Could you modify the brain to forget how to die, therefore living forever?

What are alters actually in DID?

“There is not a clear understanding of DID etiopathology, there is no standardized method of diagnosis, and as such, the disorder has been plagued by a history of fabrication case studies (North, 2015). For these reasons, the disorder is opposed by many psychiatrists. To address this controversy, researchers have begun to examine the neurological basis of DID in an effort to provide stronger physical evidence for the disorder.”

LEARN MORE: A systematic review of the neuroanatomy of dissociative identity disorder

What was one interesting thing learned from Henry M.’s brain? (Patient H.M.)

How do we know if most humans really perceive colors the same?

Could you use electrodes in the brain to simulate certain emotions or trigger certain memories or reactions?

How efficient is your brain at running, like how much energy does it make

While making up only a small fraction of our total body mass, the brain represents the largest source of energy consumption—accounting for over 20% of total oxygen metabolism. Of this, it is estimated that neurons consume 75%–80% of energy produced in the brain. This energy is primarily utilized at the synapse with a large proportion spent in restoration of neuronal membrane potentials following depolarization. Other neuronal functions such as vesicle recycling, neurotransmitter synthesis and axoplasmic transport also contribute to synaptic energy depletion and the requirement for an elevated metabolic rate in neurons. Energy requirements are therefore not uniform throughout the brain but instead increased in localized regions dependent on neuronal activity.

LEARN MORE: Brain Energy and Oxygen Metabolism: Emerging Role in Normal Function and Disease

In a group of healthy volunteers, the researchers showed that different brain regions that serve distinct functions have notably different power and different cost. They then investigated the effects of alcohol on these new measures by assessing a group of people that included light drinkers and heavy drinkers and found that both acute and chronic exposure to alcohol affected power and cost of brain regions. Brain imaging used by NIH scientists to improve our understanding of how alcohol affects the brain.

“In heavy drinkers, we saw less regional power for example in the thalamus, the sensory gateway, and frontal cortex of the brain, which is important for decision making,” said Dr. Shokri-Kojori. “These decreases in power were interpreted to reflect toxic effects of long-term exposure to alcohol on the brain cells.”

LEARN MORE: NIH study of brain energy patterns provides new insights into alcohol effects

How fast can the brain process information?

What happens to the brain when you are dehydrated?

How does caffeine affect the brain?

Caffeine, a chemical, acts to block (or “antagonize”) receptors for adenosine, a chemical that binds to the adenosine receptors. This reduces the release of some important neurotransmitters, among them dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin and acetylcholine that are essential for staying alert and awake. Adenosine is a nucleotide (found in DNA, mRNA), and is also part of an important energy substrate known as ATP, or adenosine tri-phosphate.

As your day progresses, and you express your genes and use up ATP, your bloodstream levels of adenosine rise, and bind to adenosine receptors in several cerebral regions, including an area beneath the frontal cortex called the basal forebrain. This decreases brain activity and you feel sleepy, and cognitively a little slow  –  appropriately ready, of course, for a restorative nap.

But then Kat, Olivia or Micha serve you a glorious and rewarding cup of Stumptown at Street 14, and the caffeine finds your brain’s adenosine receptors, displacing that downer adenosine and transiently attaching itself to the receptors instead. Caffeine blocks the normal response of these receptors, so again, it is considered an adenosine receptor antagonist.

There remain copious swarms of adenosine molecules circulating in your blood, and your body still needs that rest, but your brain is no longer listening to this chemical signal with caffeine antagonizing the receptors in the basal forebrain and elsewhere where adenosine would normally act. You’re up!

LEARN MORE: Astoria Noggins: Tipsy Buzzed Mice @ Street 14

LEARN MORE: Drunk mice on espresso – what could go wrong?

If someone experiences a certain emotion a lot does that make it more likely for them to experience that emotion more often?