#Affective Neuroscience

[heighpubsseo]

Journal of Neuroscience and Neurological Disorders

Journal of Neuroscience and Neurological Disorders aims to publish manuscripts that can be an impeccable record for comprehensive patient care, teaching and training of students as well as contribute significantly to the scientific literature in terms of research. The manuscripts published in Journal of Neuroscience and Neurological Disorders aims to be in the forefront of medical research and to be renowned internationally for quality clinical and basic research in the field of neuroscience and neurological disorders.

url : https://www.neuroscijournal.com/

[urfavoritemistake]

Alien hand syndrome (AHS) or Dr. Strangelove syndrome is a category of conditions in which a person experiences their limbs acting seemingly on their own, without conscious control over the actions[...]The affected person may sometimes reach for objects and manipulate them without wanting to do so, even to the point of having to use the controllable hand to restrain the alien hand. Alien hand syndrome is best documented in cases where a person has had the two hemispheres of their brain surgically separated [...]It also occurs in some cases after brain surgery[...]Other areas of the brain that are associated with alien hand syndrome are the frontal, occipital, and parietal lobes.

experimented a bit with digital painting/lineless art for this! what if after having the metal plate installed, ford got a bout of this and was terrified that the surgery backfired and trapped a little piece of bill in him forever? :D

[alchemyofmaya]

‘All that we really know, is that what we think of as past, present and future is nothing more than a story stitched together in our basal ganglia. Our entire concept of time is an artificial construct.’

The first and most important hermetic principle (in my humble opinion) and of quantum science is that, ‘the All is Mind — the Universe is Mental’

When you deeply understand this principle, infinite possibilities for existing open up to you.

You can create a new story, you can entrain your brainwaves, you can change and grow through neuroplasticity. You can change your neural pathways, to integrate new ways of believing, being, behaving. You can expand your mind, through knowledge and lived experience, gain wisdom that transforms the concept of yourself, of others and the world around you.

You have the power to move beyond what you perceive you have experienced in the past, to clear it all out of your biological/physiological and mental system, so you can create a more whole and prosperous tomorrow.

Time is an artificial construct — the past, present, and future are all happening simultaneously through the consciousness of your mind, and projected through the landscape of your brain, here and now.

[oasisofgalaxies]

Anyone with a neuroscience degree or some level of experience want to help me with a genloss conundrum

[merriclo]

i hate so many of my classes i just want to go back to my human anatomy class and research tinnitus. please just let me talk about tinnitus for a grade.

[xtruss]

How The Buildings You Occupy Might Be Affecting Your Brain

— By Cleo Valentine & Heather Mitcheltree + BIO

Cutting-edge research in the field of neuroarchitecture is revealing the public health implications of building design

Have you ever experienced a space that made you feel uneasy or stressed? Perhaps it was a noisy and crowded shopping mall, with its neon signs, patterned tilework and boldly painted walls in franchise signature colours. Or the poorly lit work carpark with flickering fluorescent lighting, low ceilings and hard concrete surfaces that made your every footstep echo. Now contrast that experience with a space that made you feel at ease. It might have been that time you were sitting at the table in your friend’s kitchen – the sun coming in through the window, warming your skin and filling the space with light; the smell of fresh coffee brewing; and the first blush of colour in the buds of the pot plants on the windowsill. Or maybe it was sitting in your favourite spot at the local library – the comfy seat in the quiet area with the high ceilings, ample natural light and a view out over the courtyard garden.

Many of us have felt the effects of being in different built environments. Yet what this means for our health and wellbeing hasn’t received enough research attention. How do the offices, houses, hospitals, schools, neighbourhoods and spaces that we occupy day to day affect our health? Traditionally, our understanding of how architectural design affects the human body has centred around the transmission of communicable diseases, such as viruses. For instance, the postwar urban redesign of the UK’s tenements worked to address overcrowded, damp and poorly ventilated housing conditions that are associated with increased rates of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. However, the health effects of the built environment may be significantly more far-reaching than this.

Enter the emerging field of neuroarchitecture – an interdisciplinary domain that explores how the built environment affects human brain function, behaviour, cognition and psychology. Initial research indicates that, beyond its influence on infectious diseases, architectural design and form might also actively contribute to increased levels of stress in the body, which in turn could increase the risk of so-called noncommunicable diseases (often referred to as ‘lifestyle diseases’), including neurodegenerative and psychiatric conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, depression and anxiety.

A better understanding of how the built environment impacts our health in these ways could revolutionise building design and urban planning. Imagine being able to design spaces that not only don’t cause harm, but actually promote overall wellbeing. In many ways, this burgeoning field validates what many of us have long intuitively felt: architecture is not merely the backdrop to our lives, but a crucial determinant of how we live and thrive.

That converted loft apartment in the real estate magazine might actually be a home that could reduce your bodily stress

Rapid urbanisation lends an urgency to this research. The United Nations estimates that, by 2050, two-thirds of the global population will live in cities. In developed countries, people already spend most of their time indoors. Some vulnerable groups in Europe, such as the elderly, infants, young children and people with weakened immune systems, spend almost all of their time indoors. These numbers are likely to grow due to the extreme and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns caused by climate change.

Meanwhile, studies in neuroarchitecture reveal the impact of even small changes in architectural and urban design. For example, rooms with lower ceilings and smaller windows can increase stress responses in the body. Yes, that converted loft apartment with high ceilings, large windows, lots of natural light and timber floors in the real estate magazine might actually be a home environment that could help reduce your bodily stress.

Similarly, some high-contrast visual patterns in architecture, such as striped facades, acoustic panels and patterned carpets can cause visual discomfort, and in extreme instances can lead to migraines and seizures in vulnerable individuals. For instance, many hotels and cinemas use carpets with complex, high-contrast patterns in their hallways and lobbies to hide stains and wear and, in the case of facilities such as casinos, in a deliberate attempt to cause disorientation and impair decision-making processes. Additionally, the use of slatwall has become increasingly common in contemporary architecture. Once you notice this slatted wall panelling, you see it everywhere. Yet these structures, often arranged in repetitive, high-contrast patterns, can be visually overwhelming.

At the other end of the spectrum, visually monotonous environments can have a negative effect on people. Such spaces are characterised by minimal variation in the placement of windows and doors, and a lack of distinguishing features or details – a highly minimalist or functional aesthetic that is prevalent in some contemporary architecture. For example, think about the interchangeable architectural landscapes found in many commercial districts across the United States and Canada. In many instances, it is difficult to tell one city from the next. This is particularly the case in newbuild tract housing neighbourhoods, or shopping malls and retail centres. These environments tend to elevate stress levels because they fail to engage our senses. In contrast, settings with varied design elements and distinctive features, such as a streetscape with collections of smaller stores and restaurants, like Camden Passage in London, provide mental stimulation and a sense of interest, which can help reduce stress and promote wellbeing.

We spend a lot of time in places with spatial stressors and this could gradually affect our mental health

Understanding the full impact of long-term exposure to stress-inducing architectural designs on human health is a work in progress. New insights are emerging from neuroimmunology: the study of the interaction between the immune system and the nervous system. This shows that one particularly concerning consequence of chronic stress is inflammation of the brain. Neuroinflammation is implicated in several neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, including depression, Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia. What’s more, neuroinflammatory conditions appear more prevalent in urban areas, potentially due to factors such as pollution, reduced social cohesion, and increased stress associated with urban living. However, the established links between architecture and stress, and between stress and neuroinflammation, raise an overlooked question: Could bad architecture also be contributing to the development of neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders?

You might think that being in stressful architectural environments isn’t that big a deal. But bear in mind research has shown that certain building features, such as room size, wall shapes and window layouts, can cause stress without us realising it. Moreover, we often spend a lot of time in places with spatial stressors – in offices, homes and schools – and this ongoing exposure could gradually affect our mental and neurophysiological health.

To explore this further, our team at the University of Cambridge is researching the impact of architecture on neuroinflammation. Most recently, we conducted a pilot study to examine how buildings with different architectural features affected markers of brain inflammation linked to stress. Specifically, we looked at something called biophilic design – the incorporation of natural elements into architecture, such as plants and natural light.

Participants looked at images of two different high-rise buildings for nine minutes each. The first building – depicted in photorealistic images – is a proposed development in Montreal, Canada that showcased a moderate degree of biophilia with its fractalised design patterns (these are patterns that repeat at different scales, as occurs in nature), organic building materials such as timber, a visually complex and interesting design, and vegetation incorporated on balconies and elsewhere. The second building, built in 2011 and located in The Hague in the Netherlands, was less biophilic because it lacked fractalised patterns, vegetation and organic building materials, though it was similar in terms of its height, colour and level of design detail.

The Farmhouse Cacade. Image Courtesy ©Studio Pecht

The Farmhouse Interior. Image Courtesy ©Studio Pecht

De Kroon Office and Residential Buildings Exterior. Courtesy Rapp+Rapp/Photo by Kim Zwarts

De Kroon Office and Residential Buildings Interior. Courtesy Rapp+Rapp/Photo by Kim Zwarts

At the same time as the participants looked at these two building types, we measured their electrical brain activity using electroencephalography (EEG), a non-invasive method that involves wearing a head cap with electrodes. We used an innovative technique to infer signs of acute brain inflammation by comparing our participants’ brain activity with historical data showing associations between blood markers of inflammation and EEG recordings.

We found that participants exhibited lower levels of brain inflammation when exposed to the building with higher biophilia. This provides tentative evidence that integrating more biophilic or natural elements into architectural designs may help reduce brain inflammation, and expands on our current understanding of their stress-reducing benefits. This makes sense from an evolutionary perspective: humans evolved in natural environments, so we are drawn to the kind of natural environments in which our ancestors lived and we are healthier and less stressed in them. If further research supports our findings, it suggests that increasing natural light, integrating green spaces and designing spaces that encourage social interaction may help mitigate the negative impacts of urban living on neurological health.

What might this mean for everyday spaces? Consider schools – while it’s easy to recognise tangible risks such as overcrowding, dampness, poorly ventilated classrooms or hazardous materials such as asbestos, we often overlook the less visible impacts on neurophysiological health. For instance, how does visual stress from poor natural lighting and fluorescent light flicker affect students, especially those with neurodivergence or ADHD? What might be the long-term effects of low-ceilinged classrooms that lack natural light and other biophilic features? These are crucial questions that remain unanswered but are essential to ensure the health, wellbeing and best long-term learning outcomes for our children. Similar concerns apply to hospitals, workplaces and numerous other spaces.

The emerging research linking architectural design to neurological wellbeing marks a pivotal shift in our understanding of public health. We design our world and, in turn, it shapes us. The built environments we interact with daily are not passive elements but active factors that can inhibit or – with thoughtful consideration – enhance our neurological state and holistic wellbeing.

[boreal-sea]

*takes T shot* Who wants a cuddle?!

[princesssmars]

winter wonders.

some abby anderson thoughts tied to holly jolly!

wc : 2.342

contains : fluff. wlw relationship. some nsfw i mean its me. oral sex r!receiving. mentions of past abby and owen. college hockey abby and skier reader again.

a/n : this scenario has infested my brain i wont move on! and its embarrassing how i started this in febuary but its december again soooo a+ procrastination?

palestine : tlou2 + palestine , how to help <3 enjoy!

abby is such a lover girl and she shows it constantly. i showed it in the full fic but one of the sweetest ways she shows affection is feeding people and taking care of their wellbeing.

text her that you're exhausted after class? she's making a quick meal and giving you cuddles on the couch. if anything is bothering you she is doing whatever she can to make it better.

and as much as abs loveees to take care of you, to the point where you think it's ingrained into her very being, she also loves to be babied and taken care of! the first time you sew her a stocking for christmas when you were snowed in at the dorms she cried for an hour.

i just know she loves it when you're physically affectionate as well. she finds it so charming and silly how when she tries to press a sloppy kiss to your cheek in a cafe you'll jerk back like you've been burned, not wanting to be seen as a sap, but behind closed doors you're alll over her.

pressing gentle kisses to her fingertips when you're both reading before bed. gently massaging her thighs after she went too hard at practice or in the rink. once you two had been invited to a movie night with the crew, and after she volunteered to make the popcorn she came into the living room to see no spots left. she was prepared to take her spot on the floor, but you had gotten one of the three couches to yourself because of your own leg injury on the slopes. before she could even crouch you tugged her over to you, her waist between your legs as you held her from behind. jordan was probably calling her whipped for how she melted into you, eyes fluttering as you brushed your fingers through her hair. she didn't really care. for now.

feel like she tries so hard to maintain good communication in all of her relationships. she's had friendships crack and break because of rumors and miscommunication and she wants to keep everyone she's close to around for a long time. she tells you once she learned it because of family therapy she did when her dad adopted her siblings yara and lev, who you sadly missed during your shared thanksgiving. you think it's adorable how she shows so much love for her family, constantly talking in her family group chat and sharing stories about her day with her little sister and brother.

didn't delve too much into it but being abby's new years eve kiss... she takes it very seriously. if you have to use the bathroom you better hold it because she is gonna bring in this new chapter of her life and she wants you to be there as long and as closely as you can be <3333

and you just know she is so so so good on valentines. yes she does get your flowers delivered while you're out and about during class or at your part-time. probably has a corny little card attached saying 'snow secret ice crazy about you'. almost so cute it makes you want to vomit. in a cute way!

if you want to go all out? say no more. she is booking you an entire day of romantic activities and spoiling you to your heart's content. but all i can imagine is having a nice and intimate dinner in a cozy little restaurant. cuddled up inside the booth as she admires you like you're an angel that's come into her life.

get her some chocolate-covered strawberries and she will swoon. but get both of you custom engraved bracelets with your initials? you aren't leaving the house for a week. have fun.

so not being original here but i def feel like abby is studying medicine. maybe not neuroscience like her dad, her hands aren't the best after so many hits and falls on the ice. but i love the headcanon of her going into the subfields of muscles or sports medicine. maybe even pediatrics because we all know she'd be the best with kids. she wants to pursue hockey full time, but she won't let it get in the way of her academics.

speaking of kids...

abby always says she's known since your first date she was gonna marry you. you would always roll your eyes and tell her to shush with a barely contained smile, but you both know a part of her isn't joking. there aren't words i can think of to say how in love she is with you, someone so similar but so different that she gets excited just at the thought of growing older together with.

she doesn't think there will ever be a dull day when she sees you. she'd take every mood swing, every petty fight, and every bit of insecurity if it meant she could just wake up and see you every morning. but she knows it's early, you're both still young and haven't ever started your careers yet. on your birthday, after taking you to a beautifully planned surprise party, she stands you in front of your mirror and presents you with your gift. its a necklace, simple yet intricate with two interloping hearts. you don't say anything, and she doesn't say anything, but your hearts swell and she hugs you tightly from behind.

once she makes sure you're okay with holiday activities trust she will keep the two of you busy all of december. she runs over her and mannys christmas decorations like a soldier, trust she will be up to date on any new trending decor items that pop up in the nearest hobby lobby or home goods store. she would absolutely love to go to a winter market and buy some gifts for her family and friends, picking up and admiring any little vintage trinket she can find.

and i just now she’s a christmas movie fanatic. dedicates a whole weekend in december for the two of you (or the whole group!) to get some hot chocolate, bundle up under the covers and watch holiday themed movies until you can’t take it anymore.

(feel like she’d be such a traditionalist about it though. it takes a heap of convincing from you and manny to let her put die hard in the movie rotation.)

but abby can be such a chill (haha) person. when you first met her you thought she was a cocky piece of shit, but over time she showed you how understanding and calm she could be. she doesn't like getting angry at people during the day, preferring to let out her anger during hockey games. but trust if someone is being a dick to one of her friends or you, she will put them in their place.

after

she is really good at ice skating. which sounds silly because duh, she plays hockey. but one day you watch a youtube video about figure skaters switching places with hockey players and you ask her to see if she could do some of the moves. she's a big girl but also insanely quick, and when she does a lutz on the first try you're more than shocked.

but also not! because abby is nothing but persistent. which is why when she asked you to teach her how to ski you thought any higher power up there was laughing at and testing you. at that point it had been months since you restarted your training with your father. it was hard, balancing your life with working out and spending hours every week practicing on the local fake slopes, but it was thrilling to be doing it because you wanted to do it. and thankfully your injury was basically gone.

(although sometimes you would fake like it was paining you so abby would set you on the bed and massage and take care of you. but who wouldn't do that?)

but when abby asked you to teach her you were nervous. not because you doubt your ability, hell no, just the opposite. nora had come along to one of your sessions, and when a young fan came up to you to ask for tips, all a tired and overworked you could say was "just be good at it." ever since she had teased you, throwing the worst joke you'd ever heard and saying you were going to turn into your dad. you didn’t talk to her for four days after that.

but you decide to give your girlfriend a chance. you warn her ahead of time that because of your dads teaching style growing up, you wouldn’t be too perceptive, and her size might make her momentum gain too quickly. but again, your girl was nothing if not persistent, listening to your words and placing a kiss on your cheek with an “i got this.”

she did not. she did at first, easing down the short slope with the caution of a giant baby deer, and doing a victory pump the first time she made it down the bunny slope while nearly tripping. things were good!

until jordan, sweet, stupid jordan made some bet that abby couldn’t ski down the intermediate slope for a video to send to her teammates. and like a moth to a flame, she got up the slope as fast as she could and tried her very best, before falling on her face halfway through. she wasn’t too badly hurt, laughing at the way you fussed over the small cut on her cheek.

this wasn’t the first time you witnessed some of abby's athletic determination. you wouldn't lie and say it hadn't afflicted you sometimes, able to recall the multiple times you and your girlfriend had made bets about who could do the most reps in the gym or run up the stairs quicker. it was all sunshine and rainbows until one misplaced pencil on some stairs led to you tripping into her and the both of you landing in a heap of limbs at the bottom of the stairs. you are more than glad that no one else was in the hall at that time.

not to say her over-achieving nature was all bad. there were definitely quite a few times that her aggressive behavior on the ice when her teammates showed premature defeat for an opposing team made you a little hot and bothered in your seat, eyes tracked on her body as she pushed past opponents like a bullet train.

and it is more than helpful in bed. one weekend you’d returned to your own apartment in a shitty mood from classes and skiing problems, ready to just eat some junk and rest in bed for two days straight. but of course, as soon as you texted your plans to your girlfriend she was over at your place in not even fifteen minutes. she had plenty of snacks and your favorite sweatshirt of hers to wear. but she could tell after a while into watching a movie you were still in a pissy mood, so she decided to help you relax in another way.

unfortunately, your sour mood was too strong as you’d yet to reach your peak after twenty minutes with abby in between your legs. it really was a shame, she looked so pretty when she was concentrated down there. you gently push at her forehead and lament that it’s no use, you're somehow too aggravated to have an orgasm.

your palm gently pushes at her forehead until she’s hovering over your cunt, a slight tingle running up your body when you see her blissed-out face and slick-covered mouth.

“abs, it’s just not gonna happen tonight. I'm way too stressed out.”

her eyes scan your face before her brows do that thing - the furrow she does when she gets an idea in her head that she just has to see through.

“just let me try for a little while longer, okay baby?”

and god, you couldn't say no to her when she looked like that and you were so pent up. you give her a small nod and watch as she rushes off the bed to the bottom of your bedstand to grab an old vibrator deep in one of the drawers.

“how’d you know where i hid that?” your voice is breathless as you watch her resettle back between your legs, turning on the vibe with a small smile on her face.

“because i know you. besides, need to know where to get things in case of emergency.”

you were going to laugh but then she’s immediately attaching the vibrator to your clit at the highest setting, a strong hand holding down your hips that buck up into the sensation and gripping your waist when you try to run from it.

let's just say when the night ends you are officially destressed.

uhhh back to. winter!

really think she’s in her element during this season. she’s in the huddle of her hockey season, gets to wear all of her favorite sweatshirts and hoodies and take long walks through the city as the snow ghosts over her face.

and just like i said earlier once she realizes you’re okay with the festive stuff? get ready for winter-themed dates.

one of your new favorite memories with her is definitely sitting on a plush blanket on the floor near her balcony door, the gentle downpour of snow a backdrop to your mini picnic date as you make s’mores and treats with an electric tabletop and share stories and kisses with wine-stained lips <3

abrupt ending but im trying to finish off things just lying in my drafts lolll uhh happy holidays yippee!

[latenightreadingpdf]

Masterlist

₊‧⁺˖⋆ Navigation ⋆˖⁺‧₊

Spencer Reid

Brewed Connections - After his favourite coffee shop closes unexpectedly, Spencer Reid discovers Y/N’s charming coffee shop and becomes a regular customer. Bonding over their shared love for literature, the two develop a close friendship.

Comfort in the Silence - Spencer Reid returns from a case with a headache. During their movie night, his friend discovers his worsening condition and offers comfort, deepening their bond.

Familiar Faces - Doctor Spencer Reid reunites with childhood friend Y/N, only to discover she’s being stalked. As the BAU investigates, old feelings resurface between them.

Stepping Forward - Spencer Reid, recovering from a knee injury, finds strength and support in his physical therapist, Y/N, as they forge a deep bond through his rehabilitation journey.

Between the Pages - In the university library, shy PhD student Spencer Reid has an unexpected encounter with Y/N, a popular classmate. Despite their differences, a shared interest in neuroscience sparks a captivating conversation, leading them from strangers to friends (and possibly more…).

Whispers in the Night - During a challenging case in Atlanta, BAU members Spencer and Y/N share a hotel room. As Y/N comforts Spencer through his insomnia with a gentle touch, their bond deepens, shifting their friendship into something more.

Spencer's Secret - All Spencer wanted was to finish his paperwork and go home, but now he’s in a bar, drunk, and confessing all his secrets to Derek.

Knock on the Door - In the midst of an intense investigation, Spencer and Derek bring you into protective custody after a disturbing discovery links you to their case. As you navigate the unexpected situation, Spencer’s calm presence offers reassurance, sparking an unexpected connection amid the chaos.

Quiet Love - A quiet moment between you and Spencer.

Peter Parker

A Secret Unveiled - Peter Parker, secretly Spider-Man, harbors feelings for his best friend Y/N, a passionate Spider-Man fan. As their friendship grows, Peter must decide whether to reveal his secret identity and hidden emotions.

Adrian Chase

Masked Affections - Y/N navigates the chaos of a small Italian restaurant and forms an unexpected bond with her coworker Adrian, unaware of his alter ego, Vigilante. When she’s attacked, Vigilante saves her, sparking a tangled tale of secrets and forbidden love.

Dave Lizewski

Hidden in Plain Sight - When Y/S/N saves Kick-Ass from a dangerous situation, he becomes obsessed with trying to uncover her true identity. Little does he know, Y/S/N is a girl from his school who secretly has a crush on him as well. As they patrol together, their worlds collide in ways neither expected, leading to a surprising revelation about who’s really behind the mask. (Part 2)(Part 3)

Marauders

Secrets of the Heart Masterlist - A mysterious transfer student from Beauxbatons joins Hufflepuff in her 5th year at Hogwarts. Initially hoping to stay under the radar, Aurora quickly catches the attention of the Marauders. Despite her attempts to keep her distance, an unexpected friendship blossoms as they pull her into their world of pranks, secrets, and school life, helping her open up and find her place at Hogwarts.

A Happy Halloween - At the Hogwarts Halloween party, Y/N plays matchmaker, leading to a magical night full of romance, laughter, and a bit of mischief among the Marauders.

Remus Lupin

First Kiss - Sirius, James, and Peter tease Remus about his lack of a first kiss.

Beneath the Moonlight - In the days leading up to a full moon, Remus Lupin receives an anonymous gift basket filled with potions, chocolates, and a carefully-brewed Wolfsbane Potion.

James Potter

Hold Me - After a hard-fought Quidditch match against Slytherin, Gryffindor’s loss hits James Potter harder than anyone expected. With the defeat weighing heavily on him, Y/N stays behind to offer comfort while his friends try to lift his spirits.

Healing - James Potter has made a habit of visiting you in the hospital wing for every one of his "injuries".

Sirius Black

The Cutest Thing - When you visit the Marauders' dorm to ask Remus for help with your Charms homework, you're surprised to find a large black dog in the room.

Regulus Black

A Hufflepuff's Heart - Regulus Black’s unexpected friendship with a sweet Hufflepuff is revealed when Sirius catches them together.

[trolagygirl2022]

⋆♱✮☽ astrology and education ☽✮♰⋆

🗡 having issues with picking your major? or just interested to see which major/job would suit you? astrology can help!

🗡 the planet we'd have to look at is jupiter! jupiter represents higher education! you can also look into your 9th house or jupiter aspects with other planets.

🗡this post will go over jupiter placements and list out possible majors suited for you!

🗡jupiter 1st house: cosmetology, fashion designs, dermatology, design, craniology. (The first house is also represented by the skull or head!).

🗡jupiter 2nd house: business, agribusiness, dietetics, agriculture, music theory, vocal, any music major (music business, composition, jazz studies, etc.), visual arts.

🗡jupiter 3rd house: communications, media research, advertising, education, journalism, creative writing.

🗡jupiter 4th house: child development, geology, environmental science, architecture, genealogy, biology,

🗡jupiter 5th house: film, theatre, dance, art history, reproductive biology, sculpting, interior design.

🗡jupiter 6th house: nursing, sports management, sports science, kinesiology, health and exercise science, public health, physical therapy, healthcare administration, animal science, forensic science.

🗡jupiter 7th house: romance studies, law and legal studies, business law, political science, (because the 7th house can also be about connections and contracts!! Also Libra rules the 7th house and Libra represents Justice).

🗡jupiter 8th house: thanatology, master of psychotherapy and spirituality, finance, business administration, mortuary science.

🗡jupiter 9th house: tourism, international relations, international business, theology and religious studies, english (or any other languages), physics, astronomy, computer science, foreign policy, history, cultural anthropology, philosophy.

🗡jupiter 10th house: entrepreneurship, sales, marketing, public relations, entrepreneurial studies, economics, public administration.

🗡jupiter 11th house: computer engineering, electrical engineering, cybersecurity, information systems, sociology, social work, humanities, human services.

🗡jupiter 12th house: affective science, neuroscience, psychopathology, psychology, counseling/therapy, pharmaceutical sciences.

[canisxx]

Hey chat! I decided that I don't care if you care or not, I'll post it anyway. Because I'm a scientist nerd, and a TF2 fan.

So here you go, my theory on how the respawn machine actually works.

⚠️It'll be a lot of reading and you need half of a braincell to understand it.

The Respawn Machine can recreate a body within minutes, complete with all previous memories and personality, as if the person never died. We all know this, but I doubt many have thought about how it actually works.

Of course, such a thing is impossible in real life (at least for now), but we’re talking about a game where there’s magic and mutant bread, so it’s all good.

But being an autistic dork, I couldn’t help but start searching for logical and scientific explanations for how this machine might work. How the hell does it actually function? So, I spent hours of my life on yet another useless big brain time.

In the context of the Respawn Machine, the idea is that the technology can instantly create a new mercenary body, identical to the original. This body must be ready for use immediately after the previous one’s death. To achieve this, the cloning process, which in real life takes months or even years, would need to be significantly accelerated. This means the machine is probably powered by a freaking nuclear reactor, or maybe even Australium.

My theory is that this machine is essentially a massive 3D printer capable of printing biological tissues. But how? You see, even today, people can (or are trying to) recreate creatures that lived millions of years ago using DNA. By using the mercenary’s DNA, which was previously loaded into the system, the machine could recreate a perfect copy.

However, this method likely wouldn’t be able to perfectly recreate the exact personality and all the memories from the previous body. I believe the answer lies in neuroscience.

For the Respawn Machine to restore the mercenary’s consciousness and memories, it would need to be capable of recording and preserving the complete structure of the brain, including all neural connections, synapses, and activity that encode personality and memory. This process is known as brain mapping. After creating a brain map, this data could be stored digitally and then transferred to the new body.

“Okay, but how would you transfer memories that are dated right up until the moment of death? The mercenaries clearly remember everything about their previous death.”

Well, I have a theory about that too!

Neural interfaces! Inside each mercenary’s head could be an implant (a nanodevice) that reads brain activity before death and updates a digital copy of the memories. This system operates at the synaptic level, recording changes in the structure of neurons that occur as memories are formed. After death, this data could be instantly transferred to the new body via a quantum network.

Once the data is uploaded and the brain is synchronized with the new body, the mercenary’s consciousness "awakens." Ideally, the mercenary wouldn’t notice any break in consciousness and would remember everything that happened right up to the moment of death.

However… there are also questions regarding potential negative consequences.

Can the transfer of consciousness really preserve all aspects of personality, or is something inevitably lost in the process?

Unfortunately, nothing is perfect, and there’s a chance that some small memories might be lost—like those buried in the subconscious. Or the person’s personality might become distorted. Maybe that’s why they’re all crazy?

How far does the implant’s range extend? Does the distance between the mercenary and the machine affect the accuracy of data transfer?

My theory is that yes, it does. The greater the distance, the fewer memories are retained.

Could there be deviations in the creation of the body itself?

Yes, there could be. We saw this in "Emesis Blue," which led to a complete disaster. But let’s assume everything is fine, and the only deviations are at most an extra finger (or organ—not critical, Medic would only be happy about that).

Well, these are just my theories and nothing more. I’m not a scientist; I’m an amateur enthusiast with a lot of time on my hands. My theories have many holes that I can’t yet fill due to a lack of information.

[reionized]

people who work/study in quantitative bio-adjacent fields, rise up. computational neuroscience where you get to see someone's thoughts in feelings in graph form??? so cool. biophysics where you can pass blood plasma through an electric field to determine whether a patient has cancer or not?? unbelievable. biomedical engineering where you can literally build a device to pump someone's heart and be the difference between their life and death??? oh my god. disease modelling, being able to predict AND prevent communities being affected by disease on a large scale through your analysis of data??? i love science

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

Summary: Healthy adults who contracted COVID-19 had subtle but measurable declines in memory and cognitive performance lasting up to a year. These differences were found through sensitive testing under controlled conditions, though all scores remained within normal ranges, and none of the participants reported lasting cognitive symptoms.

The research highlights how even mild COVID-19 can impact brain function and points to the potential need for treatments to mitigate these effects. Further studies are needed to explore how COVID-19 compares with other respiratory infections, like flu, in terms of cognitive impact.

Key Facts:

COVID-19 can cause subtle cognitive changes in memory and problem-solving for up to a year. These effects were detected through sensitive cognitive tests, not self-reports. Participants in the study did not experience any noticeable long-term cognitive symptoms. Source: Imperial College London

A new analysis from Imperial’s human challenge study of COVID-19 has revealed subtle differences in the memory and cognition scores of healthy volunteers infected with SARS-CoV-2, which lasted up to a year after infection.

The researchers say all scores fell within expected normal ranges for healthy individuals and no one reported experiencing any lasting cognitive symptoms such as brain fog.

The findings, published in the journal eClinicalMedicine, show a small but measurable difference following highly intensive cognitive testing of 18 healthy young people with infection compared to those who did not become infected, monitored under controlled clinical conditions.

The team explains that incorporating such sensitive cognitive testing into future studies could help reveal more detailed insights into how infections may alter brain function and could help to find ways to reduce these processes when they cause symptoms.

Senior author Professor Adam Hampshire, from the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London and now based at King’s College London, explained, “We know that COVID-19 can have lasting impacts on our memory and ability to carry out common cognitive tasks.

However, much of the scientific evidence we have comes from large studies based on self-testing and reporting, or where there’s a range of variables that could increase or reduce these effects.

“Our work shows that these cognitive effects are replicated even under carefully controlled conditions in healthy individuals—including infection with a comparable dose of virus—and further highlights how respiratory infections can impact specific aspects of brain function.

“We were only able to detect some of these effects because of the trial design, which used very sensitive tests and controlled conditions, with participant performance compared to their own pre-inoculation baselines. This enabled us to pick up on subtle changes of which the participants themselves appear not to have been aware.”

COVID-19 and cognition Previous studies that included patients with a wide range of severities have shown COVID-19 can have a lasting impact on people’s brain function. One such study, led by Imperial and involving more than 140,000 people, found small deficits in the performance of cognitive and memory tasks in people who had recovered from COVID-19, with differences evident a year or more after infection.

In the latest study, researchers analyzed findings from a small group of healthy volunteers who were part of the world’s first human challenge study for COVID-19 in 2021. The findings reveal subtle differences in how they performed on the same tests, which lasted up to 12 months although later testing could have been affected by other and later factors.

During the trial, 36 healthy, young participants with no previous immunity to the virus were infected with SARS-CoV-2 and monitored under controlled clinical conditions. They were carefully monitored and remained at the facility until they were no longer infectious. From the group, 18 participants became infected and developed mild illness, one without symptoms.

Participants also performed sets of tasks to measure multiple distinct aspects of their brain function, including memory, planning, language and problem solving, using the Cognitron platform. Participants took the tests before exposure to the virus, during the two weeks they spent in the clinical facility, and then at multiple points for up to a year.

Analysis showed that those who became infected with SARS-CoV-2 had statistically lower cognitive scores than uninfected volunteers—compared to baseline scores—during their infection as well as during the follow-up period. The main differences in scores were seen in memory and executive function tasks (including working memory, attention and problem solving).

Differences in scores between groups were seen up to one year after infection, with the uninfected group performing slightly better on tasks overall.

The researchers note that the observed differences were small and that none of the volunteers reported prolonged cognitive symptoms. They also highlight limitations of the study, including the small sample size and that the majority of participants were white males, and so caution is needed in extrapolating the findings to the general population.

They explain that future research could examine the biological links between respiratory infection and cognition in COVID-19, and even show how this impact compares with other conditions, such as Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or influenza.

Co-author Professor Christopher Chiu, from the Department of Infectious Disease at Imperial College London, who led the COVID-19 human challenge study, said, “These latest findings from our study add more fine detail to the picture we have of COVID-19 and other respiratory infectious diseases.

“Challenge studies can offer a tool to help us better understand how infections disrupt a range of biological functions. Here, by showing biological effects that fall below what could be considered symptoms or disease, we were able to identify the smallest changes in these pathways.

“This could ultimately help us to develop new treatments to reduce or even block some of these effects, which we know on other settings can have lasting impacts on people’s lives.”

Study Link: www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(24)00421-8/fulltext

[doberbutts]

Hoo boy, the way both TBIs and my extreme depressive states both caused memory loss and explosive anger really makes me wonder if we’re going to learn that long-term trauma causes injury to the brain. I don’t know enough about neuroscience to know if it’s a founded theory, but—yikes, maybe that’s why my overstimulation issues got worse after college.

Hey guess what it's accepted theory, long term trauma does indeed cause physical, marked, visible-on-MRIs brain damage.

Hmm weird it's almost like when I say "physical disability within the brain and mental disability within the brain are not as easily separated as one might think" it's because mental disability is often either caused by or directly causes physical damage to the brain and thus there is really no sharp divide between brain and body. Your brain is an organ inside of your body, it can get hurt and be sick just like any other organ inside of you. Only difference is that it's what's piloting the meatsuit.

[transmutationisms]

i've been hearing a lot on anti-psychiatry/reframing diagnosis and symptoms/etc (including from your blog) but i feel like im missing a baseline of information to delve in that discussion. do you know some good sources to learn the 101 of what psychiatry is, how diagnoses are "discovered"/labeled, etc...?

before hearing about the subject i assumed mental illnesses/disabilities were the result of a recognizable cause (in the same way covid is caused by contact with the virus, or some form of blindness caused by problems with the optic nerve) but it seems that is not the case.

also, not a native english speaker, don't know if im using the correct vocabulary for this.

before hearing about the subject i assumed mental illnesses/disabilities were the result of a recognizable cause (in the same way covid is caused by contact with the virus, or some form of blindness caused by problems with the optic nerve)

this is a very common misconception, and one that's very useful for the legitimation of the discipline of psychiatry. in truth, genomics and neuroscience have not identified a biological cause of any psychiatric diagnosis (p. 851). psychiatric diagnoses are not made on the basis of neuroimaging or neuroanatomical differences (none have been consistently or strongly observed as defining or causal characteristics of such diagnosed conditions, and neuroimaging datasets, such as by fMRI, are prone to be interpreted in highly varying ways by different researchers), nor with bloodwork or indeed on the basis of any other biomarkers; the 'chemical imbalance' theory of diagnoses like depression has been thoroughly debunked. instead, these diagnoses depend on clinicians' observations of patients' behaviours and affect. this in itself doesn't automatically constitute a damning critique (we rely on subjective judgments of things all the time), but it does mean that attempting to stake the psychiatric discipline's legitimacy on the identification of biological aberrations is at best misleading at and worst fraudulent, not to mention essentialist.

none of this means that psychiatry or psychiatrists are 'making up disorders from nothing', or that people's distress / symptoms are unreal. psychiatry certainly can and does pathologise behaviours that would be more productively understood as responses to traumatic experiences, capitalist political conditions, social oppression, &c; in these processes, it should be understood as a means of producing bourgeois notions of social order & then enforcing them. the fact that psychiatric diagnoses are not made on the basis of, nor do they correspond to, specific biomarkers or biological 'types', doesn't make mental / emotional / affective suffering any less 'real' than any physically observed counterparts.

as for texts that will give you some groundwork on psychiatry, i would recommend Anne Harrington's Mind Fixers: Psychiatry's Troubled Search For the Biology of Mental Illness (2019) and Andrew Scull's Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry's Turbulent Quest to Cure Mental Illness (2022) and Psychiatry and Its Discontents (2019). all three of these are heavily focussed on the usa, which is generally overrepresented in historical and sociological literature on psychiatry; however, i still think these three texts are useful starting points for getting introduced to the history of psychiatry and broad contours of critiques of the discipline. i've also posted a longer anti-psychiatry reading list that has more texts focussed on other national and international contexts.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Eric W. Dolan

Published: Sept 20, 2024

A new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that specific networks in the brain, when damaged, may influence the likelihood of developing religious fundamentalism. By analyzing patients with focal brain lesions, researchers found that damage to a particular network of brain regions—mainly in the right hemisphere—was associated with higher levels of fundamentalist beliefs. This finding provides new insight into the potential neural basis of religious fundamentalism, which has long been studied in psychology but less so in neuroscience.

Religious fundamentalism is a way of thinking and behaving characterized by a rigid adherence to religious doctrines that are seen as absolute and inerrant. It’s been linked to various cognitive traits such as authoritarianism, resistance to doubt, and a lower complexity of thought. While much of the research on religious fundamentalism has focused on social and environmental factors like family upbringing and cultural influence, there has been growing interest in the role of biology. Some studies have suggested that genetic factors or brain function may influence religiosity, but until now, very little research has looked at specific brain networks that could underlie fundamentalist thinking.

The researchers behind this study wanted to address a critical gap in understanding how brain lesions might affect religious beliefs, particularly fundamentalism. Prior research suggested that damage to the prefrontal cortex could increase fundamentalist attitudes, but this work was limited to small sample sizes and focused only on one part of the brain. The authors of the study hypothesized that instead of a single brain region being responsible, religious fundamentalism might arise from damage to a distributed network of connected brain regions.

“My primary interest is and has been mystical experience. But in the process researching the cognitive neuroscience of mystical experience, I came across brain network associations with religious fundamentalism,” study corresponding author Michael Ferguson, an instructor in neurology at Harvard Medical School and director of Neurospirituality Research at the Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics.

To explore whether damage to specific brain networks could influence the likelihood of holding religious fundamentalist beliefs, the researchers used a method called lesion network mapping, which helps identify how different regions of the brain are connected and how damage to one area might disrupt related brain functions. The study involved two large groups of patients with focal brain damage, giving the researchers a unique opportunity to analyze how different types of brain lesions might be linked to religious beliefs.

The first group consisted of 106 male Vietnam War veterans who had sustained traumatic brain injuries during combat. These men, aged between 53 and 75 at the time of brain imaging, were part of a long-term study conducted at the National Institutes of Health. The second group included 84 patients from rural Iowa who had experienced brain injuries from various causes, such as strokes, surgical resections, or traumatic head injuries. This second group was more diverse in terms of gender and had a broader range of injury causes.

Both groups completed a scale designed to measure religious fundamentalism, which asked participants to respond to statements reflecting rigid and inerrant religious beliefs, such as the view that there is only one true religion or that certain religious teachings are absolutely correct and unchangeable.

For each participant, the researchers mapped the precise locations of their brain lesions using advanced imaging techniques like computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These scans were then analyzed using lesion network mapping to see how damage to certain brain areas was connected to changes in religious fundamentalism scores. The researchers also compared the brain lesion data to a larger database of lesions associated with various neuropsychiatric and behavioral conditions, which helped them understand how the brain regions linked to religious fundamentalism overlap with those involved in other psychological traits.

The researchers found that damage to certain areas of the brain, particularly in the right hemisphere, was associated with higher scores on the religious fundamentalism scale. Specifically, lesions affecting the right superior orbital frontal cortex, right middle frontal gyrus, right inferior parietal lobe, and the left cerebellum were linked to increased religious fundamentalism. In contrast, damage to regions such as the left paracentral lobule and the right cerebellum was associated with lower scores on the fundamentalism scale.

“The strength and reproducibility of the signal between psychological self-report measures of religious fundamentalism and the functional networks we identified in the brain surprised me,” Ferguson told PsyPost. “It increases confidence in the results.”

Interestingly, the researchers noted that the brain regions identified in this study are part of a broader network connected to cognitive functions like reasoning, belief formation, and moral decision-making. These areas are also associated with conditions like pathological confabulation—a disorder where individuals create false memories or beliefs without the intent to deceive. Confabulation is often linked to cognitive rigidity and difficulty in revising beliefs, characteristics that are also found in individuals with high levels of religious fundamentalism.

The researchers also found a spatial overlap between brain lesions associated with criminal behavior and this fundamentalism network, which aligns with previous research suggesting that extreme religious beliefs may be linked to hostility and aggression toward outgroups.

“It’s sobering, but one of the takeaway findings is the shared neuroanatomy between religious fundamentalism, confabulations, and criminal behavior,” Ferguson said. “It refocuses important questions about how and why these aspects of human behavior may be observed to relate to each other.”

The researchers emphasize that damage to this brain network does not guarantee that a person will develop fundamentalist beliefs, nor does it imply that individuals with strong religious convictions have brain damage. Instead, the findings point to the possibility that certain brain networks influence how people process beliefs and how flexible or rigid their thinking becomes, especially in the context of religion.

“A major caveat is that these results do not indicate that people with strong religious beliefs confabulate or that individuals high in religious fundamentalism commit crimes,” Ferguson explained. “Rather, our data may help us understand the style of cognitive or emotional processing that increase or decrease the probability of holding fundamentalism attitudes.”

The authors suggest that future research should explore how this brain network influences religious fundamentalism in more diverse populations, including people from non-Christian religious traditions or from different cultural backgrounds. It would also be valuable to study patients both before and after brain injuries to better understand how changes in the brain might affect religious beliefs over time. Additionally, research could investigate how this brain network relates to other types of belief systems, such as political ideologies or moral convictions, to see if similar patterns of cognitive rigidity or reduced skepticism emerge in these contexts.

“The personal beliefs of the authors span a broad continuum from adherents of religious faiths through agnosticism to atheism,” Ferguson noted. “We approach the weighty subject matter of this research as earnest seekers of scientific data and encourage readers to receive our results in the spirit of open-minded empirical inquiry driven by scientific curiosity and without prejudice or malice to any group or faith.”

The study, “A neural network for religious fundamentalism derived from patients with brain lesions,” was authored by Michael A. Ferguson, Erik W. Asp, Isaiah Kletenik , Daniel Tranel, Aaron D. Boes, Jenae M. Nelson, Frederic L. W. V. J. Schaper, Shan Siddiqi, Joseph I. Turner, J. Seth Anderson, Jared A. Nielsen, James R. Bateman, Jordan Grafman, and Michael D. Fox.

--

Significance

Religious fundamentalism is a global and enduring phenomenon. Measuring religious fundamentalism following focal brain damage may lend insight into its neural basis. We use lesion network mapping, a technique that uses connectivity data to identify functional brain networks, to analyze two large, independent datasets of brain lesion patients. We found a network of brain regions that, when damaged, are linked to higher religious fundamentalism. This functional network was lateralized to the right hemisphere and overlaps with the locations of brain lesions associated with specific neuropsychiatric and behavioral conditions. Our findings shed light on neuroanatomy that may influence the emergence of religious fundamentalism, offering implications for understanding the relationship between brain networks and fundamentalist behavior.

Abstract

Religious fundamentalism, characterized by rigid adherence to a set of beliefs putatively revealing inerrant truths, is ubiquitous across cultures and has a global impact on society. Understanding the psychological and neurobiological processes producing religious fundamentalism may inform a variety of scientific, sociological, and cultural questions. Research indicates that brain damage can alter religious fundamentalism. However, the precise brain regions involved with these changes remain unknown. Here, we analyzed brain lesions associated with varying levels of religious fundamentalism in two large datasets from independent laboratories. Lesions associated with greater fundamentalism were connected to a specific brain network with nodes in the right orbitofrontal, dorsolateral prefrontal, and inferior parietal lobe. This fundamentalism network was strongly right hemisphere lateralized and highly reproducible across the independent datasets (r = 0.82) with cross-validations between datasets. To explore the relationship of this network to lesions previously studied by our group, we tested for similarities to twenty-one lesion-associated conditions. Lesions associated with confabulation and criminal behavior showed a similar connectivity pattern as lesions associated with greater fundamentalism. Moreover, lesions associated with poststroke pain showed a similar connectivity pattern as lesions associated with lower fundamentalism. These findings are consistent with the current understanding of hemispheric specializations for reasoning and lend insight into previously observed epidemiological associations with fundamentalism, such as cognitive rigidity and outgroup hostility.

==

Two of the authors of the above paper also published the following:

Abstract

Background

Over 80% of the global population consider themselves religious, with even more identifying as spiritual, but the neural substrates of spirituality and religiosity remain unresolved.

Methods

In two independent brain lesion datasets (N1 = 88; N2 = 105), we applied lesion network mapping to test whether lesion locations associated with spiritual and religious belief map to a specific human brain circuit.

Results

We found that brain lesions associated with self-reported spirituality map to a brain circuit centered on the periaqueductal gray. Intersection of lesion locations with this same circuit aligned with self-reported religiosity in an independent dataset and previous reports of lesions associated with hyper-religiosity. Lesion locations causing delusions and alien limb syndrome also intersected this circuit.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that spirituality and religiosity map to a common brain circuit centered on the periaqueductal gray, a brainstem region previously implicated in fear conditioning, pain modulation, and altruistic behavior.

--

For reference, I previously posted about a similar study from 2017:

Abstract

Beliefs profoundly affect people's lives, but their cognitive and neural pathways are poorly understood. Although previous research has identified the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) as critical to representing religious beliefs, the means by which vmPFC enables religious belief is uncertain. We hypothesized that the vmPFC represents diverse religious beliefs and that a vmPFC lesion would be associated with religious fundamentalism, or the narrowing of religious beliefs. To test this prediction, we assessed religious adherence with a widely-used religious fundamentalism scale in a large sample of 119 patients with penetrating traumatic brain injury (pTBI). If the vmPFC is crucial to modulating diverse personal religious beliefs, we predicted that pTBI patients with lesions to the vmPFC would exhibit greater fundamentalism, and that this would be modulated by cognitive flexibility and trait openness. Instead, we found that participants with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) lesions have fundamentalist beliefs similar to patients with vmPFC lesions and that the effect of a dlPFC lesion on fundamentalism was significantly mediated by decreased cognitive flexibility and openness. These findings indicate that cognitive flexibility and openness are necessary for flexible and adaptive religious commitment, and that such diversity of religious thought is dependent on dlPFC functionality.

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It should be noted that fundamentalism is not exclusive to (traditional) religions.

“… fundamentalism, properly understood, is not about religion. It is about the inability to seriously entertain the possibility that one might be wrong. In individuals such fundamentalism is natural and, within reason, desirable. But when it becomes the foundation for an intellectual system, it is inherently a threat to freedom of thought.” -- Jonathan Rauch, “Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought”

Flat Earth, anti-vax and wokery (modern feminism, "anti-racism," "gender identity" ideology, fat activism, etc) are all fundamentalist in nature. There is no evidence you can present to disabuse them of the tenets of their faith.

This phenomenon creates a problem for society in dealing with fundamentalist and false beliefs, especially when they have attained cultural dominance and institutional power. And particularly when they're held to be inerrant and absolute, and those who hold them regard dissent as heresy, and those who follow available evidence as evil heretics.

A good test for this is to look at the reaction when the belief is questioned; is the questioner regarded as factually wrong or morally suspect?