Lec 4 | MIT 9.00SC Introduction to Psychology, Spring 2011
Lecturer: What are the ways we can learn about the human brain? One thing we can't do is go
inside the brain except in very rare clinical situations, such as lesions or injuries. Stimulation is
also rare. There are a million ways in which we are trying to understand which parts of the brain
correspond to different parts of the mind. We use these tools to understand the brain bases of
different aspects of our mental lives. The deficits you see following brain injuries can be amazing.
We learn amazing things about the brain that we didn't know could happen until it actually
happens. Later in the course, we will talk a couple of times about blindsight. Much of our solid
understanding of the human brain still comes from the history of neurology and lesions. Brain
injuries don't follow anatomical boundaries and can cause crossover effects depending on the
injury, and people's responses can vary. Nearby brain systems that are right next door to each other
can do quite different things.
Every course about the brain includes a discussion about Broca's area. However, imaging a brain
can be a challenge. Even after 150 years of studying the brain, there are still many mysteries.
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is a popular tool that is widely used to
understand the mind and brain. It is non-invasive and turns the brain on or off, which makes it a
useful tool. However, it cannot go into subcortical areas.Here are some images that can be
obtained from the brain:Structural MRI: Shows the structures of the brain.Diffusion MRI: Shows
the white-matter fiber tracts in the brain.fMRI: Shows areas of the brain that are activated during a
particular task.
Functional MRI is characterized by its high level of noise, necessitating the use of earplugs during
experiments. Researchers who use functional MRI to conduct visual studies face ten times more
difficulty. However, the resulting images can be visually stunning, such as computed tomography.
This image is one of many studies that track changes in the brain from age four to 21. The more
blue a region is, the thinner it is and the more advanced it is in terms of young adult development.
The somatomotor cortex, which is responsible for physical sensations and movement, and the
hippocampus, which is responsible for forming new memories and learning, are both important
regions of the brain. One study examined medical students in Germany and found that their
hippocampus thickened as they studied and crammed for exams, even though there are limitations
to the scientific value of this study.
The size of the hippocampus is believed to be the cause of one's success, rather than its
consequence. However, a causal experiment can be conducted in this regard. For instance, people
were taught to juggle three balls, and they practiced it daily for three months. Their brains were
measured again about six months later, and the change was no longer there. Diffusion tensor
imaging is a method that is used to measure the organization of the white matter in the brain. This
is a cross-section of a myelinated nerve fiber. These fibers are covered with white matter and have
Lecturer: What are the ways we can learn about the human brain? One thing we can't do is go
inside the brain except in very rare clinical situations, such as lesions or injuries. Stimulation is
also rare. There are a million ways in which we are trying to understand which parts of the brain
correspond to different parts of the mind. We use these tools to understand the brain bases of
different aspects of our mental lives. The deficits you see following brain injuries can be amazing.
We learn amazing things about the brain that we didn't know could happen until it actually
happens. Later in the course, we will talk a couple of times about blindsight. Much of our solid
understanding of the human brain still comes from the history of neurology and lesions. Brain
injuries don't follow anatomical boundaries and can cause crossover effects depending on the
injury, and people's responses can vary. Nearby brain systems that are right next door to each other
can do quite different things.
Every course about the brain includes a discussion about Broca's area. However, imaging a brain
can be a challenge. Even after 150 years of studying the brain, there are still many mysteries.
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is a popular tool that is widely used to
understand the mind and brain. It is non-invasive and turns the brain on or off, which makes it a
useful tool. However, it cannot go into subcortical areas.Here are some images that can be
obtained from the brain:Structural MRI: Shows the structures of the brain.Diffusion MRI: Shows
the white-matter fiber tracts in the brain.fMRI: Shows areas of the brain that are activated during a
particular task.
Functional MRI is characterized by its high level of noise, necessitating the use of earplugs during
experiments. Researchers who use functional MRI to conduct visual studies face ten times more
difficulty. However, the resulting images can be visually stunning, such as computed tomography.
This image is one of many studies that track changes in the brain from age four to 21. The more
blue a region is, the thinner it is and the more advanced it is in terms of young adult development.
The somatomotor cortex, which is responsible for physical sensations and movement, and the
hippocampus, which is responsible for forming new memories and learning, are both important
regions of the brain. One study examined medical students in Germany and found that their
hippocampus thickened as they studied and crammed for exams, even though there are limitations
to the scientific value of this study.
The size of the hippocampus is believed to be the cause of one's success, rather than its
consequence. However, a causal experiment can be conducted in this regard. For instance, people
were taught to juggle three balls, and they practiced it daily for three months. Their brains were
measured again about six months later, and the change was no longer there. Diffusion tensor
imaging is a method that is used to measure the organization of the white matter in the brain. This
is a cross-section of a myelinated nerve fiber. These fibers are covered with white matter and have
