So Today’s post is going to be a science lesson, (so if
science isn’t your thing I’d hit the back button know and instead go to YouTube
to watch music videos and end up watching a bear riding a tiny tricycle). So
today were going to talk about something called the blood-brain barrier, what
is a blood-brain barrier you ask? (Excellent question lonely person reading
this blog). The blood-brain barrier is a mechanism in the brain that keeps
chemicals from crossing from the blood into the brain. So why do we need this
blood-brain barrier, what does it do for us? To make a long story short, when a
virus enters our body, the cell it infects send out a sort of bat signal to the
immune system letting it know it’s been invaded and sacrificing its self for
the good of the body. That might work for a regular old cell in the body
because they can be easily replaced, but that doesn’t work in the brain because
neurons can’t be replaced. (Oh no who will save us from these evil viruses? Don’t
worry brain, I the blood-brain barrier am here to save you! My hero). So to
protect the brain from harmful chemicals, viruses, bacteria, a wall was built
along the brain’s blood vessels (and thus the blood-brain barrier was born). Wait a minute, how does the barrier work? The
barrier counts on the endothelial cells that form in the capillaries because they’re
joined so tightly that nothing gets through them. This blood-brain barrier
sounds like such a great idea, so why don’t we have this everywhere else? Why,
because although it does a great job of keeping out harmful chemicals it also
keeps out good, useful chemicals. Because of this the blood-brain barrier needs
to use special mechanisms to get these useful chemicals to the brain. So
although the blood-brain barrier is necessary to keep the brain in good working
order, it does prove to be a disadvantage in getting helpful chemicals into the
brain. So that’s all for today, join us next time where we’ll have something
else exciting to talk about.
Here's a video that will probably explain it a little better, with pictures and stuff, and talk more about the disadvantages it causes.
With your information and video that you have provided, I find the topic of blood-brain barriers easier to understand than it was in our physiological psychology textbook. I now recognize what role the blood - brain barrier has. Which is mechanism that helps the brain stay healthy by blocking viruses and diseases from coming in to our brain.
ReplyDeleteI think the blood-brain barrier is a very interesting topic. When I was younger, I thought it was like a plastic bag that the brain would float in. But now I know better. What I find unusual is that the barrier is there to keep out chemicals, yet non polar, lipid-soluble molecules can still pass through, such as alcohol, heroin, and cocaine. These affect the brain adversely, but there's no mechanism to keep them out. As the people in the video said, the blood-brain barrier is a crucial part of our body but it's kind of nonspecific and inefficient.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Priya, at a young age we're under the impression that the skull is an impenetrable force...I think it's very interesting the way you wrote this blog. I enjoyed your writing and was able to understand this topic better with your examples with the bat signal and the martyr cells. Also, Priya has a point when she said that these drug chemicals are allowed into our brain...do you think it is because these drugs are what cause a big release in dopamine...and ultimately the brain wants to feel good?...perhaps the brain has evolved into a pleasure sponge?
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