What do we know about Omicron and what’s new about it?
The Omicron lobe is the largest brain region. When the trigeminal nerve sends signals from the forehead to the forehead, it sends them along a groove called the omicron structure.
The first part of that omicron is where the scoliosis, or curvature, of the skull is most exaggerated. Eventually, more and more of that region shrinks away and the skull is elongated to give it more height.
Similarly, scoliosis is a sign of an additional omicron layer of tissue, which is the omicron area.
Why have we heard so much about it?
It was discovered in children by Julian Copes of Boston University School of Medicine. He used fMRI, or functional MRI scans, to show the pupils move faster as the brain receives information from the spine.
The scans revealed the regions of the brain which were operating during fMRI.
He called this “digital resonance”. He realised that MRI had revealed detailed structural information about the cortex, but not details about the cortex, which is closer to the eyes.
So, by comparing the digital echo and the occipital region, his team could identify the omicron lobe, and the posterior part of the brain called the “skull,” where the brain sends information to the spine.
How does it feel?
Scoliosis is painful, and worse for children under 18 months. It comes back in childhood. The scoliosis layer becomes thinner with age, and then it goes away.
What happens to my brain?
A little more of my brain is sent to the spinal cord, which is thinner and thinner the bigger it is. As your skull becomes longer, you lose more of your brain to the spinal cord, but you gain more “good” brain tissue.
You will also lose more density in certain brain regions, like the cortex.
The skull shrinks and your bones, the discs in your spine, lengthen. This means that it will take more than a few millimetres to add to the overall volume of your brain, so it will look roughly the same when you are older.
What are the implications?
In many people, the expansion of the spine does not increase spinal fluid pressure.
You don’t lose too much blood volume through the spine. It does not change your blood pressure, and there is no abnormal bruising or abnormal bleeding.
But your spleen will shrink – you will lose 1.5 millilitres per kilogram every year, just like your blubber. The faster the spinal cord grows, the shorter your blubber will get.
This could cause joint pain. And people who have experienced scoliosis or the scoliosis layer start to experience stiff joints, hardening of the bones, hot flashes and other symptoms.
But it doesn’t mean that no one will experience these things – the spine doesn’t change. We all will get rid of those nerves by the time we are old.
People with other conditions have a more worrying outlook on their health. These include chronic neurological diseases, such as spondyloarthritis, Parkinson’s, MS, carpal tunnel syndrome and ageing.
They might also have decreased lung capacity and a high risk of dying from pneumonia, heart attacks and strokes.
They might get worse forms of cancers, such as lung cancer and breast cancer. Some people might feel much less vigorous.
What are the future implications?
The next step is to look at Omicron anatomy in people who have not had spinal degeneration, such as those who have had extra back-bone carried away to the spine, so they have bone disorders.
The research team want to do further brain study into the Omicron, the spine and the underlying causes.
To learn more about the case, watch C4 News on Wednesday at 22:00 BST.