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CORNELL HD 3700 - How the brain works
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HD 3700 1st Edition Lecture 12Outline of Last Lecture I. Hamlet meets his fatherII. Approaching the brainIII. Thinking about the braina. Mind/body dualityb. How not to think about brain scansOutline of Current LectureI. Brain ImagingII. Ophelia’s DilemmaIII. How the brain is organized IV. NeuronsV. NeurotransmissionCurrent LectureI. Brain imaging - Ways to misuse brain imageryo 1) dualism: if it shows up in the brain, it’s “biological,” not “psychological”; o 2) simplistic mapping of complex traits;o 3) not knowing how much the brain constructs itself from experience Why do 16-year olds drive like they’re missing part of their brain—because they are, the cerebral cortex is not mature yet The brains of homosexuals and heterosexuals look different in brain scans, but it’s not because they’re genetically different, but because they have different experiences and the brain constructs itself from experience- Ways to use brain imaging wello First, Professor Finlay suggests we think of the brain as a collection of verbs, that is, its parts derive meaning from experience and contribute to our awareness … which is how the brain “constructs itself.”o Some important diagrams: brain parts as “verbs” Loops around a basic environmental layout/ motor option/ motivation core Cortex: Slow associative extraction of sensory information, concepts, structure. Hippocampus: Rapid associative extraction of layout, episodes Motor cortex/ basal ganglia: Reinforcement learning, evaluating weighting and nesting of behavioral plans Cerebellum: Differencer; compares intention to actual, corrects Extended amygdala, “social” circuitry: Links social and physiological state to external choiceso All of this works together associating to the past, operating in the present,and influencing future- Examples of a process-oriented, “verb” brain descriptiono Hippocampus: take sensory and motor information from all sources, bind together over a (very) short period of time, even for just one instance That is “place” or “event”—have I been here before?o Basal ganglia: from possible action plans, select the one with the best chance of success in the present environment  If my mother is playing poker with me and my friends, should I bluff?- Then she suggests that imaging be used to explore how the brain constructs itself, to investigate the processes of mental illness, among other goals, as long aswe avoid her three “errors.”o An example from a current research area: Post-traumatic stress disorder, memory reconsolidation pharmacology; convergence with psychotherapyo Compares many syndromes and locations; looks for patterns and compares different types of anxietyo Integrate brain scans with experimental work (fear conditioning in the amygdala) integrated with clinical knowledge leads to the finding that… Extinction during reconsolidation prevents spontaneous recovery of extinguished fear.- From Mind to Braino Social Psychology, Clinical Psychology Personality Psychology Focuses on the Mind – feelings, thoughts, fantasies, judgments, fears, defenses, How we know, how we avoid knowing …o Cognitive Psychology Focuses on mental processes: perception, linguistic processing, object recognition, reaction times, learning & memory …o Computation models Assuming that neural networks are responsible for processing information, for generating feelings, thoughts, fantasies dreams … can we create algorithmic models that simulate what groups of neurons are doing?o Neuroscience, biological psychiatry, psychopharmacology Neurotransmitter action, allosteric modulation, genetic factors, learning about how the brain functions … in a sense, trying to find ways into the complexity of brain functioning and how it generates the mind…- Onto the braino 1. What we can tell from observed behavior: A.R. Luria and functioning systems. o 2. Perceiving our environment? Not exactly … (we are the environment) We are only perceiving what our sensory organs are conveying to our brain It is a very limited construction from our sensory organ datao 3. What we share with the lower mammals  (not our foreheads …)- What is a functioning system?o You learn a complex action by first learning the separate actions which compose it. For example, driving …o Once you’ve mastered pressing the gas petal, looking in the rear view mirror, turning the steering wheel, your brain writes a “macro” for the whole action …o Storing it in a different part of the brain (which we know is true because of what happens to stroke victims).II. Ophelia’s Dilemma- Act II Scene I- Colonius has forbidden Hamlet and Ophelia from being togethero Difficulty of father letting his daughter go (long-term issue for Shakespeare)- Ophelia obeyed her father, and rejected Hamlet - In the scene, Hamlet and Ophelia are speaking, and Ophelia is so tuned into Hamlet that her metaphor relates to Hamlet’s experience of seeing a ghost- Ophelia already rejected him. What is the point of this scene?o To show that Hamlet is using her—setting into motion the notion that he’s crazy, and crazy with love for Ophelia knowing that she’ll run to her father and spread the news—he is almost manico Hamlet knows that when he kills the king he will be killed—also possible that Hamlet is saying goodbye to hero Maybe it is both—maybe he is both saying bye to her and using her to send through the court the news that he is crazyIII. How the brain is organized- 1. The hind brain takes information, fed to the spinal column from the nervous system and sensory organs … and gives it to the mid-braino Where the information is processed, refined (affecting physical & psychological experience) and shared with the cortex …o Through clusters of neurons which project from the midbrain into the lobes of the brain, bringing information experienced as thought, anxiety, and mood. (No surprise that these pathways of neurons respond to dopamine, seratonin, & norepinephrine.)IV. Neurons and how they worko How they’re built Fluid inside (cytoplasm) and out (extracelluar fluid) Generating energy with adosine triphosphate (ATP) Myelin coating made by glial cells – the thicker the coating, the faster the conduction of electrical signals- Glial cells are worker cells around the neuron Chromosomes inside – long strands of DNA.o Firing and Changing Neurons either change the


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CORNELL HD 3700 - How the brain works

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