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/sci/ - Science & Math

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2424179 No.2424179 [Reply] [Original]

Might as well answer some neuroscience questions. You know, since I'm here anyway.

>> No.2424183

any foodstuffs that alter consciousness/emotions? (besides obvious drugs like alcy/weed etc. just normal food)

>> No.2424186

>>2424183
Bit of an ambiguous question... How would you define 'drug' if not by perception altering properties?

>> No.2424190

>>2424183
chocolate, strawberries. etc
>>2424186
>foodstuffs

Tripfags sure are stupid.

>> No.2424203

>>2424190
>chocolate
Sure, I guess, there's monoamine oxidase inhibitors in it after all, but it doesn't alter perception to the same quantitative extent as recreational drugs. Not by a long shot. I guess coffee, would qualify, but don't see how strawberries could.
>Tripfags sure are stupid.
If you're gonna be a dick please leave the thread.

>> No.2424206

>>2424203
How often do you use circuit models to represent things in neuroscience?

>> No.2424212

>>2424206
Me personally? Not that often. In general, it's fairly common in systems neuroscience.

>> No.2424213
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2424213

I would like to obtain a PhD in neuroscience, but I'd also like an MD and another PhD in a completely unrelated field.

Possible?

>> No.2424216

>>2424213
If you have about 30 years time, sure it's possible.

>> No.2424218

>>2424186
erm, fine, something you would eat for nutrition, but also has a side effect as being a drug of some sort/containing natural drugs.

(so not something you would take just for being a drug)

>> No.2424220

Does the brain have a resonant frequency? What is it?

>> No.2424225

>>2424190
no, you are stupid.
and a dickhead
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/foodstuff

>> No.2424227

>>2424218
In that case chocolate, coffee and nutmeg are the only ones I can think of (although these aren't really taken for nutrition, but you get the idea).

>> No.2424228

>>2424218
nutmeg?

>> No.2424229

effects of salvia divinorum on brain please?
any permanent affects?

>> No.2424231

>>2424216

well I don't anticipate dying before I'm 50.

So SWEET!

>> No.2424234

>>2424220
In the mechanical sense, sure, but it depends on the size. That's more an engineering question though.

>> No.2424232

Here's something I've been pondering lately:

Are there any studies linking neuroscience with art? I mean, like "high" art like Mozart or Bach?

I remember reading some study about playing Mozart for babies or something made them concentrate better. I believe certain complex works of art can completely open up new pathways in a person's brain, but that's just from MY subjective experience...

Can you point me to some studies on this?

>> No.2424248

>>2424229
I'm not too familiar with the pharmacology of the substance, but wikipedia tells me Salvinorin A is an opioid receptor ligand, so it works in a similar manner as LSD for instance. I can't see it having any permanent effects (but then again not a lot of long term studies have been conducted on it as far as I know).

>> No.2424258

>>2424232
>I remember reading some study about playing Mozart for babies or something made them concentrate better.
That to me seems a bit problematic. I'm unaware of any studies actually showing this, and I doubt it has any empirical basis. In popular culture people often say babies get smarter if you listen to Mozart or the likes when pregnant, but I think that would simply be an effect of auditory stimulation, not relating to the complexity of the music per-se. Neural development is highly dependent on input, and auditory stimulation is actually essential for proper development of the auditory- and related association cortices.

I'll have a look if I can find some studies.

>> No.2424265

What are the theoretical requirements of firing a single neuron?

Like what would a device have to do to cause action potential in a single neuron, externally without implanting anything?

Hopefully I'm using action potential right, and if not just know I mean the firing of a neuron

>> No.2424270

>>2424258
>I'll have a look if I can find some studies.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8684937
http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/psychology/rauscher/Key.pdf

These were the first ones to pop up. (reading the abstracts made me sort of fear this type of research has pretty poor experimental design, so take the conclusions with a grain of salt)

>> No.2424272

fucking trip fags

>> No.2424277

>>2424265
Induce current (enough to pass the threshold). That's sufficient.

>> No.2424279

>>2424272
fuckin fakemod tripfag

>> No.2424280

>>2424270
Thanks brah

>> No.2424285

>>2424272
BAN ME FAGGOT

(USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)

>> No.2424283

>>2424232
I'm a classically trained musician and I can appreciate the Mozart effect.
Sound, like all stimuli, generates brainwaves. The human brain is developed such that it involves much of the brain when interpreting harmonies, tone, structure, patterns, rhythm and polyphony. The result is increased blood flow to the active regions and therefore greater performance in other activities. It's not a permanent effect but will lead to greater growth if applied correctly and regularly. The effect is even greater for performers; not only are they more involved but the regions associated with physical movement and coordination are stimulated.

>> No.2424289

>>2424285
Snow day huh?

>> No.2424297

>>2424283
That goes for every type of music. It's not restricted to Mozart or evern classical music. It <span class="math">is[/spoiler] however restricted to the auditory and temporal association cortices (and to some extent frontal regions involved in anticipation and such). It's not like Mozart and Mozart alone stimulates all aspects of cognitive development.

I have to pick up laundry now. I'll be back in about half an hour.

>> No.2424311

semi-unrelated question.

I notice you always use that picture to post, any significance?

>> No.2424366

Well, done quicker than I thought.
>>2424311
It shows fluorescent protein expression in a mouse brain. What genes it relates to I'm not sure. I forgot where I got the picture. I just like the pretty colors.

>> No.2424380
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2424380

>>2424366

thanks

>> No.2424381

If you slow down the signal from the eye to the brain allowing for a larger collection of light information this will increase the ability to see in the dark while equally destroying the ability to see in the light.

i.e. it gives the same effect as exposure in a camera

>> No.2424389

What's you're current field of study?
Also, when running western blots, what protein due you use as the standard to calibrate the densitometer?

>> No.2424391

>>2424297
Did I say it was limited to Mozart?
I isolated the areas stimulated and the conclusion was that it did involve regions of the brain also involved with other functions such as maths, communication, coordination etc. You call yourself the neuroscientist but all you have done is make wild assumptions. Show me brain scans involving musicians actively listening, at rest, performing and doing other activities. Were this within the realm of my degree it's something I'd look into.

>> No.2424393

>>2424381
is that a question?

>> No.2424402
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2424402

>>2424391

>> No.2424408

>>2424391
>Did I say it was limited to Mozart?
The fact that it's called the Mozart effect suggests this. No need to be defensive.
>I isolated the areas stimulated and the conclusion was that it did involve regions of the brain also involved with other functions such as maths, communication, coordination etc.
That's something I could agree with, but this is a lot more nuanced than saying listening to Mozart makes you smarter, as is the way it's often interpreted in popular culture.
>You call yourself the neuroscientist but all you have done is make wild assumptions.
There's no need to be offensive either.

>> No.2424423

How would you advise one to raise his/her child with respect to advanced cognitive function?

>> No.2424421

>>2424389
Sorry, missed this one. I'd rather not be too specific about my field, I don't want this to be traceable to my person. Suffice it to say my field is cognitive neuroscience with a specialization in long range (inter-area) dynamics and oscillatory communication.
>Also, when running western blots, what protein due you use as the standard to calibrate the densitometer?
No idea, I'm not a cellular neuroscientist.

>> No.2424437

>>2424423
That's more a question of a developmental psychologist, but OK. Make sure your kid gets proper nutrition, with plenty of proteins, and unsaturated fats. Plenty of exercise (a healthy brain is a well-functioning brain), but probably most importantly, good education.

>> No.2424447

>>2424258
>>2424232

I think A.Isen has done a lot of work around the idea of mood and cognition having an interaction. The idea is, in studies less popularized than the 'mozart babies' one, that positive mood increases dopamine and can stimulate novel pathway use in the brain.
She uses music (classical mainly) to induce these moods (along with other methods like self-story telling) to put individuals into a positive mood, and has found it to be the mood, not the music per se that creates increased ability.
It is reasonable to suggest that music that induces positive mood would give infants the opportunity for pathways to develop more easily

>> No.2424456

I have to go. Thanks for the interesting questions and comments!

>> No.2424467

Does every field in neuroscience require a strong chemistry background? I'm currently a junior who's interested in neuroscience but unsure about which courses to take next year - AP chem., AP bio., psychology, etc.

>> No.2424471
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2424471

>>2424456

>> No.2424486

>>2424467
Not OP, but based on people I know specialising in neuroscience, you can go into psychology or biology with whatever.
It helps to know a little about how axons work and how proteins bind to activation sites, and as far as specialising further into pharmacology goes, yeh basic chemistry is a plus

>> No.2424489

>>2424467

If anyone else could answer this question, I'd really appreciate it.

>> No.2424495

>>2424486

Thank you!

>> No.2424526

Damn, I missed you again.

I was going to ask how you think motor learning is done. I asked this in another thread, but I had no answer. I've read a few papers on it, and have changed my view on it since, but I'm still a lot more confused about it, as opposed to sensory learning which is easier to understand.

The other question was how do you think positive/negative reinforcement is implemented in the brain. That is, if something is classified as bad (let's say, pain or eating food that one doesn't "like"), what is the effect in the brain, what about if something is classified as good (such as eating certain types of food, or having an orgasm or whatever is classified as "pleasant" by the brain)? Pleasant patterns cause a repeat in such behaviour, while unpleasant ones cause an avoidance of such situations, but how does the brain implement such types of learning?

>> No.2424527

How does the brain address memory?

Has anyone ever preserved the function of a brain and tried to understand the programming language?

>> No.2424544

>>2424527
Synapses are your memory. The noecortex itself contains most of your actual memories. There are hypothesises on it and how it works (they're back by evidence, however they're still too young to be called "thoeries" in their full right).

Since you mentioned programming languages, you might want to read some computational neuroscience books, or if you just want to read about more high-level ideas, you could read Jeff Hawkin's "On Intelligence" book.

>> No.2424592

I have a choice between taking Physics 1 and 2 without calculus, Calculus 1 and 2, or some combination of the two. Which pertains more to graduate studies in neuroscience (and thus what should I take?