9.13 The Human Brain - Lecture 1 Notes

Lecture Overview

• Introduction to the course The Human Brain taught by Nancy Kanwisher.
• Agenda for the lecture:
  • Brief story introduction (~10 min)
  • Discussing the why, how, and what of studying the human brain
  • Course mechanics and grading details

Introduction Story

• A true story about a scary medical situation with a friend named “Bob”.
  • Story highlights themes relevant to the course: nature of the human mind, brain organization, resilience, and recovery from brain damage.
• Bob had an incident displaying symptoms linked to brain function (e.g., navigation deficits).
• EMTs couldn’t initially find anything wrong; Bob taken to ER.
• Bob had a meningioma (non-cancerous tumor) impacting his navigational abilities.
  • Earlier fMRI scans showed a slowly growing tumor next to the para-hippocampal place area.
  • Post-surgery, Bob still couldn’t navigate despite other cognitive functions remaining intact.

Key Themes from Story

• Brain Function Specialization: Different brain regions specialize in different functions.
• Brain Damage and Recovery: Certain specialized mental functions may not recover post-damage, especially in adults.
• Research and Real-Life Application: Intersection of research findings with real-life scenarios.

Why Study the Human Brain?

1. Know Thyself: Understanding the brain is understanding who you are.
2. Limits of Human Knowledge: Knowing the mind helps evaluate the potential limits of human understanding.
3. Advance AI: Insights from brain function can inspire artificial intelligence developments.
4. Greatest Intellectual Quest: Unpacking the complexities of the brain and mind is a profound intellectual pursuit.

How to Study the Human Brain?

Levels of Organization

• Molecules and their interactions
• Properties of individual neurons
• Circuits of interacting neurons
• Entire brain regions and their functions
• Networks of multiple brain regions interacting

Methodologies

• Cognitive Science Methods: psychophysics, perceptual illusions, behavioral observations.
• Neuropsychology: Studying brain-damaged patients such as Bob.
• Functional MRI (fMRI): Imaging techniques to observe brain activity.
• Neurophysiology: Recording from neurons to study their properties.
• EEG and MEG: Studying brain waves and magnetic fields from the brain.
• Diffusion Tractography: Connectivity measures in the brain.

Course Focus and Topics

Areas of Recent Progress

• Visual perception (color, shape, motion)
• Recognition of faces, places, bodies, and words
• Number processing and understanding
• Speech and music perception
• Language understanding
• Theory of mind (understanding others' mental states)
• Brain network interactions

Questions Explored in Course

• Specialized brain machinery for specific functions?
• Division of labor between brain regions?
• Developmental trajectory of brain functions?
• Cross-species comparison?
• Uniquely human brain functions?
• Role of knowledge and experience in brain functions?
• Plasticity and changes in brain functions?
• Conscious and unconscious processes?

Exclusions and Limitations

• Motor control, subcortical functions, detailed circuit mechanisms, memory
• Limited to functional understanding mostly in humans, little on animal literature for uniquely human functions.

Course Mechanics and Grading

• Midterm: 25%
• Final Exam: 25% (cumulative, weighted toward second half)
• Reading and Writing Assignments: 25% (approximately two papers per week)
• Quizzes: 25% (brief quizzes to reinforce learning, starting February 20th)
• Longer Written Assignment: Design an experiment (~3-5 pages)

Additional Information

• Dissection Session: Real human brain dissection by Ann Graybiel.
• Emphasis on reading scientific papers, understanding major theoretical questions, and cognitive science basics with neuroanatomy focus.
• Resources for those who haven’t taken foundational courses.

Final Thoughts

• Introduction to the relevance and excitement of studying the human brain.
• Encouragement to focus on understanding over memorizing disjointed facts.
• Preparation for in-depth exploration of mental functions and their brain basis throughout the course.