Lecture Notes: 913 - The Human Brain

Introduction

• Instructor: Nancy Kamwisher
• Course Overview:
  • Brief story for the first 10 minutes.
  • Discuss the why, how, and what of studying the human brain.
  • Mechanics and course details will follow.

Story: A True Incident

• A story illustrating themes of brain function and recovery.
• Protagonist: Bob, a close friend of the instructor.
• Incident: Bob experiences a medical emergency after staying overnight.
  • Morning: Bob is found unresponsive.
  • Emergency services arrive, but initial tests show nothing wrong.
  • Instructor insists on checking Bob's brain due to prior concerns about his navigation abilities.

Observations

• Bob had shown signs of navigational issues:
  • Difficulties with directions.
  • Confusion about familiar locations.
• Instructor reflects on ignoring these signs due to Bob's otherwise normal cognitive abilities.

Medical Journey

• Bob is taken to the ER for further tests.
• Initial scans show no significant issues.
• Later, Bob's scan reveals a brain tumor (meningioma), located near critical navigation areas in the brain.
• The tumor's slow growth indicated it was not highly aggressive.

Themes from the Story

1. Brain Structure and Functionality:

   • Different parts of the brain have specialized functions.
   • Loss of specific abilities without a general decline in intelligence.

2. Brain Resilience:

   • Bob's navigation skills did not recover post-surgery, highlighting brain’s limitations in recovery.

3. Importance of Knowledge and Expertise:

   • The individual's background and connections can impact medical outcomes.
   • The story underscores the impact of privilege and expertise in healthcare.

Course Themes

• Organization of the Brain:
  • Understanding the specific functions of various brain regions.
  • How mental processes correlate with brain structures.
• Methods of Brain Study:
  • Behavioral observations, neuroimaging, and neuropsychology.
• Development and Change in the Brain:
  • How brains adapt over time through learning and injury.

Why Study the Brain?

1. Know Thyself:
   • Understanding one’s identity through brain study.
2. Limits of Human Knowledge:
   • Exploring cognitive limitations and possibilities.
3. Advancing AI:
   • Insights from the brain can inform AI development.
4. Great Intellectual Quest:
   • Brain study is one of the greatest intellectual pursuits of all time.

How We Will Study the Brain

• Focus on the relationship between mind and brain.
• Explore mental functions (perception, cognition, language, etc.) and their brain bases.
• Investigate how different methods contribute to understanding brain functions.

Course Structure

• Topics to cover include:
  • Vision, perception, navigation, language understanding, and social cognition.
• Emphasis on reading and understanding original research papers.
• No textbook due to the fast pacing of the field; focus on current articles.

Grading Details

• Midterm: 25%
• Final: 25%
• Regular reading assignments with responses due before class.
• Quizzes to reinforce understanding throughout the course.

Upcoming Lectures

• Next class will cover neuroanatomy, followed by a brain dissection.
• Detailed discussions on high-level vision and navigation will take place in subsequent lectures.