It is fairly established that many functions are localized in the brain. However, for a healthy brain those functions are strongly connected and work as a whole. These strong interrelations between the different areas of the brain is called connectivity. The higher and lower centres of the brain have strong connectivity and usually work together for different functions (for instance, the amygdala and the frontal cortex in regards to emotion)
The higher centres of the brain can be found in the cortex and are related to consciousness and volitional behavior. The higher centres always work together with the lower centres of the brain (such as the limbic system - which initially was evolved for smell), which are more automatic and nonconscious. Well trained actions have a tendency to become automatic/nonconscious (which can explain the Stroop effect). The processing of the higher centres of the brain is always a bit slower than the lower centres of the brain. It has even been claimed that our awareness migh lag 25 milliseconds behind events in the real world (see Libet's research). It is possible that the development of culture and literacy have led to a stronger division between the higher and lower centres of the brain and our experience of a distinction between mind and body. One example of the brain's strong connectivity is memory. Different memory functions are located in different areas of the brain and as with other functions, such as consciousness, these areas work together when performing the function. The hippocampus is believed to be important for spatial memory and consolidation of memory. The rhinal cortex, which is next to the limbic system, is believed to be very important for explicit and declarative memory. Attention is a mental process that can be directed either inwards (through imagination) or outwards and is a combination of bottom-up and top down processing. Whether a person is thinking or is focused can easily be spotted through his gaze. If he is attentive on his environment his gaze will be more fixated. Vision involves about 40 percent of our brain and thus more than the occipital lobes. What is interesting is that there is conscious vision and unconscious vision, as demonstrated in the peculiar blindsight disorder. People with blindsight have had their visual area V1 damaged and report seeing nothing. However, when performing visual tasks they are able to make correct guesses or judgment in most of the cases. If there are disturbances in the brain, such as chemical malfunctions, abnormal firing of neurons, our experience of a unified self or consciousness may break down. We may hallucinate, develop delusional thoughts, or hear voices, because we fail to distinguish between our inner imagination and outer reality, or our own inner (or outer) voice as belonging to ourselves.
2 Comments
Book
10/11/2011 12:24:58 pm
This is really informative Mr. Hansson. I like how it was well written and concise. I have a few questions though.
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Mr Hansson
10/11/2011 05:07:22 pm
Thanks, Book. These are my own notes/reflections that I write down after I have just learned something new, so that I won't forget it. So much better if anyone also likes to read them.
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AuthorThis is my class blog for IB Psychology. Here I will publish reflections on psychology, reviews of psychology books, recommended links, lecture notes, and information on psychology topics that are not covered by the syllabus. You are free to add comments or ask me questions. Archives
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