 |
|
'Alert status' area in brain discoved by Hebrew University scientists
September 14, 2009A new understanding of how anesthesia and anesthesia-like states are controlled in the brain opens the door to possible new future treatments of various states of loss of consciousness, such as reversible coma, according to Hebrew University of Jerusalem scientists.
In an article published in the Journal of Neuroscience, the scientists, Marshall Devor, the Cecile and Seymour Alpert Professor of Pain Research, graduate student Ruth Abulafia and research associate Dr. Vladimir Zalkind describe their discovery of an area of the brain that participates in the control of "alert status."
Loss of response to painful stimuli and loss of consciousness are the most striking characteristics of surgical anesthesia and anesthesia-like states, such as concussion, reversible coma, and syncope (fainting). These states also exhibit behavioral suppression, loss of muscle tone, a shift to the sleep-like "delta-wave" EEG pattern, and depressed brain metabolism.
It has been widely presumed that this constellation of dramatic functional changes reflects widely distributed suppression of neuronal activity in the brain due to dispersed drug action, or to global oxygen or nutrient starvation.
However, new results revealed by the Hebrew University scientists suggest a radically different architecture -- that a small group of neurons near the base of the brain, in the mesopontine tegmentum, has executive control over the alert status of the entire cerebrum and spinal cord, and can generate loss of pain sensation, postural collapse and loss of consciousness through specific neural circuitry.
This conclusion derives from the observation that microinjection of tiny quantities of certain anesthetic drugs into this newly discovered "center of consciousness" in laboratory rats induced a profound suppressive effect on the activity of the cerebral cortex.
It is not certain that these results will translate reliably from rats to man. But if they do, there are at least two implications of considerable interest. First, this knowledge could contribute to the ability of medical science to treat disorders of consciousness and its loss, such as insomnia, excessive sleepiness and even coma. Perhaps by direct electrical stimulation of the cells in question, it might prove possible to arouse a patient from coma.
Second, the discovery of a specific cluster of neurons that control the brain's state of consciousness can be expected to lead to the beginnings of an understanding of the actual wiring diagram that permits a biological machine, the brain, to be conscious.
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
It has been widely presumed that this constellation of dramatic functional changes reflects widely distributed suppression of neuronal activity in the brain due to dispersed drug action, or to global oxygen or nutrient starvation.
However, new results revealed by the Hebrew University scientists suggest a radically different architecture -- that a small group of neurons near the base of the brain, in the mesopontine tegmentum, has executive control over the alert status of the entire cerebrum and spinal cord, and can generate loss of pain sensation, postural collapse and loss of consciousness through specific neural circuitry.
This conclusion derives from the observation that microinjection of tiny quantities of certain anesthetic drugs into this newly discovered "center of consciousness" in laboratory rats induced a profound suppressive effect on the activity of the cerebral cortex.
It is not certain that these results will translate reliably from rats to man. But if they do, there are at least two implications of considerable interest. First, this knowledge could contribute to the ability of medical science to treat disorders of consciousness and its loss, such as insomnia, excessive sleepiness and even coma. Perhaps by direct electrical stimulation of the cells in question, it might prove possible to arouse a patient from coma.
Second, the discovery of a specific cluster of neurons that control the brain's state of consciousness can be expected to lead to the beginnings of an understanding of the actual wiring diagram that permits a biological machine, the brain, to be conscious.
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Consciousness Current Events and Consciousness News RSSBigger not necessarily better, when it comes to brains
Tiny insects could be as intelligent as much bigger animals, despite only having a brain the size of a pinhead, say scientists at Queen Mary, University of London.
Precuneus region of human and monkey brain is divided into 4 distinct regions
A study published this week in PNAS provides a comprehensive comparative functional anatomy study in human and monkey brains which reveals highly similar brain networks preserved across evolution.
Member of NFL Hall of Fame diagnosed with degenerative brain disease
The Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE) at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) announced today that a recently deceased member of the NFL Hall of Fame suffered from the degenerative brain disease Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) when he died, becoming the 10th former NFL player diagnosed with the disease.
Can we 'learn to see?': Study shows perception of invisible stimuli improves with training
Although we assume we can see everything in our field of vision, the brain actually picks and chooses the stimuli that come into our consciousness.
Study shows that color plays musical chairs in the brain
Color is normally thought of as a fundamental attribute of an object: a red Corvette, a blue lake, a pink flamingo. Yet despite this popular notion, new research suggests that our perception of color is malleable, and relies heavily on biological processes of the eye and brain.
Key to subliminal messaging is to keep it negative, study shows
Subliminal messaging is most effective when the message being conveyed is negative, according to new research funded by the Wellcome Trust.
Study dispels myth that new residents cause increase in medical errors in July
New research published in the September issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons challenges the widely held belief that more medical errors occur in teaching hospitals during the month of July due to the influx of new graduates from medical and nursing schools - also known as the "July Phenomenon."
Scientists find that individuals in vegetative states can learn
Scientists have found that some individuals in the vegetative and minimally conscious states, despite lacking the means of reporting awareness themselves, can learn and thereby demonstrate at least a partial consciousness.
Evidence Points to Conscious 'Metacognition' in Some Nonhuman Animals
J. David Smith, Ph.D., a comparative psychologist at the University at Buffalo who has conducted extensive studies in animal cognition, says there is growing evidence that animals share functional parallels with human conscious metacognition -- that is, they may share humans' ability to reflect upon, monitor or regulate their states of mind.
War, genocide 'difficult knowledge' to teach younger students
Whether they're found in a museum or a textbook, historical narratives about traumatic events such as war and genocide are better left to older students, who have typically developed a more refined historical consciousness, says a University of Illinois professor who studies and teaches historical instruction.
More Consciousness Current Events and Consciousness News Articles
 |
Quantum Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness by Bruce Rosenblum (Author), Fred Kuttner (Author) In trying to understand the atom, physicists built quantum mechanics and found, to their embarrassment, that their theory intimately connects consciousness with the physical world. Quantum Enigma explores what that implies and why some founders of the theory became the foremost objectors to it. Authors Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner explain all of this in non-technical terms with help from some fanciful stories and anecdotes about the theory's developers. They present the quantum mystery honestly, with an emphasis on what is and what is not speculation. Quantum Enigma's description of the experimental quantum facts, and the quantum theory explaining them, is undisputed. Interpreting what it all means, however, is controversial. Every interpretation of quantum physics encounters... |
 |
Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) by Susan Blackmore (Author) The last great mystery for science, consciousness has become a controversial topic. Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction challenges readers to reconsider key concepts such as personality, free will, and the soul. How can a physical brain create our experience of the world? What creates our identity? Do we really have free will? Could consciousness itself be an illusion? Exciting new developments in brain science are opening up these debates, and the field has now expanded to include biologists, neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers. This book clarifies the potentially confusing arguments and clearly describes the major theories, with illustrations and lively cartoons to help explain the experiments. Topics include vision and attention, theories of self, experiments on... |
 |
The Quest for Consciousness: A Neurobiological Approach by Christof Koch (Author) Consciousness is one of science’s last great unsolved mysteries. How can the salty taste and crunchy texture of potato chips, the unmistakable smell of dogs after they have been in the rain, or the exhilarating feeling of hanging on tiny fingerholds many feet above the last secure foothold on a cliff, emerge from networks of neurons and their associated synaptic and molecular processes? In The Quest for Consciousness, Caltech neuroscientist Christof Koch explores the biological basis of the subjective mind in animals and people. He outlines a framework that he and Francis Crick (of the "double helix") have constructed to come to grips with the ancient mind-body problem. At the heart of their framework is a sustained, empirical approach to discovering and characterizing the neuronal... |
 |
Consciousness Starring: Hameroff; Newberg; Woolf; Bierman; Ramachandran; Chalmers Directed By: Gregory Alsbury |
 |
Consciousness: An Introduction by Susan Blackmore (Author) Is there a theory that explains the essence of consciousness? Or is consciousness itself just an illusion? The "last great mystery of science," consciousness was excluded from serious research for most of the last century, but is now a rapidly expanding area of study for students of psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience. Designed for upper-level undergraduate courses on consciousness, this groundbreaking text is the first volume to bring together all the major theories of consciousness studies--from those rooted in neuroscience to those based on quantum theory or Eastern philosophy. Broadly interdisciplinary, Consciousness: An Introduction is divided into nine sections that examine such topics as how subjective experiences arise from objective brain processes; the basic neuroscience... |
 |
Conversations on Consciousness: What the Best Minds Think about the Brain, Free Will, and What It Means to Be Human by Susan Blackmore (Author) In Conversations on Consciousness, Susan Blackmore interviews some of the great minds of our time, a who's who of eminent thinkers, all of whom have devoted much of their lives to understanding the concept of consciousness. The interviewees, ranging from major philosophers to renowned scientists, talk candidly with Blackmore about some of the key philosophical issues confronting us in a series of conversations that are revealing, insightful, and stimulating. They ruminate on the nature of consciousness (is it something apart from the brain?) and discuss if it is even possible to understand the human mind. Some of these thinkers say no, but most believe that we will pierce the mystery surrounding consciousness, and that neuroscience will provide the key. Blackmore goes beyond the issue of... |
 |
Consciousness Explained by Daniel C. Dennett (Author) The national bestseller chosen by The New York Times Book Review as one of the ten best books of 1991 is now available in paperback. The author of Brainstorms, Daniel C. Dennett replaces our traditional vision of consciousness with a new model based on a wealth of fact and theory from the latest scientific research. |
 |
Integral Consciousness and the Future of Evolution by Steve McIntosh (Author) What does the next step in evolution hold for society as a whole? This volume suggests that an integral worldview is crucial to the development of our civilization, and that through its understanding of the evolution of consciousness it can provide both realistic and pragmatic solutions to global problems."Integral Consciousness" is divided into two sections, the first serves as an accessible introduction to the power of integral consciousness, whilst the second brings together unique perspectives and breaks new ground in its application to philosophy, politics, and spirituality. This volume also includes a contextual critique of the integral consciousnesses leading advocate, Ken Wilber. |
 |
Spirit Space; A Journey Into Your Consciousness Starring: Fred Alan Wolf, Don Miguel Ruiz, Edgar Mitchell, Skip Atwater, Linda BAckman Directed By: Braden Barty Allow yourself to travel even further down the quantum rabbit hole in a quest for answers to age old questions. Discover remarkable possibilities as to what and how our consciousness works with the world around us. Listen to possibilities of what happens to our consciousness before and after death. Challenging Quantum physics theories and how they affect how we perceive the world anciently and today, both spiritually and scientifically. This film acts as a progressive travel log for human life attempting to answer questions that mankind has been seeking since the dawn of thought. What were we before we came here? Why do we need to be here? And what in the world happens to us after we die? Spirit Space also opens cases from individuals who have been hypnotically regressed to a point... |
 |
The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes (Author) At the heart of this classic, seminal book is Julian Jaynes's still-controversial thesis that human consciousness did not begin far back in animal evolution but instead is a learned process that came about only three thousand years ago and is still developing. The implications of this revolutionary scientific paradigm extend into virtually every aspect of our psychology, our history and culture, our religion -- and indeed our future. |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |