The brain

[David Maes]

You know, we can do a lot more with brain scanning than we might think.
(= fMRI)

You know, I could be wrong here. (you see I'm not a professor, just a fan of brain scanning). We really need to shade neuroimaging.

There still has to happen a lot of scientific investigation about this.
And it's very important for humanity.

Scanners are of great value to come to know about brain processes which carry our most precious human abilities.

[thinking]

B. The Man Without a Brain!

One young man examined by Dr. Lorber, who was then a student at Sheffield University, had a measured IQ of 126, a first class honors degree in mathematics; and virtually no brain. This student's brain cortex is a layer about 1/25th of an inch (1 mm) thick, lining his skull. His brain weight is estimated to be about 2/10 of one pound (about 0.090 kg). That is only about 7% of normal brain weight. This student is one of many normal persons with almost no brain.

Clearly these observational facts show that intelligence and brain size are not related. Normal brain size is not necessary to be of perfectly normal intelligence. What makes man unique is not the size of his brain.

The Infinity Program



Mikal

well what else though could he do ? besides mathematics ?

you make it sound as though that the essence or the foundation of intelligence is mathematics

[Mikal]

Hi Thinking...no not implying that at all. Simply pointing out that even without a brain this man made some accomplishments in his life. He may not have had a brain in his head with mass and volume but it is sure he had a heart...the heart has already been found to be a brain system with important connects to the brain in the head. Let us not forget that in fetal development, the heart develops before the head brain. Thats got to say something about its importance and priority to the system as a whole. This man also was married with children so had a meaningful life...that too says that just because this was declared the century of the brain...the brain has been somewhat over-rated.....


Mikal

[dipayankar]

The only 'brain' that the heart has is that it beats by itself. All other functionalities is controlled by the brain itself.

Hi Thinking...no not implying that at all. Simply pointing out that even without a brain this man made some accomplishments in his life. He may not have had a brain in his head with mass and volume but it is sure he had a heart...the heart has already been found to be a brain system with important connects to the brain in the head. Let us not forget that in fetal development, the heart develops before the head brain. Thats got to say something about its importance and priority to the system as a whole. This man also was married with children so had a meaningful life...that too says that just because this was declared the century of the brain...the brain has been somewhat over-rated.....


Mikal

[Mikal]

Gee Dip...don't shoot the messenger!! Go tell it to the neurologists, they are a part of science too....


Mikal

[dipayankar]

Messenger??? The neurologists confirm that the heart is controlled by the brain..

Gee Dip...don't shoot the messenger!! Go tell it to the neurologists, they are a part of science too....


Mikal

[Mikal]

Hi Dip...sorry I was referring to the study of Paul MacLean. He is a neuroscientist who did a resonance study concerning the brain and heart connects....


Mikal

[dipayankar]

Interesting subject to study on. However I feel the brain treats the heart just like another organ (except that it does not control the beating)...

Hi Dip...sorry I was referring to the study of Paul MacLean. He is a neuroscientist who did a resonance study concerning the brain and heart connects....


Mikal

[austintorn@aol.com]

It’s a New Neuron!

In the 1990s scientists rocked the field of neurobiology with the startling news that the mature mammalian brain is capable of sprouting new neurons. Biologists had long believed that this talent for neurogenesis was reserved for young, developing minds and was lost with age. But in the early part of the decade Elizabeth Gould, then at the Rockefeller University, demonstrated that new cells arise in the adult brain—particularly in a region called the hippocampus, which is involved in learning and memory. Similar reports soon followed in species from mice to marmosets, and by 1998 neuroscientists in the U.S. and Sweden had shown that neurogenesis also occurs in humans [see “New Nerve Cells for the Adult Brain,” by Gerd Kempermann and Fred H. Gage; Scientific American, May 1999].

Thousands of new cells are generated in the adult brain every day, particularly in the hippo?campus, a structure involved in learning and memory.

Within a couple of weeks, most of those newborn neurons will die, unless the animal is challenged to learn something new. Learning—especially that involving a great deal of effort—can keep these new neurons alive.

Although the neurons do not seem to be necessary for most types of learning, they may play a role in predicting the future based on past experience. Enhancing neurogenesis might therefore help slow cognitive decline and keep healthy brains fit.

It seems that new brains cells are formed as a reserve; So, keep those posts coming and those brain cells active before they fade away!

[David Maes]

"Mind reading" with a brain scan

What is possible with a brain scanner?

- With functional imaging, we can make strong emotional responses visible, such as increased activity in the amygdala.
- Scientists are able to use patterns of brain activity to tell which of two competing images a test person consciously perceives. One image is shown to the left eye and the other to the right eye, by which the conscious perception of the test person changes back and forth between these two images. Researchers are then able to recognize the patterns of brain activity associated with the conscious perception of the image by the right or the left eye. That way they can predict which stimulus the test person consciously experiences - but only after they have studied the response of the test person to the images a few hundred times.

Real mind reading is not possible.


Modern 'skull geometry'

At the moment, neuro-psychological research is watched Argus-eyed. The attacks on neuroimaging are fierce and the defense against the reproach of modern 'skull geometry' passes off laboriously. Rash pronouncements create false hope or unnecessary fear and can spoil the whole matter. Scanners are of great value to come to know about brain processes which carry our most precious human abilities. However, this research learns us also how immensely complex the human brain is.