As I get more involved in the space of blogging about Neuroscience and related fields I am continuously finding more and more resources for those interested in reading about the latest research and its conclusive findings. Due to the vast amount of summations about relevant research I ask the question of what can make Neurosimplicity different? As I read the various research sources I am impressed by the depth to which literature is making it's way swiftly into the news for others to feed upon. However, have you ever wondered how to apply it to your everyday life? After all, aren't we all truly seeking and reading for something that might truly change the way we live for the better?
Although we can have research by Alvaro Pascual-Leone that says neuronal cortex regions can be altered by thought alone, how can you apply that in your daily life to make improvements and changes to the way you think? This is the idea behind learning ambidexterity in my free time, though I am sure it can be applied to other ideas such as thoughtless awareness and relaxation therapy. We may notice that this method of visualization is used by many athletes in order to increase their heart rate and in turn cardiac output prior to a big game. It's may be that only because the visualization activates similar regions of the cortex of the action itself that this feat is even possible.
Yaakov Stern made the great discovery in 2007 that by increasing your level of education, occupational achievement, or overall activity, you can enhance your aptly named cognitive reserve. In turn, you will decrease the likelihood of displaying the symptomology of pathology. But, does this mean that one must return to school to further their education? Can education simply mean experiencing the world in a new way? Perhaps the only thing we truly need to enhance our cognitive reserve is the people and social circles around us that push the boundaries of our own perceptions and thoughts.
What seems to be missing from literature is the connections. Perhaps, as clinicians and researchers know, there are many rules which govern what can be stated in literature, specifically empirical observation and statistically significant measures. While you will find these observations on many news sites (which I highly recommend and think is fantastic) there needs to be something more to bring the connection home. Neurosimplicity instead will try and bride the gap between valuable information and the applicability of that information to your daily life. While sometimes this will only lead to further questions and fewer answers, this is the nature of expanding an open mind and fostering your own ideas about how you can apply neuroscience to your life.
It's these questions and ideas that perhaps Neurosimplicity can bring to light, and help other people discover, as they bring Neuroscience into their everyday living in the modern world.
Monday, 10 February 2014
Saturday, 8 February 2014
A Small View of Nature's Perspective on Aspartame
Occasionally I will branch out from neuroscience and into related fields such as psychology and molecular biology such as the receptors required for taste. There are five different basic types of taste: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami which is sometimes debated as the fifth. Each type of taste has different sets of taste cells which respond to tastants in the mouth. From these taste receptors the signals are sent to the brain, although the functional neuronal circuitry for taste is still being discovered. For sweet, the most common sweet taste receptors are the Tas1R2 and Tas1R3 proteins which form a heterodimer that responds to sweet tastants. However, not all animals produce the Tas1R2 receptor.
Where this becomes interesting is in a further study by Jiang et al. (2012) who tested both Asian otters, known to have no functional Tas1R2 proteins, and the spectacled bear with a functional Tas1R2 receptor. As expected, when subjected to various sweet compounds the spectacled bear showed increased preference for sweet compounds such as sucrose, fructose, galactose, and lactose, shown by a preference ratio above fifty percent for the sweetened solution compared to water. Also as expected, the Asian otter showed no preference for the same sugars. However, the spectacled bear actually showed a decreased preference for the taste of the artificial sweetener aspartame.
It's interesting to see this selective avoidance to aspartame and not the other artificial sweetener saccharin in the spectacled bear. Clearly there remains to be something aversive that the bear is able to pick up upon which makes you question the continued use of it in products today, considering the alternatives available.
References:
1. Jiang, P., Josue, J., Li, X., Glaser, D., Li, W., Brand, J. G., Margolskee, R. F., Reed, D. R., Beauchamp, G. K. (2012) Major taste loss in carnivorous animals. PNAS, 109(13), 4956-4961. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1118360109
Where this becomes interesting is in a further study by Jiang et al. (2012) who tested both Asian otters, known to have no functional Tas1R2 proteins, and the spectacled bear with a functional Tas1R2 receptor. As expected, when subjected to various sweet compounds the spectacled bear showed increased preference for sweet compounds such as sucrose, fructose, galactose, and lactose, shown by a preference ratio above fifty percent for the sweetened solution compared to water. Also as expected, the Asian otter showed no preference for the same sugars. However, the spectacled bear actually showed a decreased preference for the taste of the artificial sweetener aspartame.
It's interesting to see this selective avoidance to aspartame and not the other artificial sweetener saccharin in the spectacled bear. Clearly there remains to be something aversive that the bear is able to pick up upon which makes you question the continued use of it in products today, considering the alternatives available.
References:
1. Jiang, P., Josue, J., Li, X., Glaser, D., Li, W., Brand, J. G., Margolskee, R. F., Reed, D. R., Beauchamp, G. K. (2012) Major taste loss in carnivorous animals. PNAS, 109(13), 4956-4961. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1118360109
Friday, 7 February 2014
Day 1: Ambidextrous Training
Here it is, my first writing sample with my right hand (I write exclusively with my left hand in everyday situations).
Each day I will practice writing mentally with my right hand for 20 minutes. At the end of the week and at the same time (TBD) I will write 3 sentences from a pseudorandomized book (to try and avoid practicing particular words) in the same notebook and with the same pen. Three sentences will be a maximum to minimize practice effects. I welcome any comments or suggestions on the either the concept or how I am choosing to "test" this idea. If anyone else would be curious to try this for themselves I would also be happy to hear/see their own experience and or ideas. In the meantime, this is just a fun experiment alongside the future content to be posted on NeuroSimplicity.
Thursday, 6 February 2014
An Introduction to Neuroscience
The possibilities are endless...
As a neuroscience student I am constantly daily astounded by the capabilities of our brains. The idea that 86 billion neurons are working in unison to create the world around us is almost unbelievable. As I continue to learn, I constantly find valuable ideas and lessons that I feel people would appreciate if only the information were able to reach them.
This is the idea behind Neurosimplicity. Neurosimplicity would like to contribute to the growing community of followers that are interested in understanding how our brain works and how they can apply it to their daily lives. Although I am still learning myself, I hope that what comes up in this blog will be beneficial to individuals in understanding the world as it is to finding more about themselves and the people around them.
To my own end, I will also use this blog to test a theory. Recently, I published an idea on my alternative blog, Life's Optimist (http://lifesoptimist.blogspot.ca/) , that relies on Alvaro Pascual-Leone's studies showing that thinking about a physical movement like playing the piano can stimulate the brain regions associated with that motor control. To this end, I have wanted to try the concept of teaching oneself to be ambidextrous without any actual practice. Conceptually I believe this is reasonable as it manipulates a similar motor movements and timing sequence as required to play a piano. To test this, I will be uploading photos each week after taking twenty minutes each day to practice writing, mentally, and letting readers interpret the results.
While this is just one aspect of what's happening at Neurosimplicity, I will continue to update the site with news and information that may be beneficial for you as readers. In the end, I hope some valuable information will reach people who simply wish to learn about the brain and share in the amazing possibilities that neuroscience is beginning to shed light on.
Cheers!
Ps- Forgive the background. Cool Neuroscience related BG to be updated!
As a neuroscience student I am constantly daily astounded by the capabilities of our brains. The idea that 86 billion neurons are working in unison to create the world around us is almost unbelievable. As I continue to learn, I constantly find valuable ideas and lessons that I feel people would appreciate if only the information were able to reach them.
This is the idea behind Neurosimplicity. Neurosimplicity would like to contribute to the growing community of followers that are interested in understanding how our brain works and how they can apply it to their daily lives. Although I am still learning myself, I hope that what comes up in this blog will be beneficial to individuals in understanding the world as it is to finding more about themselves and the people around them.
To my own end, I will also use this blog to test a theory. Recently, I published an idea on my alternative blog, Life's Optimist (http://lifesoptimist.blogspot.ca/) , that relies on Alvaro Pascual-Leone's studies showing that thinking about a physical movement like playing the piano can stimulate the brain regions associated with that motor control. To this end, I have wanted to try the concept of teaching oneself to be ambidextrous without any actual practice. Conceptually I believe this is reasonable as it manipulates a similar motor movements and timing sequence as required to play a piano. To test this, I will be uploading photos each week after taking twenty minutes each day to practice writing, mentally, and letting readers interpret the results.
While this is just one aspect of what's happening at Neurosimplicity, I will continue to update the site with news and information that may be beneficial for you as readers. In the end, I hope some valuable information will reach people who simply wish to learn about the brain and share in the amazing possibilities that neuroscience is beginning to shed light on.
Cheers!
Ps- Forgive the background. Cool Neuroscience related BG to be updated!
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