Not sure how Cold Play got there...?? (This looks like a video circa the first time big sunglasses were cool - maybe the early 80's..) But that's for someone else to research. Enjoy...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Amazing - 84 year old dancer - Not your average atrophy!
This is kind of hard to watch, but you should if you think you are slowing down/getting old. If this is real(?), it's pretty amazing... talk about plasticity, and individual differences!! It's of a 25 years-old male and 84 years-old female dancer. Dang. She can move. Interesting phenomenon... I'm not a hoax expert, but I guess this is possible - I've learned anything is possible when it comes to the human brain.
Not sure how Cold Play got there...?? (This looks like a video circa the first time big sunglasses were cool - maybe the early 80's..) But that's for someone else to research. Enjoy...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKRZv6NGjdc
Not sure how Cold Play got there...?? (This looks like a video circa the first time big sunglasses were cool - maybe the early 80's..) But that's for someone else to research. Enjoy...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
Monday, May 19, 2008
Identity of A.J. revealed
Mentioned in classes - woman with superior autobiographical memory - "A.J."
Recently revealed her true identity:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4813052&page=1
Recently revealed her true identity:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
It's all in the details...
A good sign for Universal Design:
If you click on the below, it will take you to a conference agenda/registration - Looks like a pretty normal, regular one... but I liked what I saw on the right-hand side. There is a section called "accommodations." It says: "Alternative formats available upon request." It also give the TTY number and indicates the facility is wheelchair accessible. How cool is that!? What if EVERY business/service website had a little section like this? I think - HOPE - someday people will take for granted it was always there. It's kind of cool to see some pioneering, but I just wish everyone would hurry and get the wagons agoin'!
https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/default.aspx?EventID=196703
If you click on the below, it will take you to a conference agenda/registration - Looks like a pretty normal, regular one... but I liked what I saw on the right-hand side. There is a section called "accommodations." It says: "Alternative formats available upon request." It also give the TTY number and indicates the facility is wheelchair accessible. How cool is that!? What if EVERY business/service website had a little section like this? I think - HOPE - someday people will take for granted it was always there. It's kind of cool to see some pioneering, but I just wish everyone would hurry and get the wagons agoin'!
https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/default.aspx?EventID=196703
Monday, March 17, 2008
Ragin' Cajuns, aka. people with hyperekplexia
My mother's family is from New Orleans, and having a zillion cuzzins down in da bayou, I've often heard the term "ragin' Cajuns" but I didn't know its origin until now.
According to Bear et al. (2007), hyperekplexia is an inherited disorder also known as startle disease. It has affected several communities around the world, and was first documented in the late 1870's in Canada.
What is this condition? Everyone jumps sometimes, startled now and then by a loud noise or something we weren't expecting. Apparently, individuals with hyperekplexia disorder, are not only easily startled, but they jump excessively - sometimes even falling to the ground - and cannot help but to jump again (and again!) each time the loud noise or event occurs. In most of us, our nerve cells take steps to help us to deal more evenly with the situation and after a first startle we aren't likely to have another jump (unless you're making your way through a Haunted House!?)
The technical stuff:
Neurotransmitters are chemicals that are passed between some of your nerve cells - both in the brain and the spinal cord - in a way that is kind of like the game of "telephone." In sum, they help determine whether your brain or spinal cord leads another part of your brain or body to take action or not to take action.
Inhibitory neurotransmitters lesson the likelihood of the action because they inhibit or can act upon the excitatory situations. Bear et al. (2007) gives the example that when someone taps on your shoulder and you aren't expecting it, you might jump at first. But if they do it again soon after, you likely won't react with the same jump because you're more "used to it" now. What is really happening is that this reflex is just now being inhibited.
For "Ragin' Cajuns" and others that suffer from this disease, the equipment that helps your body "get used to" startles is built slightly incorrectly due to a gene defect. This equipment is called neurotransmitter receptors. The receptors are like a keyhole that sits in a lock. They are designed to receive a specific "key" - in this case, the inhibitory chemical is glycine. Like a key, it should fit perfectly into the receptor. BUT, if the receptors are even slightly mis-shapen (in fact only one tiny protein out of 400+ is wrong!) the glycine is no longer recognized. Just as if a key and a lock don't match, you don't get in, and if the glycine doesn't match with the receptor because the receptor is misshapen, the inhibiting can't happen.
Here's why:
Usually, in your spinal cord or brain stem, glycine (the key) should activate the glycine receptor (the lock). Once this door is unlocked, it is Chloride that needs to be able to enter. When Chloride is allowed into the cell, it has an effect that calms the cell down. If your cells are "feeling excited" because you've just been spooked, if glycine can get its buddy Chloride onto the scene, in essence, the cell chills out and feels less excited.
(More technically, because Chloride is a negatively charged ion, it causes the charge inside the cell to become more negative, resulting in a more hyperpolarized state. The opposite of this situation, or depolarization is what is needed for a cell to fire an action potential. (In other words for a cell to tell the next one that something exciting is happening.)
Soooooo,
In hyperkeplexia disease, not enough Chloride is getting in to hyperpolarize (calm down) the muscle cells. For this reason, the cells stay more potentially active, and result in dramatic reflexes for the person afflicted...doz Rajun Cajuns!
Bear et al. (2007) mentions that luckily there are drugs today that can help increase the inhibition in these cells, and help people with this problem.
So now, how bout sum gumbo, ya'll?
Resource:
Bear, M.F., Connors, B.W., Paradiso, M.A., (2007). Neuroscience: exploring the brain. New York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
According to Bear et al. (2007), hyperekplexia is an inherited disorder also known as startle disease. It has affected several communities around the world, and was first documented in the late 1870's in Canada.
What is this condition? Everyone jumps sometimes, startled now and then by a loud noise or something we weren't expecting. Apparently, individuals with hyperekplexia disorder, are not only easily startled, but they jump excessively - sometimes even falling to the ground - and cannot help but to jump again (and again!) each time the loud noise or event occurs. In most of us, our nerve cells take steps to help us to deal more evenly with the situation and after a first startle we aren't likely to have another jump (unless you're making your way through a Haunted House!?)
The technical stuff:
Neurotransmitters are chemicals that are passed between some of your nerve cells - both in the brain and the spinal cord - in a way that is kind of like the game of "telephone." In sum, they help determine whether your brain or spinal cord leads another part of your brain or body to take action or not to take action.
Inhibitory neurotransmitters lesson the likelihood of the action because they inhibit or can act upon the excitatory situations. Bear et al. (2007) gives the example that when someone taps on your shoulder and you aren't expecting it, you might jump at first. But if they do it again soon after, you likely won't react with the same jump because you're more "used to it" now. What is really happening is that this reflex is just now being inhibited.
For "Ragin' Cajuns" and others that suffer from this disease, the equipment that helps your body "get used to" startles is built slightly incorrectly due to a gene defect. This equipment is called neurotransmitter receptors. The receptors are like a keyhole that sits in a lock. They are designed to receive a specific "key" - in this case, the inhibitory chemical is glycine. Like a key, it should fit perfectly into the receptor. BUT, if the receptors are even slightly mis-shapen (in fact only one tiny protein out of 400+ is wrong!) the glycine is no longer recognized. Just as if a key and a lock don't match, you don't get in, and if the glycine doesn't match with the receptor because the receptor is misshapen, the inhibiting can't happen.
Here's why:
Usually, in your spinal cord or brain stem, glycine (the key) should activate the glycine receptor (the lock). Once this door is unlocked, it is Chloride that needs to be able to enter. When Chloride is allowed into the cell, it has an effect that calms the cell down. If your cells are "feeling excited" because you've just been spooked, if glycine can get its buddy Chloride onto the scene, in essence, the cell chills out and feels less excited.
(More technically, because Chloride is a negatively charged ion, it causes the charge inside the cell to become more negative, resulting in a more hyperpolarized state. The opposite of this situation, or depolarization is what is needed for a cell to fire an action potential. (In other words for a cell to tell the next one that something exciting is happening.)
Soooooo,
In hyperkeplexia disease, not enough Chloride is getting in to hyperpolarize (calm down) the muscle cells. For this reason, the cells stay more potentially active, and result in dramatic reflexes for the person afflicted...doz Rajun Cajuns!
Bear et al. (2007) mentions that luckily there are drugs today that can help increase the inhibition in these cells, and help people with this problem.
So now, how bout sum gumbo, ya'll?
Resource:
Bear, M.F., Connors, B.W., Paradiso, M.A., (2007). Neuroscience: exploring the brain. New York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Assignment #2 - "How To" Video - How to Make an MBE Breakfast
(Camera on)
Hello and welcome to this episode of The MBE Chef, the show dedicated to offering food-related survival techniques for the HGSE Harvard MBE student
I'm your host, Cynthia Child.
Today we address BREAKFAST!
As your ivy league brain knows, it is already difficult for you to function with the number of stress-related neurotransmitters swamping your nervous system and cascading their effects all over your body parts. SO you must to do everything you can to balance the disasters waiting to happen. You need FOOD start to the day.
But if you're an MBE student at HGSE, you might ask yourself just HOW can I eat AND graduate?
Like astronauts and other people like you who live in outer space have discovered, there are ways to deal with this issue. Capitalize on the advancements of food technology and create a healthy four course meal that can be prepared, transported, and consumed in mere moments. Today I will demonstrate the magic of instant foods.
First, consider your food groups carefully:
Caffeine, and Calories.
Second, check for supplies (read off list)
Instant oatmeal, or instant grits
Instant coffee
No-fuss fruit (banana, apple, or pear)
Protein bar for mid-morning lecture-de- snoozing snack
Travel mug
Spoon
Bowl
Boiling water tap or electric water heater
Third, follow these simple steps: (read off list)
Pour water into the water heating device and push start.
Spoon coffee into travel mug, and empty oatmeal or grits packet into bowl. (If you're feeling extra culinary competence, add some pre-shredded or processed cheese to the grits while the water is boiling.)
If you have a slow water heater, take this 30-second opportunity to collect a piece of fruit and a protein bar and put them in your backpack now.
Dispense boiling water into each container.
Stir.
Consume while dressing, walking, or studying.
Now, Vygotsky style, for your mirror neuron pleasure, I will demonstrate how to make an MBE Breakfast:
(Demonstrate steps 1-6)
To Review:
Instant foods are your friend for these nine months.
Just pour, stir, and eat.
You can go back to waffles, fancy cheese, and grinding designer coffee beans on June 6.
I hope you have enjoyed our exploration of fast food morning fixin's for the fanatically-busy and financially-depressed on this episode of The MBE Chef, the show dedicated to offering basic food survival techniques for the HGSE Harvard MBE student
Tune in next time for some special treats you can pack with speed to save time money AND eat well on your next laundry vacation!
Back to work!
(Camera off)
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Brain-related / UDL picks for the week...
1) There was a fun article on Discovery.com about moths "remembering" what they learned as caterpillars. http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/03/06/butterfly-memory.html
A study was done to condition caterpillars to avoid a food they usually enjoy. If the caterpillar was more than a few weeks old when this occurred, they avoided the substance as adult months even though their brains had gone through dramatic changes during the transformation. This reminded me of the Kandel studies with Aphysia (sea slug) in the 1960's through 80's(?) which I guess was one of the first and largest scale studies of synaptic learning in nervous systems.
What does this have to do with UDL? Well, maybe not much. I kind of just wanted to include this article because I thought it was cool, but in a way you could think of this as some primitive version of recognition, strategic and affective networks wiring up in this critter to avoid something other caterpillars/moths are attracted to. Also, somewhat Wikipedia-style, there were a few links embedded in the text which would take you to other articles on various topics which is helpful for students who are looking to learn more. There is one picture, and there isn't any sound unless you have the text to speech option; it's not really UDL in all its glory but here ya go.
2) I really like this online dictionary for several reasons: http://www.thefreedictionary.com
I keep this site bookmarked for quick look-ups and use it almost daily.
First, it's FREE.
Second, you can click and HEAR the word pronounced which is great for ESL students, for people who remember things better when they hear them, or for people like me who just like to make sure they say it right. In terms of UDL, it offers an additional way to access the word. I also love that it offers related words at the bottom if you need more context, or are looking for a synonym, etc.
Third, you can click on the tabs at the top of the page and look up words specifically in the encyclopedia or medical dictionary (very helpful for neuroscience stuff). Sometimes you just want to make sure you're using the best word possible to get your point across, and it helps to see what the other definitions reveal.
Finally, the wikipedia-encyclopedia tab on this site rocks. I recently discovered it, and I immediately thought "UDL! " Wikipedia is great for nerds because you can spend all day following the links starting from one idea... but on this site, it's cool because if you pass your mouse arrow over a term as you are reading, a box will automatically appear and give more information/context about its meaning.
Dig it.
A study was done to condition caterpillars to avoid a food they usually enjoy. If the caterpillar was more than a few weeks old when this occurred, they avoided the substance as adult months even though their brains had gone through dramatic changes during the transformation. This reminded me of the Kandel studies with Aphysia (sea slug) in the 1960's through 80's(?) which I guess was one of the first and largest scale studies of synaptic learning in nervous systems.
What does this have to do with UDL? Well, maybe not much. I kind of just wanted to include this article because I thought it was cool, but in a way you could think of this as some primitive version of recognition, strategic and affective networks wiring up in this critter to avoid something other caterpillars/moths are attracted to. Also, somewhat Wikipedia-style, there were a few links embedded in the text which would take you to other articles on various topics which is helpful for students who are looking to learn more. There is one picture, and there isn't any sound unless you have the text to speech option; it's not really UDL in all its glory but here ya go.
2) I really like this online dictionary for several reasons: http://www.thefreedictionary.com
I keep this site bookmarked for quick look-ups and use it almost daily.
First, it's FREE.
Second, you can click and HEAR the word pronounced which is great for ESL students, for people who remember things better when they hear them, or for people like me who just like to make sure they say it right. In terms of UDL, it offers an additional way to access the word. I also love that it offers related words at the bottom if you need more context, or are looking for a synonym, etc.
Third, you can click on the tabs at the top of the page and look up words specifically in the encyclopedia or medical dictionary (very helpful for neuroscience stuff). Sometimes you just want to make sure you're using the best word possible to get your point across, and it helps to see what the other definitions reveal.
Finally, the wikipedia-encyclopedia tab on this site rocks. I recently discovered it, and I immediately thought "UDL! " Wikipedia is great for nerds because you can spend all day following the links starting from one idea... but on this site, it's cool because if you pass your mouse arrow over a term as you are reading, a box will automatically appear and give more information/context about its meaning.
Dig it.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Fainting goats!
Today we studied neruomuscluar synapses in MCB80. I couldn't stop laughing at this video, even though I feel sorry for these goats! They suffer from myotonia congenita, a genetic mutation in which there is a problem with the ion channels in the membranes of the cells.... anyway, I need to study more so that I can explain this, but my fellow MBE-ers might be interested to remember that even if your brain is working fine, it is possible to experience dysfunctions in other ways - in this case, a problem with the action potentials at the muscle site. Also worth noting, the older goats learn to brace themselves to avoid falling over!
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