BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR

Anesthetics are chemical substances widely used before surgeries and medical procedures to prevent the brain from recognizing any pain stimuli. This kind of medication provokes a reversible blockage of neural communication in a specific area of the body, such as when people go to the dentist and have to be submitted for a root canal treatment. It will cause a temporary loss of sensation in the area, which means that you will be spared from feeling terrible and unnecessary pain.  When the anesthetic acts, it blocks the sodium channels. Medications like Novocaine and Lidocaine block the Sodium channels located on the neuron's terminal membranes. The sodium that is outside of the membrane will not enter into the cell anymore. Consequently,  it will prevent the release of potassium molecules inside the cell, disturbing the whole process of hyperpolarization and polarization from occurring due to the anesthetic in the sensor neurons present in the gum's epithelium.  The so...

          After the 4th day of conception, a rudimentary neural tube starts to progress in the most initial human life development phase. Therefore, if the nervous system's basic structures start during the first months of pregnancy, it is this crucial first period of nervous system development that abnormalities related to the neural structure will occur.  There are some distinct  congenital problems caused by a defect in an embryo's early neural tube development. However, Spina Bifida and Anencephaly are the most frequent ones.  Physical abnormalities like Spina bifida occur because the primary cellular structure, the neural plate, that is genetically programmed to close like a tube does not fuse appropriately longwise and remains open at a particular distal point, generally, in the inferior part the would evolve as the spinal cord. The defect makes that the very delicate part of the spine that should be protected by bones, like meninges, n...

     It is not by chance that dogs are widely trained to perform many specific tasks in different work environments.  Police dogs are an excellent example of how these animals' capacities can be beneficial for human societies.  The smell is the sharpest sense of a dog. For a long time, this extraordinary feature has been recognized through dogs' work in many police operations like in rescues, explosive artifacts detections, and toxic substances apprehension in airports.  As a result of the evolutive process of Natural Selection, the number of olfactory receptors of a dog is much more superior to his human owner. A significant parcel of their brains is dedicated to this job to equip them with specific mechanisms to survive among other species. Moreover, his receptors work better. His sense of smell is more advanced and efficient in discriminate many things simultaneously, as the distinction of a diversity of people in the same room, including the smell of ...