3rd International conference on Brain disorders & Neurodegeneration

An abscess is a pocket of necrotic, degenerating tissue, often with infection, in any organ ranging from skin and gums to liver and kidneys. A brain abscess is a life-threatening condition requiring emergency intervention. It begins as inflammation and, without intervention, progresses to an abscess in about 10 days. About 25% of brain abscesses are sterile (without infection), but more often, they’re caused by pathogens such as  Streptococcus, Staphylococcus,  or  Listeria . Other causes include  Candida  and  Aspergillus  (both fungi),  Toxoplasma  (a protozoan that can be contracted from cats, undercooked meat, and unpasteurized milk), and the very rare but deadly “brain-eating amoeba”  Naegleria . Reference: Ken Saladin

Neurotoxicity occurs when exposure to natural or artificial toxic substances, which are called neurotoxins, alters the normal activity of the nervous system in such a way as to cause damage to nervous tissue. This can eventually disrupt or even kill neurons, key cells that transmit and process signals in the brain and other parts of the nervous system. Neurotoxicity can result from exposure to substances used in chemotherapy, radiation treatment, drug therapies, certain drug abuse, and organ transplants, as well as exposure to heavy metals, certain foods and food additives, pesticides, industrial and/or cleaning solvents, cosmetics, and some naturally occurring substances. Symptoms may appear immediately after exposure or be delayed. They may include limb weakness or numbness, loss of memory, Neurotoxicity occurs when exposure to natural or artificial toxic substances, which are called neurotoxins, alters the normal activity of the nervous system in such a way as to cause damage to...

There are a lot of archaic and inappropriate answers here, please disregard them. The only the one that is correct by current scientific understanding as of 2019, provided by  Xeno Rasmusson ,  is nice enough to point out that the idea of what’s valid about this topic is something that changes over time and with more knowledge and research. My own answer below will be outdated, eventually, by a better answer. I’ll skip the lesson on  how the human brain forms  in the first place and just start with what happens when it’s growing. Neurogenesis, the process by which progenitor neural stem cells migrate from the brain’s ventricular zone to various locations in the brain and mature as neurons in a network, is not just a rare or one-time event. There’s a massive spike in neurogenesis during the first few years of life, which is fairly apparent by the matter in how fast infants, of any species, cognitively mature. The rate of human neurogenesis in the brain slows consi...

All old people suffer from brain atrophy. Some old people suffer dementia. The brain cells (neurons) you were born with are all the brains you’re going to get, and every day 1,000,000 of those precious cells die. Yet you can lose half your brain and still retain personality and memory. Every time you get drunk or concussed, you lose another million or so. Smokers’ brains atrophy quicker than non-smokers. Alzheimer’s respects neither age nor intelligence. Cherish your mental muscles. Exercise them, and don’t say ‘I don’t have the brains’ as an excuse for not wanting to do something challenging. The brain behaves like a muscle, has more connections than there are stars in the known universe, and is a miracle of nature. The brain is so complex that half of all your genes are required for its complex development. Reference: Jim Euclid

Brain resides inside a precisely pressure-controlled cavity covered by a hard skull that does not allow brain or anything inside to expand in size. When a tumour mass grows from inside this hard skull (be it from brain or from its coverings), it tries to occupy more space at the cost of space meant for the normally functioning brain. So the brain and cranial nerves emerging from it get compressed-this is called in medical parlance as “ raised intracranial tension ” (ICT). Now coming to the question, signs are what the doctor sees in the patient and symptoms are what the patient feels him/herself. All these symptoms and signs are obviously the result of raised intracranial tension. Symptoms 1.       Headache(usually the first symptom) 2.       Vomiting (sudden, projectile) 3.       Dizziness and confusion, unconsciousness in severe ICT 4.       Vision problems leading ...

Psychiatry is a broader field. Although it is a sub specialty of medicine, it can be considered a speciality in itself, as medical students don't have adequate exposure to psych in their MBBS days. It deals with the thoughts, mood and behavioural symptoms affecting the mind. Neuropsychiatry is a sub specialty of Psychiatry, wherein there are broad overlaps between neurology, psychiatric symptoms of neurological diseases, behavioural neurology and neuropsychology. For example, a neuropsychiatric professional would see cases like dementia, depression associated with dementia, psychiatric symptoms secondary to organic brain diseases, etc. Reference: Sriram Raghavendran

While making an early diagnosis of Parkinson’s can be difficult, one can always look out for warning signs. The early signs that are detected are the loss of smell, depression and anxiety, sleeping disorder, etc. Starting with the sleeping disorder, it can be caused due to physiological changes in the brain. And as Parkinson’s prevails, an individual may face trouble sleeping as he goes through the phase of rigidity and tremors. Another warning sign is the loss of smell, which is caused due to dopamine deficiency in the brain, especially in the olfactory bulb which is known to control the sense of smell in an individual. Also, people with Parkinson’s tend to develop mood swings and disorders like depression and anxiety early during the diagnosis. Let’s look at the treatment to manage these signs early during the diagnosis. Treatments to cure early signs of Parkinson’s Medications A long-acting Levodopa may be helpful in getting the right amount of sleep as it targets non-mot...

I may be way off here, but memory loss would not be my first take on what people with BPD are inclined to experience without considering two things. These would be the co-occurrence of depression and dissociative symptoms (ruling out cognitive decline due to aging, drug use, brain damage, and other neurological disorders). Depression and dissociative symptoms are quite common in BPD. Memory has proven to be impaired with depression (size of hippocampus is affected). And while loss of material through dissociation is not technically called “forgetting,” it is still material that has been pushed away and lost to recall (giving the experience of forgetting). So improving the symptoms of depression and dissociation would certainly have a positive impact on memory if they accompany BPD, which they almost always do. Reference: Victor Salkowitz