Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Neurosciences”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 703 records · Page 39Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

From logical neurons to poetic embodiments of mind: Warren S. McCulloch's project in neuroscience.

After more than half a century of eclipse, the mind (in contradistinction to brain and behavior) emerged in the 1950s as a legitimate object of experimental and quantitative research in natural science. This paper argues that the neural nets project of Warren S. McCulloch, in frequent collaboration with Walter Pitts, spearheaded this cognitivist turn in the 1940s. Viewing the project as a spiritual and poetic quest for the transcendental logos, as well as culturally situated epistemology, the paper focuses on McCulloch's and Pitts' efforts of logical modeling of the mind and on the social conditions that shaped that mission. From McCulloch's "experimental epistemology," the mind - purposes that ideas - emerged out of the regularities of neuronal interactions, or nets. That science of mind thus became a science of signals based on binary logic with clearly defined units of perception and precise rules of formation and transformation for representing mental states. Aimed at bridging the gulf between body and mind (matter and form) and the technical gulf between things man-made and things begotten, neural nets also laid the foundation for the field of artificial intelligence. Thus this paper also situates McCulloch;'s work within a larger historical trend, when cybernetics, information theory, systems theories, and electronic computers were coalescing into a new science of communication and control with enormous potential for industrial automation and military power in the Cold War era. McCulloch's modeling the mind as a system of command and control contributed to the actualization of this potential.

Brain↗
PubMed2001

Progress in clinical neurosciences: the evidence for ALS as a multisystems disorder of limited phenotypic expression.

Traditionally, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is considered to be a unique neurodegeneration disorder in which motor neurons are selectively vulnerable to a single disease process. Our current understanding of ALS, however, suggests that this is far too limited an approach. While motor neuron degeneration remains the central component to this process, there is considerable phenotypic variability including broad ranges in survivorship and the presence or absence of cognitive impairment. The number of familial variants of ALS for which unique genetic linkage has been identified is increasing, attesting further to the biological heterogeneity of the disorder. At the cellular level, derangements in cytoskeletal protein and glutamate metabolism, mitochondrial function, and in glial interactions are clearly evident. When considered in this fashion, ALS can be justifiably considered a disorder of multiple biological processes sharing in common the degeneration of motor neurons.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis↗
PubMed2004

Progress in clinical neurosciences: Parkinson's disease with dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies.

Dementia occurs in up to 30% of people with Parkinson's disease and is a major cause of disability. Pathologically, Parkinson's dementia, where dementia follows the onset of parkinsonism by at least one year, overlaps with dementia with Lewy bodies. We review the functional impact, definitions, neuropsychology, epidemiology and pathophysiology of Parkinson's dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and their overlap. Associated psychiatric and imaging findings are also considered. Lastly, current and emerging approaches to assessment and treatment in patients with these Lewy body associated dementias are presented.

Dementia↗
PubMed2003

Progress in clinical neurosciences: therapeutic hypothermia in severe traumatic brain injury.

Severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) is a relatively common problem with few therapies proven effective. Despite its use for over 50 years, therapeutic hypothermia has not gained widespread acceptance in the treatment of sTBI due to conflicting results from clinical trials. This review will summarize the current evidence from animal, mechanistic and clinical studies supporting the use of therapeutic hypothermia. In addition, issues of rewarming and optimal temperature will be discussed. Finally, the future of hypothermia in sTBI will be addressed.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Progress in clinical neurosciences: Canadian guidelines for the development of antidementia therapies: a conceptual summary.

The magnitude of the problems faced by an aging Canadian society has been clearly identified. Perhaps the single most important problem is the increasing incidence of dementia. Alzheimer's disease (AD) accounts for 50-60% of the dementias in later life within a spectrum of other contributing dementias. Regulatory approval has been given to Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors for the symptomatic treatment of mild to moderate AD, and conditional approval to memantine for the symptoms of moderate to severe AD. There has been no regulatory approval for the treatment of the degenerative dementias beyond AD. The very rapid progress in the past decade in biotechnology and in the molecular biology of the dementias is supporting a new generation of innovative treatment strategies that will more directly target the underlying disease pathogenic mechanisms. Such treatments will foreseeably include immunotherapies, anti-aggregants that may prevent misfolding and deposition of proteins, and neuroregenerative interventions. These Guidelines follow the 2nd Canadian Conference on the Development of Antidementia Therapies, held in 2004, which covered a range of design, methodological and ethical issues facing clinical researchers and regulatory authorities. They are intended to provide a common point of reference and guidance in Canada for therapeutic development of the dementias.

Canada↗
PubMed2003

Neuroscience of Pavlovian conditioning: a brief review.

Current knowledge on the neuronal substrates of Pavlovian conditioning in animals and man is briefly reviewed. First, work on conditioning in aplysia, that has showed amplified pre-synaptic facilitation as the basic mechanism of associative learning, is summarized. Then, two exemplars of associative learning in vertebrates, fear conditioning in rodents and eyelid conditioning in rabbits, are described and research into its neuronal substrates discussed. Research showing the role of the amygdala in fear conditioning and of the cerebellum in eyelid conditioning is reviewed, both at the circuit and cellular plasticity levels. Special attention is given to the parallelism suggested by this research between the neuronal mechanisms of conditioning and the principles of formal learning theory. Finally, recent evidence showing a similar role of the amygdala and of the cerebellum in human Pavlovian conditioning is discussed.

Animals↗