Ask a Neuroscientist: Why does the nervous system decussate?

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Ask a Neuroscientist: Why does the nervous system decussate?

Our latest question comes from Dr. Sowmiya Priyamvatha, who asks: I've learnt that tracts to and fro from the brain cross. Why should they cross? Is there any evolutionary significance for that? I know left side of the brain controls right and vice versa but why?

Your question is actually hotly debated among evolutionary biologists and neuroscientists. There are, in fact, multiple theories about why tracts cross in the human nervous system. My favorite theory, though, has to do with the evolution of the entire vertebrate lineage. It is called the “somatic twist” hypothesis[i], and it asserts that neural crossings (technically called “decussations”) are the byproduct of a much larger evolutionary change—the switch from having a ventral (belly-side) nerve cord to dorsal (back-side) nerve cord.

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NeuroTalk S2E9 Kathleen Cullen

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This week we speak with Kathleen Cullen about how our brains control our eyes and head, why astronauts get sick in space, and more! 

This week we speak with Kathleen Cullen about how our brains control our eyes and head, why astronauts get sick in space, and more! Dr. Cullen is a professor of physiology, and the director of the Systems Neuroscience and Aerospace Medical Research Unit at McGill University.

Dr. Cullen is a professor of physiology, and the director of the Systems Neuroscience and Aerospace Medical Research Unit at McGill University.

This episode can also be streamed or downloaded here: NeuroTalk S2E9 Kathleen Cullen

Ask a Neuroscientist: Motor Skills and Handedness

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Ask a Neuroscientist: Motor Skills and Handedness

Eric (age 18) asks: How different are the fine motor skills in your dominant hand rather than in your non-dominant hand? Say, if I have used a computer mouse for my entire life with my right hand, but am left-handed, would my computer mouse accuracy improve if I now switched to using the mouse with my left hand? How long would it take to catch up to my right-handed computer mouse skills?

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Ask a Neuroscientist: Spoken versus Written Language

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Ask a Neuroscientist: Spoken versus Written Language

n this edition of Ask a Neuroscientist, I crowdsource the answer to a question about the differences between how the brain processes spoken versus written language.  

The question comes from Minski, who wrote:

"Does writing down what I think and saying what I think activate different parts of the brain and neuropathways?  I feel I have an easier time writing than I do speaking, so I wonder.  

Thank you for your time and knowledge!"

 

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Your Brain on Music ... and/or Dopamine

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 My workday is full of people wearing headphones. Almost everybody on the bus to work is plugged into a music player or a smartphone. The bicyclists pushing pedals along the busy El Camino Real road that bisects Silicon Valley are also almost universally equipped with devices that occupy their ears, though arguably they would be better off paying attention to the sounds of traffic (for a summary of American laws regulating this matter, see here). Once I get to my laboratory, I have no one to say good morning to, as the hearing of my co-workers is engrossed by whatever is playing on their computers. Pretty soon, I also feel the urge to plug in to my Internet radio station and tune out the world. Once I do, I’m happier. And that got me wondering. How much do we know about the neurobiology behind compulsive behavior that generates pleasure and does the craving for music exhibited by many people around me share this neurobiology?

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NeuroTalk S2E8 Marc Freeman

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This week on NeuroTalk, Marc Freeman talks to us about falling in love with biology, eating injured axons, and more!

This week, Marc Freeman talks to us about falling in love with biology, eating injured axons, and more! Marc Freeman is an assistant professor of neurobiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.


Marc Freeman is an assistant professor of neurobiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Our conversation with professor Freeman can also be streamed or downloaded here: NeuroTalk S2E8 Marc Freeman

You can also subscribe to NeuroTalk though iTunes by searching for "Neuwritewest" in the iTunes store and subscribing to our channel.

NeuroTalk S2E7 Cagla Eroglu

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This week, we talk to Cagla Eroglu about the eureka moments in scientific discovery, the role of astrocytes in synapse formation, and more!

This week, we talk to Cagla Eroglu about the eureka moments in scientific discovery, the role of astrocytes in synapse formation, and more! Dr. Eroglu is an assistant professor of cell biology at Duke University.

 

Dr. Eroglu is an assistant professor of cell biology at Duke University. Our conversation with professor Eroglu can also be streamed or downloaded here: NeuroTalk S2E7 Cagla Eroglu. 

You can also subscribe to NeuroTalk though iTunes by searching for "Neuwritewest" in the iTunes store and subscribing to our channel.

NeuroTalk S2E6 Jeff Isaacson

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This week on NeuroTalk, we talk to Jeff Isaacson about his journey from rock shows to neuroscience, the importance of inhibition, the BRAIN Initiative, and more!

This week, we talk to Jeff Isaacson about his journey from rock shows to neuroscience, the importance of inhibition, the BRAIN Initiative, and more! Dr. Isaacson is a professor of neuroscience at UC San Diego.

Dr. Isaacson is a professor of neuroscience at UC San Diego.

Our conversation with professor Isaacson can be streamed or downloaded here: NeuroTalk S2E6 Jeff Isaacson. 

You can also subscribe to NeuroTalk though iTunes by searching for "Neuwritewest" in the iTunes store and subscribing to our channel.

Penguins, pyjamas and postdocs

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What started as an idea for a birthday party got a little out of hand. The California Academy of Sciences (one of the largest natural history museums in the world) runs an annual sleepover for grownups, during which visitors can explore the museum after hours then roll out their camping gear and sleep with the fishes in the aquarium or with the penguins in the African hall. This year, Antoine de Morrée (co-chair of the Stanford University Postdoctoral Association) decided that instead of convincing a handful of friends to attend the sleepover, the association should get together a committee to convince 40 Stanford postdocs to spend days preparing samples and scientific stories to share with the public. Astonishingly, that’s exactly what happened.

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