View allAll Photos Tagged Neuron
LOOK KG 243 racer from late 1990's built with Columbus Neuron steel. Components are generally 2000's - but a mix of new and old.
Photo: Thomas Ohlsson Photography
www.thomasohlsson.com | 500px | Facebook | Flickr | Instagram
LOOK KG 243 racer from late 1990's built with Columbus Neuron steel. Components are generally 2000's - but a mix of new and old.
Photo: Thomas Ohlsson Photography
www.thomasohlsson.com | 500px | Facebook | Flickr | Instagram
could be a cross section... but it isn´t. relax :)
just some ink :) 2 captures blended together.
enjoy :)
365 #192 - 16 -February -2008
mood: brainstorming
music: don't you know who i think i am - fall out boy
i would be a greater genius?! :-D
alternate title: "sometimes i feel like i think too much"
sometimes you just think about everything all at once, don't you ever feel like that?! this has been one of those days..
*somewhat inspired by escher's rind (and on that matter just check this one by cayusa)
*check the making of.
Barriers surrounding this art exhibit have been removed. Visitors are invited to approach and touch the exhibit, crawl underneath it but not to use it as a swing or as a tree to climb.
My hands are still sore after a sprawl while walking the dogs last night. It was a bit of a struggle to hold the camera steady. And yes Ralph, these pictures were once again taken during my so called long lunch breaks.
Neuron 2010, MCA, Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia (Monday 10 May 2010 @ 1:51pm).
The dogs belonging to the piano's fairies can be found in a wide variety of colours. They are sometimes described as white with red ears may be found in all colours of the keybord.
In Kabbalah, Renaissance magic, and alchemy, the language of the birds was considered a secret and perfect language and the key to perfect knowledge, sometimes also called the langue verte, or green language (Jean Julien Fulcanelli, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa de occulta philosophia,A black dog is a spectral or demonic entity found primarily in the folklore of the British Isles."Their discovery that certain neurons have “music selectivity” stirs questions about the role of music in human life. Why do our brains contain music-selective neurons? Could some evolutionary purpose have led to neurons devoted to music? McDermott says the study can’t answer such questions. But he is excited by the fact that it shows music has a unique biological effect. 'We presume those neurons are doing something in relation to the analysis of music that allows you to extract structure, following melodies or rhythms, or maybe extract emotion,' he says." The black dog is essentially a nocturnal apparition, some of them shapeshifters, and are often said to be associated with the Devil or described as a ghost or hellhound. Its appearance was regarded as a portent of death. It is generally supposed to be larger than a normal dog and often has large glowing eyes.[ It is sometimes associated with electrical storms (such as Black Shuck's appearance at Bungay, Suffolk) and also with crossroads, places of execution and ancient pathways. The origins of the black dog are difficult to discern. It is uncertain whether the creature originated in the Celtic or Germanic elements of British culture. Throughout European mythology, dogs have been associated with death. Examples of this are the Cŵn Annwn (Welsh),Garmr (Norse) and Cerberus (Greek), all of whom were in some way guardians of the Underworld. This association seems to be due to the scavenging habits of dogs. It is possible that the black dog is a survival of these beliefs. Black dogs are generally regarded as sinister or malevolent, and a few (such as the Barghest and Shuck) are said to be directly harmful. They may also serve as familiar spirits for witches and warlocks. Some black dogs, however, such as the Gurt Dog in Somerset and the Black Dog of the Hanging Hills in Connecticut,are said to behave benevolently. Some, known as guardian black dogs, guide travellers at night onto the right path or guard them from danger.his thought leads to another, which takes us into unexplored and perhaps unexplorable regions of Greek religious history. The chief claim made in Pithetaerus's preposterous speech to the Birds is, after all, partly true. The Birds were objects of worship to the Minoans and the early inhabitants of Greece before Zeus and his Olympian commando descended upon the peninsula. Birds were not gods; Pithetaerus does not quite say they were. Yet the bird perched on the sacred Double Axe or the pillar-tree was the Numen of the axe or the tree. Technically, the Language of the Birds - as it was often described in folk tales and myths in general - literally referred to what anyone might assume it did: the way birds communicate. And, to be able to understand this language endowed one with special powers, knowledge and abilities. As time went on, however, the phrase took on more occult implications. in medieval France it became the secret "Green Language" of the Freemasons and Knights Templar - la langue des oiseaux - and was possibly also utilized by the Troubadours (or Trouvères). During the Renaissance, there were apparently a number of musical languages inspired by birdsong, although at least a few of these were probably composed of simple signals in ways similar to those used by the indigenous peoples of the Americas and elsewhere.When I first began using the phrase "the Language of the Birds" to describe my own understanding of mysticism, I had almost no formal knowledge of the phrase's history; I had initially found it in reference to a Sufi text, and was attracted to it in a poetic sense. After all, the phrase has a nice resonance to it. Eventually, however, I began to equate it with language of the higher consciousness, specifically that of the creative muse and its role in automatism. At the same time, you began to intuit there was a transdimensional aspect to it, which you referred to as "the memory of sound". That is, while there is the physicality of sound and its effect on our senses, there are also immaterial, subliminal codes embedded in sound which effect us both emotionally and spiritually in ways that are not currently understood. In this sense, music is, in fact, magic.The Minoans believed, as Nilson says, that the gods - or, to put it more exactly, the divine power - appeared in the form of birds. Again, the most important and wide-spread method of communication with the divine power was by augury. The birds knew the weather; they knew when good luck or bad was to be expected; they gave clear warning of the future to those who could read their messages. Could they have known what was coming so well unless indeed it was partly they who made it come? "Sometimes mythological birds create more than the physical world. Cultures in northern Europe and Asia credited birds with establishing their social orders, especially kingships. A golden-winged eagle was said to have put the first Mongol emperor on his throne. The Japanese believed that sacred birds guided their second emperor in conquering his enemies before the founding of his dynasty. The Magyar people claimed that a giant eagle, falcon, or hawk had led their first king into Hungary, where he founded their nation. The Magyars looked upon this bird as their mythical ancestor...Many myths have linked birds to the arrival of life or death. With their power of flight, these winged creatures were seen as carriers or symbols of the human soul, or as the soul itself, flying heavenward after a person died. A bird may represent both the soul of the dead and a deity at the same time. Some cultures have associated birds with birth, claiming that a person’s soul arrived on earth in bird form."Lastly, we come to the Music Box, the third element of this introduction. Portions of it first made its appearance on this blog in February around Valentine's Day, and was meant to be the metaphorical fulcrum about which my "Ode to Love" was spun. That particular post died in the water, however - for numerous reasons - and, although the initial post is still online - and might be referred to in the future - you may as well consider this one its replacement.
In "Still Life with Music Box" the floating panels of the box I created last month have finally come together into an actual (although virtual) object. In order to visualize the box, I inadvertently made a model of it with cardboard and inkjet prints and then snapped its photograph. A great deal more work was involved, but amongst the objects, only three were entirely contrived... and I'm guessing it's pretty obvious which ones. I'm no master, but I did the best I could (without driving myself insane). (Hint: The wooden table supporting the objects is real enough - it was created by my grandfather at some point around the turn of the last century.)
As it so happens, as lyrical as the music box appears, it's creation was the result of a geometrical inquiry... an inquiry that's particularly relevant in any discussion of love and alchemy when you come right down to it, but I'll save the geometry for the next post and reflect on the music box's general importance here; that is, in its role as a generator of music, and, at the same time, a collector of love tokens, that is, a keepsake box.
Initially, I referred to the music box as the "Love Box"... totally overlooking the fact that the actual term is American slang for a certain portion of a woman's anatomy. That being said, that "love box" has the particularly feminine connotations it does, is not really inappropriate here. Woman, after all, do have a peculiar predilection for keeping memorable items in special boxes, especially as young girls. Our little magic boxes... full of talismanic detritus we've collected over the years... a coin, jewelry, a shred of hair, a crumbling flower head, a photo, a signature, stones, bones... whatever. Generally the tokens are kept to remind us of lovers or loved ones... small trophies for experiences that may eventually retreat into a mental shadowland in the same way the objects themselves have retreated into the shadowy recesses of the box. But, no matter. The box becomes a sort of artificial memory bank... a collection of three-dimensional objects representing transdimensional events in the same way a collection of symbols do.
In the end, whether we're talking about musical codes, alchemical codes, or the enigmatic chemistry of love and attraction, some type of hidden language is involved... as is some kind of communication that lies outside the bounds of what is consciously understood. When we find ourselves in tears while listening to an old, wistful tune, or find ourselves suddenly uplifted by the memory of a lover's smile, although utterly immaterial, the experience is real, and has as much power to move us, inspire us, and inform us as any collection of words (up to and including the ones you are presently reading)! And that, is the Language of the Birds.
As it stands, for all our technological prowess, we, as a species, have not inwardly changed very much from the days our savage ancestors danced naked around a fire; the difference being, our savage ancestors very likely understood a few things we modern specimens of humanity have forgotten. And, one of those "things" is the origin of music. My guess is that if prehistoric humans could somehow convey to us certain facets of our prehistory, they might inform us that humans did not, after all, invent music. The were taught.
Well, do the math. Songbirds are thought to have evolved 50 million years ago in an area which is now Australia. Modern humans, on the other hand, are generally considered to have arisen out of Africa a paltry 250,000 years old. In other words, birds were singing millions of years before humans even discovered the coveted fire they'd eventually dance around."Their discovery that certain neurons have “music selectivity” stirs questions about the role of music in human life. Why do our brains contain music-selective neurons? Could some evolutionary purpose have led to neurons devoted to music? McDermott says the study can’t answer such questions. But he is excited by the fact that it shows music has a unique biological effect. 'We presume those neurons are doing something in relation to the analysis of music that allows you to extract structure, following melodies or rhythms, or maybe extract emotion,' he says."
"As Spring reaches its midpoint, night and day stand in perfect balance, with light on the increase. The young Sun God now celebrates a hierogamy (sacred marriage) with the young Maiden Goddess, who conceives. In nine months, she will again become the Great Mother. It is a time of great fertility, new growth, and newborn animals."
- From a short entry for the Wiccan holiday, Ostara (March 20th), found on this page.
"Hieros gamos or Hierogamy (Greek ἱερὸς γάμος, ἱερογαμία "holy marriage") refers to a sexual ritual that plays out a marriage between a god and a goddess, especially when enacted in a symbolic ritual where human participants represent the deities.
The notion of hieros gamos does not presuppose actual performance in ritual, but is also used in purely symbolic or mythological context, notably in alchemy and hence in Jungian psychology.
In Wicca, the Great Rite is a ritual based on the Hieros Gamos. It is generally enacted symbolically by a dagger being placed point first into a chalice, the action symbolizing the union of the male and female divine in the Hieros gamos. In British Traditional Wicca, the Great Rite is sometimes carried out in actuality by the High Priest and High Priestess."
- From the Wiki entry for Hieros gamos.
"One of the most fascinating explorations of the psychological analogues of alchemy was given to us by Jung in a lengthy essay not usually classified as one of his alchemical writings, entitled The Psychology of the Transference. In this study Jung employed the ten pictures illustrating the opus of alchemical transormation contained in a classic called Rosarium Philosophorum (Rosary of the Philosophers), where the dual powers of the "King" and "Queen" are shown to undergo a number of phases of their own mystico-erotic relationship and eventually unite in a new, androgynous being, called in the text "the noble Empress". The term "transference is used by Jung as a psychological synonym for love, which in interpersonal relations as well as in depth-psychological analysis serves the role of the great healer of the sorrows and injuries of living."
- From "Alchemical Eros" via C. G. Jung and the Alchemical Renewal by Stephen A. Hoeller, (an article from the Gnosis magazine archive).
"In this hermetic side of alchemy, the "philosopher's stone", supposed to to be the most tangible and dense crystalization or condensation of a subtle substance, became a metaphor for an inner potential of the spirit and reason to evolve from a lower state of imperfection and vice (symbolized by the base metals) to a higher state of enlightenment and perfection (symbolized by gold). In this view, spiritual elevation, the transmutation of metals, and the purification and rejuvenation of the body were seen to be manifestations of the same concept."
- From the Crystalinks entry for Philospher's Stone.
***
But, what do we really mean by phrases like "the realm of the psyche" or "spiritual elevation"? Obviously, this question (in various forms) has been at the heart of the world's philosophy the millisecond humanity became disconnected from its initial source. At some point, we simply forgot. No longer having any real understanding of our essential natures we - specifically those of us in the west - allowed the various spin-doctors to take over. "And all the king's horses and all the king's men, couldn't put Humpty (the egg) together again... "
Except for one thing. In spite of the failure on the part of "the king and his men", there is one force that could - and one force that always will - "put" us together again, and that is the force of Love. While the physical aspect of Love exists and is very important to us in a biological and psychological sense, Love also reminds us that we are, in essence, immaterial entities. We know that we are truly alive because we love. We are assured our lives have meaning because we love. We conceive of things like "eternity" and "forever" because we love.... and we know Love, like Life itself, cannot simply dissipate because, although it influences the material realm, it is not really of it. Love knows no atrophy.
Alchemy itself, as a psuedo-science and precursor to chemistry, was primarily founded upon the concept that there was some substance - the Philopher's Stone - that when procured a certain way via certain rituals could transform base materials literally into gold. This, in any case, is the general fable. But when one takes a peek at all the literature, and all the various graphic material pertaining to alchemy and the alchemists, one thing immediately becomes clear: alchemy was no mere chemistry experiment.
But, just what was alchemy exactly? What was really meant by "the Great Work"? In reality, there is no exact definition of alchemy. It seems to have slowly evolved both in the East and in the West, and, at all times, to have been both an exoteric as well as an esoteric inquiry. On one hand, the quest was to cure disease, attain immortality and transmute base substances... on the other the goal was divine and spiritual knowledge and the perfection of the soul. The Great Work was generally in reference to creating or attaining the Philosopher's Stone, but once again, the "stone" had both material and mystical properties. One might say the stone itself was merely metaphorical for a sublime state of being or for the secret of creation itself.
One might go further and intuit the true Philosopher's Stone was the force of Love, but this side of alchemy has been mostly ignored except in Hermetic philosophy, in which the heiros gamos (see quotes above), or the "mysterium conjunctionis" is a crucial part of the philosophy. It was not lost on Carl Jung, however, who wrote in Volume 14 (translatable text) of his Collected Works:
“In light of eternity, it is a wedding, a mysterium conjunctionis. The soul attains, as it were its missing half, it achieves wholeness.”
Por favor, no usar esta imagen sin mi permiso explícito.
Please, don´t use this image without my explicit permission.
UN MISMO PATRÓN DE RAMIFICACIÓN.
A SAME BRANCHING PATTERN.
Comparación:
- Izquierda.- Microfotografía del Hipocampo de Rata. ( Detalle ).
El hipocampo es una estructura cerebral implicada en los procesos de Memoria.
Escalas aprox.
1 centimetro = 8 micrometros.
1 micrometro = 0,001 milímetros
- Derecha.- Fotografía de los árboles del Cantón de Ferrol ( A Coruña ).. Manipulada.
Escala aprox.
1 centímetro = 70 centímetros.
Si deseas alguna aclaración técnica puedes leer la introducción del Album.
Comparison:
- Left.-Nervous tissue. Microphotography of Rat Hippocampus. ( Detail ).
The Hippocampus is a Brain area implicated in Memory processing.
- Measurements. ( More or less ).
1 centimeter = 8 micrometer.
1 micrometer= 0,001 milimeter.
- Right.- Plants.
Photography of trees in " Cantón ". Ferrol ( A Coruña ).. Manip.
Measurements. ( More or less ).
1 centimeter = 70 centimeter.
For more technical details, please, read the Album introduction.
LOOK KG 243 racer from late 1990's built with Columbus Neuron steel. Components are generally 2000's - but a mix of new and old.
Photo: Thomas Ohlsson Photography
www.thomasohlsson.com | 500px | Facebook | Flickr | Instagram
Por favor, no usar esta imagen sin mi permiso explícito.
Please, don´t use this image without my explicit permission.
Mejor sobre negro. Haz click en la foto.
Better on black.Just click on the pic.
Corteza Cerebral de Erizo de tierra.
En esta estación del año, de árboles con ramas desnudas, yo os muestro estas otras ramas, las neuronales del " Bosque Cerebral ".
Proceden de mis trabajos de investigación en el cerebro de diferentes mamíferos. Son fotografías obtenidas con microscopio sobre material teñido de forma que las neuronas se visualizan en color pardo-negro sobre fondo amarillento.
Así visto, el Bosque Cerebral me parece un elemento muy sugestivo.
Mi pretensión en esta foto y en todas las del album, es únicamente ESTÉTICA, no científica, y así os pido que lo mireis.
Si deseais alguna aclaración técnica podeis leer la introducción del Album.
Hedgehog Cerebral Cortex.
In this season of naked branches in the trees, i show you these neuronal branchings on Cerebral Trees. They come from my research works about differents mammals´ brains. These are micro-photographies on stained matherial, so the neurons appear in dark brown-black on yellow background.
I think this Brain Forest is a very attractive and aesthetic element. So, my aim in this picture and in the album is JUST AESTHETIC, no scientific, and like that you should look at it.
For more technical details, please, read the album introduction.
LOOK KG 243 racer from late 1990's built with Columbus Neuron steel. Components are generally 2000's - but a mix of new and old.
Photo: Thomas Ohlsson Photography
www.thomasohlsson.com | 500px | Facebook | Flickr | Instagram
Cracking day today, sun was out and not a drop of rain, so went for walk with the girlfriend up the local woods, took the camera along too,Haven't done one of these shots before so thought i would try one as we were out.
shot of the trees then when i got home,went crazy with the hue slider,liking the green ;)
Created by Natasha Molotkova of PaperGraphic.
Blogged: www.allthingspaper.net/2013/07/new-quilled-work-from-pape...
Neuron is a European collaboration project to develop a UCAV demonstrator, Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle. Six aviation industries are participating. The work packages being managed by Saab relate to low signature (stealth) technology, flight testing, aerodynamics, avionics, fuel system, the critical part of the ground station, as well as the design and production of the main fuselage. The crafts’ length is 10 metres, width 12 metres and weight 7 tonnes. The first flight is planned for 2012.
Un buen amigo alguna vez sabiamente dijo: hormona mata neurona.
---
A good friend once wisely said: hormone beats neuron.
Por favor, no usar esta imagen sin mi permiso explícito.
Please, don´t use this picture without my explicit permission.
Proceso:
Arriba.- Izda. Microfotografía de Cerebro
( Sistema Límbico ) de
rata, mostrando una N.
Bipolar ( Dcha.) y un
elemento glial. ( Izda.).
Dcha. Escaneado en grises.
Abajo.- " Neurona Bipolar ama...".
Dibujo a mano.
Process:
Above.- Left.-Microphotography of rat
Brain ( Limbic System ),
showing a Bipolar Neur.
( Right ) and a Glial
element. ( Left )
Right.- Scanned in grey.
Below.- " Bipolar Neuron loves...".
Hand-Drawn.
At the UCSF Decoding the Brain Academy last night, Dr. Tomasz Nowakowski plotted the progress of neurons sequenced over time, including the project planned for 2025. It has been following a Moore’s Law-like exponential curve for a decade now. So, we should have a sequence of every one of the 86 billion neurons in a human brain by 2032, and maybe all the glial cells too.
Why sequence every cell? The genetic makeup varies, as does the methylation. On the left, you can see clustering analysis of 121 different cell types in the thalamus alone. Out neurons are very different, and they vary over time. I was reminded of an amazing discovery Ed Boyden of MIT shared with me — they found HIV-like encodings being expressed in human neurons. This might be a transposon-like viral vector for horizontal gene transfer in the brain. This is a controversial finding, partially because it is difficult to detect the signal from the noise of the delta from the human reference genome, which is still Craig Venter. I asked Ed how many neuron types does he suspect we’ll find? “An infinite number. They are all different.”
When we asked Nowakowski about the compute capacity of a neuron, he lit up with excitement. By analogy to our machine learning neural nets with back prop, we now know that our neurons don’t just adjust weights at the synapse. Firing-feedback adjusts the weights in all of the ~1000 inputs embedded in the dendrite of each neuron. This is called synaptic tagging, and it serves as an overlay to the relaxation back to a nominal rate of firing, a process that is not fully understood.
From the other speakers on stage, left to right:
• Shawn Hervey-Jumper: in 50 years of neurosurgery advances, we have added just 4 months to expected lifespan
• Mercedes Paredes: in the pre-natal and infant brain (up to 6 months), neurons migrate great distances (1-10cm) by sending out an axon and pulling the neuron cell body along, a sequence of push and pulls. For a sense of scale, if the neuron was a car, it is like driving across America. How do they navigate over these distances?
• Christine Liu: We can keep brain tissues alive for weeks now (for glass probe insertion into neural cell bodies). Learning how to juggle can increase cortical thickness by 3%.
Nation of China systematically organizes itself to operate just like a brain, with each individual acting as a neuron (forming what has come to be called a "Blockhead")Chinese thought, including seemingly disparate fields such as geomancy or Feng shui, astrology, traditional Chinese medicin, as seen on "Floating Perspective," a technique which displaces the static eye of the viewer and highlights the differences between Chinese and Western modes of spatial representation. It summarizes these into three ways of minor, middle and great achievement, and illustrates each with charts, explanations and formulae..The 5-volumed Record of the Realization of Perfection by the Concourse of Immortals of West Mountain ( 《西山群仙會真記》 Xishan Qunxian Huizhen Ji ) was authored by Shi Jianwu and compiled by Li Song. Shi, whose title was "The Perfect Man of Huayang" ( 華陽真人 Huayang Zhenren ) lived during the Tang Dynasty. After his success in the national civil service examinations, Shi remained secluded as a Daoist on the West Mountain (present Jiangxi province) to cultivate the Dao. But some say that there were two men named "Shi Jianwu". the Comprehensive Annotated Bibliography of the Four Repositories ( 《四庫提要》 Siku Tiyao ) say some Daoists, under the name of Shi, wrote this book during the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. Still some hold that the book should have been completed no later than the Northern Song. The preface by the author states, the book, in secret accordance with earlier and later sages, imitating the number of five agents ( 五行 Wuxing ) and corresponding to the pure Yang one-breath ( 純陽一氣 Chunyang Yiqi ), expounds the mystery and supreme truth of the Zhong-Lu lineage in one five-volume book. The contents, similar to the Transmission of Dao by Zhongli Chuan and Lü Dongbin ( 《鍾呂傳道集》 Zhinglu Chuandao Ji ), explains the ways of inner alchemy, citing the Supreme Hidden Book ( 《太上隱書》 Taishang Yinshu ), Record of the Western Mountain ( 《西山記》 Xishan Ji ), Numinous Treasure Book of Inner Contemplation ( 《靈寶內觀經》 Lingbao Neiguan Jing ), the Book of Communion with the Mystery ( 《通玄經》 Tongxuan Jing ) and quotations of the immortals Ge, Yin and Lu. The theme, based on Three Ways Unified and Normalized ( 《參同契》 Cantong Qi ), expounds the theory about increasing and reducing fire ( 抽添 Choutian ) and the practice that leads to liberation.
en.daoinfo.org/wiki/Record_of_the_Realization_of_Perfecti...
Nearly everyone has had headache pain, and most of us have had it many times. A minor headache is little more than a nuisance that's relieved by an over-the-counter pain reliever, some food or coffee, or a short rest. But if your headache is severe or unusual, you might worry about stroke, a tumor, or a blood clot. Fortunately, such problems are rare. Still, you should know when a headache needs urgent care and how to control the vast majority of headaches that are not threatening to your health. Headache is defined as a pain arising from the head or upper neck of the body. The pain originates from the tissues and structures that surround the skull or the brain because the brain itself has no nerves that give rise to the sensation of pain (pain fibers). The thin layer of tissue (periosteum) that surrounds bones, muscles that encase the skull, sinuses, eyes, and ears, as well as thin tissues that cover the surface of the brain and spinal cord (meninges), arteries, veins, and nerves, all can become inflamed or irritated and cause headache. The pain may be a dull ache, sharp, throbbing, constant, intermittent, mild, or intense. Headaches can be more complicated than most people realize. Different kinds can have their own set of symptoms, happen for unique reasons, and need different kinds of treatment. Once you know the type of headache you have, you and your doctor can find the treatment that’s most likely to help and even try to prevent them.
Headache is the symptom of pain anywhere in the region of the head or neck. It occurs in migraines (sharp, or throbbing pains), tension-type headaches, and cluster headaches.Frequent headaches can affect relationships and employment. There is also an increased risk of depression in those with severe headaches. Headaches can occur as a result of many conditions whether serious or not. There are a number of different classification systems for headaches. The most well-recognized is that of the International Headache Society. Causes of headaches may include fatigue, sleep deprivation, stress, the effects of medications, the effects of recreational drugs, viral infections, loud noises, common colds, head injury, rapid ingestion of a very cold food or beverage, and dental or sinus issues.The pain you feel during a headache comes from a mix of signals between your brain, blood vessels, and nearby nerves. Specific nerves of the blood vessels and head muscles switch on and send pain signals to your brain. But it's not clear why these signals turn on in the first place. People often get headaches because of:
Illness: such as an infection, cold, or fever. They’re also common with conditions like sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses), a throat infection, or an ear infection. In some cases, the headaches may be the result of a blow to the head or rarely, a sign of a more serious medical problem. Stress: Emotional stress and depression as well as alcohol use, skipping meals, changes in sleep patterns, and taking too much medication. Other causes include eyestrain and neck or back strain due to poor posture. Your environment, including secondhand tobacco smoke, strong smells from household chemicals or perfumes, allergens, and certain foods. Stress, pollution, noise, lighting, and weather changes are other possible triggers. Headaches, especially migraine headaches, tend to run in families. Most children and teens (90%) who have migraines have other family members who get them. When both parents have a history of migraines, there is a 70% chance that their child will also have them. If only one parent has a history of these headaches, the risk drops to 25%-50%.
Doctors don’t know exactly what causes migraines. A popular theory is that triggers cause unusual brain activity, which causes changes in the blood vessels there. Some forms of migraines are linked to genetic problems in certain parts of the brain. Too much physical activity can also trigger a migraine in adults. Treatment of a headache depends on the underlying cause, but commonly involves pain medication. Some form of headache is one of the most commonly experienced of all physical discomforts. About half of adults have a headache in a given year. Tension headaches are the most common, affecting about 1.6 billion people (21.8% of the population) followed by migraine headaches which affect about 848 million (11.7%)
There are more than two hundred types of headaches. Some are harmless and some are life-threatening. The description of the headache and findings on neurological examination, determine whether additional tests are needed and what treatment is best. Once you get your headaches diagnosed correctly, you can start the right treatment plan for your symptoms. The first step is to talk to your doctor about your headaches. She’ll give you a physical exam and ask you about the symptoms you have and how often they happen. It’s important to be as complete as possible with these descriptions. Give your doctor a list of things that cause your headaches, make them worse, and what helps you feel better. You can track details in a headache diary to help your doctor diagnose your problem. Most people don’t need special diagnostic tests. But sometimes, doctors suggest a CT scan or MRI to look for problems inside your brain that might cause your headaches. Skull X-rays are not helpful. An EEG (electroencephalogram) is also unnecessary unless you have passed out when you had a headache. If your headache symptoms get worse or happen more often despite treatment, ask your doctor to refer you to a headache specialist. If you need more information, contact one of the organizations in the resource list for a list of member doctors in your state.
Your doctor may recommend different types of treatment to try. She also might recommend more testing or refer you to a headache specialist. The treatment you need will depend on a lot of things, including the type of headache you get, how often, and its cause. Some people don’t need medical help at all. But those who do might get medications, counseling, stress management, and biofeedback. Your doctor will make a treatment plan to meet your specific needs. Once you start a treatment program, keep track of how well it’s working. A headache diary can help you note any patterns or changes in how you feel. Know that it may take some time for you and your doctor to find the best treatment plan, so try to be patient. Be honest with her about what is and isn’t working for you. Even though you’re getting treatment, you should still steer clear of the things you know can trigger your problem, like foods or smells. And it’s important to stick to healthy habits that will keep you feeling good, like regular exercise, enough sleep, and a healthy diet. Also, make your scheduled follow-up appointments so your doctor can see how you’re doing and make changes in the treatment program if you need them.
Headaches are broadly classified as "primary" or "secondary". Primary headaches are benign, recurrent headaches not caused by underlying disease or structural problems. For example, migraine is a type of primary headache. While primary headaches may cause significant daily pain and disability, they are not dangerous. Secondary headaches are caused by an underlying disease, like an infection, head injury, vascular disorders, brain bleed or tumors. Secondary headaches can be harmless or dangerous. Certain "red flags" or warning signs indicate a secondary headache may be dangerous.Occurring in about three of every four adults, tension headaches are the most common of all headaches. In most cases, they are mild to moderate in severity and occur infrequently. But a few people get severe tension headaches, and some are troubled by them for three or four times a week. The typical tension headache produces a dull, squeezing pain on both sides of the head. People with strong tension headaches may feel like their head is in a vise. The shoulders and neck can also ache. Some tension headaches are triggered by fatigue, emotional stress, or problems involving the muscles or joints of the neck or jaw. Most last for 20 minutes to two hours.If you get occasional tension-type headaches, you can take care of them yourself. Over-the-counter pain relievers such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, other brands) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) such as aspirin, naproxen (Aleve, other brands), or ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, other brands) often do the trick, but follow the directions on the label, and never take more than you should. A heating pad or warm shower may help; some people feel better with a short nap or light snack. If you get frequent tension-type headaches, try to identify triggers so you can avoid them. Don't get overtired or skip meals. Learn relaxation techniques; yoga is particularly helpful because it can relax both your mind and your neck muscles. If you clench your jaw or grind your teeth at night, a bite plate may help. If you need more help, your doctor may prescribe a stronger pain medication or a muscle relaxant to control headache pain. Many people with recurrent tension-type headaches can prevent attacks by taking a tricyclic antidepressant such as amitriptyline (Elavil, generic). Fortunately, most people with tension-type headaches will do very well with simpler programs. 90% of all headaches are primary headaches. Primary headaches usually first start when people are between 20 and 40 years old. The most common types of primary headaches are migraines and tension-type headaches.[6] They have different characteristics. Migraines typically present with pulsing head pain, nausea, photophobia (sensitivity to light) and phonophobia (sensitivity to sound). Tension-type headaches usually present with non-pulsing "bandlike" pressure on both sides of the head, not accompanied by other symptoms. Other very rare types of primary headaches include: cluster headaches: This type is intense and feels like a burning or piercing pain behind or around one eye, either throbbing or constant. It’s the least common but the most severe type of headache. The pain can be so bad that most people with cluster headaches can’t sit still and will often pace during an attack. On the side of the pain, the eyelid droops, the eye reddens, pupil gets smaller or the eye tears. The nostril on that side runs or stuffs
They’re called “cluster headaches” because they tend to happen in groups. You might get them one to three times per day during a cluster period, which may last 2 weeks to 3 months. Each headache attack last 15 mins to 3 hours and often wakens the patient from sleep. The headaches may disappear completely (go into "remission") for months or years, only to come back again. Cluster headaches affect men 3-4 times more often than women.short episodes (15–180 minutes) of severe pain, usually around one eye, with autonomic symptoms (tearing, red eye, nasal congestion) which occur at the same time every day. Cluster headaches can be treated with triptans and prevented with prednisone, ergotamine or lithium. trigeminal neuralgia or occipital neuralgia: shooting face pain hemicrania continua: continuous unilateral pain with episodes of severe pain. Hemicrania continua can be relieved by the medication indomethacin.
primary stabbing headache: recurrent episodes of stabbing "ice pick pain" or "jabs and jolts" for 1 second to several minutes without autonomic symptoms (tearing, red eye, nasal congestion). These headaches can be treated with indomethacin. primary cough headache: starts suddenly and lasts for several minutes after coughing, sneezing or straining (anything that may increase pressure in the head). Serious causes (see secondary headaches red flag section) must be ruled out before a diagnosis of "benign" primary cough headache can be made. primary exertional headache: throbbing, pulsatile pain which starts during or after exercising, lasting for 5 minutes to 24 hours. The mechanism behind these headaches is unclear, possibly due to straining causing veins in the head to dilate, causing pain. These headaches can be prevented by not exercising too strenuously and can be treated with medications such as indomethacin. primary sex headache: dull, bilateral headache that starts during sexual activity and becomes much worse during orgasm. These headaches are thought to be due to lower pressure in the head during sex. It is important to realize that headaches that begin during orgasm may be due to a subarachnoid hemorrhage, so serious causes must be ruled out first. These headaches are treated by advising the person to stop sex if they develop a headache. Medications such as propranolol and diltiazem can also be helpful.
hypnic headache: moderate-severe headache that starts a few hours after falling asleep and lasts 15–30 minutes. The headache may recur several times during night. Hypnic headaches are usually in older women. They may be treated with lithium.
]
Headaches may be caused by problems elsewhere in the head or neck. Some of these are not harmful, such as cervicogenic headache (pain arising from the neck muscles). Medication overuse headache may occur in those using excessive painkillers for headaches, paradoxically causing worsening headaches.More serious causes of secondary headaches include: meningitis: inflammation of the meninges which presents with fever and meningismus, or stiff neck
bleeding inside the brain (intracranial hemorrhage)
subarachnoid hemorrhage (acute, severe headache, stiff neck WITHOUT fever) ruptured aneurysm, arteriovenous malformation, intraparenchymal hemorrhage (headache only)
brain tumor: dull headache, worse with exertion and change in position, accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Often, the person will have nausea and vomiting for weeks before the headache starts. temporal arteritis: inflammatory disease of arteries common in the elderly (average age 70) with fever, headache, weight loss, jaw claudication, tender vessels by the temples, polymyalgia rheumatica acute closed angle glaucoma (increased pressure in the eyeball): headache that starts with eye pain, blurry vision, associated with nausea and vomiting. On physical exam, the person will have a red eye and a fixed, mid dilated pupil. Post-ictal headaches: Headaches that happen after a convulsion or other type of seizure, as part of the period after the seizure (the post-ictal state) Gastrointestinal disorders may cause headaches, including Helicobacter pylori infection, celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, gastroparesis, and hepatobiliary disorders. The treatment of the gastrointestinal disorders may lead to a remission or improvement of headaches.
The brain itself is not sensitive to pain, because it lacks pain receptors. However, several areas of the head and neck do have pain receptors and can thus sense pain. These include the extracranial arteries, middle meningeal artery, large veins, venous sinuses, cranial and spinal nerves, head and neck muscles, the meninges, falx cerebri, parts of the brainstem, eyes, ears, teeth and lining of the mouth.Pial arteries, rather than pial veins are responsible for pain production. Headaches often result from traction to or irritation of the meninges and blood vessels. The nociceptors may be stimulated by head trauma or tumors and cause headaches. Blood vessel spasms, dilated blood vessels, inflammation or infection of meninges and muscular tension can also stimulate nociceptors and cause pain. Once stimulated, a nociceptor sends a message up the length of the nerve fiber to the nerve cells in the brain, signaling that a part of the body hurts.
Primary headaches are more difficult to understand than secondary headaches. The exact mechanisms which cause migraines, tension headaches and cluster headaches are not known. There have been different theories over time which attempt to explain what happens in the brain to cause these headaches.
Migraines are currently thought to be caused by dysfunction of the nerves in the brain. This condition is accompanied by intense headaches. These headaches are often described as pounding, throbbing pain. They can last from 4 hours to 3 days and usually happen one to four times per month. Along with the pain, people have other symptoms, such as sensitivity to light, noise, or smells; nausea or vomiting; loss of appetite; and upset stomach or belly pain. When a child has a migraine, she may look pale, feel dizzy, and have blurry vision, fever, and an upset stomach.Migraines occur less often than tension-type headaches, but they are usually much more severe. They are two to three times more common in women than men, but that's small consolation if you are among the 6% to 8% of all men who have migraines. And since a Harvard study of 20,084 men age 40 to 84 reported that having migraines boosts the risk of heart attacks by 42%, men with migraines should take their headaches to heart. Neurologists believe that migraines are caused by changes in the brain's blood flow and nerve cell activity. Genetics play a role since 70% of migraine victims have at least one close relative with the problem. Migraine triggers. Although a migraine can come on without warning, it is often set off by a trigger. The things that set off a migraine vary from person to person, but a migraine sufferer usually remains sensitive to the same triggers. A small percentage of children's migraines include digestive symptoms, like vomiting, that happen about once a month. Previously, migraines were thought to be caused by a primary problem with the blood vessels in the brain.This vascular theory, which was developed in the 20th century by Wolff, suggested that the aura in migraines is caused by constriction of intracranial vessels (vessels inside the brain), and the headache itself is caused by rebound dilation of extracranial vessels (vessels just outside the brain). Dilation of these extracranial blood vessels activates the pain receptors in the surrounding nerves, causing a headache. The vascular theory is no longer accepted. Studies have shown migraine head pain is not accompanied by extracranial vasodilation, but rather only has some mild intracranial vasodilation.
Currently, most specialists think migraines are due to a primary problem with the nerves in the brain. Auras are thought to be caused by a wave of increased activity of neurons in the cerebral cortex (a part of the brain) known as cortical spreading depression followed by a period of depressed activity. Some people think headaches are caused by the activation of sensory nerves which release peptides or serotonin, causing inflammation in arteries, dura and meninges and also cause some vasodilation. Triptans, medications which treat migraines, block serotonin receptors and constrict blood vessels. People who are more susceptible to experience migraines without headache are those who have a family history of migraines, women, and women who are experiencing hormonal changes or are taking birth control pills or are prescribed hormone replacement therapy. Tension headaches are thought to be caused by activation of peripheral nerves in the head and neck muscles Cluster headaches involve overactivation of the trigeminal nerve and hypothalamus in the brain, but the exact cause is unknown.
Neuron 2010 by Roxy Paine, a 44-year old New York artist, is for exhibition in
The 17th Biennale of Sydney (12 May - 1 Aug 2010). The exhibition, directed by David Elliott, and titled The Beauty of Distance: Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age will showcase new and recent works by Sydney and international artists at Sydney's leading cultural institutions, contemporary art spaces and heritage sites.
Roxy Paine had made a series of large structures based on the forms of trees with their roots exposed that have been handmade out of industrial stainless steel pipe. These works are generically called Dendroids. Neuron 2010 continues this idea, focusing even more on dandrites and synapses, the means by which information, knowledge and experience are electronically transmitted through a body........[excerpts from information board]
Neuron 2010, MCA, Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia (Tuesday 4 May 2010 @ 8:51am).
Edit: Hurray for the GFP Nobel Prize. Aside from just green, it is a wonderful rainbow of tools providing results...
20X magnification of the somatosensory cortex of a mouse brain slice. These little guys have green flourescent protein (GFP) from a jelly-fish expressed in a subset of their neurons. Layer V neuron cell bodies are the teardrop shaped things at the bottom and then the dendrite reaches up like a tree to then bifurcate near the top (pial surface).
Neuronal cells were cultured in a microfluidic device with channels to induce guidance of axons. We load the device with nanorods which penetrate into the cells and we study how those rods move inside the axons. Cells have been fixed and plastified with resin (thin layer plastification, procedure developed in our lab) such that both the rods and the cells are preserved and visible. In fact we can distinguish between the penetrating rods and those which just stay outside the cell.
Courtesy of Dr. Francesca Santoro , Stanford University - Chemistry Department
Image Details
Instrument used: Helios NanoLab
Voltage: 5kV
Detector: BSE
*
*
y también Twiter
*
*
De forma misteriosa y por ello todavía incomprendida, las amebas constructoras, que como Centropyxis modelan granito a grano su caparazón, sin planos, sin neuronas y sin manos, lo hacen siguiendo siempre el mismo patrón no escrito y ese patrón permite diferenciar a los numerosos géneros y a la gran variedad de especies que fabrican su casa siguiendo técnicas completamente distintas, siempre con un resultado sorprendente y hermoso del Arte de la Naturaleza.
Centropyxis es un género que reúne a poco más de una docena de especies, de contorno variado, pero casi siempre elíptico o circular, cuya cubierta está tapizada por diminutos granitos de arena o caparazones minúsculos de algunos organismos que como las diatomeas, tras vivir navegando un tiempo, han quedado depositados sobre el mullido fondo en una colección de joyas de naufragio que Centropyxis consigue recuperar para adornarse.
A veces Centropyxis se acicala rematando su casa con pequeñas torres de aguja que coronan sus contornos y cada una de las especies lo hace de una manera propia y singular. Sin embargo, todas tienen algo en común: la puerta por la que Centropyxis asoma su cuerpo al agua, como si fuese la puerta de una concha de caracol, suele ser circular como un ojo de buey y está situada en posición central.
...sin embargo, alguna de estas diminutas amebas, excéntrica y original, ha decidido probar suerte de una manera diferente y construir su casa con la puerta desplazada hacia un extremo y asomar así su cuerpo por ella como si lo hiciese desde la boca de un buzón y esa ameba excéntrica es la ameba de hoy Centropyxis platystoma.
Al igual que al resto de sus hermanas a Centropyxis platystoma también le encanta rebozarse de arena y si fuésemos de su tamaño, la confundiríamos con el fondo de las charcas en las que vive camuflada como si fuese el mismo lecho del agua.
Todo lo que encuentra en el fondo le sirve para ir construyendo, grano a grano, la casa que le dará cobijo y, así, de forma mágica, cristal a cristal de cuarzo fragmentos invisibles de limo van modelando la vasija que contiene su vida.
Centropyxis platystoma también es una ameba de gruesos brazos y cuerpo de agua, por eso necesita vivir protegida y es ella misma la que fabrica una casa con pared de doble muro: uno fino y suave, casi transparente, de materia orgánica en contacto con su cuerpo como una delicada camisa y otro sobre ella, armadura y abrigo de piedrecitas recogidas en el fondo.
Sin embargo, Centropyxis platystoma es excéntrica y construye a su manera especial la entrada de su casa, protegida además por encima por un arco en forma de abanico extendido, desde donde se asoma para ver la vida a su alrededor, ver sin vista...eso sí que es original y excéntrico y no sólo es habilidad de esta ameba excéntrica, todas ellas ven así.
Centropyxis platystoma vive entre los sedimentos alimentándose de pequeñas partículas de la materia orgánica contenida en ellos y se cita por vez primera desde esta galería para el Lago de Sanabria y quizá también para la Península Ibérica.
La imagen, tomada a 400 aumentos con la técnica de campo oscuro y polarización, procede de una muestra recogida a 4m de profundidad, en los fondos del Lago de Sanabria junto a la Isla de Moras el 7 de julio de 2015, por Laura, Mª José y Tomás desde el catamarán Helios Sanabria el primer catamarán del mundo propulsado por energía eólica y solar.
Presentación ponencia congreso internacional de Limnología de la AIL
Informes de contaminación en el Lago de Sanabria
Informe de evolución de la contaminación en el Lago de Sanabria
My Website : Twitter : Facebook : Instagram : Photocrowd
Another from last Thursdays visit to Canary Wharf Winter Lights Festival, this time it's 'Neuron' by Juan Fuentes.
This for me was one of the moer interesting installations but without my tripod I've not really been able to do it justice.
Click here to see more photos from Canary Wharf : www.flickr.com/photos/darrellg/albums/72177720298516472
From Canarywharf.com, "This newly commissioned installation is inspired by the intricate network of neural connections in the human brain. The vast three-dimensional structure composed of thousands of luminous filaments that interweave and intricately connect, aims to make the incredibly complex concept of the human brain into a tangible, and beautiful art object. Each filament represents a neuron, and their interconnection symbolizes neuronal synapses, where the transmission of electrical and chemical signals take place."
© D.Godliman
nEUROn et Rafale M en vol au-dessus du porte-avions Charles de Gaulle.
Essais à la mer afin d'étudier l'utilisation d'un drone de combat dans un contexte naval.
© Dassault Aviation - A. Pecchi
Close-up of neurons in a mouse with the neurodegenerative disease Niemann-Pick type C1. A major way to assess the impact of a potential therapeutic on the central nervous system is to assess cerebellar pathology in mice.
Credit: I. Williams, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH