Neuropsycotic!

Reblogged from dryeffects

dryeffects:

Cat Dissection

(Source: Flickr / ang_lina)

Reblogged from neurolove

neurolove:

Cerebellar purkinje cells

The cerebellum, its name meaning “little brain” in Latin, really does look like a smaller brain located just below the back of the occipital lobe.  The cerebellum is often ignored in research (MRI researchers are especially guilty of ignoring activations back there).  It seems to be involved in coordination and balance, but likely has other purposes as well. 

In cross-section, the cerebellum itself looks like a tree, and the neurons inside of it (purkinje cells, named after the anatomist who first studied them) are definitely very tree-like.  You can see the yellow neurons here have some big extensions like a tree trunk and then many, many branches off of them, just like trees do. 

Reblogged from scientificillustration

wellcomebrains:

Figure of the brain with both membranes stripped off, by Andreas Vesalius, 1555. From ‘De humani corporis fabrica libri septem’.

Find this image on Wellcome Images.

Reblogged from medicalschool

medicalschool:

The human brain

(Source: youreyeonthefuture.files.wordpress.com)

Reblogged from medicalschool

medicalschool:

fMRI of the human brain

Reblogged from scientificillustration

Neuron (by hijun)

Reblogged from psydoctor8

psydoctor8:

Check it out: The first neurobiological model for third-party punishment

Here’s a a very recent update to my last post on the Neurobiology of Punishment by Joshua W Buckholtz and René Marois, breaking down the events that take place in the brain when asked to make decisions regarding punishment. Of the five processes you have the frontal cortex (higher mental functions) the amygdala (emotional responses) and the intraparietal sulcus and temporal-parietal junction (interpreting the intent of others, thoery of mind).

In the modern criminal justice system, judges and jury members – impartial third-party decision-makers – are tasked to evaluate the severity of a criminal act, the mental state of the accused and the amount of harm done, and then integrate these evaluations with the applicable legal codes and select the most appropriate punishment from available options. (…) 

 [via] 

  One of the key take aways is that:

..it’s assumed legal decision-making is purely based on rational thinking, research suggests that much of the motivation for punishing is driven by negative emotional responses to the harm. This signal appears to be generated in the amygdala, causing people to factor in their emotional state when making decisions instead of making solely factual judgments.

Getting ahead of ourselves: glossy brain porn v. emotion  

What happens if the jury is presented with neuroscientific evidence suggesting what may have caused the accused to offend, e.g., a brain scan showing a tumor? This may challenge the negative emotional response since it’s been reported that this type of evidence is so seductive to juries. >law & order, donk donk<

Article here.

[Img: Parts of the brain involved in third party punishment. (Rene Marois, Deborah Brewington/Vanderbilt University)]

Reblogged from psydoctor8

psydoctor8:

Notes on Neurobiological Substrates of Punishment

•  Impulsive punishment may relate to amygdala-based circuitry (AM/PAG, yellow), where there is associative learning between cues and outcomes.

• Instrumental punishment may be connected to striatal-mediated reinforcement for goal oriented actions. This type of punishment may lead to appetitive retributive goals (fascinating), possibly coming from the MFOC (medial orbitofrontal cortex), or from forward-planning areas of the prefrontal cortex which also plays a role in theory of mind (blue areas).

• These appetitive/instinctual actions may reinforce further action through the dorsomedial striatum (DMS,green) which if becoming “habit-based”, we’re then looking at reinforced action through dorsolateral striatum (DLS, red), which would likely indicate dopamine-dependent circuits. 

[via: The Neurobiology of Punishment]