Specific Useful Notes for Research

Content used for my Research and Patent:

The below information includes the notes taken during sessions that helped me understand the various intricacies of neuroscience.

Electrophysiological Signals & Frequency Analysis:

• Spectrum: Set of frequencies laid out.
• Needed for electrophysiological signals: Statistical analysis of brain signals.
• Application: Frequency analysis.
• Studying signals: Analysis of brain waves and their patterns.
• Music: An audio spectrum; waveforms that can be analyzed similarly to brain waves.
• Brain waves: Electrophysiological signals generated by the brain, such as those measured by EEG.
• Potential generated: Understanding and interpreting brain wave data.

Neurological Signals & Functional Imaging:

• Functional Imaging:
  • Techniques: EEG, CT, MRI.
  • Contextual recording: Capturing brain activity in response to specific tasks or stimuli.
• EEG: Measures electrical activity of the brain.
• CT and MRI: Imaging techniques to visualize brain structure and function.
• Functional Imaging: Combines real-time recordings with contextual data.

Cultural Neuroscience:

• Studying brain waves in response to cultural stimuli:
  • Examples: Brain waves responding to advertisements, movies, music, and theater.
  • Music vs. musical theater: Comparison of brain responses to different forms of auditory and visual stimuli.

Scientific Methods:

• School of thought: Supporting team, multiple explanations unless a law or theorem is established.
• Steps in Scientific Method:
  • A literature review.
  • Hypothesis formation.
  • Validation: Law (if validated), Conjecture (if not validated).
  • Research design.
  • Intellectual property rights: Publish, patent application.
  • Structured observations.
• Correlation analysis:
  • Equation: y=mx+b.
  • m: Correlation coefficient, indicating the strength and direction of a relationship between variables.
  • Significant correlation: Greater than 0.5.
  • Non-significant correlation: Less than 0.5.

Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up Approaches:

• Top-Down:
  • Defining requirements: Based on existing knowledge and convictions.
  • Music causes meditation: Example of a top-down hypothesis.
• Bottom-Up:
  • Academic research: Data-driven approach, findings are published as they emerge.
  • Gathering ideas: Correlation-based analysis, finding significant relationships.
  • Example: Correlation - 0.5; significant if greater than 0.5.

Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga:

• Eight organs (stages) of yoga:
  • Steps: Jagrat (awake), Shushupti (sleep-like), Suturia (meditative state), controlled breathing.

Neural Correlates:

• Studying the neural correlations of various activities:
  • Meditation.
  • Effects of music.
  • Brain waves in response to advertisements, movies, and music theater.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS):

• Structured approach to project management and research:
  • Breaking down tasks and observations into manageable components.

Peripheral Nervous System:

• Paralysis of Spine:
  • Impact: Loss of function in parts of the body controlled by affected spinal nerves.
  • Related to extremities: Paralysis can extend to the furthest points of the body (arms, legs).
• Neuroscience:
  • Nerve Mapping: Identifying which nerves connect to specific body parts.
  • Neural Circulation: The movement of neural signals throughout the nervous system.

Neural Processes and Components:

• Transfer Protein: Involved in the transport of molecules across cell membranes.
• Pupillary Dilation: The widening of pupils, controlled by the autonomic nervous system.
• Synapses:
  • Chemical Synapse: Communication between neurons through neurotransmitters.
  • Electrical Synapse: Direct electrical communication between neurons via gap junctions.

Scientific Research Methods:

• Anecdotal Blog Post: Informal, personal observations shared online.
• Literature Review: Comprehensive analysis of existing scientific research on a topic.
  • Sources: Scientific papers, often accessed through platforms like Google Scholar.
  • Review Process: Summarizing and synthesizing findings from multiple studies.
• Survey: Collecting data from participants to gather empirical evidence.
• Google Scholar: A tool for finding and accessing scientific research papers.

Brain and Circulatory System:

• Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB): A selective barrier that protects the brain from harmful substances in the bloodstream.
• Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF): Fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord, providing protection and nutrients.
• Thrombosis: Formation of a blood clot within a blood vessel.
• Embolism: A blood clot that travels through the bloodstream and can block blood flow in smaller vessels.
  • Consequence: Fresh blood may not reach certain areas, leading to tissue damage.

Mathematical and Analytical Tools:

• Logarithmic Scale: A way of displaying data that spans a large range of values in a compact form.
  • Indices: Numerical values representing the logarithmic scale, facilitating easier comparison of data.
  • Move Frequency: Frequency adjustments based on a logarithmic scale to analyze data efficiently.

Additional Concepts:

• Neural Correlates: Studying relationships between neural activity and behaviors or experiences.
  • Examples: Brain responses to stimuli like advertisements, music, or movies.
• Intellectual Property:
  • Patent Application: Protecting new inventions or discoveries.
  • Publishing Research: Sharing findings with the scientific community through journals or conferences.
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS): Breaking down complex projects into manageable tasks and components.

Academic and Ethical Concepts:

• Honor System: More strict than penalties; relies on individual integrity.
• Copyright: Legal protection for original works.
• Plagiarism: Using someone else’s information without credit.
• Fair Use Principle: Part of copyright law allowing limited use of copyrighted material without permission under specific conditions.

Field Work:

• Zoology: Involves going out into natural environments to study animals.

Neuroscience and Brain Function:

• Brain:
  • Not inherently “broken” or “queer”; examining misconceptions about brain function.
  • Illusions: Understanding why they work and what they reveal about perception.
• Lipid Layer: Structural component of cell membranes, crucial for neuron function.
• Neuron Potential: Electrical charge difference across the neuron membrane.
• Synapses:
  • Chemical Synapses: Pass neurotransmitters from one neuron to another.
  • Electrical Synapse: Regulated by the proton pump; allow direct electrical communication between neurons.

Neuron Structure and Function:

• Threshold Gated Units:
  • Neuron: A neuron fires an action potential when a threshold voltage is reached.
  • Bilipid Layer: The threshold for cytoplasm entry.
  • Soma: The cell body of the neuron, which integrates inputs.
  • Dendrons: Branches of neurons that receive signals.
  • Axons: Transmit signals from the neuron.
  • Resting Potential: The baseline electrical charge of a neuron.
  • Voltage, Potential, EMF: Related concepts describing electrical characteristics of neurons.

Neural Networks:

• Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs): Computer systems modeled on the human brain’s neural networks.
• Biological Neural Networks: Networks of neurons in the brain.

Perception and Neural Decoding:

• Perception: The process of making sense of sensory information.
• Neural Decoding: Interpreting brain wave patterns to understand mental states and processes.
• Brain-Computer Interface (BCI): Technology that enables direct communication between the brain and an external device.

Music and Meditation:

• Music: Can induce a meditative state of mind.

Research Methodology:

• Sample Recruitment: Selecting subjects to participate in an experiment.
  • Phase 0: Preliminary trials.
  • Phase 1: Initial testing phase.
  • Consent: Obtaining permission from participants to use their data.
• Event-Related Potentials (ERPs): Brain responses that are the direct result of a specific sensory, cognitive, or motor event.
• Registration After Perceptions: Recording brain activity after perceptual events.

Miscellaneous Concepts:

• Transfer Protein: Proteins that help transport molecules across cell membranes.
• Nano Protein: Possibly referring to proteins involved in nanoscale biological processes or technologies.
• Keystone/Capstone: Essential elements or projects that form the basis or culmination of a larger system or course of study.

Neuroscience Terms and Concepts:

• Encephalography:
  • Refers to the study and recording of the brain’s electrical activity, often linked to methods like EEG (electroencephalography).
• EMG (Electromyography):
  • Technique for measuring the electrical activity of muscles.

Brain Anatomy and Imaging:

• Sagittal:
  • Refers to a side view or section of the body/brain.
• Coronal:
  • Refers to a crown-like or frontal section of the body/brain.
• Gyri (plural of Gyrus):
  • Ridges on the cerebral cortex.
• Sulci (plural of Sulcus):
  • Grooves or depressions on the cerebral cortex.
• Parietal Protuberance:
  • The most prominent point on the parietal bone of the skull.
• Homunculus:
  • A visual representation of the body’s sensory and motor regions in the brain, often depicted as a distorted human figure on the somatosensory and motor cortices.

Brain Imaging:

• Brain MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging):
  • A technique used to create detailed images of the brain’s structure and any abnormalities.

Vision and the Visual System:

• Visual Cortex:
  • Located at the back of the brain in the occipital lobe, responsible for processing visual information.
• Optic Chiasm:
  • The point at which the optic nerves from each eye cross to the opposite side of the brain.

Key Questions and Concepts:

• Why are Vision Centers at the Back of the Brain?
  • Evolutionary and anatomical efficiency: The occipital lobe’s location allows extensive neural processing space for complex visual information.
  • Pathways: The visual information from the eyes travels via the optic nerves to the optic chiasm and then to the visual cortex in the occipital lobe for detailed processing.

Additional Concepts:

• Redundancy:
  • The brain’s ability to compensate for damage or loss of function in one area through other pathways or regions.

Scientific Concepts:

• Hypotheses and Conjectures:
  • Conjecture: A conjunction of thoughts; not a proven law or theorem but behaves as such through consensus.
  • Neuroscience: Many topics are conjectural, relying on consensus rather than absolute proof.
• Pure Science vs. Applied Science:
  • Pure Science: Abstract or absolute science, focusing on fundamental principles without immediate practical application.
  • Applied Science: Practical application of scientific knowledge to solve real-world problems.

Scientific Processes:

• Definition and Characterization:
  • Definition: Specification of properties to create a specific, unambiguous term.
  • Characterization: Figuring out the properties of something to understand it better.
• Doppler Shift:
  • A change in frequency or wavelength of a wave in relation to an observer moving relative to the wave source.

Evidence-Based Practices:

• EBP (Evidence-Based Practice): Decision-making based on the best available evidence.
• EBM (Evidence-Based Medicine): The practice of medicine based on evidence from well-conducted research.
  • Prescribing Medicine: Some medicines are prescribed based on evidence. This practice is questioned and evaluated by skeptics.

Skepticism:

• Skepticism: Questioning and critically examining accepted ideas.
  • Skepticist: Re-evaluates existing ideas.
  • Experimental Skepticism: Reconsidering data and experimental results.

Technology and Meditation:

• Apps and Devices: Can measure attention and meditation levels, although these levels are often conjectural.
  • Trace: A heightened state of consciousness.
  • Meditation Apps: Questioning the accuracy and validity of apps that claim to measure meditation levels.

Philosophical Schools:

• Vedantic School of Philosophy:
  • Swami Vivekananda’s teachings.
  • Meditation: Explored through various philosophical perspectives.
  • Seven Whys: A method to explore deeper reasons behind meditation.

Access to Information:

• Open Access: Journals and articles available for free to the public.
• Closed Access: Journals and articles available only to subscribers or through purchase.

Terminology and Definitions:

• Magazine: A term for a publication as well as an ammunition storage device.
  • Journal: A more appropriate term for scientific publications compared to “magazine”.
• Occidental vs. Oriental: Western vs. Eastern perspectives.
• Dharma or Karma: Key concepts in Indian philosophy related to duty and action.
  • Rebirth Beliefs: Distinctions between those who believe in rebirth (Aastik) and those who do not (Nastik).

Scientific Writing:

• Structure of a Paper:
  • Title: Summarizes the main topic.
  • Highlights or Results: Key findings or outcomes.
  • Discussion: Interpretation and implications of the results.

Miscellaneous Concepts:

• Black Box: A system or model whose internal workings are not well understood but whose behavior is agreed upon by consensus.

Nervous System Pathways:

• Efferent Pathways:
  • Definition: Nerves that carry signals away from the central nervous system to cause an effect in the body.
  • Function: Primarily involved in motor functions, causing muscles to contract or glands to secrete.
  • Input: They are considered input pathways from the perspective of the muscle or gland being stimulated.
• Afferent Pathways:
  • Definition: Nerves that carry sensory signals towards the central nervous system.
  • Function: Involved in transmitting sensory information from the body to the brain for processing.
  • Output: They are considered output pathways from the perspective of the sensory organs providing data.

Nervous System Functions:

• Sensory Functions:
  • Role: Involves the detection and transmission of sensory information (e.g., touch, pain, temperature) to the central nervous system.
  • Pathways: Utilizes afferent neurons to bring sensory data from peripheral receptors to the brain and spinal cord.
• Association Functions:
  • Frontal Cortex: Critical region for processing and thinking.
    • Role: Involves higher-order functions such as decision-making, problem-solving, planning, and reasoning.
    • Location: Part of the frontal lobe, associated with complex cognitive tasks and executive functions.
• Motor Functions:
  • Role: Involves initiating and controlling voluntary and involuntary movements.
  • Pathways: Utilizes efferent neurons to transmit signals from the central nervous system to muscles and glands to produce a response.