Nerve axon with myelin sheath (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some say there is no cure for the unforgiving trigeminal neuralgia, as someone who as fought with trigeminal neuralgia  I can can tell you that mine is gone. Here is my story about “the suicide disease“. I suffered with the horrific pain of TN like many of you do and was given  anti seizure drugs like everyone else gets, they made me feel terrible and didn’t help much and of course the neuro docs have nothing to say except surgery (micro vascular decompression) or increase dosage well in my business there was no way I could increase dosage and feel any more spacey of loopy then I already did so I quit the pills and just dealt with the horrible pain. well I had been looking into  alkaline water ionizers for a while because I heard they were great for high blood pressure and I had terrible high blood pressure (200/96). So I decided to purchase a Kangen alkaline water ionizers, after I started drinking the Kangen water my blood pressure dropped in less than 7 days to normal I know this because I used to have to check it 2 times a day to make sure it wasn’t so high I was going to have a heart attack. Here is the part that is amazing my trigeminal attacks became less and less and now I don’t remember when the last attack was! I can’t tell you how great it is to be free of this dreadful disease. I wanted to share this with all of you that suffer to tell you there is relief just give it a try.

here is why doctors say it works:

An acidic body is caused by soda, coffee, acidic foods such as dairy products and meat as well as medications. The myelin sheath deteriorates by a diet and lifestyle that causes an acidic condition in your body. You can monitor your body’s alkalinity by pH testing of your saliva. You correct any acidic condition by eliminate acid causing foods and maintain an alkaline state by drinking alkaline water.

Importance of water – Your body needs water for all its functions, but be sure that this water is pure and healthy and consumed in the proper way. In the morning hours, your body is going through its elimination cycle. An early morning glass of water will assist in this process. Drinking water with a meal will impede digestion, but water spaced between meals throughout the day will facilitate proper hydration, digestion and elimination. It is recommended that the water you drink be alkaline water.

The best way to reverse this disease

The best way to reverse this insidious condition is to first and foremost make a dietary change – eliminate all meat, dairy products, refined grains, refined starches, sugar, salt, and acidic beverages, i.e. milk, alcohol: wine, beer, champagne, etc.; lattes, coffee, hot cocoa, soda pop, etc.

Eat predominantly raw or perhaps, 75% raw foods and 25% cooked but vegan foods.

Drink alkaline ionized water preferably * this is the fastest way to alkaline the body*

I hope that this helps some one that is suffering throw this horrible disease

taken from: http://rawtrutheducation.wordpress.com/2013/03/02/trigeminal-nueralgia/

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Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

Acupuncture to treat hay fever.

After a long winter, you gotta love spring’s green grasses, budding bushes, and leaf-sprouting trees – unless they turn you into a sneezing, wheezing, watery-eyed mess. It’s a big-time bummer, but hay fever can quickly make March, April, and May miserable. And while antihistamines and other medicines may help ease the symptoms, they can also leave you in a groggy, doped-up haze.

If you’re already dreading allergy season and know you’d love some relief without relying so heavily on drugs, you might want to give acupuncture a whirl. A study published in the ‘Annals of Internal Medicine‘ in February found that hay fever sufferers who received 12 acupuncture treatments over eight weeks had fewer symptoms and needed less antihistamine meds than patients who didn’t do the needles.

A traditional Chinese technique that involves a trained practitioner inserting superthin needles into strategic points on the body, acupuncture has been used for eons to treat all types of pain. Its effects on hay fever and other respiratory woes have been mixed in previous studies, but in this latest trial of 422 people, the treatment had a significant impact.

“Acupuncture addresses hay fever symptoms in a few ways,” says Dr. Isaac Eliaz, an integrative physician and licensed acupuncturist in Sebastopol, California, who was not involved in this study. “In general, it has a balancing effect on the body as a whole. Additionally, acupuncture regulates abnormal histamine excretion and allergic responses, so basically, it helps reduce sensitivity and reactivity to allergens. Acupuncture can also decrease the expression of inflammatory proteins.”

Eliaz says that receiving a series of treatments over a long stretch of time – much like what these study participants got – can even help reduce the recurrence of hay fever symptoms going forward. Another major perk? Stress relief. “Acupuncture helps regulate energy, so recipients often experience a deep sensation and feelings of well-being and relaxation,” Eliaz says. “In our fast-paced modern world and with all of the issues we face as a society, reducing stress is critical for health.”

taken from: http://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/health/an-alternative-antihistamine-20130313

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Harmonic magnetic resonance (Photo credit: d4yw41k3r)

, March 13 (HealthDay News) — Even though expensive MRIs produce very detailed images for assessing back pain, they may not be very good at evaluating results after treatment, research suggests.

Many physicians order an MRI before and after treatment of patients with lumbar-disk herniation and persistent sciatica. But some experts say spine imaging is overused and not necessarily accurate in certain cases.

This new study used MRI scans from a study initially designed to compare surgery to conservative care for sciatica, which is pain or weakness that radiates from the back down the leg. The researchers compared a person’s first MRI to their follow-up MRI taken a year later. They couldn’t tell from the follow-up MRIs who had good results and who didn’t.

“The discriminative power of MRI is much less than expected in patients who had sciatica before or who have had persistent complaints for more than one year,” said the study’s senior author, Dr. Wilco Peul, professor and chairman of neurosurgery at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

Peul said that the decision to have a second surgery shouldn’t be based on MRI findings alone.

Even if it appears from a follow-up MRI that surgery is necessary, he said people should be advised that their continued pain may be caused by inflammation rather than nerve compression, and in that case, it’s unlikely that surgery would relieve their symptoms.

Results of the study are published in the March 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Sciatica is a common problem, affecting as many as 40 percent of adults at some time in their lives. Sciatica is commonly caused by a herniated disc in the back as it presses down on the sciatic nerve, according to background information in the study. These discs are located between each of the vertebra, or bones, in the spine.

For most people, sciatica is a short-lived problem. Within eight weeks, most people no longer have sciatic pain, according to the study. For some people, however, sciatic pain can be long-lasting.

When sciatic pain doesn’t go away, doctors often recommend imaging tests, such as MRIs, to rule out serious causes of the pain, such as a tumor, said Dr. Devon Klein, chief of musculoskeletal radiology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

The problem is that many people have herniated discs, often without any symptoms. Previous research has found that between 20 percent and 76 percent of people who don’t have symptoms will show signs of disk herniation on an MRI, the study found.

Klein confirmed this. “If you take all comers and give them an MRI, you will see disc disease in most of them,” he said. “Everyone hurts their back at some point.”

After treatment, many people have visible evidence of a herniated disc without any symptoms

Another issue is cost. MRIs can run from hundreds to thousands of dollars per scan, depending on where the test is conducted and whether the patient’s insurance covers the expense.

The current study included nearly 300 people randomly assigned to receive either surgery or conservative care for their sciatic pain, all of whom had signs of disc herniation on their initial MRI. A follow-up MRI was done one year later, and the two MRIs were compared with patient results.

After a year, 84 percent of those in the study reported successful treatment. Follow-up MRIs showed that 35 percent of those with a favorable result still had disc herniation compared to 33 percent of those with an unfavorable result.

Favorable outcomes were reported in 85 percent of those with disc herniation on their follow-up MRI and in 83 percent of those without disc herniation, according to the study.

“I was shocked myself by the findings, as I do see a lot of patients with repeated MRI scanning, and I was a firm believer that a herniated disc with nerve root compression was causing the problems,” said Peul.

“Now that we have proven that these recurrent or persistent sciatica and low-back complaints are less likely to be one-on-one related [to MRI findings], we should be more careful in our conclusions and promises about the outcomes of repeat surgery,” Peul said.

Klein agreed. “Seeing a problem on an MRI doesn’t necessarily … confirm that that’s where the pain is coming from,” he said. “We see a fair percentage of patients with disc herniation who don’t have symptoms. You can’t treat the MRI. You have to treat the patient.”

taken from: http://www.webmd.com/back-pain/news/20130313/spine-mris-often-show-harmless-defects-study-finds?src=RSS_PUBLIC

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For every action the public takes to promote awareness, Teva will make a $1 corporate donation for MS research (up to $25,000). Actions include: liking http://www.facebook.com/StickWithItRRMS or asking the public to share their favorite “Stick With It!” routine. In addition to supporting a worthy cause, the public can access tips and helpful information on the site such as questions to ask the doctor and the importance of adhering to a routine to manage RRMS.

Research has shown that combining a treatment regimen with lifestyle management including proper diet and exercise can actually reduce the frequency of relapses. But clinical studies show that patients who had gaps in therapy lasting ≥90 days were nearly twice as likely to experience a severe relapse.

“The challenge is that in between relapses, patients with RRMS might not have any apparent symptoms or might even improve. Therefore, patients often ‘feel’ better and opt to go off their medication and deviate from the routine that is working for them,” said, Gabriel Pardo, M.D., Director of the OMRF Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence. “This campaign helps to remind patients that sticking with their routine is the best way to manage their disease, and encourages those who haven’t found what works for them, to work with their doctor to find a routine that does.”

“Stick With It!” reinforces how patient adherence to a management routine that is working for them is critical to the success of managing RRMS. The public service announcements will run throughout the year.

“There’s a lot of information out there about RRMS, and some of it can be confusing,” says Walker. “But it’s important not to give up — it took almost a year of working with my neurologist before I found the routine that worked best, and now that I have found my groove, I stick with it and encourage others to do the same.”

About Clay Walker

Walker was diagnosed with RRMS, the most common form of MS, in 1996 at the age of 26 with symptoms that included tingling, numbness and facial spasms. The diagnosis of this lifelong and unpredictable disease came at a pivotal time in his life, as he had recently finished recording his fourth album and his oldest daughter was just born. Over the course of his country music career, Walker has sold over 11 million albums, has had 11 number one hit singles, and achieved four Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) platinum and two gold certified albums.

About Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary from one person to another. In the U.S. today, there are approximately 400,000 people living with MS. In relapsing-remitting MS, the most common form of the disease, a person experiences attacks (also called relapses or exacerbations) of worsening neurologic functioning followed by periods of remission in which partial or complete recovery occurs.

For more information on the “Stick With It” campaign, please visit http://www.facebook.com/StickWithItRRMS or http://www.bandagainstms.org.

About Teva

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA) is a leading global pharmaceutical company, committed to increasing access to high-quality healthcare by developing, producing and marketing affordable generic drugs as well as innovative and specialty pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Headquartered in Israel, Teva is the world’s leading generic drug maker, with a global product portfolio of more than 1,000 molecules and a direct presence in about 60 countries. Teva’s branded businesses focus on CNS, oncology, pain, respiratory and women’s health therapeutic areas as well as biologics. Teva currently employs approximately 46,000 people around the world and reached $20.3 billion in net revenues in 2012.

taken from: http://checkorphan.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/clay-walker-country-music-star-and-relapsing-remitting-multiple-sclerosis-patient-urges-others-to-stick-with-it/

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English: I took this photo. It is a self-portrait for my user page, and useful for the Acupuncture page. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

taken from: http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/14249/20130314/reveal-acupuncture-stress-hormones-zusanli.htm

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NYCTCM Acupuncture Clinic visit (Photo credit: NYCTCM)

While acupuncture is used widely to treat chronic stress, the mechanism of action leading to reported health benefits are not understood. In a series of studies at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC), researchers are demonstrating how acupuncture can significantly reduce the stress hormone response in an animal model of chronic stress.

The latest study was published today in the April issue of Journal of Endocrinology.

“Many practitioners of acupuncture have observed that this ancient practice can reduce stress in their patients, but there is a lack of biological proof of how or why this happens,” says the study’s lead author, Ladan Eshkevari, PhD, an associate professor of nursing at Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies, a part of GUMC. “We’re starting to understand what’s going on at the molecular level that helps explain acupuncture’s benefit.”

Eshkevari, a physiologist, nurse anesthetist and certified acupuncturist, designed a series of studies in rats to test the effect of electronic acupuncture on levels of proteins and hormones secreted by biologic pathways involved in stress response.

Eshkevari used rats because these animals are often used to research the biological determinants of stress. They mount a stress response when exposed to winter-like temperatures for an hour a day.

“I used electroacupuncture because I could make sure that each animal was getting the same treatment dose,” she explains.

The spot used for the acupuncture needle is called “Zusanli,” which is reported to help relieve a variety of conditions including stress. As with rats, that acupuncture point for humans is on the leg below the knee.

The study utilized four groups of rats for a 10-day experiment: a control group that was not stressed and received no acupuncture; a group that was stressed for an hour a day and did not receive acupuncture; a group that was stressed and received “sham” acupuncture near the tail; and the experimental group that were stressed and received acupuncture to the Zusanli spot on the leg.

The researchers then measured blood hormone levels secreted by the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, which includes the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland and the adrenal gland. The interactions among these organs control reactions to stress and regulate digestion, the immune system, mood and emotions, sexuality and energy storage and expenditure.

They also measured levels of NPY, a peptide secreted by the sympathetic nervous system in rodents and humans. This system is involved in the “flight or fight” response to acute stress, resulting in constriction of blood flow to all parts of the body except the heart, lungs and brain (the organs most needed to react to danger). Chronic stress, however, can cause elevated blood pressure and cardiac disease.

“We found that electronic acupuncture blocks the chronic, stress-induced elevations of the HPA axis hormones and the sympathetic NPY pathway,” Eshkevari says. She adds that the rats receiving the sham electronic acupuncture had elevation of the hormones similar to that of the stress-only animals.

Eshkevari says this research complements her earlier reported work that focused only on NPY. In that study, Eshkevari and her team found that NPY levels were reduced in the experimental group almost to the level of the control group, while the rats that were stressed and not treated with Zusanli acupuncture had high levels of NPY (Experimental Biology and Medicine Dec. 2011).

“Our growing body of evidence points to acupuncture’s protective effect against the stress response,” she continues. Eshkevari says additional research is needed to examine if acupuncture would be effective in reducing hormone levels after the animals are exposed to the stress of cold temperatures, and whether a similar observation can be made in humans.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Georgetown University Medical Center.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

1. L. Eshkevari, E. Permaul, S. E. Mulroney. Acupuncture Blocks Cold Stress-Induced Increase in Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis in Rat. Journal of Endocrinology, 2013; DOI: 10.1530/JOE-12-0404

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

taken from: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130314085528.htm

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English: Bell’s palsy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Patients with Bell palsy who received acupuncture that achieves de qi, a type of intense stimulation, had improved facial muscle recovery, reduced disability and better quality of life, according to a randomized controlled trial published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

Bell palsy is sudden onset of facial paralysis that is usually temporary, resolving within weeks or months, although it can sometimes be permanent.

Acupuncture is used to treat a variety of conditions and is gaining acceptance worldwide. De qi is a combination of sensations stimulated by manipulation of acupuncture needles — soreness, tingling, coolness, warmth and others radiating at the insertion points — but has not been validated by randomized controlled trials.

“There is a long-held belief in the traditional theory and clinical practice of acupuncture that the intensity of the stimulus must reach a threshold to elicit de qi, which plays a pivotal role in achieving the best therapeutic effects,” writes Dr. Wei Wang, Department of Neurology, Key Laboratory of Neurological Diseases of Chinese Ministry of Education, Wuhan, Hubei, China, with coauthors.

In a randomized controlled trial with 338 patients, Chinese researchers sought to understand the efficacy of acupuncture with weak stimulation or strong (de qi) stimulation. The trial, conducted at 11 tertiary hospitals in China, involved 15 experienced acupuncturists who administered acupuncture to the de qi group (167 people), which received intense stimulation, and the control group (171 people), which received needles but no stimulation. Patients’ facial expressions, a marker of facial-nerve function, were rated on a 6-point scale and videotaped to ensure consistent findings across hospital sites.

Six months after randomization, facial-nerve function, disability and quality of life were better in patients in the de qi group than in the control group.

“We found evidence that acupuncture with de qi improved facial muscle recovery, disability and quality of life among patients with Bell palsy. Stronger intensity of de qi was associated with better therapeutic effects.”

“De qi and its related techniques should be properly appreciated in acupuncture practice and research, and should be considered for inclusion in clinical guidelines for acupuncture,” the authors conclude.

taken from: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/cmaj-ia022013.php

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histamine (Photo credit: Henry C)

Fight Allergies! Is Alkaline Water the Ultimate Antihistamine!?

Studies have shown that an estimated 75 percent of the population has some degree of dehydration, significant enough to affect their health. Along with dehydration, the majority of people’s body state is acidic due to our typical North American diet. The acidity in our bodies causes irritation and inflammation which triggers histamine production.

Allergies plague thousands of people every year. Some people experience wheezing as part of their allergic response but they don’t have a diagnosis of asthma. The weepy eyes, runny nose, pounding headache and cough are characteristic signs of an allergic response. The root causes may shock you.

Allergies are caused by a histamine reaction in the body. Histamine is one of the body’s main neurotransmitters. It has two functions in the body hydrated and it becomes increasingly active when the body becomes dehydrated. It is also triggered when the body is acidic in combination with being dehydrated.

According to recent research, allergies are a sign of dehydration that are triggered when the body starts conserving its water resources. When dehydration occurs histamine is produced to begin the process of water regulation. It will prioritize where the limited available water will be used. Histamine is the good guy, delegating where the available water is to be used.

Studies have shown that an estimated 75 percent of the population has some degree of dehydration, significant enough to affect their health. Along with dehydration, the majority of people’s body state is acidic due to our typical North American diet. The acidity in our bodies causes irritation and inflammation which triggers histamine production. This actually creates a cycle where one keeps triggering the other. The acidic body and the reduced water intake keep the body in an irritated state where histamine is working hard to manage.

Silent inflammation is caused by histamine. That is where there is chronic inflammation and irritation that shows no strong symptoms until enough of it develops to push the symptoms into our awareness. The key is to reduce the inflammation and irritation in the body.

Water is a wonderful buffer. It is also the super highway that transports everything throughout the body. By drinking enough water, you are downgrading histamine production in addition to providing efficient nutrient delivery. Now, if you can alkalize your body more by altering your diet or drinking alkaline, ionized water, you will be on your way to being histamine free and allergy free. You will literally be turning off the allergic reaction.

Histamine’s other role in the body is that of immune system management. When dehydration is present, histamine suppresses its own activity on the immune system, otherwise dehydration would constantly flare up the immune system. This is because the majority of the population is chronically dehydrated. They mistakenly think that any liquid is OK to hydrate the body.

Because allergies are pronounced when the body is short of water and the histamine is acting as a drought manager, the immune system is shut down and antibodies are not produced. Antibodies are the army defending home territory from invaders. Lung tissue is a frontier with an external territory – the nose and eyes. If offending pollen, which is a protein, hits these tissues, it should be attacked by the immune system. It could cause damage. Normally, the antibody soldiers would be there to snuff out the invaders, the offending pollens, but in dehydration the soldier antibodies are sleeping. The only alternative for the body is to wash away the offending pollens. That’s why your eyes begin to water and your nose begins to run, because the body cannot allow the invaders to get as far as your lungs. It tries to wash them away.

The importance of proper hydration cannot be overemphasize. If you are properly hydrated and your body is less acidic, the antibody soldiers will be produced in the millions and trillions. With histamine doing its job, you will not be allergic or your symptoms  will be less. For more information on alkaline ionized water, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkB1U6D5wuI 

taken from: http://brianeraines.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/histamine-allergies-and-alkaline-ionized-water/

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BRAIN

Brain acts as a control center by receiving, interpreting, and directing sensory information throughout the body. There are three major divisions of the brain. They are the forebrain, the midbrain, and the hindbrain. Intelligence, creativity, emotion, and memories are a few of the many things governed by the brain. The brain receives information through our five senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing, it assembles the messages in a way that has meaning for us, and can store that information in our memory. It controls our body, receives information, analyzes information, and stores information in our memories. The average human brain weighs about 3 pounds (1300-1400 g), the human brain reaches its full size at about 6 years of age.

Definitions

• Skull. The purpose of the bony skull is to protect the brain from injury. The skull is formed from 8 bones that fuse together along suture lines. These bones include the frontal, parietal (2), temporal (2), sphenoid, occipital and ethmoid.Anatomy of Brain
• Brain Arteries. The human brain requires a constant supply of oxygen. A lack of oxygen of just a few minutes results in irreversible damage to the brain.
• Meninges. The meninges are layers of tissue that separate the skull and the brain.

Anatomy of Brain and Functions of Brain Parts

• Frontal Lobe – The frontal lobe is one of the four sections of the brain. The frontal lobes are considered our emotional control center and home to our personality. It is involved in planning, organizing, problem solving, selective attention, personality and a variety of “higher cognitive functions”.Brain Anatomy
• Parietal Lobe – The parietal lobe is a part of the brain positioned above (superior to) the occipital lobe and behind (posterior to) the frontal lobe. The parietal lobes can be divided into two functional regions. One involves sensation and perception and the other is concerned with integrating sensory input. Several portions of the parietal lobe are important in language processing
• Occipital Lobe – The occipital lobes are positioned at the back region of the cerebral cortex. The occipital lobe is the visual processing center of the mammalian brain containing most of the anatomical region of the visual cortex. Fits between cerebral hemispheres
• Temporal Lobe – The temporal lobe is a region of the cerebral cortex that is located beneath the lateral fissure on both cerebral hemispheres of the mammalian brain. Controls Vision

  

  Human Brain Evolution (Photo credit: hawkexpress)

  Human Brain Evolution (Photo credit: hawkexpress)

• Cerebellum – It is the part of the brain that is responsible for human movement, co-ordination, motor control and sensory perception. It plays an important role in the integration of sensory perception and motor control.
• Diencephalon – The diencephalon, along with the telencephalon comprise the two major divisions of forebrain. Two major divisions are the thalamus and hypothalamus. It is the heart of limbic system
• Thalamus – The thalamus is a large, dual lobed mass of grey matter buried under the cerebral cortex. The thalamus is that part of the brain responsible for signal relaying and prioritization. It controls perceptual function
• Hypothalamus – The hypothalamus is a small area at the base of the brain, weighing about 4 gm out of the 1400 gm brain weight of an adult human. The hypothalamus is an area of the brain that produces hormones that control: Body temperature; Hunger; Moods; Release of hormones from many glands. Necessary for storing new memory
• Brain Stem – The brainstem is the region of the brain that connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord. It consists of the midbrain, medulla oblongata, and the Pons. Controls basic life function
• Mid Brain – The midbrain is a small region of the brain that relays information for the visual, auditory, and motor systems. It is a cerebral hemispheres nerve pathway
• Pons – The Pons serves as a communications and coordination center between the two hemispheres of the brain. It is cerebral cortex relay center.
• Medulla – The medulla oblongata is a portion of the hindbrain that controls autonomic functions such as breathing, digestion and heart rate.
• Epithalamus – The epithalamus is located towards the top of the thalamus and back. The epithalamus includes the pineal gland and the habenular nuclei.
• Limbic System – The most primitive part of the brain, it is situated close to the inner wall of each cerebral hemisphere and includes the brain system concerned with the sense of smell.
• Olfactory System – The olfactory system is the part of the brain that allows people to interpret smells.
• Hippocampus – The hippocampus is a part of the forebrain, located in the medial temporal lobe. It is involved in memory forming, organizing, and storing.
• Amygdale – It is an almond-shaped mass of nuclei located deep within the temporal lobe of the brain. The amygdaloidal region of the brain is a complex structure involved in a wide range of normal behavioral functions and psychiatric conditions.

 taken from: http://healthinessbox.com/2013/03/06/anatomy-of-brain/

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neuron fractal 1 (Photo credit: Anthony Mattox)

The communication process of neurons in the brain is best explained by starting at the beginning.  Most people have about 100 billion nerve cells, which are also called neurons.  The basic purpose of all neurons is to receive and transmit information.  Dendrites, which are miniscule fibers extending beyond the neuron’s cell body, pick up incoming messages from other neurons and communicate them to the cell body.  The axon is a long fiber which extends far beyond the cell body.  The function and main purpose of the axon is to transmit outgoing messages to neurons which are close by.  The axon can also communicate outgoing messages to nearby muscles or glands.  “Terminal buttons at the end of each axon release chemical substances called neurotransmitters” (Morris & Maisto, Understanding Psychology, 2010, p.42).

Neurotransmitters are chemicals which have been released by the synaptic vessels that travel over the synaptic area, affecting nearby neurons.  Synaptic vessels are tiny sacs in a terminal button that release chemicals into the synapse.  The synapse is “the entire area composed of the axon terminals of one neuron, the synaptic space, and the dendrites and cell body of the next neuron” (Morris & Maisto, Understanding Psychology, 2010, p. 45).  Some common neurotransmitters have distinct effects on human behavior.  Examples of these types of neurotransmitters are acetylcholine, dopamine and serotonin.  Acetylcholine plays a role in arousal, attention, memory and motivation.  Dopamine usually affects voluntary movement, learning, memory and emotions.  Serotonin is related to emotional experiences and is often referred to as “the mood molecule” (Morris & Maisto, Understanding Psychology, 2010, p. 47).  Endorphins are also associated with the inhibition of pain.  These neurotransmitters are typically present during strenuous exercise, such as running.  Endorphins could possibly be responsible for the condition known as “runner’s high.”  Research conducted on the effects of endorphins and their relation to opiates, such as heroin, have concluded that when a drug user takes more of these types of drugs to emulate the same “high” given off by endorphins naturally, they lessen their own capability of naturally producing these neurotransmitters, thus requiring more of the drug to sustain their “high.”

The major regions of the brain are the central core, the limbic system and the cerebral hemispheres.  The central core begins at the base of the skull, known as the hindbrain area.  The limbic system is located roughly in the middle area of the brain, encompassing the central core.  The outer surface of the two cerebral hemispheres which is responsible for the regulation of most complex behavior is known as the cerebral cortex.  In Chapter 2 of Understanding Psychology, an appropriate and relevant diagram is depicted on page 53.  This diagram shows the division of different regions of the brain so that one might identify where each is located.  The figure is entitled, Figure 2.7, the divisions of the brain.  Starting with the positioning of the frontal lobe, the figure outlines each region of the brain in relation to the other.  The figure goes on to illustrate the human brain, region by region, topographically, ending with a depiction of the human spinal cord, located next to the medulla.

The central core contains the following parts:  medulla, pons, cerebellum, reticular formation, thalamus and the hypothalamus.  The medulla controls respiration, heart rate and blood pressure.  The pons controls sleep-wake cycles.  The cerebellum controls reflex, balance and movement.  Reticular formation controls attention and alertness.  The thalamus is the major sensory relay center; it regulates higher brain centers as well as the peripheral nervous system.  The hypothalamus influences emotions as well as motivation; is responsible for reactions to stressful situations.

The limbic system contains the following parts:  the hippocampus and the amygdala.  The hippocampus is responsible for forming new memories.  The amygdala is responsible for emotions relating to self-preservation.

The cerebral hemispheres contain the following parts:  the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the occipital lobe and the temporal lobe.  The frontal lobe regulates goal-directed behavior, emotional control, messages from other lobes, complex problem solving, as well as many aspects of the personality.  The parietal lobe receives sensory information and regulates visual as well as spatial abilities.  The occipital lobe receives and develops visual information.  The temporal lobe regulates smell, hearing, balance and equilibrium.  Other major functions regulated by the temporal lobe include emotion, motivation, language comprehension, visual processing and facial recognition.

Cool huh?  I just farted about five times.

 taken from: http://autumnleeonline.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/neuroscience-farts/

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