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Category: neuroscience – Page 115

In the study of temporal mechanics, we have to venture beyond the confines of traditional objective science to incorporate the profound role of consciousness in shaping our understanding of time. The evidence and theories discussed throughout my upcoming paper (to be released as a Kindle eBook) suggest that the flow of time is not simply a physical phenomenon dictated by the laws of thermodynamics or the spacetime continuum, but rather a deeply psychological one, intertwined with consciousness itself. Time, as we experience it, emerges from our awareness of ongoing change—a continuous psychological construct that weaves our perceptions into a coherent narrative of past, present, and future.

The implications of this perspective are far-reaching. If the flow of time is indeed a function of consciousness, then time cannot be fully understood without accounting for the observer—the conscious entity whose perception of change gives rise to the experience of time. This challenges the classical notion of time as a separate, objective entity and places consciousness as a central player in the multidimensional matrix of reality.

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Emotional body odors may have the potential to enhance the anxiety-reducing effects of mindfulness. This is shown by a pilot study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, co-authored by researchers from Karolinska Institutet.

Body odors can serve as a means of social communication. Body odors, such as sweat, contain a cocktail of chemical processes (so-called chemosignals), which in turn are influenced by a person’s emotional state. Studies indicate that individuals exposed to chemosignals from a person in a particular emotional state, such as fear or happiness, exhibit a certain replication of this state. This replication occurs unconsciously and has most often been observed through different physiological tests.

As most studies in this area have involved healthy subjects, the overall goal of this project was to study the potential benefit of chemosignals for individuals with . The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate whether emotional can enhance the benefits of a mindfulness-based intervention for individuals with social or depression.

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Nanotechnology is poised to transform neurological disorder treatments by overcoming the blood-brain barrier, enabling effective medication delivery for conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s. This innovative approach also shows promise in dermatology and cancer treatment, enhancing drug absorption and targeting, while minimizing side effects. Experts at AIIMS highlighted ongoing research and potential breakthroughs expected in the next few years.

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When your mind is wandering, your brain’s “default mode” network (DMN) is active. Its discovery 20 years ago inspired a raft of research into networks of brain regions and how they interact with each other. New research, including a recent study of the brain on psilocybin, is revealing the default mode networks’s role in memory, social awareness and sense of self.

Related Papers:
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Viviana Gradinaru, an assistant professor of biology at Caltech, discovered her passion for neuroscience as an undergraduate at Caltech, her alma mater. Viviana did her Ph.D. work with Karl Deisseroth at Stanford University where she played an instrumental role in the early development and applications of optogenetics, a research area concerned with the perturbation of neuronal activity via light-controlled ion channels and pumps. More information on her own lab at Caltech can be found at glab.caltech.edu. Viviana is also interested in entrepreneurship for better human health and has co-founded a company, Circuit Therapeutics, based on optogenetics.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)\ \ .

On January 18, 2013, Caltech hosted TEDxCaltech: The Brain, a forward-looking celebration of humankind’s quest to understand the brain, by exploring the past, present and future of neuroscience. Visit TEDxCaltech.com for more details.

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Oxford University researchers have made a significant step toward realizing a form of “biological electricity” that could be used in a variety of bioengineering and biomedical applications, including communication with living human cells. The work was published on 28 November in the journal Science.

Iontronic devices are one of the most rapidly-growing and exciting areas in biochemical engineering. Instead of using electricity, these mimic the by transmitting information via ions (charged particles), including sodium, potassium, and .

Ultimately, iontronic devices could enable biocompatible, energy-efficient, and highly precise signaling systems, including for drug-delivery.

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Can you pass me the whatchamacallit? It’s right over there next to the thingamajig.

Many of us will experience “lethologica”, or difficulty finding words, in everyday life. And it usually becomes more prominent with age.

Frequent difficulty finding the right word can signal changes in the brain consistent with the early (“preclinical”) stages of Alzheimer’s disease – before more obvious symptoms emerge.

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Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center-led researchers have identified a small molecule called gliocidin that kills glioblastoma cells without damaging healthy cells, potentially offering a new therapeutic avenue for this aggressive brain tumor.

Glioblastoma remains one of the most lethal primary brain tumors, with current therapies failing to significantly improve patient survival rates. Glioblastoma is difficult to treat for several reasons. The tumor consists of many different types of cells, making it difficult for treatments to target them all effectively.

There are few genetic changes in the cancer for drugs to target, and the tumor creates an environment that weakens the body’s immune response against it. Even getting medications near targets in the brain is challenging because the protective blocks entry for most potential drug treatments.

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Integrated Information Theory (IIT) offers an explanation for the nature and source of consciousness. Initially proposed by Giulio Tononi in 2004, it claims that consciousness is identical to a certain kind of information, the realization of which requires physical, not merely functional, integration, and which can be measured mathematically according to the phi metric.

The theory attempts a balance between two different sets of convictions. On the one hand, it strives to preserve the Cartesian intuitions that experience is immediate, direct, and unified. This, according to IIT’s proponents and its methodology, rules out accounts of consciousness such as functionalism that explain experience as a system operating in a certain way, as well as ruling out any eliminativist theories that deny the existence of consciousness. On the other hand, IIT takes neuroscientific descriptions of the brain as a starting point for understanding what must be true of a physical system in order for it to be conscious. (Most of IIT’s developers and main proponents are neuroscientists.) IIT’s methodology involves characterizing the fundamentally subjective nature of consciousness and positing the physical attributes necessary for a system to realize it.

In short, according to IIT, consciousness requires a grouping of elements within a system that have physical cause-effect power upon one another. This in turn implies that only reentrant architecture consisting of feedback loops, whether neural or computational, will realize consciousness. Such groupings make a difference to themselves, not just to outside observers. This constitutes integrated information. Of the various groupings within a system that possess such causal power, one will do so maximally. This local maximum of integrated information is identical to consciousness.

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