The Brain

Question 1

materialism concept

Answer 1

brain produces mind/What is the point/relationship between patterns and our experiences

Question 2

how brain works in 5- words (steve pinker)

Answer 2

“Brain cells fire in patterns”
Brain cells–neurons
Fire–electrical signals

Question 3

Descartes

Answer 3

He argued for dualism–mind and brain totally separate
Mental events–in our mind–are the stuff of the soul but sometimes they link up
Physical events–in our brain
Today we believe in materialism not dualism
Physical events (neurons firing) directly cause mental experiences/events

Question 4

First evidence that ppl thought about brain

Answer 4

Trepanation (holes created in skull) (c 3500 BCE)–drilled into their brain when they were alive and survived for a while after
We dont know why they did it

Question 5

do mental events cause other mental events?

Answer 5

No! Physical events can cause more than one mental event, though.
Smell cookies physical event neurons fire → mental event “smells good in here”
Neurons fire as result of first neurons firing → “cookies!”
Pattern corresponds to a thought, causes another pattern

Question 6

SSRI vs placebo

Answer 6

physical event changes way neurons fire
With placebo
We have neural pattern → medicine makes u feel better
Materialism wins over dualism (=”mind is what brain does”)

Question 7

SSRI vs placebo

Answer 7

physical event changes way neurons fire
With placebo
We have neural pattern → medicine makes u feel better
Materialism wins over dualism (=”mind is what brain does”)

Question 8

history of (discovery of) brain (pre renaissance

Answer 8

Brain wasnt important to Egyptians–they preserved internal organs but not brain (they thought heart)
Greeks didnt know whether mental life existed in heart or head

Question 9

Camillo Golgi

Answer 9

realized how to stain cells/the staining would only stain some cells and made everything look less complex–first evidence of cells in brain

Question 10

globalization vs localization of function-

Answer 10

-is brain equal all over or made of different parts that do different things? Sponge (globalized/damage to one part=function across the board damage) vs bicycle (localization/damage to one part damages ur ability to do one thing)
Brain is localized=why more minor strokes affects some and not abilities

Question 11

Localized function so important bc:

Answer 11

Multiple brain regions imply multiple cognitive functions (e.g. memory)
Remembering words =/= numbers, faces; they come from diff parts of the brain
Overlapping brain regions imply overlapping cognitive functions (e.g. gerstmanns syndrome)

Question 12

Gerstmanns syndrome

Answer 12

which causes an inability to add and subtract, tell left from right, and tell which finger is being touched–so there must be some overlap in which part of the brain is being used to solve that problem–very specific spot
All have to do with hands

Question 13

Brain injury (agnosia)

Answer 13

Cant visually recognize but can thru touch (diff parts of brain)

Question 14

Franz gall

Answer 14

discovered localization
He also thought parts of brain grow if u use them
Phrenology–where brain could grow bumps→ traits
Wrong about bumps and traits, right about localization
Turns out cells changing if u spend more time on something/one area of neurons can overtake others

Question 15

Methods localization/studying brain:

Answer 15

Accidents
Manipulation (stimuating diff parts)
Non invasive technique

Question 16

phineas gage

Answer 16

Nice mild-mannered guy and then got brain injury and personality totally changed
Tamping down gunpowder w big metal rod and it set ff early and rod went thru his skull
He got up and said i think i need to go to the dr
Perfect hole
He went on to live normalish life except he became aggressive emotional outbursts, swearing, emotional reactivity problems
Damage to one part of functioning and the rest stay normal
Evidence for brain localization

Question 17

Lobotomy

Answer 17

(not done anymore) disconnect front spot from rest of brain/cure behavior problems
Take away personality

Question 18

animal subjects

Answer 18

But if u dont want to wait for accidents to study localization people use animal subjects
But damaging animals brains might be unethical and also humans and animal brains are not the same

Question 19

surgical mapping

Answer 19

Then penfield discovered surgical mapping (w electrical current)/manipulation and people whose brains were being manipulated would report results

Question 20

noninvasive techniques

Answer 20

Recent noninvasive technique–Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
EEG another way to measure w/o disrupting–electrodes
Functional neuroimaging–
PET (sugar) and fMRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

Question 21

Brain organization–

Answer 21

Everything we do is a continuum from luxury to necessity
Heartbeat–necessity

Necessary functions in middle of brain and moves out
Organized from evolutionary old to new
Ones on outside deal w fancy human things

Question 22

cortex

Answer 22

outer surface w unique human abilities

Question 23

Frontal lobe–

Answer 23

reasoning lang exec control

Question 24

Temporal lobe–

Answer 24

audio, language, object recognition

Question 25

Parietal–

Answer 25

pay attn, locate objects in space, counting

Question 26

occipital–

Answer 26

responsible for vision

Question 27

Bilateral symmetry in brain/functions of l/r

Answer 27

–right side of brain controls sensory and motor of left body and vice versa
Left–linguistic analysis (grammar, vocab)
Right–paralinguistic (tone, rhythm)

Question 28

corpus collosum

Answer 28

Two sides connected by corpus callosum
Allows two sides to interact
If damage occurs they cant interact and weird stuff happens

Question 29

history of (discovery of)brain post renaissance

Answer 29

Renaissance–they knew mental life was in brain
People thought fluid in brain (produced by ventricles) was the important part
Really it just keeps our brain tissue floating
Tissue vs ventricles
People started understanding anatomical structure in 1600s
When ppl first discovered cells they thought brain didnt have any bc neurons look so different with the tendrils/branches
then Golgi
Old debate–globalization vs localization of function

Question 30

somatosensory cortex

Answer 30

The part of brain having to do with feeling on body

Question 31

cortical homunculus

Answer 31

how man would look if we were built the way somatosensory or motor cortex projects

Question 32

Motor cortex–

Answer 32

maps our movement

Question 33

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Answer 33

Use magnets to interrupt functioning

Question 34

EEG

Answer 34

another way to measure w/o disrupting–electrodes detect electrical brain activity

Question 35

Functional neuroimaging–

Answer 35

PET (sugar) and fMRI (magnetic resonance imaging) measures blood flow
Things that need more energy use more blood flow