9.13 The Human Brain - Nancy Camwisher

Overview

Incident involving a friend (Bob) with a medical condition.
Story highlights themes of the course:
- Nature of the human mind.
- Organization of the human brain.
- Recovery after brain damage.
- Resilience, privilege, expertise.

Bob's sudden collapse, leading to ER visit.
Progressive realization that Bob's navigational abilities were impaired over years.
Discovery of a meningioma tumor in Bob's brain.
Different parts of the brain can handle distinct functions independently:
- Bob maintained high cognitive functions but had navigational deficits.

**Brain’s Structural and Functional Specificity: ** Different areas responsible for different functions.
**Specialization: ** Some brain parts have very specific roles while others are general-purpose.
Brain-Mind Connection: Understanding brain structure helps understand mental processes.
**Recovery and Plasticity: ** Brain damage in adults vs. early life impacts ability to recover.
Research Methods: Different methods to study brain functions and structures.
- Behavioral observations, anatomical and functional imaging, and patient studies continue to provide insights.

Self-Knowledge: Understanding one's brain is foundational to understanding oneself.
Limits of Human Knowledge: Studying the brain reveals cognitive limitations and potentials.
AI Advancement: Brain insights can inform AI development and vice versa.
Greatest Intellectual Quest: Investigating the brain-mind connection is a profound scientific endeavor.

Multiple levels of organization in the brain:
- Molecules, neurons, circuits, brain regions, networks.
Focus of course: How the brain produces the mind.
- Perception, cognition, representation in the brain.

Methods of cognitive science: psychophysics, perceptual illusions, etc.
Brain studies using patients, fMRI, neurophysiology, EEG, Meg, etc.
Key topics: high-level vision, navigation, language, social cognition, number understanding, etc.
Development: How the brain’s structure evolves.
Uniquely human cognitive processes and comparative studies with other species.

Grading: Midterm (25%), Final (25%), Weekly readings and papers (varies; approx. 2 papers/week), Written assignments (short + longer one on designing an experiment).
Assignments are due before the relevant class for discussion and clarification.
First written response due Feb 12th.
Quizzes: End of class using Google forms; Check understanding and progress.

Focus on:
- Question being asked.
- Findings.
- Interpretation and significance.
- Design and analysis.
- Keep a list of guiding questions while reading.
Ignore overly technical sections if they're not crucial to main understanding (e.g., specific scanner details).

Study of the brain helps explain identity, capabilities, and limitations of the mind.
Course will explore cognitive functions and their neural bases using a variety of methods.
Enriching cognitive science understanding through examining real and current research.