Biology 202 Web Paper 2

 Kate Gould

Professor Grobstein

Neurobiology

27 April 2010

Rifts in Time

“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”

Mary Oliver

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A Spanish proverb says that “the belly rules the mind”.

Fat on the Belly: Whose Business?

Deep fried chicken, hamburger, ice cream, cake… After eating in America for seven months, I found myself in a body weight crisis for the first time in my life. Before coming to America, I’ve never worried about my body weight or diet – though my appetite seemed to be a bit better than most other women, my body weight stayed relatively stable. “You are just like everyone from your dad’s family, staying thin even when eating a lot.” My mom always commented. But this time, even my dad’s chromosomes can’t save me from picking up fat on my belly.

As we have discussed in class, the brain is continuously evolving and creating new connections between neurons. These connections make everyday life possible. If humans, or animals in general, were incapable of creating outputs without inputs, they would not be able to creatively solve problems and adapt to new environments. Clearly, this is not the case given that modern homo sapiens have survived approximately 60,000 years of life on Earth (ScienceDaily, 2004). Thus, it is a fact that human brains have evolved to enable neural plasticity, or the ability to reorganize neuronal structures and create new connections between neurons. The question remains as to how the plasticity of the brain is maintained. How is it that neurons can create these new connections?

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Colette Young                                                                                                                   6 April 2010

                                                                                                                        Rama Kirloskar