Bo-Rin Kim's blog

    Love is one of the most popular topics discussed among different age groups and across different cultures. Its entrancing and addictive nature has encouraged scientists to explore the neurological basis of this emotional phenomenon. However, this paper questions the perspective that love arises from a set pattern of activity in a number of designated neural structures. It instead proposes that the definitions of love set in place by different cultures influence and give rise to unique patterns of neural activity that lead to the experience of love. Thus, love is unique to the individual and does not arise from a generalized pattern of neural activity.

The Problem of the Soul: Two Visions of the Mind and How to Reconcile Them

      Contrary to the book’s title about the reconciliation of viewpoints, the author, Owen Flanagan, attempts to defend the naturalistic, scientific view against the humanistic view, which argues that the mind is nonphysical and endowed by a higher being. Flanagan argues that we are “fully embodied creatures” (6) that have nervous systems that can give rise to minds, morals and self-identity. He posits that there is a physical, scientific explanation for everything and argues against the existence of God, free will and an unchanging soul that exists beyond death.  

I first learned about synaesthesia in my cognition class last fall. I was fascinated yet perplexed by the idea that some people are able to see colors when they look at letters or taste foods when they hear certain sounds. I did not understand how a perceptual stimulus could evoke a response from a sensory mechanism different from its own. I soon learned that this effect arose due to “links” in the brain that connect the regions responsible for different senses. However, what exactly are these “links” in the brain and how do they give rise to synaesthesia?