Neuropsychology

untitled Perception Since the rise of experimental psychology in the 19th Century, psychology's understanding of perception has progressed by combining a variety of techniques.[3] Psychophysics quantitatively describes the relationships between the physical qualities of the sensory input and perception.[5] Sensory neuroscience studies the brain mechanisms underlying perception. Perceptual systems can also be studied computationally, in terms of the information they process. Perceptual issues in philosophy include the extent to which sensory qualities such as sound, smell or color exist in objective reality rather than in the mind of the perceiver.[3] The perceptual systems of the brain enable individuals to see the world around them as stable, even though the sensory information is typically incomplete and rapidly varying. Human and animal brains are structured in a modular way, with different areas processing different kinds of sensory information. Process and terminology[edit] Perception and reality[edit]

Neurogenesis: How To Grow New Brain Cells Adults can still grow new brain cells — neurogenesis — but what are they for? For a long time scientists believed that neurogenesis was impossible: adults had all the brain cells they were ever going to have. Now we know that’s not true. In fact, we continue to grow new brain cells into adulthood. The race is on to find out what these brain cells are for and how we can grow more of them. A new review of the scientific literature, published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences, argues that the growth of new cells aids adaptation to the environment (Opendak & Gould, 2015). The authors focus on new cells growing in the hippocampus, an area of the brain linked to memory and learning. Maya Opendak, who co-authored the study, said: “New neurons may serve as a means to fine-tune the hippocampus to the predicted environment.In particular, seeking out rewarding experiences or avoiding stressful experiences may help each individual optimize his or her own brain.” Ms Opendak said:

Functional psychology Functional psychology or functionalism refers to a general psychological philosophy that considers mental life and behavior in terms of active adaptation to the person's environment.[1] As such, it provides the general basis for developing psychological theories not readily testable by controlled experiments and for applied psychology. History[edit] William James is considered to be the founder of functional psychology. Although he would not consider himself as a functionalist, nor did he truly like the way science divided itself into schools. Behaviorists also rejected the method of introspection but criticized functionalism because it was not based on controlled experiments and its theories provided little predictive ability. Contemporary descendants[edit] Evolutionary psychology is based on the idea that knowledge concerning the function of the psychological phenomena affecting human evolution is necessary for a complete understanding of the human psyche. See also[edit] References[edit]

5 common beliefs about the human brain that are actually totally false MYTH: HUMANS USE ONLY 10 PERCENT OF THEIR BRAIN FACT: The 10 percent myth (sometimes elevated to 20) is mere urban legend, one perpetrated by the plot of the 2011 movieLimitless, which pivoted around a wonder drug that endowed the protagonist with prodigious memory and analytical powers. In the classroom, teachers may entreat students to try harder, but doing so will not light up “unused” neural circuits; academic achievement does not improve by simply turning up a neural volume switch.MYTH: “LEFT BRAIN” and “RIGHT BRAIN” PEOPLE DIFFER FACT: The contention that we have a rational left brain and an intuitive, artistic right side is fable: humans use both hemispheres of the brain for all cognitive functions. The left brain/right brain notion originated from the realization that many (though not all) people process language more in the left hemisphere and spatial abilities and emotional expression more in the right.

Functionalism Functionalism may refer to: 30 Amazing Facts About Your Brain Get The New Ebook ’70 Amazing Facts About Your Brain’ now if you sign up for my newsletter you will get a PDF version of the book along with 3 other books on goal setting, motivational quotes and dealing with stress. If you’d like a copy of the Kindle version, that is only available through Amazon here and it’s priced at a very affordable $2.99 Useful Self Development Brain Stuff 1. 2. 3. So make sure you don’t think, “Why do I suck?” 4. That’s why even left-brained people can have times of the day when they are more creative and right-brained people can sometimes get their taxes in order. Note: If you want to know how you can tell which side is dominant at any one time, check out Creativity – Guaranteed and you can then plan your time accordingly. 5. 6. Some Numbers To Wrap Your Brain Around 7. 8. 9. That’s the number 10 followed up with 1 million zeroes, which is to all intents and purposes (for anybody not called Stephen Hawking or Rob Collins), an infinite amount of ways. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Structuralism In sociology, anthropology and linguistics, structuralism is the theory that elements of human culture must be understood in terms of their relationship to a larger, overarching system or structure. It works to uncover the structures that underlie all the things that humans do, think, perceive, and feel. Alternatively, as summarized by philosopher Simon Blackburn, structuralism is "the belief that phenomena of human life are not intelligible except through their interrelations. These relations constitute a structure, and behind local variations in the surface phenomena there are constant laws of abstract culture".[1] In the 1970s, structuralism was criticised for its rigidity and ahistoricism. Despite this, many of structuralism's proponents, such as Jacques Lacan, continue to assert an influence on continental philosophy and many of the fundamental assumptions of some of structuralism's post-structuralist critics are a continuation of structuralism.[3] Overview[edit] See also[edit]

20 Amazing Facts About Your Brain The human brain is amazing and the more I read about it the more fascinated I become with not only it’s limitations, but also it’s immense power. Since I originally wrote the post 30 Amazing Facts About Your Brain I have been on the look out for more amazing tidbits. Here are another 20 for you to wrap your head round, but don’t make the mistake of thinking they don’t apply to you, because they do. 1. Your neocortex (the weird looking bit on the outside of your brain) is only about as thick as a dinner napkin and is made up of 6 layers. However, if you were to pull yours out and stretch out all the folds it would be over 3 feet square. Meet My Wife, Mrs Brownson-Brownson 2. Your brain just loves continuity and it loves familiarity, so even though you may consciously think your partners name had zero to do with you falling in love and it was really their perfectly formed personality, you’d be wrong. 3. Mmmm, Chocolate Cake 4. 5. 6. 7. And The Winner is…….Roland The Rat 8. 9. Read This Blog More

Humanism In modern times, humanist movements are typically aligned with secularism, and today "Humanism" typically refers to a non-theistic life stance centred on human agency, and looking to science instead of religious dogma in order to understand the world.[2] Background The word "Humanism" is ultimately derived from the Latin concept humanitas, and, like most other words ending in -ism, entered English in the nineteenth century. However, historians agree that the concept predates the label invented to describe it, encompassing the various meanings ascribed to humanitas, which included both benevolence toward one's fellow humans and the values imparted by bonae litterae or humane learning (literally "good letters"). In the second century A.D, a Latin grammarian, Aulus Gellius (c. 125– c. 180), complained: Gellius says that in his day humanitas is commonly used as a synonym for philanthropy – or kindness and benevolence toward one's fellow human being. History Predecessors Asia Ancient Greece Types

Force of habit: Stress hormones switch off areas of the brain for goal-directed behaviour Cognition psychologists at the Ruhr-Universität together with colleagues from the University Hospital Bergmannsheil (Prof. Dr. Martin Tegenthoff) have discovered why stressed persons are more likely to lapse back into habits than to behave goal-directed. The team of PD Dr. Lars Schwabe and Prof. Dr. Two stress hormones in use In order to test the different stress hormones, the cognition psychologists used three substances – a placebo, the stress hormone hydrocortisone and yohimbine, which ensures that the stress hormone noradrenaline stays active longer. Goal-directed behaviour and habits investigated in the experiment In the experiment, all participants – both male and female – learned that they would receive cocoa or orange juice as a reward if they chose certain symbols on the computer. Combined effect of yohimbine and hydrocortisone As expected, volunteers who took yohimbine and hydrocortisone did not behave goal-directed but according to habit.

Behaviorism Behaviorism (or behaviourism), is the science of behavior that focuses on observable behavior only,[1] it is also an approach to psychology that combines elements of philosophy, methodology, and theory.[2] It emerged in the early twentieth century as a reaction to "mentalistic" psychology, which often had difficulty making predictions that could be tested using rigorous experimental methods. The primary tenet of behaviorism, as expressed in the writings of John B. Watson, B. F. Skinner, and others, is that psychology should concern itself with the observable behavior of people and animals, not with unobservable events that take place in their minds.[3] The behaviorist school of thought maintains that behaviors as such can be described scientifically without recourse either to internal physiological events or to hypothetical constructs such as thoughts and beliefs.[4] Versions[edit] Two subtypes are: Definition[edit] Experimental and conceptual innovations[edit] Relation to language[edit]

Right Brain, Left Brain? Scientists Debunk Popular Theory Maybe you're "right-brained": creative, artistic, an open-minded thinker who perceives things in subjective terms. Or perhaps you're more of a "left-brained" person, where you're analytical, good at tasks that require attention to detail, and more logically minded. It turns out, though, that this idea of "brained-ness" might be more of a figure of speech than anything, as researchers have found that these personality traits may not have anything to do with which side of the brain you use more. Researchers from the University of Utah found with brain imaging that people don't use the right sides of their brains any more than the left sides of their brains, or vice versa. "It's absolutely true that some brain functions occur in one or the other side of the brain. Anderson and his colleagues, who published their new study in the journal PLOS ONE, looked at brain scans from 1,011 people between ages 7 and 29.

The Birth of Behavioral Psychology - Author: Dave Grossman "Behavioral Psychology" The Birth of Behavioral Psychology Around the turn of the century, Edward Thorndike attempted to develop an objective experimental method for testing the mechanical problem solving ability of cats and dogs. Thorndike devised a number of wooden crates which required various combinations of latches, levers, strings, and treadles to open them. A dog or a cat would be put in one of these puzzle boxes and, sooner or later, would manage to escape. Thorndike's initial aim was to show that the anecdotal achievement of cats and dogs could be replicated in controlled, standardized circumstances. Thorndike was particularly interested in discovering whether his animals could learn their tasks through imitation or observation. John Broadhus Watson in his 1914 book, Behavior: An Introduction to Comparative Psychology, made the next major step in the development of behavioral psychology. In the 1920s behaviorism began to wane in popularity. © 1999 by Academic Press.