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The Brain

The Brain. Trends and changes . Back in the day. 1796 to 1840, people believed in Phrenology. Initial study of the brain The idea that the SIZE of the skull as well as BUMPS on a person’s head dictated personality. Phrenology. Began with Franz Gall

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The Brain

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  1. The Brain Trends and changes

  2. Back in the day. • 1796 to 1840, people believed in Phrenology. • Initial study of the brain • The idea that the SIZE of the skull as well as BUMPS on a person’s head dictated personality.

  3. Phrenology Began with Franz Gall Believed there were 27 different bumps on someone’s head that corresponded to a particular personality/psychological trait. Brain specialists felt the bumps on a person’s head and believed they held all the answers.

  4. So… What’s wrong with that thinking?

  5. So… What’s wrong with that thinking? Does it follow the scientific method? Horoscopes? Palm Reading?

  6. Then there was… Freud…

  7. Freud Brought everything we thought about the brain to a halt because he believed in the unconscious rather than brain activity. For a long while, we believed the brain was basically a place to store unconscious desires

  8. Right v. Left Brain The right and left hemispheres of the brain have been theoretically divided for a long time. Believed that right hemisphere has specific areas of expertise that a different from the left hemisphere.

  9. Right Brain • Responsible for: • Creativity • Spatial Reasoning • Dimensions • Music/Art • Conceptualizing math

  10. Left Brain • Responsible for: • Language • Reading • Writing • Listening • Analysis • Sequence

  11. Your Turn Take the test: Are you right or left brained?

  12. More scientific? • Is this more or less scientific than phrenology? • Why?

  13. Brain Scans! As we get more technology, brain scans become more prominent and useful.

  14. Different brain scan techniques EEG- electrical activity CAT- 3D images MRI- radio waves/Hydrogen atom energy PET- chemical activity after injection of radioactive substance fMRI- scans blood flow

  15. Electroencephalogram (EEG) Works by amplifying the waves of electrical activity across the brain’s surface Poor spatial resolution BUT faster

  16. EEG

  17. Computed Tomography (CT or CAT scan) X-ray photographs  3D representation of the brain More widely available, faster, easier, less expensive than MRI

  18. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Magnetic fields and radio waves  images that allow us to see structures within the brain More expensive, slower, BUT better at soft tissue and less harmful

  19. Position Emission Tomography (PET Scan) detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes during a given task Usually used in combination Also expensive BUT great for determining activity

  20. Functional MRI (fMRI) Measures brain activity by detecting change in blood flow. Since the early 1990s, fMRI has come to dominate brain mapping research because it does not require people to undergo shots, surgery, or to ingest substances, or be exposed to radiation It is the newest and most exciting brain scan because it can tell us more than any other scan can.

  21. fMRI

  22. What are the benefits of each scan? EEG- CAT- MRI- PET- fMRI-

  23. How has the study of the brain changed? How is an fMRI more scientific than phrenology?

  24. fMRI= polygraph? fMRI can tell us which parts of a brain are activated at certain times Can it tell when we’re lying? Can it tell us what we’re thinking about at any given point?

  25. Times Science Read this short excerpt from a Times article and answer the following questions: What is the study hoping to find out? What were the two groups they separated people into? How was the fMRI used? What was the conclusion?

  26. Digging deeper What if this was true: fMRIs (or some brain scan of the future that is even better) could tell us exactly when a person is lying or not. We could use it in courts We could use it in school Parents could use it Girlfriends could use it on boyfriends…

  27. Philosophical Debate • Rules: • Pick a side, or go in the middle. • Left = You think brain scans would help the general public • Right = You think brain scans would be an assault on your rights as Americans • Before you refute someone’s statement, you MUST summarize what they said. • This is not an argument, it is a debate, so be respectful.

  28. Back to your seats • Summarize what you heard: What was an argument for using brain scans, what was an argument against using brain scans • Briefly state which you agree with and why. • Using bullets is fine.

  29. Another article… “Getting Inside Their Heads” Asks the question: Should we scan candidate’s brains before they have a chance to become President?

  30. A new election is upon us… Should we scan the brains of candidates?

  31. Technology=society=technology • Keeping everything you learned today in mind, do you think that technology impacts society more or society impacts technology more? • Is it that technology impacts how we view neuroscience and psychological disorders, • Or are we such a “futuristic” society that we are constantly looking for ways to create new technology and new scans • Explain your reasoning (using bullets) on your paper.

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