1. ABSTRACT
A region of embryonic rat brain was digitally photographed with an Olympus BX40 Microscope equipped with a 10MP (MU1000) video camera using four different objectives (4x, 10x, 20x, 40x). The different objectives were used to analyze the value of different resolutions in balancing the amount of work needed to make the pictures with the worth (or information value) of the image when using Photoshop (version 12.0). The images captured were montaged and arranged into series. This information will be used in preparation of a digital microscopic atlas of different aged embryonic rat brains.
2. INTRODUCTION
2.1. Brain Atlases in General
An atlas of a brain can help locate specific structures, as well as give an understanding to size and structure of a brain. A brain atlas can be widely used in neuroscience research and education. In neuroscience, brain atlases are just as important as a map is in geography, and they can be accessed worldwide (Bakker, et al., 2015). Although no two brains are identical, it is important to refer to a multitude of atlases while studying a brain. Structures that may not be exactly the same in two brains include: cytoarchitecture, chemoarchitecture, blood flow distributions, metabolic rates, behavioral and pathologic correlates and a multitude of other structures (Mazziotta, et al., 1995). A brain atlas can differ from brain to brain, which may be a result of evolution, maturation, and/or abnormalities. Brain atlases
In Allan Jones’s presentation, A Map of the Brain, he explains his current project and why is essential to the modern day. Jones first starts off by giving the audience some background information about the brain. He states that the brain is a complex organ that receives around twenty percent of the blood from our hearts as well as twenty percent of the oxygen from our lungs. Jones explains that the brain is essential to the body because it controls everything we do. Even though the brain is very complex, it does not mean that it is not organized and structured. In the past century, scientists have created a blue stain that stains neuron bodies. This showed scientists that neurons were unevenly distributed throughout the brain depending on
Have you ever been lost in a location foreign to you? Typically, a person who is lost will use a map to gather their bearings before heading off in the correct direction. A similar approach can be used to discuss recent brain mapping technology, the primary research of Dr. Allen Jones. Dr. Allen Jones is a brain research whose ultimate goal is to unveil a complete map of the human brain, using recent brain imaging and histological techniques. In his TED talk entitled, A Map of the Brain, Dr. Allen Jones discusses a brief overview of the anatomical structures of the brain, as well as, the methods and conclusions of his brain research.
During brain development, beginning in the womb into adulthood, all of these cells must be grouped and organized into specific networks, which create the architecture of the brain (Perry & Szalavitz, 2006). The brainstem, the diencephalon, the cortex and the limbic system are the four major parts of the brain. The brain is organized from the inside out, thus, “the lower and most central regions of the brainstem and diencephalon are the simplest” (Perry & Szalavitz, 2006, p. 21) and are also the first to form, therefore, developing first as the child grows and develops (Perry & Szalavitz, 2006). As the brain develops upward and outward, the limbic system becomes more complex and the cortex is the crowning achievement of the brain structure (Perry & Szalavitz, 2006). These four areas of the brain are organized from top to bottom and inside to outside, although these four areas are interconnected, each one controls different functions such as the brainstem controls body temperature, heart rate and blood pressure, as well as respiration. The limbic system and diencephalon control emotional responses that help to guide one’s behavior such as fear, love, joy and anger. The cortex, the top part of the brain, regulates the complex and high functions such as speech, critical thinking, and decision-making (Perry & Szalavitz, 2006). The
Alva Noe builds an argument against the idea of cell-by-cell brain mapping in the passage “Making A Brain Map That We Can Use.” He uses rhetorical questions, imagery, and refutes the counter argument to build an argument against the idea of cell-by-cell brain mapping.
Imagine a football player is tackled and hits the back of his head. As a result, his brain has hit the back of the cranium, then the front.
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the correlational method as a means for examining the relationship between functions of the left and right hemispheres. I will compare the performance of people with intact brains with the performance of so-called split-brain patients. In many ways, the brains of these two groups are very similar. 1a. The brain stem is found in the deepest part of the brain. The brainstem controls the automatic survival functions of the body, such as breathing. There are no differences between the function of the normal brainstem and the brain of a split brain patient. The brainstem will still supply the automatic survival functions of the body. 1b. The hippocampus is found in the limbic system along with the amygdala, the hypothalamus. The hippocampus is in charge of allowing the body to process information into memories. Without the hippocampus, there is no way for new memories to be created. There is no anatomical difference between the hippocampus in the normal brain and a split brain. 1c. The corpus callosum is found in the center of the brain. The role it plays as a part of the brain is it connects both the left and right hemispheres of the brain, allowing them to work and interact together as a whole system. The difference between the anatomy of the corpus callosum in a split brain patient versus someone without a
The purpose of calling the BRAIN Initiative the “brain mapping moonshot” is to compare the mapping of the brain to the Space Race. The Space Race was a race during the Cold War where the United States and the Soviet Union raced for an advantage in spaceflight capabilities. Both countries spent billions of dollars to create new technologies and to run tests trials to space. The Unites States ended up winning the race, and ever since then the United States has accomplished tremendous success in discovering new information on the galaxy, moon, and planets.
The brain is very complex and allows us to do different things. The part of the brain known as the
Sample of a brain from a healthy cow, as seen under a microscope using special stains.
Accuracy and identification of individuals was higher in sessions with longer time courses (longer duration of a scan session). Individual identification was less accurate and more challenging across different tasks/rest conditions than within task or rest conditions. Accuracy was improved when both two sessions (a rest session and a task session) was compared to a task session instead of comparing one session to one session. The 68-node FreeSurfer atlas was much less accurate with the frontoparietal lobes and slightly less accurate for the whole brain compared to the 268-node atlas. This suggests a high resolution of the brain contributes to more detection of individual variabilities within the brain, mostly within the frontoparietal network. Connectivity profiles were also found to predict the level of fluid intelligence. Predicting fluid intelligence from connectivity profiles was by far most accurate using frontoparietal network data. Frontoparietal networks were the most distinguishing of individuals and most predictive of fluid intelligence, which suggest functional properties of brain networks relate to
Structures of the Brain, and what they are responsible for and what happens is they malfunction
Title: Evaluate experimental and brain-imaging techniques and consider what they tell us about the brain and cognitive behaviour in typical and atypical individuals.
With the advancement in technology, neuroimaging has led to the discovery of male brains containing a greater amount of white matter, while female brains contain more gray matter (Gur et al., 1999). Sun et al. (2015) collected imaging data to track the progress of brain network topology over a five-year period and compared the results between gender differences. Participants in the study included 43 males ranging from ages 22-53, and 28 females from ages 21-59. Only those having no brain disorders, mental illnesses, substance abuse, or first-degree family members with mental illnesses were included in the research. Twenty-eight subjects completed the study and received scans over 5 years. The results supported findings from previous
These procedures involved in cognitive neuroscience require high levels of control, therefore are usually conducted in a laboratory setting, thus producing quantitative data that can be easily analysed, (Eysenck and Keane, 2010). Nevertheless, the techniques vary in the precision with which they identify the brain areas active when a task is performed (spatial resolution), and the time course of such activation (temporal resolution).Therefore, several procedures often need to be combined to compensate for limitations, (Sternberg and Wagner, 1999).
You live and you learn, from the moment that we breathe our first breath, we are assimilating and are acquiring information. Life changing and profound learning experiences happen before we can even speak, as children our learning process is grandiose. Harvard University published a series of summaries on Child development. One of these articles mentions that “The basic architecture of the brain is constructed through an ongoing process that begins before birth and continues into adulthood.” ("InBrief: The Science of Early Childhood Development," n.d.).