By Isabelle Hall N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a component of the psychoactive drink ayahuasca (meaning ‘vine of the dead’ or ‘vine of the soul’ in Quechua) , made by boiling or steeping Banisteriopsis caapi vineand Pyschotria viridis leaves.1 The latter contains DMT, with the Banisteriopsis included as a source of β-carbolines such as harmine, which reversibly inhibitContinue reading “How DMT Mimics the Near-Death Experience”
Category Archives: Neuroscience
Emotional hijacking: emotions overtaking reason
By Andrea Flores Esparza We have all probably experienced situations where what we are saying does not exactly match with how we are feeling. It is in those situations when say “I am okay” with tears in our eyes or “I am not mad” with a tightening feeling throughout our body that our reasoning clashesContinue reading “Emotional hijacking: emotions overtaking reason”
Understanding Impulsivity: Male vs Female Brain
By Easha Vigneswaran Impulsivity is defined as the acting without forethought. Neurobiologists have been trying to find out what causes such behaviours in humans and how knowledge of this can help clinicians understand disorders such as delinquency, antisocial behaviour associated with suicide and aggression. Scientists have also furthered the question to find out whether thereContinue reading “Understanding Impulsivity: Male vs Female Brain”
Neuromesodermal Progenitors: Function and Significance
By Daniella Gimbosh Stem cells are a revolutionary and controversial area of science that often, understandably, overshadow other aspects of developmental biology. Stem cells are able to divide over and over again, producing more copies of identical stem cells with the same properties, or giving rise to many different types of cells in the body.Continue reading “Neuromesodermal Progenitors: Function and Significance“
Mechanisms underlying polyglutamine diseases
By Jessica Lu Polyglutamine diseases are a group of nine inherited neurodegenerative diseases: Huntington’s disease (HD), Dentato-rubral pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA), spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), and spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) type 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 17. The onset of these diseases typically occurs in midlife and they slow to progress.1 Although the genesContinue reading “Mechanisms underlying polyglutamine diseases“
The wandering mind
By Ayoush Srivastava Human brains are prone to losing focus to spontaneous and self-generated thought – this concept is termed mind-wandering. Mind-wandering (MW) can be defined as the change in attention away from an external task to self-generated internal thoughts, often unrelated to the task.1 However, the definition of MW remains highly contested due toContinue reading “The wandering mind“
Bipolar disorder
By Gio Chang Bipolar disorder is a condition which all of us have probably heard about but don’t understand very much about. Many people think of them simply as mood swings that we experience in our day to day lives. However, it is a type of mental illness that, surprisingly, impacts quite a large portion of populations. In fact, around 2.8% of theContinue reading “Bipolar disorder “
Eternal youth and the prospect of ageing
By Themis Halka “I feel like I’m 100 years old today” – expressions using chronological age as a reference for physiological and psychological wellbeing are quite common in our societies (Gendron et al., 2018). It highlights the association we make between ageing and loss of capability, resulting in a general apprehension of ageing. This anchoredContinue reading “Eternal youth and the prospect of ageing”
Exploring the inner-GPS System of the brain
By Esha Kulkarni Like the GPS System in our smartphones, the human brain is suggested to also consist of an inner control system, or an ‘inner GPS system’. This GPS system is thought to be responsible for spatial orientation, recognizing its surroundings, creating a cognitive map, finding directions, and retaining spatial memory (Chaparro, 2021). MammalianContinue reading “Exploring the inner-GPS System of the brain“
Inside the mind of serial killers – are they born to kill?
By Luciano Marinelli Serial killers have always intrigued society and have inspired multiple series and documentaries, providing valuable insights on their motivations and psychology. Are these individuals born to kill, or are they just victims of harsh circumstances? The psychology of serial killers, and its neuroscientific basis, has long been studied by psychologists and socialContinue reading “Inside the mind of serial killers – are they born to kill?”
Imperial Bioscience Review 