The Minds Eye Neuroscience in the Movies Class

The Minds Eye: Neuroscience in the Movies

Class Structure • Each class begins with ~30 mins of neuroscience background, with questions always encouraged throughout • Followed by a ~20 mins of student presentations • We’ll then dive into movie clips and analyze them as a class (most movies are available at Tisch/Netflix) • Discussion will be heavily encouraged from the beginning to end of each class—the more opinions and questions we generate the more insight we can uncover

Grading • Presentations (20%): summary of a review or primary paper and how it connects to the assigned movie (teams of 2 -3, 2 total per student. Sign ups online) • Reflection papers (20%): connecting the neuroscience and movies presented for a week (500 words, 2/student) • Quizzes (20%): multiple choice, 1 short answer (every 3 weeks) • Final Paper or presentation (20%): 1000 words or 30 mins • Participation (20%)

The Brain in 15 Minutes

Breaking down a Neuron

The Brain can be divided into 4 lobes

Functions of The Brain: The Cortex Movement Bodily Sensation Planning Vision Memory

Vision is processed in the Occipital Lobe

Hearing is processed in part of the Temporal Lobe

Touch is processed in part of the Somatosensory Cortex

The Somatosensory Cortex contains a map of your Body

The Motor Cortex enables the ability to move the body

The Frontal Lobe enables higher-order cognition, such as planning

The Thalamus relays nearly all sensory input to the brain

The Cerebellum processes fine-motor movements

The Subcortex

The Cortex and Hollywood Movement Bodily Sensation Planning Vision Memory

The Subcortex and Hollywood

Caveat: these areas don’t just exclusively process one specific modality (i. e. the visual cortex does respond to sound, the auditory cortex does respond to vision, etc)

What Jason Bourne can teach us about Neuroscience What Bourne Knows http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Ijr. WOZby 8 s 8

What Neuroscience can teach us about Hollywood

A Brief Group Project In groups of 4 -5, try to come up with a brain-related, sci-fi idea or technology that you’d love to see possible in your lifetime As well as what you’d ideally like to get out of this class

Your Brain on Bonus Points In groups of 4 -5, try to answer the following 5 questions as fast as possible. The first group to complete the quiz and to get all 5 questions correct gets a bonus point for the semester.

Questions 1) What are the 4 lobes of the brain? 2) What brain region processes our emotional responses to situations? 3) What brain region mediates the formation of personal memories? 4) What brain region is the “relay station” for incoming sensory information? 5) Leonard Shelby (Memento’s protagonist) cannot form new personal memories, and yet he can remember how to shoot a gun and how to drive. What brain region do you predict is damaged? What brain area should be intact?