Author Archives: josinakist

A look at neuronal communication When we learn new things, our brain creates new pathways. Whether we engage in physical learning, like practicing the guitar or more studious learning like acquiring a new language or even getting to know a new person. We learn and remember because the connections between neurons in our cell, growContinue reading “The Way we Live the Way we Learn”

We are made up out of millions of cells that work together, and so our brains are as well. The cells of our brain are called nerve cells, or neurons. Neurons are special in their function and shape, each of them are grown specifically for their purpose within the brain. There are a lot ofContinue reading “Neurons”

Our Genetic Manual In the previous post about Intellectual disability, I wrote about my brothers’ diagnosis and the impact this new information had; it was a mutation in his genetic information. A genetic mutation is a mistake made during the processing and copying of your DNA. It could be very tiny and insignificant in theContinue reading “The Story of Mutations”

The Birds, the Bees…The Cells, the Genes and the Proteins! We now know a little about the build-up of your DNA, and that a mutation or error in your genetic information may have serious consequences for your development. So what actually happened, if there is a genetic cause to a disorder? What took place inContinue reading “The Story of Mutations”

On a More Personal Note I am a middle child, raised between two very interesting brothers. The oldest one is highly intelligent. The youngest one is intellectually disabled. Since this post is titled Intellectual Disability, you might’ve guessed that I will be writing mostly about Mr. Younger Brother. Perhaps, I’ll write about the elder too,Continue reading “Intellectual Disability”

Humans have more often thought of what it would be like to be an animal. A philosopher called Thomas Nagel once wrote an essay about it: “What it’s like to be a bat”. In his opinion we will never be able to find out what it’s like to be someone or something with a differentContinue reading “Through the Eyes of an Otter”

Hi, thanks for being here! This is Otter. Otter and I will be going through various relevant neuroscientific topics in this blog, In Otter Words: I will write about brain-stuff I find interesting and Otter will be there too. Why Otter? Well, without Otter words it may be hard to understand a lot of stuffContinue reading “Why Otter?”