Prelim Bits 07-10-2021 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

Deep Brain Stimulation

In the US, a patient with severe depression was treated successfully using ‘customised’ deep brain stimulation (DBS) technique for this patient’s case.

• The doctors tried to reset the depressive brain patterns by recognising and tapping the brain circuits linked with these patterns.
• DBS is a surgical procedure in which electrodes or leads are implanted into certain brain areas.
• These electrodes generate electrical impulses that control abnormal brain activity. The electrical impulses can adjust for the chemical imbalances within the brain that cause various conditions.

DBS is the equivalent of using a pacemaker for the heart.

• Traditional DBS system has 3 components,
  1. Electrode is an insulated wire inserted through a small opening in the skull and implanted into a specific brain area.
  2. Extension wire is insulated wire that is passed under the skin of the head, neck and shoulder, connecting the electrode to the IPG of the system.
  3. Internal pulse generator (IPG) is usually implanted under the skin in the upper chest.

• Conditions that are traditionally treated using DBS include dystonia, epilepsy, essential tumour, obsessive-compulsive disorder and Parkinson’s disease.
• In treating depression, however, DBS has shown limited success because most devices are only able to deliver constant electrical stimulation to one area of the brain.

Corbett National Park

A proposal has been made to change the name of Corbett National Park to Ramganga National Park.

• Name - Set up in 1936 as India’s - and Asia’s - first national park, the national park was called Hailey National Park.
• It was renamed Ramganga National Park (after the river that flows through it) shortly after Independence.
• In 1956, it was rechristened yet again as Corbett National Park.
• About - Located in the Himalayan foothills of Uttarakhand, the park encompasses the Patli Dun valley formed by the Ramganga River.
• It has sub-Himalayan belt ecological characteristics, as it falls in the Shivalik and Outer Himalaya geological provinces.
• It has dense moist deciduous forest.
• Ideal Tiger Territory - Corbett National Park was the place from where Project Tiger was launched in 1973.
• It is part of the Corbett Tiger Reserve. It has the single largest tiger population in a tiger reserve in the country.
• The national park along with the neighbouring Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary makes the critical tiger habitat of the Corbett Tiger Reserve.
• Other Fauna - Indian Leopards, Barking Deer, Spotted Deer, Sambar Deer, Jungle Cats, sloth, etc.

Guru Ghasidas & Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve

National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) approved the Chhattisgarh’s proposal to declare the combined areas of the Guru Ghasidas National Park & Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve.

• Approval - The 11th Technical Committee of the NTCA approved the proposal under the Section 38V (1) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• [Section 38V (1) of WPA, 1972 (Tiger Conservation Plan) - The State Government shall, on the recommendation of the NTCA, notify an area as a tiger reserve.]
• About the New Reserve - The new Reserve is located in the northern part of Chhattisgarh, bordering Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
• Both Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary and Guru Ghasidas National Park were identified as reserve forests.
• Turning Guru Ghasidas into a Tiger Reserve is important as it provides a corridor for tigers to move between Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh) and Palamau Tiger Reserve (Jharkhand).

Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is located in the Surajpur district of Chhattisgarh, and
  1. Moran River surrounds the northern boundary,
  2. BongaNalla guards the eastern boundary and
  3. Rihand River flows in the western boundary.
• The sanctuary experiences a warm and temperate type of climate.
• It is a part of the Sarguja Jashpur Elephant Reserve since 2011.
• Fauna - Asian elephants, Bengal tigers, Indian leopards, bears

Guru Ghasidas National Park

• It is located in the Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests eco-region of Chhattisgarh.
• It was the last known habitat of the Asiatic cheetah in the country.
• Originally a part of the Sanjay Dubri National Park in undivided Madhya Pradesh, it was created as a separate entity in Chhattisgarh’s Sarguja region after the formation of the state in 2001.
• Fauna - Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, Spotted deer, Sambar deer, wild boar, Nilgai, Chinkara, Civet, Porcupine, Monitor lizard, etc

Source: The Hindu, The Indian Express