Physicians and researchers have some pretty amazing ways of peering inside the human brain. And some of those methods — and what they might show us — have been in the news a lot lately. A couple of neurosurgeons at Boston University, who have studied former NFL football players and others who have received repeated hits to the head, say that the brain of alleged Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev should be studied in a special … Read More
Many neuroscientists will tell you that nerve cells in the brain (called neurons) are the most important part of the nervous system. They are, after all, the primary cells of the nervous system, responsible for conducting electrical currents to encode and process our senses, thoughts, memories and emotions. But there is a growing contingent of neuroscientists who study other brain cells called glia, named for the Greek word for glue. For much of the last … Read More
When I was 6 years old, I ran into a door frame and had to have stitches on my forehead. I remember that I was running to answer the phone. I remember thinking “oh no, I’m going to hit that door frame!” And, of course, I remember that after the stitches were put in, the doctors put a bandage on my teddy bear’s forehead to cheer me up. But … do I really “remember” all … Read More
Oregonians becoming “brain aware” — that is the goal of the OHSU Brain Institute’s Brain Awareness Season Lecture Series. Everyone wonders or worries about their brain. There is so much to learn and understand. And brain science — neuroscience — transforms society, from parenting to prisons, from autism discoveries to Alzheimer’s prevention and from creating new policies to improving current medical practices. The 2013 Brain Awareness Lecture series — which begins Feb. 25 and runs … Read More
