Physiological Psychology Course Blog

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6081068/ Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis is an autoimmune condition that was only just discovered in 2007. While it has most likely been around for much longer, there is evidence that this condition is much more prevalent than realized, and the vast majority of patients with the symptoms of this disorder are misdiagnosed as psychiatric patients. The NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors in the brain play a role in the control of neurological electrical impulses. NMDA is a protein that contributes to judgement, perception of reality, human interaction, the formation and recollection of memory, and autonomic functions (breathing, hunger, etc). With anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, the patient’s NDMA receptors are attacked by the patient’s own immune system, resulting in a swelling of the brain and a cascade of functional and cognitive impairments. It has been recently discov...

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190222084247.htm Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a technique used to form images of the organs and tissues in the body. Using this technique MIT researchers can detect calcium activity and look deeper into the brain. Scientists watch calcium activity by labeling calcium with fluorescent molecules. Watching calcium in brain cells can reveal how neurons communicate with each other. However, this type of microscopy imaging can only penetrate a few tenths of a millimeter into the tissue causing scientists to turn to MRI. Using MRI scientists can link neural activity with specific behaviors. Last year, scientists developed an MRI sensor that can measure extracellular calcium concentrations. This sensor can detect when neurons or glia become stimulated. They tested their sensor in rats by injecting it into the striatum. Then they used potassium ions to trigger electrical activity in neurons of the striatum. The MRI can offer more precise in...

A recent study done by a team of researchers from China and the University of Massachusetts discovered mice are able to obtain near infrared light vision when injected with nanoantennae. Infrared light has longer wavelengths and is lower in energy which makes it difficult for the human eye to see. Our regular human vision can only see so much of the electromagnetic spectrum. With this new technology, the mice were given a greater amount of night vision. There were two groups, an experimental and control group. The experimental group was injected with the nanoparticles. Scientists injected the protein like droplets into the mice which allowed nanoantennae to attach to the outside of the retinal photo receptors. Nanoantennae is designed to absorb light wavelengths and make use of that infrared radiation. Once the nanoparticle attached to the photo receptor, the near infrared light was turned into a green light because the brain interprets the images as visible light. What happened next ...