Cortical Inhibition

Q1: The cerebral cortex is a highly organized, six layered structure (L1-6) with a variety of excitatory and inhibitory cell types. Excitatory (glutamatergic) neurons make up 80% of the cortex and consist of pyramidal and spiny stellate (granule) neurons. Inhibitory (GABAergic) neurons make up only 20% of the cortex and consist of four different subtypes: non-fast spiking serotonin expressing GABAergic neurons, martinotti cells, basket cells, and chandelier cells (Petersen & Crochet, 2013; Shipp, 2007). The total number of neuronal cells in the adult human cortex is 21.4 billion for females and 26.3 billion for males; however, there are also non-neuronal cells present in the cortex (Pelvig, Pakkenberg, Stark, & Pakkenberg, 2008). The major non-neuronal cells are glial cells and consist of: oligodendrocytes (75% of non-neuronal cells), astrocytes (20%) and microglia (5%) (Pelvig et al., 2008). The layering of the cortex is highly organized, with specific cell bodies located in each layer. Layer 1 receives input from other cortical layers as well as subcortical layers and is comprised solely of inhibitory neurons, although there are axons and dendrites that project onto these neurons in addition to non-neuronal cells (Petersen & Crochet, 2013). Layers 2/3 are difficult to differentiate from one another, and often referred to as the supragranular layers. These layers contain medium sized pyramidal cells that have densely packed and highly aligned apical dendrites and make

The brain can be considered the most complex organ in the body and the centrepiece of the nervous system. Although the brain works as a unified whole, neuroscientists have identified areas within it that perform specific functions. This makes the brain interconnected by three different layers: the central core, the limbic system, and the cerebral cortex. All of which contain structures that regulate everyday life and psychological function.

Creating the world's first Z-Bomb, would have to be the most dangerous thing that could happen to humans. Turning them into Zombies, it would entirely change the characteristics of a human being and its brain. Although both living, Zombies have drastic defects towards certain aspects of the body. This Z-bomb won’t necessarily turn humans into zombies, but rather give humans zombie-ish characteristics.

I’m going to be talking about something that kind of helps reorganize some paths in your brain in many ways, it’s called neuroplasticity, which can also be called brain plasticity, In which it gives the brain the ability to adapt and modify itself. In other words, reorganize its self.

Yet, contrary results have been found; high levels of latent inhibition have been reported for chronically medicated patients with high levels of negative symptoms (Rascle et al., 2001), particularly when combined with low levels of positive symptoms (Cohen et al., 2004) Recently, contrasting evidence was found in a study investigating schizotypy. Granger at al., (2016) had participants pre-exposed to stimuli, which were letters, they were told to count how many times the letter M appeared. Participants also had to guess when X would be presented as early as possible; X was predicted by both H (novel) and S (pre-exposed). A clear effect of enhanced latent inhibition was discovered. A significant predictor was unusual experienced on the O-Life scale therefore enhanced latent inhibition was found to be associated with positive symptoms in schizotypy. Opposing results were reported by Kraus at al., (2016) and Gray (1992) who reported low levels of latent

There have been various studies which have attempted to investigate whether brain dysfunction can lead to certain defects, and damage to the prefrontal cortex is an area of research that over the years has shown to have negative effects on behaviour, cognition and emotions. The prefrontal cortex is situated on the frontal lobes of the brain and the frontal lobes are generally concerned with discouraging unsuitable and inapt behaviours. The prefrontal cortex usually play a fundamental role in one’s decision making, organisation of information and planning. Hence, any damage to the prefrontal cortex leads to a lack in decision making and an inability to plan.

The prefrontal cortex is the last part of the brain that is fully developed. Historically, scientists thought that brain growth and development ceased at age three. Current research indicates that the brain goes through extreme growth and development during the adolescent period. Only 80% of the brain is developed at this adolescent stage, and it is not fully developed until age 25-30

Behavioural deficits are key to understanding schizophrenia which are caused by attentional changes (Rothschild & Gaidis, 1981). Aberrant-salience theory has been investigated using latent inhibition (Haselgrove, 2015). Even though animal studies are not a principal point in this essay, the knowledge that animal latent inhibition was controlled by attentional processes led to the use of latent inhibition procedures to examine human pathologies characterized by attentional dysfunctions, predominantly in schizophrenia (Lubow, 2005). It was reported that latent inhibition effects in humans and animals were governed by the same attentional processors therefore Lubow (2005) suggested that the attentional devices that are accountable for latent inhibition in

Glial Cells (three types): Make up about 90% of the brain’s total cells. They also supply nutrients and oxygen, perform clean up tasks, and insulate one neuron from another so that their neural messages are not scrambled.

An increasing body of evidence verifies the influence of exercise on energy and function of the central nervous system (CNS) and how it can even help against neurological disorders. According to these studies and reports, exercise has the astonishing ability to boost mental health, and modern efforts are being dedicated to use this capability to reduce cognitive degeneration in aging and psychiatric illnesses. In this paper, recent studies are examined in humans and animals demonstrating the ability of exercise to uphold cognitive health across a lifespan. Accompanied with the goal to develop a complete explanation of how the effects of exercise in the brain correlates to the results provided from human studies. Improvements in neuroimaging have been vital in recording the relationship between the intellectual benefit and action of particular neural networks in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex involving individuals who practice exercise. Current innovations in the imaging of

Children with autism are showing signs of ADHD type symptoms at younger ages. Attention –Deficit/hyperactivity disorder, also known as ADHD is known to effect children more than it does adults, “Population surveys suggest that ADHD occurs in most cultures in about 5% of children and about 2.5% of adults” (American Psychiatric Association). ADHD mostly begins in the adolecent years of the life. The requirement that several symptoms be present before 12 years of age conveys the importance of a substantial clinical presentation during childhood. Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder shows a

There were two people looking at two balls moving on a screen while wearing headphones. The show host asked each one of them what did they observe and they both had a completely different answer. The first person said that the balls are bouncing off each other. The second person said that the balls crossed pass each other. Then they made them switch headphones and both participants had completely different answers. This was to test out the listening style of each of the people, specifically the informational listening style.

Inhibitory control has been defined as a structure that grants the suppression of actions that are considered not appropriate (Bjorklund & Harnishfeger, 1995). This structure is a weighty component in completing how mental processes work together in the achievement of a task (Dowsett & Livesey, 2000). Older research has suggested that the development of inhibitory control in homo sapiens was a major factor in the evolution of intelligence (Stenhouse, 1974). Later research further supports this claim by suggesting that Inhibitory control is important in intelligence (Kochanska, Murray, Jacques, Koenig, & Vandegeest, 1996). Research into inhibitory control has found that Inhibitory control is linked to impairment in a substantial amount of neurological disorders (Peterson et al., 1998). Inhibitory control is typically

The two brain structures that are most frequently linked to human emotion are the amygdalas and the medial portions of the prefrontal lobes (Pinel, 2014). The amygdalas are only one section of the limbic system, it is the “almond-shaped nucleus in the anterior temporal lobe” (Pinel, 2014, pg. 70). The amygdalas have been researched more than any other section of the limbic system. The amygdalas are most commonly associated with the emotion of fear, however research is showing that the amygdalas actually play a role in “evaluating the emotional significance of situations”, whether the emotions being felt are positive or negative (Pinel, 2014, pg. 436). Even though research has shown the amygdalas play a larger role with emotions, brain imaging

Central Nervous System: the brain and spinal cord together form the central nervous system, or