Transcriber: Nawal Sharabati Reviewer: Rhonda Jacobs
Okay, so before I start my presentation,
I would like to have a few words about my title.
So there are basically lots of scientific terminology there;
neuro, biology and brain.
And people might think
that science is pretty involved in exhaustive problems,
complicated equations.
But this is pretty not much the truth.
The science is actually the search of the answers for scientists
for the huge problems, but looking at them in a small scale.
So here we go, then.
Okay, so one of my teachers always told me that when you state an example,
always exemplify that one with a real life situation.
So the people that you’re talking to have a better understanding
of what you’re saying.
So here’s the first and most well-known patient of neuroscience;
his name is Phineas Gage, and he lived in 1800s.
He was a railroad builder.
And when he was mixing a mixture for the construction,
there was a sudden accident caused an explosion.
And [Inaudible] that he was stirring the mixture, just suddenly exploded,
came through his head and out his head at the same time.
And this accident caused him to lose his left frontal lobe of his brain,
and he just went to doctor as if nothing happened.
And the doctor just made a surgery,
and he was alive at the end of the surgery.
And we saw that he was pretty responsible -
he was organized, responsible and happy person before this operation.
But after this surgery,
he somehow become someone who’s pretty irresponsible,
not paying attention to his work [Inaudible].
And then he finally got fired from the work.
And we can conclude that the physical changes,
or the damage in brain can cause changes in personality and behaviors.
So this is the actual first patient of neuroscience,
and this is how it started.
So there is lots of information and knowledge scientifically.
So these information are not our key takeaways.
So our brain is the most complex organ in our body.
It is responsible for data processing,
activity, memory, and nerve cell production.
So this may sound a little bit complicated,
but the main key takeaways that should be,
our brain is the most complex organ in our body,
and it’s responsible for multi-actions.
So it deals with lots of biological,
chemical and physical activities at the same time.
So since it’s dealing with lots of activities - like processing, I said,
cell production, activity -
we should expect that the brain is consuming lots of energy,
but actually the answer is quite opposite.
It just uses energy as much as a light bulb uses.
But how is that possible?
We expect that it is pretty multi-functional.
And since it’s dealing with lots of things,
It should lots of cost energy to us.
So it’s a still big obscurity.
So the birth of modern science is evolved from actually this question.
So neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system and brain.
So let's turn back to this question.
So this is a question that scientists couldn’t even figure it out its answer.
So it is how -
The neuroscience actually tries to explain that question.
It also includes thoughts of biological, [anatomy], molecular mechanisms,
but it also tries to give an answer to this question.
So the neurosciences -
another aim is to increase the cumulative knowledge
about our nervous system and the brain.
So how many percent of our brain’s function have been discovered?
So it may surprise you, but it’s only 10.
So what neuroscience tries to do is to increase this rate maybe to 30%-50%,
or in the future maybe 70%.
So let’s put this neuroscience and brains stuff to the side,
and focus on the building blocks.
So every substance in nature has a building block.
It is bricks for the building. It is atom for the matter.
And we can say,
it is these neurons and glia cells for the brain and nervous system.
So just a little information and the definition here;
neurons are the specialized single nerve cell.
So this is the action -
we can think neurons like the bricks of the building.
And the glia cell supports neurons like the supporters,
and provides energy and insulation.
So here’s another question:
So nerve cells - in mature brain, are the connection between neurons
are permanent?
So what I’m trying to ask is that:
can we change the bondings between neurons or are they constant as this building?
So since we cannot change the bricks - or remove the [bricks] from the building
because it will collapse,
so can we change the connections between neurons?
So it is incorrect if you thought no,
because neurons are not able to replicate themselves.
But however, you can change the connections between them
according to strength or weakness.
So we can actually think that we can train our brain as we desire.
So this brings us to the brain’s one of the most distinctive functions:
neuroplasticity.
So the brain’s ability to undergo structural and physiological changes
is called neuroplasticity.
So imagine a plastic you can shape, you can pull or you can break it.
It’s like we can change our brain in physically.
So its ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections
throughout life.
So the simple key takeaway from here
is that we can either strengthen or weaken the bonds in the brain.
So here’s another question
to make the better understanding of neuroplasticity.
So there is a woman called Jody, now she’s married and old.
But she had a different childhood from the other kids.
So when she was probably two or three years old,
she had epilepsy effects that [would] cause her shaking so much
due to this disease causing from her brain.
So she went to doctor and got examined,
and the region which were causing from these attacks was removed.
So we expect the human brain should look like,
in normal conditions, like this.
But after the surgery that she had,
the right side was removed and filled with a liquid.
Now this is how her brain looks like.
So let’s let’s go back and say,
we have a neuroplasticity side in this case,
because when the right side was removed,
left side took over the functions of the right side.
So now she is able to continue her life with half of her brain.
And it’s actually learning those functions of the right side by the left side.
So because it is possible our brain is known to be so plastic at early ages
due to she had this operation when she was two.
So she actually,
had this surgery,
and now she’s living with one side of brain like this.
And what we can say that you can either change the structure of the brain
or you can change the neural bonds in the brain,
so it is all up to you.
It’s like a LEGO building that you’re making.
You can design your brain as you desire,
and you can decide if you can want to strength some bones,
or if you can weaken them.
So here’s filled with the liquid with the left side of her brain.
And lastly, it is very possible to train your brain.
If you want to be good at a particular thing -
this could be a club, sport, activity, for example swimming, running, singing -
just practice,
because as you practice,
the bonds between your neurons will strengthen,
and you will be much better at this eventually.
So more practical makes more neural,
and stronger connections which will cause your brain to develop.
So thank you for listening.
(Appluase)