Nancy Camwisher is the professor leading the course titled 9 13 The Human Brain.
The course will cover why, how, and what of studying the human brain, and details about mechanics and grading.
Story Introduction
A true story about a friend named Bob foreshadowing themes in the course.
Highlights serious medical incident, organization of the brain, recovery after brain damage, resilience, privilege, and expertise.
Not for notes or testing purposes.
Bob's Medical Incident
Bob, a close friend, was staying at Nancy's house before a conference.
After hearing a crash, Nancy found Bob unconscious; called 911.
Bob recovered consciousness, was woozy but alive. EMTs found nothing wrong.
Bob was taken to the hospital ER for further checks.
Observations and Concerns
Nancy had been concerned about Bob's inconsistencies with navigation over years.
Bob often got lost, couldn't navigate familiar places like his house or hometown.
Nancy suppressed concerns about potential early Alzheimer's noticed by navigational deficits observed in Bob.
Discovery at the Hospital
After several hours in ER, Nancy suggested checking Bob's brain.
A scan revealed a lime-sized mass in Bob’s brain, near a region known for navigation, i.e., para hippocampal Place area.
Nancy realized the mass had been growing slowly over years, indicating it wasn't a rapidly growing cancer.
Surgery and Outcome
The mass was a meningioma, needing surgical removal but not cancerous.
Surgery went well; Bob recovered quickly in physical health but not in navigational ability.
Bob continues to navigate with his iPhone GPS as his navigational abilities didn’t recover post-surgery.
Key Themes from the Story
Brain Organization: The brain has a structured organization; different parts do different things.
Specificity: Some brain regions perform highly specific functions.
Mind-Brain Relationship: The organization of the brain reflects the architecture of the mind.
Brain Plasticity: Limited recovery in adults after brain damage; more potential in early life.
Research Methods: Various ways exist to study the brain, from behavioral observation to anatomical and functional imaging.
Course Agenda
Explore why studying the brain is crucial.
Discuss methods of studying the brain, from molecular to cognitive science levels.
Focus on understanding how the brain gives rise to the mind.
Methods include psychophysics, neuropsychology, functional MRI, EEG, and others.
Learning Goals
Appreciate big questions in the field of cognitive neuroscience.
Understand methods and their application in cognitive neuroscience.
Gain knowledge in cognitive domains with known brain bases.
Develop skills to read and understand current research papers.
Course Topics
Visual perception, recognition of faces, places, numbers, language understanding, and more.
Consider differences in brain functions between humans and other species.
Address questions like the nature of human thought, brain plasticity, and more.
Logistics
Grading based on midterm, final, reading/writing assignments, quizzes, and a longer experiment design assignment.
No textbook due to the rapidly evolving nature of the field; focus on recent research articles.
Assignments due before class discussions to inform and tailor lectures to student understanding.
Conclusion
The course aims to delve into understanding the human brain, emphasizing its role in producing the mind and exploring a range of cognitive processes and their brain correlates.