Central nervous system

Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease and claims the lives of an estimated 2.5 million people in the world. In Australia, it has been researched that the further away a person is from the equator, the more likely is the person is to develop multiple sclerosis. For instance, in the far north of Queensland the disease occurs 12 in every 100000 people, while in New South Wales, it rises to 36 people out of 100000, and even higher in Tasmania with 76 people out of 100000. Although multiple…

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. It is autoimmune, but is genetically influenced by the environment, such as the Epstein-Barr virus, Vitamin D deficiency, and smoking. However, In 1966, Leibowitz et al first suggested that MS might be associated with high sanitation standards during childhood, but, some studies since then over the so called hygiene hypothesis, that proposes that infections in childhood are protective against…

Panjabi suggested that spinal instability is controlled by 3 subsystems which include the 1) passive subsystem (consisting of ligaments, joint capsule and bones), 2) active subsystem (consisting of muscles) and 3) nervous system (consisting of the peripheral nervous system and central nervous system) (Panjabi 1992b, Panjabi 1992a). Sub failure of any subsystems causes micro- trauma and injures the mechanoreceptors, resulting in a dysfunction in motor control (Panjabi…

Multiple Sclerosis is a rare disease. It affects the brain and central nervous system at different locations where the severity of the disease in patients happens over few weeks and months. Worldwide 2.3 million people are being affected by multiple sclerosis1. MS, an auto immune disease2 , occurs by combination of factor’s come together contributing to its occurrence majorly genetic and environmental factors1. These include the virulent micro-organisms such as “ Epstein Barr virus” being the…

wake up with the vibration from my smartphone alarm or the vibration from my Facebook messenger application notification. It was said that the neurons of the Somatic Nervous System carry information of the vibration from the external environment to the nervous system. By this, the information travels from the Central Nervous System to the effectors which can act on the external environment like striated muscles. In this case, the sensation of the vibration would then send neurons to my brain…

The spinal cord is ¾ of an inch wide and 42-45 centimeters in length. It extends inferiorly from the medulla oblongata to the inferior border of the L1 vertebrae. The spinal cord is divided into 5 parts that house the 31 pairs of spinal nerves. The cervical part is the superior part of the spinal cord. It contains neurons whose axons contribute to the 8 pairs of cervical spinal nerves. The thoracic part lies inferior to the cervical part. It houses the neurons for the 12 pairs of thoracic spinal…

Changes in the CNS can drastically affect one’s health immediately. Such trauma exposure and neglect to any part of the nervous system, during both early life and adulthood, substantially elevates adult risk for mood and anxiety disorders (Neigh et al. 2010). For example, stressors from ELS, which cause an increase in the level of stress hormones, predispose mental disorders…

Covering some axons is a multilayered lipid and protein called myelin sheath, this helps to insulate the axon and speed up nerve impulses. (Tortora pg. 407) An axon that is surrounded by myelin sheath, whether in the central nervous system (CNS) or the peripheral nervous system (PNS), is said to be “myelinated”, while the bare axon is “unmyelinated”. Action potentials travel more rapidly and further in distance along a myelinated axon, this is because they travel by salutatory conduction. This…

MRI techniques. TMS is a new method not widely used yet, but suitable to detect the conditions affecting MS patients. TMS is a painless and non-invasive technique providing a method to study the central nervous system (CNS) in a pain-tolerated manner. TMS focuses on studying the motor neuron (MN) system of the CNS. TMS works by attaching a wire coil to a scalp that transfers a high, but short current to create a magnetic field at right angles relative to wire coil2. Action potentials (AP) are…

Almost all people encounter events that will alter their life forever. According to Jacalyn Duffin, her essay summarizes how the Awakenings movie is an evidence to the aspiration of neurologist Oliver Sacks. It is a documentary based on how a group of patients that were contracted with an illness extreme case of Parkinsonism. All patients were harshly limited with movement and the ability of speech, although some gave signs of interaction, only that they were unable to completely express what…