Brainstem

On the night of Friday, December 8th, 1995, Jean Dominique, a vibrant, adventurous editor for the French Elle magazine suffered from a massive stroke that caused austere damage to his brainstem. Few weeks later, he woke up to find himself paralyzed from the neck down, a neurological disorder called “Locked-In Syndrome”. Although paralyzed, he had his brain normally functioning and in a preserve sense he actually got lucky enough to be able to blink his left eye; unlikely with most victims. This…

Efferent sympathetic signals originating from the POAH travel by way of the ipsilateral brainstem through the tegmentum of the pons & the medullary raphe nuclei, which terminate on the preganglionic neurons in the intermediolateral column of the spinal cord (Smith & Johnson, 2016). The efferent signal departs from the ventral horn & passes into…

disturbances, and parkinsonism” (Gavett et al., 2011), and speech and gait abnormalities (McKee et al., 2009). CTE include pathological changes in the brain such as atrophy of the cerebral hemispheres, medial temporal lobe, thalamus, mammillary bodies, and brainstem, with ventricular dilatation and a fenestrated cavum septum pellucidum. Microscopically, there are extensive tau-immunoreactive neurofibrillary tangles, astrocytic tangles, and spindle-shaped and threadlike neurites throughout the…

It is an important and interesting question on how feelings and emotions emerge inside our human bodies. It is a known and general fact that emotions come from the brain, yet it is also evident that specific areas of brain are responsible for productions of feelings. In order to better understand the production mechanism, it is vital to get deeper into the brain’s emotional map and examine particular areas. One of these specialized areas of central interest is the amygdala that is responsible…

Achondroplasia Achondroplasia is a form of short-limbed dwarfism. GENE: The FGFR3 gene makes a protein called fibroblast growth factor receptor 3. The function of the protein from the gene is involved in transforming cartilage into bone. FGFR3 is the only gene known to be related with achondroplasia. There is also a receptor called tyrosine kinase. It negatively regulates the growth plate activity and stright bone growth. All people who have only a single copy of the normal FGFR3 gene and a…

1. The different types of respiration are cellular, internal, and external. In external respiration there is an exchange between air and blood in the lungs and internal has exchange between the blood and body tissues. Cellular respiration is a chemical reaction inside the mitochondria of cells in and cellular metabolism is converting energy in food to become ATP. 2. The olfactory mucosa is the lines of the roof in the nasal cavity. The respiratory mucosa is lining the rest of the nasal cavity…

For years the controversy topic of medical marijuana has caught the attention of many Americans; especially in the last couple of years with the few states that voted to make it legal. The majority of people are blind sighted to the facts that society has shaped into the norm. Many categorize this drug as “bad” or “harmful”. Just like there are pros and cons of every controversial topic, medical marijuana has both valid points across the board. Besides the prevalent fact of this drug being…

Doctor Stanislaw Burzynski is a biochemist and physician born in Poland. He now resides in Houston Texas where he owns the Burzynski clinic, opened in 1976. The Burzynski clinic researches and uses a gene-targeted approach called anitneoplastons to cure non-curable types of cancers. The Food and Drug Administration has not approved Dr. Burzynski’s methods and has taken him to court countless times claiming several allegations against him. Burzynski- Cancer is Serious Business, released in…

possible after death based on religious beliefs and through the development of science and medical methods. According to the whole-brain standard, a human death refers to the irreversible cessation of functioning of the entire brain, including the brainstem. Survival, on the other hand, can be defined as to continue to exist when ending looked certain. Survival of Julia in Julia/Mary case shows that survival is possible after death. In A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality, Julia’s…

Swallowing, which is also known as “deglutition” is the process of transporting a bolus (chewed food) from the mouth, down the esophagus, into the stomach. Deglutition consists of three distinct phases with various neural involvements. For some individuals, the inferior esophageal sphincter can malfunction resulting in gastroesophageal reflux disease (often shortened to GERD). Commonly known as “heartburn,” GERD can affect deglutition as well as a person’s quality of life. GERD can be…