Lucrare de atestat la
limba engleza
Candidat : Profesor coordonator
Serafim Teodora Daczo Liliana
XII-D
Mai 2023
Mysteries of Human Mind
“It is unmatched in its ability to think, to communicate, and to
reason. Most striking of all, it has a unique awareness of its
identity and of its place in space and time. Welcome to the human
brain, the cathedral of complexity.”
-Peter Coveney
Table of contents
1.Argument
2. Anatomy of the brain
3.Neuroscience
4. Psychology
5. Pavlov’s Dogs Study and Pavlovian Conditioning
6. Introvert and Extrovert Personality Traits
7.Mysteries of the human mind
8.Bibliography
Argument
Personality, uniqueness, and abilities are all fundamentally derived from the
brain. Understanding the brain's way of functioning will enable us to
comprehend the principles behind human behavior and activity. Although
every brain is different, all healthy human brains have the same fundamental
structures and functions. By investigating and studying the inner workings of
how a typical brain performs and how it can instantly generate new ideas, pick
up new information, and recall memories, it’s possible to use that knowledge to
improve brain function.
One of the most challenging problems of our time is how to deal with the wave
of neurological illnesses and disorders. Just as the discovery of vaccines and
antibiotics in the last 200 years revolutionized medicine, so will breakthroughs
in neuroscience in the twenty-first century. We need to comprehend how the
healthy brain functions and what causes these processes to go wrong in order
to successfully treat brain diseases and disorders, including dementia,
schizophrenia, depression, motor neurone disease, and many more.
The reason why I chose this topic is due to my interest in how the human mind
works, the ins and outs of its complexity and my desire to understand how it
processes information.Through my research I hope I can grasp the anatomy of
the brain better and become more knowledgeable on this topic. Moreover, I
plan on studying Biochemistry in University and focusing on Neuroscience so
this choosing this project only seems natural.
Anatomy of the brain
What is the brain?
The brain is a complex organ that controls thought, memory, emotion, touch,
motor skills, vision, breathing, temperature, hunger and every process that
regulates our body. Together, the brain and spinal cord that extends from it
make up the central nervous system, or CNS.
The brain receives information through our five senses: sight, smell, touch,
taste, and hearing - often many at one time. It assembles the messages in a
way that has meaning for us, and can store that information in our memory.
The brain controls our thoughts, memory and speech, movement of the arms
and legs, and the function of many organs within our body.
Main Parts of the Brain and Their Functions
The brain is composed of the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem
Cerebrum: is the largest part of the brain and is composed of right and left
hemispheres. It performs higher functions like interpreting touch, vision and
hearing, as well as speech, reasoning, emotions, learning, and fine control of
movement. Not all functions of the hemispheres are shared. In general, the left
hemisphere controls speech, comprehension, arithmetic, and writing. The right
hemisphere controls creativity, spatial ability, artistic, and musical skills. The
left hemisphere is dominant in hand use and language in about 92% of people.
Cerebellum: is located under the cerebrum. Its function is to coordinate
muscle movements, maintain posture, and balance.
Brainstem: acts as a relay center connecting the cerebrum and cerebellum to
the spinal cord. It performs many automatic functions such as breathing, heart
rate, body temperature, wake and sleep cycles, digestion, sneezing, coughing,
vomiting, and swallowing.
Memory
Memory is a complex process that includes three phases: encoding (deciding
what information is important), storing, and recalling. Different areas of the
brain are involved in different types of memory. Your brain has to pay attention
and rehearse in order for an event to move from short-term to long-term
memory – called encoding.
Short-term memory, also called working memory, stores information for
about one minute and its capacity is limited to about 7 items. For
example, it enables you to dial a phone number someone just told you. It
also intervenes during reading, to memorize the sentence you have just
read, so that the next one makes sense.
Long-term memory is activated when you want to memorize something
for a longer time. This memory has unlimited content and duration
capacity. It contains personal memories as well as facts and figures.
Skill memory stores automatic learned memories like tying a shoe,
playing an instrument, or riding a bike.
Neuroscience
Neuroscience, also known as Neural Science, is the study of how the nervous
system develops, its structure, and what it does.
Neuroscientists focus on the brain and its impact on behavior and cognitive
functions. Not only is neuroscience concerned with the normal functioning of
the nervous system, but also what happens to the nervous system when people
have neurological, psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Neuroscience has traditionally been classed as a subdivision of biology. These
days, it is an interdisciplinary science which liaises closely with other
disciplines, such as mathematics, linguistics, engineering, computer science,
chemistry, philosophy, psychology, and medicine.
The main branches of neurosciences are:
Molecular and cellular
They study the biological mechanisms of the nervous system at their smallest
scale, that of molecules and cells (neurons, glial cells, neurotransmitters, etc.).
These basic elements of brain chemistry, however small, are involved in
sensations, learning, memory and neurological pathologies.
Cognitive
They combine neuroscience with cognitive science, including psychology and
psychiatry, to better understand the functions and dysfunctions of the neural
systems involved in behaviour and cognition.
Medical
Also called “clinical,” they are interested in the normal functioning of the
nervous system and its disorders (trauma, dementia, Parkinson’s, mental
illnesses, etc.) to better treat and prevent them. In this branch of neuroscience,
health specialists such as psychiatrists and neurologists work as a team.
Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Psychologists are
actively involved in studying and understanding mental processes, brain
functions, and behavior. The field of psychology is considered a "Hub Science"
with strong connections to the medical sciences, social sciences, and
education.
In a philosophical context, psychology was around thousands of years ago in
ancient Greece, Egypt, India, Persia, and China. In 387 BCE, Plato
suggested that the brain is where mental processes take place, and in 335 BCE
Aristotle suggested that it was the heart.The late 19th century saw a change in
the way people viewed the study of psychology and how patients with mental
disorders were treated. In 1879, the Institute for Experimental Psychology was
opened at the University of Leipzig in Germany by Wilhelm Wundt. This
institution and Wundt himself made many advances in psychiatric treatment,
which is why Wundt is known today as the father of modern psychology. The
Institution was very forward-thinking for its time. Wundt was passionate about
separating science from philosophy and believed that the mind’s workings could
be observed through scientific experiments and analysis using object controls and
measurements
Wilhelm Wundt’s theory of Structuralism has lead to the development of
Cognitive Psychology today. Cognitive Psychology is the branch of psychology
dedicated to studying how people think. The cognitive perspective in
psychology focuses on how the interactions of thinking, emotion, creativity,
and problem-solving abilities affect how and why you think the way you do.This
field is still considered relatively but is a very popular subfield.
Cognitive psychology applications have been used to help with memory and
disorders that affect decision-making. People who have suffered from brain
injuries, have learning disorders, or improve their learning ability can benefit from
cognitive psychology. Treating attention disorders such as Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, also falls in the realm of cognitive psychology.
Psychologists in this field can help to improve patients with ADHD focus and
concentration skills.
Pavlov’s Dogs Study and Pavlovian
Conditioning
Like many great scientific advances, Pavlovian conditioning (aka classical
conditioning) was discovered accidentally. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849–1936)
was a physiologist, not a psychologist.
During the 1890s, Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov was researching salivation
in dogs in response to being fed. He inserted a small test tube into the cheek of
each dog to measure saliva when the dogs were fed (with a powder made from
meat).
Pavlov predicted the dogs would salivate in response to the food placed in front
of them, but he noticed that his dogs would begin to salivate whenever they
heard the footsteps of his assistant who was bringing them the food.
When Pavlov discovered that any object or event which the dogs learned to
associate with food (such as the lab assistant) would trigger the same response,
he realized that he had made an important scientific discovery. Accordingly, he
devoted the rest of his career to studying this type of learning.
Pavlov (1902) started from the idea that there are some things that a dog does
not need to learn. For example, dogs don’t learn to salivate whenever they see
food. This reflex is ‘hard-wired’ into the dog.
In behaviorist terms, food is an unconditioned stimulus and salivation is an
unconditioned response.
Next, Pavlov began the conditioning procedure, whereby the clicking
metronome was introduced just before he gave food to his dogs. After a number
of repeats (trials) of this procedure he presented the metronome on its own.
As you might expect, the sound of the clicking metronome on its own now
caused an increase in salivation.
So the dog had learned an association between the metronome and the food and a new
behavior had been learned. Because this response was learned (or conditioned), it is
called a conditioned response (and also known as a Pavlovian response). The neutral
stimulus has become a conditioned stimulus.
Pavlov found that for associations to be made, the two stimuli had to be presented
close together in time (such as a bell).
If the time between the conditioned stimulus (bell) and unconditioned stimulus (food)
is too great, then learning will not occur.
Introvert and Extrovert Personality
Traits
What is an Introvert?
An introvert can be defined as being someone who gets their energy from
being in their own company, having time to ‘recharge’ on their own.
Someone who is introverted may appear to be withdrawn and shy, although
this may not always be the case (Carrigan, 1960).
Introverts may also prefer taking part in less stimulating activities and get
pleasure from reading, writing, or meditating.
Introverts may typically prefer to concentrate on a single activity, analyze situations
carefully and take time to think more before they speak.
What is an Extrovert?
An extrovert is a person with qualities of a personality type known as
extroversion, which means that they get their energy from being around
other people. Someone who is extroverted may appear as very talkative and
may be popular among peers (Carrigan, 1960).
Extroverts may wish to seek out as much social interaction as possible because
this is how they feel more energized. According to estimates, extroverts
outnumber introverts by about three to one (Cain, 2012).
Remember that extroversion isn't an all-or-nothing trait; it's actually a
continuum and some people might be very extroverted while others are less so.
What is an Ambivert?
Although many people view introversion and extroversion as two opposing
categories, new personality theories have come to accept that it is more likely
that introversion and extroversion are on a scale.
Some people may be placed more around the extroverted end of the scale, or
towards the introverted end, and some may fall in the middle.
An ambivert is a person who shows characteristics of both extroversion and
introversion. In other words, they fall somewhere in the middle of the scale.
People who are ambiverts are said to be moderately comfortable in social
situations but also enjoy some solitary time.
An ambivert essentially changes their behavior based on the situation they find
themselves in. For example, they may be quite introverted and reserved around
strangers, but will be more energetic and extroverted around close friends and
family.
Carl Jung
Carl Jung was one of the first people to define the terms introvert and extrovert
in a psychological context. According to Jung (1910; 1923), personality is
based on four pairs of opposing types.
He claimed that these types are present in all of us, but one is more dominant
than the other, meaning that personality is on four dimensions, which are:
Extroversion/Introversion
Sensing/Intuition
Thinking/Feeling
Judging/Perceiving
Jung (1923) described extroverts as preferring to engage with the outside world
of objects, sensory perception, and action. Introverts he described as being
more focused on the internal world of reflection, are thoughtful and insightful.
Jung believed a balance between extroversion and introversion best served the
goal of self-realization.
Jung’s (1923) view of extroverted and introverted types serves as a basis of
the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). This questionnaire describes a
person’s degree of introversion versus extroversion, thinking versus feeling,
intuition versus sensation, and judging versus perceiving.
Mysteries of the human mind
Consciousness
When you wake up in the morning, you might perceive that the Sun is just rising, hear
a few birds chirping, and maybe even feel a flash of happiness as the fresh morning air
hits your face. In other words, you are conscious. This complex topic has plagued the
scientific community since antiquity. Only recently have neuroscientists considered
consciousness a realistic research topic. The greatest brainteaser in this field has been
to explain how processes in the brain give rise to subjective experiences. So far,
scientists have managed to develop a great list of questions.
Brain Teaser
Laughter is one of the least understood of human behaviors. Scientists have found
that during a good laugh three parts of the brain light up: A thinking part that helps
you get the joke, a movement area that tells your muscles to move, and an emotional
region that elicits the "giddy" feeling. But it remains unknown why one person laughs
at your brother's foolish jokes while another chuckles while watching a horror movie.
John Morreall, who is a pioneer of humor research at the College of William and Mary,
has found that laughter is a playful response to incongruities — stories that disobey
conventional expectations. Others in the humor field point to laughter as a way of
signaling to another person that this action is meant "in fun." One thing is clear:
Laughter makes us feel better.
Phantom Feelings
It's estimated that about 80 percent of amputees experience sensations, including
warmth, itching, pressure and pain, coming from the missing limb. People who
experience this phenomenon, known as "phantom limb," feel sensations as if the
missing limb were part of their bodies. One explanation says that the nerves area
where the limb severed create new connections to the spinal cord and continue to
send signals to the brain as if the missing limb was still there. Another possibility is
that the brain is "hard-wired" to operate as if the body were fully intact — meaning the
brain holds a blueprint of the body with all parts attached.
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