Ch 0 - Course Intro Flashcards
What is the neuroscientific basis of circadian rhythms? Who are the two prominent neuroscientists that study this in TX?
- Controlled by the Suprachiasmatic nucleus
- Joseph Takahashi and William J. Schwartz
What is the world’s largest neuroscience conference?
Meeting for Society of Neuroscience
Blueprint Grand Challenges
- Human Connectome Project - formed as an effort to map all the connections w/n the human brain
- Grand Challenge on Chronic Neuropathic Pain - research to understand the changes in the nervous system that cause acute, temporary pain to become chronic
- Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network - provides funding for research and expertise to assist small labs in developing new drugs for nervous system disorders
BRAIN Initiative
- Research initiative announced by Obama in 2013 to encourage the research of the human brain
Human Brain Project
- Research initiative in Europe similar to the one announced in the US
- Some controversy due to them not reaching an agreed upon theory of how the brain works, public began to question that the funds weren’t being used adequately
Human Connectome Project
- Formed as an effort to map all the connections w/n the human brain
- Took 5 years and $40 million to map out 1,200 healthy adults’ connections
- developed an MRI scanner that is 4-8 times more powerful than conventional MRIs
China Brain Project
- 15 year research initiative announced in 2016 in China targeting the neural basis of cognitive function, diagnosis and prevention of brain diseases
We only use 10% of our brain. True or False? Why?
False
- PET and fMRI indicated otherwise, and if this was true, we would be able to remove the “unused” portions of our brain with no adverse effects
There are 10 times more glia than neurons in the brain. True or False? Why?
False
- Herculano-Houzel’s study in 2009 which included a new way of counting neurons in the brain proved that the ratio is closer 1:1
What are some other neuromyths we discussed?
- children are less attentive after sugary drinks and snacks
- drinking less than 6-8 glasses of water a day can cause the brain to shrink
- hemispheric dominance can help to explain individual difference amongst learners
BMI
- brain machine interface
- hold great promise for use in the recovery of sensory and motor functions lost as a result of nervous system injuries or limb amputations
- Gert-Jan Oskam - man who is paralyzed from waist down has been given implants that bridges his brain and spinal cord, connecting his intentions to his physical movements
- Cortical implants and processing units developed by Henri Lorach et al
What is Elon Musk’s contribution to BMI/BCI?
- created Neuralink
- aim is to help pts with paralysis communicate by allowing them to remotely control devices using brain activity - essentially a chip that allows pts to connect to a computer
What was done in a recent study we discussed, published in Neuron, in which the authors
claimed neurons learned and exhibited sentience in vitro?
- in vitro neural networks of humans or rodents are integrated with insilico computing
- these cultures are then embedded in a simulated game-world
- found that there was inherent learning w/n five minutes of gameplay
- cultures displayed the ability to self-organize activity in a goal directed manner in response to sensory information
What is the free energy principle, and how does it relate to the in vitro neurons?
- self organization of the brain that suggests that the brain reduces surprise/uncertainty by making predictions, thus minimizing the free energy in the system
Neurophilosophy
- study of neuro and philosophy that explores the relevance of neuroscientific studies to the arguments traditionally categorized as philosophy of mind.
