February 29, 2008
Category: Neuroscience
[Introduction|Part 2] Takashima et al (2007) carried out one of the first investigations of the distribution of TRPM8-positive sensory nerve terminals in various peripheral structures, using transgenic mice which express enhanced green fluorescent protein under the control of the TRPM8...
Posted by Mo at 12:01 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
February 28, 2008
Category: Neuroscience
One shouldn't really need an excuse to embed this fantastic performance by Thelonious Monk, but now there is one: NIDCD researchers believe that they have identified the cognitive neural substrate of jazz improvisation. For the study, which is published...
Posted by Mo at 8:40 AM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
February 27, 2008
Category: Neuroscience
[Introduction] McKemy et al (2002) used whole-cell patch clamping and calcium imaging to record the responses of cultured rat trigeminal ganglion neurons to cold temperatures and various cooling compounds. They found that the cells respond to menthol and cold with...
Posted by Mo at 12:20 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Blogging
A few days ago, I briefly discussed the article by Oliver Sacks about geometric hallucinations in migraine aura. I thought that it was published in the print edition of the New York Times, but it turns out that this is...
Posted by Mo at 5:56 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
February 26, 2008
Category: Neuroscience
Below is the introduction to my third and final piece of coursework, an essay entitled Multiple roles for Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 8 (TRPM8) in cold thermosensation. This time, I discuss three recent studies which have contributed significantly to the...
Posted by Mo at 3:05 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
February 25, 2008
Category: Blogging
If you're in London, you might be interested in this event, which has been organised by the Royal Institution in collaboration with Nature Network: Blogging science Dr Ben Goldacre, Dr Jennifer Rohn, Ed Yong Thursday 28 February 2008 7.00pm-8.30pm What...
Posted by Mo at 11:24 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: History of neuroscience
The Lobotomist, a PBS documentary about Walter Freeman which I mentioned recently, is now available online as a series of short clips that require either QuickTime or Windows Media Player for viewing.The program charts how the lobotomy came to be...
Posted by Mo at 7:30 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
February 23, 2008
Category: Neuroscience
(Cartoon by Greg Williams, from Wikipedia) The term hyperthymesic syndrome was proposed by James L. McGaugh, a neurobiologist at the University of California, Irvine, and his colleagues, following their case study of the woman known as A.J. (The study...
Posted by Mo at 4:00 PM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
February 22, 2008
Category: Neuroscience
In an article called Patterns, published in the NY Times earlier this month, neurologist and author Oliver Sacks discusses the geometric visual hallucinations which occur during the migraine auras that he has experienced since early childhood.Sacks explains that the hallucinations...
Posted by Mo at 6:15 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
February 21, 2008
Category: Neuroscience
In an article from last Saturday's Guardian, Rick Hemsley describes his experience of Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, the neurological condition in which the perception of one's body is distorted: Floors either curved or dipped, and when I tried walking on...
Posted by Mo at 8:09 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
