Substantia nigra

paraquat herbicide and traumatic brain injury in the development of Parkinson’s disease. There seems to be a common connection between pesticides and other common farming poisons and the development of Parkinson’s disease due to the death of the substantia nigra pars compacta dopamine neurons. There also seems to be a correlation between PD (Parkinson’s disease) and traumatic brain injury that left the victim unconscious for over five minutes. The reason for this controlled case study was to…

Delirium is a subacute fluctuating disturbance of consciousness characterized by disorientation, inattention, disordered thinking, cognitive impairment, emotional lability, hallucinations or delusions, and sleep-wake cycle disturbance (DynaMed, 2016). Delirium can occur in patients of all ages, but the highest incidence is seen in older patients 65 years and above (DynaMed, 2016). Delirium can be recognized by five key elements namely: (1) Disturbance in attention and awareness; (2) Develops…

The film Awakenings is an evidence to the ambition of a neurologist who temporarily gave back “freedom” to his post-encephalitis patients, paralyzed by Parkinson’s disease for decades, attending with what was considered a miracle drug: L-dopa. These awakenings opened his eyes to the tragedy: the transition of time that not all of the patients could admit to having lost. The difference between the benefits and unfavorable side effects, however noticeable they seem, is a difficult area in the…

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…

How Dopamine works in Human Body 1. Dopamine 2. Drugs 3. Dopamine Deficiency 4. Dopamine Treatments Introduction Pleasure, happiness, love, excitation, motivation, pain, anxiety, sad, anger, and all emotional feelings related to being human are linked to the…

Many people, at some point in their lives, may feel depressed, lonely, or just sad. “Approximately 25 million Americans will have an episode of depression this year alone” (Duckworth). Some people can not get through the sadness alone; they need help from a medication. The reason these antidepressants are needed is due to a chemical imbalance of the brain. Antidepressants can alter the chemical balance of the brain and have many negative side effects when taking one. The main reason that…

the subependymal zone [SEZ, also subventricular zone] adjacent to the lateral ventricles [1, 2]. Lower levels of neurogenesis have been reported in other regions of the rodent and primate brain, including the neocortex [3, 4], amygdala [5] and substantia nigra [6], but this has been difficult to replicate consistently other than in the diseased brain [7]. Other studies provided compelling evidence that precursor…

In the image on the lower right corner, you can distinguish that the nerve cells within the Sustantia Nigra have been destroyed as the crescent-shaped cell mass is not present. Whereas in the top right corner image you are able to clearly distinguish that crescent-shaped cell mass which contains nerve cells that contribute to body movements (Medlineplus…

Imagine living in a world where there was a cure for cancer and genetic diseases. Although it may sound impossible, it has already been done. With gene therapy, which is a technique where a gene that is either defective or missing is replaced with healthy ones through genetic engineering, doctors are able to treat people with cancer and immunodeficiencies. Immunodeficiencies are, “Rare but life-threatening genetic diseases that severely compromise the integrity and function of the immune…

The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system for most living things. There are only a few animals that do not have a brain like starfish or jellyfish. The brain is located in the head. It receives messages from other organs. The brain is the most complex organ. In a human, the cerebral cortex has more than a billion neurons. Each of these neurons are connected by synapses. These synapses are connected to several thousand other neurons. Neurons communicate with one…