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Unlocking the Mysteries of the Human Brain

Explore the complexities of the brain, from the prefrontal cortex and dopamine-sensitive neurons to Freudian theories and criminal psychology, delving into memory processes, sleep, dreams, interpersonal relationships, love, and mental illness. Discover the brain's role in shaping behavior, emotions, and cognition.

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Unlocking the Mysteries of the Human Brain

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  1. THE BRAIN

  2. The Brain in sum

  3. The Brain in Sum • Prefrontal Cortex: • Dopamine-sensitive neurons • Planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, decision making and moderating social behavior • Hippocampus: • Consolidation of short-term to long-term memory • Hypothalamus: • The hypothalamus is responsible for certain metabolic processes and other autonomic nervous system processes • Stimulates or inhibits the secretion of pituitary hormones

  4. PSYCHOLOGY

  5. “Old” Psychological Theories • Sigmund Freud founded the discipline of psychoanalysis and helped establish the field of verbal psychotherapy • The Freudian theory: The id - motivations and instinctual urges are hidden in the unconscious mind The super-ego (our conscience) - upholds the moral ideals that we assume to be “perfection” The ego (rational/conscious mind) tries to maintain a balance between these two

  6. “Old” Psychological Theories

  7. “Old” Psychological Theories

  8. Present day support for this theory • Unconscious Motivation: Neuronal pathway connecting perceptual information with “fear receptors” but which bypasses hippocampus • Repression of Memories in patients • Damage to the frontal limbic region causes Korsakoff’s psychosis where cognitive

  9. However… • Criticisms of the the Freudian theory: • “Pseudo-science”: Little or no scientific evidence (based on patient observations) • We should not be trying to force-fit neurobiological data into outdated psychoanalytical theories • The ego-id struggle is unlikely to control brain chemistry • Need for more biologically based models of dreams, mental illness and normal conscious experience

  10. Criminal Psychology • Profiling of criminals based on trend and patterns in behaviour of criminals in the past (esp. serial killers) • Profile is usually based on: • Victimology • Type of crime/location • “Trigger” that could have led to the killings

  11. Memory • Process by which information is: • Encoded • Stored • Retrieved • Short-term memory vs. Long-memory (The working memory)

  12. Atkinson-Shiffrin model Pre-frontal Cortex Hippocampus

  13. Baddeley and Hitch Model

  14. Torrance Test of Creative Thinking

  15. Right Brain vs. Left Brain

  16. Left brain vs Right brain • Complex relationships • Corpus Callosum • Often cut to cure seizures • Provides left/right information • Speech in left, identification of visual concepts in right • Left responsible for explanative power, right for perception of self

  17. Sleep and Dreams • Morpheus and Hypnos—Greek Gods of Dreams and Sleep • Sleep: found in almost all organisms, sharks sleepshalf a brain at a time • Dreams: Most mammals + some bird/reptile

  18. Sleep • 2 main components- Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and non Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) • REM longer and more frequent closer to waking • Recovery functions • NREM have diffbrain waves

  19. Dreams • No one knows why! :O • Frued-Unconscious desires • Proposed cognitive purposes: transfers memory from short term to long term • Also to clear “junk” memory • Testing and selecting schemas • Evolutionary Relics • Damages to parietal lobe stops dreams

  20. Interpersonal Relationships • Psychology of friendship: • Beginnings: Commonalities • Growth: Reciprocal self-disclosure • Intimacy (but not too much) • Positive reinforcements • Social-Identity Support • Friendships benefits when the we identify with the friend our primary social role and the friend supports it • Self centered?

  21. Interpersonal Relationships • Psychology of Love • Triangle theory of love-Intimacy, commitment, passion. • Opposites attract FALSE • Love is not just a feeling, it is also a commitment/decision

  22. Interpersonal Relationships • Neurological basis of Love • 3 Stages of Love corresponds to 3 classes of neurotransmitters • Lust, Attraction and Attachment • Testosterone/estrogen • Dopamine/norepinephrine/serotonin, (happiness and addiction) • Oxytocin(bonding)

  23. Evil Gene • Possibility of a genetic condition that contributes to violence/psychopathy? • Callous-Unemotional Children: “lack of affect, remorse or empathy” • Unable to feel emotions in others cause of extreme violence

  24. Evil Gene • Mirror Neurons: Neurons that fire when we perform OR see others perform an action. • Theorized to play a part in empathy • Anterior cingulate cortex hypothesized to be involved in empathy • Lack of an “empathy molecule”/receptors? • Oxytocin (love and boding), serotonin and dopamine (feel good molecules)?

  25. (Interesting) Mental Illness • Korsakoffs Syndrome • Inability to form long term memory amongst others • Neuron loss via malnutrition/alcoholism • Prosopagnosia • Inability to recognize faces • Fusiform Face area • Cotard Delusion • Patient believes that he is dead • Dissociation between recognition and emotion

  26. Mental Illness • Schizophrenia • Disorganised, distracted thinking, disturbed perceptions, inappropriate emotions • Dopamine, thalamus, amygdalaoveractivity and shrinking cerebal tissue • Strongly genetic correlation, impairments in fetal brain development (can be detected early)

  27. Antisocial Personality Disorder • Characterized by high intelligence and high apathy even to close ones, heightened aggression • Reduced frontal lobes activity • Reduced Adrenaline secretion

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