Brain

The day my mothers head exploded

The always excellent All in the Mind and ABC’s Natasha Mitchell introduces us to Hannah Palin and her mother Nikki. In 1987, 46-year-old Nikki Palin’s head ‘exploded’, according to her daughter Hannah. After a ruptured aneurysm, Nikki’s personality radically changed and recovery was slow, but surprisingly Nikki likes her post-aneurysm self so much more! This is a truly delightful and inspiring recounting of recovery and reinvention. A before and after story that’ll make you grin…and sing. Link to listen to the All in the Mind Podcast The day my mother’s head exploded

Source: All in the Mind

TurmericWhether or not you’re fond of Indian, Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern food, stroke researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center think you may become a fan of one of their key spices.

The scientists created a new molecule from curcumin, a chemical component of the golden-colored spice turmeric, and found in laboratory experiments that it affects mechanisms that protect and help regenerate brain cells after stroke. Research scientist Paul A. Lapchak, Ph.D., director of Translational Research in the Department of Neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, will present these findings at the American Heart Association International Stroke Conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 6:15 p.m. PST. [continue reading…]

Seeing the world differently

Wellcome Trust scientists have shown for the first time that exactly how we see our environment depends on the size of the visual part of our brain.
We are all familiar with the idea that our thoughts and emotions differ from one person to another, but most people assume that how we perceive the visual world is usually very similar from person to person. However, the primary visual cortex – the area at the back of the brain responsible for processing what we see in the world around us – is known to differ in size by up to three times from one individual to the next. [continue reading…]