WL 1: Evolution & historical perspectives on mind and brain
The brain’s primary function is to produce behavior.
To do so, it must:
• receive information about the world;
• integrate information to create a sensory reality; → onze eigen realiteit, verschillend voor alle soorten.
• make a constant stream of predictions about what to expect;
• produce commands to control the movement of muscles.
The make up of the nervous system altogether allows the brain to do so
What is Behavior?
Relatively Fixed Behaviors →Dependent on heredity (genen, aangeboren gedrag)
Relatively Flexible Behaviors →Dependent on learning (aangeleerd gedrag)
Complexity of behavior varies considerably in different species depending on complexity of nervous system
Philosophy of brain and behavior: Aristotle and Mentalism
Mentalism
• An explanation of behavior as a function of the nonmaterial mind
• Ancient Greece: Aristotle
- Psyche or soul: Synonym for mind; an entity once proposed to be the source of human behavior, that
lives after death
Dualism
• Both a nonmaterial mind and the material body contribute to our behavior
• Mind directs rational behavior
• Body and brain direct all other behavior via mechanical and physical principles
- Examples: sensation, movement, and digestion
• Mind is connected to the body through the pineal gland of the brain
Mind–Body Problem
Difficult / impossible to explain a nonmaterial mind in command of a material body
→ probleem over hoe kan het non-materiele brein interactie hebben met het materiele lichaam?
Philosophy of brain and behavior: Darwin and Materialism
Materialism (huidige stroming)
• Behavior can be explained as a function of the nervous system without considering the mind as a separate
substance
• Related to evolutionary theory of Charles Darwin
Darwin’s Concept of Natural Selection:
• Differential success in the reproduction (i.e., passing on your genes) of different characteristics / behavior
(phenotypes) results from the interaction of organisms with their environment!!
• Traits / behavior that increase reproductive success and chances of survival will be passed on to offspring
• Competition is a key concept
Evolution of Animals Having
Nervous Systems
1
, Neuroplasticity (de brein kan zich aanpassen en ontwikkelen tijdens het leven en de omgeving)
The brain is plastic:
• Neural tissue has the capacity to adapt to the world by changing how its functions are organized
• Because the brain can adapt to the world, different species could develop
• Neuroplasticity is seen both in the developing brain and in adaptations of brain structure following injury
Epigenetics
Uitkomst van je genen die afhankelijk zijn van je omgeving en ontwikkeling
• Study of differences in gene expression related to environment and experience
• Epigenetic factors do not change your genes, but they do influence how your genes operate
• Epigenetic changes can persist throughout a lifetime, and the cumulative effects can make dramatic
differences in how your genes work and how likely a spieces is to pass on its genes à evolution
Plastic Patterns of Neural Organization: Phenotypic Plasticity
→An individual’s genotype (genetic makeup) interacts with the environment to elicit a specific phenotype from a
large repertoire of possibilities
Studying Brain and Behavior in Modern Humans
The brain – and especially the cortex – is highly flexible
- That means that humans can live VERY different life styles in VERY different environments, with equal skill
and success. That also means that individual differences in brain organization are huge! The average brain
does not exist!
Anatomical & functional divisions of the nervous system
! !
2
,Overview of the structure of the brain
• Forebrain: Major structure of the brain, consisting of
two almost identical hemispheres (left and right).
Prominent in mammals and birds, responsible for most
higher order conscious behaviors.
• Cerebellum: “Little brain” → Involved in the
coordination of motor and cognitive processes
• Brainstem: Central structures of the brain, including
the hindbrain, midbrain, thalamus & hypothalamus.
Source of behavior in simpler animals, responsible for
most of our unconscious behaviors.
• Spinal cord: Consists of nerves that carry incoming and
outgoing messages between the brain and the rest of
the body including reflexes
!
Forebrain = meest complexe
gedrag
Spinal cord = minst complex
→Overzicht van het brein.
Forebrain: Cerebral / Neo cortex
The cerebral cortex is a thin sheet composed of 6 layers of
nerve cells folded many times to fit inside the skull
responsible for regulating various mental activities.
Forebrain: Allocortex Cortex
Evolutionary older part of cortex consisting of 3 or 4 layers of
nerve cells present in structures of the limbic system
(cingulate cortex, hippocampus, amygdala), as well as
structures related to the olfactory system.
Motivational states, attention, self monit.
3
, Orientation
“Brain–Body Orientation” illustrates brain-structure location from the frame of reference of the face
→Zorg dat je de
richtingen van het
brein kent.
!
“Anatomical Orientation” illustrates the direction of a
cut, or section, through the brain (part A) from the
perspective of a viewer (part B)
Axial = Horizontal
Voordelen van het kopen van samenvattingen bij Stuvia op een rij:
Verzekerd van kwaliteit door reviews
Stuvia-klanten hebben meer dan 700.000 samenvattingen beoordeeld. Zo weet je zeker dat je de beste documenten koopt!
Snel en makkelijk kopen
Je betaalt supersnel en eenmalig met iDeal, creditcard of Stuvia-tegoed voor de samenvatting. Zonder lidmaatschap.
Focus op de essentie
Samenvattingen worden geschreven voor en door anderen. Daarom zijn de samenvattingen altijd betrouwbaar en actueel. Zo kom je snel tot de kern!
Veelgestelde vragen
Wat krijg ik als ik dit document koop?
Je krijgt een PDF, die direct beschikbaar is na je aankoop. Het gekochte document is altijd, overal en oneindig toegankelijk via je profiel.
Tevredenheidsgarantie: hoe werkt dat?
Onze tevredenheidsgarantie zorgt ervoor dat je altijd een studiedocument vindt dat goed bij je past. Je vult een formulier in en onze klantenservice regelt de rest.
Van wie koop ik deze samenvatting?
Stuvia is een marktplaats, je koop dit document dus niet van ons, maar van verkoper elinetb. Stuvia faciliteert de betaling aan de verkoper.
Zit ik meteen vast aan een abonnement?
Nee, je koopt alleen deze samenvatting voor €5,99. Je zit daarna nergens aan vast.
