Tag: neurons
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Book review: The Story of the Brain in 10 1/2 Cells
Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, United Kingdom The brain is arguably the most complex organ in the human body, containing more than 100 billion neurons. In this new book, neuroscientist Richard Wingate sets out to describe different types of brain cells, weaving together neuroscience with stories of scientific pioneers who made major contributions to elucidating how the…
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François Magendie
JMS PearceHull, England François Magendie (1783–1855) (Fig 1) was a pioneering French physiologist, pharmacologist, and clinician who carried out a surprisingly wide variety of investigations. His best-remembered works are on the fourth ventricular foramen and the function of spinal nerves. He was born in Bordeaux, son of a surgeon, Antoine Magendie, and his wife, Marie…
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The intricate forest of the neuron
Silvia MainaTorino, Italia Entering the room, I was welcomed by some small and attractive ink drawings. In the first, like a genealogical tree or a medieval miniature, thin branches stretched to fill the frame. In the second, waves of sea anemones wrapped into the algae that populates the sea floor. The exposition, entitled Organisms and…
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Origin of the mind
Bhargavi BhattacharyyaKolkata, India How are the mind and brain related? The brain is a ball of nerve cells, or neurons. The mind, the functional unit of the brain, includes imagination, perception, thinking, intelligence, judgment, language, memory, and emotions. How do these basic units, neurons, translate to mental faculty? Scientists wanted to look at the function…
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Rewiring the brain
Paul RoopraiHamilton, Ontario, Canada Approach as a medical illustrator The modern-day perception of mindfulness and meditation is inextricably linked to the mind, which is associated physically with the brain. The rendering of the brain at the top of the poster represents the biological processes that mindfulness promotes in the brain. The renditions of the neuron…
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Scotch
Eden AlmasudeMinneapolis, Minnesota, United States I don’t remember your name,Only fasciculating musclesbeginning to wasteNerves with unknown lesionsA toe up, a reflex downThe neurologist quietly notes,Bulbar involvement entails a poor prognosisMeaning: if you can’t talk, you can’t breatheEach new symptom forebodingSlow, stepwise deathWe turn to count,atrophyspasticityhyperreflexiamapping neuronsalong the examWe fixate to push awaythe realization,this kind, tattooed bikeris…