Course Overview: Focus on the human brain, its structure, and functions.
Agenda:
Brief story about a friend (Bob) and his medical situation.
Discuss the reasons for studying the human brain, methods, and course mechanics.
Story of Bob
Situation: Bob experiences a mysterious medical episode while staying overnight.
Events:
Bob wakes up disoriented and falls.
Emergency response: EMTs arrive but find no immediate problems.
Decision made to take him to the ER.
Tests in ER: Multiple examinations, but no clear cause found initially.
Realization: Nancy remembers prior concerns about Bob's navigational deficits and pushes for a brain scan.
Observations about Bob's Cognitive Abilities
Signs of potential brain issues:
Frequent disorientation, struggles with navigation despite otherwise high cognitive function (writing, social skills).
Knowledge of Brain Structure: Nancy's expertise highlights the brain's specialization in different regions, possibly leading to specific functions being impaired despite overall intelligence.
Brain Scan Findings
Image shows a tumor (the size of a lime) affecting a region associated with navigation.
Tumor identified as meningioma (non-cancerous).
Surgery: Bob undergoes a successful 11-hour surgery by a top neurosurgeon.
Post-surgery, Bob regains mental clarity but does not recover navigational skills, revealing complexities in brain function.
Themes from Bob's Story
Specialization in Brain Functionality: Different regions are responsible for specific mental abilities.
Effects of Brain Damage:
Damage can lead to specific abilities being lost without affecting others (e.g., general intelligence).
Importance of Recovery: Recovery of functions post-damage is not guaranteed, especially in adults.
Value of Various Research Methods:
Neuropsychology, functional MRI, and behavioral observations contribute to understanding brain function.
Why Study the Human Brain?
Understand Identity: The brain is central to personal identity and self-awareness.
Limits of Knowledge:
Insight into how our minds work aids in evaluating the limits of human understanding and knowledge.
Advancement of AI: Knowledge of the brain can inform AI development, creating better algorithms.
Intellectual Quest: Studying the brain is one of the greatest intellectual challenges.
How to Study the Brain
Levels of Organization and Methods:
Understand at molecular, neuron, circuit, region, and network levels.
Focus on how the brain gives rise to the mind by understanding distinct mental functions and their brain correlates.
Course Structure and Focus
Topics to be Covered:
Vision, perception, navigation, language, and cognition.
Exclusions: Less emphasis on motor control, subcortical functions, and detailed circuit-level mechanisms.
Progress in understanding the brain's organization will be emphasized using recent methods.
Course Mechanics
Grading Components:
Midterm (25%), Final Exam (25%), Reading assignments, and short writing tasks.
Goal: To engage with current research papers and understand methods in cognitive neuroscience.
Reading Research Papers
Effective Reading Strategy:
Identify the main question of the research.
Find the key findings stated in the abstract.
Understand the design and logic of the experiment (often deeper than the abstract).
Focus on interpretation and significance of findings.
Ignore overly technical details unless critical for comprehension.
Conclusion
Upcoming class will involve a brief neuroanatomy overview and a real brain dissection demonstration by a guest expert.