BBI 2007 Session 7

BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR INSTITUTE 2007

The bipartite brain: The frog and the story teller

Review (and extension)

• Nervous system consists of very large numbers of neurons
• Sensory neurons, motor neurons, mostly interneurons
• Neurons receive, process, transit information in form of action potentials
• Assembly of neurons (architecture) is what makes difference people (organisms) different, is changing all the time
• Acting is pattern of action potentials in neurons, so too is perceiving, thinking, and .... (Tammi: emotion?)
• Diversity and change are fundamental features of the nervous system, and hence of behavior

"The boxes, inside the boxes, inside the boxes...is a great demonstration of how we are hard wired, in the physical." ... Geneva

"I found it interesting to learn that the dfferences among people are not in the building blocks but rather the structures themselves." ... Dalia

"Each person becomes unique because of the way they are put together. This means that everyone in the world is significant and necessary to make life special. I was really impressed by the fact that there are more interneurons than sensory and motor neurons together." ... Judith

"Seeing how easily the nervous system generates action potentials makes understanding individual personalities a complex phenomenon. Isn't it a wonder that we have a common perspective or capacity for cohesion at all given how differently we interact with the external world, our internal environs, and the stories we tell about what is perceived?" ... Teresa

"during instruction the hope is that student’s neurons are working as expected without too much competing action in neurons concerned with other ideas. But self firing neurons will be inserting thoughts about the big game, a coming social activity, and countless other distractions. I need to learn ways to help students deal with such off focus ideas effectively while they are trying to learn. This might be where inhibition is helpful. Can inhibition be effectively encouraged?" ... Bruce

Synaptic integration: excitation AND inhibition

Thinking backwards about the nervous system and behavior: causing versus allowing

Important general architectual features (continuing to get it less wrong)

Loopiness and right to left arrows

• More thinking backwards - output to get input
• Corollary discharge - creating expectations, models
• Nervous system as scientist - getting it less wrong (without thinking about it)
  

The "I-function" and Bipartite Brain

• Unconscious/conscious distinction fundamental to nervous system organization
• Nervous system as distributed system
• Begins to account for story telling as distinct from acting

Implications for education?

Your thoughts about the story so far? Is it well-founded re observations? Add additional ones? Are there things it doesn't account for? What new questions does it raise?