Secrets of the Mind

Dr. Ramachandran'e efforts to understand the working of the human brain. The brain is made up of 100 Billion neurons and tells us about the complexity of its working. The body image is the construct made by our brain. One of Dr. Ramachandran's phantom-hand patient's, Derek, could feel the presence of an amputated hand. According to Doc's theory the brain has a map of all the body parts and brain stores the body image in itself and this body map inside the brain can be dynamically changed. In essence, the connections inside the brain can be rewired in daily life. The rewiring of the brain as a person lives on was a new finding. Until this findings, it was thought that the wiring inside the brain are defined when one is inside the womb as a fetus. Dr. Ramachandran devised a mirror-box that is based on the concept that pain itself can be a construct of the brain. This mirror setup can be used to ease the pain in the phantom limbs of the patients, where the pain seem to have been a construct of the human brain. This pain was present in a patient's missing-arm and it was of course puzzling that a patient could feel pain in an arm that is not physically present.

The experience of blind sight is also a new experience that some people experience. One of Dr. Ramachadran's patients ability to detect things visually even though the sight is not present. Vision is not entirely dependent of actual seeing and being visually aware.

Evolution Beyond The Body

The evolution can shape as to how we think act and behave? This pertains to things beyond the physical existence. I am trying to document my thoughts as I hear to the interview of Dr. Steven Pinker from Harvard University. The realm of evolution is of course connected to body via the human brain.

Why do we get jealous or to think about things like violence, anger, guilt, and revenge. It looks like Darwin's evolution theory can be used to explain how evolution shaped our minds. Before Darwin, such a connection was explained using the theory of association of the theory of a ghost in the box. Darwin thought that many of our emotions can be explained as the ones having best survival chances compared to other alternatives. Every aspect of perception, thoughts has a basis in the physical brain. The frontal lobes that have grown during human evolution can anticipate the behavior of other people and adjust our behaviors. They can help us in making ourselves responsible from our actions, by the ability to anticipate consequences. Responsibility is a set of rules, laws and contingencies that are defined by our physical brain.