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-as of [11 MAY 2024]–
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*3 PARTS* –>
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*THE ART OF ‘MEMORY’*
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*the human brain is the main ‘organ’ of the ‘human central nervous system’*
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(what does ‘brain’ mean?)
(all mammals have same general brain structure)
(portion of the brain devoted to vision is also greatly enlarged in human beings)
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*encephalization quotient*
(amount of brain mass exceeding that related to an animal’s total body mass)
(general evolutionary upward trend?)
*WIKIPEDIA ENTRY*
(as of ‘1 may 2020’)
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“dopamine”
catecholamine neurotransmitter
“neuroscience”
(study of the brain)
assignment #1: build a brain
“center of human nervous system”
(adult human brain is ~3 pounds on average)
average size of ~1130 cm3 in women and ~1260 cm3 in men
(w / substantial individual variation)
(men’s brains are on average 100g heavier than a woman’s, even when corrected for body size differences)
(that fact alone should presumably clear up any dispute over the superior sex)
(or we’re just carrying around more dead weight)
(in terms of relative brain size (taking into account body size) humans have the largest brains of any known species)
(although larger animals like whales and elephants have larger brains)
(human brain is twice as large as that of bottlenose dolphin)
(and three times as large as a chimpanzee)
the brain feels like tofu.
(but does it taste like tofu?)
tan-gray on the outside and mostly yellow-white on the inside
(w / subtle variations in color)
(while alive, that is)
(the color of a dead brain is a whole lot drearier)
what are the neural bases (causes) of mental diseases like psychotic disorders (e.g. mania, schizophrenia), Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease or addiction?
is it possible to recover loss of sensory or motor function?
consciousness:
what is the neuronal basis of subjective experience, cognition, wakefulness, alertness, arousal and attention?
how is the “hard problem of consciousness” solved?
what is its function?
various formulations of the “hard problem”:
* “why should physical processing give rise to a rich inner life at all?”
* “how is it that some organisms are subjects of experience?”
* “why does awareness of sensory information exist at all?”
* “why do qualia exist?”
* “why is there a subjective component to experience?”
* “why aren’t we philosophical zombies?”
(many brain disorders are congenital, occurring during development)
(it is located in the head, protected by the skull)
(it has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but with a more developed cerebral cortex)
(large animals such as whales and elephants have larger brains in absolute terms, but when measured using a measure of relative brain size, which compensates for body size, the quotient for the human brain is almost twice as large as that of a bottlenose dolphin, and three times as large as that of a chimpanzee, though the quotient for a treeshrew’s brain is larger than that of a human’s)
(much of the size of the human brain comes from the cerebral cortex, especially the frontal lobes, which are associated with executive functions such as self-control, planning, reasoning, and abstract thought)
(the area of the cerebral cortex devoted to vision, the visual cortex, is also greatly enlarged in humans compared to other animals)
(the human cerebral cortex is a thick layer of neural tissue that covers the two cerebral hemispheres that make up most of the brain)
(this layer is folded in a way that increases the amount of surface area that can fit into the volume available)
(the pattern of folds is similar across individuals but shows many small variations)
(the cortex is divided into four lobes – the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, and occipital lobe)
(Some classification systems also include a limbic lobe and treat the insular cortex as a lobe)
(within each lobe are numerous cortical areas, each associated with a particular function, including vision, motor control, and language)
(the left and right hemispheres are broadly similar in shape, and most cortical areas are replicated on both sides)
(some areas, though, show strong lateralization, particularly areas that are involved in language)
(in most people, the left hemisphere is dominant for language, with the right hemisphere playing only a minor role)
(there are other functions, such as visual-spatial ability, for which the right hemisphere is usually dominant)
(despite being protected by the thick bones of the skull, suspended in cerebrospinal fluid, and isolated from the bloodstream by the blood–brain barrier, the human brain is susceptible to damage and disease)
(the most common forms of physical damage are closed head injuries such as a blow to the head or other trauma, a stroke, or poisoning by a number of chemicals that can act as neurotoxins, such as alcohol)
(infection of the brain, though serious, is rare because of the protective blood-to brain and blood-to cerebral fluid barriers)
(the human brain is also susceptible to degenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, forms of dementia including Alzheimer’s disease, (mostly as the result of aging) and ‘multiple sclerosis’)
(a number of psychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia and clinical depression, are thought to be associated with brain dysfunctions, although the nature of these is not well understood)
(the brain can also be the site of brain tumors and these can be ‘benign’ or ‘malignant’)
(there are some techniques for studying the brain that are used in other animals that are not suitable for use in humans and vice versa; it is easier to obtain individual brain cells taken from other animals, for study)
(it is also possible to use invasive techniques in other animals such as inserting electrodes into the brain or disabling certains parts of the brain in order to examine the effects on behaviour – techniques that are not possible to be used in humans)
(however, only humans can respond to complex verbal instructions or be of use in the study of important brain functions such as language and other complex cognitive tasks, but studies from humans and from other animals, can be of mutual help)
(medical imaging technologies such as functional neuro-imaging and EEG recordings are important techniques in studying the brain)
(the complete functional understanding of the ‘human brain’ is an ongoing challenge for ‘neuroscience’)
many brain disorders are congenital, occurring during development.
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*the follow conditions are linked to ‘genetic/chromosomal errors’* –>
tay-sachs disease
fragile X syndrome
‘down syndrome’
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(many other syndromes, such as the ‘intrinsic circadian rhythm disorders’, are suspected to be ‘congenital’ as well)
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(normal development of the brain can be altered by…)
‘genetic factors’
‘drug use’
‘nutritional deficiencies’
*’infectious diseases’ during ‘pregnancy’*
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(certain ‘brain disorders’ are treated by ‘neuro-surgeons’, while others are treated by ‘neurologists’ + ‘psychiatrists’)
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(clinically, ‘death’ is defined as an absence of ‘brain activity’ as measured by ‘EEG’)
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(what does ‘brain’ mean?)
(all mammals have same general brain structure)
(human brain 3x as large as brain of marginal mammal with equivalent body size)
(human brain’s additional size is due to enlarged cerebral cortex)
*cerebral cortex*
(sheet of neural tissue that is outermost to the cerebrum of the mammalian brain)
(frontal lobes are located in cerebral cortex)
(the frontal lobes are especially large in humans)
located at the front of each cerebral hemisphere and positioned anterior to (in front of) the parietal lobes and above and anterior to the temporal lobes (i.e. directly behind the forehead or “temple”)
(responsible for self-control, planning, reasoning, and abstract thought)
(portion of the brain devoted to vision is also greatly enlarged in human beings)
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*encephalization*
(amount of brain mass exceeding that related to an animal’s total body mass)
(general evolutionary trend)
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*👨🔬🕵️♀️🙇♀️*SKETCHES*🙇♂️👩🔬🕵️♂️*
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👈👈👈☜*“THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM”* ☞ 👉👉👉
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💕💝💖💓🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤❤️💚💛🧡❣️💞💔💘❣️🧡💛💚❤️🖤💜🖤💙🖤💙🖤💗💖💝💘
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*🌈✨ *TABLE OF CONTENTS* ✨🌷*
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🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥*we won the war* 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥