The brain can still develop even after adolescense. Adults need to enhance thier plasticity. Plasicity is when you are able to adapt to new experiences. Being able to adapt to a new and different environment is a social and survival skills that everyone has to have. Being a adult means that life is constantly changing, you have to adapt to having children being married and new jobs. New findings on the adult brain establish two principles. First, the adult brain continues to grow and develop throughout our entire life. Second, brain development in adulthood is shaped mostly by outside stimuli. This new thinking means that we can do healthy “workouts” for our brains, as well as our bodies!

There are games like soduko and lumosity for example. Having new expereincese is the best thing you can do for your brain. Everytime you learn something new your brain creates new pathways. The brain and body are connected and exercise is good for the both of them. The brain increases new cell growth and mental abilities  20-30% from the stimulation of exercise. Our brains can not function properly without sleep. We all need 8 hours of sleep a night so that our brains will function properly. A diet of fruits and vegetable along with plent of water will benefit the brain and body and help everyone function better.

Sources: J. Tortora, Gerald, and Bryan Derrickson. Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. 13th ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken NJ, USA  2012.

“The Adult Brain.” Brain Institute Oregan Health and Science University OHSU is an equal opportunity affirmative action institution 2001-2013.

Twitch or Tic???

Have you ever been sitting in class and all of a sudden your eye lid starts twitching? Well guess what? You could have a tic! Our book gives the example of our eyelids twitching as a tic! The definition is “a spasmodic twitching made involuntarily by muscles that are ordinarily under voluntary control”. So really, every time your eyelid twitches, it’s a tic. Don’t worry though, this does not mean you actually have tics. Tics are just a form of twitches.

WebMD.com tells us that most of the time twitches and tics are harmless, but on some occasions it may be a disorder. Tic disorders have repetitive and numerous twitches. They can actually be suppressed, but it can cause major discomfort to the person. It is not really known as to what causes tics, but lack of sleep and stress seem to play a role. Twitches, on the other hand, are what most people experience. These only happen on occasions and are completely involuntary. Extreme cases of eye twitches are called Blepharospasms, which can resemble an eye blinking tic. However, as stated earlier, the tic is controllable while the twitch is not. A twitch or a tic disorder does not usually cause a lot of problems in a person’s life style. They can, however, become disruptive and annoying.

A lot of people have the common eye twitch on occasion. It is nothing to worry about. However, if it becomes very repetitive, you may have a transient tic. Treatment for tics depends on how bad you have them. For transient tics, there is no treatment. You just have to learn to deal with them. On the bright side though, they only last for, at most, a year. For chronic cases that could lead to Tourette’s syndrome, doctors often prescribe medication to help settle the tics a little but mainly suggest behavioral therapy to teach patients how to cope with their disorder.

Tortora, Gerald J, Bryan Dickerson. Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. New York: Wiley, 2012. Print.

“Tic Disorders and Twitches.” Brain & Nervous System Health Center. WebMD, 03 Jan. 2012. Web. 02 Apr. 2013. <http://www.webmd.com/brain/tic-disorders-and_twitches?page=2>.

Do you have a highly superior autobiographical memory? Meaning, can you tell your life’s story from childhood to present with effortless ease? Let me give you a quick quiz. Describe your day on March 14, 2002. Unless this day was your birthday or of special significance to you, the likelihood of you succeeding to fulfill my request is rare. However, if you were successful, your brain may be different, not only in your experiences and knowledge but even in functioning and composition.

This unique ability to recall information has been studied by the University of California, Irvine (UCI) Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. A study of eleven people with highly superior autobiographical memory has showed a distinction in nine structures of the brain. More white matter was located between the frontal lobe and the parietal region. Most other differences were in parts of the brain known to have a link to autobiographical memory.  The memories have 99% accuracy beyond around ten years old. Other correlations were found between the study’s subjects. Obsessive-compulsive tendencies, which may or may not be associated with their memory capabilities, were prevalent among the group. Also, a common hobby of the subjects was having incredibly organized collections of a wide range of objects.

Another unusual aspect of these findings is that these people with highly superior autobiographical memory did not have extraordinary memory capabilities in other categories of memory such as mass amounts of facts or intellectual material. This gives a refining to the area of autobiographical memory. The separation of one type of memory from another may lead to a better understanding of the memory processes and how they develop variation from possibly genetics or in linkage and cooperation between brain structures. An exciting alternative explanation is that experiences and training can lead to these changes in the brain.

References:

Cleary, Anne, Ph.D.. “People with Extraordinary Autobiographical Memory | Quirks of     Memory.” Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. Sussex   Publishers, LLC, 9 Jan. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2013.

University of California – Irvine. “Brains are different in people with highly superior autobiographical memory.” ScienceDaily, 30 Jul. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2013.

Toads are generally known for their warts. However, the toad’s impressive attribute is its strong, powerful leg musculature. While the jumping distance is noteworthy, the landing ability is what is interesting to biologist Emanuel Azizi. The studies he performed involved the toad’s ability to protect its leg muscles by bracing for specific impact intensities.

When jumping, toads’ leg muscles contract. When landing, these muscles stretch. The body comes to a complete stop after moving at a fairly high speed due to the muscles acting as brakes. To disperse the energy and force of impact, the muscles of the legs take the risk of overstretching and possible injuries. A neuromuscular response to shorten the leg muscles that are involved in landing protects the muscles during larger impacts from jumping longer distances. How much the muscles shorten depends on the distance of the jump. The nervous system adapts the motor control patterns with each individual jump.

These findings can be applied to rehabilitation programs in the future. Neuromuscular deficiencies may be better understood by the looking at the strength and precision of the nervous system adaptations in toads. With further study into the sensory information being reported to the nervous system which enables the quick defensive measures to prevent injury, improvements can be made to the way we treat strains and overstretching injuries of muscles in humans.

References:

Nogrady, Bianca. “Toads Tweak Muscle Length to Soften Impact › News in Science (ABC Science).” Toads             Tweak Muscle Length to Soften Impact › News in Science (ABC Science). Australia’s Broadcasting              Company, 19 Dec. 2012. Web. 03 Apr. 2013.

University of California – Irvine. “Leaping toads reveal muscle-protecting mechanism.” ScienceDaily, 19  Dec. 2012. Web. 2 Apr. 2013.

Strokes are cerebrovascular accidents (cva) and are caused by lack of blood flow or blockage to the brain. People at risk of a stroke suffer from high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. Recent research has shown that stem cells can be used as cellular building blocks and can be administered to stoke patients and result in better recovery of brain function.

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that divide through mitosis and can regenerate itself to make new cells. Stem cells are being used to cure diseases everyday. Patients receive stem cells intravenously or subcutaneously. The procedure seems to be very safe and promising, it only takes an hour, and has no known negative side effects. For safety precautions, the stem cells that are used go through extensive screening to check for imperfections. Fetal stem cells are used because the body does not reject them because they do not have a cellular fingerprint.

This unique treatment means that patients will not need more medications for their immune system. That helps their bodies be on less medication and save more money. There have been over 2000 men and women treated with these stem cells and the results of their treatments have been promising. There has been substantial improvements in all the patients. It takes patients 3 to 6 months to see any changes and improvements in their treatments.

Sources: J. Tortora, Gerald, and Bryan Derrickson. Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. 13th ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken NJ, USA  2012.

“Breakthrough Stroke Treatment”. www.stemcellofamerica.© 2011 Stem Cell Of America