theinnerprocess

[theinnerprocess]

Wonderful article on colours and Frida Kahlo

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A windswept cormorant coming in to land at Pentire, Cornwall. #nationaltrust

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Novel brain network linked to chronic pain in Parkinson’s disease

Scientists have revealed a novel brain network that links pain in Parkinson’s disease (PD) to a specific region of the brain, according to a report in the journal eLife.

The research reveals why a subset of neurons in part of the brain called the subthalamic nucleus is a potential target for pain relief in PD, as well as other diseases such as dementia, motor neuron disease and Huntington’s, and certain forms of migraine.

People with PD often report unexplained pain such as burning, stabbing, aching, itching or tingling sensations that are not directly related to their other PD symptoms. Treatment with deep brain stimulation in the subthalamic nucleus can help with the movement-related symptoms of PD, but recent studies have shown it also reduces pain. The way it does this, however, is currently unclear.

“In this study, we set out to determine whether the subthalamic nucleus is involved in translating a harmful stimulus such as injury into pain, and whether this information transmission is altered in PD,” explains lead author Arnaud Pautrat, PhD Student at Grenoble Institut des Neurosciences (Inserm, National Institute for Health and Medical Research/University Grenoble Alpes), France.

The team started by using electrophysiology to measure the firing of electrical signals in nerve cells in the subthalamic nucleus of rats given a shock to their back paw. Nerve cells were indeed temporally activated by this stimulation. They also found that the neurons fell into three response groups, showing an increase, decrease or no change in their baseline firing rate.

They next looked at whether these responses caused a change in brain function. Rats with a damaged subthalamic nucleus took much longer to show signs of discomfort than healthy rats. When they expanded their study to rat models of PD, the team found that nerve cells in the subthalamic nucleus had higher firing rates and the responses to pain were bigger and longer than in the healthy animals. Taken together, this suggests that dysfunctional pain-processing pathways in the subthalamic nucleus are the cause of PD-related pain.

To understand where the pain signals to the subthalamic nucleus were coming from, the team looked at two brain structures known to be important in relaying damage signals from the spinal cord: the superior colliculus and the parabrachial nucleus. Blocking their activity revealed that both structures play a crucial role in transmitting pain information to the subthalamic nucleus, and that a direct communication pathway exists between the parabrachial nucleus and the subthalamic nucleus. As a result, the team believes this pathway is likely to be involved in the beneficial effects of deep brain stimulation on pain in PD and that these novel insights could help to target stimulation to specific parts of the brain to make it more effective as a pain reliever.

“We have found evidence that the subthalamic nucleus is functionally linked to a pain-processing network and that these responses are affected in Parkinsonism,” concludes senior author and Inserm researcher Veronique Coizet, PhD. “Further experiments are now needed to fully characterise the effects deep brain stimulation on this brain region in our experimental models, with a view to finding ways to optimise it as a treatment for pain caused by Parkinson’s and other neurological diseases.”

[theinnerprocess]

Fascinating piece by Christian Jarrett

All about the brain - a mixing of senses, sensing and sensation.

Researchers Show There Is A Simple Way To Induce Synesthesia In People With Normal Perception

Researchers Show There Is A Simple Way To Induce Synesthesia In People With Normal Perception

By Christian Jarrett

For most of us, it is difficult to imagine what it must be like to be a synesthete – that is, someone who experiences a crossing over of their senses, such as seeing sounds as colours, or perceiving shapes as having tastes. However, according to a new study in Conscientiousness and Cognition, it is actually relatively easy for people with normal perception to have a…

[theinnerprocess]

7 April 2019 marks 25 years since the start of the Rwandan Genocide, when approximately 800,000 Rwandans were killed in a period of 100 days. To mark this anniversary, African Affairs journal has created a free virtual issue of their best scholarly articles on Rwanda. Don’t miss this opportunity to read about the legacy of genocide and Rwandan politics under the RPF.

Read the collection here. 

Image provided by Wikimedia Commons 

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Honesty, Humility, Grace

The words above may be useful - the gods know that we need something to lean on and into, when our days shrink and our to-do lists get longer.....

[theinnerprocess]

Re-connecting with self and soul. Beginning to embrace all that is you.

[theinnerprocess]

Neurobiology and / or Collective Unconscious

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Beautiful owls. Gorgeous portraits of these wonderful birds.

[theinnerprocess]

Order from chaos Beautiful, mesmerizing movement and pattern, reforming and alive. From simplicity to complexity

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“Every atom in creation may be said to be acquainted with and married to every other,” the great naturalist John Muir wrote as he contemplated the…

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Brains: Journey to Resilience

A little simplistic but effective, accessible and clear description of effects of stress and trauma on neurological functioning.

[theinnerprocess]

Heart-catching, walk-into images of Japan - cities, mountain, countryside, sometimes peopled.

Your moment of Zen, R̸K̸

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Brain Food

Explaining the power of curiosity – to your brain, hunger for knowledge is much the same as hunger for food

Explaining the power of curiosity – to your brain, hunger for knowledge is much the same as hunger for food

By Christian Jarrett

Curiosity is a welcome trait in many respects and is the fuel that powers science. Yet literature is filled with fables that warn of the seductive danger of curiosity (think of how Orpheus loses his wife Eurydice forever after he succumbs to the temptation to glimpse at the underworld). In real life too, we all know the regret that can follow if we give in to curiosity –…

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Inside, Outside

Rumah Padang Linjong / Patishandika [667 x 1000]