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This article provides information regarding the diagnosis of brain tumors. The first step in diagnosing brain tumors is a neurological exam. This type of exam is used to check vision, hearing, strength, sensation, and other cognitive skills. If deemed necessary other exams can be performed to determine characteristics of the tumors. The first is an angiogram, which is a type of x-ray for the head which examines arteries and veins. The second type is a brain scan, which shows abnormalities using a contrast dye. Another type of scan is the CT scan which creates a 3 dimensional image of the brain which can be useful in diagnosing brain tumors especially near bones. Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) is a type of scan which measures the flow of water through white matter of the brain. This method provides a snapshot of brains structure and can be very useful during surgical procedures allowing physicians a guide to the rest of the brain. An fMRI is used to determine specific locations related to specific functions. This type of diagnostic tool helps create a guide to specific functions of the brain which is used to better prepare for surgery. The common MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create pictures of the brain. A similar MRS measures the function of the brain rather than its structure. Additionally, PET scans detect changes in the cells using an injection of radioactive glucose. Finally, the most effective way to diagnose a patient is by using a biopsy. A biopsy is a surgical procedure which a profile of tissue is collected and examined under a microscope. Most biopsy's are done using surgery, although there are a couple of different types of needle biopsy's.

This article goes on to explain two different types of tumors and then states how they start to spread. One of the types of tumors is the primary brain tumor which originates in the brain itself. This type of tumor begins as normal cells mutate their DNA and grow rapidly across the brain. The other type of brain tumor is the Secondary or Metastatic brain tumor. This type of tumor is generally caused by a metastasis of cancerous cells from other organs of the body. Most often this type of tumor originates in areas such as the breast and the colon. Of these two types of brain tumors the metastatic seems to be much more common than the primary tumors.

This essay explains the types of complications related to neurological conditions and how they effect the body. The first complication is of course related to the origination of brain tumors themselves. Brain metastases is caused by the spread of cancerous cells to brain from other areas of the body. Symptoms could include that of headaches to vision problems. The next topic of discussion is the Epidural Spinal Cord Compression. This is another type of metastases which can lead to spinal cord compression and possible paralysis. Common issues associated with this type of metastases include breast, prostate, or lung cancer. Additionally, Plexopathies are caused by the spread of cancer to the plexus. This type of complication causes serious pain and has the ability to migrate towards other areas of the plexus. Leptomeningeal Metastases is caused by the spread of cells to the tissues which cover the brain and spinal cord and could effect cognitive skills. Another complication is a vascular disorder. Vascular disorders and cancer are believed to correlate with a deep vein thrombosis. Finally, paraneoplastic disorder is a complication that is caused by a group of conditions which create biological side effects. These side effects include release of substances into the blood stream and inappropriate immune system responses.

Dr. Zhang's has created a liquid gel to insert into damaged parts of the brain from traumatic brain injuries. There has been little success on humans, but testing has been done on rats and there has been very positive results. On humans there has also been other techniques such as inserting donor cells into the damaged area but the cells end up dying off. Human success in the experiment is estimated to take up to 3 years. 

Since the 1920s, researchers have recorded rhythmic patterns or electrical impulses in the brain. Now, rhythm is known to have effects on perception, attention, working memory, learning, and language. Gazzaley, a neuroscientist, wants to determine if these rhythms vary between healthy individuals. He is also interested in exploring what roles these rhythms play in various disorders. In one experiment, Gazzaley worked with the drummer, Mickey Hart, by strapping him to an EEG while playing the drums. Hart's brain was shown on screen, live.

With previous research suggesting that the fostering of long term memories happens during sleep (when the brain is in an oscillating rhythm), current research suggests that listening to audio coinciding with that rhythm can increase memory skill. As an experiment, researchers worked with 11 healthy students who were asked to memorize 120 word pairs before going to bed. As a result, on the night that they listened to the rhythm of their brain, they remembered the most words. This study also revealed that synced audio was linked to a longer deep sleep instead of more deep sleep cycles.

Music can have extraordinary affects on the human brain. Looking in on "ear worms" (meaning getting a song stuck in your head), research reveals that what's going on is neural circuits getting stuck in a repeating loop, playing the thing repeatedly in the head. It is also found that, in the process of human evolution, the structures that respond to music in the brain were first to evolve than the structures that respond to language. Further research also looked into the brain's response to musical pleasure, and animals' response to beats.

Alzheimer's is actually a common form of dementia. Roughly 50-80 percent of patients with dementia are associated with Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's is considered a neurological disorder with loss of memory, thinking and behavioral function. Alzheimer's is common diagnosed in patients 65 and older with the exception of patients with Early-Onset Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's progressively worsens over time and commonly culminates in death 8 years after symptoms start to arrive. Again no cure has been found for alzheimer's, but certain medications are used to treat symptoms. A build-up of plaques and tangles in the brain is suspected to kill nerve cells and cause a loss of brain function. The loss of nerve cells causes gaps in the communication network and eventually causes a loss of function in those areas of the brain. Although scientists do not know their exact role in Alzheimer's, patients have been associated with an abundant amount of these abnormal structures.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder associated with sudden seizures. In diagnosing epilepsy, the patient must have displayed two unexpected seizures. Epilepsy can be life - threatening and disabling or benign. Typical symptoms associated with epilepsy are strange sensations, emotions, and behavior. The cause of epilepsy is uncertain, but abnormal brain wiring may have an effect. With no cure for epilepsy, modern day medications and surgeries are used to treat patients. Due to the stigma associated with epilepsy, some children develop behavioral and emotional issues. The restriction of independence, like being denied a drivers license due to seizures, is also emotionally challenging for these patients. Current research being conducted for patients with epilepsy include the development of new models used to determine treatments, and brain implants which control seizures. 

This article pertains to the neurological disorder, Parkinson's Disease (PD). PD is known to reduce motor system function due to the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells. Most symptoms related to PD include tremors, trembling, and slowness of movement (bradykinesia). As the disease progresses these tremors begin to effect daily activities like chewing and speaking. Unfortunately there is no cure for Parkinson's Disease. The most common treatment for PD is the use of medications such as levodopa. Due to complications with current medications other treatments like deep brain stimulation and surgery are commonly used. Parkinson's Disease is both chronic and progressive. Tremors and other symptoms will occur for long periods of time and possibly grow worse. Patients with PD experience varying symptoms and intensities. Current research being done in response to Parkinson's is being conducted at the National Institute of Health (NIH) and elsewhere. Current topics of research include discovering the cause of PD, and the development of protective drugs needed to delay, prevent, and even reverse the disease.

The relationship between music and neuroscience involved many research teams, one coming from the Rotman Research Institute in Canada. For this project, the team arranged a group of 19 volunteers, each given short song excerpts (all familiar with the style). While the participants listened, the brains, being scanned by MRI, highlighted one region: the nucleus accumbens, responsible for the sensation of pleasant surprise. However, this only works when the style is recognized.

Using a computer program, Neuroscientist Kamitani led an experiment to compare the brain's activity during sleep and during wake. This study involved 3 adult males, who were hooked up to a fMRI (used to measure brain activity). Being told to describe the things they saw in their dreams, the 3 adults were also asked to look at those objects in real life. Kamitani's study revealed that the brain responded similarly to objects dreamt about or seen awake.

This article explains about the same experiment that WHY YOUR BRAIN LOVES MUSIC-TELEGRAPH does. See summary for that article.

Reproduction is obviously a vital aspect of the human development. With a non-functioning fertility system future generations would be at a loss. Many problems could arise with infertility and ground-breaking research is finally being conducted. One of the important aspects of human reproduction is the use of hormones specifically FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone). This hormone is produced at the base of the brain stem and non-existing levels of FSH were recently associated with infertility. In order to regenerate these hormones a change has to be made in the FSHB subunit of the nucleotide. Infertility usually occurs after certain changes are made in the hormone levels and by redirecting the levels of hormones we may be able to alter the problems that arise during reproduction. It should also be noted that increases and decreases in the levels of FSH may have different effects depending on the gender of the patient. Current research estimates that the response of males to this therapy could positively effect nearly 45% of infertile men. Estimates could not be made for females as a result of insufficient research. 

Although physical commitment is required to be successful at a given sport or activity, mental preparation is the key to victory. When individuals are competing at the Olympic level, those competitors have very small physical differences. What separates the winners from the losers is the mental preparation. Practice builds mental strength through memory and confidence; with this strong mentality, competitors are most successful when they let loose and "go with the flow." Letting oneself go in stressful situations or important competitions is crucial because thinking too much can lead to making foolish mistakes from the overwhelming stress a person can put on them self. Once a person starts to focus on one single adjustment, their performance deteriorates. Entering the "flow" state allows a person to perform easily and comfortably without stress. Practice actually betters the brain through the memorization of muscle movements. In order to achieve success, it is essential for one to maintain an alert state of mind. In this, a person is always prepared for what comes next. Keeping calm in important competitions is equally important; practice betters one's ability to do this through hormone and brain chemistry changes. Motivation also affects performance. Only those who have positive mindsets and strong minds are going to win competitions. Sports affect people for the rest of their lives through the mental changes they experience. 

The brain has a balance between "gray matter" and "white matter." People suffering from chronic stress tend to have more white matter, which is white tissue with a  myelin coating. Studies have shown that the stem cells in people with chronic stress mature into oligodendrocytes, which produce myelin. As a result, their learning and memory skills are affected because more oligodendrocytes are being produced instead of neurons. It is also believed that stress causes the hippocampus to become strongly connected to the amygdala, weakening the connection to the prefrontal cortex. This means that people with stress disorders have faster fear responses and have bigger responses to stressful situations than they normally would. 

The conventional idea regarding the brain is that each sense (vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell) has a designated area in the brain. This was the idea at first, but this article shows that the visual cortex may be doing double duty. Not only is the visual cortex processing vision, but it's also playing a part in processing sound. This breakthrough was discovered when scientists ran an experiment; in the experiment subjects were blindfolded and played three different sounds. When the scientists analyzed each subject's brain in reaction to each sounds they discovered that they could tell what each subject was listening to just by looking at the visual cortex. Thusly proving that the visual cortex actually has a correlation to one's sense of hearing. Furthermore, scientists have also made the assumption that the visual cortex's diversion to the auditory region is due to evolution and will help one survive.

Multiple sclerosis has been associated with attacks against the central nervous system. The immune system has been identified to targeting organs such as the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. It is known as an immune - mediated disease because there is no specific target that has been identified. The attacks by the immune system often damage myelin and create scarred tissue (sclerosis). Patients with multiple sclerosis could experience one of four courses identified with the disease. One course is the Relapsing-Remitting MS. In this course the patient experiences a severe attack on the CNS followed by remissions. The second course is known as the Primary-Progressive MS. In this course the central nervous system slowly deteriorates without any relapses or remissions. Another course of MS is the Secondary-Progressive MS. This form of MS generally follows the relapsing-remitting form of MS and progressively worsens the CNS with or without remissions and plateaus. The most rare form of MS is perhaps the Progressive-Relapsing MS. In this course of MS, patients generally experience a progressive worsening of neurological function, without any remissions.  

Proteus, a 0.14 inch tall motor using piezoelectricity  which puts electrical charge into motion. The whole idea of this motor is to send it into the brains blood to help treat the damaged tissue. The study plans on inserting the little motor into a robot with article blood and cells and see how it work and the reduce it to the size of 1/300 of a sprinkle. 

Although popularized by the media as "healthy," vaccinations bring more harm to the human body then they do health. Multiple studies have found that those children injected with vaccinations actually caught more disease than those not vaccinated. Vaccinations are not guaranteed to work, and can actually cause severe complications. Few vaccinations have been successful; these effective immunizations protect against one disease, but increase risk of other viruses. Vaccines contain harmful ingredients that can cause cancers and leukemia, and are even linked to AIDS. Vaccines are also connected to brain damage, lowered IQ, ADD, learning disabilities, and autism. Vaccinations are composed of harmful ingredients, are illogically produced, and cause more diseases than they prevent.