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The stress-response
Published in Herman Staudenmayer, Environmental Illness, 2018
The second major biochemical system of the stress-response involves the catecholamines. The catecholamines are progressive metabolites of tyrosine and include dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE; also called noradrenalin in the British literature), and epinephrine (EPI; also called adrenalin). Catecholamine effects have been localized in specific brain regions in the limbic system, the cerebral cortex, and the midbrain (mesencephalon). Regions in the midbrain are associated with regulation of arousal, pain threshold, emotion, and memory. Catecholamines may also modulate the effect of other neurotransmitters (Kupfermann, 1979).
An emergent deep developmental model for auditory learning
Published in Journal of Experimental & Theoretical Artificial Intelligence, 2020
Dongshu Wang, Yadong Zhang, Jianbin Xin
Studies have shown that the superior colliculus is also involved in the auditory system. In the brain, the auditory spatial receptive field is centred on the head, and each sensory mode forms a complete topological spatial distribution in the deep layer of the superior colliculus, so that neurons located in different parts of the superior colliculus can sense the corresponding spatial stimulus from the outside world (Royal, Juliane, Fister, & Wallace, 2010;)Yu, Xu, Rowland, & Stein, 2016). As one of the important structures of the midbrain, the superior colliculus can receive projections of multisensory information from the cortex and extensive areas under the cortex (Ghose & Wallace, 2014; May, 2006). Studies on multiple species have found that the superior colliculus can downward project multisensory information into several nerve nuclei to control the orientation of the eyes and ears (Sparks, 1986).
The electric brain: do-it-yourself healthcare with transcranial direct current stimulation
Published in Journal of Responsible Innovation, 2018
Part of the allure of tDCS is its seemingly ease of use. People believe that the technology is straightforward and will allow you to stimulate only the areas that you choose to stimulate. But that is just not the case. In a 2013 study, researchers were able to remotely activate the ventral midbrain of 19 subjects through direct current stimulation of the prefrontal cortex for 15 min at 2mA (Figure 4) (Chib et al. 2013) They hypothesized that due to the midbrain’s highly interconnected nature with the prefrontal cortex that stimulation in one part of the pathway should be able to activate other parts of the pathway. Another study conducted in 2001 by Strafella et al. demonstrated the ability to induce dopamine release in the caudate nucleus of eight subjects through repetitive stimulation of the prefrontal cortex (Figure 5). This study utilized a similar form of brain stimulation called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). TMS is a circular coil that is held over the subject’s head and electrical pulses are sent across the skull.