Supersense

A while ago, we did a "power hour reading" much like the one we did last semester. We had about an hour in class to read a book about the brain and write a summary about it. I read the book Supersense: Why We Believe in the Unbelievable by Bruce M. Hood. I read the chapter titled "The Biology of Belief," which discusses the biological basis of why we believe things that are clearly not supported by logic. Basically, he states that belief in superstitions is a result of humans' great capability for identifying patterns even when there are none, our natural self-centeredness, and the way our memory works.

the book I chose to read

To illustrate his point, Hood uses an example that most people would not think of superstition: the belief that one can sense when other people are looking at us. He says that it starts during childhood with a child's self-centeredness and the belief that vision works by something exiting the eyes, rather than light bouncing off an object and entering the eyes. After all, you are the center of your vision; when you move your eyes, what you see changes. This belief is further cemented by society through language like "looking at something," "piercing gaze," and "exchanging glances," as if vision was something physical. Then the belief of being able to sense someone else's gaze begins when we start to turn around and find someone really staring back at us. However, there are just as many times (or perhaps more) when we find nobody, but because of the way we think, we do not remember these times. Instead, we take what we already believe -- that we can sense gazes -- and take the one time when someone really was staring back at us as proof rather than the hundred times we found nobody as refutation. Furthermore, our self-centeredness makes us not think about things from the other person's perspective. Maybe that person only glanced over to see why we had turned around and had not been staring at us, but when we see someone looking at us, we automatically think of ourselves first.

However, not everyone is equal in these beliefs. Some people are naturally intuitive, more readily believing in the supernaturals. Others are more skeptic, requiring more evidence before starting to believe in something. Yet intuitive people are not necessarily less educated than skeptics, they just pick up patterns more readily. In one study, a group of university students were tested to assess their intuitive misconceptions. It was found that intuitive students were more likely to misattribute characteristics of one conceptual category to another; however, they scored just as high on rational tests as skeptics did.

Hood brings up the neurotransmitter dopamine as the basis of all these unbelievable beliefs. All mind-altering substances (such as drugs) and conditions (such as Parkinson's disease) that affect the body's perception of reality are tied in some way to dopamine. Dopamine affects the brain's ability to detect patterns -- too much dopamine and too many patterns are detected; too little and no patterns are detected.

This is quite a practical work, as it takes real-world beliefs and discusses why we believe them even though we know they are logically not true. These reasons can also be applied to other beliefs and used to explain why there are still people who believe that the earth is flat and evolution is not real, even though all conclusive evidence show that they are.

This'll Take a Whale to Finish: 20 Time Project, Final Reflection

For my 20 Time project, my goal was to build a website and design t-shirts to spread awareness about endangered species. I wanted to help the world as a whole (even though I realized that this is a great task that will take a long time). I had originally planned to do more than just two animals, but as I started working on the project I quickly realized that it took a lot more time to research, make webpages, and create designs than I had thought. This does not mean project is a failure -- I think that this is a project that is just getting started, and I hope to continue working on it such as during the summer when I do not have a lot of other things (i.e. school) that I have to deal with. If I had a chance to do this project again, I would plan out my time more carefully and keep to my schedule more strictly, especially when I do my research because sometimes I get distracted by all the interesting facts of all the interesting organisms out there. Next, I hope to continue this challenge as well as start sharing it with others.

For my final presentation, I want to start off asking people and discussing what most people think of when they hear the words "endangered species." Then, I will introduce my project and talk about what I did. Finally, I will conclude by saying that the project is still growing and tell people that they can come follow my progress if they want and that they can help by spreading the word also.

05.10.2016 Reflexes Lab

In this lab, we tested our different reflexes, such as our photopupillary reflex, our patellar reflex, our blink reflex, and our plantar reflex. Reflexes are involuntary reactions in response to a certain stimulus, such as light entering our eye or something hitting our knee. Rather than stimulus traveling all the way to the brain and the brain sending a response back, the stimulus only travels to the spinal cord. This decreases the response time so that the body can react faster and protect itself from danger.

The photopupillary reflex is when the pupil of the eye constricts due to too much light entering the eye. To test this reflex, we had one person cover her eyes for two minutes, then expose one eye to bright light and observe the change in pupil size. We found that the eye exposed to the bright light had a smaller pupil size than the eye protected from the bright light. This reflex evolved to protect too much light from entering the eye and blinding us, which would negatively affect our survival.

The patellar reflex, or the knee-jerk reflex, is when the leg kicks out when a certain area just below the knee is hit. To test this reflex, we had one person sit with her legs crossed so one leg can swing freely. When a certain place right below the kneecap is hit, that leg swung out due to the reflex. This reflex is to help us walk without having to think about it and also to help us regain our footing in case we stumble, which helps in running away from danger.

The blink reflex is what causes us to blink when something comes really close to our eyes. To test this reflex, we had one person hold a sheet of clear plastic wrap close to her face, then threw a crumpled-up paper towel at the plastic wrap. This caused the person to blink. This reflex protects things such as sand or bugs from entering and damaging our eyes, which are very important for survival.

The plantar reflex is when the foot curls in when the sole is stimulated. To test this reflex, we had one person use a capped pen to stroke the bare sole of the other person's foot from the heel to the big toe. This caused the person's toes to come closer and her foot to tense up. This reflex protects us when we accidentally step on something, causing us to quickly draw our foot away from the object so our foot, which is very important in moving around, does not become damaged.

We also tested our response time in catching a falling meterstick -- not a reflex, since our eyes must see meterstick fall, send a message to our brain, which then processes it and sends a message to our muscles to grab the meterstick. We tested our response time both when we were paying attention and when we were distracted by texting on our phones to see how "multitasking" affects our response time. I found that being distracted by texting increased my response time (made me slower). When I was not distracted, my response time was 0.19 seconds, but when I was distracted, my response time was 0.22 seconds. We collected data from all the students in the class and made a graph of average response times when being distracted versus when not being distracted.

being distracted by texting increased response times by about a tenth of a second

Your Brain Map

In this assignment we were asked to go to a webpage called "Your Brain Map," which features an interactive 3-D model of the human brain, to learn about the different parts of the brain and their functions. Then we were asked to answer the following questions:

Cerebral Cortex 
1. What do the frontal lobes do?

 >> The frontal lobes are the "command center" of the brain. They affect personality, impulse control, problem solving, language, critical thinking, and judgement.

2. What is the relationship between selective attention and learning?

>> "Selective attention" is when your brain prioritizes information and only remembers the more important facts, disregarding unimportant information. Studies show that "smarter" people are just people who are more selective at what they pay attention to instead of burdening themselves with unimportant information, thus learning faster.

3. What is the last part of your brain to develop and what can you do to prevent it from deteriorating? 

>> The frontal lobes are the last part of your brain to develop and the first to start deteriorating. You can prevent deterioration by being engaged with your environment, keeping your brain active, and "transforming" facts rather than just memorizing them -- connecting them into bigger ideas.

4. What does the neo cortex do?

>>  The neo cortex controls your senses, spatial awareness, and motor skills.

5. What is the role of the pre-frontal cortex? 

>> The pre-frontal cortex controls your personality, social interactions, decision-making, perception, memory, will, and planning.

6. What do we know about the pre-frontal cortex’s relationship with multitasking? 

>> We cannot actually "multitask." When "multitasking," the pre-frontal cortex is merely switching from one task to another rapidly, which results in inferior quality overall.

7. Which part of the brain is associated with speech and language development? Give an interesting fact about this region. 

>> Broca's area is associated with speech and language development. One interesting thing about this region is the mirror neurons found there. Mirror neurons are neurons that fire when a person (or primate, or some types of birds) observes the same action done by another individual. This helps the person learn languages and recognize subtle cues.

8. Which part of your brain is responsible for thinking the following: “Is it hot in here or is it just me?”  

>> The somatosensory cortex is responsible for detecting temperature.

9. What does your visual cortex do for you?

>> The visual cortex distinguishes colors and identifies complex things like faces.

10. State three interesting or significant facts about your occipital lobe.

>> The occipital lobe deals with both long- and short-term memories, as well as autobiographical events (both real and imagined). It is also engaged when you visualize yourself doing a task. Studies have shown that visualizing yourself doing a task over and over can improve your performance in real life.

11. What would happen if your temporal lobes were damaged?

>> Damage to the temporal lobes would cause long-term memory loss. You would not be able to remember things like the alphabet, so you would not be able to read.

12. What is your “fast brain” and what does it do? 

>> Your "fast brain" is your eye fields. They are called the "fast brain" because they can pick up information in a few milliseconds, faster than the rest of the brain.

 

Neuron
13. State 3 things that you could do that would influence your synapses and have a positive affect on your life and health. 

>> Exercising, eating healthy, and sleeping all improve the health of your synapses as well as improving your overall life and health.

14. What is the relationship between multi-sensory or multi-modal learning and your dendrites? 

>> Multi-sensory or multi-modal learning is when you engage multiple regions of your brain in learning, cross-referencing data stored in your brain. When this happens, your dendrites are stimulated multiple times, resulting in better memory.

15. How does “big picture thinking” and mnemonics affect dendrites and/or learning?  

>> Big picture thinking and mnemonics allows the learner to put abstract facts into context, relating them with other information and making them more concrete and easier to remember.

16. Describe a neurotransmitter that you feel is very important.  Justify your reasoning. 

>> Glutamate is a very important neurotransmitter, as it is vital in the strengthening of synapses and the formation of long-term memories. It is also interesting that consuming monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is commonly found in Asian cooking, may increase the amount of glutamate in your brain, but that too much glutamate can actually lead to brain damage.

Limbic System
17. What does the corpus callosum do? 

>>  The corpus callosum connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain, allowing them to communicate with each other. It also allows you to understand how language is structured and is involved in reading and writing. 

18. What is the relationship between music and the corpus callosum?  

>> Music can strengthen the connection between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, but only if you practice music constantly (not just "used to play the piano" like most people say).

19. Why is the thalamus important? 

>> The thalamus is important because it is involved with so many different functions, from motor control to sensory information to memory to senses to states of consciousness.

From this tutorial, I learned about the different structures of the brain, where they are located, and what they do. Some of the facts I had heard of before, such as how the frontal lobes (more specifically the pre-frontal cortex) are the last parts of the brain to mature, which is why younger people usually have less impulse control and poorer judgement. Something new I learned was about how the occipital lobes are involved in making both long- and short-term memories, and how the temporal lobes are involved in making long-term memories. One thing I wonder about is the neurotransmitter glutamate and how it may be affected by consuming MSG. I know MSG is commonly found in Asian cooking and that some people get headaches from eating it, but I did not know that it may increase the amount of glutamate in your brain, too much of which can cause brain damage. This makes me wonder if MSG in Asian's diets affects the people as a whole, because I have probably eaten MSG more times than I can count and have yet to get a headache from it. This also reminds me about when we had a "power hour" reading session last semester, where I read that eating escolar (a type of fish) could give you gastrointestinal problems. I have also eaten escolar many times, but have not had any gastrointestinal problems. This makes me wonder if this is kind of like how some people cannot eat dairy products because historically their ancestors have not eaten dairy either.

04.28.2016 Sheep Brain Dissection

Today we dissected a sheep's brain to help us learn about the structures and functions of a human brain.

the superior side of the brain

the inferior side of the brain with the meninges (protective covering) still attached -- it is the white stuff

the outside of the brain, labeled (white = anterior; green = posterior; yellow = cerebrum; black = cerebellum; red = brainstem)

a drawing of the outside of the brain

a table showing the different parts of the outside of the brain and their functions

First, we observed the brain from the outside and identified the anterior (front), posterior (back), and the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brain stem. The brain stem is connects the rest of the brain to the spinal cord and is involved in involuntary activities such as breathing and the heartbeat. The cerebellum is responsible for motor control and coordination, and the cerebrum is responsible for voluntary actions, senses, reasoning, and other higher functions.

cross-section of the brain showing the internal structures

a table showing the different parts of the inside of the brain and their functions

the inside of the brain, labeled (on the left hemisphere: red = medulla oblongata; blue = pons; black = midbrain; yellow = hypothalamus; white = thalamus; green = optic nerve // on the right hemisphere: red = corpus callosum)

a drawing of the inside of the brain

Next, we cut the brain in half longitudinally to expose the inside. We were then able to identify the thalamus, hypothalamus, optic nerve, medulla oblongata, pons, midbrain, and corpus callosum. The thalamus is the "router" of the brain which filters and sends sensory information coming in to the appropriate parts of the brain. The hypothalamus is responsible for maintaining homeostasis and for regulating hormone release. The optic nerve carries visual sensory information from the eyes to the brain. The medulla oblongata, the pons, and the midbrain together make up the brain stem -- the medulla oblongata is responsible for involuntary functions like breathing; the pons is plays a part in senses and motor control; the midbrain also plays a part in senses and motor control. The corpus callosum connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain and allows them to communicate with each other.

cross-section of the cerebrum showing the white and grey matter

a drawing of the cross-section of the cerebrum with the grey and white matter labeled

Finally, we cut the cerebrum in half to study the grey and white matter. White matter is made mostly of axons coated in myelin (an insulating sheath made mostly of fatty tissue that speeds up neural impulses), while grey matter is made mostly of neuron cell bodies and unmyelinated axons.

From this lab, I was able to see the parts of the brain as they really are, not like the brightly-colored pictures one can find in textbooks. The parts of the brain are not as clear-cut as the diagrams in the textbook; for example, there is no clear division between the thalamus and the hypothalamus.