#why are there so many sulci | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

butterflyinthewell · 5 years ago

Text

Godzilla’s brain! (Headcanon infodump)

If you want to get technical about it, Godzilla has an ABI (acquired brain injury) caused by hypoxia.

In humans ABIs are brain injuries that happen after birth. A TBI(traumatic brain injury) is considered an ABI too, but not all ABIs are TBIs. If you hit your head and it damaged your brain, that’s a TBI, which is an ABI. If you didn’t breathe properly after you were born and it damaged your brain, that’s just an ABI. Cerebral palsy is an ABI. A blow to the head that causes bleeding in the brain is an ABI that’s also a TBI. See how it works?

For Godzilla, “birth” is a muddy subject. He hatched from an egg, so the rules are a tiny bit different. Godzilla (as a typical pre-mutation godzillasaur) formed normally in the yolk of his egg with the exception of the ventricular septal defect in his heart.

If you managed to get a drone into Godzilla’s body and passed it into his heart, you would find the septum stops about 2/3 of the way down. The hole looks almost like a nostril, and right smack in the middle are the two nerves of his heart’s conduction system-- much like the bundle of His in humans. The same genetic quirk gave him a quadricuspid aortic valve (he has 2 aortas and a foramen of panizza like a croc), but that doesn’t affect him at all, it just looks cool.

The VSD didn’t pose much problem in the beginning when he was just a little blob. Issues arose as body finished developing and the fine tuning began. He needed more and more oxygen, which his heart couldn’t supply properly, and both his cranial and spinal brains were damaged as a result.

The motor areas in his spinal brain took the hit first, which affected his legs and tail. Then it happened in his cranial brain, which affected his upper body. Someone “candling” his egg would’ve noticed he moved less and less as his muscles tightened up.

Certain areas in his cranial brain failed to mature and migrate properly. The areas responsible for cognition got hit the hardest by that, which would lead to him having an unnatural fear response cycle (not enough emotional area connections to his tiny amygdala-equivalent), trouble with perception / spacial awareness and difficulty processing information. The areas of his brain that didn’t form properly linked up in a new way, and that led to his unusual hyperthymestic memory. It literally looks like a bridge of neurons across the bottom of his brain and functions like a human hippocampus.

Guess what’s parked on top of that? His dinky bundle of amygdala-equivalent neurons. There’s only 1 bundle, whereas humans have 2. Those neurons aren’t connected with the rest of his brain, but they do connect to his brain stem, so they work a bit like 2 cords side by side that plug into the same wall outlet. The outlet is his brain stem. It’s why stimuli trigger physiological changes associated with fear, but not the emotion itself. So young Godzilla lacked the instinct to flee any danger, but felt his heart speed up, felt his breathing get faster and became more alert. Then he got angry because he was annoyed by the sudden bump of alertness.

Godzillasaurs don’t have a cerebral cortex as we know it. Still, their brains are arranged with bundles of neurons that function with similar complexity to more evolved animals. Maybe, if they had survived to evolve like the apes did, they might have come close to or matched humans in terms of intelligence.

Post-mutation, Godzilla’s cranial brain seems small and simple at a glance (It’s about the size of a classic Volkswagen van), but someone weighing it would be surprised by its mass. He developed a neocortex with shallow gyri and sulci that function similarly to human frontal, temporal, occipital and parietal lobes. It’s because of this that he’s capable of “higher thought” beyond what he could do as an unmutated godzillasaur, such as thinking about the future and being able to "question” things. (His equivalent of going “wait, is it a good idea to do that?” Usually he does whatever *that* is anyway...but the ability to wonder if he should is one he didn't have before! So when he looks back in his memory he asks himself questions he would’ve asked at those times if he could.)

Now, remember his dinky bundle of amygdala-equivalent neurons? They branched out to connect with his hippocampus-equivalent and it’s why trauma triggers an emotional fear response instead of just the physiological part, but other stimuli only set off the physiological response.

Godzilla grew a very primitive limbic system. It’s because of this that he connects more deeply to an emotional range he wasn’t wholly capable of pre-mutation. Part of that was his ABI, so the mutation helped connect areas in his brain that weren’t connected before.

These brain changes happened rapidly over a span of days, hence the temporary deafness and blindness Godzilla struggled through as his body changed. The tonic-clonic and myoclonic seizures he endured came from the already-damaged areas of his brain migrating (which irritated surrounding tissues) and new neurons growing so fast they sheared themselves apart.

The seizures both intensified his hyperthymestic memory and exacerbated the ABI-related cognitive issues he already has. His “hippocampus” bridge was encoded with all this trauma between seizures, which allowed it to connect with the emotional areas of his brain to create the circuit where trauma leads to a proper fear response. He hasn’t had a seizure since his mutation completed, but his bouts of clonus (shaking / twitching) and full body spasms (random tensing up) can look like one. He has more all-over spasms when he’s fatigued, the clonus just happens randomly.

Godzilla’s intelligence is average for his species, but the issues caused by his ABI post-mutation mask it. He would have a pretty serious case of dyscalculia, no sense of direction and a complete inability to read maps or numbers if he was human. The only reason he has any sense of direction is because he uses his hyperthymestic memory, the horizons and Earth’s magnetic fields to navigate his old migration routes by feel. A strong magnetic pull can throw him way off course. He can recall sequences of actions perfectly because his autobiographical memory is always recording things, and the right stimuli make him recall it.

And those weird extraordinary abilities mask his struggles. If he was human he would get misdiagnosed as intellectually disabled due to presenting in such an unusual way. He’s cognitively disabled.

Kaijuologists miss the cognitive issues because Godzilla doesn’t live in a world where his cognitive struggles interfere as much. He doesn’t speak our words or think like us, so it’s hard to tell a species thing, apart from his personality, instincts and a cognition issue. Testing him and Shezilla together would make his issues and their personalities glaringly obvious. (Godzilla tends to be abrupt and brusque, Shezilla is inquisitive and analytical.)

Godzilla gets stuck mentally, but to an observing human it looks like he is suddenly angry for no reason because he gets a specific expression on his face when it happens. It’s a sneer coupled with a frowning, wide-eyed thousand yard stare that could peel the paint right off a car.

This “stuck” condition has to do with how he processes information, his spacial awareness, the environment not matching up to what he thinks should be there and his inability to suss out what’s different or why it’s different.

Example 1: (With family)

There’s a boulder formation on the island he, Shezilla and Filia call home. He looks at it a lot. One day he leaves to feed on something radioactive.

Filia starts playing around on the boulders and accidentally knocks one of them behind a bigger one, so it’s no longer visible. She runs off to do something else.

Godzilla comes back, looks at the boulder formation and sees something is different. But he can’t figure out what that difference is, even as he stares at the gap where the missing boulder should be. He remembers it was there, but his mind doesn’t click in with what happened. That’s a spacial awareness issue tangling up with his memory.

He gets really mad because I know something is wrong and I can’t figure out what it is!

Shezilla goes up to Godzilla and tells him what’s wrong because she knows that frown with wide open eyes means the gears in his head are stuck. Telling him what’s wrong gets him unstuck before he flies into a rage. The temper tantrum is disarmed.

Nobody has to put the rock back because that’s not the problem. Godzilla’s brain is a bit like HTML text page where the missing boulder is somebody forgot to close a <b> tag in the title, so the whole page ends up with bold text. All Shezilla does by telling him it was moved is give him the </b> tag. Now he can understand what’s different and why.

Putting the boulder back will also get him unstuck since it “fixes” the “broken picture” he’s stuck trying to process. It doesn’t matter if it’s upside down or facing a different directly entirely, it just has to be there.

He wouldn’t have had the problem if all the boulders got moved, because then the whole picture is changed instead of just a small part. Big changes make him go “wow, wtf?”, but smaller ones cause him to get stuck.

Example 2: (Alone)

Being hyperthymestic causes Godzilla to get lost in his memory a lot. It’s not quite maladaptive daydreaming because he’s mentally going over another part of his life.

He goes foraging in Tokyo, but his mind is traveling millions of years ago to when he walked among trees many times taller than him. He loses track of what’s real and what’s recollection. His mind’s eye sees trees, not buildings.

Then a maser cannon zaps him in the chest, abruptly yanking him to the present. He sees the buildings instead of the trees. He doesn’t know where the trees went, so he knocks a building down thinking the forest is right behind it. And it isn’t.

Now there’s a bunch of maser tanks, missiles, artillery, etc slamming into Godzilla. It’s a bombardment of bright lights, smoke / gunpowder smells and loud noise while he’s already confused about where he is in time, so on top of being confused he’s now in sensory overload too.

He gets pissed off because he can’t find the forest he remembers and he can’t think his way through what is past and what is now with all the chaos being thrown at him. The tantrum* kicks in. He smashes everything in sight, screams at the JSDF that he’s lost and destroys more of the city out of spite because nobody is there to tell him the forest he’s looking for is long gone. He thinks it’s hidden in or behind the big buildings, and no it doesn’t occur to him that a whole forest can’t fit inside / behind a building that’s as tall as he is. That’s a hint of the spacial awareness issue.

So he smashes buildings and there is no forest. It takes a lot of smashing and stomping for him to realize there isn’t a forest hidden in the city.

The tantrum cools his rage enough to think clearly again, but it’s mentally and emotionally exhausting. Giving up isn’t something Godzilla likes to do. In this case, he has to, because all the activity has his heartrate up and his chest hurts. That’s always his warning sign to chill out.

Godzilla takes out a nuclear reactor, feeds and leaves. He’s irritable and sore as he swims away. He gets home to his island, which has a beautiful forest. The environment matches his memory again, so he calms down and goes to sleep.

* It’s not like an autistic meltdown at all. Godzilla doesn’t have control of whether or not he has a tantrum once his temper explodes, but he can choose how he responds to it. He chooses to yell, smash stuff and make a mess. Sensory overload is painful, confusing and annoying to him, but sensory overload alone won’t make him lose control of himself. He just smashes everything around him until he stops whatever’s causing it.

If Shezilla is in the city with Godzilla, she can calm him down and lead him away without as much destruction. No matter how mad he gets Godzilla will never purposely try to injure his own family members, and Shezilla knows this. She knows how to talk to him and help him get in line with the present. (And by ‘talk’ I mean communicating in Old Tongue. :P)

Example 3: (Alone)

I’m gonna borrow from my Shrinking Project fanfic to say it’s possible to make Godzilla shut down mentally and emotionally by taking him through a lot of rapid changes in a short period of time. This is the worst way he gets stuck mentally and it’s the hardest for him to deal with.

So tiny!Godzilla is plucked up out of the ocean after being hit by the shrink ray. He wakes up on a lab table to giant humans staring down at him. Goro, the aggressive one, throws his arms up in an attempt to intimidate. Godzilla reacts to that by getting pissed off and asking the guy what he thinks he’s doing.

Goro keeps escalating Godzilla, and then Reiko suddenly comes over with a tank of gas that knocks him out. Godzilla wakes up in an enclosure that’s all plain surfaces. It’s unfamiliar and strange.

A lot of things happen between that enclosure and the main laboratory. Then Reiko smuggles Godzilla out, so he ends up in a dark shoebox. Dark is scary to him, so he scrapes holes in the box to get some light. He goes from the shoebox to Reiko’s bathtub.

The environment never stays stable. He’s always finding himself somewhere completely new with new information to process. It’s stressful. He gets exhausted.

So Godzilla lays down wherever he is and turns inward. No matter where he is, he will slip into a deep sleep because he no longer has the capacity to deal with what’s going on.

If he’s allowed to sleep it off, he’ll be fine when he wakes up because sleep is how he rests his brain. If he’s awakened and disturbed, he is sluggish and depressed due to his ability to think / process information being greatly diminished.

Now, Godzilla won’t be processing much if he’s chasing an enemy through various environments or seeking sustenance. Giving him a goal gives him something concrete to focus on. But if there’s no goal and several rapid changes happen quickly, it’s like ripping apart a puzzle he’s trying to finish and making him start over. Eventually, he’ll flip the table and refuse to start over again, and that is his brain shutting down.

The best thing anyone can do, whether it’s humans or Shezilla, is to leave him alone when he curls up on the ground. He needs that shutdown sleep. If something like that happened around Shezilla in an inopportune place, she would tell Godzilla this isn’t the best place to sleep and take him somewhere better. If it’s humans handling a tiny!Godzilla, putting him somewhere quiet and dark and not disturbing him at all is the best way to help him recover.

This situation is the kind of stuck where only time will get him unstuck.

Godzilla can eventually solve most problems on his own. If it’s not a life or death situation he’ll let it go once he’s done being pissed off about being stuck on it.

In Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla II he gets mad because he can’t find Baby. He throws a tantrum and trashes part of the city before he leaves. Later, he decides that if he smashes MechaGodzilla, he’ll be able to get to Baby. And that’s what happened. Humans would say that’s not correct, that MechaGodzilla wasn’t holding Baby prisoner, but Godzilla saw MechaGodzilla as a metal abomination getting between him and another of his kind. He removed the obstacle and Miki Saegusa led him to Baby.

SpaceGodzilla imprisoned LittleGodzilla, so Godzilla smashes through a city in a rage to reach SpaceGodzilla. He figured out that SpaceGodzilla was using a tower as an energy source like he uses radiation, so he destroyed the tower. Killing SpaceGodzilla nullified his crystals, which set LittleGodzilla free.

Godzilla’s problem solving is slow and depends on the situation, but 99% of the time he eventually gets his brain unstuck. Sometimes he thinks fast and comes up with a solution right away, sometimes he doesn’t.

That doesn’t mean he’s totally unable to get himself unstuck or solve a problem, it’s just easier if someone is there to help him get unstuck. It saves him the grief of being confused for however long it takes before he figures the issue out or lets a minor thing go.

#Godzilla #Heisei Godzilla #Shezilla #Filia #disability headcanon #long post #gif #godzilla anatomy #medical

32 notes · View notes

theuntrendygirl · 6 years ago

Text

Tu me manques...

She stood waiting, patiently for once, but the nagging sensation at the nape of her neck kept her foot tapping away. Waiting. That seemed like all she was built to do these past few days. Weeks. Months. It had become the perpetual nature of her hurricane of a life.

It was funny she thought, she’d always considered her life to be a storm, one mash up of color and chaos to the next but when she had quoted something to him the other night to try and buoy his ever sinking spirits she had backpedaled. “When it rains, it pours,” had been one of her mother’s favorite quotes and thus the context had stuck with her. He’d replied with some comment like how it wasn’t just raining but had turned into a hurricane. Well, “a fucking hurricane,” she thought his words had been. And for a moment her world centered on his words lingering in her mind.

Was she silently comparing apples to oranges, or was she to much of a problem for him to handle, could he handle her? Not that she needed handling in the sense of a babysitter, but her moods varied from minute to minute. Her life often seemed more chaotic than relaxing, she loved deeply and avoided hating anyone (though she’d been tempted enough times).

“So what happened next?” His voice broke through her thoughts, saying it sounded like velvet seemed strange since velvet was tactile but when he spoke not only did his words give her a heady rush but it felt like they wrapped her in one of his hugs she so desperately craved.

She smiled and felt a laugh bubble through her lips, he was working and she felt bad for taking up so much of his time. It was selfish really, he’d said it wasn’t but her gut had yet to fail her the way so many other things had. She had merely wanted to see him for a moment, enough to sustain her, a little taste if you will.

Did she get a chip for sitting at the bar, swirling the glass, smelling the sweet amber and setting it back down untouched she wondered?

“You know honestly, I don’t remember. My mind is….elsewhere tonight, I’m sorry.” She tried for a reassuring smile but knew it didn’t reach her eyes. Instead she pointed at some random knick-knack on the counter and commented on the corny advertising designed to lure horny teenagers into buying their useless product. They chit chatted, this that and the other.

It felt good to stand there, just talking. Then again she was fairly certain just being quiet and in the same room would soothe her. She’d never admit that fact to him though. Desperately she tried to stay present in their conversation, getting distracted when she watched his interactions with his customers. While she could tell her smile never reached her eyes anymore it was clear to her, even behind his smudged lenses, that his did. Even the idle chatter from passing persons drew his smile into his eyes.

A goofy grin spread her lips, vaguely she heard him ask what but was to wrapped up in her thoughts to really respond. The passing ambulance lights outside pulled her attention away and she was thankful. She’d been staring absent mindedly at him. It was a thing, not really staring to be rude or obnoxious but staring to find out how he could keep going. How could he smile from one customer to the next, nobody was that good an actor so it had to be genuine, right? She wanted to know the secret, she wanted to tell him how his eyes glowed with each little smile or pull of his lips when he spoke. She wanted to gush about how there seemed to be a universe full of gravity surrounding him. Pulling people towards him, maybe that’s why she felt such a strong pull. Maybe, she was just insane.

She felt insane. Most people thought she was anyways, so maybe it was true. The complications surrounding her life were, exponentially getting worse by the minute. She needed less complications; not more. Not when it meant her heart was on the line, again. Not after it seemingly was finally stitched back together with frayed yarn that could snag and pull apart at any moment. But this, whatever they meant to one another, she knew it would be a hard won fight or her ultimate downfall. Putting to much hope in one person had always proved her the fool. One thought kept her fighting though, kept her trying for this… “not everyone is like your ex or the others who hurt you,” a friend had said, Liz was; undefinable, but she needed to quiet her anxiety and Liz knew how to do that with logic. The more facts she was provided, the more common sense something was, the better she felt about, well, what she was feeling.

She couldn’t tell him, not yet, for fear and stress kept her warm at night. Whispering nasty little things into her dreams, warping them into nightmares. Twisting a happy want into a forgotten need. Logic could keep her racing heart under control but it fueled the fire of her anxiety. She tried to explain, but her explanations always seemed long winded and unwanted. She would mold herself into what each person in her life wanted. The dutiful daughter, the supportive friend, the employee; the hats were to many and bountiful. Her mind raced, her heart skipped beats, her anxiety clawed at the back of her throat, tearing it open squashing her words, keeping her from speaking, but yet, when she thought of him, or replayed conversations they’d had or even stood next to him in silence, all the bad things that crawled between the sulci were quieted. Her mind was tame and pliable to her will vs. it’s own. How did she put into words all of the things she felt from one second to the next when she thought of him? How could she talk about how her nightmares turned to dreams and hopes when they spoke?

She imagined herself talking about these thoughts, made idle chatter with him as the minutes progressed past the hour mark. How could she utter the words that she had dreamt of them coming home to one another to talk about their days, or how an imagined fight over a restaurant for dinner left her heart beating faster, how she watched as they danced through the kitchen while pasta boiled on the stove to some cheesy song on the radio. She’d felt it all and somehow had grown attached to the feelings it had all created. She wanted it to come true, very much so in fact. But things were….what was the line again; she thought, feeling the words etch themselves into the skin of her lip, complicated. She ran her tongue over the newly scrawled words and winced at the pain.

She should be used to pain by now she figured. It kept her going, kept her from breaking down. One of her favorite movies and favorite actors quoted pain once and it stuck in her brain…

“Urgayle: Pain is your friend, your ally, it will tell you when you are seriously injured, it will keep you awake and angry, and remind you to finish the job and get the hell home. But you know the best thing about pain?

Jordan: Don't know!

Urgayle: It lets you know you're not dead yet!”

People doubted her knowledge of pain, what could such a young girl know of pain. Enough to cause any grown man to whimper she thought. Emotional pain aside, the physical had damn near killed her. Between migraines and pulled ribs she didn’t even need to include the previous surgeries. They’d been bad enough. Emotional and mental turmoil, in her mind were worse. How many opportunities had she been given to leave her ex while they were together? At least a dozen. There was great love there, she knew that, along with wonderful memories but as she grew through the pain she realized they hadn’t been meant for one another. And perhaps she thought, it had just been enough to sustain her till she found what she had truly been looking for. Who knew, no matter what you believe in or don’t some things always feel like fate.

Where would she be now if she had left him, 4 years ago? How different would her life look and did she want it any different because for now her path seemed clear? Well, as clear as it could get with all the, let’s call it bullshit, surrounding them now. Most days she felt the kindness drain from her fingertips leaving only bitterness on the tip of her tongue.

She looked over at him now, memorizing the shape of his jaw and fuzziness that had grown in, the curve of his nose, his to chocolate eyes...she felt silly, tracing over the details of his face as he chatted with some random person. But this was how her mind worked, she knew the details of his face simply from closing her eyes. And on the days she needed him by her side she imagined him there if only to calm her nerves. They’d had this discussion, several times, how seeing one another brings a sense of calm over each other. It hadn’t dawned on her that anyone could describe perfectly how she felt when she saw him but even then he astonished her. It was nice, knowing that someone could think and feel as deeply as she could. She’d never had that before, never really had anyone she could express her opinions too, well yeah friends listen but it wasn’t the same. To her intimacy wasn’t sex, though that was one of the finer things in life, intimacy with someone is sharing your mind, your thoughts, things you’d never find yourself sharing with anyone else. Two halves of whole and that whole cliche. She’d not even trusted her ex with some of things she thought of or about. He never knew the poetry scrawled across her heart or how deeply she felt things. He never cared too. Maybe that’s what made this so strikingly different.

Before her was a man, a man who cared. Who didn’t blow her off or try to change the subject when it’s something he’s unfamiliar with. He listened and talked and asked questions; he let her talk about work, one of the most important things in her life. And equally she gave him her attention as well. She’d never had any interest in cars; unless she was driving them. And then all that mattered was the speed of the engine and how high the volume went. Most of his car talk still boggled her mind, but she hoped it would be something that she could learn more about and so she didn’t appear as stupid as she felt.

It was nice to have someone who generally seemed interested in sharing bits of their life with her. It helped her curiosity. They could talk about anything really and after each conversation she’d be left with either more questions or satisfied for having learned something entirely new, whether it be from the conversation itself or learning more about the man she’d fallen for. Either way, it had been something she’d been looking for. Her friends were amazing and they kept her entertained, kept her mind racing and researching but it wasn’t the same. Maybe there was no right way to describe it.

If it was simply a fleeting moment perhaps the gravitational pull wouldn’t be so strong, if truth be told, it had become a craving of sorts. The snippets of conversation, the random visits, hugs and more. The more was emblazoned in her memory, every bit of it to the point it caused nervous laughter to fall from her lips.

She hoped the nervousness would eventually dissipate as she stared at the singular cause of….well could it really be called distress? Not in the traditional sense at least. Things would get easier, better...normal…was normal what she wanted? Everything thus far had been abnormal, shocking, surprising, you name it and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Well...maybe less complicated, but as she looked at him complicated became more and more appealing.

***So it’s not finished...and it’ll be a spell before I pick it back up!***

#writing #life #love #truth #need #happiness #amwriting #dreams #editing

41 notes · View notes

sulla-slays-cronulla · 3 years ago

Text

Fig & Chestnut Cheesecake

Posted image before, without recipe.

Base (which smells like Ferrero Rocher as you make it, only better)

70g Japanese ‘Oreos’. YBC Noir Black Cocoa. They are less sweet and drier than Oreos. Scrape out their insides, then CRUSH THEM.

Also crush 40g of hazelnuts, with their delicate skins on, if you please.

Mix these crumbs in with 44g unsalted butter.

Cover with and press onto bottom of your baking dish. Chill in fridge for at least 45 minutes as you do the rest. The cookie:nut proportions are a guesstimate, feel free to muck about a bit, depending on which taste you like better.

Guts

First prepare: 130g of fresh fig, microwave for around 5 minutes with at least 3 stirs, or reduce substantially in non-stick pan. Place in freezer to cool

Also keep aside: 100g of LARGE roasted chestnuts and 3 chopped, dried figs. Can marinate for a few minutes of prep time in a couple tablespoons of liquor or liquer, your choice. Amaretto, Espresso, Cointreau, Honey Bourbon, Dark Rum, all good.

250g cream cheese, with 80g thick cream. Start mixing with hand mixer when the cheese is around room temperature.

Add 2 tablespoons wholemeal (+ raising agent) or any preferred flour.

Add 2 eggs - or if you want a drier batter, 1 egg 1 yolk - 1 at a time, mixing in between and after the 2nd egg.

Add Less than 1/4 cup molasses and maple syrup, around half half. Tsp of vanilla essence or better fresh vanilla since there is cream in this one... Mix.

Add 60g of cheap roasted chestnuts, mooshed/blended, some at buttered state but shy of being reduced to a goo. Mix lightly with spoon then add the final

Cooled fig sauce from earlier and drain out some of the alcohol from the chestnut and fig marinating cup. Ensure all incorporated before fetching the based baking dish.

Pour half of the cheesecake mixture in, then

Add the Large roasted chestnuts and figs. Chestnuts look best in a circle, fig pieces and other debris can be sprinkled as you please. Pour in the rest of the cheesecake batter.

It took 35-40 minutes at 180C. But somehow I suspect, like many of my recipes, I wrote this down wrong as the experimental figure and did not bother to add what actually happened. So. Keep an eye on it. I definitely forgot something... oh well.

The sauce is just melted raspberries. Demonstrative of how absurd I am that the surface form reminded me of gyri and sulci, and that’s why I wanted raspberry sauce to go with it. *Insert ‘she will never have a boyfriend’ meme here*

Thank you to the Youtube Channel Chocolate Cacao for inspiration.

0 notes

perahn · 7 years ago

Text

Codex Entry #3

The encryptions acquire a new layer of complexity at this point, as though the writer has grown more creative, more intelligent, more paranoid, or all three. As well as the devices formerly used, the writer has started using a system of scattered dots – some raised, some dug into the page, and some developed into tears – as well as directly encoding the text into diagrams and drawings, so that what appears to be a graph is in fact a description of a fight against flumphs, minotaur skeletons and a flameskull, while a lovingly-rendered sketch of a dozing displacer beast conceals a furious tirade against sorceresses and illithids.

… Threat Assessment: Shayazi (9th revision)

Shay continues to develop her skills; I suspect her elders at the monastery will be pleasantly surprised by her progress when we return. My own capacities likewise increase; my options to deal with her, should it become necessary, are more varied and likely to be efficacious than previously. As in previous revisions, the key is to keep my distance and to strike first. There are only two issues prompting this update to her previous threat assessment.

The first is this new power she has developed since her experience with the clerics of Yurtrus. It is, of course, counter-productive to ignore the very real impact the gods can have on the world, either directly or through the actions of their idiot faithful. I would not have predicted that Shay would choose to align herself with such parasitic, demanding and arrogant creatures; I will even confess to a small disappointment. I had a higher opinion of her than that. Nevertheless, I cannot deny that it has earned her power. I have not seen her use it often enough to be entirely certain of its purpose, which is concerning, and, having opened the door to divine interference in her life, it is difficult to see where it may stop. I shall monitor her for developments.

The second is possibly more concerning. Harper continues to ingratiate himself with her, quite blatantly, and I am unsure how to counter him. She is supposed to be my bodyguard, but I confess I have been depending unduly on her own sense of duty. The means I would use to cultivate another Red Wizard are almost meaningless to her, and although I am learning as swiftly as I can, the fact remains that Harper is more familiar with such tactics. If I should lose her to him, the balance tips dangerously out of my favour… My advantage, I think, is that I know the Order of the Long Death tolerably well, and what Shay has been used to within its walls; I can leverage that, but then Harper’s manoeuvring against her inexperience is covering much the same ground. Brothels, really? That is not ground on which I will compete. Gifts, perhaps? She and Twitch seem to have developed something of a rapport – perhaps that Bag of Tricks I saw in the bazaar would amuse her?

A span as yet decrypted follows, eventually clearing into the following passage. In contrast to the tone, the writing remains steady and even.

… he spoke, and I raised my hands to my eyes and gouged them out. I gave them to him, and he mounted them in his rotting eye sockets. It took exactly seven strokes of the dull blade to sever my tongue. My mouth filled with blood, washing the spells away. Then I forced the blade through my left wrist. It stuck halfway, and I screamed that I could not obey until he set his hand over mine and freed the blade. Twenty-three strokes to cut off my left hand. Thirty total, average fifteen. I begged him to help me. I could not cut off my right hand without help. I promised him anything he desired, if only he would help me sever it as he wished. He said the means was within my power. I set my teeth to my right wrist. Blood and blood. Crack and crack. Again. Two hundred and sixty-one. Seven. Fractions. Twenty-three. Again. Thirty. Broken numbers. Fifteen. Broken. Again.

- I did not recognise the voice. I am unsure what this dream portends, but at least it was relatively mild. I was more disturbed when it changed and I felt them again. All those mage hands all over me. All of them watching and laughing. I thought I’d trained my subconscious out of replaying that particular memory. Probably the alcohol was to blame; I had similarly undisciplined and unpleasant memories in place of useful dreams after Khaseth poisoned me.

Still, these things pass. It is more important that I retain clear memory of everything that occurred while I was so stupidly drunk, and more important still that I did said or did nothing irredeemable. In fact, my training held almost perfectly; with one exception, everything I babbled about could either have been gleaned from commonly-available sources, or reasonably extrapolated from them. Or, indeed, from my observable behaviour. The exception, of course, is that while Harper could have safely assumed that I distrust him and wish to penetrate whatever it is that veils his mind, he was extremely unlikely to have guessed that I considered Banishing him. His reaction to that was a little curious, I think… I am still not convinced that he is human.

My mouth still tastes of stale blood, my brain feels rather as though someone is carving its sulci deeper with an acid-coated awl, and we set out into the Underdark today. I truly have become dangerously stupid out here. I suppose that is one good thing to be said for the presence of the drow; I have someone to keep me from drifting entirely into poor habits.

The next few pages contain disdainful descriptions of a wide variety of fungus.

… Threat assessment: Katy (6th revision)

Wild Magic effects: Invisibility on others but not herself; pink, feathery beard. Inanities.

New spell observed: Hex.

Katy has become far more adept with her magic, to the point where her effectiveness in a recent battle came perilously close to matching my own. I am not averse to letting her waste her spell energy, but nevertheless… this sudden increase in her usefulness in concerning. I might be mistaken about divine magic, but not this. Hex is not a usual manifestation of sorcerer magic; it is a warlock spell.

She would not be the first sorcerer to realise her haphazard innate magic is not sufficient, and to turn to other means of procuring power. The warlock pact has always stood ready for such fools. It would also, possibly, explain the peculiar creature she summoned and called Bob; it could easily be a manifestation of her patron, or a creature that answers to it. If she has indeed sold herself to a patron, it falls on me to discern what manner of being it is, and what its motivations are likely to be. Some of the beings known to sponsor warlocks are highly inimical, while others are simply unknowable. There is no telling what actions it may require of Katy.

Of course, there is the possibility that I am getting ahead of myself. There are other means by which Katy might have acquired a warlock spell, not least that it may simply be an unusual quirk of her wild magic. Nevertheless, I judge her quite likely to have made such a pact. I will watch her behaviour closely for evidence for or against this hypothesis. I also intend to question her about that summoned creature, and possibly study it for myself. It seemed to have an unhealthy influence over her.

… cannot shake the feeling I am overlooking something obvious. The letter to Metoth Zurn must have been intended as a test for me; there are myriad secure ways that wizards such as he and Anishta Daraam could communicate. There is a portal between their territories, for Szass Tam’s sake: they could have spoken in person! I probably performed much to expectations – that is, not sufficiently well to avoid putting myself in a vulnerable position. What is the relationship between those two? Why would she inform him of an artefact and potential influence to be gained instead of going after it herself, if it were genuine?

The whole affair makes much more sense if it is not – but, then, it could hardly be aimed at Metoth Zurn, as he would hardly go after it himself. Unless the artefact itself exists as a threat to him… There are too many unknowns at present.

It would make more sense still if it were all directed at me, but I have hardly done anything to mark myself for disposal – unless Anishta Daraam is oversensitive about perceived disrespect. Which she might well be, given that her blue eyes clearly mark her blood as impure. I can more easily understand why one of the others at the Skullport Enclave might wish to remove me: I would turn a wary eye myself on someone who had a personal audience with the head of my Academy, who then made a public showing of her prowess, asked for uncommon materials, and went on expedition. But the letter predates that. If, then, this is truly aimed at me, it must be orchestrated out of Thay. It would not have been too difficult to arrange. I must think more on the rivals I left behind me…

… Threat assessment: Taliesin Harper (23rd revision).

This man is taking up far too much of my precious thinking time. Nor do I expect the situation to resolve soon; almost every time I approach him with questions – of which I have many, after some of the things he said or implied during that unfortunate drinking session – he is otherwise occupied, obviously not disposed towards inquiry, or forestalls me by asking a flurry of his own questions. It’s not that I mind answering, since almost everything so far has either been obvious (are you homesick, then?) or utterly pointless (so why go back?) – it’s the time it takes. It would seem counter-productive to refuse to answer or to tell him to shut up so I can take a turn (and I can all-too-easily envisage the infuriating smirk that would answer me if I said anything so foolish). So, among other things, this revision marks yet another conversational weapon.

Well. He gave me a look with a distinct ‘I intend to castigate you later’ overtones after I confirmed my hypothesis about the drow and his relationship with Lloth. Possibly after such a conversation, if I can appear sufficiently contrite, I might have an opportunity to interrogate him. Such information, naturally, is unreliable – I know he is an accomplished liar – but anything is better than the mystery he currently presents.

He continues to spread his pernicious influence among the group. He already had Katy under reasonable control when we met; as noted in Shay’s last assessment, he appears to have made alarming inroads there as well. It is more difficult to judge his progress with the drow – not least because their conversations are almost invariably nauseating – but at the very least, he is more courteous with Harper, and seems more inclined to listen to him. He certainly places Harper as the leader of this disparate little group, when anyone with even a passing familiarity with my order should cast me in that role. In any case, it is probably safe enough to assume that when Harper makes the move for which he has been gathering so much support, the drow is likely to side with him.

He still has not displayed any magic beyond whatever it is that shields his mind. Furthermore, while he continues to grow stronger and swifter in combat, he has shown no unusual development at this point. However, he has grown sufficiently talented in stealth to successfully approach the drow undetected. This is of severe concern.

I know I have not verbally told him more than I wished to at any point, but I suspect that has not been enough. If I could survey his thoughts I could glean a more accurate assessment of what he has deduced about me and my capabilities, and I would feel a great deal safer. I know he is attempting to manoeuvre me into some position, but I do not know what that is, or what he wants. He remains one of the most dangerous threats I have encountered, and it seems that I still need him. I must be more cautious, and I must learn more.

… bitterness on the wind, less pungent that the acidic decay in the black water roiling around me. The Silent is unheard. Lashing tentacles, a host of mouths all over its body. The Thirsty is taking notes. One eye, larger than the mind can hold. The drow laughs. Eighteen. Teeth, black in black mouth in black water. Twenty-five thousand, two hundred and five point six. The Erratic vows vengeance for a hat. Tentacles snaking around my wrists, tearing my hands free. Blood in black water, laughter like ashes on the wind.

- Again this… dehanding… element surfaces. Two main connotations continue to occur to me. The Tyrran – although there is some confusion, since Tyr is represented with one missing hand, not two, and still called by the epithet ‘the Even-handed’. And, of course, it may also be emblematic of the loss of power, especially when it is my own hands. In any case, it has surfaced often enough to be of concern. Also a point worth noting: this dream marks the first in which all three of the recurring can be clearly identified, and the first in which the drow appears at all. This is disturbing on a number of levels.

Threat Assessment: The drow (4rd revision/6th including Garrod Drake’s entries)

New spell observed: Mass Healing Word. This is definitely indicative. As far as I can remember from my brief study of divine magic, this is solely the province of clerics. This raises three queries. 1) Do I recall correctly? Divine magic is not particularly interesting, and my notes on the subject are long ago destroyed. There might be other disciplines with access to the spell. 2) Did I observe correctly? It might have been some other spells with a similar effect, and I was not particularly close to him. 3) How did he cast it? Scrolls and other enchanted items are only the most obvious ways to cast a spell to which you would ordinarily have no access.

If, however, I do remember and did observe correctly that he cast Mass Healing Word, it strongly suggests that he might have some cleric training. This correlates moderately well with his obvious issues with spiders and his status as a male drow. Lloth despises males and does not permit them among her clergy. He must follow some other deity (as strange a thing that is to speculate about someone so obviously capable in his own right). I cannot seriously imagine him worshipping an idiot goddess of dancing naked in the moonlight, and Eilistraee is the only other member of the Dark Seldarine I recall at present. Of course, he might have chosen the god of some other pantheon entirely to fellate in exchange for power. Mask, perhaps? In any case, while this hypothesis seems sturdy enough to guide my actions, it demands further evidence.

I suspect the others do not truly understand just how dangerous he is. Like myself, he was born into a society of power-hungry individuals, his value only in his use to those above him in power or in what he carved out for himself. Temporary alliances bound for betrayal, an innately dangerous world around him, a certainty of death or something much less pleasant as punishment for mistakes. Like myself, he’s survived so far, which marks him as an individual of cunning, ambition, and cleverness. However, there is one crucial difference: I am a Red Wizard, and, as such, one of the ruling class of Thay. My enemies are, for the most part, roughly my equals in power. The drow, on the other hand, is a male – part of the lowest possible classes in his society, deliberately kept subjugated. He has therefore risen respectively further than I have, has probably maintained his position longer (given drow lifespans in comparison to human) and so, is better at this than I am.

He is also on his own territory here. His advantages cannot be overstated. I wish I had found a means and opportunity to speak to that drow who warned us not to ally, even temporarily, with our guide. I might have learned something of use.

The drow knows my order well enough, probably, to predict my actions – one reason why I decided to try a tactic borrowed from Harper and offer an apology for needling him about the spider corpses. It was not as difficult as I thought it would be, although still I disliked doing it. His reaction was also satisfying, if inconvenient. It is a distinct relief to speak to someone who sees the world as it is, and respects me sufficiently to assume that I have good reasons for what I do.

If the moment were right, I could disable him. At the very least. I occasionally entertain the image of Animating his corpse and forcing it through all sorts of indignities. Pleasant as the thought of the drow grovelling at my feet is, it would probably not be worth antagonising Shay or the chance someone would resurrect it.

The next page is encoded as a drawing of a rotting, kneeling drow.

#writing #d&d #dakoyone #codenamecynic #bettydice #alternative ethics #Khemuret Xul

7 notes · View notes

middlehollow · 5 years ago

Text

ALANA WALKER

❝ LEAN INTO WHATEVER CONSUMES YOU. ❞

DATE OF BIRTH: August 25th, 1998

AGE: twenty one

PLACE OF BIRTH: aurora, ontario

OCCUPATION: medical student

SPECIES: fae (changeling)

PRONOUNS: sher/her

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: bisexual

FAVOURITE SONG: so will i by ben platt

FACECLAIM: elle fanning

APPLYING FOR SOULMATE CONNECTION: I am open to it!

BIOGRAPHY/IN CHARACTER QUESTIONS

Alana Walker has honey blonde hair, bright blue eyes- and the etches of her father’s smile. Medical students never get quite enough sleep- and her body posture reflects that bone aching weariness, dark undereye circles thumbed in starkly against her pale complexion. Dove gray sweaters, dark slacks, and sensible hiking boots are her attire of choice. She’s quiet- but has a magnetism that draws the eye, a cold reserve about her that breaks away readily once engaged. It’s as if you’re being truly seen for the first time- or catching a glimpse of someone beneath a carefully curated facade of indifference.

Raised between two worlds: Alana spent the majority of her life split between meandering walks in the woods and curling up by the hearth with chunky textbooks. While she’s always been aware that she didn’t quite fit into the life that her father, James ‘Jay’ Walker, a retired professor and avid outdoorsman had envisioned for himself- Alana had thought it was because of a nasty divorce. She’d never imagined that her mother was inhuman- fae, even. The realization that she’d displaced someone else, taken the life and home that was rightfully theirs had been earth shattering. The grief and guilt from that has haunted her since.

question #1: “what was the biggest mistake you made while you were still alive?”

The sequence of events that led up to my death, right? Isn’t that going to be everyone’s answer? If it isn’t, there better be a good reason for it- a dramatic, cinematic, blockbuster sort of juicy reason. Life ruining, maybe. Otherwise, that’s just illogical- and I know how funny it sounds, to try to ascribe logic to emotion. Still.I guess I should stop dodging the question. If I had to single out one burning instance- it would be opening that front door, and walking out into the autumn night. I didn’t even get to celebrate my 21st birthday- my dad was going to break open a bottle of whiskey he’s kept on hand since I was a little girl, in anticipation of sharing it over cold glasses and a roaring fireplace. I thought it was going to be just another walk. I’d taken plenty of them before. I meant to come home. I really did- even if that’s not how they see it. How was I supposed to know it was going to be different? How could I have known?

question #2: “if you were forced to be stuck in one place around town, where would it be and why?”

Tout Museum- easily. I think everyone has a bucket list of artists’ works that they long to see in person- even if the security ropes keep you well cordoned off from ever stroking your fingers across the paint and canvas. I never quite got to check much of anything off of mine. I’d love to park a plein air easel in front of a Cassatt and try to emulate her brushwork, like how they learned in yesteryear. Marble sculptures posing in languor, relics and artifacts from long lost civilizations, Fauvist paintings exploding with colour like fireworks crackling across the night sky: there’s so much to sink your teeth into. There’s a million different stories just waiting to be ripped apart and devoured. What could be more intimate than that frisson of connection with someone thousands, millions of years in the past- of knowing that someone else saw the world through the same lens as you do?

question #3: “what is your greatest fear?

I don’t really think that I have one of those, not anymore. I suppose that’s how it goes, when you’ve already braved the absolute worst you could envision- and you’re still kicking. I’d always been afraid of not living up to my father’s expectations- that’s an easy enough conclusion to draw: single father, no maternal figure, he’s a professor- and I’m a high aspirations, Type A neurotic medical student. Is there any other kind? Thing is- you can’t be afraid of not living up to expectations, if it was never even possible for you to fulfill them to begin with. I already am a disappointment- was, had been. So what? Guess that makes me fearless? Doesn’t feel very much different, to be honest with you. Just a little empty. Numb, maybe. Could be shock- that sort of thing can take a while to settle in proper, come talk to me again in a month’s time: maybe my answer’ll change then. Until now: that’s the best I can do for you

question #4: “what type of person do you think you would end up with? why?”

Someone forgiving, hopefully. I’m an intense person- but the strength of those convictions can sometimes be difficult for others to stomach. I’d like to be able to come home at the end of the day- kick off my boots, shed academia like white lab coats in the laundry hamper, and slip in underneath the covers to someone who doesn’t want to pick my brain like sliding the flat of an oyster knife along the sulci and gyri. I get cross examined enough in lecture hall. I want someone who’s alright with silence, and settling into the long, dark night- without having to know the minute details to understand what I’m going through- someone I can say I need to be loved a little louder today to, and not have to plead with or justify why I’m deserving of that. Someone who’s loving, and accepting, even if they don’t know all of the details just yet- the kind of person who always has your back, is in your corner. Loyalty, and simplicity- not trying to solve all of my problems, trust me- I ruminate on them enough. Just someone who’s there, and solidly so. If I wanted an analytical, blow-for-blow rival, I could go out and grab any other medical student or resident by the collar. It’s a surprise to most- but I don’t want someone who lives in the academic grind day in and day out: it’s relentless and exhausting enough to have to go through it myself. I want someone who feels like home, you know? Someone you can trust with your heart, and all those silly little fears that seem so diminutive by daylight. Someone who loves art, and music, and poetry- and baking bread. The little things that medicine sets out to save, and that colour life in all of its little pleasures that make it worth it.

question #5: “you are given a magic lamp and three wishes that go with it. what would you wish for and why?”

That’s a ridiculous question. Really? I suppose there are stranger things than genies and wishes, but still. Frankly, the mind boggles at trying to encapsulate it all. I’m still coming to grips with my own heritage. Working off of the assumption that I can’t just take advantage and wish for infinite wishes, here… I suppose it’s not as if that really matters, though. The number of wishes. There’s only really one thing I’d like- even above being alive, which is kind of a cheap assumption that I’d guess more or less everyone around here would seize, given half a chance to. I’d want for- things to be set right. For me to have never taken her place to begin with- for him to have his daughter back. I love dad- but he’s not… He wasn’t meant to be my father. He’s hers. I don’t know who she is- but she deserves better than what happened- and he does, too. He deserves better. That’s all. An impractical answer for an impractical question- how’s about that?

question #6: “how did you die?”

It was stupid. It was shockingly stupid, actually- no one who knew me could’ve predicted it. It was an accident. It wasn’t something I could have foreseen coming- but I should’ve all the same: who runs outdoors into the woods in the dead of the night? I forgot to never take it for granted- that precarious truce, that humanity has with nature. It’s so easy to forget. All it takes is just a moment. I thought it’d just be a walk- I’d traced those same paths so many times before. It was like a second home, for me. How was I to have known? What was I supposed to do? I’m sure the papers chalked it up to some tragedy steeped in wasted potential, face down in the creek: too far gone by the time they found the body to accurately determine the cause of death. I fell, and broke my neck: the spinal column doesn’t tell lies. That much was clear. The motive was more muddled, though. Maybe they thought I was soused, or that I’d lost my footing accidentally. Did someone else have a hand in it? I don’t know if they ruled out foul play. I’m not quite sure that I could pinpoint down just the one cause for you myself- but I was clear headed when it comes to drink, and I don’t think that I would be so careless as to fall down on uneven ground of my own accord. I hope he didn’t find me- not like that. I know he would’ve gone looking for me. Dad wasn’t the type of guy to sit around on his hands, when there were things to be done. But it would be an ironic sort of inverse opening at the closing, wouldn’t it? To find a lost girl you thought was your own?

#alana #fae #MY GIRLLLL #bio #mhaccepted #town rp #supernatural rp

0 notes

solsarin · 3 years ago

Text

what percentage of brain cells do we use

Hello, welcome to solsarin site. We’re glad you chose our site for the information you’ve been looking at. Our goal is to educate and answer your questions in this post we want to find out” what percentage of brain cells do we use” Stay with us📷

How much of our brain do we use?

Studies have debunked the myth that humans use only 10 percent of their brain. According to a survey from 2013, around 65 percent of Americans believe that we only use 10 percent of our brain.But this is just a myth, according to an interview with neurologist Barry Gordon in Scientific American. He explained that the majority of the brain is almost always active.The 10 percent myth was also debunked in a study publishedTrusted Source in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.One common brain imaging technique, called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), can measure activity in the brain while a person is performing different tasks.Using this and similar methods, researchers show that most of our brain is in use most of the time, even when a person is performing a very simple action.A lot of the brain is even active when a person is resting or sleeping.The percentage of the brain in use at any given time varies from person to person. It also depends on what a person is doing or thinking about.

📷what percentage of brain cells do we use

Where does the 10 percent myth come from? It’s not clear how this myth began, but there are several possible sources.In an article published in a 1907 edition of the journal Science, psychologist and author William James argued that humans only use part of their mental resources. However, he did not specify a percentage.The figure was referenced in Dale Carnegie’s 1936 book How to Win Friends and Influence People. The myth was described as something the author’s college professor used to say.There is also a belief among scientistsTrusted Source that neurons make up around 10 percent of the brain’s cells. This may have contributed to the 10 percent myth.The myth has been repeated in articles, TV programs, and films, which helps to explain why it is so widely believed.

Improving brain function Like any other organ, the brain is affected by a person’s lifestyle, diet, and the amount that they exercise.To improve the health and function of the brain, a person can do the following things.Eat a balanced diet

Nuts are high in omega fatty acids and antioxidants, making them beneficial to brain health.

Eating well improves overall health and well-being. It also reduces the risk of developing health issues that may lead to dementia, including:

cardiovascular disease

midlife obesity

type 2 diabetes

The following foods promote brain health:

Fruits and vegetables with dark skins. Some are rich in vitamin E, such as spinach, broccoli, and blueberries. Others are rich in beta carotene, including red peppers and sweet potatoes. Vitamin E and beta carotene promote brain health.

Oily fish. These types of fish, such as salmon, mackerel, and tuna, are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which may support cognitive function.

Walnuts and pecans. They are rich in antioxidants, which promote brain health.

There is a selection of walnuts and pecans available for purchase online.

Exercise regularly

Regular exercise also reduces the risk of health problems that may lead to dementia.

Cardiovascular activities, such as walking briskly for 30 minutes a day, can be enough to reduce the risk of brain function declining.

Other accessible and inexpensive options include:

bike riding

jogging

📷what percentage of brain cells do we useswimming Keep the brain activeThe more a person uses their brain, the better their mental functions become. For this reason, brain training exercises are a good way to maintain overall brain health.A recent study conducted over 10 years found that people who used brain training exercises reduced the risk of dementia by 29 percent.The most effective training focused on increasing the brain’s speed and ability to process complex information quickly.

Alcohol and the brainLong-term alcoholism can lead to a number of health problems, including brain damage.It is not, however, as simple as saying that drinking alcohol kills brain cells — this is a myth. The reasons for this are complicated.If a woman drinks too much alcohol while pregnant, it can affect the brain development of the fetus, and even cause fetal alcohol syndrome.The brains of babies with this condition may be smaller and often contain fewer brain cells. This may lead to difficulties with learning and behavior.Subliminal messagesResearch suggestsTrusted Source that subliminal messages can provoke an emotional response in people unaware that they had received emotional stimulus. But can subliminal messages help a person to learn new things?A studyTrusted Source published in Nature Communications found that hearing recordings of vocabulary when sleeping could improve a person’s ability to remember the words. This was only the case in people who had already studied the vocabulary.Researchers noted that hearing information while asleep cannot help a person to learn new things. It may only improve recall of information learned earlier, while awake.Brain wrinklesThe human brain is covered in folds, commonly known as wrinkles. The dip in each fold is called the sulcus, and the raised part is called the gyrus.Some people believe that a new wrinkle is formed every time a person learns something. This is not the case.The brain starts to develop wrinkles before a person is born, and this process continues throughout childhood.The brain is constantly making new connections and breaking old ones, even in adulthood.

Brain facts Now that we have dispelled some commonly held myths, here are some facts about the brain.Energy useThe brain represents around 2 percent of a person’s weight but uses 20 percent of their oxygen and calories.HydrationFirst established in 1945, scientists estimate that the brain is around 73 percent water.Keeping the brain hydrated is important. Being dehydrated by as little as 2 percent may impair a person’s abilityTrusted Source to perform tasks that involve attention, memory, and motor skills.CholesterolCholesterol is a type of fat that people often consider bad for their health.It’s true that eating too much cholesterol is bad for the heart. However, many people are unaware that cholesterol plays a significant role in a person’s brain.Without cholesterol, the cells in the brain would not survive.Around 25 percent of the body’s cholesterol is contained within the brain cells.

Takeaway Because of the organ’s complexity, scientists are still learning about the brain.The notion that a person uses only 10 percent of their brain is a myth. fMRI scans show that even simple activities require almost all of the brain to be active.While there is still a lot to learn about the brain, researchers continue to fill in the gaps between fact and fiction.

Overview You can thank your brain for everything you feel and understand about yourself and the world. But how much do you truly know about the complex organ in your head?If you’re like most people, some of the things you think about your brain may not be true at all. Let’s explore some common beliefs about the brain to find out if they’re true.

1: Do you really use only 10 percent of your brain?The idea that we only use 10 percent of our brain is deeply entrenched in popular culture and often stated as fact in books and movies. A 2013 study found that 65 percent of Americans believe this to be true.It’s not entirely clear how it all started, but it’s more science fiction that fact.Sure, some parts of your brain are working harder than others at any given time. But 90 percent of your brain isn’t useless filler. Magnetic resonance imaging shows that most of the human brain is active most of the time. In the course of a day, you use just about every part of your brain.This doesn’t mean that you can’t improve your brain health. Your whole body is depending on your brain. Here’s how to give your brain the TLC it deserves:Eat wellA well-balanced diet improves overall health as well as brain health. Eating right reduces the risk of developing health conditions that can lead to dementia.Foods that promote brain health include:olive oil fruits and vegetables high in vitamin E, such as blueberries, broccoli, and spinach fruits and vegetables high in beta carotene, such as spinach, red peppers, and sweet potatoes foods rich in antioxidants, such as walnuts and pecans omega-3 fatty acids that can be found in fish, such as salmon, mackerel, and albacore tuna 📷what percentage of brain cells do we useExercise your bodyRegular physical activity helps reduce the risk of health problems that can cause dementia.Challenge your brainResearch indicates that activities like crossword puzzles, chess, and deep reading can lower your risk of memory problems. Even better is a mentally stimulating hobby that involves a social component, such as a book club.

2: Is it true that you get new brain “wrinkles” when you learn something?Not all brains are wrinkled. In fact, most animals have fairly smooth brains. Some exceptions are primates, dolphins, elephants, and pigs, which also happen to be some of the more intelligent animals.The human brain is exceptionally wrinkled. That’s probably why people conclude that we gain more wrinkles as we learn new things. But that’s not how we acquire brain wrinkles.Your brain starts developing wrinkles before you’re even born. The wrinkling continues as your brain grows, until you’re about 18 months old.Think of the wrinkles as folds. The crevices are called sulci and the raised areas are called gyri. The folds allow room for more gray matter inside your skull. It also decreases wiring length and improves overall cognitive functioning.Human brains vary quite a bit, but there’s still a typical pattern to brain folds. Research shows that not having the major folds in the right places could cause some dysfunction.

3: Can you really learn through subliminal messages?Various studies suggest that subliminal messages might be able to:provoke an emotional response affect perception of effort and whole-body endurance performance challenge age-related stereotypesTrusted Source and improve physical functioning motivate you to do things you probably wanted to do anyway Learning entirely new things is far more complicated.Say you’ve been studying a foreign language. There’s only a small chance that listening to vocabulary words in your sleep can help you remember them a bit better. A 2015 study found that this is true only under the best of circumstances. The researchers noted that you can’t learn new things during your sleep.On the other hand, sleep is crucial to brain function. Getting adequate sleep can help improve learning, memory, and problem-solving skills.Perhaps the boost to intellectual performance from sleep is the reason this myth endures. If you want to learn something new, your best bet is to tackle it head on rather than subliminally.

4: Is there such a thing as being left-brained or right-brained?Well, your brain definitely has a left side (left brain) and a right side (right brain). Each hemisphere controls certain functions and movement on the opposite side of your body.Beyond that, the left brain is more verbal. It’s analytical and orderly. It takes in the small details, and then puts them together to understand the whole picture. The left brain handles reading, writing, and calculations. Some call it the logical side of the brain.The right brain is more visual and deals in images more than words. It processes information in an intuitive and simultaneous manner. It takes in the big picture, and then looks at the details. Some say it’s the creative, artsy side of the brain.There’s a popular theory that people can be divided into left-brained or right-brained personalities based on one side being dominant. Left-brained people are said to be more logical, and right-brained people are said to be more creative.After a two-year analysisTrusted Source, a team of neuroscientists found no evidence to prove this theory. Brain scans showed that humans don’t favor one hemisphere over the other. It’s not likely that the network on one side of your brain is substantially stronger than the opposite side.As with most things relating to the human brain, it’s complicated. While each hemisphere has its strengths, they don’t work in isolation. Both sides contribute something to logical and creative thinking.

5: Does alcohol really kill your brain cells?

There’s no question that alcohol affects the brain in negative ways. It can impair brain function even in the short term. In the longer term, it can lead to serious brain damage. It doesn’t actually kill brain cells, though.Long-term heavy drinking can cause shrinking of the brain and result in deficiencies in white matter. This can lead to:slurred speech blurred vision balance and coordination problems slowed reaction times memory impairment, including blackouts Exactly how alcohol affects an individual’s brain depends on many factors, including:age gender how much and how often you drink, and how long you’ve been drinking general health status family history of substance abuse Alcoholics are prone to developing a brain disorder called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Symptoms include:mental confusion paralysis of nerves that control eye movement muscle coordination problems and difficulty walking chronic learning and memory problems Drinking during pregnancy can affect your baby’s developing brain, a condition known as fetal alcohol syndrome. Children with fetal alcohol syndrome tend to have smaller brain volume (microcephaly). They can also have fewer brain cells or normally functioning neurons. This can cause long-term behavioral and learning problems.Alcohol may interfere with the brain’s ability to grow new brain cells, which is another reason this myth may persist.

The bottom lineWhy is it so easy to believe these myths about the brain? There’s a grain of truth running through some of them. Others seep into our own brains through repetition, and we fail to question their validity.If you previously bought into some of these brain myths, take heart. You weren’t alone.As much as scientists know about the human brain, there’s a long way to go before we come close to fully understanding the mysterious organ that makes us human.Percentage “Percent” redirects here. For the Apink mini-album, see Percent (EP). “Per cent” redirects here. For the unit of currency, see cent (currency). 📷what percentage of brain cells do we use A pie chart showing the percentage by web browser visiting Wikimedia sites (April 2009 to 2012) In mathematics, a percentage (from Latin per centum “by a hundred”) is a number or ratio expressed as a fraction of 100. It is often denoted using the percent sign, “%”, although the abbreviations “pct.”, “pct” and sometimes “pc” are also used. A percentage is a dimensionless number (pure number); it has no unit of measurement.

0 notes

scootoaster · 5 years ago

Text

Did humans truly domesticate dogs? Canine history is more of a mystery than you think.

Dogs have a unique drive to bond, even with members of another species. Finnigan, the pet goldendoodle, is one of millions of examples in the US. (The Voorhes/)

A black-and-white Boston terrier named Chevy, as sleek and dapper as a seal in a tuxedo, trots crisply into the soundproof testing room. His jaunty confidence will fade quickly as a team of researchers subjects him to a series of psychological experiments that will daunt, dismay, and ultimately baffle him. Poor Chevy is about to be gaslit for the sake of science.

This spiffy little terrier is volunteer number one on day number one of an ambitious project launched by Harvard University evolutionary neuroscientist Erin Hecht to answer basic questions about what dogs do and why they do it. She plans to collect data on the psychology and behavior of hundreds of them across all breeds over many years: how easily they make friends, how well they behave, how they feel about vacuum cleaners. Four video cameras document Chevy’s reactions to an experimenter’s precisely scripted maneuvers. From a reception room next door, the rest of Hecht’s team watches through a one-way mirror.

After some preliminary scratches and pats, Harvard undergraduate Hanna McCuistion gives Chevy a few treats, then places the next one under a glass jar. He sniffs eagerly at it, then gazes beseechingly at her, cocking his head back and forth, turning up his dials to maximum cute. A classic move, Hecht explains: Faced with a difficult situation, a dog quickly turns to a human for help. After 20 seconds, McCuistion lifts the jar for him, and he gobbles up the snack.

A few more simple tests, then she ushers Chevy into a large wire cage and leaves him alone in the room. He fidgets and softly whimpers. Experimenter two, Stacy Jo, soon enters, but she turns away, facing the wall for a few long moments while Chevy stares fixedly at her back. Without making eye contact or speaking, she approaches his cage and sits precisely 1 foot in front of the door, eyes on his chest. Chevy stands stock-still, ears perked, trembling slightly. Nonscientifically speaking, this dog is completely weirded out. From the other side of the mirror, the scene is both agonizing and hilarious, like the world’s most awkward date. Heroically, Jo keeps a straight face.

The data from these tests—plus DNA samples—will ultimately give Hecht new hints about what changed in dogs after their wild leap into tameness. Biologically, they are almost all wolf; technically, they’re the subspecies Canis lupus familiaris, but they are fundamentally different from their forebears. You can hand-raise a wild animal to be tame, and that individual might be gentle and mild-mannered. But domestication is a different story. For dogs and other animals who live with us, tolerance and trust are engraved in their genes and in their brains.

Hecht’s study is a way to get insight into the broader subject of how neural matter evolves under strong environmental pressures—in this case, the very peculiar circumstances of living with, depending on, and loving another species. “I’m interested in dogs, both for the sake of dogs, and for what we can learn about humans,” she says. “But more generally, dogs are a great way to understand basic processes about how brains evolve.”

She is among a wave of investigators puzzling out exactly how these furballs got to be our face-licking, tail-wagging, number-one fans. We prefer to think that humans wrote the story of domestication: Some galaxy-brain hunter-gatherer kidnapped a wolf puppy, then shaped a new species as a prey-sniffing partner, watchdog, and companion. But increasingly, most researchers think that dogs were the original authors of this tale. Long ago, some wolves hitched their destiny to ours, launching an extraordinary love affair that forever entangled both our fates.

Though archaeology can help us pin down the when and where of dog domestication (current thinking is that it happened at least 15,000 years ago in Europe, Asia, or both), bones are mostly silent on the how and the why of this story. By studying other canids like foxes and wolves, and by analyzing dog genes, behavior, and brains—their sweet, friendly, trusting brains—researchers are developing new ideas about how the big bad wolf became the dear little dog. Some argue that their social intelligence is what makes them extraordinary; others point to their devotion, that deep soulful craving for humans.

As the first domesticated species, dogs are also a model for how other mammals—including us—got that way. Scientists see in their genes and minds hints about our own unusually tolerant nature. During much of the human journey from just another primate to world-conquering hominid, our four-legged pals have been right by our side. They are our familiar, our echo, our shadow, and as we now look more closely into their eyes, we can glimpse a new image of ourselves.

Dogs just <i>get</i> us, without any teaching, looking to us to help solve their problems. (The Voorhes/)

One night in 2011, Hecht and her miniature Australian shepherd, Lefty, were on the couch watching TV when a show came on about the legendary Belyaev foxes. Dmitry Belyaev was a Soviet geneticist in the early 1950s, a time when Moscow suppressed genetic research as a product of the imperialist West.

Unable to study his chosen field openly, Belyaev hit upon an ingenious plan. He could experimentally tame foxes raised for their coats. Since animals kept by humans tend to reproduce more frequently, officially he’d be accelerating Soviet fur production. But the project would sneak in some science. His theory was that just by breeding for tameness, what’s now called the “domestication syndrome” would emerge: more-juvenile behavior, and physical changes like white splotches on the belly and face, floppy ears, shorter snouts, and smaller teeth.

The research got going in earnest in 1959 in Siberia. Belyaev’s partners selected animals that were simultaneously less fearful and less aggressive (these traits typically go hand in hand), then crossed them. Just four generations later, in 1963, when collaborator Lyudmila Trut approached a fox cage, one of the kits wagged its tail at her. By 1965, a few juveniles were rolling on their backs and whimpering for attention, just like puppies. The researchers also kept a population of randomly bred control animals, and later, a strain of extremely fearful, combative ones. This landmark study continues to this day.

Hecht already knew this history. But the show sparked a realization: Nobody had analyzed the foxes’ brains. Usually, humans breed goats or sheep or other domesticated animals for many traits, including temperament, size, and coat color, all of which might leave inadvertent marks on the mind. But differences between tame and regular fox noggins could be due only to selection on behavior—what Belyaev and Trut did. They’d stand out like a beacon, illuminating exactly which circuits or new neurochemistry turned a cringing, snarling little vixen into a sweetie. And they’d point the way to a deeper understanding of how evolution can remold a mind.

“On the one hand, there’s the basic question of how brains evolve,” Hecht says. “And the more specific question, which is: What are the neural correlates of domestication? Surprisingly, we don’t know.” At least not yet.

Whatever she found could also provide insight into a few emerging theories. One, articulated in 2005 by anthropologist Brian Hare and psychologist Michael Tomasello, proposes that back in the day, some unusually plucky wolves began hanging around humans to scrounge for scraps, giving rise to a less timid subpopulation. Without fear holding them back, these proto-pooches could repurpose their existing social skills to understand and communicate with us. They self-domesticated. That’s the essence of a dog, Hare and Tomasello argue: reduced fearfulness enabling advanced social cognition, that uncanny ability to read our minds. They called the idea “the domestication hypothesis.”

The proof is that pups just get us, without any teaching. Chimpanzees, for instance, struggle to follow a pointing gesture, but most mutts understand it right away. That thing Chevy did—looking to McCuistion to solve his problem—is another example. He intuitively knew how to ask for help.

In the sulci and peduncles of fox brains, Hecht might see signs of whether this theory or others hit the mark. She emailed Trut, who sent a few dozen specimens from recent generations of the Russian foxes, and used MRI to measure the relative size and shape of various structures in their brains.

Hecht saw changes in the parts of the limbic system and prefrontal cortex involved in emotions and social behavior. These data could support the “domestication hypothesis” but don’t rule out other competing ideas either. This initial finding mostly confirms that the brain regions you’d expect to be different are, in fact, different. So, for a finer-grained picture, Harvard postdoc Christina Rogers Flattery is adding another dimension to the analysis, shaving the fox brains into tissue-thin slices and staining them with a dye that reveals their neurochemistry. She’s looking at the pathways of neurons that make the neurohormone vasopressin and at a serotonin subsystem, both of which are linked to aggression. She’s also investigating cells that make oxytocin, which promotes social bonding. There are many possible neural modifications that could lead to tame behavior, such as the boosting of circuits involved in social bonding, or the tamping down of systems that trigger violent attacks. By weaving together Flattery’s investigation with brain scanning, plus genetic insights from a third collaborator, geneticist Anna Kukekova at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the group might identify a Grand Unified Brain Theory of Tameness—or at least its neural-circuit diagram.

To gain the trust of humans, dogs may have learned to become experts at conflict management over time. (The Voorhes/)

As Chevy responds to his prompts, he’s representing not just himself, but also his breed. While we all have the sense that pit bulls and Pekingese and Irish wolfhounds have distinct personalities and skills, Hecht hopes to pin down those differences. It’s yet another way to explore how selective pressure—in this case, kennel-club propagation—shapes a brain. In a recent paper, Hecht analyzed MRI scans from 33 breeds, finding that, for instance, a Weimaraner’s noggin has extra terrain devoted to visual processing, and that of a basset hound is primed to analyze smells.

In that same paper, Hecht also looked at a Boston terrier’s brain, which was loaded up with networks related to social activity. Chevy seems to be no exception. Tests all done and DNA sample collected, he bursts into the waiting room, zipping around to greet each person individually, a tiny whirlwind of bliss and joy.

As the little guy gazes into each human’s eyes, little bursts of oxytocin likely erupt in his brain (and in each of our heads as well), findings from a 2015 study suggest. The hormone promotes bonding, which might be why canines are so good as therapy or emotional-support animals for people who have survived trauma.

This swirl of friend-making ecstasy has inspired a rival origin theory that focuses on feelings rather than cognition: “their hearts, not their smarts,” in the words of Clive Wynne, behavioral scientist at Arizona State University. With collaborators Nicole Dorey and Monique Udell at the University of Florida and Oregon State University, respectively, Wynne proposes that the essence of dog identity has to do with emotional connections—love, to use a word rare in science. “It’s kind of obvious, in a sense,” Wynne says. “They’re amazingly affectionate. It’s just been avoided, in part, because it doesn’t sound serious enough to be a topic of investigation.”

The researchers happened upon this line of inquiry in 2008, when they set out to establish further proof for the “domestication hypothesis.” But their head-to-head study of dogs and wolves found quite the opposite. Well-socialized wolves from a research institute in Indiana easily followed human pointing gestures, while some shelter dogs who’d had little contact with people did not. (Later studies showed that coyotes and even some hand-reared bats can do it too.)

Another surprise came from a simple test measuring the amount of time each canid hangs around a familiar person. Dogs stick close; wolves—even friendly hand-raised ones—don’t. Dogs, they reasoned, have a unique drive to bond, even with members of another species. Every pup is born with the capacity, including some 750 million stray “village dogs” worldwide. Incidentally, that ability to form interspecies bonds also explains why livestock breeds can be so vigilant guarding sheep or ducks.

More recently, Princeton University evolutionary biologist Bridgett vonHoldt discovered what might be the root of this affection. In the DNA of dogs, she and her team found a marker of evolutionary pressure on chromosome 6. In humans, equivalent mutations cause Williams-Beuren syndrome, a developmental disorder that leads to indiscriminate friendliness, or hypersociability. “I like to think that, in a very positive, adoring fashion, maybe dogs have the canine version of the syndrome,” she says. Here too the change initially arose in them, rather than through something we humans intentionally did.

Exactly how a few gene changes could transform a canid or a human into everyone’s BFF is unclear, and for unknown reasons, the tendency is stronger in some dogs—cough, Labrador retrievers—than others. In one of Hecht’s tests, known as the “empathy task,” experimenter McCuistion pretends to smash her thumb with a hammer, yelping as if in pain. Some animal subjects leap into the person’s lap, licking the faux wound. Chevy pretty much ignores her.

Nonetheless, studies of different kinds of canines raised under identical conditions hint that neither hypersociability nor social-cognition theories like the “domestication hypothesis” answer every question. Starting a decade ago, teams at the Stockholm University and the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna’s Wolf Science Center began raising groups of dogs and wolves in the lab. In their first months, both sets of puppies are with people 24 hours a day; after that, the animals live in packs with extensive human companionship.

These experiments indicate that dogs aren’t just wolves with better social skills. For one thing, hand-raised wolves are quite affable; they happily greet their caretakers and will go for walks on a lead. In 2020, the Stockholm team noted, to their surprise, that a few of their puppies intuitively comprehend “fetch” gestures, just like dogs do.

In fact, research out of the Wolf Science Center has found that in some situations, these wild animals are actually more tolerant than dogs: Given food to share, dogs keep their distance from one another. Wolves bicker and snarl at first, then eat peacefully side by side. In one study, pairs of wolves or dogs must cooperate to retrieve a piece of meat; wolves work together effectively, but dogs were “abysmally bad,” says investigator Sarah Marshall-Pescini. When she tested wolf-human and dog-human cooperation partners, the pattern became clearer. Wolves aren’t afraid to take the lead, while dogs hang back and wait for a human to make the first move.

These unexpected findings led Marshall-Pescini toward yet a third theory of self-domestication: Maybe the shift wasn’t a new social skill or expression of love, but rather a novel conflict-management strategy. Humans probably would’ve killed bold, assertive wolves as a threat. But they might have tolerated deferential, avoidant proto-dogs skulking around the camp, hoping for a handout. (Aggressive varieties are probably a recent phenomenon, the result of dog fanciers in the 18th and 19th centuries who created nearly all modern breeds.)

Her group is looking at village dogs to understand more about canine social structure and how they respond to humans. Compared with our pets, these free-ranging animals are probably far more similar to the early dogs that were their long-ago ancestors—some friendly, some shy, all of them in an uneasy, ambivalent relationship with the hairless apes they rely on to survive.

Lurking around the edges of this research, like some wolf sneaking beyond the campfire, is the idea that we too may have domesticated ourselves. That’s one reason Hecht hopes to find a signature of tameness; if she does, she can look for the same pattern in the brains of house cats as compared with wild ones, and in our gray matter in contrast to apes. Anthropologist Hare’s version of this account of human origins, “survival of the friendliest,” posits that just like dogs, we became more trusting and tolerant of one another in our long-ago past, which in turn allowed us to develop superskills in communication—language is one obvious example.

The notion of human self-domestication has bumped around at least since Darwin’s time, but today there’s actually evidence, points out primatologist Richard Wrangham of Harvard’s Department of Human Evolutionary Biology. In addition to our unusual (for primates) tolerance of strangers and our long adolescence, we show some of the physical traits associated with domestication syndrome. Compared with our hominid relatives, we have shortened faces and smaller teeth. In 2014, Wrangham and collaborators even proposed a possible biological mechanism in neural crest cells, which help shape many of those body parts during embryonic development. The implication, as implausible as it might seem in these times, is that our species evolved to get along peaceably with one another.

In December 2019, a European group found that the gene BAZ1B, located in the Williams-Beuren region, influences facial shape by directing such cells. It could explain part of the human self-domestication story, Wrangham says.

Back in Hecht’s lab, a new volunteer named Coda runs through his tests. (Coincidentally, he’s also a Boston terrier.) For one task, McCuistion places a treat on the floor, says, “No! Don’t take it!” and then closes her eyes. Dogs know what eyes closed means, so at this point, most snatch the treat. Not Coda. As his owner points out, he’s always a very good boy. He sneaks a look at it, licks his lips, then stares glumly into space, waiting, deferring, and avoiding conflict, as is his dogly destiny.

Over on the other side of the one-way mirror, the humans are entirely absorbed in this drama. “Goooood boy,” someone says. Even after McCuistion finally gives him permission to eat the snack, he still stands there looking sadly at her. A chorus erupts in the waiting room: “C’mon, Coda, take it!” We can all see his desire, feel his restraint. It’s enough to make you wonder who, exactly, evolved to read whose mind.

To look upon a dog, even through a one-way mirror, is to look upon our own species as well—what it takes to live in harmony, to understand one another, to replace fear and aggression with love and loyalty. Perhaps that is why dogs are so thoroughly delightful. They are a living reminder of a better version of ourselves. His afternoon of psychological prodding over, Coda takes the treat and shakes himself. His owner comes into the room, and he leaps up onto her lap, panting happily, staring deep into her eyes as she looks directly into his.

This story appears in the Spring 2020, Origins issue of Popular Science.

0 notes

colorspilling-blog · 7 years ago

Text

Evolution

The world is factually beautiful. Colors. Rainbows. Lights. You’ll know in a bit. We are so similar to everything around us because we’re around them, but we are so unique and special zoomed in. Yes, we have to try and uniformly be a color in the whole gradient of the world, where Cultures are colors. We’re so similar to those around us, but also too different when you zoom in@@@ It’s a bout relativity when you think about it. Like, Scotland, Ireland, and England are all so different and culturally diverse, as we know in how much pride we get in that, but at the end of the day, they’re pretty fucking similar from someone looking at it from even America, though I suppose other countries must think. Though we were dips hits and because we invaded everywhere and force fed our bullcrap down their throats while not thinking they had their own color. ANYWAYS. IN AN IDEAL WORLD where europeans haven’t been dickwads, we’re the color of skin crayon still on the crayon. That unsettling non-alive-but-dinstinctly-flesh look. But like, to us it looks like skin because we can see the differentiation because we grew up knowing to look for that. We need to think of other places as their own vibrant, interesting, deep colors. Like, let’s help others, but only if they want it. They being the people, the majority. Not the gross crayon color that is projected. You can’t fix a mistake you drew with an orange crayon with a green crayon. If you truly want it fixed, you have to use the orange crayon. And these colors blend into other places nearby. So while we just see the “green” or “blue” area, the particles in that area are aqua and turquoise and teal and navy and Kelly and forest and etc. etc. etc. So how zoomed in do we get? At what point are WE the wrong color? And how much variation is good?

And then it’s a problem because you get into morals. Like, at what point does “They’re cannibals” become okay? If they’re all on board with it, if they only eat someone who volunteers truly and absolutely, is that okay? And what rules have to be enforced then to make sure everyone is absolutely okay with everything happening? And then doesn’t that take away the weird primal urge to do it? When you’re overthinking it, that just goes away because WHY. I guess if that’s who you truly are, and are a good person, good on you?? Like, what if someone donated their muscle mass, what we don’t use for scientific stuff, and gave it to cannibals to eat, like an organ donor? This then gets into the fact that eating human flesh does actually make your brain go wonky and terrible, but there’s no way to draw the line at an exact point. One thing isn’t THAT much worse than the other but eventually you’re justifying something that is fucking absurd and horrendous. And why do I know that? Because most people who do that aren’t getting the consent of everyone involved! Anyways. Colors. That’s a thing.

So how do these lights and organization play into it? Let me tell you. I was listening to Les Mis and loving on it, and then looking at my rainbow lights. And my bf lovingly put it up in the wrong order thinking he was doing it correct, but it isn’t a gradient now. And like, clearly each ball of color is a different color. One next to the other is totally different. But put it on a gradient and you can see how they start to smooth together. But can he just not see the gradient that I can do it? And how many people can see differentiations way beyond what I can? That’s what people get so touchy with color names! If we have words for them, if we have to distinguish on a smaller scale, we can see the difference. But if you don’t have the words for it? If it doesn’t fit your brain grooves, if it hasn’t made a river in your BRAIN (wow this is getting weird guys, like a personality trait is like a river on your brain and like, evolution man. At some point “walking on land” became a groove river and just now IS like the Grand Canyon, aint no one taking that away from us, that’s a sulci. But some are just like, maybe suggestions that have worn into our brain. (I know this isn’t real, I studied neuropsych I know how brains work this is just metaphorical) Anyways now personality traits are rivers and like, the ones you branch off from are clearly helping you and feeding into how strong you get #layers) colors. Back to colors. If we zoom out like, we’re all just fucking one same thing right? We’re all humans. But like, we’re also all animals, but some of us are different. Like, it’s cool as hell we’re all different. Be fucking different. Appreciate that difference. That’s neat as shit. Now the world is blending into a more personality based culture than a location based culture. It’s so important to remember and preserve the location based ones, cuz those are HISTORY and interesting as hell and can be taken forward (and here’s a branch of people who love history have to develop!!!) and then those factions within those factions of knowledge and just everything is impossible to do! So you gotta chose one and just trust that everyone else is doing their part. Until you have to grow again. It’s just the same thing in different format. We used to grow in oral traditions, and print made that stiffer to translate, so people became stiffer, then out of that we grew this beautiful dada bloom of online bullfuckery to push that HUMANITY back, back like Ancient Greece. But now we’re expanding into this virtual world where everyone can know everyone, but we haven’t set down rules and regulations here, so people are just LETTING GO. Which is NOT good. It’s getting better, but it’s not about just the voice of what you read, we’ve stopped attaching actual PEOPLE to this. Everyone you lash out at has so much difference in their knowledge and color (see where I’m tying this in?) that we’re trying to police this totally different way of life and just fucking letting asshats in our own color (now my white ass culture is red cuz aggression, It’s like a jolly rancher glowing. It’s bullshit because other flavors are good too! Anyways this is getting into flavor. What I’m saying is that we’re too focused on trying to make people like US, we’re letting the people who are like us that are bad go free.

Anyways, this started out positive. Just thinking that positivity is what you see out of the world? In a hurricane, there’s this disaster and people are suffering. a. Can you do something about it? Once you have b. What else can you do? At that point whatever happens only affects YOU now. So take care of that so you have the strength and emotional fortitude to help whoever needs help next. In that rest time, think of the good things that happened in a situation. Hurricanes show bravery, and people being kind. Those reaching out to help. We need to value this MORE. We need to show people that THAT is how you aid someone, less of “xyz did something minutely terrible and has since made up for it” Let’s value KINDNESS. Dramatic and trying things can have a good ending. Let’s mourn the bad ones and then move forward. How do we prevent that from happening again? How do we make sure everyone is taken care of? And at what point does our worrying become more toxic than it is helpful? And this is just my neurosis kicking in and no one actually cares to the point I should just let it the fuck go? And then I debated of the word neurosis. Was that the correct word? Was that going to a. Be made fun of if I ever saw it. And b. Wouldn’t looking up a word’s exact definition be counter productive of the ride of me becoming high and writing things down? Just letting it flow? And what would have happened to me back in the day when we couldn’t look up what it meant? That’s why grammar used to not matter because it wasn’t accessible to everyone. So it developed. That’s why different slangs become different languages. That’s how things develop. That’s how languages and prejudices develop. Who gives a shit about what someone talks like? That’s just a different language in a way. But at the same time, when you see people talking the same way and they’re becoming a group that likes each other, and they start rebelling against the bigger group, THEY get hated one because they’re not conforming. They’re making a new unique color that allows us to see a smaller faction. And then at what point is there just not enough space on this planet to hold enough factions of personalities? Each and every individual has to have some variance, right? So we have to start to try and balance out. We have to rely on others with similarities. We have to conform to others for love and support. But we still want to be unique and interesting.W e have to be red, but we can be ruby or Scarlett or whatever. And maybe if you’re born in the wrong color, fucking move. leave. Find your color. If you’re different you shouldn’t suffer because you’re different, you should go to somewhere that loves you because you’re that way. But then those color congregate together and eventually look the SAME so someone has to “branch out” and rebel and these little things are getting so smaller and smaller and each group is less people until it finally just tears one human apart having so many conflicting distinct bits. So we have to be boring and BE something. One individual thing. But one thing that has to be with other things. And how much of their color do you adapt to be comfortable? And how much of your color do you give to comfortable? And do they want it? is that what a relationship is? Sharing colors. Two people either make a pattern, or a blend. You have a marble of two complimentary colors, and maybe they’re Kelly green and forest green. They’re this beautiful detail work of each individual’s personality but when they’re zoomed out, it’s just green. They look the same. They’re similar. You’re always going to be so different to someone, and if you want to get on with hem, you have to find a pattern. Others you can blend with, one part of you blending into the other. Different kind of relationships define where the boundaries are. Ombre vs. pattern. They’re both beautiful in different ways, and evoke a totally different emotion, but they’re both amazing. I can like one more than the other, but that doesn’t give the other thing a lesser value. Just my preference. Enough people have to agree, and that’s supply and demand. But then someone is going to like the lesser preferred thing and bring it back. It’s just going with the waves. What part of the color pattern are you in in your time? Are you ahead? Are you behind? All of them are fine and help out in a way. And then expanding into the value of preserving and eventually things fail and that’s OKAY. Things go away. You have to move on. But don’t shove those things away, let it go gently.

Ow my brain hurts.

If I can’t find my own color, I will either drown or I will become someone else. I need to know who I am to know how to work with people. How hard do you dive into yourself before you’re selfish? How can I catch up when I’m already so behind? I’m so young when it comes to emotions and figuring out what my own color is. I don’t want to be swallowed up by the vast (pastel pea green btw) nothingness I’m trying to fill. I want to appreciate others but how do I know I’m not giving them more than I should? And then how will I know when to stop? When I’m as mature as I should be and I shouldn’t shut down and try and be older than I am. That’s why the internet sucks. We don’t see people’s developmental age. We are so angry with others because we assume that they see what we see. That they know what we know. They don’t! They’re not your neighbor down the block most of the time. They have a VASTLY different experience and background. And some of it is bad!!!! Just like yours!!! And you grew and let’s STOP holding thirteen year olds on the internet accountable for the emotional maturity of 30 year olds! But HOW do we know what to expect on the internet? I can’t look at someone and be like “Oh, okay, this person is 10 and probably won’t have learned this yet” or “You’re fucking 50 and you still don’t know this about others that’s ridiculous” but then we have this differential of base knowledge too!! Like someone growing up in Thailand is going to have a very different core base of knowledge than others. So like, legends of this beast, but what if they’re just stories of Pangea? Like, if crocs had this mythology around them but they’re fucking REAL yikes! But they’ve developed in this oral story tradition and now they’re the Loch Ness monster or w/e and people are holding assumptions because of this myth, and it grew because telling stories always changes them!!! That’s super cool and that’s how people become legends, but know that the farther you are from someone in the way you’re talking to them, the less likely it’s going to be accurate. And then things evolve.

#colors #this one was a hardcore moral anxiety one #technology #high #weed #synesthesia #I'm white

0 notes

djgblogger-blog · 7 years ago

Text

Concussions and CTE: More complicated than even the experts know

http://bit.ly/2vK7M6M

youtube

Youngsters leave a football field in 2015 after playing at halftime at a game between the Buffalo Bills and the Carolina Panthers. AP Photo/Bill Wippert

For many, American football is a beautiful game that is simple to enjoy but complex to master. Choreographed with a mixture of artistry and brutality, it features the occasional “big hit” or bone-jarring tackle, forcing a fumble and turning the tide of the game.

But with this part of football comes justified concern about the long-term health effects of engaging in this type of activity over time, concerns that abound in practically every high-impact contact sport. It is possible that effects of continued involvement may accumulate quietly in the background until they show themselves, later in life.

A recent study appeared to give a “big hit” to the game of football itself, with findings that nearly all the brains of 111 deceased NFL players studied showed signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.

At the University of Florida, our interdisciplinary team has studied brain injuries in athletes, military veterans and civilians for many years. Regarding sports concussion, there are many gaps in our knowledge and many associated issues to consider as we develop ways to keep our athletes, both young and old, safe.

The concussion ‘explosion’

Concussions result from mechanical impact to the brain that produces transient changes in awareness or consciousness and a range of other symptoms. A 2016 study reported that between 1.1 million and 1.9 million concussions occur each year in children.

Although diagnosed concussions have been the primary focus, they are not the only, or maybe even the main, problem. There is also rising concern about subconcussive impacts, repetitive blows that may not be severe enough to cause clinical symptoms. There may be hundreds of subconcussive impacts per player, per year.

In response to widespread concern, organized sports organizations from Pop Warner to the NCAA to professional levels have developed and implemented concussion management protocols to help in the identification and management of concussions.

Yet the massive attention given to concussion management and prevention has produced a level of public pseudo-awareness about CTE that currently outstrips what is scientifically known about the disorder.

Missing links and gaps in knowledge

Several scientific studies have linked repetitive brain trauma to CTE.

CTE is a “tauopathy” in which the normally occurring protein tau becomes misfolded and accumulates at the depths of the folds (sulci) of the brain, in regions that may also be susceptible to mechanical forces during head impacts. The abnormal accumulation of the tau protein gives rise to a cascade of brain pathology that leads to cognitive impairment, neuropsychiatric problems (depression, anxiety, aggression, reduced impulse control), functional decline and, eventually, death.

Researchers are trying to find the best helmet to prevent concussions, just as doctors are studying the best way to treat them. Steve Cukrov/Shutterstock.com

The study published July 25 that showed CTE in 110 of 111 deceased, former NFL players reflected a startling 99 percent prevalence rate.

The results were reported by news outlets across the world, leading many people to think that CTE is an all but inevitable outcome of playing football or other sports.

But is it? And most importantly for parents, coaches and fans, what is the actual risk to my kids, my players and my team?

The answers to these questions are not yet known, though the risk to the individual player is very likely to be considerably less than would be suggested by available research findings.

Two important facts should be considered.

First, studies of CTE have all been conducted on small samples of brains delivered to CTE research centers by families of former players who have had concern about post-retirement cognitive, psychiatric or behavioral problems and symptoms.

The likelihood of finding brain pathology in these brains of symptomatic players is high, but these results cannot be generalized to all former football players, many of whom are living healthy lives in retirement.

Second, no study has evaluated even a single living player to determine whether he or she exhibits the cognitive, psychiatric or behavioral signs of CTE and then followed that person to autopsy to verify that CTE-associated pathology actually exists in their brains.

So, we do not know the actual prevalence of CTE in the general population of players, though it is assuredly much lower than those quoted by studies of symptomatic players.

Why do some get CTE and others do not?

We also don’t know much about who develops CTE and who doesn’t. There are over 10,000 living NFL retirees, yet the entire science of CTE is based on samples of less than a few hundred former NFL players and a handful of athletes from other sports. This means that some of those exposed to the risk of repetitive head impacts develop CTE, but most do not.

There are several factors that may contribute to the development of brain dysfunction and disease, including:

medical or genetic risk factors

medical and psychiatric problems such as depression, anxiety, sleep disorders and abuse of prescription medications or other drugs and substances

reduced educational attainment or literacy, or socioeconomic deprivation

In addition, some athletes have poor adjustments to retirement, leading to psycho-social and psychiatric maladjustment, marital or financial difficulties, substance abuse and other behavioral problems.

Repetitive head impacts may heighten risk of CTE, but other factors are undoubtedly involved in determining whether risk becomes reality. Reducing risk of CTE will involve targeting and treating these other factors as well.

What parents, coaches and athletes need to know

We need to take seriously the possible health consequences of prolonged exposure to repetitive head impacts and concussions.

That said, parental decisions to remove children from contact sports should be weighed against the many proven positive aspects of participation in team sports. Decisions should not be based on inflated risk assessment. Several studies have shown that recreational or scholastic athletic participation in youth conveys no significant added risk to brain health later in life.

Still, the developing brain may be more susceptible to injury and may take longer to recover. Knowledge of the individual player and his or her response to injury should guide parents, coaches and athletes in decision-making. Some youth are more injury-prone than others, and some have other conditions (e.g., ADHD, learning disability) that may affect how they react to head impact. When all factors are considered, the strongest predictor of recovery is the severity of initial symptoms.

All states now have legislation requiring public schools to have a concussion program in place. Parents should ask their school or athletic organization what their policies are regarding concussion management.

While helmet manufacturers are developing helmets that might provide greater protection, there is not enough evidence to recommend one over another. We do know, however, that appropriate fitting of helmets and protective gear is necessary to get the full protective benefit.

Some measures to reduce possible exposure and risk have been implemented. The Dartmouth University football program has significantly reduced contact practices for its football team. Other Ivy League teams and organizations have followed suit. The NCAA has recently recommended the elimination of two-a-day practices and restricted the number of contact practices allowed in football.

Physicians and athletic trainers at the University of Florida are using data from helmet sensors originally designed to help detect concussions to inform coaching staff on which specific practice drills and pad configurations may incur higher risk so that such drills can be adjusted.

Ongoing research for this important issue is focused on developing techniques for accurate diagnosis while an individual is alive and understanding the exact pathophysiology that might inform future disease-modifying treatment, in addition to our current treatments aimed at reduction of symptoms.

For those athletes who choose to continue the sports they love, we hope for continued innovations and policies that make their participation as safe as possible.

Russell Bauer receives funding from the Veterans' Administration and from the National Center for the Advancement of Translational Science (NIH/NCATS).

Michael S. Jaffee, M.D. previously served as National Director of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center

0 notes

solsarin · 3 years ago

Text

how many percentage of brain did einstein use

Hello, welcome to solsarin site. We’re glad you chose our site for the information you’ve been looking at. Our goal is to educate and answer your questions in this post we want to find out” ow many percentage of brain did einstein useh” Stay with us📷

Where does the myth originate?

No-one knows for sure. A popular theory has it that the journalist Lowell Thomas helped spread the myth in his preface to Dale Carnegie’s block-buster self-help book How to Win Friends and Influence People. Thomas misquoted the brilliant American psychologist William James as saying that the average person specifically “develops only 10 percent of his latent mental ability.” In fact James had referred more vaguely to our “latent mental energy.” Others have claimed that Einstein attributed his intellectual giftedness to being able to use more than 10 percent of his brain, but this is itself a myth. Another possible source of the 10 percent myth is neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield’s discovery in the 1930s of “silent cortex” – brain areas that appeared to have no function when he stimulated them with electricity. We know today that these areas are functional.

Is Lucy the first movie to use the 10 percent myth as a premise?

No, the 2011 movie Limitless, starring Bradley Cooper was based on the same idea, except the precise figure was placed at 20 percent. Cooper’s character takes a pill that lets him access the full 100 percent. Both the 1991 film Defending Your Life (thanks to A Voice in The Wilderness for flagging this up in the comments) and Flight of the Navigator (1986) include claims that most of us use a fraction of our brains. The myth is also invoked in the TV series Heroes, to explain why some people have special powers.

Does anyone really believe this myth anymore?

Apparently so. For example, in 2012, a survey of school teachers in Britain and The Netherlands found that 48 per cent and 46 per cent, respectively, endorsed the myth. Last year, a US survey by the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research found that 65 percent of people believed in the myth.

Is there any truth to the myth?

Certainly there is no truth to the idea that we only use 10 percent of our neural matter. Modern brain scans show activity coursing through the entire organ, even when we’re resting. Minor brain damage can have devastating effects – not what you’d expect if we had 90 percent spare capacity. Also, consider the situation when neural tissue representing a limb is rendered redundant by the loss of that limb. Very quickly, neighbouring areas recruit that tissue into new functions, for example to represent other body regions. This shows how readily the brain utilises all available neural tissue.

So why does the myth persist?

For many people, the 10 percent myth sounds both feasible and appealing because they see it in terms of human potential. Many of us believe that we could achieve so much more – learning languages, musical instruments, sporting skills – if only we applied ourselves. It’s easy to see how this morphs into the shorthand idea that we use just 10 percent of our brain’s capacity or potential.

Does it matter that films like Lucy spread the 10 percent myth?

It certainly bothers a lot of neuroscientists. There are so many widely held misunderstandings about the brain that scientists find it extremely unhelpful to have more nonsense spread to millions of movie goers. Other people I’ve spoken to are more optimistic and think that audiences will realize that the claims are not meant to be taken seriously. I have to admit, I enjoyed Limitless despite the daft premise.

📷how many percentage of brain did einstein use

What Became of Albert Einstein’s Brain?

The Man

📷 On April 18, 1955, the great mathematician and physicist Albert Einstein died. He was 76 years old. Although Einstein’s body was cremated, his brain was saved. Dr. Thomas S. Harvey, a pathologist at Princeton Hospital, removed Einstein’s brain on the morning of Einstein’s death. What happened to the brain for years after this is somewhat of a mystery.

The Search

📷 In the mid 1970s, Steven Levy, a reporter for the New Jersey Monthly, hopped into his car and set out to find Einstein’s brain. Mr. Levy published his story in 1978. Mr. Levy discovered that Einstein’s brain was still with Dr. Harvey who was now in Wichita, Kansas. The brain was in two mason jars in a cardboard box that was marked with the words “Costa Cider.” Most of the brain, except for the cerebellum and parts of the cerebral cortex, had been sectioned (sliced).

The Paper

📷 There are several published scientific studies that have examined Einstein’s brain. One of the first papers, titled “On the Brain of a Scientist: Albert Einstein” was published in 1985 in the journal Experimental Neurology (vol. 88, pages 198-204, 1985) and written by Marian C. Diamond, Arnold B. Scheibel, Greer M. Murphy and …Thomas Harvey!

These scientists counted the number of neurons (nerve cells) and glial cells in four areas of Einstein’s brain: area 9 of the cerebral cortex on the right and left hemisphere and area 39 of the cerebral cortex on the right and left hemisphere. Area 9 is located in the frontal lobe (prefrontal cortex) and is thought to be important for planning behavior, attention and memory. Area 39 is located in the parietal lobe and is part of the “association cortex.” Area 39 is thought to be involved with language and several other complex functions. The ratios of neurons to glial cells in Einstein’s brain were compared to those from the brains of 11 men who died at the average age of 64.

📷

how many percentage of brain did einstein use

The Data

📷 The ratios of neurons to glial cells in Einstein’s brain, as compared to those in the 11 normal brains, were smaller in all four areas studied. However, when the numbers were examined more closely with statistics, only one area showed a significant difference – the ratio in the left area 39. In the left area 39, therefore, Einstein’s brain had fewer neurons to glial cells than the normal brains. In other words, there were more glial cells for every neuron in Einstein’s brain.

📷 The Conclusion

The authors concluded that the greater number of glial cells per neuron might indicate the neurons in Einstein’s brain had an increased “metabolic need” – they needed and used more energy. More recently, other researchers have noticed differences in glial cells (e.g., larger astrocytic process) in Einstein’s brain. In this way, perhaps Einstein had better thinking abilities and conceptual skills.

The Problems

📷 Scientists are trained to read published papers carefully and to evaluate the methods, results and conclusions of experiments. Although it is intriguing to use the results of this paper as an indication that Einstein’s genius was related to a particular brain region, it is perhaps a bit too early for such a statement.

First, the “normal” brains that were compared to Einstein’s may not have been the best group for comparison. The average age of these brains was 12 years younger than Einstein’s brain. In fact, the youngest brain in this group was only 47 years old. It is possible that the neuron to glial ratio seen in Einstein’s brain was quite normal for his age and that the younger comparison group just did not show these changes yet. Also, the paper did not describe the background of the comparison group. What was their intelligence and cause of death? Would these factors have anything to do with the observed brain differences?

Second, the “experimental group” had only one subject…Einstein! Additional studies are needed to see if these anatomical differences are found in other people with conceptual and mathematical skills like Einstein.

Third, it appears that only a very small portion of the four areas of each brain was studied. The paper states that “Four to six sections were cut from each block, Einstein’s and the controls?.” However, after staining, only ONE section from each block was studied! There is no indication that this single thin section was obtained from similar regions of area 39 and area 9 from the different brains. It is even unclear how much of each section was counted. Moreover, only the ratio of neurons to glial cells was published. The total number of cells that were counted is not given in the paper. This is important to get an idea of how the experimenters came to their conclusions.

It is important to remember that the areas 9 and 39 make important connections with many other areas of the brain. To assign a particular behavior or personality to a single brain area is too simple. Parts of the brain do not act by themselves. Rather, complex behavior is the result of many areas acting together.

A Second Paper

📷 A second paper (Neuroscience Letters, 1996) describing Einstein’s brain was published in 1996. Einstein’s brain weighed only 1,230 grams, which is less than the average adult male brain (about 1,400 grams). The authors also reported that the thickness of Einstein’s cerebral cortex (area 9) was thinner than that of five control brains. However, the DENSITY of neurons in Einstein’s brain was greater. In other words, Einstein was able to pack more neurons in a given area of cortex.

More Papers and The Future

Another study concerning Einstein’s brain was published in the British medical journal The Lancet (vol. 353, pages 2149-2153) on June 19, 1999. In this paper, the external surface characteristics of Einstein’s brain were compared to those from the brains of 35 men (average age, 57 years old) . Unlike the brain of these 35 men, Einstein’s brain had an unusual pattern of grooves (called sulci) on both right and left parietal lobes. This particular area of the parietal lobe is thought to be important for mathematical abilities and spatial reasoning. Einstein’s brain had a much shorter lateral sulcus that was partially missing. His brain was also 15% wider than the other brains. The researchers think that these unique brain characteristics may have allowed better connections between neurons important for math and spatial reasoning.

In 2012, photographs of the external surface of Einstein’s brain were analzyed and published in the journal Brain. Scientists who studied these photographs noted that compared to other brains, Einstein’s brain had a larger prefrontal cortex and expanded primary somatosensory and motor cortices especially in the face and tongue areas on the left hemisphere. In 2013, photographs through the middle (midsagittal section) of Einstein’s brain were used to compared the size of Einstein’s corpus callosum to that of right-handed, age-matched men and to a younger group of right-handed men. In this study, Einstein’s corpus callosum was found to be thicker in most areas compared to the corpus callosum of age-matched men and thicker in a few areas compared to the corpus callosum in younger men.

Although these results are interesting, it must be remembered that this study had only ONE brain in the experimental group…Albert Einstein’s brain. It remains to be seen if other mathematical geniuses also show these distinguishing brain characteristics. Moreover, the study did not investigate the brain at a microscopic level. In other words, the study says nothing about how neurons in these brains were connected and of course, could not tell if there were differences in the way the neurons functioned.

The importance of these differences is still unknown. There are still many questions about how the brain constructs personality, builds intelligence and forms creativity. Further research using modern brain imaging techniques (MRI/PET) that look at the anatomy and function of the brain in living geniuses may reveal what makes these people such giants.

📷how many percentage of brain did einstein use

Was Einstein’s brain different?

We’re used to talking about neurons when referring to the brain, but we also have what are called glial cells. In Greek, glia means “glue.” Glial cells were given their name because we thought they did little more than just hold the brain together. One kind of glial cell is the star-shaped astrocyte.

In 1985, Diamond’s findings were almost disappointing. Einstein’s brain did not contain more neurons overall than the average person’s.It did, however, contain more astrocytes, in the left inferior parietal area of the brain, a region associated with mathematical thinking.

Since intelligence was assigned to neurons and astrocytes were thought to be little more than “glue,” this finding did not make headline news and was largely ignored.

What did Einstein’s brain actually reveal?

If you insert human astrocytes into the brains of newborn mice, they grow up to be more intelligent. Their learning and memory are significantly sharper. It’s only in the past few years that we’ve come to understand the extraordinary reason why.

We have always assumed that a synapse, the point where two brain cells join to carry information, is made up of two brain cells. We were wrong. A synapse is made of two brain cells — and an astrocyte.

Astrocytes nurture synapses. Not only are they key in synaptic plasticity, but they are plastic themselves. They grow and change. One astrocyte can be in contact with two million synapses, coordinating their activity and plasticity across vast realms of the human brain – – and contributing to our intelligence.

How do astrocytes figure in artificial intelligence?

Artificial intelligence researchers from the University of A Coruña in Spain recently improved neural network performance by using an algorithm that included artificial astrocytes. When a neuron’s activity reached a maximum, the astrocyte was activated. It increased the weight of the neuron’s connections with the neurons of the adjacent layer by 25 percent, simulating what might happen in real life.

How do you increase astrocytes?

If Einstein was a genius because of his astrocytes, can we increase our astrocyte numbers and become geniuses too?

As early as 1966, Diamond and her team demonstrated that putting young rats in a stimulating environment rich with challenge and new experiences increased glial cells.

We now know that this even happens in elderly mice. Putting aged mice in an “enriched environment” increases astrocyte numbers and complexity, which correlates with better cognitive performance.

If you’re wondering, the effect is also seen in humans.

A study published this year followed production workers at a factory in Germany for 17 years. The volume of brain regions associated with executive function and motivation was larger in those who had been exposed to recurrent novelty in their work.This was associated with better cognitive performance at middle age.

📷how many percentage of brain did einstein use

Albert Einstein’s brain

The brain of Albert Einstein has been a subject of much research and speculation. Albert Einstein’s brain was removed within seven and a half hours of his death. His apparent regularities or irregularities in the brain have been used to support various ideas about. correlations in neuroanatomy with general or mathematical intelligence. Studies have suggested an increased number of glial cells in Einstein’s brain.[

0 notes