Undoubtedly the most complex organ in the body, brain it’s a beautiful mess of cells, chemicals and electrical impulses that orchestrate our thoughts, behaviors and unconscious bodily functions.
This year, Live Science featured a number of fascinating brain studies, each of which revealed new insights into how the brain reacts to questions. the new ones.
Related: A master control of inflammation has been discovered – and it’s in the brain
The male hormone cycle and the brain
Although it’s not often discussed, the male hormone cycle is pretty amazing. Steroid hormones in the male body – including testosterone, cortisol and estradiol – decrease by about 70% throughout the day and then return overnight. This year, a brain study revealed that the brain loses and regains sound in time and this daily cycle. However, at this time it is not clear whether the hormones themselves drive the brain to change or how this cycle affects men’s brain function.
Your cinematic brain
Many people throw on a movie when they want to “turn off their brain” a little. But a recent study found that, in fact, 24 different brain networks light up while watching different types of movies. By linking patterns of brain activity to what was happening in a given area, the scientists behind the study were able to create the most functional brain map to date.
Development of the infant brain after birth
An intensive study of infants and newborns highlights how the work of certain parts of the brain change suddenly after birth. There is significant activity in the subcortical network, which acts as a relay center for information, and the sensorimotor network, which is responsible for processing external stimuli and coordination movements. Now the researchers want to study the same brain networks in preterm babies, to see if there are noticeable differences in full-term babies.
Driving to eat
A simple circuit made of only three types of neurons may be the basis of our desire to eatresearch found. Brain cells work together to detect hormones that signal hunger and eventually release cells that control the muscles for chewing. By disrupting this cycle in lab mice, the researchers made the mice eat 12 times more food than usual and make chewing movements even without food.
Pregnancy “permanent etchings” on the brain
Throughout pregnancy, approx 80% of the brain’s gray matter loses volume. Some of this lost volume reappears after delivery, but most of what is missing is permanently lost. A similar loss of gray matter is seen during puberty, when the brain “remodels” excess connections to enhance its function. This change during pregnancy may reflect a similar arrangement of the brain’s circuitry, the scientists say.
Three copies of each idea
A study of mice suggests that the brain can keep at least three copies of each idea it is coded. These copies differ in when they are made, how long they last and how much they can be changed over time. Understanding when and how these different copies appear could help scientists deal with conditions that affect memory encoding and retrieval, such as PTSD and dementia.
Lab-grown brains?
It can brain organoids – miniature brain models grown in the laboratory – have they ever noticed? Live Science asked neuroscientist Kenneth Kosik that question assured us that it will not happen anytime soon. However, there is an ongoing debate about what qualifies as “attitude,” he said. And there are big questions about what would happen if human minibrains were transferred to animals or linked to technology to create so-called cyborgs.
Related: Optical illusion reveals an important brain rule that controls the mind
Shrooms that “dissolve” selfish feelings
Psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, can cause the brain network responsible for maintaining a person’s emotions connection failure. Called the default network, this brain circuit is most active when people are out and about. With high-dose psilocybin, network activity was temporarily altered, with some effects lasting several weeks.
The origin of psychosis
A brain study can help confirm the theory why people have psychosisor sudden separation from reality. Using artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze the scans, scientists have found “signatures” running through the brains of people with psychosis. These signatures were linked to a genetic condition or were from an unknown cause. The research backs up the idea that, in psychosis, the brain network responsible for focusing a person’s attention is dysfunctional, which leads to hallucinations and delusions.
“Universal” brain structure in monkeys
Many primate species, including humans, share a common pattern of brain waves the brain, the outer part of the brain. This universal pattern is characterized by high-frequency brain waves in the upper parts of the cortex and slow waves in its deeper parts. Scientists think that the connection between fast and slow waves determines what information is in the mind at any given time.
Flow rate
Scientists revealed the parts of the brain that change when a person is in a flow state – or “in place.” The study involved examining the minds of musicians of varying experience. It pitted two competing theories of “flow” against each other, and one theory came out on top.
Click to read
The study found that the human brain is able to recognize the basic elements of written language in the time it takes to blink. That suggests that the brain can process written words as quickly as it does pictures of the world around us. Subjects seemed to process phrases including subjects, verbs and objects faster than lists of nouns. They were also quick to act when the meaning of the phrase was unclear. Studies suggest that the brain not only recognizes the presence of words but also begins to interpret the meaning immediately.
Large worms from intestinal worms
A study of mice suggests that the surprisingly large human brain can have it came about as a result of a unique microorganism in our power. The study’s researchers injected bacteria from the guts of humans and non-human primates into mice. Viruses from humans and primates with larger brains converted food into brain energy compared to viruses from small monkeys. Studies suggest that brain cells convert food into energy for the brain more efficiently, thus helping to boost brain growth.
Amazing new brain map
Researchers from Harvard and Google revealed a surprising map of a small part of the human brain. It has about 57,000 neurons, 9 inches (23 centimeters) of blood vessels and 150 million synapses (connection points between nerves). The map highlighted unique and unexpected areas of the brain, including “whorls,” or knots, on the exits of some nerves.
3D printed brain tissue that actually works
First, scientists 3D printed human brain tissue. The printer itself used stem cells instead of ink, and the team used a combination of chemicals to stimulate those cells to become brain cells. The resulting cells were able to communicate and connect to a network, just like cells in a real brain.
Always ask yourself why some people build muscle more easily than others or why spots appear in the sun? Send us your questions about how the human body works community@livescience.com with the subject “Health Desk Q,” and you can see your question answered on the website!
#times #brain #destroy #minds
