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NEURONS AT WORK [ CONNECTIONS / ACTION / GROWTH & SUPPORT / PLASTICITY ]

NEURONS AT WORK [ CONNECTIONS / ACTION / GROWTH & SUPPORT / PLASTICITY ] Neurons serve different functions. Motor neurons carry impulses to activate glands and muscles. Sensory neurons send impulses from the skin and other body parts to the central nervous system. Interneurons, residing in the brain and spinal cord, integrate the signals and…

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ANATOMY OF A NEURON [ NERVE CELLS ( THE AMAZING BRAIN ) ]

ANATOMY OF A NEURON [ NERVE CELLS ( THE AMAZING BRAIN ) ] Each neuron has a main cell body. Like all cells, the neuron contains a nucleus and an exterior mem-brane, which sometimes receives electrochemical messages from other neurons. Chains of neurons send messages from the body to the brain: “Here is pain, in…

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NERVE CELLS – THE BRAIN’S WORKFORCE

NERVE CELLS – THE BRAIN’S WORKFORCE THE FUNDAMENTAL units of the brain, too small to see in Willis’s time, are two types of nerve cells. One type, the neuroglia (or glial-“glue”- cells), has the rather pedestrian task of supporting the nervous system. Neuroglia play a role in guiding neurons toward making connec- tions, promoting neuron…

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BRAIN OR SOUL – KNOWING ITSELF [ THE AMAZING BRAIN ]

BRAIN OR SOUL – KNOWING ITSELF [ THE AMAZING BRAIN ] Descartes saw no physical soul in his tours of the body. Instead, he conceived the soul as noncorporeal and thus above the mechanics that animated all flesh. Operating within the machine but not part of it, the soul oversaw humanity’s consciousness, will, and all…

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MIND – BRAIN OR MIND – BODY PROBLEM

MIND – BRAIN OR MIND – BODY PROBLEM Thus was born a conundrum that has sparked debate for many centuries. It’s called the mind-body or mind-brain problem. Attempts to solve the problem had to await the rebirth of the Renaissance. Direct observation and systematic testing of hypotheses provided the keys. The first direct, systematic observation…

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THE AMAZING BRAIN – BRAIN EXAMINATION BY GALEN

THE AMAZING BRAIN – BRAIN EXAMINATION BY GALEN Centuries later, Galen, a Roman physician who lived in the eastern Mediterranean in the second century of the Christian era, went beyond such mental exercises to test the brain for himself. He took a more hands-on approach and cut the sensory and motor fibers in pigs’ brains…