Brain and nervous system

Brain tumours have occurred in children who had received therapeutic doses of ionizing radiation to the head, especially for the treatment of tinea capitis (Ron et al., 1988b) or lymphoid neoplasms (Brustle et al., 1992). Iatrogenic tumours are, however, a very small fraction of all paediatric brain tumours. Except for certain genetic factors, causes of the most common brain tumours of childhood, including primitive neuroectodermal tumours and astrocytomas, remain unknown (Rice, 2004). 

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Strong acids or bases catalyze the hydrolysis of 2-pyrrohdinone to 4-aminobutanoic acid [y-aminobutyric acid [56-12-2] (GABA)]. GABA is involved in the functioning of the brain and nervous system and is of considerable interest as a potential dietary supplement (60). 

In addition to its role in preventing scurvy (see Human Biochemistry box Ascorbic Acid and Scurvy and also Chapter 6), ascorbic acid also plays important roles in the brain and nervous system. It also mobilizes iron in the body, prevents anemia, ameliorates allergic responses, and stimulates the immune system. 

Nervous system disorders are diagnosed by examining the patient s mental status, cranial nerve function, motor system reflexes, and sensory systems. An electroencephalogram (EEG) tests higher brain and nervous system functions. 

I had always counted on my excellent health and resiliency, and had enormous endurance and reserves from my days as a mountain climber. And, my background is Swiss, so in my family you just try harder and harder. In spite of that my health kept going downhill. I reached a point where I had no reserves. I was out of steam. Yet, I kept denying it until I felt sick all the time—not just at work—and it started to affect my brain and nervous system. I felt so confused all the time. Sometimes when I was driving I didn t even know what city I was in or where I lived, because of the fumes—but I didn t know that was the reason at the time. I d pull over to the side of the road and slap myself and say, Come on Snap out of it You know where you are ... 

The immune system is equal in complexity to the combined intricacies of the brain and nervous system. The success of the immune system in defending the body relies on a dynamic regulatory communications network consisting of millions and millions of cells. Organized into sets and subsets, these cells pass information back and forth like clouds of bees swarming around a hive. The result is a sensitive system of checks and balances that produces an immune response that is prompt, appropriate, effective, and self-limiting. 

Though some very elegant methods are now available to study the biochemistry of the brain and nervous system, none has yet discovered any generalized marker chemicals which will serve as reliable indicators or early warnings of neurotoxic actions or potential actions. There are, however, some useful methods. Before looking at these, however, one should understand the basic problems involved. 

Two additional features of the nervous system are particularly important to a discussion of neurotoxicity. The blood—brain barrier and the blood-nerve barrier act as protective devices for the nervous system, and are effective at preventing movement of certain chemicals from the blood to the brain and nerves. Unfortunately neither barrier is effective against all types of molecule, and there are plenty of examples of brain and nervous system toxicants that can penetrate the barriers. ... 

SFN is a nonprofit membership organization of basic scientists and physicians who study the brain and nervous system. ... 

Biological issues (i) Mg bioavailabihty, metabolism and physiology . (ii) Cell proliferation and differentiation , (iii) Animal husbandry. (iv) Magnesium in blood . (v) Genetic regulation , (vi) Mineral phase composition of bone and teeth . (vii) Brain and nervous system , (viii) Renal handling of magnesium . 

We need a receptor in our model because our model incorporates the commonly accepted assumption that consciousness is somehow generated or produced by the action of the brain and nervous system. Thus, we start with a target consist-... 

Like our other models of psi processes, the model of telepathy has been chosen to fit in with commonsense assumptions about the nature of the universe, particularly about the identity of brain and nervous system functions and mental processes. And like the other models, this may not reflect reality so much as it reflects our attachment to our conceptions. Thus, the information-flow route that seems most likely (from external target stimulus via the sense organs to the brain to the transmitting process to the percipient, possibly with representation in the conscious or unconscious mind) may not be the case. The information-flow... 

Figure 7-5. Width of the experienced present for ordinary brain and nervous system functioning and for awareness in the postulated second dimension of time.

In electrical engineering terms, we can say that the operation of the brain and nervous system and the ordinary consciousness that results constitutes a high-gain, narrow-band filter dealing with the immediate physical present. This is obviously of high biological significance for our survival. The second dimension of time, which awareness can sometimes work with, is a filter with a much wider band, but its output is ordinarily quite low. 

By using maps prepared by physical science methods, we have achieved some useful understanding of how the brain and nervous system work, and we know that they are related to conscious experience. Consciousness or awareness per se, on the other hand, is not something external to yourself that you can... 

What do we do with consciousness By a simple extension of the tremendous attachment to and faith in the maps of external reality we already have, we equate consciousness with the operations of the brain. In formal terms, we accept the reality of the psychoneural identity hypothesis, which says that every little nuance of experience is identical to, is caused by, and can be reduced to specific neural processes within the brain and nervous system. What is real is what is physical, and consciousness is just an interesting manifestation of basic physical laws within the physical structure of the brain. 

Although it is useful to distinguish consciousness and awareness in a psychological way, the orthodox scientific view of consciousness (what I call the conservative or physicalistic view of the mind in States of Consciousness [173]) is that basic awareness is only a discriminable subfunction of the brain and nervous system. Figure 10-1 illustrates this view. 

Consciousness as we experience it is a tiny fraction of the activity of all the structures of the brain and nervous system, primarily those subsystems having to do with the software. 

Insofar as we conceptualize awareness as an entity or thing, its interaction with the physical brain must take place through the psi processes of clairvoyance and PK. Basic awareness clair-voyantly perceives the state of the brain and nervous system in order to know what is going on in the body and uses PK to influence the firing of the motor neurons that control the body. That is, consciousness as we normally experience our... 

Because different inhalants damage different parts of the brain and nervous system, the resulting problems depend on which areas were affected. If the frontal cortex is affected, problem-solving and advance-planning skills are impaired. The abuser may lose physical coor-... 

Metals Lead and Mercury These are brain and nervous system toxins, hormone disrupters, and carcinogens to be avoided when trying to get pregnant, when pregnant, and beyond. Lead can be found as lead acetate in makeup and hair dye and be absorbed into the skin. Mercury is sometimes allowed (in very small doses) as a preservative. 

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