moment.
>from where does an electric charge comes from ?
The electric charge comes from a difference in extra- and intracellular relative concentrations of charged ions. The main contributers are sodium and potassium (and to some extent, chlorine and calcium). Sodium is pumped out of the cell and potassium into the cell. During an action potential (a 'signal' traveling across a neuron) sodium floods into the cell, which is measurable as a voltage change from outside the cell.

>>3055580
>how do you connect to the one pathway which is so extremely small and uncooperative?
Well, that's the problem. We can't, at the moment.
>from where does an electric charge comes from ?
The electric charge comes from a difference in extra- and intracellular relative concentrations of charged ions. The main contributers are sodium and potassium (and to some extent, chlorine and calcium). Sodium is pumped out of the cell and potassium into the cell. During an action potential (a 'signal' traveling across a neuron) sodium floods into the cell, which is measurable as a voltage change from outside the cell. 

Is neuroplasticity real? how can I exploit it to became einstein?
captcha: throws engineers

>>3055640
>Is neuroplasticity real?
Obviously, you wouldn't be able to learn or remember anything otherwise...
>how can I exploit it to became einstein?
Do your homework.

>>3055654

I meant as in real specific exercises

>>3055658
>I meant as in real specific exercises
You can't do much to increase general intelligence besides living healthy.

>>3055617
so you cant lock in the pathway to measure the voltage difference over a synapse then can you recreate that environment and would you be able to measure it then ? also i am interested in the method.

>>3055680
intelligence having a volumetric properties is debatable

people having different kind of skill set them apart from different levels of success at schools and universities

>>3055617
yeah i think the "signal" is the ionic charge

Is my understanding correct?

>Synapse doesn't get fired frequently enough
>Axonal termal / dendrite decouple
>terminal seeks out a new cell to connect with

If thats right so far, how does the terminal navigate to find a new neuron to connect to? How does it physically move?

SCHWANN CELLS? ACETYCHOLINESTERASE? PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM? PONS?

Will we learn anything significant about the brain in the next 50 years? My immunology professor left the field because he said it was a joke.

>>3055771
Something must be wrong with HIS medulla oblongata!

>>3055791
>>3055791

>IMPLYING IM DUMB
>IMPLYING MY MEDULLA OBLONGATA HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH INTELLIGENCE
>IMPLYING I WOULD BE ALIVE IF THERE WERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH MY MEDULLA

question: heading to college; i'm very interested in psychology but there's no way in hell i would major in it. would neuroscience be a good route?

How's the job field?
I also love neuroscience, and I know I'd need a PhD to do anything. But the schools with an undergrad neuroscience degree on offer a B.A. What should I do?

http://vimeo.com/23206442

Not enough Blue Brain Project in this bitch!!

>>3055899
Many Universities have interdisciplinary majors called Biopsychology, Psychobiology, Neuroscience and behaviour or Behavioural Neuroscience.

This is what I'm doing because I am extremely into psychology but I want an edge in the physiological aspects of it.

Even if I am just going to grad school for psychology, if the grad program admits 3% of applicants, I would stand out with my neuropsychology degree and research experience against everyone else with a useless B.A. degree.

oh, look what I found on page 15