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EVOLUTIONARY CULES OR PAVLOV’S DOGS

ByTeam HUMANITYUAPD

EVOLUTIONARY CLUES OR PAVLOV’S DOGS EVOLUTIONARY CLUES Some of humanity’s evolutionary history can be observed in the development of a human fetus. As chicken and human embryos develop, for example, they experience a stage where they both have a tail, as well as arches and slits in their neck remarkably like the gill slits and…

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BRAIN DEVELOPMENT – EVOLUTION [ GROWTH & ADAPTATION OF THE HUMAN BRAIN ]

ByTeam HUMANITYUAPD

BRAIN DEVELOPMENT – EVOLUTION [ GROWTH & ADAPTATION OF THE HUMAN BRAIN ] FROM THE single celled product of conception, the human animal grows into a complex, uniquely cognitive being. Evolution has built upon older, more primitive animal brain forms to lead humanity to emotion and rational thought. Over eons of time, neural circuitry has…

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THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM [ THE NERVOUS SYSTEM ]

ByTeam HUMANITYUAPD

THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM  The nervous system isn’t the only method by which the brain controls the body and maintains homeostasis. The direct, electrochemical means by which the nervous system collects information from stimuli and then formulates responses is augmented by the endocrine system, which works with the nervous system to regulate the body’s cells. The…

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EPILEPSY / TYPES OF EPILEPTIC SEIZURES / CAUSES & TREATMENT

ByTeam HUMANITYUAPD

EPILEPSY On a summer day, storm clouds can suddenly gather and transform an afternoon of sunshine into a violent monster of rain, hail, lightning bolts, and the occasional twister. Sunlight and warmth get blotted out. So it is with the nervous system. The brain’s higher functions, working in harmony with the body, promote consciousness and…

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MAPPING SEIZURES [ THE NERVOUS SYSTEM ]

ByTeam HUMANITYUAPD

MAPPING SEIZURES [ DELICATE BALANCE – THE NERVOUS SYSTEM ] Seizures may occur in any part of the brain; their point of origin often can be mapped. Some occur as a result of lesions in specific domains. Nineteenth-century doctor John Hughlings Jackson, an aloof but meticulous researcher, posited that lesions would produce two effects. He based…

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MIGRAINES [ THE BRAIN’S EQUILIBRIUM ]

ByTeam HUMANITYUAPD

MIGRAINES [ THE BRAIN’S EQUILIBRIUM ] THE DAMAGE caused by headaches is eye-popping. About 45 million Americans suffer them regularly, and about half of the sufferers find the pain severe and sometimes disabling. The result: lost time from work, play, the day to day stuff of life. Counting only the 30 million who suffer migraine…

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HEADACHES ( THE BRAIN’S EQUILIBRIUM )

ByTeam HUMANITYUAPD

HEADACHES ( THE BRAIN’S EQUILIBRIUM ) HEADACHES In the waning days of the Civil War, Union general Ulysses S. Grant was suffering from a terrible headache. He stopped at a farmhouse in the rear of his army, which had been pressing the forces of Confederate general Robert E. Lee. “I spent the night in bathing my…

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BALANCING ACT ( THE BRAIN’S EQUILIBRIUM )

ByTeam HUMANITYUAPD

BALANCING ACT ( THE BRAIN’S EQUILIBRIUM ) Some feedback mechanisms suppress actions in the brain and body. Others excite them. Their delicate balance keeps the body between extremes. To have too much or too little of one can throw the system out of whack. To take one example, the lack or overabundance of neurotransmitters such…

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A GOOD CATCH [ THE NERVOUS SYSTEM ]

ByTeam HUMANITYUAPD

A GOOD CATCH [ THE NERVOUS SYSTEM ] When the ball hits the glove, mechanoreceptors in the hand register the arrival as pressure. Those in the ear, attuned to the vibrations of sound waves, record the thwack of ball hitting leather. (And if the leather in the palm is too thin, cell damage in the…

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THE NERVOUS SYSTEM [ WORKING TOGETHER/SEEING THE BALL ( WHAT IS PLEASURE? ) ]

ByTeam HUMANITYUAPD

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM [ WORKING TOGETHER/SEEING THE BALL ( WHAT IS PLEASURE? )] WORKING TOGETHER How do all of these systems central and peripheral, somatic and autonomic and receptors work together in the symphony of the brain? From simple actions to complex ones, these systems must work in concert. Consider the “simple” act of catching…