Assignment 4. Reading and Reviewing

Buzan, T & B (2006) The Mind Map Book, Division 1 - Chapter 1, BBC Active


I have chosen to review this book because it is all about the brain and some of the ways it can be used. This is relevant to my research for assignment 2 because the book offers me information on the inner workings of the brain. I think this would be a good start because i need to understand the concept of the brain and things it is used for just now, before i can move on to researching 'new' ways of using the brain. I am reffereing to my chosen topic in assignment 2 which consists of using the brain to control movements/objects without the use of hands.
The part of this book that i am looking at is based upon the discoveries of the human brain. What we know about the brain, reffering to scients etc, is only a tiny percentage of what is still to be discovered according to the author. (Buzan 2006:24) We do know enough however, to make changes and have veiws of ourselves and of others. Questions raised in this division by the author are;

What are the component parts of our brains?

How do we process information?

What are the brain's main functions?

How are the skill centres distributed through the brain?

How do we learn and what do we recall most easily?

Is the human brain fundamentally a pattern-making and pattern-seeking device?

What are the techniques used by those extraordinary yet normal people who have been able to remember so much more than their peers?

Why are so many people in despair over the capacity and function of their brains?

What is the natural and appropriate way to think?

What is the natural and appropriate expression of human thought?

The answers to these questions is the most important information and is the main purpose of the first division in the book. After reviewing the division, i believe that the first few questions are the most relevant and the answers are found within chapters one and two of the divsion. Chapter one is called 'The Amazing Brain',which gives detailed information concerning the foundations of the brain. An interesting fact that the author states is that, in each human brain there are an estimated one million, million (1 000 000 000 000) brain cells.(Buzan 2006:27)
Although the author has alot of interesting facts and information, the author does not state if the information is from his own research or from other sources. There is a bibliography that lists all the places that the author gathered information from, but it does not state what information is from these sources and its obviously at the back of the book. I think that it would have been more helpfull if the author stated what information he has used from other sources at the time he uses this information. Chapter 2 is called 'The Great Brains'. This chapter looks into the brains throughout history that are considered to be 'great'. The author conducted an experiment to see who people assume have 'great brains', and names such as Leonardo da Vinci, Picasso and Einstein were mentioned. The author has supporting evidence to show that these names have infact achieved their greatness by using more of their brain with a wider range of mental skills.(Buzan 2006:39)
Reading through this book has given me a better understanding of some of the mysterious ways in which the brain works. This information is a starting point into my research into the more complicated ways of using the brain. Information supporting this is a link that i have found demonstrating the brain being used more intensely with new technology. http://www.engadget.com/Toyato-mindcontrolledwheelchair


Chib, VS (2009) The Separate Neural Control of Hand Movements and Contact Forces,Journal of Neuroscience 29,


This jounal is based on the investigation of manipulating an object aroused by Two views that are up for disscusion; one view is that motions and contact forces are controlled by seperate neural processes and the second view is that motions and contact forces are controlled together with a single neural proccess.(Chib 2009:3939) The author, then designed a series of tasks to evaluate the investigation. Chib suggests that Studies of the motor system focus on the production of movements. Also, Chib suggests that motor contol and object manipulation are important to the exacution of movements and well regulated contact forces. This is demonstraited by the task of writing on a blackboard with a piece of chalk. While using the chalk to produce words, the right amount of contact force must be applied. This means that if the chalk is pressed to lightly then no trace of the chalk will be visable, and if too much preasure is released then the chalk will break.(Chib 2009:3939) So, Chib is pointing out that the correct motion control and contact force is used together to manipulate an object. The author used information about this theory from another source (Raibert and Craig, 1981; Mason, 1986; Spong et al., 1989). With that explanation of motions and contact forces, i understand the concept in which the author is investigating.
Chib explains that motions and forces are coupled together like muscles, but the author raises the key point that it is yet to be determinedwhether the brain controls these two subjects separately or together in a single neural control module. This is a crucial statistic as it is the basis of the experiments conducted by the author. Chib conducted an experiment using eight, right handed, adults of ages between 24-34 years old. The experiment consisted of three blocks; force block, motion block,and combined block. The subjects practiced each block for 60 trials. Experimental blocks consisted of training trials in which visual feedback was presented throughout movement and evaluation trials in which visual feedback was suppressed during movement. Trials with no visual feedback were used to evaluate performance before training, with no stimulation, to test the effect of (the delivery of transcranialmagnetic stimulation) TMS of left (posterior parietal cortex) PPC (to disrupt the control of hand motions), and to test control stimulation of right PPC.(Chib 2009:3940)
In a disscussion about the results of the experiments, The author implies that the results lead him to conclude that (1) the posterior parietalcortex (PPS) is critical for the neural control of hand motions but not for the regulation of interaction forces; (2) the nervous system uses a hybrid motion/force control strategy in tasks that involve mechanical contacts with the environment; and (3) practice of tasks involving contact forces and motions enhances the mutual independence of force and motion control.(Chib 2009:3945) Subjects learned to control the desired performance by using a correct combination of motion and force policies. This journal in my opinion gives a good investigation of object manipulation using the brain. It is not purely based on evidence as it is a process through experiments and tasks to achieve evidence. Each experiment was analysed and the author mentions various places he and the other authors of this journal retrieved information on helping them conduct thier experiments. (Talairach and Tournoux, 1998), (Chouinard et al., 2003; MacDonald and Paus, 2003), (Rushworth et al., 2001; Andersen and Buneo, 2002). They are a few of the resourses mentioned by the aurhor of where he gathered his information from. The evidence that was produced however, is new evidence and it shows that individual cortical circuits are important to the control of force and motion, both individually and in tasks that use concurrent control. (Chib 2009:3946)


CONNECTING INFORMATION



The article and the book that i reviewed,i found both sets of information helpful for my research. The article has experiments to investigate matters of the brain, showing full bodied diagrams, results, disscussions and conclusions. Evidence is clear which is helpfull in showing me that this information is reliable. The book, also shows experiments and detailed information regarding the human brain. A full bibliography is presented, however i would have found it more useful if the author stated which information is from which source. The article shows how reseach of the brain is on going and is developing which is a key concept within the book. The book describes how the brain is no where near completely understood and research will continue to try to understand the mechanism that has not yet been solved. The article and the book are perfectly supporting eachother because both texts are trying to understand the human brain and how the different areas can be used. They are also both trying to show an understanding of how only a small fraction of the brain is used today and carring out experiments to prove how these parts function. They are also using experiments to try and tap into other parts.
The artical focuses on how motions and forces work together within the brain. The division i viewed in the book focuses on how the brain works as a whole and what parts we use for different things. These texts emphasise eachothers points made and evidence that is retrieved. A clear link between these texts is that the author of the artical would firstly need to know the basic information about the brain to go on to further investigation of the brain. The book offers this information, so the book acts as a starting point in learning about the brain where as the artical is a further investigation and development. The artical is taking a small task that the brain carries out and then opening up this task to explore and investigate the details of how this task is carried out. This is a clear development of the book.

NEXT STEP


If i were to futher investigate this topic, i would need to search for more articals and books relating to brain metholodgy. I would need to go in to further depth of exploring the little details of the brain that i would need to understand more fully before moving on to the new technology of the brain being investigated today. Perhaps it would be helpfull to speak to a specialist in this area i.e a brain surgeon or scientist. With someone explaining these important facts to me rather than just reading about it, i think this would help me to understand the complexity.


BIBLIOGRAPHY



Buzan, T & B (2006) The Mind Map Book, Division 1 - Chapter 1, BBC Active

Chib, VS (2009) The Separate Neural Control of Hand Movements and Contact Forces,Journal of Neuroscience 29

Chouinard et al., 2003; MacDonald and Paus, 2003

Raibert and Craig, 1981; Mason, 1986; Spong et al., 1989

Rushworth et al., 2001; Andersen and Buneo, 2002

Talairach and Tournoux, 1998.

http://www.engadget.com/Toyato-mindcontrolledwheelchair