Neurology is
a branch of medicine dealing with study and treatment of various disorders of
Nervous System. Nervous System is a complex, sophisticated system that
coordinates and regulates body functions and has two major divisions:Central
nervous system: the brain and spinal cord, Peripheral nervous system: all
other neural elements, such as eyes, ears, skin, and other "sensory
receptors".
Neurologists are
specialists who treat diseases of the brain and spinal cord, peripheral nerves
and muscles.
Some of the
common disorders of Nervous System are Alzheimer's Disease, Acute Spinal
Cord Injury, Ataxia, Brain Tumors, Cerebral Aneurysm, Epilepsy and
Seizures, Meningitis,
Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Stroke, Myasthenia
Gravis, Bell's Palsy.
Neuroscience is
also known as Neurobiology.
It is a multidisciplinary science that includes developmental biology,
physiology, molecular
biology, anatomy, cytology, mathematical modeling
and psychology to understand the fundamental and evolving properties
of neurons and neural circuits.
Neuropharmacology is
the study of how drugs affect the nervous system's cellular structure and the
neural processes by which they influence behavior. There are two major
divisions of neuropharmacology: Molecular and Behavioral.
The study of
neurons and their neurochemical interactions, with the ultimate aim of
developing drugs that have beneficial effects on neurological function,
includes molecular neuropharmacology.
The study of how
drugs influence human behavior (neuropsychopharmacology), including the study
of how drug dependency and addiction affect the human brain, includes behavioral
neuropharmacology.
The interactions
of neurotransmitters,
neuropeptides, neurohormones,
neuromodulators, enzymes, second messengers, co-transporters, ion channels, and
receptor proteins in the central and peripheral nervous systems are closely
related in all of these areas. Researchers are researching medications to treat
many different neurological conditions, including pain, neurodegenerative
diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, psychiatric disorders,
addiction, and many others, in order to study these interactions.
A
progressive neurological condition that causes the brain to shrink (atrophy)
and death of brain cells is Alzheimer's
disease. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer's disease-a
continuous deterioration in thought, behavioral and social skills that affects
the ability of an individual to work independently. Forgetting recent events or
conversations are the early symptoms of the disease. An individual with Alzheimer's
disease may experience significant memory failure as the disease progresses and
lose the ability to perform daily tasks. Medications can improve or delay the
progression of symptoms temporarily. Sometimes, these medications may help
individuals with Alzheimer's
disease maximize function and retain independence for a period of time.
Different programs and services can help support people and their families with
Alzheimer's disease. Brain changes that occur in Alzheimer's disease can affect
moods and behaviors. Problems may include the following: Depression, Social
withdrawal, Changes in sleeping habits, Loss of inhibitions, Delusions etc.
Neurosurgery is
also known as neurological surgery. The medical specialty concerned with the
prevention, diagnosis, surgical treatment and recovery of conditions involving
any portion of the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, central
and peripheral nervous system and cerebrovascular system, is neurosurgery. As a
result of highly crafted instruments, the biggest developments in neurosurgery
came about. Chisels, curettes, power tools, elevators, dissectors, distractors,
forceps, hooks, probes, impactors, suction tubes and robots are all modern
neurosurgical tools or instruments. Most of these modern devices have been in
medical practice for a very long time, such as chisels, elevators, forceps,
hooks, impactors, and probes. Most neurosurgical disorders, including
neuro-trauma and other neuro-emergencies such as intracranial hemorrhage,
include neurosurgery generally. Some of these divisions of neurosurgery are: Vascular
neurosurgery, Skull base
surgery, Peripheral nerve surgery, Pediatric
neurosurgery, Spinal
neurosurgery, Oncological neurosurgery, Stereotactic
neurosurgery. Modern neurosurgery diagnosis and treatment involve
the use of neuroradiology methods. These methods include computer assisted
imaging computed tomography (CT),
magnetoencephalography (MEG), magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI), positron
emission tomography (PET), and stereotactic
radiosurgery. Some neurosurgery procedures involve the use of
intra-operative MRI and functional MRI. Conditions treated by neurosurgery are
brain hemorrhages, skull fractures, Lumbar spinal stenosis, Cervical spinal
stenosis, Meningitis,
Spinal disc herniation, Some forms of drug-resistant epilepsy, Parkinson's
disease, Moyamoya disease etc
Neuropathology is
the study of nervous system tissue disease, typically in the form of either
small surgical biopsies or autopsies of the entire body. Neuropathologists normally
work in the anatomical pathology department, but work closely with the neurology
and neurosurgery clinical disciplines, which
also rely on neuropathology for diagnosis. Neuropathology also refers to
forensic medicine, since the cause of death may be associated with brain damage
or brain injury. Neuropathology should not be
confused with neuropathy, which, rather than the tissues, refers to nerve
diseases themselves (usually in the peripheral nervous system). In
neuropathology, the divisions of the nervous system as well as tissue
specializations come together in one area of study.
Neuroendocrinology is
the biology branch (specifically physiology) that studies the relationship
between the nervous system and the endocrine system, i.e. how the hormonal
activity in the body is regulated by the brain.
In a process called neuroendocrine integration, the nervous and endocrine
systems frequently work together in order to control the physiological
functions of the human body. Euroendocrinology emerged from the recognition
that pituitary gland hormone secretion is regulated by the brain, particularly the
hypothalamus, and has subsequently grown to examine various endocrine and
nervous system interconnections. The neuroendocrine
system is the mechanism by which homeostasis is
preserved by the hypothalamus, which regulates reproduction, metabolism, blood
pressure, eating and drinking. energy utilization and osmolarity.
Major
neuroendocrine systems:
Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal
axis (HPA axis)
Hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid
axis (HPT axis)
Hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal
axis (HPG axis)
Hypothalamic–neurohypophyseal
system
Multiple
sclerosis (MS) is a potentially disabling disease of the
central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). In MS, the protective sheath
(myelin) that covers nerve fibers is attacked by the immune system and
causes contact issues between your brain and the rest of your body. Eventually,
permanent damage or weakening of the nerves may result from the disease. MS
signs and symptoms differ greatly and depend on the amount of damage to the
nerves and what nerves are affected. Some individuals with extreme MS may lose
the ability to walk independently or at all, while others without any new
symptoms may experience lengthy periods of remission. Depending on the location
of the damaged nerve fibers, various signs and symptoms of sclerosis can vary
dramatically from person to person and over the course of the disease.
Sometimes, symptoms influence movement, such as: In one or more joints,
numbness or weakness usually occurs on one side of the body or your legs and
trunk at a time, Sensations of electric shock that occur with certain movements
of the neck, especially bending the neck forward, Tremor,
absence of coordination
Parkinson's
disease is a progressive neurological
disorder that affects movement, often including tremors.
Symptoms of Parkinson's generally start out progressively and get worse over
time. People can have trouble walking and talking as the disease progresses.
They may also experience mental and behavioral changes, issues with sleep,
depression, trouble with memory, and fatigue. Parkinson's disease occurs when
nerve cells, or neurons, become damaged and/or die in a region of the brain
that regulates movement. These neurons usually create an essential brain
chemical known as dopamine. They produce less dopamine when the neurons die or
become damaged, which causes the movement problems of Parkinson's. The cure is,
consequently, well past the treatment of side effects. There are two simple
ways of approaching more effective dopaminergic activity in the mind right now:
increasing dopamine emission with exogenous operators and concentrating on related
pathways of neurotransmission. Levodopa is
the regular dopamine metabolic antecedent and is a profound success in the
treatment of PD indications. People with Parkinson's also lose the nerve endings
that stimulate norepinephrine, the sympathetic nervous system's primary
chemical messenger, which regulates many automatic body functions, such as
heart rate and blood pressure. Norepinephrine loss
can help explain some of the non-movement manifestations of Parkinson's
The
words muscle disease myopathy, neuromuscular conditions 'and' neuromuscular
disorders 'all describe a wide group of conditions that affect
either the muscles, such as those in the arms and legs or heart and lungs, or
the nerves that regulate the muscles. Neuromuscular disorders are a generic
term that involves a large variety of diseases with various presentations. Some
neuromuscular diseases have symptoms that begin in infancy and others in
childhood or adulthood, where the symptoms can appear. Depending on the type of
neuromuscular condition and the affected biological structure, symptoms can be
found in various parts of the body. Common symptoms include: Muscle atrophy,
Breathing and swallowing difficulties, Numbness or loss of sensation, Loss of
balance and motor control, Muscle weakness.
Neuroanatomy is
the study of the nervous system's structure and function. In comparison to
radial symmetry animals whose nervous system consists of a distributed cell
network, bilateral symmetry animals have segregated, established nervous
systems. Therefore, their neuroanatomy is best known. The
nervous system in vertebrates is divided into the inner structure of the brain
and spinal cord (collectively called the central nervous system or CNS) and the
nerve pathways that bind to the rest of the body (known as the peripheral
nervous system, or PNS).
Neuro-oncology is
the study of neoplasms of the brain and spinal
cord, many of which are very risky and life-threatening (astrocytoma,
glioblastoma multiforme, glioma, ependymoma, pontine glioma, and brain stem
tumors are among the many examples of these). Gliomas of the
brain stem and pons, glioblastoma
multiforme, and high-grade astrocytoma are among the worst malignant brain
cancers. At any age, from infancy to late in life, primary brain
tumors may occur. During their prime years, these tumors often afflict people.
In differential diagnosis, variables such as age, tumor position and clinical
appearance are beneficial. Most primary brain tumors are more prevalent in men,
except for meningiomas, which are more prevalent in women.
For the assessment of some primary tumors, metastatic conditions, and
neurological complications of cancer, lumbar puncture
(LP) and cerebrospinal fluid
(CSF) analysis are important.
The
scientific area concerned with the study of biological processes and aspects
that underlie cognition is cognitive
neuroscience, with a particular emphasis on the neural connections
in the brain involved in mental processes. It addresses the questions of how
neuronal circuits in the brain influence or regulate cognitive
functions. Cognitive neuroscience is a neuroscience and psychology
branch that overlaps with fields such as behavioral
neuroscience, cognitive
psychology, physiological psychology, and affective neuroscience.
Cognitive neuroscience is focused on cognitive science hypotheses combined with
neurobiological data and computer modeling. Experimental processes from
psychophysics and cognitive psychology, functional neuroimaging,
electrophysiology, cognitive genomics, and behavioral genetics are techniques
used in cognitive neuroscience. In addition, in the subfield of developmental
cognitive neuroscience, cognitive abilities dependent on brain growth are
researched and examined. This illustrates brain growth over time, analyzing
differences and concocting potential causes for these differences.
Neuroplasticity,
which involves two synaptic and non-synaptic plasticity, is also known as brain
plasticity and neural plasticity and refers to
improvement in neural pathways and synapses due to variations in actions, environment,
neural processes, thought, and emotions, as well as changes arising from the
body. The purpose of this session is to understand the developments in brain
plasticity in the remodeling of neurites and how to increase neural
connections. Neurorehabilitation is a treatment
procedure aimed at helping recovery from damage to the nervous system and
mitigating or compensating for any functional changes arising from it.