Course Intro: The Human Brain
Instructor: Nancy Kanwisher
Course Overview
- Title: 9.13 The Human Brain
- Instructor: Nancy Kanwisher
- **Objectives: **
- Understand the human brain's structure and function
- Study the brain's role in navigation, memory, and other cognitive functions
- Learn about the limitations and resilience post-brain damage
Agenda for Today
- Narrative Story
- Why, How, and What of Studying the Human Brain
- Course Mechanics and Details
Key Themes from the Story
Narrative: Medical Incident Story (True Story)
- Protagonist: Bob (friend of Nancy)
- Incident: Bob collapses and is taken to the ER
- Symptoms: Bob regularly gets lost and cannot navigate familiar areas
- Diagnosis: Brain tumor (meningioma)
- Detected through brain imaging
- Large lime-sized tumor next to para-hippocampal place area
- Tumor grows slowly (from grape size to lime size over years)
Recovery Post-Surgery
- Bob undergoes successful surgery to remove the tumor
- Despite the removal and recovery, navigational abilities remain impaired
- Other spatial and cognitive abilities remain intact
- Recognizes familiar places, immediate spatial orientation is intact
- Takeaway: Different brain parts perform different specialized functions
Key Concepts Discussed
- **Brain's Structure and Function: **
- Brain is not just mush; it has specialized sections with specific functions
- Damage to a specific brain region affects only certain abilities (e.g., navigation vs. basic cognitive abilities)
- **Impact of Damage at Different Life Stages: **
- Adults: Low likelihood of recovery after brain damage
- Children: High likelihood of recovery due to brain plasticity
Themes for the Course
- **Specialized Brain Functions: **
- Different brain areas have specialized functions
- **Brain Change and Adaptability: **
- Brain's ability to adapt or fail post-damage
- **Study Techniques: **
- Various methods to study brain functions and structure including fMRI, EEG, etc.
- **Understanding the Mind via the Brain: **
- Understanding the brain to learn about mental processes and their physical basis
Why Study the Brain
- Self-Understanding: The brain defines identity and self
- Boundaries of Human Knowledge: Understand the limits of our cognition
- Advance AI: Learning from brain function to improve artificial intelligence
- Intellectual Pursuit: Understanding the human brain is a profound intellectual quest
How to Study the Brain
- **Levels of Organization: **
- Molecular interactions
- Individual neurons and circuits
- Brain regions and networks
- Function gives rise to mind
- **Approach: **
- Start from mental functions and then examine their brain basis
- Study specialized machinery, information representation, and operational mechanisms
Course Plan: Key Topics
- High-Level Vision: Motion, color, shape, faces and scenes
- Navigation: Scene perception and navigation systems
- Development: Early brain development and function specialization
- Brains in Blind People: Differences and similarities
- Number Cognition: Understanding numerical knowledge
- Reward and Pain: Neuroeconomics basics
- Human-Specific Functions: Language, music, theory of mind
- Brain Networks: Interaction between different brain regions
- Brain-Machine Interface: Practical applications
Methods in Cognitive Neuroscience
- Behavioral Observations: Simple but powerful insights
- Brain Imaging: Structural and functional MRI scans
- Patient Studies: Cases like Bob's providing key insights
- Neurophysiology: Recording individual neurons
- Techniques: EEG, MEG, diffusion tractography, etc.
- Experiments: Design and analysis of cognitive neuroscience studies
Administrative Details
- Readings and Assignments: Focus on recent research papers
- **Grading: **
- Midterm: 25%
- Final: 25%
- Regular reading and response papers
- Quizzes: Short in-class quizzes using Google Forms
- Unique Assignment: Design an experiment paper
- First Quiz: February 20, 6 PM
- Help and Support: TAs available for questions and guidance