Topic: Brain Matters
This is the beginning of a site where pre-college students can post questions about the brain and we will respond to the best of our ability. Please feel free to use it at any time.
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Serendip's forums sometimes get longer than what can conveniently be accessed and displayed. They are, at the same time, in their entirety an important part of what Serendip has become at any given time (and, of course, particular contributions may well be of lasting significance). To try and balance needs for easy display and those of continuous and permanent record, only this year's forum comments are displayed on this page with earlier comments being preserved elsewhere. To go to the forum for prior years, click on the year below.
Year:
Serendip's forums sometimes get longer than what can conveniently be accessed and displayed. They are, at the same time, in their entirety an important part of what Serendip has become at any given time (and, of course, particular contributions may well be of lasting significance). To try and balance needs for easy display and those of continuous and permanent record, only this year's forum comments are displayed on this page with earlier comments being preserved elsewhere. To go to the forum for prior years, click on the year below.
Year:
- Current postings - 1999/2002 - 1998/1999 - 1997 - 1996 -
1995
Name: BGjudy
Username: jmetcalf@pen.k12.va.us
Subject: Characteristics
Date: Fri Jan 17 16:45:20 EST 1997
Comments:
What characteristics would a person have you was lacking in integration of the
the front and back of the brain, the top and the bottom of the brain?j
Name: raji wix
Username: ladymon@earthlink.net
Subject: shaken baby syndrome
Date: Sat Jan 25 23:19:10 EST 1997
Comments:
my baby was a victim of shaken baby, the docters said the damage was in the
back of the brain.
my question is, what funtions are controled in that part of the brain?
Name: Elisa Ferracane
Username: geferra@coqui.net
Subject: Instinctive behavior
Date: Tue Apr 1 21:01:59 EST 1997
Comments:
I am a senior writing a term paper about instinctive behavior. How can you differentiate between what is called "hardwired" behavior and learned behavior? What part of the brain controls the "hardwired" behavior? In a Time magazine article I read that they switched certain brain cells of a quail with those of a chicken and their "hadwired" behaviors were likely swapped. How is this possible? Any additional information related to this topic would be greatly appreciated.
Name: Paul Grobstein
Username: pgrobste@brynmawr.edu
Subject: To Elisa
Date: Wed Apr 2 08:35:34 EST 1997
Comments:
"Hardwired" versus "learned" makes things sound like there is much more of
a distinction than there actually is. Most behaviors are influenced both
by genetic information and by experience, and the more we learn about the
nervous system the clearer it becomes that this is true of most areas of the
nervous system (and the connections within them) as well. So, by and large,
one can't really distinguish between "hardwired" parts of the brain and parts
of the brain affected by experience.
One can, however, do experiments which show significant genetic influences
on particular behaviors (and parts of the brain). A classic one was done
by Roger Sperry and is described in an article on
Serendip, which also talks about the gene/environment interaction.
You can read more about Sperry's experiment in a Scientific American article
he wrote (May, 1956). And more about gene/enviornment interactions in
several articles in Serendip's Genes and Behavior
section. There are also some additional Scientific American articles that
might interest you, one on language development (Bickerton, July, 1983),
and one on "learning by instinct" (Gould and Marler, January, 1987).
Hope this helps. Good luck with your paper.
Name: Patrice Cuddy
Username: cuddys@kctera.net
Subject: critical period
Date: Sun Apr 6 11:03:30 EDT 1997
Comments:
This is actually just a test. I am a graduate student at the University of Kansas working on setting up web-based curriculum for Olathe Public Schools (in the greater Kansas City metro area). I want to include your site in a package that I am working on with several other people. One of my highest criteria for inclusion is INTERACTIVITY.
Question (my own) :
It is known that activity in the brain and central nervous system, pre-natal through appx. 6-8 years old, physically defines the dominant processing patterns of the human nervous system. Aside from what we might assume about those processing patterns that would be dedicated to "running the body", is there any evidence of rudimentary cognitive processing, perhaps similar to Piaget's assimilation and accommodation?
Hoping to hear from you....
Patrice Cuddy
cuddys@kctera.net
Name: Paul Grobstein
Username: pgrobste@brynmawr.edu
Subject: Interactivity
Date: Sun Apr 6 14:06:44 EDT 1997
Comments:
There's interactivity ... and then there's interactivity ... and then there's
interactivity. Serendip is VERY much in the business of being interactive
which means, among other things, exploring what that can mean and how to do it.
At the first level, we try to provide educational "experiences", rather than
simply information (no matter how attractively displayed). Our
Brain and Behavior, and Complexity, and Playground sections have materials
which encourage asking questions as one works through them and try to provide
the basis for answering such questions by making new observations. At the
second level, Serendip has lots of forums, like this one,
where people can post questions or comments for responses by people either
at Serendip or elsewhere (yes, we keep an eye on them, as you can see, but
I should also admit no one is guaranteed an immediate response from Serendip
itself since we're also busy with other things). At the third level, we're
always interested, as it says in our Introduction in interested
people joing the Serendip community more actively, and more than willing to
talk about more extensive contributions from such people, students or others.
We're interested in your experiences, for example, for obvious reasons, and
would be delighted to hear more about them and see whether they might be
things others in the Serendip community and audience might like to hear more about.
"Assimilation and "accomodation": does it actually happen in the brain in children,
in addition to those brain activities involved in "running the body"? That's
actually two questions, I think (at least). Does Piaget's terminology accurately
describe what goes on in child development? and Is child development a reflection
of what goes on in the brain? I'm not a child development expert, but I
certainly think the general idea of a child both adjusting itself to its
environment and (to the extent possible) adjusting the environment to itself
is both an accurate and a useful characterization (probably for adults too).
And I'm pretty sure ALL of what people (including children) do in the way
of behavior is a reflection of what goes on in the brain (see some of the
questions and discussion in A course and a conversation).
So, in general, I'm pretty sure the answer to your question is yes. Are
there documentable specifics in human child development? I doubt it, since
its still hard to study brain activity directly in children, but there are
certainly a lot of indirect lines of evidence both in the child development
and in the experimental neuroscience literature. Shall we see whether anyone
else wants to expand on this? Any chance you'd like to write for Serendip
about it? No, this is not a text. Thanks for dropping by (and feel free to write me by email if you'd like to talk more how Serendip works).
Name: anonymous
Username:
Subject: entering psycologic fields
Date: Tue Apr 29 13:41:45 EDT 1997
Comments:
if I were to try to become a psycologist, what would you reccomend as the first thing I could do?
Name: anonymous
Username: richardl@cnwl.igs.net
Subject: Child Development
Date: Thu May 1 15:32:30 EDT 1997
Comments:
I would like to get information on the development of the brain in childhood specifically in the area of size and other physical developments
Name: Arron Nelson
Username: an104794@spruce.hsu.edu
Subject: How does the different section work together in unity?
Date: Sun May 4 19:31:47 EDT 1997
Comments:
Name: Paul Grobstein
Username: pgrobstein@brynmawr.edu
Subject: To Arron: unity from diversity?
Date: Sun May 4 20:24:39 EDT 1997
Comments:
Wonderful question. Exactly the way the question about how the brain works
SHOULD be posed. As it should be about living organisms in general (the
body too consists of a lot of pretty independent parts), and about societies
(ditto). Can I answer it? No. Which means its a VERY good question for the
next twenty or thirty years of science. Broad outline? The parts have evolved
together, with each being selected for, among other things, the success of their
interactions with other parts. Are there some general principles there? Ones
that will hold for brains, bodies, and societies? I suspect so, but am not
yet sure what they are. Maybe: get as much information from other things as you
can while also keeping your own house in order?
Name: Anthony
Username: anthony@apanet.com.au
Subject: Mind - body problem
Date: Thu May 8 10:07:19 EDT 1997
Comments:
What is the latest, most current information on the mind-body problem.
Here are some questions I have. Please feel free to enlighten me to your point of view.
Is the mind part of the brain, part of the body or is a free of form.
Does the mind exist in every cell of the body.
Can the mind exist outside of the body.
Is mind a collection of energy.
Is the mind the soul.
Does everything exist just in mind.
What is mind
Name: Jacob Ghitis, M.D.
Username: ghitis@gezernet.co.il
Subject: To Anthony: Brain-Mind
Date: Fri May 16 12:37:53 EDT 1997
Comments:
This is not a question but an attempt to integrate to SERENDIP:To me, mind
is the conscious and unconscious manifestations of the brain. Therefore,mind cannot exist
outside of the brain. Those manifestations are a result of the interacctions between
inborn qualities and acquired experiences. Altogether, the soul is the
sum total of the result of such interactions. Memory is esential for
a rational manifestation of the mind. Thus, the soul is in great part
memory.
Name: Tania Jacob
Username: jacob@.net1.nw.com.au
Subject: Wonders of the human brain
Date: Mon Jun 2 00:56:50 EDT 1997
Comments:
It may interest you all to know about a recent article published in "PSYCHOLOGY". It claims that people can harm bacteria up to 5 miles away (if i remember rightly) purely through their intentions. A group of researchers got 60 volunteers (uni. students) to "pray" over 9 test tubes of E. Coli. They prayed that the 1st 3 would turn lactose positive, the 2nd 3 lactose negative and the last 3 stay as they were. It worked perfectly! Interesting, isn't it?
After reading many helpful books, I can control my dreams. All you do is repeat in your head what you want to dream of just before falling asleep. It works after some practice!
It is also known that you solve problems in your dreams if you concentrate hard enough on them during the day. Apparently the structure of benzene was discovered in the persons dreams (he dreamed of 6 snakes biting eachothers' tails, in a hexagon).
Name: Jacob Ghitis, MD
Username: ghitis@gezernet.co.il
Subject: DREAMS, SNAKES and E. COLI
Date: Sat Jun 7 03:35:44 EDT 1997
Comments:
I am refering to the previous comment:
Username: jacob@.net1.nw.com.au
Subject: Wonders of the human brain
The experiment with the influence of brain ethereal waves on bacteria
genes sound preposterous. Until reproduced by another research lab, it
must be given cold shoulder. The personal experiences with dream control
are of great interest and deserve attention, although it may be an idiosynchratic
property. I believe it was the French chemist Kekule who dreamt with
the serpents eating their fellow's tail, thus making him the discoverer of
ring ("aromatic") structures, completely new to chemistry and representing
a man-made (anthropogenic)EMERGENT (see the COMPLEXITY Forum).
Name: Jacob Ghitis, MD
Username: ghitis@gezernet.co.il
Subject: Forgetting and interacting
Date: Sat Jun 7 15:32:12 EDT 1997
Comments:
It appears that no response to the questions about forgetting has been offered.
Why we forget important things and the opposite: Since Freud it has been
known about repression. Important things which disturb us are swept
under the rug. As for being congenitally forgetful: It is known nowadays
that specific proteins are produced(by specific genes, obviously)which
are required for short-term and for long-term memories. It must be assumed that
mutations of such genes will be discovered. Have you read about eidetic
memory? It refers to visual "photographic" memory. Less known is that
Mozart obviously enjoyed an auditive "recording" memory. It is not
difficult to imagine mutations which allow the proteins related to
different types of memory to act for a longer time. As a rather modern
analogy, Prozac and "resultants"{see COMPLEXITY} inhibit the proteins that
destroy serotonin(physiologycally),allowing that neurotransmitter, deficient
in many depressive patients to act more appropriately. As for the question on
integration of the separate parts in one purposeful function, I'd like to
add that exquisit feed-back is the Maestro. I would dare to analogyze
saying that SERENDIP attemts to integrate its participants by means of
the feedback. Ergo, please feedback me.
Name: Tania Jacob
Username: jacob@net1.nw.com.au
Subject:
Date: Sun Jun 8 01:55:36 EDT 1997
Comments:
The experiment with influence of brain ethereal waves has been tried more than once. I can't recall the exact facts now, but read PSYCHOLOGY issue (2 weeks ago I think).
As for why we forget important things...well..I think its not so much important things that we forget but "boring" or misunderstood things. As I understand,long term memory is stored for understanding and we tend to forget mundane things. The Greeks realised that the two underlying principles that ensure perfect memory are imagination and association.
Name: Jacob Ghitis MD
Username: ghitis@gezernet.co.il
Subject: Last comment:TANIA, Praying and Memory
Date: Tue Jun 10 16:17:15 EDT 1997
Comments:
On the previous comment:Tania,could you provide me with the abstract on
MIND and GENES? About forgetting: are you familiar with the subjec,as analyzed
extensively and brilliantly by S. Freud? Repression is the psychological
mechanism for non-pathological forgetting. Eventually it will be found
that certain proteins obliterate the proteins in charge of keeping those
memories at beck and call. On the Greeks: if you are born with good genes
for memory, automatically you have also the other qualities, like imafination and
association. You will be able to develop them with asociation exercises.
But...imagination? Perhaps if you like to read you will develop it to the
inborn limit. But you must have the knack of thinking about what you read.
Descartes developed his ideas while staying in bed for hours. Other ideas,
and I have experienced it, jump mysteriously when one is ready to call it a
day.
Name: Jacob Ghitis MD
Username: ghitis@gezernet.co.il
Subject: CORRECTION TO MY PREVIOUS
Date: Tue Jun 10 16:37:39 EDT 1997
Comments:
if you are born with good genes for memory, automatically you may
improve your associative endowments by means of exercises.
But...imagination? Perhaps if you like to read you will develop
it to the inborn limit. But you must have
the knack of thinking about what you read.
Tania: are the other serendipitants going to be only readers?
Please girls and boys, participate! Criticize!
Name: Jake
Username: ghitis@gezernet.co.il
Subject: ANOTHER IDEA
Date: Sat Jun 14 21:29:35 EDT 1997
Comments:
You are cordially invited to visit About...Serendip,and play games,
unless you hate to develop your mind. Jake
Name: Jake
Username: ghitis@gezernet.co.il
Subject: OK; YOU ARE SHY
Date: Thu Jun 19 17:06:20 EDT 1997
Comments:
Once I get over demanding matters, I shall start one of the fascinating
subjects I have in mind for your mind, and you will be astounded
to learn how much you have missed learning! keep in touch...
Name: anonymous
Username: ghitis@gezernet.co.il
Subject: LOOK BACK IN WONDER
Date: Fri Jun 20 14:22:58 EDT 1997
Comments:
Perhaps....Well take a look at About...Serendip.
Name: anonymous
Username: ghitis@gezernet.co.il
Subject: LOOK BACK IN WONDER
Date: Fri Jun 20 14:23:21 EDT 1997
Comments:
Perhaps....Well take a look at About...Serendip.
Name: Prof. Jacob Ghitis
Username: ghitis@star.net.il
Subject: PRAGMATIC REASONS
Date: Thu Jul 10 17:18:00 EDT 1997
Comments:
Although there has been no reaction to my comments, I believe somebody
is benefitting from my contributions,ergo, I shall continue my stealthily
rewarding contributions, unless told to please stop. However, this forum
has become cluttered with old and irrelevant comments. Therefore I shall
concentrate on: About...serendipity. Good bye!
Name: Prof. Jacob Ghitis
Username: ghitis@star.net.il
Subject: PRAGMATIC REASONS
Date: Thu Jul 10 17:24:58 EDT 1997
Comments:
Since there has been no feed-back on my contributions, I shall
concentrate on About...serendipity only. Good bye!
Name: Michele
Username: dhoover@ameritech.net
Subject: optical illusions
Date: Mon Sep 29 19:30:17 EDT 1997
Comments:
i am doing a project for 7th grade Science. I need to explain how the brain "sees" different things. In other words, why do certain people see different optical illusions and why others don't. Can children figure out optical illusions better than adults, and why?
Name: Jacob Ghitis, MD
Username: ghitis@star.net.il
Subject: For MICHELE
Date: Wed Oct 1 16:23:02 EDT 1997
Comments:
Michele, please have patience until Professor Paul Grobstein, the famous Neurobiologist, can spare some free time for your very interesting question.I have been also in line for some time waiting for his attention.
Name: Alison
Username: dpatter@sunnet.net
Subject: Human Head
Date: Wed Oct 1 19:09:54 EDT 1997
Comments:
How much does the human head weigh?
Name: anonymous
Username:
Subject: BRAIN INJURY
Date: Thu Oct 2 16:29:31 EDT 1997
Comments:
BRAIN INURY CAUSED BY ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
Name: Susan Oliver
Username: stoliver@incentre.net
Subject: Multiple Inteligence
Date: Fri Oct 3 12:02:36 EDT 1997
Comments:
I am a Middle School teacher researching MI and integrating MI into class lessons. I am looking for any information on MI and related research.
Name: anonymous
Username:
Subject: brains
Date: Fri Oct 3 14:57:59 EDT 1997
Comments:
need ifo.
Name: E. W. Artzman
Username: mred2000@erols.com
Subject: Alcohol & the brain
Date: Wed Oct 22 21:26:09 EDT 1997
Comments:
Does anyone know what is the exact effect of alcohol on the brain?
I spent an afternoon trying to research the issue lately and came up with
little real information. What brain and/or neurological mechanisms does
alcohol actually affect? After more than 9,000 years of experience with the subject one would think that modern science would have provided more
information. Thanks in advance.
Name: Jake
Username:
Subject: ON how to get information in the Internet
Date: Mon Oct 27 19:09:21 EST 1997
Comments:
To E.W. Artzman, prior question:
Go to
Ask Jeeves, write there:
alcohol+brain,and you will get what you have looking for during the last centuries, including the recent PET studies; also, where to write to
get other specific information on the subjet. Please tell us your results and highlights on the subject.
Name: Marguerite Carr
Username: mscarr@pop.erols.com
Subject: REM sleep
Date: Thu Dec 18 08:46:19 EST 1997
Comments:
If the first period of REM sleep occurs 90 min. after falling asleep and therefore dreaming occurs, how can you go right into REM when taking a nap within only a few minutes of falling alseep?
Name: Arthur T. Murray
Username: mentifex@scn.org
Subject: Theory of Mind
Date: Tue Dec 30 22:07:03 EST 1997
Comments:
Mentifex AI contains an interactive tutorial on a linguistic theory of mind for Neuroscience, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.
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