vitamin for depression: April 2012

Trigger Finger | Treatment Options | Causes

(Image credit © to ‘Shutterstock’)

Painful conditions that can lead to the thumb or fingers to lock or catch in a bent position are familiar known as trigger finger or stenosing tenosynovitis! The inflammation of tendon sheath is usually one of the most common areas where these problems occur for the first time. Tendon sheath is tendons located/positioned within a protective covering.

You

Causes and Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

(Image credit to ‘Healthwise’)

What are causes and symptoms of carpel tunnel syndrome? The wrist has a narrow space that we call as ‘carpal tunnel’ which has bones & transverse carpal ligament. This space is the area where the forearm and palm meet, and also has important function to accommodate median nerve and tendons that connected with the hand.

You might also like to know more about

What Causes Lower Back Pain | Symptoms?

The common areas of the body that have higher risk of low back pain may include from above the legs to below the ribs! This health problem is one of universal human experiences. In other words, almost everybody experience it at some points in their life. Luckily, if you experience this pain, don’t worry -- it will often be better on its own way! But if it doesn't fortunately there are also

Can Constipation Cause Back Pain?

(Image credit to shutterstock)

There are some people with constipation that also experience back pain! The big question, is there any correlation between constipation and back pain? Unfortunately, there is less information about this issue on internet. What else you need to know? Keep reading!

You might also to know more detailed information about appropriately exercises for back pain and

Exercises for Lower Back Pain | Helpful Ideas

If you experience back pain, you need to get more physical activity (exercise) to speed up your recovery! Your leg, stomach, and back muscles can be less susceptible to injury by having regularly strengthening & stretching to them. Your risk of having disc injury also decreases if you have strong muscles in the legs, back, and stomach. These strong muscles also can be so helpful to support

Best Mattress for Back Pain | Buying Guide

In fact, we can spend a lot of time in bed every day! Therefore, if you seriously concern to your health (especially for your back), you should choose the best one of mattresses that can properly support your body when you sleep at night. And there are now a lot of mattress products that claimed to be able to give the most comfort zone when you sleep, but which is one that actually works with

How to Lower Triglycerides | Lifestyle Changes

Triglycerides are one of cholesterol types -- it is a type of fat that can be found in the blood! Having high level of triglycerides is not good for your health. Fortunately, this problem is treatable and preventable. So, what you should do on how to lower triglycerides with lifestyle changes? Let’s explore more this issue!

You might also like to know more tips about how to decrease LDL and

How Much Cholesterol in Egg Yolk and Whites?

(Image credit to shutterstock)

Your cholesterol can increase significantly if you have a diet high in cholesterol. One of familiar foods that contain cholesterol is eggs. Eating too many eggs can lead to high cholesterol. Nevertheless, some studies found that eating them in moderation doesn’t significantly affect to the cholesterol levels. So, how much cholesterol in eggs (yolk and whites)?

Cholesterol Lowering Supplements and Foods

What are cholesterol lowering supplements and foods that you should choose? As well we know that high cholesterol or also familiar called as hypercholesterolemia is one of popular health-topics in this modern living. Bad modern lifestyles of eating too much unhealthy foods, and modern facilities (modern vehicles) that can quickly displace you from one location to another without needing more

Erasing Memories Cell by Cell

3d glass brain
by Kazuhiko Nakamura

We've discussed recent findings about erasing fears from memories, but today we'll be talking about erasing the fear memory itself. This involves actually inhibiting or killing the individual neurons that encode for a particular memory, so for obvious reasons these experiments are done on mice rather than humans.

Mice can be trained to associate a mild electrical foot shock with a tone. The tone plays and then a foot shock is given. Once the mouse has learned this association, it will freeze in place when the tone is played. This is called an auditory fear memory.
Using a fear memory paradigm, Sheena Josselyn in her Toronto lab discovered how to visualize the neurons which are active during fear memory formation. They also developed a way to target and delete them, consequently deleting the memory.

In Han et al. (2009), some beautiful genetic trickery was used to promote a 'kill switch' only in the neurons which are active during the memory formation. This kill switch is the diphtheria toxin receptor. Normally cells do not have this receptor, but when they promote this receptor artificially on the cell surface, an injection of diphtheria toxin will kill that cell, but not neighboring (dtr-free) cells. The real impressive genetics is in promoting the diphtheria toxin receptor only in neurons active during memory formation. To do this, the Josselyn lab used a marker for cell activity in amygdala neurons during memory formation, CREB. Specifically, they used a transgenic mouse that expressed the diphtheria toxin receptor only when CREB activates cre.

So now with the memory encoded and the kill switch in place, they pull the trigger and inject diphtheria toxin into the mice. This kills all the amygdala cells that were active during memory formation (about 250 amygdala cells or so, Han et al., 2009 figure 1B). They then test the mice again for freezing behavior.

Han et al., 2009 Figure 3

The second set of columns (CREB-cre, DT) is the experiment I have described. Before any drug is injected the mice freeze in response to the tone, but after the diphtheria toxin (DT) injection, the mice freeze much less in response to the tone. What is really essential to this study is the control experiments that they ran.

They wanted to make sure that just killing any 250 neurons in the amygdala didn't causes memory loss. So instead of using the CREB promoter to activate cre (and thus the diphtheria toxin receptor) they used a control promoter (cntrl-cre, DT above) to promote cre in about the same number of neurons, but not dependent on neural activity. In this case, there is no statistical difference in how much the mouse freezes in response to the tone. (compare the first two columns to each other.)

Similarly, they wanted to make sure that the diphtheria toxin (DT) itself didn't erase the memories. They injected CREB that did not promote cre, and thus did not cause any diphtheria receptors to be expressed (CREB, DT). In this case, there was again no difference between pre and post DT injection. Finally, they wanted to make sure it wasn't the CREB-cre construct itself, so they added the CREB-cre like normal, but did not inject the diphtheria toxin, so the receptors were expressed on these cells, but were not activated. In this case again, not difference in the amount of freezing.

Because none of these control groups showed a difference in freezing, Josselyn could be confident that she had really shown that the specific neurons that encoded the memory were necessary for recalling the memory.

They are also clear that the amygdala is not seriously damaged in this study, as the mice can re-learn the task after the specific neurons have been deleted.

One particularly interesting aspect of this study, which the authors do not discuss, is the number of neurons necessary for encoding a memory. They delete hundreds of neurons. I wonder if deleting half of them or even a quarter would result in the same erasure of the memory. How many neurons does it take to encode a memory?

Recently this concept of targeting proteins to only the active cells has been extended to include channel rhodopsin, the protein which allows cells to be activated by light. Liu et al., (2012) was able to reactivate the neurons that were specifically active during the learning of a fear response. Stimulating these neurons caused the mouse to freeze, suggesting that stimulating these neurons reactivates the memory. This paper is covered thoroughly by Mo Costandi at Neurophilosophy.

© TheCellularScale

ResearchBlogging.org

Han JH, Kushner SA, Yiu AP, Hsiang HL, Buch T, Waisman A, Bontempi B, Neve RL, Frankland PW, & Josselyn SA (2009). Selective erasure of a fear memory. Science (New York, N.Y.), 323 (5920), 1492-6 PMID: 19286560

Normal Cholesterol Levels by Age | Women and Men

Whatever your age, the normal (safe) level of your LDL ‘bad cholesterol’ should be less than 100 mg/dL! You also need to have higher level of HDL ‘good cholesterol’ (higher levels of HDL - better chance to prevent heart disease). 60 mg/dL or higher is good level of HDL and associated with lower risk of heart disease. But if you have some risk factors of heart disease, your doctor may give

How to Lower LDL Cholesterol Effectively and Fast!

High cholesterol is one of the most popular ‘health-trending’ topics in these modern living. It is always associated with low-density lipoprotein (LDL). What is LDL? It is a kind of cholesterol or familiar known as ‘bad cholesterol’. Therefore lower LDL is much better for your health, especially to reduce your risk of developing heart disease and even stroke! And, the big question is how to

What is A Good Cholesterol Level?

High cholesterol (particularly for LDL ‘bad cholesterol’) is one of major topics when talking about heart disease. It is identical with bad thing for your health. But did you know that there is also a kind of cholesterol that is important to help control LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein)? This type is familiar known as HDL or High Density Lipoprotein. What is a good cholesterol level? And what

What Causes High Cholesterol | Prevention?

In the body, cholesterol is found in the lipids (fats) in the blood. It is a waxy substance, and the body needs certain amounts of this waxy substance for certain activities (like for building healthy cells). But when your cholesterol is too over or too high then this can lead to some serious health problems -- your risk of having heart disease increases! What causes high cholesterol and what

Symptoms of High Cholesterol | Risk Factors

High cholesterol is bad for your health and even can be one of major warning signs that your risk of heart disease increases. Therefore, it is important to consider what you eat and do regularly tests (once in five years if you are over the age of 20 or should be more frequently for men who are over the age of 35 & women who are over the age of 45)! And one of frequently asked questions when

Cholesterol Levels for Women and Men

Talking about cholesterol levels for women and men, there are 3 types of cholesterol that we should concern. These types are (1) triglycerides that are stored throughout the body (foods that we eat can contribute to cause excess sugar, alcohol, and calories which eventually in the body will be converted to become triglycerides), (2) high-density lipoprotein or HDL ‘good cholesterol’, and (3)

Typing, Basketball, and your Striatum

A few readers were kind enough to take the online typing tests that I linked to and report their results. Unfortunately there are too few Dvorak users out there, so no new results from them. However, the Qwerty users had some seriously fast fingers, so I had to change the scale of the graph!

New data from the comments section reveal:

Some people can type REALLY fast.

This piqued my curiosity and I wanted to know how fast the FASTEST typists could type, I also wanted to see them in action. so for your viewing pleasure, here is Sean Wrona winning the 2010 SXSW typing championship with 163 wpm. (I gather from the internet that he can actually type as fast as 237 wpm)

He types in Qwerty, and since he could apparently type 80 wpm at age 6, I imagine the keyboard format is pretty ingrained in his brain.

Which brings me to another point: I would like to look at this guy's brain.

But what exactly would I be looking for?

Consistently 'exercising' a part of the brain can result in visible structural changes there. A classic example of this is the taxi drivers who show navigation based changes in hippocampal structure. (Maguire et al., 2000)

The hippocampus is cool and all, but I wouldn't expect to see typing-dependent changes there. It traditionally has much more to do with episodic memories (yes, Proust), and spatial navigation (yes, Place Cells).

striatum is the striped area

The brain structure that I might expect to be affected by extreme typing expertise is called the striatum (a part of the basal ganglia). While it receives less attention than the hippocampus and amygdala, the striatum is a fascinating structure crucial to forming habits, addiction, and learning motor skills. Playing the piano, kicking the soccer ball, typing, and almost anything that people refer to as 'muscle memory' is a motor sequence learned with the help of the striatum.

A recent study from Korea has compared the size of striatum in basketball players (6 hours of practice a day) to the size of the striatum in non-athletes matched for height and weight. Park et al., (2010) found that both the absolute and relative sizes of the striatums (in both hemispheres) were larger for the basketball group than for the non-athlete group. They give a few reasons why this might be so (more cells, more blood flow to that region etc), but nothing conclusive.

While this is an interesting study, it is very limited. The question remains: What aspect of basketball (if any) is causing this structural difference? And there are many possibilities:

1. People who have bigger striatums to begin with are more likely to play basketball, and the 'structural change' is not due to the basketball playing at all.
2. Exercise itself causes striatal enlargement.
3. The teamwork and interactions causes striatal enlargement.
4. Hand-eye coordination causes it
5. learning the game of basketball causes it

and so on...

I would like to see a more thorough experiment, using something as simple as this foursquare design:

If both the basketball players and the runners have larger striatums, exercise would be implicated. If both the basketball players and the piano players have larger striatums, then the skill learning would be implicated. If all three groups have larger striatums than the couch potatoes, that could be a sign that being a couch potato is pretty bad for your brain.

So getting back to the expert typist scenario, which box does the typist fit in? It is clearly not exercise, but it is not exactly equivalent to piano playing either. The piano player learns new songs on a regular basis, while the typist doesn't learn new paragraphs or new sentences in the same way. If it is the skill learning that 'grows' the striatum, then typing practice might not do anything past a certain point. It might take learning a new keyboard style to stimulate 'skill-learning' based growth.

In conclusion, the striatum (and possibly the cerebellum) might be an interesting place to look for brain changes in typing experts. However, the particular skill of typing fast in not necessarily the most likely skill to cause changes in the striatum.

© TheCellularScale

ResearchBlogging.org

Park IS, Lee KJ, Han JW, Lee NJ, Lee WT, Park KA, & Rhyu IJ (2011). Basketball training increases striatum volume. Human movement science, 30 (1), 56-62 PMID: 21030099

Maguire EA, Gadian DG, Johnsrude IS, Good CD, Ashburner J, Frackowiak RS, & Frith CD (2000). Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 97 (8), 4398-403 PMID: 10716738

What are Foods to Lower Cholesterol?

Image credit to ‘shutterstock’ for illustration

Are there any foods to lower cholesterol? In fact, one of common treatments to reduce LDL (bad cholesterol) is dietary approaches. So, it is certainly possible to reduce the level of your cholesterol by considering what you should eat and what you should avoid! The big question, what are foods you should choose for your dietary changes?

You

How to Lower Cholesterol Naturally | Friendly Ideas

High cholesterol levels are often associated with some serious health problems, particularly like heart disease. Therefore, it is so important to keep your cholesterol levels in the range of safe levels! So, how to lower cholesterol naturally? Before talking about this hot issue, you may need to know first what actually cholesterol is?!

You might also like to know more detailed information

Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms!

BPD or borderline personality disorder is a kind of mental disease! Almost similar like other mental illnesses, it can cause impulsive behaviors, mood swings, and serious problems associated with self-worth and relationships. Then, how about with the symptoms? Well, most people who have this disorder usually also have other similar problems (such as substance abuse, eating disorders, or

Binge Eating Disorder Treatment (Medication – Psychotherapy)

Many people will get some big meals in certain periods of time. But this can occur more often or even can be regular behavior in people with binge eating disorder! This disorder is one of serious eating disorders, which can be characterized or marked by frequently eat big meals or unusually large amounts of food! Since it usually can result obesity, if left untreated -- it can cause a lot of

Causes of Eating Disorders | Risk Factors!

Don’t ever underestimate any types of eating disorder! If they are not properly treated, they can generate serious health problems or even sometimes (in severe stages) can lead to potentially life-threatening health problems! So, what are risk factors that can put someone at high risk of having this disorder? And what are the exact causes of eating disorders? Let’s explore more!

Before

Types of Eating Disorders (More Symptoms)

What is eating disorder? And what are types of eating disorders? Well, as the name implies they are a group of conditions (serious health conditions) marked or characterized by an unhealthy correlation or relationship with food. And there are 3 major types of this disorder; bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder.

You might also like to know more about factors that

Why I type in Dvorak and you should too

The Dvorak keyboard is an alternative to the traditional Qwerty layout. Proponents (like me) claim that it is faster and easier to use. Dvorak himself claimed in a 1943 National Business Education Quarterly paper "There is a better typewriter keyboard" that experts could type 35% faster in the Dvorak layout than in the Qwerty layout. (value cited in this paper, I could not locate original)

I started using Dvorak during my freshman year of college because some guy told me it was cool. I converted my computer's keyboard format to Dvorak and re-arranged all the keys of my 1st generation iMac.

I feel old.

I was not much of a 'typer' before attempting Dvorak. I was a step above 'hunt and peck' (I used multiple fingers), but I couldn't type without looking at the keyboard. It wasn't long before I became much faster typing in Dvorak than in Qwerty, and could touch-type for the first time in my life.

I now change all computers I use to Dvorak, but do not change the physical keys on the keyboard. This has resulted in some lovely events such as my work-study boss in college thinking her computer was 'haunted' because I forgot to change the format back before leaving the office. It has also resulted in some embarrassing moments for me when I am forced to return to a Qwerty layout. During a presentation on some new neuro-software, I volunteered to test it out. This was a bad idea, because of course the presenter's computer was set to Qwerty. I not only typed super-slowly, but I couldn't put in a familiar password at one point. I knew the password by touch, and without the letters showing up as feedback, I literally could not type it correctly.

Despite the occasional problem, I love typing in Dvorak. I find it much easier and more natural than typing in Qwerty. However, since I have been typing in Dvorak since iMacs were cool, my favoritism is probably due to familiarty more than some inherent 'betterness'. I can hardly be objective here.

For some real objective analysis we need some peer-reviewed studies. Luckily the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society cares about this sort of thing.

In a 2009 paper Anderson et al. investigated just how steep the learning curve was for a variety of alternative keyboards.

Anderson et al., 2009
Figure 1: chord, contoured split Qwerty, Dvorak, and angle split Qwerty

In this study, participants typed a familiar passage (having practiced it 10 times with the normal Qwerty keyboard) 5 times on an 'alternative' keyboard. The researchers then plotted the time it took to type the passage.

Anderson et al., 2009 Figure 3

The split keyboards are Qwerty layout keyboards, just angled differently for ergonomic purposes, so it is not too surprising that they resulted in fast typing times. The Dvorak and chord keyboards were more difficult for the participants, but both showed strong learning curves.

This study says nothing about how 'experts' type on any of these keyboards, so I decided to test myself.

Online, you can test your typing speed by typing in random words or passages for 1 minute.
I tried these tests 3 times each in Dvorak and Qwerty (alternating). Not surprisingly, I was much better in Dvorak.

open symbols= random words test, filled symbols=passages test

The random words test is much easier than the passages test which includes punctuation, but in both tests I was faster in Dvorak.

But of course I don't type in Qwerty regularly, so this isn't exactly the right comparison. To rectify this, I got help from a Qwerty user who was so kind as to try the passages test 3 times for me. My Dvorak passages test were slightly better than the Qwerty-user's passages tests (filled red circles compared to blue squares). One person per group is hardly proof and couldn't even count for preliminary data, so don't quote this figure as proof that Dvorak is faster or anything. It could just as easily be proof that people with brown eyes (me) are better typers that people with blue eyes (Qwerty-user). This was just some good old fashioned dorky fun-with-data.

If you want to add data points to my table, go ahead and take the typing tests yourself:

Random words
Passages

Both sites are annoyingly stuffed with ads, but you can take the test without clicking on any of them.

Then let me know if you are Dvorak or Qwerty user, what test you took, and how many words per minute you typed.

© TheCellularScale

ResearchBlogging.org

Anderson AM, Mirka GA, Joines SM, & Kaber DB (2009). Analysis of alternative keyboards using learning curves. Human factors, 51 (1), 35-45 PMID: 19634307

What are Bipolar Depression Symptoms?

Bipolar disorder is also called as ‘manic depression’ or ‘manic depressive disorder’! One of phases in bipolar disorder is depressive episodes. Another contrasting phase is manic episodes. People with this illness have extreme changes in poles (moods) from ‘depression (low energy) to mania (high energy)’ or on the other hand from ‘mania to depression’. And between these changes (mood swings),

What Causes Bipolar Disorder | Who Is At Risk?

What are causes of bipolar disorder? Well, maniac depression or maniac depressive disorder is another familiar name to call bipolar disorder. People with it will experience two contrasting phases that are episodes of mania and episodes of depression. Manic episodes are often referred to higher level of energy, and depression episodes are often associated with sadness emotion with low energy.

Book of the Year Awards: Living with Depression

ForeWord Magazine announced its list of 2011 Book of the Year Awards, and "Living with Depression" was named a finalist in the Psychology category. I'm so thrilled.

ForeWord's Book of the Year Awards program was designed for booksellers and librarians to share in the process of discovering distinctive books across a number of genres with judgments based on their own authority and on patron interests. After months of winnowing down the award finalists' list, the editors at ForeWord are confident in their selections, and our judges agree, saying this year's titles are the best they've seen. Winners will be announced in June 2012.

Bipolar Symptoms in Women and Men

A bipolar disorder can cause some serious bipolar symptoms in women and men -- especially if it is not treated properly! It is a kind of serious mental illness that will lead to damaged careers /relationships, risky behavior, and even can increase suicidal tendencies. In bipolar disorder, there are two contrasting phases (this may be one of reasons why this disorder is called as ‘bipolar’);

Anxiety Disorders in Children (Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment)

One of familiar known anxiety disorders in children is separation anxiety! However, many of very young kids have it and this is normal, particularly for those between 8-14 months. There is usually a normal phase that we call as clingy, which is a condition of afraid (particularly to unfamiliar places and people). But it can be a kind of disorder when occurs, with excessive symptoms and last

Physical Symptoms of Anxiety (Panic Attacks)

The physical symptoms of anxiety disorders are usually closely associated to what the type of the anxiety itself! For example, people with panic attack may experience slightly different signs (or even sometimes very different symptoms) to people who have a specific phobia disorder. You may also like to read types of anxiety disorders, before continuing!

Furthermore, the physical symptoms

Natural Remedies for Anxiety Disorders | Home Treatments

Meditations and relaxation techniques are some of popular choices when talking and discussing about natural remedies for anxiety disorders! Some people believe that meditations are more effective than relaxation techniques to treat and minimize the anxiety disorder symptoms! But in 2006, a new study suggest that both meditation and relaxation techniques are equally to ease anxiety disorders --

What is Anxiety Disorder | Types | Causes and Prevention!

Everyone has anxiety, but not for anxiety disorder! The normal anxiety is normal expression or normal emotion of the body at times, like nervous before doing a test or interview of job, nervous when making a crucial decision, or nervous when having a date with someone you love for the first time, etc. So, what is anxiety disorder? It is very different, even it can lead to distress that

Place cells: The importance of Patching

A place cell fires in one particular spot
(source)

Place cells are neurons in the hippocampus that fire when an animal is in a particular location. Like many other cases where a neuron activates in response to something specific, the question everyone wants to answer is 'why does the neuron fire at that particular spot?' A study published 1 year ago today used a quite difficult technique and a combination of patience and extreme persistence to look more deeply into the intracellular properties of individual place cells.

Previously people have studied place cells using a technique called 'extracellular recording.' This technique involves implanting a recording electrode into the hippocampus of a rat, mouse, or bat(sometimes human, if the electrode is being implanted for health reasons). This recording electrode can tell when a neuron close to it spikes (i.e. fires an action potential), and the time of the spike can be matched to a video recording of the animal moving around in space. The above image represents a top-down view of a square box where the rat was allowed to run around freely. The black line is where the rat moved during the recording and the red dots indicate where the rat was each time a specific neuron fired. You can see that this particular neuron fired only when the rat was in a certain area.

Place cell recording set up (Rotenberg et al., 1996)

Extracellular recording has been used extensively to investigate how place cells develop, adapt to new environments, and even how they are remembered. However, this technique can only show when a neuron spikes. It can't reveal any information about intracellular characteristics.

Epsztein et al., (2011) uses a new technique to investigate what is happening inside a place cell. The technique they use is called whole cell patch clamp. In whole cell patch clamp, a glass micro-electrode, which is filled with a salt solution similar to that found inside actual neurons, is lowered so that it is right next to the surface of the cell (the opening of the glass micro-electrode is smaller than the cell body). The cell membrane forms a seal around the tip of the micro electrode, and then brief suction is applied to break a hole into the cell. Once the hole is made, the electrical signal of the neuron can be measured through the micro electrode.

This is a difficult technique because any slight movements of either the cell or the glass micro electrode could break the seal and sever the connection. This technique is commonly used in slices of brain or in cultured brain cells and is done on a vibration isolation table to prevent jostling of the cell and micro electrode. I am very familiar with this technique and its difficulties, so I am beyond impressed that Epsztein et al. were able to used this technique in a moving rat!

Epsztein et al., 2011 Fig 5

While the use of this technique in freely moving rats is difficult, the findings are certainly interesting enough to justify the effort.

The authors found that before the rat was put in the maze, the cells that turned out to be place cells were physiologically different than the cells that turned out not to be place cells (so called silent cells). Specifically the future place cells spiked in a more 'bursty' pattern (see image), while the future silent cells spiked in a more 'regular' pattern.

Previous theories about how place cells were generated mostly focused on what inputs the cells were receiving, not their intrinsic properties. What makes this finding so fascinating is that the intrinsic cellular properties which govern the spiking pattern of the cell actually predicts whether they will be a place cell or not. The inputs onto these cells may be important for organizing which cells fire at each particular place, but the cell must have certain intrinsic qualities to become a place cell to begin with. In the author's words:

"Therefore what intrinsic factors may predetermine is the restricted subset of cells that could potentially have place fields. Moreover, among the set of possible place cells, the relative locations of their place fields also appear to be predetermined."

One big issue that the authors bring up in their discussion is that of 're-mapping.' Place cells are specific to the environment that the rat is in. When the rat is moved to a new environment, it forms new place fields with new cells (though some overlap). The important thing is that sometimes cells will be silent in one environment and have place fields in a different environment. It's really not clear whether these cells can modulate their intrinsic properties fast enough to 'become' place cells from silent cells, or whether there are some cells that are never going to be place cells no matter what environment they are put in. Because this technique is so difficult, these questions are not likely to be clarified very soon. But, at least now we know that we should be asking them.

© TheCellularScale

ResearchBlogging.org

Epsztein J, Brecht M, & Lee AK (2011). Intracellular determinants of hippocampal CA1 place and silent cell activity in a novel environment. Neuron, 70 (1), 109-20 PMID: 21482360

Can Depression Be Cured | Treatments?

When talking about depression -- treatments and other ways to get over this disorder are some of the major topics that are often discussed. Can depression be cured? Fortunately, with the right psychotherapy, or antidepressant medication, or a combination of both and other helpful treatments -- most of people with this disorder (about 80 percent) can be treated successfully, according to the

Major Depressive Disorder Symptoms (Causes and Prevention)

What are major depressive disorder symptoms (this disorder is also often called as clinical depression)? Well ... sometimes most people will feel depressed, low, or sad. These feelings are one of the ways of your body to express what you feel, like to lose life’s struggles.

But when you feel intense sadness (such as worthless, hopeless, or helpless) and the this condition lasts for many days

What is Clinical Depression?

There are several types of depression and one of them is what we call as clinical depression (or often called as major depressive disorder). It is the term used to describe one of severe stages of depression, which also familiar called as major depressive disorder or major depression. What else you need to know about clinical depression? Let’s explore more this disorder!

You might also like

How to Get Over Depression?

There are many ways on how to get over depression! The method to treat this disorder can be different from person to person, and there are also some factors that can influence on how to choose the best one of these methods to treat someone with depression. One of these factors is the special situation of depression.

For example, the ways that should be taken to get over depression in men

Signs of Depression in Men

Although many studies found that depression is more common in women, but this doesn't mean you (if you are a man) can underestimate this disorder! It can attack anyone ‘young, adult, or elderly’ of ‘women & men’. It also can occur in any conditions of income level and even in any race. Some signs of depression in men can be different from the signs in women!

You might also like to know more

What Causes Depression?

There are a lot of effects that can be generated from depression. Sometimes is often called as clinical depression, major depressive disorder, or major depression. It is a kind of disorder that can lead to loss of interest and more feeling of sadness. Even sometimes it also can lead to physical signs or physical symptoms. Generally, it can cause a wide range of emotional problems, and even

Signs of Depression in Women

It is about 14-15 million people in the United of States experience depression every year! And most of them is not men but women (which almost 75 percent of these women doesn't get the right treatments that are actually needed). If you are a woman, you should clearly understand the common signs of depression in women, because you have higher risk of having clinical depression than men!

You

How to Build Muscle Fast for Men?

There are a lot of tips and ways on how to build muscle fast for men! And you can find them easily on internet! But it’s difficult to find some that really work for you, because there are also other factors that influence the result of your muscle-building, which usually may be different from person to person. Therefore, if you seriously want to get more detailed steps and tips to build muscle

Best Supplements for Muscle Growth

(Image credit to shutterstock)

What are best supplements for muscle growth? There are a lot of supplement products for muscle growth, which may include liquids, powders, or pills (capsules)! And this condition may make you confused on making decision to choose the best one of them that you should buy! The right choosing one of them may give different result for your muscle gain project.

What are Antioxidants?

Image credit to ‘Getty Images’ for illustration

What are antioxidants? How importance of these substances for your body? Generally, antioxidants are minerals, vitamins, and other useful nutrients that can be helpful to repair and protect the body’s cells that can be damaged due to free radicals. Therefore, these substances are often associated with immune-boosting, and many experts often

Hot Flashes and Cancer Cells

As I have recently explained, The Cellular Scale wants to weigh the worth of certain claims made by the media, individuals, and scientists.
To start with, we will investigate the claim that hot flashes can cure cancer. I just heard someone say this the other day, so there is no media or peer-reviewed source to condemn. However hearing it from a non-scientist in a completely non-scientific context leads me to believe it might be something that is popularly accepted, and therefore merits a good close look.

Here is the exact quote I heard:

"The temperature reached during hot flashes in menopause is exactly the temperature at which cancer cells cannot survive."

There are some obvious problems with this specific claim. If this is true as stated, then no one would have cancer cells remaining in their body after undergoing a hot flash and heating up the body would be the undisputed cure for cancer.

So lets take a look at a related, but somewhat less drastic claim:

"A new study shows that having symptoms such as hot flashes during menopause appears to be tied to a lower risk of the most common kinds of breast cancer."

This claim is based on an actual paper. The paper suggests that this connection is due to differing estrogen level in women with and without symptoms

"Prior studies indicate that women with menopausal symptoms have lower estrogen levels because they go through menopause as compared with women who do not experience them. Given the central role of hormones in the etiology of breast cancer, a link between menopausal symptoms and breast cancer is plausible. However, no prior studies have evaluated the association between menopausal symptoms and breast cancer risk....This is the first study to report that women who ever experienced menopausal symptoms have a substantially reduced risk of breast cancer, and that severity of hot flushes is also inversely associated with risk." (from the abstract Huang et al., 2011)

The more severe the hot flashes the lower the risk of breast cancer is an exciting and useful finding, but the paper makes no claim that this is because of the heat. It certainly doesn't make any claims about other forms of cancer, or the viability of already present cancer cells during a hot flash.
Finally, this is a classic example of correlation vs. causality. The finding that the women with severe hot flashes have a lower risk of breast cancer does not mean that the hot flashes prevent breast cancer. (Hot flashes might cause the reduction in risk, but the research hasn't shown that yet) In fact, it seems equally, if not more likely that one mechanism causes both severe hot flashes and a reduced risk of breast cancer.

© TheCellularScale

ResearchBlogging.org

Huang Y, Malone KE, Cushing-Haugen KL, Daling JR, & Li CI (2011). Relationship between menopausal symptoms and risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology, 20 (2), 379-88 PMID: 21212063

Acai Berry Side Effects and Health Benefits!

What is acai berry? Why there are many advertisements that say acai products are good for health and even some claim their products can be helpful to lose weight effectively or even quickly? And what are acai berry side effects and health benefits? Let’s explore more these issues!

You might also like to know more about acai berry cleanse and weight loss, before continuing!

This fruit is

Facts of Acai Berry Cleanse and Weight Loss!

There are now a lot of headlines that expose the super benefits of acai berry to lose weight effectively! Even this fruit is supposed to promote some health benefits, such as for anti-aging food, cleanse-food, and more. One of the big questions, can this fruit really help someone to lose his /her weight effectively? What are facts of acai berry cleanse that you should know?

You might also

When is Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM)?

Breast cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers in women. Therefore, there are now a lot of communities associated with breast cancer in many countries. When is breast cancer awareness month (BCAM)? October is the breast cancer awareness month.

You may also like to read prevention tips and myths of breast cancer, before continuing!

In the U.S, BCAM is also referred as NBCAM or

Stomach Cancer Prognosis

(Image credit to Stockbyte /Getty Images)

Gastric cancer or also familiar known as stomach cancer is a kind of cancer in the stomach (as well as the name suggests). It is usually a malignant tumor growing or arising from the stomach’s lining. And because this disease usually has few symptoms (particularly in the early stages), people who have this disease usually see their doctor to consult

Early Symptoms of Stomach Cancer | Risk Factors

(Image credit to ‘Getty Images’)

What is actually stomach cancer? Like the name implies, it is a kind of cancer in the stomach (a malignant tumor that arises and grows from the lining of the stomach). The other familiar name of this disease is gastric cancer. What are early symptoms of stomach cancer? And what are ways that you can do to lower your risk? Read also about prognosis of this

What Causes Colon Cancer?

(image credit to shutterstock)

Colon cancer is the term used for a condition or cancer that occurs in the large intestine or colon (as well as the name suggests). The large intestine is located in the lower part of the digestive tract system. Click in here to find out where is the position or location of your colon in the digestive system. The next question is "What are causes of colon cancer

Colon Cancer Stages (Basic Information)

(image credit to shutterstock)

The colon cancer stages are usually closely dependent on how far the disease has spread. The staging process is important for the doctors to to make a decision on choosing and taking the best treatments. And based on how far the spread of the disease, generally there are five stages of this cancer.

You may also like to read about causes of colon cancer and how

Colon Cancer Symptoms in Women and Men

(image credit to shutterstock)

What are colon cancer symptoms in women and men? The familiar cancer that starts and occurs in the colon is called as colon cancer. It and rectal cancer (cancer that begins its progress from rectum) are usually referred into one package what we call as colorectal cancer. In other words, colorectal cancer is the term used to a cancer or condition that affects the

Signs and Symptoms of Colon Cancer!

(image credit to shutterstock)

What is actually colon cancer? Generally, it is one of conditions what we call as colorectal cancer, which is the term used to describe a cancer that affects two important organs of our digestive tract system that are colon and rectum. As the name implies, cancer that starts in the rectum is familiar known as rectal cancer, and cancer that develops for the first

Symptoms of Bladder Cancer

(Image credit © to ‘Getty Images’)

The growth of unusual or abnormal cells in the body is a condition what we call as cancer. And for bladder cancer, as the name implies it is the growth of these abnormal cells that occur in the bladder. Bladder has main function to store the urine until the body is ready to let it out, and it is one of the most important parts of urinary tract. So, what are

Spastic Colon Symptoms and Causes

(Image credit to Getty Images)
Spastic colon is also familiar known as spastic bowel or IBS (inflammatory bowel syndrome). Unlike IBD (irritable bowel disease), spastic colon is a much less serious problem, which usually also familiar called a functional disorder (in other words, you may have the digestive system that looks normal, but it cannot work as it should). What are spastic colon

Diet for Ulcers (Do and Don’t)!

(Image credit to ‘Stockbyte /Getty Images’
for illustration)

Some patients with ulcer disease are still allowed to eat and drink (without having problem) whatever they want. But for many of them, they should do what we call as ‘diet for ulcers’! They should eat and avoid certain foods in order to heal their ulcer symptoms.

You might also like to read stomach ulcer treatment options, before

Stomach Ulcer Symptoms in Women

(Image credit to ‘shutterstock’)
Stomach ulcer or familiar known as gastric ulcer is a kind of peptic ulcer disease that usually occurs and affects on the inside of the stomach -- as well as the name implies! It can attack either women or men. And generally, there is no significant difference between the stomach ulcer symptoms in women and the ulcer signs in men.

You may also like to read

Stomach Ulcer Treatment

Some people are more likely to ignore the warning signs of their stomach ulcer. This is wrong idea, although sometimes the symptoms of stomach ulcer may go away on their own , but if not properly treated this disease can cause other health problems, such as bleeding, perforation, or gastric outlet obstruction. What you should know about stomach ulcer treatment?

You might also like to know

Symptoms of Stomach Ulcer

What is Stomach ulcer? It is also often familiar known as peptic ulcer disease, particularly gastric ulcers. Peptic ulcers usually refer to the painful ulcers or sores in the lining of duodenum (the first segment of the small intestine) or the stomach. What are symptoms of stomach ulcer? And, how serious is this disease?

You might also like to know more about stomach ulcer treatment options,

Symptoms of endometriosis in Women

(Image credit © to ‘shutterstock’)

What is actually endometriosis? Do you ever hear this health problem? Well, it is a condition that can cause a problem in many women, which is relatively more common in the women’s childbearing years. It can represent that there is also a type of tissue that is growing or developing outside the uterus. So, what are symptoms of endometriosis in women? You may

Real or Not Real: NeuroTorture

I am not going to lie, I recently got caught up in Hunger Games fever, tearing through all three books at a breakneck pace and staying up way too late doing so. While these books raise interesting questions on some of my favorite topics (like 'how much is too much to sacrifice for victory?'), one particular neuroethics issue jumped out and stung me.

Without divulging any plot points or spoilers, I will explain:

In the last book, Mockingjay, a good guy is taken hostage by the bad guys. Although you never see any actual scenes, it is clear that this person is being tortured for information. One particular form of torment used on this character is called Hijacking.

Injected with the hallucinogenic venom of the mutated wasp (the tracker jacker), this person is forced to recall memories and watch videos of people s/he loves. This disoriented and unquestionably negative emotional state then alters this person's memories such that when s/he finally sees the familiar faces, s/he distrusts them, hates them, and wants to kill them.

This portrayal of neurotorture (yes, you can put neuro in front of any word) brings up several questions:

1. Could this really work?
2. Has any one every tried it?
3. Is it wrong?

Let's take a deeper look:

1. Could this really work?
There is no such thing as a Tracker Jacker, but in principle, could a mood or perception altering drug be used on a person to change their memories?

A drug that depleted a person of dopamine or serotonin, or in contrast flooded them with dynorphin, could depress someones mood and possibly make them paranoid or distrustful. Could re-opening a memory during a suspicious, paranoid mood cause someone to re-encode that memory with doubt, distrust, misery, or hate? Or could the addition of a powerful hallucinogen, result in the person not being able to tell which memories were real and which were not?
Kindt et al., in 2009 showed the opposite was true, that application of a beta-blocker (an anti-anxiety drug) during the recall of a fearful memory could dampen the fear response associated with that memory, while the drug alone (without the re-opening of the memory) had no effect.

So my answer: yes, to some extent. If you can open a memory and extinguish the fear, why couldn't you open a memory and instill the fear?

Could this method sow doubt and confusion in a prisoner's mind? yes.
But, could it make some one ready to kill their old allies? not too likely. I think it would take some seriously extensive and targeted hijacking to even come close to something like that.

In my opinion, the most likely outcome to any hijacking attempt with current known neurological targets would be to drive the prisoner into despair and madness. I doubt you could 'reprogram' a person to kill a specific target.

2. Has anyone tried this?

This is a pretty tough question. If a government has tried this, it is likely a secret, and all the sources I can find online explaining how governments weaponize LSD or whatnot appear about as reliable at The Men Who Stare at Goats. (so I am not adding links to them here, google it if you want some serious theorizing)

Answer: I really don't know, but I want to know.

3. Is it wrong?

In one sense, the answer seems an obvious yes, so I will re-phrase this question into a slightly more complex one: Is neurotorture worse than physical torture?
Is it a greater violation of human rights to take away their identity, their loyalty, and their ability to make rational decisions rather than hurting their physical body?

In a sense it seems much worse. It was certainly much more heart wrenching to read about hijacking and its repercussions than to read about physical torture. But why?

It could be argued that the whole point of the physical torture is to break a person's mind and take away their ability to make rational decisions. And if you have a physically non-painful neurochemical shortcut to do so, why shouldn't you use it? Maybe it would save every one's time, get that critical information soon enough to stop the terrorist attack, and even protect the prisoner's body from pain.

So why does it seem so distasteful? Is it important to give the person a chance to resist physical torture? Is that more fair?

My answer to is neurotorture wrong? yes, but not more wrong than physical torture.

Readers, I am sure you have opinions and I am curious to hear them. please express your opinion here or in the comments section.

neurotorture:

To make things even more complex, what if instead of neurotorture, the opposite tactic was used. what if a prisoner was given extensive repetitive doses of oxytocin to try to hijack their trust? Is it ok to purposefully induce a form of stockholm syndrome in your prisoners? This would be a physically or psychologically non-painful way to get a prisoner on your side.
Would it work? possibly.
Has it been tried? no idea.
Is it wrong? good question.

© TheCellularScale

ResearchBlogging.org

Kindt M, Soeter M, & Vervliet B (2009). Beyond extinction: erasing human fear responses and preventing the return of fear. Nature neuroscience, 12 (3), 256-8 PMID: 19219038

IBS Risk Factors and Diet (Treatment)!

Today, one of popular disorders of the intestines is IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). It is a long-term health problem, and therefore the IBS symptoms or signs may also persist for a long time. But the good news, this disorder usually doesn't cause shorten life expectancy or generate other serious diseases.

How about with the causes of irritable bowel syndrome? Unfortunately, the clearly

IBS symptoms in women

IBS or Irritable bowel syndrome is relatively more common in women (particularly it is more common and occurs in the late teens to the early of 40s). Nevertheless, this syndrome also can attack men. Today, it affects about 25-55 million populations of Americans or maybe more. So, what are IBS symptoms in women? How to get to know that you have this syndrome?

You might also like to read about

Dust Allergy Symptoms (Prevention Tips)!

One of popular allergies is dust allergy! As the name implies, this allergy is triggered by dust, particularly like dust mites. So, what are dust allergy symptoms and what you can do to control dust in your house? In fact, dust can be found anywhere, even every house may has dust (at least a few dust that usually tucked away in somewhere, like in corners of the room).

You may also like to

Wheat Allergy Symptoms in Women

Are you a woman? And every time you eat wheat and then you feel something wrong with your body? If you experience this condition, you should begin ask to yourself whether you have wheat allergy (see your doctor for more advices)! The next question, what are wheat allergy symptoms in women?

You may also like to read about nut allergy symptoms and allergic reaction rash, before continuing!

In

Peanut or Nut Allergy Symptoms!

Peanut or nut allergy is a condition that can occur when the body mistakenly responds nuts or peanuts as harmful objects. We all agree that immune system of our body has important function to protect the body from harmful substances. But in people with peanut allergy, their natural defense system over reacts to respond any foods that contain peanut or nut.

You might also like to know about

Shellfish Allergy Symptoms (Common Signs)

One of common allergies is food allergies. And if every time when you eat shellfish then you feel some problems in your body, you should start asking to yourself whether or not you have shellfish allergy! So, what are shellfish allergy symptoms?

You might also like to know more about wheat and dust allergy symptoms, before continuing!

Strictly limiting or avoiding any foods that contain

What is Lactose Intolerance (Causes & Symptoms?)

Symptoms of lactose intolerance in a patient are usually needed to know by doctors to confirm a diagnosis. In several cases, doctor may also need to perform blood sugar test & hydrogen breath test to make a diagnosis. What is lactose intolerance? And what are the common symptoms that occur in people with this health problem?

You might also like to know more about dairy allergy symptoms and

Allergic Reaction to Mosquito Bites

Enjoying outdoor is one of great times during summer. But you should know that there are now also more mosquitoes, because they thrive in this season. And therefore, your chance of itchy mosquito bites also increase. So, it is better to know more about allergic reaction to mosquito to make sure that you can enjoy your summer with fun.

You might also like to read about symptoms of Lyme disease

Brain Glue: Synapses on and around Glia

Astrocytes, a form of glial cell (source)

Glial cells are non-neurons that populate the nervous system. The name 'glia' comes from the Greek word for glue, and these cells were originally thought to be 'filler' cells or brain glue (not this kind).

In a sense these cells are 'filler'. When the brain is damaged, it is glia not new neurons which grow into the void. (This can sometimes turn cancerous and lead to glioma)

A recent review paper poetically summarizes the traditional role of glia:

"Astroglial cells were long considered to serve merely as the structural and metabolic supporting cast and scenery against which the shining neurones perform their illustrious duties." (Lalo et al., 2011)

This lovely summary is an obvious set up for a paper showing that "actually glia are quite important."

And indeed they are.

Even though they don't fire action potentials, glial cells have electrical activity and are involved in information processing.
Glial cells have receptors for neurotransmitters (such as glutamate and GABA). These are the very same types of receptor that neurons use receive signals from other neurons at the synapse.

Lalo et al. point out four different ways that these receptors might work on glial cells:

Glia might receive direct signals from neurons. (synapse-like connections)
Glia might respond to neurotransmitter released for non-synaptic (ectopic) sites.
Glia might respond to transmitter released from other glia
The receptors on glia might be activated by 'ambient' neurotransmitter.

While it is not clear which of these receptor-activating mechanisms predominates on glia, there is evidence from different brain areas for each type of information transfer.

No matter how these receptors are stimulated, they can depolarize the glial cells and even induce calcium transients. Lalo et al. explain that these actions might cause the glial cells to release lactate which is taken up by neurons as an energy source.

In short, the role of these glial cells might be mainly metabolism control near synapses, and the ionotropic neurotransmitter receptors might be the mechanism that signals when, where, and how much metabolism control is needed.

© TheCellularScale

ResearchBlogging.org

Lalo U, Pankratov Y, Parpura V, & Verkhratsky A (2011). Ionotropic receptors in neuronal-astroglial signalling: what is the role of "excitable" molecules in non-excitable cells. Biochimica et biophysica acta, 1813 (5), 992-1002 PMID: 20869992

Allergic Reaction to Amoxicillin Symptoms

Before discussing more about allergic reaction to amoxicillin symptoms, first let’s explore more what actually amoxicillin is! It is familiar used to treat or medicate a wide variety of infections that are caused by bacteria. It can be categorized into penicillin-type antibiotic, which have main function to cut out the growth of bacteria.

Therefore, it should not be used to treat viral

Soy Allergy Symptoms and What You Should Do?

If you are people who are allergic to soy or any foods that contain soy, then you can be categorized into people with a soy allergy! The big question, what you should do in living with your allergy and what you should do to keep calm your soy allergy symptoms?

-- You might also like to know more about nut allergy symptoms, before continuing!

Most of people with soy allergies usually begin

Dairy Allergy Symptoms and How to Live with Them?

(Image credit © to ‘Shutterstock’)

There are a lot of things that can become allergen, and one of them is dairy products or milk products. And if you are an individual who suffers from a dairy allergy, one of the best ideas to prevent your dairy allergy symptoms to occur is by strictly avoiding any dairy products (foods that contain milk).

You might also like to read wheat allergy and dust

3 months of blogging

I love reading other blog posts about ridiculous scientific (and unscientific) claims. They are usually entertaining and always informative. (3 notable examples: Neuroskeptic, Respectful Insolence, Neurocritic)

Originally when I started this blog (waaaay back in January 2012), I thought I would do something similar, find outrageous claims in the press or the scientific literature and explain what was wrong with them. The "Cellular Scale" was supposed to imply the weighing of these claims and judging them on their scientific worth. This name would have been delightfully clever if I had actually stuck to this original plan.

I suppose there are 3 reasons why this didn't happen:

1. I didn't immediately find many outrageous claims specific to neurons (most of the claims are a little 'zoomed out' from the cellular scale and involve whole human brain areas), so I only managed to produce one (not very) skeptical post.

2. I got sidetracked by all the - totally - cool - things - that - cells - do.

3. Mass Effect 3 came out, so I had to play it and blog about it....twice.

I am pretty happy with how the blog is going so far because I have:

A. Stuck to cellular-level neuroscience for the most part. Even though my 3 most - popular - posts are not about cells at all.

B. Posted something about twice a week.

C. Not run out of ideas. I was worried about this at first, but now every time I hear something interesting I think 'I could blog about that' and actually have a list of ideas that is growing faster that I am posting.

Over the next 3 months I want to:

i. Get back to my original plan and clear up some misconceptions people might have about cells.

ii. Get more comfortable on Twitter. Right now it is like being at a party eavesdropping on a super-interesting conversation between people I don't know.

iii. Post more pictures of my dog.

CellularDog

Thanks for reading!
TheCellularScale

© TheCellularScale

Allergic Reaction Rash: Tips for the Treatment!

A condition when the body’s immune system overreacts to against infections is what we call as ‘allergies’. As well we know that the body’s immune system has important function to protect the body from unfriendly bacteria and viruses, and usually antibodies will be produced by the body’s natural defense system to fight those unfriendly bacteria and viruses.

-- You might also like to read

Gluten Free Diet - Weight Loss?

There are still a few people who have opinion that gluten free diet is weight loss diet! What is actually gluten free diet? And is it effective to lose weight? Are you confused?

Well, one thing you should know that this gluten free diet is not purposed to lose or burn more pounds of weight. As the name implies, it is a kind of diet that is designed for people with ‘celiac disease’ or ‘gluten

Gluten Allergy Symptoms in Adults

Gluten allergy is often associated with celiac disease. And there is also a condition that called as ‘gluten sensitivity’. People with gluten sensitivity may have similar symptoms of celiac disease after eating gluten, but they have negative test of celiac disease.

And as the name suggests, gluten allergy is a condition for people who have problem with foods that contain gluten. What is