Why would anyone want to be a neuroscientist

Why would anyone want to be a neuroscientist?

The scientific study of the nervous system and its relationship to cognition and behaviour. Cognitive Neuroscience Neuropathology Neuropsychology Molecular neurobiology Neuroimagery Neurosciences Neurophysiology Neuroanatomy Neuroendocrinology Neuropsychopharmacology

Nervous System Peripheral + Cranial nerves Central Brain Spinal Cord Somatic (intrinsic sensing) Autonomic (extrinsic sensing)

Associative Learning Mechanisms • Classical Conditioning • Discovered by Ivan Pavlov (1920 s) • Passive learning • Operant Conditioning • Discovered by B. F. Skinner (1960 s) • Active learning

Types of Memory Explicit (conscious) Generic Episodic Implicit (unconscious) Procedural Dispositional

How is the Brain studied? • Case Studies • Gene Splicing • Imaging – PET – EEG (electrical current detection) • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (causes temporary disruption of a brain region) – MRI – f. MRI – CAT

How is learning and memory enabled? • Signal Transduction: – Inter-Neuron communication occurs via Neurotransmitters at the synaptic gap • Neural Plasticity: – Through experience, Neurons can change the way they function • Long Term Potentiation: – Cellular mechanism through which associations can be detected and recorded in the brain

Stage Theory of Memory Maintenance Attention Rehearsal Encoding Sensory Input Sensory Memory Working Memory LTM Indefinite duration Retrieval

The Latest Breakthrough • 07 May 2004, Science – Scientists Uncover How Brain Retrieves and Stores Older Memories

The “Mozart Effect” and other tragedies in science reporting • Mozart Effect: Actual Conclusion – “"there are correlational, historical, and anecdotal relationships between music cognition and cognitions pertaining to abstract operations such as mathematical or spatial reasoning, " Media’s Conclusion - “listening to Mozart can make one smarter” • Estrogen Aides Brain Activity, Tests Find – Brain in the News, April 16, 1999 (vol. 6, No. 7) • Deep in the story one finds this telling paragraph, "Because of the way the imaging test was designed, the women did not show any noticeable difference in their conscious ability to recall the words, only at the more subtle level of cellular function. The researchers believe, however, that the brain activity does reflect improved memory. " !!!!

“If only we could scan the brains of science writers when they are writing this kind of nonsense and compare it to the brain scans of neuroscientists when they have to read it! Now that might make an interesting story!” • WOMEN USE MORE OF BRAIN WHEN LISTENING, STUDY SAYS (LA Times, November 29, 2000) – Study not published – Showed differing patterns of brain images acquired from men and women listening to a reading of a John Grisham novel • FADS: – Brain-Based Learning • Distorted neuroscience research to support a particular educational philosophy.

To what, or to whom, is actual neuroscience research on memory and learning applicable?