As described in the post “On the mechanisms of brain protection by ketones“, GABA, the principal brain chemical, normally acts to prevent hyperactivity in the neuronal networks. However, in the immature neurons, it acts to promote hyperactivity, at least this is how a twenty-year theory goes. This phenomenon is used to explain many properties of the developing brain (1). The “excitatory GABA” or “depolarizing GABA” (which are not the same, but it can become rather technical to explain) results were obtained in the in vitro experiments when a very thin slice of the brain survives in an artificial solution (ACSF) — the same solution for for both mature and immature brains. (more…)
On the theory of excitatory GABA
Energy Substrates,Excitatory GABA,Methodology,Neuroprotectors,Theories — Tags: immature brain, Ketogenic diet, neonates, popular — 11:09 am
The Hungry Brain
Brain metabolism,The hungry brain,Theories — Tags: cooking, energy density, evolution, Hominids, human ancestors, Neanderthin — 11:58 am
We humans are what our ancestors ate
At least this is what Doctors Eaton and Konner wrote in their article “Paleolithic Nutrition,” published by the New England Journal of Medicine in 1985 and resulted in one of the dieting bestsellers, the “Neanderthin” by Ray Audette. They concluded that the modern chronic diseases Ñ obesity, hypertension, heart disease and diabetes, are the result of modern diets that are so radically different from the diet of prehistoric hunter-gatherers. Now, however, our knowledge about the evolution of human nutrition has advanced and we know that there was no single, Paleolithic diet but was a much more flexible eating pattern resulted in a “omnivorous” nutrition make up. Studies of modern human populations traditionally living in “prehistoric” environments show that we humans are able to use a wide variety of diets. (more…)
