More than four months have passed since the first case of COVID-19 had reached Sweden. Also, more than four months have passed since I started my PhD in Sweden. Three months have passed since the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a global pandemic. How did the pandemic impact my PhD in a country that is viewed as following a complete different strategy than other countries? A country, that faced many deaths and is still facing many new cases in relation to its inhabitants? Let me tell you about my experience during the last months.
How Does our Brain Know When to Eat and When to Stop?
The regulation of food intake is a complex concert of signals from different parts of our body, working together with our biological clock, and of course, our brain. Those signals (or messages) indicate for example whether our stomach is full or empty, if we have energy incoming, or how much energy we have stored in our fat cells. Eating also needs to be pleasurable. But who is coordinating all these different signals?
How do Neurons Know With who to Connect?
We have NUMEROUS neurons in our head. How do they know with which other neurons to connect to form a functioning network? The process you are looking for and we are going to talk about now is called Axon Guidance. Ever heard of it?
Does the Coronavirus Affect the Brain?
Quick disclaimer: Take all information about COVID-19 cautiously. A lot of studies are case reports, preprints, and/or not peer-reviewed. That does not mean the information in these papers is wrong, but they could just depict an exemption or be presumptive to begin with. Now that we got that sorted: Does the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) affect the … Continue reading Does the Coronavirus Affect the Brain?
biologista.org 