Category: General Neuroscience

Neuroscience

Differences of Cognitive Offloading Usage among Individuals Performing Short Term Memory Tasks

Sooraj Shah ’24 Recalling a lot of information at one time is possible, but not feasible. Writing information down on a paper during a class or in the grocery store, for instance, are ways to reduce the strain of memorization within an individual. This concept is further defined as cognitive offloading, which can assist in overcoming the cognitive restraints in mentally retaining information. A study … Continue reading Differences of Cognitive Offloading Usage among Individuals Performing Short Term Memory Tasks

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General Neuroscience

Neural Population Code Organization in Mouse Visual System

Panayiota Siskos ’23 While mice are useful for investigating components of visual perception, this research is limited by insufficient knowledge of the organization of the visual cortex of the mice. Visual information is processed via computations while traveling from the retina to lateral geniculated nucleus and visual cortices. The early visual system processes complex visual stimuli by encoding various stimulus attributes by individual neurons while … Continue reading Neural Population Code Organization in Mouse Visual System

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Brain

Presence of Seizure-Inducing Lesions Observable with Brain Tonometry

Vignesh Subramanian ’24 Cortical dysplasia (CD) is a congenital disorder involving improper organization of layers of the brain, which generates pathological lesions on the organ’s surface and renders developing neurons unable to mature and connect with one another. Lesional tissue significantly increases risk of refractory epilepsy (seizures not responsive to medication) in the pediatric population, and complete surgical resection of this deformed tissue is a … Continue reading Presence of Seizure-Inducing Lesions Observable with Brain Tonometry

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General Neuroscience

Anatomical Etiology of AR Subtype of Parkinson’s Disease Linked to Altered Functional Connectivity

Vignesh Subramanian ’24 Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative movement disorder causing progressive loss of motor control that afflicts over ten million people worldwide. The disease is characterized by a loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra region of the brain, contributing to widespread network alterations that disrupt communication with the body’s muscles. PD patients are classified by their most prominent resulting clinical symptoms, … Continue reading Anatomical Etiology of AR Subtype of Parkinson’s Disease Linked to Altered Functional Connectivity

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Cognition

Deaf People and Sensory Compensation

Ayesha Azeem ‘23 Through neuroimaging, previous studies have shown that sensory deficits in one modality can cause amplified performance in sensory processing of other modalities in a phenomenon known as sensory compensation. This is often seen in people with extreme sensory deficits, such as people who suffer from deafness, those who experience a loss of auditory cues. However, not much is known about whether sensory … Continue reading Deaf People and Sensory Compensation

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General Neuroscience

Bilinguals’ Ease of Lexical Access Related to the Switching of Languages

Sooraj Shah ’24 Over 43% of the United States population is bilingual and speaks more than one language. A skill fostered at a young age, bilingual speakers can converse and switch freely between multiple languages, but the root cause of why and when this occurs is not clear. A study conducted in Spain in collaboration with Stony Brook University’s Psychology Department explored the relationship between … Continue reading Bilinguals’ Ease of Lexical Access Related to the Switching of Languages

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General Neuroscience

The Correlation Between Urinary Growth Factor and Brain Growth in Relation to Postnatal Development

Sooraj Shah ’24 Premature births occur in nearly 1 in every 10 cases in the United States, which can lead to numerous diverse health effects in the future. Two neurotrophic proteins which are responsible for the survival of neurons, Nerve Growth Factor(NGF) and Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor(BDNF), are crucial for the development of the peripheral and central nervous systems. NGFs and BDNFs are critical for … Continue reading The Correlation Between Urinary Growth Factor and Brain Growth in Relation to Postnatal Development

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Cognition

The Physiological Nature of ASMR in Relation to the Pupil

Panayiota Siskos ’23 Studies have defined ASMR as static-like tingling sensations felt on the skin associated with relaxation and positive feelings, and often start from the back of the head and expand down the spine, and sometimes to the limbs. However, not everyone experiences this, and there is debate regarding whether it is an actual existing phenomenon or if expectancy manipulates influence. Due to its … Continue reading The Physiological Nature of ASMR in Relation to the Pupil

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General Neuroscience

Population decoding highlights functional organization of mouse brain

Vignesh Subramanian ’24 Neural coding is the study of how neurons conduct information processing, with the aim of identifying relationships between stimuli and neuronal responses by examining electrical activity. One particular coding scheme, commonly known as population coding, involves generating spatiotemporal representations of activity in clusters of cells as opposed to individual cells. When such representations are mapped onto global topographic organization of an organism’s … Continue reading Population decoding highlights functional organization of mouse brain

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Brain

Response Inhibition Control in Migraineurs

Wendy Wu ’22 Migraine is a neurological disorder characterized by frequent headaches, particularly prevalent in women. Much research has gone into identifying the causes of migraines with the hope of increasing preventative measures and developing treatment. Although evidence suggests that migraines are caused by an imbalance of cortical excitatory and inhibitory processes, there is little empirical data of actual pathophysiological features underlying response inhibition in … Continue reading Response Inhibition Control in Migraineurs

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Neuroscience

Lower reaction levels in mothers to their child result in insensitive parenting

Joyce Chen ’23 A mother’s greatest task is to provide a nurturing environment for her child to grow, blossom, and thrive in. The absence of maternal love in a child’s life will cause a strain on the bond between the mother and her child. These neglectful mothers, also known as high-risk mothers, have insensitive reactions to their children’s needs. They rarely respond to their children’s … Continue reading Lower reaction levels in mothers to their child result in insensitive parenting

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Neuroscience

Circadian rhythm directly influences muscle performance in Olympic swimmers

Joyce Chen ’23 Organisms have a specialized inner clock known as the circadian rhythm, which is regulated by the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus of the brain. Throughout the day, circadian rhythms in the body have direct control over physiological functions, including muscle strength and flexibility. Despite its relevance, there is a lack of research on the effects of circadian rhythms on Olympic athletes. … Continue reading Circadian rhythm directly influences muscle performance in Olympic swimmers

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