The Human Brain: Introduction Lecture by Professor Nancy Camwisher

Agenda for Today's Lecture

• Brief story (10 minutes)
• Why, how, and what of studying the human brain
• Course mechanics and details

Story: Bob's Medical Incident

• Protagonist: Bob, a close friend known for years
• Incident: Bob collapsed and was unresponsive one morning
• Response: Professor called 911, EMTs were calm, Bob taken to ER
• Symptoms: Bob often got lost, couldn't navigate familiar places
• Further Action: Suggested brain scan due to prior concerns about Bob's navigation issues

Discovery

• Initial Tests: Mostly normal, nothing conclusive
• Brain Scan: Revealed lime-sized mass in brain
• Historical Scan: Previous scan showed smaller grape-sized mass 3 years ago
• Diagnosis: Suspected meningioma, not cancer but still serious

Additional Observations

• Bob's inability to draw accurate floor plans
• Bob could still draw complex objects like bicycles and lobsters
• Bob underwent major surgery to remove the lime-sized mass
• Outcome: Successful surgery, but navigational skills did not return

Post-Surgery Observations

• Bob relies heavily on GPS for navigation
• Mental abilities unrelated to navigation were intact
• Cognitive resilience varied by brain region

Themes & Course Takeaways

• Specific Brain Functions: Different brain regions have specialized functions
• Bob's case illustrates highly specific and localized loss of function
• Brain Science: Importance of specialized machinery in the brain for specific mental processes
• Brain Organization: Brain structure helps organize our understanding of the mind
• Recovery: Brain plasticity varies with age, injuries to specific circuits often don't recover in adults

Why Study the Brain?

• Know Thyself: Understanding brain is understanding identity and self
• Limits of Knowledge: Studying brain helps comprehend the limits of human cognition
• Advancing AI: Insights from brain studies aid AI development and vice versa
• Intellectual Quest: Studying the brain is a profound intellectual pursuit

How We Will Study the Brain

• Multiple Levels: From molecules to neurons to brain regions
• Focus: Mainly on how the brain gives rise to the mind

Methods Used in the Field

• Cognitive Science Methods: Psychophysics, Illusions, Behavioral Tests
• Neuropsychology: Studies of patients with brain damage
• Functional MRI: Imaging brain activities
• Neurophysiology: Recording neuron activities
• EEG & MEG: Electrical and magnetic recordings from the brain
• Connectivity Measures: Diffusion tractography, etc.

Course Focus Areas

• Mental Functions: Visual perception, auditory perception, language, memory, etc.
• Recognition Functions: Faces, places, bodies, words
• Development: How brain structure and function develop
• Unique Human Abilities: Speech, language, social cognition, etc.

Key Course Components

• No Textbook: Readings from current research articles
• Assessments: Midterm, final, quizzes, writing assignments based on research papers
• Hands-On Learning: Brain dissection, reading and analyzing current scientific papers
• Goals: Understanding big questions, methods, gaining actual knowledge, and reading current papers

Detailed Course Schedule

• Introduction and Neuroanatomy: Basics and brain dissection session
• High-Level Vision: Color, motion, shape, faces, scenes, bodies
• Navigation and Spatial Awareness: Studies on scene perception and navigation
• Development: Brain wiring, genetic, and learned factors
• Special Topics: Number processing, pleasure and reward, brain plasticity, brain-machine interfaces, language, social cognition
• Final Discussions: Attention, awareness, and guest lectures on recent advances and case studies

Learning Outcomes

• Understand Big Questions: Theoretical importance in cognitive neuroscience
• Research Methods: What each method provides, limitations, and synergies
• Domain Knowledge: Clear understanding of cognitive functions and their brain basis
• Current Research: Reading and comprehending current research articles directly from labs

Class Details

• Assignments, quizzes, and reading tasks
• Longer experimental design assignment near the end
• Emphasis on understanding rather than memorization