Anatomy, Physiology and Neuroscience

Hi. Can anyone explain to me the basics of how retinal imaging works, or maybe provide a link to a page that explains the basic process? Cheers!

What is the process/function that allows one to breathe? I imagine it must be some sort of muscular contraction, but that doesn't seem to explain how air can be taken in. Where does the exhaling and inhaling action get its power?

i was told to culture glial cells before inoculate the rat hippocampus neuron, but it will take a considerably long time. is there any other way that can shorten the period? can i cultivate the glial cells and neurons at the same time?

Hi. I'm Sam, I'm 16(almost 17) I haven't had my period in almost 8 months. I'm not pregnant but I have a horrible diet, I eat like every other teenager in the world... WITHOUT having to go to the doctor(I hate doctors) What could be causing this? and could there be something health-threatening(aside from not having kids) caused by this? Thank you for your help.

How does marijuana make your eyes go red? How do clear eyes make them go white again? How come they stay red for a bit afterwards like a couple of days?

Today, My doctor says i have scoliosis. What should i do?? Is it normal?

I came to the conclusion whilst taking a hot shower. You actually are feeling cold. The cold receptors that have been heated are losing heat to the nearby cells that are not as hot. Even though the water may not be very warm, if the cold receptors are very warm compared to the cells around it, they can still give enough heat away to make you feel cold in that area. Yes, no?

I want to devise an experiment which has the following purpose: To determine whether or not photons of light are being emitted at the retina during R.E.M. sleep (i.e. dreaming). I'm thinking of using photographic film, or some other photochemical material, which I would place over the cornea - part directly over pupil - of the subject (with their permission of course). Can anyone help me devise such an experiment? Some possible difficulties I can think of: (i) the rapid eye movement could make it difficult to keep the film in place. (ii) photographic film might need to be very sensitive. One of my textbooks states: "The truth is that retinas don't radiate light…

I was watching a science show about the beginning of new life (yes, sex! ) and I understood that women are fertile (generating eggs) since BEFORE their birth. Anyone knows why so early? And why - if women are generating eggs since birth - do men only start to generate fertile sperm from puberty onwards? ~moo

This post is a furthering of the ideas I discussed in an earlier post - http://www.scienceforums.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2700. After thinking some more, and reading up on an ‘inverting goggles ’ experiment* which Sayonara referred me to (my acknowledgements to him), I’m confident enough to make explicit ideas which were merely implied in that post. In the 1st experiment (outlined in my previous post - looking at an object underwater), one sees the object upright . In the 2nd experiment (using inverting goggles, but not underwater), one sees the object inverted. In both cases, however, the image on the retina is upright**. So, why is what we see differen…

light hits the eye and it`s converted to an electrical signal that travels down the optic nerve to the brain. HOW? and in what way? is the optic nerve millions of little nerves each carrying the data from a pixel each? is it one nerve that carries the data from one pixel at a time but very fast like the scan on a TV screen? how does it work?

Any leads for the mechanism by which friendly feelings get translated into sexual attraction? Prompted by personal situation re some guy have never seen, no romantic talk between us at all, in fact bit of a nuisance he's self proclaimed asexual, though on occasion sex has been brought up in some more academic context. Just that have come to like him, and that has translated into sexual feelings, not as strong as direct lust but identifiable. Am just getting into brain stuff, interest being autism spectrum disorders, and what little have stumbled across seems to rely on more physical experience. Could be possible, I expect, is some memory activated system, previous …

When I'm really tired in the morning I see things! When I look at the digital clock on the stove and let my mind wander while I'm looking at the numbers I notice the numbers to start to move around. THey are shaking and stuff, not like moving eveywhere and back and forth. It's really weird, it's like my eyes have gone crazy. What could be happening to my eyes or my brain that couses me to see the numbers move?

(...If you feel (or even better - can prove) that anything I’ve written here is actually illogical, incorrect or that the values I’m using are inaccurate, please don’t hesitate to let me know...Otherwise, I’d love to hear if you agree with me...If so, we could discuss...) In almost all circumstances, the images which fall on a persons retina are inverted. Because we don’t see our world upside-down however, the obvious conclusion is that the ‘act of seeing’ (perhaps for want of better terminology) does not take place at the retina, but in our brain, once it has somehow re-inverted the image - so that we see it upright. I think most people would accept a corollary to th…

Hi! I have one specific question. Can anyone tell me what the refractive power of the lens is (...the one in the eye that is...)? I'm mostly interested in the maximum refractive power it can reach during accomodation. I've done a few google searches on it, and found some stuff, but it seems to contradict what I have in my own textbook. My textbook says a dozen diopters, while a website I have just visited states that the upper limit during accomodation is ten diopters, while the lower limit is infact zero diopters! (..I might have even read twenty diopters somewhere...although that doesn't seem right...) What I basically want to know is: if two parallel rays were to str…

I have a few specific questions - all in relation to nice things like bacteria, sweat and plaque. (You might want to postpone reading this post until after your dinner. ) I am aware that sweat itself is actually odourless, and that the unpleasant smell actually comes from the byproducts of bacteria feeding on the sweat. When I discovered this, I was led to ask myself: does the gram positive bacteria which breaks up the molecules in sweat actually serve any useful purpose? Anyone know? Also, does anyone know if the bacteria in saliva - the ones which from plaque on teeth surfaces - has any useful purpose? And does anyone know how the bacteria in the saliv…

I'm quite new so I have no clue where to post this question, but I need to vent it out of my mind I was reading about Auditory Hallucinations and the doubt popped. It goes like this: Whenever we listen to a sound, our tympanic membrane vibrates, therefore making it's way up to the brain and converting the sound wave into something we can understand. Now, my question is: When people has Auditory Hallucinations, is it possible that they are actually distortioning sounds around them? We could know by [if it's possible] checking if their tympanic membranes are working at the moment where they are having an auditory hallucination I'm not sure if that …

Does any one know what instrument I would use, if one even exists, to detect, alpha waves, delta waves and low amplitude beta waves in the human brain, ? Thanks

I'm not sure I am asking this in the right place, but I'll ask still. I'm doing some research now about Magnetism and Radio/Micro waves, as part of an idea for a new machine. The theoretical parts are already being organized, but I have to sort one thing before I begin the process of writing down the elements; Since this specific tool is to be used near people, and mostly ON people (that is, mostly submit direct radio or micro waves and/or magnets on people) I was wondering if anyone knows what's the maximum Frequency and Magnetic charge that can be used on a body without causing too much damage. For the sake of the argument, "too much damage" is less than a …

For example could you be doing an scientific experiment in your dream and get a result although you didn't know that result when you went to sleep. Also why can't we find/remember this data. example: you can dream about: waving hair in the wind stars in the night sky. glass scattering walking in sand etc. It will al be believable represented. But if you ask someone that is awake to describe such event they usually are very poorly not even taking natures laws in account. How much is a dream like a movie playing and how much is it really 'calculating' based on laws. Is my brain powerfull enough to calculate waving hair in the wind? This raises an oth…

I have a few specific questions: (i) How many photopigments are then in a typical rod and a typical cone? (ii) Does the number vary? If so, in what range?

Air....I've been thinking in a sense.....I have come to the conclussion, through little dliberation, that air is a drug...When we stop "breathing", we die of withdraws....It would explain much.....well, not really......I would elaborate, but I wish to see your arguments first........(Sorry for all spelling errors in this page...)....

I was wondering if Dyslexia, Autism, Asperger's Syndrome or generally other neurological disorders, what is there cause? Also, I hear where we have maternal love (real love) is in this thing called the neo-cortex. I was wondering what other functions this might serve because I know it serves for the purpose of empathy but for a long time I have tried to be non-empathic because I didn't think it was logical. I may have been retarding myself in the process.

it`s well known that drinking Methanol "Meths" (methyl alcohol) when processed in our body gets oxidised into Fomaldehyde, consquently effecting the optic nerve and sending us blind. Ethyl Alcohol ( Ethanol) "booze" does not. I`de like to know if it gets Oxidised in the same way as methanol, and result in Vinigar (Acetic acid) in our blood. and if not, Why not?

at what point do we cease to exist? Imagine you have both you`re arms and legs removed, you`re still YOU. now take away parts bit at a time (you can even try picutre this in your own head) at what point do you seem to die? This is VERY difficult for me to explain, but I can do it mentaly, remove parts of me untill I die (mentaly). Kids, do NOT try this at home i get to about my upper chest region, then somehow I can`t seem to envisage any life that is mine. ok so that was the Physical side of things... how about the Brain? how much can be cut away before you "Lose Yourself" and cease to be you? The YOU thats reading this and THINKING right now. …