“Sometimes a feeling is all we humans have to go on.”
Executive Functions: a group of interrelated cognitive processes, including but not limited to controlling initiation and inhibition; sustaining and shifting attention; organization; goal setting, and completion; and determining plans for the future. Taken together, these skills allow individuals to plan and execute tasks as well as to interact and communicate successfully with others. (ASHA) (Human) ability to solve problems and to regulate certain impulses. (Medina, BSP37) A set of cognitive functions that controls complex, goal-directed thought and behavior. Executive function involves multiple domains, such as concept formation, goal management, cognitive flexibility, “inhibition” control, and “working memory.” Impaired executive function is seen in a range of disorders. For example, “schizophrenia” and “ADHD.” (MeSH) Mental operations including comprehension, "attention," “memory,” “learning,” sensing how we feel and why, reading “emotions” in other people, and interacting smoothly. (Goleman3, 3) Researchers can now directly record the activity of a single neuron or group of neurons and relate that activity to aspects of a specific mental state, such as the “perception” of the color red or of a curved line. (Bloom-Antonio Damasio, 64)
Distribution: (brain theory) that rather than relying solely on unique specialization, the human brain calls on populations of multitasking neurons, distributed across multiple locations, to achieve every one of its goals. Large populations of cells located in many different regions of the brain contribute to the generation of a final behavioral product. (Nicolelis, 6) Stored across multiple brain locations. Very simple “memories” may be localized in a specific area, whereas more complex memories seem to be distributed throughout the brain. Researchers have used brain imaging technology to confirm that may kinds of memories are distributed in the human brain. (Hockenbury, 246) Editor’s note - advocates of the theory of distribution are called ‘distributionists.’ Adjective - ‘distributed.’
Emergence: in the process of coming out. Occurring unexpectedly; not specifically provided for. (Oxford) When you put together large numbers of pieces and parts, the whole can become something greater than the sum. The concept of ‘emergent properties’ means that something new can be introduced that is not “inherent” in any of the parts. (Eagleman, 217) “Consciousness,” intentionality, purpose, and “meaning” all emerge from the interconnections between billions of neurons that do not contain these elements.” (Burton, 59) Adjective - ‘emergent.’
Localization: belief that distinct brain functions are generated by highly specialized and spatially segregated areas on the nervous system. Belief that the neuron is the fundamental functional unit of the brain. (Nicolelis, 6-7) A fading idea, being replaced by “neuroplasticity,” that the “pathways” in which experience gets into our minds are hardwired. (Doidge, 12) Studies of a cat’s brain by Dr. Bach-y-Rita showed the so-called “visual” part of a cat’s brain was processing at least two other functions – touch and sound. Advocates of the theory of localization are called ‘localizationists.’ (Doidge, 17)
Mind: the seat of awareness, thought, volition, and feeling; cognitive and emotional phenomena and powers as constituting a controlling system. (Oxford) A series of functions carried out by the brain. (Rose, Episode 1 Eric Kandel) You could think of the mind as consisting of a bunch of different capacities. People have the ability to attend to objects. So, attention is a kind of capacity. Memory is a capacity. Our ability to generate and comprehend language is a capacity, as is our ability to solve problems and reason. (Shapiro, BSP73) The process that regulates the flow of energy and information. Energy is the capacity to do something. Information is something that represents (or symbolizes) something other than itself. The mind creates “patterns” of energy and information flow. It does this through “relationships” and through the body. Not just in the skull, but distributed throughout the whole nervous system in the body. It happens also between people, among people (relational). That’s why we can have the mind both relational and “embodied.” (Siegel, BSP44)
Redundancy: a built-in characteristic of brain (pathways). Many sensory, motor, and cognitive functions are served by more than one neural pathway - the same information is processed simultaneously and in parallel in different regions of the brain. (Kandel, 124)
Sentience: feels or is capable of feeling; having the power or function of sensation. (Oxford) Brain activity is both necessary and sufficient for biological sentience. Empirical support for this fact derives from many sources. (Koch, 9) Adjective - ‘sentient.’
Specialization: the acquisition of… special skills and… special knowledge that is required for our effective operation in that modern sub-culture in the world into which we just happen to have been born. Specialization is accomplished in each one of us almost entirely through brain remodeling - by “plastic” changes that revise the detailed operational control abilities of our individual brains and that load them with stores of culturally specific information. (Merzenich, 11) The first advantage (of specialization) is speed. You type rapidly on your laptop because you don’t have to think about the details of your fingers’ positions, aims, and goals. It all just proceeds on its own… because typing has become part of your circuitry. By reconfiguring the neural wiring, tasks like this become automatized, allowing fast decisions and actions. Compare this with hitting the correct keys on a musical instrument you’ve never played before. You rely on conscious thinking, and that is comparably quite slow. This speed difference between amateurs and experts is why a leisure soccer player constantly has the ball stolen. In contrast, the experienced player reads the signals of her opponents, (uses) fancy footwork, and shoots the ball with high precision. Unconscious actions are more rapid than conscious deliberation. The second advantage of specializing is energy efficiency. The newbie soccer player simply doesn’t understand how all the movement on the field fits together, while the pro can manipulate the game play in multiple ways to score a goal. Whose brain is more active? The expert’s brain has developed neural circuitry specific to soccer, allowing her to make her moves with surprisingly little brain activity. In contrast, the amateur’s brain is on fire with activity. She’s trying to figure out which movements matter. She’s entertaining multiple interpretations of the situation and trying to determine which, if any, are correct. The pro’s performance is both fast and efficient. She’s optimized her internal wiring for that which is important in her outside world. (Eagleman, 12-13)