“Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking”- Albert Einstein [6]. Einstein perfectly sums up the importance of the brain for cognitive functioning throughout our daily lives. Effective cognition results from an efficient functioning of the various molecular pathways in our brain. Let us focus on one molecular aspect of the brain- Microglia. Microglia are types of glial cells, which act as macrophages and are present throughout the Central Nervous System (CNS). These non-neuronal cells are responsible for the protection and support of neural activities. They are widely distributed throughout the brain and spinal cord and make up about 5-20% of glial cells within the CNS [1]. The two noteworthy features of the microglia are CNS maintenance and immune defense. An appropriate balance of microglial concentration is required to promote homeostasis of the CNS [1].

Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) was discovered in the 1950’s to be used as a useful treatment for a myriad of conditions. First discovered in its industrial applications, this essay will examine its properties and promise for treating various ailments including intracranial hypertension. Being a small molecule, slightly larger than water, DMSO penetrates into the skin almost immediately, making it useful as an agent to improve the transport of drugs deeper into targeted tissues.

Football is the great American pastime. Large numbers of athletes at the youth, high school, and college levels participate in organized football. At the professional level, the sport generates a huge amount of media attention, interest, and revenue. In recent years, however, warnings about the brain injury risks inherent in football have come from retired players, coaches, and medical professionals, along with increased public awareness about the danger of repeated head trauma.

Every 15 seconds, someone suffers from a traumatic brain injury, due to car accidents, contact sports, or simply getting hit in the head. Although most people survive, concussions should not be taken lightly, because they impair neurological function. The effects of concussions are cumulative, thus, repeated head injuries can result in chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Mirror neurons have been referred to as the "most hyped concept in Neuroscience". Mirror neurons were first discovered in the 1990s by chance when a team of Italian scientists was studying the mechanisms behind certain actions and recording neuronal control of motor activity in macaque monkeys. These scientists saw that the same cells were activated when a monkey observed an action as when the monkey performed the same action itself. This fascinating discovery has allowed us to expand on our ambitions of a greater understanding and insight to certain behaviors.

The human brain is a complex neural network with countless abilities. An important part of the human brain is the ability to formulate memories. Additionally, sleep is an important state that is vital for adequate brain performance, such as memory formations. Individuals who generally receive low hours of sleep perform poorly the following day on various tasks, especially memory tests. Thomas et al. states, “Problematic sleep can be detrimental to the development of important cognitive functions, such as working memory, and may have the potential for negative consequences” (2014). In other words, sleep is required nightly for adequate daytime functioning and maintaining proper neural functioning. Receiving low hours of sleep and experiencing sleep problems can often correlate with poor mental performances, such as forgetfulness, absentmindedness, and/or misattribution.

Emotions: we all have them. In fact, you are experiencing this phenomenon at this very moment. But, what is an emotion, really? Is it a tangible anatomical function that scientists can map on a brain, or is it an abstract idea that humans have developed as a scapegoat for irrational behavior? As it turns out, emotions are a mixture of the abstract and the concrete.

Parkinson’s Disease (PD), one of the most prominent neurodegenerative disorders, is a chronic neurological disorder where progressive degeneration of the nervous system manifests primarily as loss of control of the body’s motor system.