One of the most common and life-threatening birth defects are known as neural tube defects (NTDs). These defects are categorized by an opening in the spinal cord or brain during development. Additionally, a less common spinal cord disorder also occurs in adults called adult tethered cord syndrome. This may go undiagnosed until adulthood when pain, sensory, and motor problems occur in a patient’s back.

Pain and its knowledge of transduction, transmission, perception and modulation are essential in pain management. Understanding how pain signals reach the brain and understanding the many different techniques that may result in pain relief is imperative.

The practice of intermittent fasting (IF), or cycling between periods of ingesting and abstaining from food, has long been revered in religious and spiritual communities as a demonstration of self-restraint, discipline, empathy, and as a method of mental and bodily detoxification.

When considering the problems that arise after traumatic spinal cord injuries (SCI), the most commonly addressed issues are numbness and tingling in the extremities, focal weakness, or paralysis, but one of the most persistent and difficult to treat co-morbidities is long term clinical depression.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a fear-related psychological disorder that has remained to be a therapeutic challenge for years. PTSD can result from witnessing or observing traumatic events that are possibly life-threatening, severely disturbing or that pose threatening bodily injuries.

Recent developments in neuroscience have led to the discovery that glycolipid structures promote platelet activation and neuroinflammation, therefore having an imperative role neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease. Due to these recent developments new studies have shown that important developmental structures within the brain can also be a vital contributor towards finding preventative cures towards degenerative neural diseases.

The process of learning about the human biology generally tends to systematize and separate the body into discrete units and understand their function as disparate parts. This often translates into the clinical world of diagnoses and treatments where diseases are isolated to their corresponding systems—Parkinson’s disease is viewed under a neurodegenerative lens, or patients with irritable bowel syndrome are sent to a gastroenterologist.

Imagine controlling neuronal activity with nothing but a miniature flashlight. Shine the light on a set of neurons and they fire up, sending action potentials across the brain and back. Turn the light off and they’re back to resting state. Though perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, this idea basically captures the essence of optogenetics, which in more scientific terms refers to the use of light responsive “opsin” proteins to produce genetically modified neurons.