HUMAN INFORMATIONPROCESSING

OTHER SYSTEMS AND ORGANIZATION

• LET START WITH MORE PICTURES

ILLUSTRATING

VISUAL PROCESSING

CONCLUSION:

THE SYSTEM PRODUCES

INTERPRETATION

WHICH IS MOST LIKELY

THAT IS CREATES STABLE

REPRESENTATION

ONE ANGLE OR

TWO

CHOPSTICKS ?

WE SEE HERE ILLUSORY CONTOURS OF OBJECTS VISUAL SYSTEM IS REALLY GOOD IN EXTRACTING THEM

JUNCTIONS ARE CRITICAL FOR OBJECTPERECPTION COMPARE LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES

• VISUAL SYSTEM ASSUMES THAT LIGHT

IS COMING FROM TOP

LIGHT DIRECTION

SAME PICTURE UPSIDE DOWN

• IN ALL FIGURES GREY ELEMENTS HAVE

THEY SAME INTENSITY

BUT PERCEIVED INTENSITY DEPENDS ON THESURROUNDING AREA. VISUAL SYSTEM IS THUSNOT AN OBJECTIVE LIGHT INTENSITY MEASURINGDEVICE

• WHERE IS THE LIGHT SOURCE?

• WE CAN ESTABLISH ITS POSITION FROM

SHADOWS OF OBJECTS

• OBJECTS CAN BE EASILY RECOGNIZED FROM MOTION OF DOTS IF THEY ARE MOUNTED ON THE OBJECT

  Four volunteers lived for an entire month in the strange reverse world we see while shaving or applying lipstick. Wearing special 'prism spectacles' designed to reverse their vision meant that to go left they had to turn right, and if they looked one way to catch a tennis ball, it would hit them on the back. It took three weeks of adaptation for correct answers.

 

BRAIN ADAPTATION TOREVERSED LEFT-RIGHTPICTURES

HERE WE HAVE EXAMPLE THAT THE SYSTEM ISALSO VERY ADAPTIVE

• VISUAL SYSTEM IS ONE IMPORANT

PART OF HUMAN INFORMATION PROCESSING BUT THERE ARE OTHERS:

- ACOUSTICAL SYSTEM

- HAPTIC +MOTORIC (TOUCH) WITH

VESTIBULAR (ORIENTATION IN SPACE)

- SMELL

- TASTE

• ACOUSTICAL SYSTEM HEARING + SOUND/SPEECH PRODUCTION: THIS IS MATCHED RECEIVER-TRANSMITTER SYSTEM

VESTIBULARSYSTEM

• COCHLEA – SOUND TRANSDUCER

SOUND PRESSURE IS CHANGED INTOFLUID PRESSURE

MODEL OF COHLEARTRANSDUCER

UT

OUTPUT IS MAXIMUM FOR CERTAIN FREQUENCYAT SOME POSITION ALONG THE TRANSDUCER

• HAIRS – CHANGE THE MECHANICAL

SIGNAL INTO ELECTRICAL

ACOUSTICAL SIGNALS – CAN BE ANALYZED IN

TIME AND FREQUENCY OR BOTH. AND BOTH

SYSTEMS SEEM TO BE PRESENT IN THE BRAIN

WE ARE ABLE TO DETECT PRECISELY FREQUENCY OF TONES

E.G. SINUSOIDS

AND POSITION OF SOUNDS IN TIME

E.G. CLICKS

IN THE ACOUSTICAL CORTEX THERE ARE TIME DETECTORS (PLACE) AND FREQUENCY DETECTORS. BOTH TYPE OF SYSTEMS OPERATE AT SOME FREQUENCY RANGES (TOP)

FILTERS ARE BROADLY TUNED

(BOTTOM)

• THE STRUCTURE OF HEARING SYSTEM

WE CAN SEE SEVERAL STAGES FOM COCHLEA TO

CORTEX

SUPERIOR OLIVARY NUCLEUS IS THE PLACE

WHERE SPATIAL SOUND

PROCESSING STARTS

MAPPING INTO FREQUENCY

AND SPACE LOCATIONS IS

PRESENT, LIKE IN VISION

IT WAS FOR LOCAL SIGNAL

FEATURES

WE HAVE DIFFERENT SENSITIVITIES FOR DIFFEERENT FREQUENCIES, HIGHEST IS IN THE MIDDLE RANGE

MUSIC FROM INSTRUMENTS CAN BE VERY EFFICIENTLY RECOGNIZED. THIS MUST BE BASED ON DETAILED FREQUENCY AND TIME ANALYSIS

LOCALIZATION OF SOUND SOURCESIN SPACE IS BASED ON MEASURINGDIFFERENCES IN TIME OF SOUND ARRIVALBETWEEN THE EARS. THIS MUST BE VERYPRECISE MEASUREMENT, ON THE ORDEROF TENS OF MICROSECONDS

SOUND LOCALIZATION IS QUITE PRECISE

BUT HEAD MOVEMENTS AND VISUAL

CUES HELP A LOT, ERRORS IN LOCATION

CAN BE SEEN IN PICTURES

MUSIC PROCESSING....

CERTAIN TONES HAVE HARMONY, THEY SOUND NICE TO US,OTHR TONES NOT. WE ARE PROBABLY BORN WITH A SYSTEMWHICH PROCESSES TONES AND THUS WE ARE PREDISPOSEDFOR CERTAIN SOUNDS WHICH ARE ”NATURAL” FOR US

• SPEECH PROCESSING SYSTEMA COMPLEX ELASTIC MECHANICAL SYSTEM CONTROLLED

ELECTRICALLY FOR REGULATION OF AIRFLOW

• BASIC UNITS OF SPEECH –PHONEMSUSING THESE UNITS SPEECH CAN BE GENERATED

HEARING AND SPEECH ARE PRECISLY MATCHED TO EACH OTHERSPEECH CAN BE RECOGNIZED EVEN AT HIGH LEVEL OF NOISEAND INTERFERENCE .EXAMPLE IS SO CALLED COCTAIL PARTY EFFECT: MANY PEOPLE ARETALKING AT THE SAME TIME BUT WE ARE ABLE TO CONCENTRATEON ONE SPEAKER.

• VESTIBULAR SYSTEMNOTE THAT THE WORLD WE SEE IS STABLE, WHILE

PICTURES ON RETINAS OF EYES ARE NOT. MOVEMENTS

ARE COMPENSATED BY SIGNALS FROM VESTIBULAR

SYSTEM (ORIENTATION IN SPACE)

EXAMPLE: WHEN PERSON IS ROTATING ON A PLATFORM INDARK ROOM, HORIZONTAL LINE WILL BE DEFLECTED

• TOUCH SYSTEM

IT HAS RECEPTORS IN THE BODY.

IN THE BRAIN THERE IS MAPPING OF

THE BODY IN THE CORTEX

• VIEW OF BASIC BRAIN STRUCTURES

• MAPPING OF BODY PARTS IN THE

SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX

• SKIN RECEPTORS OF TOUCH

(CAPSULES AT THE NERVE ENDINGS)

• TOUCH SENSITIVITY THRESHOLD

OVER THE BODY:

FEMALES MALES FEMALES ARE MORE SENSITIVE TO TOUCH

• PAIN SYSTEM

WHAT IS PAIN?IT IS SIGNALLING FROM THEBODY TO THE BRAIN ABOUTIMPROPER OPERATIONTHE BRAIN CHANGES ITS ACTIONTO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEMTHERE IS ALSO A SYSTEM FOR IHIBITING THE PAIN SIGNALS

• ACUPUNCTUREIT IS ACTIVATION OF TOUCHAND PAIN SYSTEM IN ORDERTO STIMULATE OTHER BRAIN STRUCTURES

PERHAPS IMMUNE SYSTEM ISSTIMULATED???

INTEGRATION OF SENSESIN BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

WE COULD CALL IT

”BIOLOGICAL MULTIMEDIA”

but this is ONLY A JOKE!

• PEOPLE HAVE FANTASTIC CAPABILITIES IN RECEIVING AND PRODUCING INFORMATION BY DIFFERENT SENSES AND SYSTEMS

FOR EXAMPLE THEY CAN SPEAK,

LISTEN AND DANCE AT THE SAME TIME

HOW SUCH THINGS ARE CONTROLLED

AND ORGANIZED IN THE BRAIN?

LET’S SEE FIRST SOME OF THE BRAIN CAPABILITIES (SOME OF THEM QUITE FUNNY TOO)

CROSSMODAL MATCHING

HERE THE PERSON MUST RECOGNIZE OBJECT VISUALLY,RECOGNIZE OBJECT BY TOUCH, COMPARE THEM AND MATCH

HOW THIS IS DONE? PROBABLY INFORMATION FROM DIFFERENT

SENSES IS STORED IN SOME GENERAL WAY, INEPENDENT FROM

PARTICULAR SENSE

SOME PEOPLE HAVE PECULIAR EXPERIENCE:

THEY FEEL E.G. SPECIFIC SHAPE WHEN FEEL

SPECIFIC TASTE

THIS IS CALLED SYNESTHESIA, ONE CAN SPECULATE THATSENSORY SIGNALS GET MIXED UP SOMWHERE

• VENTRILOQUISM - BY COORDINATING

MOVEMENTS OF A PUPPET WITH SPEECH,

VENTIRLOQUIST INDUCES STRONG ILLUSION

THAT THE PUPPET IS SPEAKING

• HOW THE COORDINATION IS DONE?

DEEP IN THE BRAIN THERE IS A STRUCTURE CALLED

SUPERIOR COLLICULUS

• IN THIS STRUCTURE THERE ARE NEURONS REACTING TO DIFFERENT SENSORY INFORMATION: THEY ARE MULTIMODAL

• STIMULATION OF DIFFERENT SENSORY AREAS OF CORTEX WILL PRODUCE

RESPONSE FROM Superior Colliculus NEURONS:

• THERE ARE MANY KINDS OF MULTIMODAL NEURONS: SOME RESPOND TO 2 DIFFERENT SENSES AND SOME TO 3

NEURON RECEIVING SIGNALS FROMTHREE SENSES

• THESE NEURONS HAVE CONNECTIONS FROM LAYERS OF SINGLE SENSORY NEURONS

• HERE WE SEE LAYER OF VISUAL

NEURONS FOR DIFFERENT ANIMALS

THEY FORM A MAP OF VISUAL SPACE

• HERE WE SEE LAYER OF AUDITORY

NEURONS THEY FORM A MAP OF AUDITORY SPACE

• THE DIFFERENT MAPS

ARE OVERLAID ON EACH

OTHER SO THEY MATCH!

• THESE NEURONS RESPOND TO OVERLAPPING AREAS FROM DIFFERENT SENSORY MAPS. THEY HAVE BROAD RESPONSE

RESPONSE PATTERNS FOR DIFFERENT

BODY AREAS

• CONTROL OF BODY MOVEMENTS

EAR POSITIONS

• REACTION OF VISUAL-ACOUSTICAL NEURON. REPONSE IS GREATLY ENHANCED FOR SIMULTANEOUS VISUAL-ACOUSTICAL STIMULATION

PLEASE NOTE THAT SIGNALS ARE SYNCHRONIZED I N TIME!

• RESPONSE OF VISUAL-TOUCH NEURON. RESPONSE IS ENHANCED

PLEASE NOTE THAT SIGNALS ARE SYNCHRONIZED I N TIME!

• TOUCH-VISUAL NEURON.

RESPONSE ENHANCED

PLEASE NOTE THAT SIGNALS ARE SYNCHRONIZED I N TIME!

• TRIMODAL NEURON- SENSITIVE TO 3 SENSES. RESPONSE TO TWO SENSES AT A TIME

• DEPRESSION OF RESPONSE WHEN

SIGNALS ARE NOT OPTIMALLY

SYNCHRONIZED

• RECEPTIVE FIELD OF NEURON

RESPONSE INCREASEDRESPONSEDEPRESSED

STRONGEST MULTISENSORYRESPONSE

• HOW RESPONSE DEPENDS ON THE POINT OF

STIMULATION

WE CAN SEESTRONG DEPRESSIONAND ENHANCEMENT

• RESPONSE FOR VISUAL-TOUCH NEURON

• RESPONSE FOR TOUCH-ACOUSTICAL NEURON

• VISUAL-ACOUSTICAL RESPONSE IN RELATION TO POSITION OF EARS

• WHAT HAPPENS IF STIMULATIONS ARE NOT SYNCHRONIZED?

ACOUSTICAL SIGNAL IS EARLIER

THAN TOUCH BY 400, 200, ... MS

TOUCH SIGNAL IS EARLIER

WE SEE CORRELATION OF RESPONSESWHICH IS QUITE BROAD WITH RESPECT TOTIME

• ACOUSTICAL SIGNAL IS EARLIER THAN VISUAL,

• VERY STRONG PEAK RESPONSE BETWEEN 50 AND 0 MS

• STIMULATION MUST BE SYNCHRONIZED

IN TIME AND IN SPATIAL POSITION

TO PROVIDE MAXIMUM RESPONSE

• WHY ALL THIS IS DONE? BECAUSEMUTISENSORY SIGNALS PROVIDE MORE PRECISE INFORMATION

HERE WE SEE EFFECT OF COMBINATION OF SENSES

THE DELAY OF 50 MS FOR OPTIMAL AUDIOVISUAL RESPONSE MIGHT BE COMING BECAUSEOF THE DEALAY IN SOUND PROPAGATION

IN 50 MS SOUND MAKESABOUT 20 M WHICH IS TYPICAL RANGE OF OPERATION IN BIOLOGY

• AND FINALLY LET’S LOOK INTO THE POWER

OF OBJECT RECOGNITION – WHAT IS THIS?

• AND THIS?

• AND THIS....?

If you still don’t seeanything and youlook at this fromPowerpoint, you cannow click on the loudspeaker for answer:

If you know the answerit becomes easy and automatic to interpretthis and previous pictures too

• SUMMARY OF HUMAN

INFORMATION PROCESSING• IT IS VERY COMPLEX SYSTEM, HARD TO

UNDERSTAND IN DETAILS• BASIC PROCESSING UNITS, NEURONS ARE

OFTEN BEHAVING IN STRANGE WAYS• WE OBSERVER STRUCTURES PERFORMING

SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS (E.G. VISUAL, HEARING)• THESE FUNCTIONS ARE BASED ON MANY

CLEVER ALGORITHMS

• HIGHER LEVEL FUNCTIONS ARE VERY

COMPLICATED BUT STILL PERFORMED

BY SPECIALIZED STRUCTURES• ALL STRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS ARE

PERFECTLY INTEGRATED• MAPPINGS OF BODY AND WORLD GIVE

RISE TO SELF AND CONSCIOUSNESS• IT SEEMS THE BRAIN IS SO COMPLEX

BECAUSE IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO SOLVE

THE PROBLEMS IN SIMPLER WAY.

WE COVERED UNTIL NOW HUAMAN INFORMATION PROCESSING RELATED TO SENSORY SYSTEMS, VISION MAINLY

BUT HUMAN INFORMATION PROCESSINGSYSTEM HAS OTHER ASPECTS WHICHARE QUITE AMAZING.

WE WILL OVERVIEW THEM SINCE THEYWILL BE RESEARCHED IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN THE XXI CENTURY

SUPPLEMENTARY NONMANDATORY MATERIALFOR THIS LECTURE

• SOME ADVANCED FEATURES OF HUMAN INFORMATION PROCESSING:

- MEMORY (BIG, CONTENT-BASED, CONTENT RETRIEVAL, ASSOCIATIONS)

- LEARNING (ADAPTATION HUGE CAPABILITIES, FORGETTING)

- INTELLIGENCE (CLEVER BEHAVIOR?) - THINKING (???)

- CONSCIOUSNESS (UNIQUE FEATURE, FEELING, EMOTIONS, SELF ???)

• SOME OF THESE FEATURES ARE BEYOND OUR UNDERSTANDING

- FOR EXAMPLE WHAT IS THINKING?

- HOW MEMORY WORKS?

- HARDEST OF ALL ARE QUESTIONS ABOUT: PERSONALITY, SELF AND CONSCIOUSNESS - UNTIL RECENTLY THERE WAS VERY LITTLE

WHICH COULD BE SAID ABOUT THEM

• THERE ARE QUESTIONS LIKE:- ARE ALL THESE PROPERTIES SOME KIND OF

INFORMATION PROCESSES?

- ARE THEY ALGORITHMIC PROCESSES? (CAN ALGOTITHMS BE PRODUCED FOR THEM?)

- ARE THEY BASED ON SOME UNKNOWN PRINICPLES ? MAYBE THEY ARE IMMATERIAL, SPIRITUAL OR QUANTUM PHYSICS?

- ARE THEY BEYOND OUR ABILITY TO

UNDERSTAND THEM? IS THERE MAGIC THERE?

- THESE QUESTIONS ARE VALID SINCE WE HAVE NO STRICT ANSWERS TO THEM.

• FOR EXAMPLE: HOW HUMAN MEMORY WORKS?

WHAT HAS BEEN LEARNED IS THAT THERE ARETWO TYPES OF MEMORY: SHORT-TERM ANDLONG-TERM AND MAYBE SPECIFIC MEMORIES FOR SPECIFIC TASKS

INVOLVED IN THESE PROCESSES ARE TEMPORAL LOBE AND HIPPOCAMPUS. REMOVING TEMPORAL LOBE LEADS TO INABILITY OF FORMING NEW LONG-TERM MEMORIES BUT OLD MEMORIS ARE KEPT. BUT SOME TYPES OF MEMORE, E.G. MOTOR SKILLS. CAN BE STILL LEARNED.

HERE WE SEE TEMPORAL LOBE AND HIPPOCAMPUS

TEMPORAL LOBE IS INVOLVED IN CONSCIOUS MEMORIESFORMATION

• UNCONSCIOUS MEMORIES (LIKE SIMPLE REACTIONS) FORM IN THE AREAS WHERE THEY ARE PERFORMED.

• HIPPOCAMPUS IS AREA WHERE MEMORIES STAY FOR WEEKS AND THEN ARE TRANSFERRED TO CORTEX

• IT IS THOUGHT THAT MEMORIES FORM

BY MODIFYING SYNAPTICAL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN NEURONS

• SYNAPSES ARE ’PLASTIC’ THEY CAN GROW AND MODIFY STRENGTH

• SHORT-TERM MEMORY IS WORKING MEMORY,

WHERE INFORMATION IS MANIPULATED.

THIS IS DONE IN PREFRONTAL CORTEX

DELAYED RESPONSE TASK: EYES ARE FIXED IN THE CENTER, TARGET APPEARS FOR A BRIEF MOMENT AND VANIHES. WHEN CENTER SPOT DISAPPEARS EYES TURN TO POSITIONWHERE THE TARGET WAS. THERE ARE NEURONS WHICH KEEP INFORMATION WHERE THE

TARGET WAS.

• IT IS ALSO KNOWN THAT SPECIALIZED AREAS OF MEMORY OR MEMORY FORMATION/RECALL

EXIST, E.G. FOR FACES, FOR PLACES, FOR OBJECTS.

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE FACE MEMORY DAMAGED, CAN NOT MEMORIZE AND RECOGNIZE FACES

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE FENOMENAL MEMORY FOR FACES AND OTHER THINGS

• SOME MECHANISM FOR ENCODING OF INFORMATION AND RETRIEVAL MUST EXIST

• ANOTHER EXAMPLE: LANGUAGE PROCESSING

NOTE AREAS INVOLVED IN DIFFERENT ASPECTSOF PROCESSING (VERBS,NOUNS,SENTENCES)

LANGUAGE AND OTHER FUNCTIONS: WORDSAND COLOR VISION

• AT OLDER AGE MEMORY, LEARNING BECOME IMPAIRED (LOSS OF NEURONS...?)

• LET’S NOW TAKE A ’SIMPLE’ ACT OF MOVING IN ENVIRONMENT. VISUAL SYSTEM MUST ESTABLISH LOCATION OF OBJECTS, NEXT A ROUTE MUST BE PLANNED TO AVOID THEM AND EXECUTED.

• THIS MUST BE ADAPTIVE PROCESS AS IT GOES ON ERRORS ARE CORRECTED AND OPTIMAL TRAJECTORY IS SELECTED

• MANY AREAS OF THE BRAIN MUST BE

ENGAGED IN THIS

THE MOST ADVANCED AND AMAZINGPROPERTIES OF THE BRAIN CONCERN - PERSONALITY (WHO WE ARE?)

- FEELINGS, EMOTIONS, MOODS, (INNER, PSYCHIC LIFE)

- THINKING, IMAGINATIONS, DREAMS

- CONSCIOUSNESS (WE ARE AWARE ABOUT OURSELVES)

• CONSCIOUSNESS IS THE MOST

AMAZING PROPERTY –

HOW WE CAN FEEL, BE AWARE OF

OURSELVES AND THE WORLD?

UNTIL RECENTLY THIS PROPERTY

WAS THOUGHT AS ”MAGIC” OR

MAYBE ’SPIRITUAL’ AND LITTLE

COULD BE SAID ABOUT ITS NATURE

• BUT PROGRESS IS BEING MADE IN THIS AREA TOO

- FIRST, WE HAVE TO NOTICE THAT AS HUMAN BEINGS WE ARE UNIQUE PERSONS WITH UNIQUE HISTORY AND BEHAVIOR, WE ARE ANCHORED IN REALITY OF THE WORLD AROUND US. FROM INFANCY WE RECEIVE INFORMATION FROM OUTSIDE WORLD AND WE BECOME PERSONS – UNITS WITH SPECIFIC

BACKGROUND AND HISTORY.

- WHERE AND HOW THE BRAIN IS MAKING THIS ALL?

• THERE IS A BOOK WHICH PRESENTS MAYBE COHERENT PROPOSAL FOR TREATING THESE MATTERS:

• THE BOOK IS AN OUTGROWTH OF NEUROLOGICAL STUDIES – BEHAVIOR OF

PEOPLE WITH DAMAGES IN THE BRAIN

THE CASE OF PHINEAS GAGE, XIX CENTURY RAILROAD WORKER GOT A DAMAGE OF FRONTAL PART OF THE BRAIN (NAIL STRUCK FROM THE BOTTOM). HE SURVIVED BUT HIS PERSONALITY CHANGED. HE WAS VERY WELL MANNERED AND TEMPERED BEFORE, HE BECAME CAPRICIOUS,USING OBSCENE WORDS, MAKING UNFULFILLED PLANS, DID NOT CAREABOUT OTHER PEOPLE, UNDISCIPLINED, NOT ABLE TO WORK

• SIMILAR CONDITIONS HAPPEN E.G. IN CASES OF BRAIN TUMORS IN FRONTAL BRAIN• ONE CAN CONCLUDE THAT IN THE FRONTAL AREAS OF THE BRAIN THERE ARE REGIONS TAKING PART IN INTELLIGENT BEHAVIOR, PLANNING LIFE, MAKING DECISIONS, INTERACTION WITH OTHER PEOPLE. • SO WE COULD SAY THAT (PROBABLY?) EVERY ASPECT OF OUR LIFE IS PROCESSED

SOMEWHERE IN THE BRAIN. PROCESSING MIGHT BE DONE BY SPECIAL ”HARDWARE” STRUCTURES WE ARE BORN WITH. THEY ARE

PROGRAMMED AND ADAPTED DURING LIFE. SOMETIMES THEY FAIL (BIZARRE BEHAVIOR?)

• TAKE THIS ILLUSTRATION

HERE ARE REGIONS OF THE BRAININVOLVED IN PROCESSING EMOTIONS

CONVINCED MURDER HAS LESSBRAIN ACITVITY IN THE FRONTALAREA THAN TYPICAL.PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS DOES NOTPROVE THAT ALL CRIMINALS HAVEBRAIN PROBLEMS, MAYBE SOME???

• SOME OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS OF BRAIN HIDDEN OPERATION:

IMPOSTOR PROBLEM – PATIENT DENIESTHAT A PERSON WHICH HE SEES IS HISMOTHER – THE PERSON JUST PRETENDS TO BEHIS MOTHER. WHEN SPEAKING ON THE PHONE WITH HER THERE IS NO SUCH EFFECTNEGLECT – PATIENT DENIES THAT E.G. HISHAND IS PARALYZED, IT IS OK.PATIENT SEEING HIS LEG IN THE BED TRIESTO THROW IT AWAY SINCE THIS IS NOT HISLEG

• TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION POWERFUL MAGNET INDUCES ELECTRIC

CURRENT PULSES INTO CERTAIN BRAIN

AREAS- STIMULATION OF CERTAIN BRAIN AREAS

(TEMPORAL LOBE) PRODUCES RELIGIOUS (!)

EXPERIENCES, E.G. ’GOD SPEAKS’, ’DIVINE LIGHTS

ILLUMINATES ALL THINGS’, ’ULTIMATE TRUTH

FEELING’. THIS IS ALSO KNOWN TO OCCUR IN

EPILEPSY

- STIMULATION OF OTHER PARTS MAY INDUCE

LIFE-LIKE MEMORIES, BEHAVIORS

• IT IS ALSO KNOWN THAT IN PSYCHIATRIC

DISEASES CERTAIN

BRAIN REGIONS ARE

SHRINKED OR HAVE

ABNORMAL ACTIVITY

LEVELS

HERE HIPPOCAMPUS IS SHRINKED IN SCHIZOPHRENIA CASE

NORMAL

• FROM THESE EVIDENCES WE CAN ACCEPT A WORKING HYPOTHESIS THAT EVERYTHING WE OBSERVE IS A RESULT OF PROCESSING BY CERTAIN BRAIN STRUCTURES.

• THE QUESTION IS HOW THESE STRUCTURES

OPERATE? THIS HAS TO BE VERY COMPLEX.

CERTAIN BEHAVIORS ARE PROGRAMMED

(ANIMALS) BUT THERE IS SIGNIFICANT

LEARNING AND ADAPTATION ABILITY.

• IT IS KNOWN THAT NEURAL NETWORKS ARE

VERY ’PLASTIC’ BUT ON THE OTHER HAND

SOME STRUCTURES CAN BE HARDWIRED.

• HOW ABOUT CONSCIOUSNESS THEN?

ACCORDING TO DAMASIO THEORY

CONSCIOUSNESS HAS ITS ROOTS IN

EMOTIONS.

WHAT IS EMOTION?

IT IS AN INTEGRATED REACTION

TO AN EVENT (SEE NEXT PAGE)

• CONSIDER THIS:

YOU WALK AND

SUDDENLY THERE

IS SOMETHING

UNEXPECTED,

AND DANGEROUS.

WHAT WILL

HAPPEN?

• THIS HAPPENS...

IMAGE IS PROCESSED AND OBJECTS

ACTIVATES AMYGDALA – AREA WHICH

GENERATES EMOTIONAL RESPONSE OF

FEAR!!!HEART RATE AND BLOOD PRESSUREUP,SWEATING,MUSCLES CONTRACT,

CERTAIN ACTIONPROGRAMS START

• SOME PEOPLE HAVE IMPAIRED EMOTION STRUCTURES: THEY HAVE NO OR LITTLE FEAR, FOR EXAMPLE VERY OUTGOING TO UNKNOWN PEOPLE, DOING DANGEROUS THINGS

OTHER PEOPLE FEAR VERY MUCH – PHOBIAS.

STRUCTURES INVOLVED IN EMOTION PROCESSINGARE OLD, LOW LEVEL, CONNECTED TO BASICLIFE REGULATION FUNCTIONS

• THE FEAR EMOTION IS VERY BASIC, PRIMITIVE, AUTOMATIC REACTION

• BUT WE HAVE ALSO FEELINGS OF EMOTIONS. THAT IS WE FEEL THE EMOTION

LIKE THERE WOULD BE AN INTERNAL ’COOL’ OBSERVER EVALUATING IT

THUS, FEELINGS ARE MENTAL IMAGES OF

EMOTIONAL STATE.

BUT THERE IS STILL HIGHER LEVEL ASPECT OF THIS SYSTEM:

WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE FEELINGS

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FEELINGS AND KNOWING TO HAVE FEELINGS MUST BE BECAUSE OF CONSCIOUSNESS, THAT IS KNOWING ITS OWN STATE.

HERE THERE IS DIFFICULTY OF CONSCIOUSNESS

CONSIDERED AS ”INFORMATION PROCESS”

• LET’S ILLUSTRATE KNOWING OWN STATE

HAPPINESS:

MOST PEOPLE HAVE MODERATE DEGREE OF HAPPINESSWHICH MIGHT BE ADAPTATION ADVANTAGE: TOO HAPPY OR NOT HAPPY = LITTLE MOTIVATION???

• CONSCIOUSNESS MUST BE PRESENT IF FEELINGS ARE TO INFLUENCE BEYOND

IMMEDIATE ACTIONS

• ON THE RIGHT ONE

CAN SEE LEVELS OF

LIFE REGULATION

CONSCIOUS LEVEL

IS WHERE FEELINGS

ARE KNOWN

• BUT WHAT IT MEANS TO ’KNOW FEELINGS’

WHO KNOWS? OR HOW THE BRAIN KNOWS?

THIS IS MULTILEVEL PROCESS:

IMAGINE GOING FROM SLEEP TO WAKEFULNESS

– SOME BASIC PROCESSES START THEN:

ATTENTION TOWARDS EXTERNAL

OBJECTS,BEHAVIORS, THIS IS

CORE CONSCIOUSNESS - AND NEXT, A MAGIC HAPPENS: WE START

FEELING SELF

• WHAT OR WHO IS THE SELF?

OR WHO WE ARE? WHO AM I?

WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED UNTIL NOW IS THAT

THE BRAIN HAS DETAILED MAPPINGS OF THE

BODY, AND STATE OF ITS PARTS. IT HAS ALSO

MAPPINGS OF EXTERNAL OBJECTS AND THE

WORLD.

IT HAS MAPPINGS OF CURRENT EMOTIONAL

STATE AND FEELINGS.

• BUT THE BRAIN MUST HAVE ALSO MAPPINGS OF ALL THINGS WHICH MAKE US UNIQUE PERSONS:

– HISTORY AND PLACES,

- NAME AND APPEARANCE,

- PEOPLE WE KNOW,

- FUNCTIONS WE DO,

- ROLES WE PLAY

LET US START FROM THE BOTTOM: OUR BODY

IS CONNECTED TO SELF THROUGH MAPPING OF

BODY PARTS AND THEIR OPERATION

• PROTO-SELF IS A COHERENTCOLLECTION OF NEURAL PATTERNS WHICH MAP, MOMENT BY MOMENT THE STATE OF PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF THE ORGANISM IN ITS MANY DIMENSIONS. THE

COLLECTION HAPPENS THROUGH ACTIVATION OF MANY DIFFERENT AREAS BRAIN STEM REGULATE BODY SIGNALS

AND MAP THEM HYPOTHALAMUS AND BASAL FOREBRAIN REGULATE E.G. GLUCOSE, HORMONE AND PH LEVEL INSULAR CORTEX AND MEDIAL PARIETAL CORTEX HAVE INTEGRATED STATE OF ALL BASIC FUNCTIONS AND CURRENT BODY POSITIONS

• WHAT IS CORE CONSCIOUSNESS?

CORE CONSCIOUSNESS OCCURS WHEN THE

BRAINS’ INTERNAL REPRESENTATION

DEVICES GENERATE NONVERBAL ACCOUNT

(MAPPING) OF HOW THE ORGANISMS’ OWN STATE

IS AFFECTED BY THE ORGANISM’S PROCESSING

OF OBJECTS AND WHEN THIS PROCESS ENHANCES

THE IMAGE OF CAUSATIVE OBJECT THUS

PLACING IT SALIENTLY IN A SPATIAL AND

TEMPORAL CONTEXT.

• SO, CORE CONSCIOUSNESS IS A MAPPING OF ORGANISM STATE CHANGES AS IT REPRESENTS OBJECTS

IN THIS PROCESS, THE BASIC FEELING OF SELF APPEARS THIS IS CORE SELF CORE SELF – FEELING AT THE

REREPRESENTATION OF THE PROTO-SELF IN THE PROCESS OF BEING MODIFIED WITHIN AN ACCOUNT WHICH ESTABLISHES THE CAUSE OF

MODIFICATION

WE HAVE MEMORY OF ALL OUR

AUTOBIOGRAPHY,

IT IS CONNECTED TO PROTO-SELF AND

CORE-SELF.

AUTOBIOGRAPHICALSELF

• CORE CONSCIOUSNESS: RE-REPRESENTATION OF

PROTO-SELF AND OBJECT AND CHANGING OF

PROTO-SLEF INTO PROTO-SELF MODIFIED BY

OBJECT

HERE WE SEE MAP OF OBJECT, MAP OF PROT-SELF

AND MAP OF PROTO-SELF MODIFIED

WHEN SECOND ORDER MAP IS CREATED, THE MAP OF OBJECT BECOMES ENHANCED

• WHERE THE SECOND ORDER MAP IS CREATED?

PROBABLY IN THOSE REGIONS WHICH RECEIVE INPUTS FROM MANY PARTS OF THE BRAIN

• THE PROTO-SELF AND SECOND-ORDER MAP STRUCTURES COMBINED

• EXTENDED CONSCIOUSNESS

IT RUNS ON AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL

(AUTOB) MEMORY . THUS IT WILL BE

•RE-REPRESENTATION OF

AUTOB-SELF AND OBJECT AND CHANGING OF

AUTOB-SLEF INTO AUTOB-SELF MODIFIED BY

OBJECT

BUT THIS MEANS THAT EXTENDED CONSCIOUSNESS WILL RUN OVER WHOLE LIFE MEMORIES, EVERYTHING, BECAUSE ACCESS TO MEMORY IS UNLIMITED,THE SECOND ORDER MAPPING WILL BE VERY COMPLEX

• BUT ON TOP OF EXTENDED

CONSCIOUSNESS

THERE IS ANOTHER

LEVEL OF

CONSCIENCE

IT IS

CONSCIOUNESS+

LANGUAGE+

CREATIVITY+

CIVILIZATION

WE SEE THE BRAID OF

THESE LEVELS

HERE

• CONSCIENCE IS A REAL MAGIC

ABOUT WHICH WE CAN NOT

SAY MUCH (E.G. HUMAN CREATIVITY)

• THE TECHNICAL PROBLEM IS:

IF ALL WHAT IS BRIAN DOING IS INFORMATION

PROCESSING DESCRIBED BY VERY COMPLEX ALGORITHMS, THEN WE MAY THINK THAT

SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE WE WILL FIND THOSE ALGORITHMS AND WILL IMPLEMENT

THEM IN MACHINES.

• SO WHY WE WERE TALKING ABOUT ALL THIS?

BECAUSE THESE TOPICS WILL BE LATER

IN THE XXI CENTURY INFORMATION

TECHNOLOGY TOPICS. WE ARE AT THE

MOMENT AT A PRIMITIVE LEVEL OF

BASIC MEDIA PROCESSING. BUT WE MAY GUESS

THATTHERE IS A LOT TO DO FOR NEXT 100

YEARS. WE ARE JUST BEGINNING TO

ENTER THIS AREA.