The Heart of the Brain

The Heart of the Brain PDF

Author: Gareth Leng

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2024-04-30

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 0262551934

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How hormonal signals in one small structure of the brain—the hypothalamus—govern our physiology and behavior. As human beings, we prefer to think of ourselves as reasonable. But how much of what we do is really governed by reason? In this book, Gareth Leng considers the extent to which one small structure of the neuroendocrine brain—the hypothalamus—influences what we do, how we love, and who we are. The hypothalamus contains a large variety of neurons. These communicate not only through neurotransmitters, but also through peptide signals that act as hormones within the brain. While neurotransmitter signals tend to be ephemeral and confined by anatomical connectivity, the hormone signals that hypothalamic neurons generate are potent, wide-reaching, and long-lasting. Leng explores the evolutionary origins of these remarkable neurons, and where the receptors for their hormone signals are found in the brain. By asking how the hypothalamic neurons and their receptors are regulated, he explores how the hypothalamus links our passions with our reason. The Heart of the Brain shows in an accessible way how this very small structure is very much at the heart of what makes us human.

The Women's Brain Book

The Women's Brain Book PDF

Author: Dr Sarah McKay

Publisher: Hachette Australia

Published: 2018-03-27

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 0733638538

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For women, understanding how the brain works during the key stages of life - in utero, childhood, puberty and adolescence, pregnancy and motherhood, menopause and old age - is essential to their health. Dr Sarah McKay is a neuroscientist who knows everything worth knowing about women's brains, and shares it in this fascinating, essential book. This is not a book about the differences between male and female brains, nor a book using neuroscience to explain gender-specific behaviours, the 'battle of the sexes' or 'Mars-Venus' stereotypes. This is a book about what happens inside the brains and bodies of women as they move through the phases of life, and the unique - and often misunderstood - effects of female biology and hormones. Dr McKay give insights into brain development during infancy, childhood and the teenage years (including the onset of puberty) and also takes a look at mental health as well as the ageing brain. The book weaves together findings from the research lab, case studies and interviews with neuroscientists and other researchers working in the disciplines of neuroendocrinology, brain development, brain health and ageing. This comprehensive guide explores the brain during significant life stages, including: In utero Childhood Puberty The Menstrual Cycle The Teenage Brain Depression and Anxiety Pregnancy and Motherhood Menopause The Ageing Brain

This Is Your Brain on Birth Control

This Is Your Brain on Birth Control PDF

Author: Sarah Hill

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2019-10-01

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0525536035

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An eye-opening book that reveals crucial information every woman taking hormonal birth control should know This groundbreaking book sheds light on how hormonal birth control affects women--and the world around them--in ways we are just now beginning to understand. By allowing women to control their fertility, the birth control pill has revolutionized women's lives. Women are going to college, graduating, and entering the workforce in greater numbers than ever before, and there's good reason to believe that the birth control pill has a lot to do with this. But there's a lot more to the pill than meets the eye. Although women go on the pill for a small handful of targeted effects (pregnancy prevention and clearer skin, yay!), sex hormones can't work that way. Sex hormones impact the activities of billions of cells in the body at once, many of which are in the brain. There, they play a role in influencing attraction, sexual motivation, stress, hunger, eating patterns, emotion regulation, friendships, aggression, mood, learning, and more. This means that being on the birth control pill makes women a different version of themselves than when they are off of it. And this is a big deal. For instance, women on the pill have a dampened cortisol spike in response to stress. While this might sound great (no stress!), it can have negative implications for learning, memory, and mood. Additionally, because the pill influences who women are attracted to, being on the pill may inadvertently influence who women choose as partners, which can have important implications for their relationships once they go off it. Sometimes these changes are for the better . . . but other times, they're for the worse. By changing what women's brains do, the pill also has the ability to have cascading effects on everything and everyone that a woman encounters. This means that the reach of the pill extends far beyond women's own bodies, having a major impact on society and the world. This paradigm-shattering book provides an even-handed, science-based understanding of who women are, both on and off the pill. It will change the way that women think about their hormones and how they view themselves. It also serves as a rallying cry for women to demand more information from science about how their bodies and brains work and to advocate for better research. This book will help women make more informed decisions about their health, whether they're on the pill or off of it.

The Teenage Brain

The Teenage Brain PDF

Author: Frances E. Jensen

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2015-01-06

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 0062067869

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A New York Times Bestseller Renowned neurologist Dr. Frances E. Jensen offers a revolutionary look at the brains of teenagers, dispelling myths and offering practical advice for teens, parents and teachers. Dr. Frances E. Jensen is chair of the department of neurology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. As a mother, teacher, researcher, clinician, and frequent lecturer to parents and teens, she is in a unique position to explain to readers the workings of the teen brain. In The Teenage Brain, Dr. Jensen brings to readers the astonishing findings that previously remained buried in academic journals. The root myth scientists believed for years was that the adolescent brain was essentially an adult one, only with fewer miles on it. Over the last decade, however, the scientific community has learned that the teen years encompass vitally important stages of brain development. Samples of some of the most recent findings include: Teens are better learners than adults because their brain cells more readily "build" memories. But this heightened adaptability can be hijacked by addiction, and the adolescent brain can become addicted more strongly and for a longer duration than the adult brain. Studies show that girls' brains are a full two years more mature than boys' brains in the mid-teens, possibly explaining differences seen in the classroom and in social behavior. Adolescents may not be as resilient to the effects of drugs as we thought. Recent experimental and human studies show that the occasional use of marijuana, for instance, can cause lingering memory problems even days after smoking, and that long-term use of pot impacts later adulthood IQ. Multi-tasking causes divided attention and has been shown to reduce learning ability in the teenage brain. Multi-tasking also has some addictive qualities, which may result in habitual short attention in teenagers. Emotionally stressful situations may impact the adolescent more than it would affect the adult: stress can have permanent effects on mental health and can to lead to higher risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression. Dr. Jensen gathers what we’ve discovered about adolescent brain function, wiring, and capacity and explains the science in the contexts of everyday learning and multitasking, stress and memory, sleep, addiction, and decision-making. In this groundbreaking yet accessible book, these findings also yield practical suggestions that will help adults and teenagers negotiate the mysterious world of adolescent development.

Hormones and the Brain

Hormones and the Brain PDF

Author: D. de Wied

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 333

ISBN-13: 9400987099

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During the last decade it has become evident that the brain is an important target for hormones. Although it has been discovered only recently that the brain contains numerous peptide hormones, the role of pituitary and hypo thalamic hormones in brain activity has been the subject of basic studies for quite some time. Peptide hormones are involved in mental performance. pain perception, food and water metabolism. sleep. sexual behaviour and nursing behaviour, and disturbances in the hormonal climate of the brain may be associated with psychopathology. cognitive disturbances and. possibly. addic tion. The clinical influence of neurohypophysial hormones and their frag ments is studied today on learning and memory. on inadequate behaviour and addiction, in Parkinson's disease. Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. depression and schizophrenia. Fragments of adrenocorticotrophin have been shown to affect motivation, concentration and attention. and neuropeptides derived from ~-lipotrophin are probably involved in psychopathology. Thyrotrophin releasing hormone has been implicated in depression. and lutein-releasing hormone in sexual disturbances. In spite of the impressive experimental data; clinical results to date have been controversial and. to some extent. anecdotal. In some cases they have been exciting. and in others disappointing. It was against this background that the International Health Foundation decided to organize and sponsor their workshop on 'The brain as an endo crine target organ in health and disease' at which the papers appearing in this book were presented.

Hormones, Brain Function And Behavior

Hormones, Brain Function And Behavior PDF

Author: Hudson Hoagland

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2012-12-02

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 0323158366

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Hormones, Brain Function, and Behavior brings together the proceedings of a conference on neuroendocrinology held in May 1956 in New York. The papers explore selected aspects of hormone actions in relation to brain function and behavior and cover topics ranging from the effects of steroid hormones on the nervous system to the behavioral consequences of sex hormones and thyroid hormones. Serotonin, epinephrine, and their metabolites are also discussed in relation to experimental psychiatry. This monograph is comprised of 12 chapters and begins with an assessment of steroid hormones in relation to neuropsychiatric disorders, as well as the influence of adrenocortical steroids on brain function and metabolism. Subsequent chapters focus on the genetic and psychological determinants of sexual behavior patterns; the role of serotonin in mental disorders; the effect of thyroid hormones on appetite for alcohol and alcoholic beverages in rats; and the link between thyroid hormones and mental health. The biochemistry of serotonin and its physiological implications are also examined. This text will appeal to biologists, neuropharmacologists, neuropsychiatrists, and psychologists.

The Female Brain

The Female Brain PDF

Author: Louann Brizendine, MD

Publisher: Harmony

Published: 2007-08-07

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 0767928415

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Since Dr. Brizendine wrote The Female Brain ten years ago, the response has been overwhelming. This New York Times bestseller has been translated into more than thirty languages, has sold nearly a million copies between editions, and has most recently inspired a romantic comedy starring Whitney Cummings and Sofia Vergara. And its profound scientific understanding of the nature and experience of the female brain continues to guide women as they pass through life stages, to help men better understand the girls and women in their lives, and to illuminate the delicate emotional machinery of a love relationship. Why are women more verbal than men? Why do women remember details of fights that men can’t remember at all? Why do women tend to form deeper bonds with their female friends than men do with their male counterparts? These and other questions have stumped both sexes throughout the ages. Now, pioneering neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine, M.D., brings together the latest findings to show how the unique structure of the female brain determines how women think, what they value, how they communicate, and who they love. While doing research as a medical student at Yale and then as a resident and faculty member at Harvard, Louann Brizendine discovered that almost all of the clinical data in existence on neurology, psychology, and neurobiology focused exclusively on males. In response to the overwhelming need for information on the female mind, Brizendine established the first clinic in the country to study and treat women’s brain function. In The Female Brain, Dr. Brizendine distills all her findings and the latest information from the scientific community in a highly accessible book that educates women about their unique brain/body/behavior. The result: women will come away from this book knowing that they have a lean, mean, communicating machine. Men will develop a serious case of brain envy.

Hormones and Brain Function

Hormones and Brain Function PDF

Author: K. Lissak

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 500

ISBN-13: 1468420070

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The International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology organized its second congress in Budapest between 1 and 3 July, 1971. The sudden death on the 27th of July, 1970, of Professor Max Reiss, the President of the Society, nearly caused a break in the preparation ofthe Congress, but with the invaluable help of Professor Donald H. Ford, Treasurer and Acting President, and Professor Francesca Brambilla, Secretary of the Society, the Organizing Committee surmounted the difficulties. The Organizing Committee of the Congress set out five main topics discussed in five sections by invited lecturers and collective papers by regis tered discussants. Technically, the Congress was organized by the Hungarian Physiological Society in cooperation with the Federation of Hungarian Medical Societies in the building of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Thanks to the generosity of the Medical Section of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences we are able to publish the Pro ceedings of the Congress by the Publishing House of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences jointly with Plenum Press, New York. The Congress was sponsored by the International Society of Psychoneuroendo crinology, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Hungarian Pharmaceutical Industry, the Factory of Electronic Measuring Instruments, the Upjohn Co., Kalamzoo, Michigan and the Wellcome Research Laboratory, Langley Court, Backenhom, Kent, England. On behalf of the Organizing Committee may I ex press our grateful thanks for their generous assistance which, despite many difficulties, made the successful organization of an international congress possible.

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