At least neuroscience is past the “lizard brain” theory and all that. Takehome: If a number of brain regions are affected by traumatic memories, recovery may be prolonged. “Aw, get OVER it!” will be even less useful advice.
Neuroscience
At Mind Matters News: Reductionism as a dead end in neuroscience — captured in an essay
Dr. Seth surely does not show what he proposes: “Scientists and philosophers might have made consciousness far more mysterious than it needs to be.”
At Mind Matters News: The human brain rewires itself in middle age
The human brain seems designed for longevity.
At Mind Matters News: A neurosurgeon on why some people function with only half a brain
Michael Egnor: The means by which people with major parts of their brains removed maintain function are not understood. It’s nonsense to say, as some do, that “The brain is massively parallel and recursive and functions under network rules and laws.” That’s typical neuroscience gibberish.
At Mind Matters News: People with half their brains removed do well on psych tests
Takehome: Findings like this are a challenge to those who insist that the mind is simply what the brain does. The mind may not be split or removed when the brain is.
Eric Holloway: Can computer neural networks learn better than human neurons?
Takehome: Humans can do things that AI cannot do, as we saw earlier, but those abilities are not due to the superior learning ability of a human neuron.
At Mind Matters News: Jumping genes … a new clue to octopus intelligence?
Formerly thought of as “junk DNA,” their mobility may help explain unique problem-solving abilities. “I literally jumped on the chair…” one researcher said.
How does a human being thrive normally with “quite a bit” of brain missing?
Suppose a man said, “I am one of a really small minority of people who fell twenty thousand feet from a plane and survived, despite my injuries…” We’d want to know more.
At Mind Matters News: Human brain has many more language connections than chimp brain
Among the many differences between the human brain and other animal brains is the role of the arcuate fasciculus that connects lobes of the brain. If we are really 99 percent chimpanzee, as some claim, it doesn’t appear to be showing up in the brain.
At Mind Matters News: The human brain has neural networks not found in lab mice
In a just-published study that he led, the researchers examined human tissue removed by neurosurgeons during operations. Studying it, they discover neuron networks (connectomes) unknown in mouse brains… The interesting part is that this network exists mainly in order to silence other neurons…
At Mind Matters News: The battle over the human mind split two great thinkers
Philosopher Neil Thomas points out how neuroscience today has undermined a purely materialist account of the mind — an unexpected role but that’s what happened.
At Mind Matters News: Researchers: Our brains use data compression to get things right
Curiously, we humans often invent things by design for a purpose and yet, when we find the same things in nature, some conclude that
Takehome: Curiously, we humans often invent things by design for a purpose and yet, when we find the same things in nature, some conclude that there is no design or purpose in nature…
At Mind Matters News: Researchers: Humans process information differently from monkeys
The researchers found that, from an information theory perspective, human brains engage in less redundant and more synergistic processing than macaques. So information theory supports human exceptionalism where Darwinism doesn’t?
At Mind Matters News: A little-known structure tells our brains what matters now
Takehome: The cuneate nucleus (CN) in the brain stem turns out to communicate regularly with your prefrontal cortex and spine as to what you had better notice. The more we learn about the brain, the less likely it seems to be purely a product of material, natural causes.
At Mind Matters News: Study: Eight-week mindfulness courses do not change the brain
O’Leary: Eight-week courses don’t provide enough time. Tibetan monks can control metabolism and even brain waves through meditation but they devote their lives to it. It would be more surprising if that fact had no effect on their brains than if it does.