The Nerve, Spring 2011, Vol 2, Issue 2

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https://hdl.handle.net/2144/50621

Full Issue: The Nerve, Spring 2011, Vol 2, Issue 2

Editors-In-Chief: Grigori Guitchounts, Kimberly LeVine
Editors: Frank DeVita, Lauren Joseph
Associate Editors:Natalie Banacos, John Batoha, Devyn Buckley, Monika Chitre, Alexandra Maxim, Margaret McGuinness, Katie Purcell, Jennifer Richardson, Evan Stein
Artists: Devyn Buckley, Alex Maxim, Margaret McGuinness, Kayla Ritchie, Amber Vittoria
Layout Designer: Nicole Luna
MBS Staff: Macayla Donegan, Megan Mataga, Greg Salimando
Advisors: Zachary Bos, Paul Lipton

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    Lucid dreaming: the third eye
    (2011) Buckley, Devyn
    “Only in your dreams!” The quintessential phrase expressing the awful truth that an ideal, sadly, will not become reality. Sometimes, however, our dreams can become realities. Lucid dreaming is type of dream state in which the dreamer suddenly becomes aware of the fact that she or he is dreaming. Consequences vary, but for some people this state can lead to an incredible ability to control their surroundings from flying to creating objects. It is an ability that is helped by innate skill, but is, according to lucid dream researcher Stephen LaBerge, something anyone can learn with enough practice.
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    Philosophy, or how I learned that neuroscience isn’t perfect
    (2011) DeVita, Frank
    The ancient philosopher Aristotle made some of the earliest scientific claims about the natural world while making philosophical claims about abstractions like happiness, virtue and the nature of reality itself. Centuries later, Watson and Crick elucidated the double helical structure of DNA. Although appearing strikingly different, scientists and philosophers ought to be equally conscientious of the dynamics of their investigations, taking notice to principles and causal interactions. Through history, science and philosophy have complemented each other and in fact share many core elements in their fundamental ideology despite investigating different realms of reality. Fundamentally, science aggregates knowledge by conjecture and experimentation to discover truths about the physical world, while philosophy investigates our world of abstractions with logic and rational argument. Collectively, the two disciplines and the efforts of their faculty strive to understand inward and outward reality, and have fundamental similarities and differences in their execution. Yet, philosophy remains imperative in scientific pursuit of reality’s greatest questions and science equally complements philosophical investigations of the current human condition.
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    RNA interference: the future of pain management
    (2011) Donegan, Macayla
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    Paddle upstream: the epigenetics of Parkinson’s Disease
    (2011) Banacos, Natalie
    Neurodegeneration is one of the side-effects of old age that is universally expected. Forgetfulness, loss of coordination, and general slowing of cognition are all things associated with growing older. For some, the consequences of the damage sustained by the brain become much more extreme than having to give up skiing or not being able to find the car keys. Individuals suffering from disorders like Parkinson’s Disease (PD) tend to show rather unique neurological difficulties - which, according to recent research, can stem from specific genetic underpinnings.
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    The future of perceptual manipulation
    (2011) Mataga, Megan
    Out-of-body episodes have traditionally been associated with potent psychedelic agents, dream-like states, or near-death experiences. With the rise of more advanced technology, however, it appears that out-of-body experiences can be triggered much more easily. Equipment with various levels of sophistication has been used to trick a subject’s brain into accepting ownership of a different body or body part, facilitating the sensorial deception known as body transfer illusion. To ensure the successful production of this effect, bottom-up mechanisms must override top-down processes. In other words, basic sensory inputs must trump knowledge-activated cognition.
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    Neuroplasticity, music, and intelligence
    (2011) Caipa, Anuhya
    The human brain is an organized system composed of elegant, complicated, interacting networks that allow for the swift processing, planning, and performance of incoming information and reciprocal actions. The majority of human cerebrocortical characteristics are genetically predisposed, deeply encoded in an individual’s unique DNA. However, the brain retains a marvelous, intrinsic ability to not only be shaped by heredity, but also by extrinsic factors.
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    The Nerve, Spring 2011, Vol 2, Issue 2
    (2011) Caipa, Anuhya; Mataga, Megan; Banacos, Natalie; Donegan, Macayla; DeVita, Frank; Buckley, Devyn