Brain Science

From IAE-Pedia

Contents 1 Brief Summary 2 History 3 A Variety of Interesting and Important Topics 3.1 Addiction 3.2 Artificial Intelligence 3.3 Brain Growth Spurts and Cognitive Development 3.4 Cognitive-Enhancing Drugs 3.5 Computer Modeling of a Brain 3.6 Consciousness 3.7 Flynn Effect 3.8 Games to Enhance Brain Functioning 3.9 Innate Math Skills 3.10 Intelligence 3.11 Lead 3.12 Mathematician's Mind 3.13 Michael Merzenich 3.14 Mirror Neurons 3.15 Poverty 3.16 Reading and the Brain 3.17 Sex Differences 3.18 Short Term Memory and Web Design 3.19 Two Hemispheres 4 Some Video Resources 5 References 6 Links to Other IAE Resources 6.1 IAE Blog 6.2 IAE Newsletter 6.3 IAE-pedia (IAE's Wiki) 6.4 I-A-E Books and Miscellaneous Other 7 Author or Authors

Brief Summary

Brain science has a quite long history. However, it is only in recent years that technology has been developed to look into a brain and see some of its activity. With the use of computerized scanning devices and computer analysis of the data obtained, the field of brain science is expanding quite rapidly. It may well be that the totality of knowledge in this area is doubling every five years.

Increased understanding of brain functioning is quite important in education. A superb example is provided by the research and development in dyslexia. This is a relatively common reading disorder. Appropriate interventions actually "rewire" the brain.

The Charlie Rose brain series of videos provides an excellent starting point. Also see Hearning Through Chao, retrieved 2/12/2013 from http://www.the-scientist.com//?articles.view/articleNo/34480/title/Hearing-Through-the-Chaos/.

History

Brain "science" has a long history. For example, phrenology was once considered by many to be an important approach to studying the brain. Quoting from the reference:

Phrenology was a faculty psychology, theory of brain and science of character reading, what the 19th-century phrenologists called "the only true science of mind." Phrenology was derived from the theories of the idiosyncratic Viennese physician Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828).

… so it was believed that by examining the shape and unevenness of a head or skull, one could discover the development of the particular cerebral "organs" responsible for different intellectual aptitudes and character traits. For example, a prominent protuberance in the forehead at the position attributed to the organ of Benevolence was meant to indicate that the individual had a "well developed" organ of Benevolence and would therefore be expected to exhibit benevolent behaviour.

Brain science took a major leap forward through the work of Alfred Binet and others in the early 1900s. Quoting from the reference:

Intelligence testing began in earnest in France, when in 1904 psychologist Alfred Binet was commissioned by the French government to find a method to differentiate between children who were intellectually normal and those who were inferior. The purpose was to put the latter into special schools. There they would receive more individual attention and the disruption they caused in the education of intellectually normal children could be avoided.

This led to the development of the Binet Scale, also known as the Simon-Binet Scale in recognition of Theophile Simon's assistance in its development. The test had children do tasks such as follow commands, copy patterns, name objects, and put things in order or arrange them properly. Binet gave the test to Paris schoolchildren and created a standard based on his data. For example, if 70 percent of 8-year-olds could pass a particular test, then success on the test represented the 8-year-old level of intelligence. Following Binet’s work, the phrase “intelligence quotient,” or “IQ,” entered the vocabulary. The IQ is the ratio of “mental age” to chronological age, with 100 being average. So, an 8 year old who passes the 10-year-old’s test would have an IQ of 10/8 x 100, or 125.

Now, a hundred years later, various theories of IQ and measures of IQ are still active areas of study and research. However, non invasive brain scanning (neuroimaging) equipment has come onto the scene and has added very important new dimensions to the field of brain science. Quoting from the above reference:

Neuroimaging falls into two broad categories:

• Structural imaging, which deals with the structure of the brain and the diagnosis of gross (large scale) intracranial disease (such as tumor), and injury, and
• functional imaging, which is used to diagnose metabolic diseases and lesions on a finer scale (such as Alzheimer's disease) and also for neurological and cognitive psychology research and building brain-computer interfaces.

Functional imaging enables, for example, the processing of information by centers in the brain to be visualized directly. Such processing causes the involved area of the brain to increase metabolism and "light up" on the scan.

A Variety of Interesting and Important Topics

Here are some brief introductions to a variety of important education-related brain science topics.

Addiction

Brain Science research is contributing to our understanding of addiction. What is being learned applies to addiction to various drugs, but also provides insight into addiction to gambling and various other types of games and entertainment. A short video available at http://blog.the-scientist.com/2010/11/11/just-cant-get-enough/ provides a quick overview of work being done by David Nutt. Quoting from the Website:

Professor David Nutt was famously sacked from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs by the UK’s Labour Government at the time, apparently for being rational about scientific evidence. He now chairs the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs, and is head of the Department of Neuropsychopharmacology and Molecular Imaging, Imperial College London. He is also a Section Head of Substance Abuse in our Psychiatry Faculty.

His recent work in the Lancet discusses a rational approach to measuring drug harm, concluding that current UK policy is not based on considerations of harm—especially when alcohol is considered.

Artificial Intelligence

The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do. (B. F. Skinner; American psychologist; March 20, 1904–August 18, 1990.)

The discipline of artificial intelligence (AI) focuses on developing computer systems that can solve problems and accomplish tasks which—if done by humans—would be considered evidence of intelligence. In many different relatively restricted areas, AI now surpasses human intelligence. An often referenced example goes back to 1997 when a computer system beat the reigning human world chess champion.

Historically, there were two common approaches to the development of artificially intelligent computer systems. One approach was to attempt to model the human brain's approaches to solving problems and accomplishing tasks. The other was to make use of the "brute force" capabilities of computers by any means possible. For example, if a particular problem could be solved by examining a hundred million possible solutions, this brute force approach became feasible as computers became faster and faster.

While both approaches are still being used, the idea of human and computer "brains" working together has gained prominence. A simple example is illustrated by search engines used to search the Web. A human and a computer system combine their capabilities in an attempt to find information that meets the needs of the human.

We have already reached the stage in which computerized implants into humans is relatively common. Examples include pacemakers, cochlear implants, and brain implants used for a variety of purposes. Research on implants to increase intelligence is now at the level of experimenting with rats.

Brain Growth Spurts and Cognitive Development

Brain science has been a relatively hot topic in education for more than 20 years. For example, The ASCD published a pair of articles on this topic in the February 1984 issue of Educational Leadership. These articles focused on brain growth spurts and argued that these growth spurts were times that were extra conducive to learning.

These arguments have continued over the years. Kurt Fischer is a world class educator and brain scientist in the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He discusses brain growth spurts in three short videos available at http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/learning/video-learn002b-uk_kf_growthcyc.html. Quoting from the first of these videos:

"Hi, I'm Kurt Fischer. I study cognitive development and learning, and how they connect to brain development. In research over the years, we came up with a remarkable surprise, which is a discovery of a close connection between the growth cycles of cognition, how we develop new capacities, and the growth cycles of brain activity. I'm going to tell you about that today.

So in cognitive development, there's a series of capacities that emerge during the childhood and adolescent years. And these changes, these emerging capacities can be seen very simply when you look at the best performance that children show. You look at how they solve problems or how they learn in situations where they're given support by a good teacher, by a parent, by a good textbook, helping them to do their best in the task or problem.

Charlie Rose Brain Series (10/29/2009 … 2010). See http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10694?sponsor_id=1. This is the first of a series of five hour-length videos. Quoting from the Website of the first episode:

Charlie Rose Brain Series Episode One. Tonight’s introductory topic: The Great Mysteries of the Human Brain: consciousness, free will, perception, cognition, emotion and memory with a roundtable of brain researchers. Co-Host Eric Kandel from Columbia University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Cornelia Bargmann from Rockefeller University, Tony Movshon from New York University, John Searle from University of California Berkeley and Gerald Fischbach of the Simons Foundation.

Cognitive-Enhancing Drugs

Caffeine is an example of a widely used cognitive-enhancing drug. The following article summarizes some important ideas about the growing availability and use of a variety of cognitive-enhancing drugs.

Kaplan, Karen and Gellene, Denise (12/20/07). Brain boosters: the mental edge? The Seattle Times. retrieved 12/20/07: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2004083846_brain20.html.

Quoting from the article:

The medicine cabinet of so-called cognitive enhancers also includes Ritalin, commonly given to children for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and beta blockers, such as the heart drug Inderal. Researchers have been investigating the drug Aricept, which is normally used to slow the decline of Alzheimer's patients.

They are all just precursors to the blockbuster drug that labs are racing to develop. "Whatever company comes out with the first memory pill is going to put Viagra to shame," said University of Pennsylvania bioethicist Paul Root Wolpe.

The use of cognitive-enhancing drugs has been well-documented among high-school and college students. A 2005 survey of more than 10,000 college students found 4 percent to 7 percent of them tried ADHD drugs at least once to remain focused on exams or pull all-nighters. At some colleges, more than one-quarter of students surveyed said they had sampled the pills.

Computer Modeling of a Brain

Witchalls, Clint (12/20/07). Lab comes one step closer to building artificial human brain. Guardian. retrieved 12/21/07: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/dec/20/research.it.

Quoting from the article:

In a laboratory in Switzerland, a group of neuroscientists is developing a mammalian brain - in silicon. The researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), in collaboration with IBM, have just completed the first phase of an ambitious project to reproduce a fully functioning brain on a supercomputer.

…

Modeling seems to be the way forward for neuroscience. Each year, there are about 35,000 neuroscience papers published - and the number of papers being published is increasing at a rate of between 20% and 30% a year. Most neuroscientists only get to read about 100 of these papers a year, if they're lucky. Pouring all of this knowledge into Blue Brain seems an obvious way to use and preserve it.

The second paragraph quoted above represents a key idea in all areas of human knowledge in which there is an accumulation, with new knowledge building on and depending on previous knowledge. The number of researchers and the amount of research in various frontiers of science and technology far exceeds the ability of a person to keep up. However, some of this knowledge can be "captured" in the form of computer systems that make use of the knowledge. In that sense, a person can build upon the knowledge without having to learn it in detail.

KurzweilAI.et (7/28/2010). IBM scientists create most comprehensive map of the brain's network. Retrieved 8/2/2010 from, http://www.kurzweilai.net/ibm-scientists-create-most-comprehensive-map-of-the-brains-network. Quoting from the article:

The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published Tuesday a landmark paper entitled “Network architecture of the long-distance pathways in the macaque brain” (an open-access paper) by Dharmendra S. Modha (IBM Almaden) and Raghavendra Singh (IBM Research-India) with major implications for reverse-engineering the brain and developing a network of cognitive-computing chips.

“We have successfully uncovered and mapped the most comprehensive long-distance network of the Macaque monkey brain, which is essential for understanding the brain’s behavior, complexity, dynamics and computation,” Dr. Modha says. “We can now gain unprecedented insight into how information travels and is processed across the brain.

“We have collated a comprehensive, consistent, concise, coherent, and colossal network spanning the entire brain and grounded in anatomical tracing studies that is a stepping stone to both fundamental and applied research in neuroscience and cognitive computing.”

The scientists focused on the long-distance network of 383 brain regions and 6,602 long-distance brain connections that travel through the brain’s white matter, which are like the “interstate highways” between far-flung brain regions, he explained, while short-distance gray matter connections (based on neurons) constitute “local roads” within a brain region and its sub-structures.

Their research builds upon a publicly available database called Collation of Connectivity data on the Macaque brain (CoCoMac), which compiles anatomical tracing data from over 400 scientific reports from neuroanatomists published over the last half-century.

Consciousness

What is consciousness? What might it mean to say that we understand what consciousness is and what makes/creates consciousness.

If such questions interest you, then you may enjoy the following article by Steven Pinker:

Pinker, Steven ( 1/19/2007). The Mystery of Consciousness. Retrieved 3/10/09: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1580394,00.html.

Quoting from the article:

It shouldn't be surprising that research on consciousness is alternately exhilarating and disturbing. No other topic is like it. As René Descartes noted, our own consciousness is the most indubitable thing there is. The major religions locate it in a soul that survives the body's death to receive its just deserts or to meld into a global mind. For each of us, consciousness is life itself, the reason Woody Allen said, "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it by not dying." And the conviction that other people can suffer and flourish as each of us does is the essence of empathy and the foundation of morality.

…

The Easy Problem, then, is to distinguish conscious from unconscious mental computation, identify its correlates in the brain and explain why it evolved.

Substantial progress is occurring in this area.

…

The Hard Problem is explaining how subjective experience arises from neural computation. The problem is hard because no one knows what a solution might look like or even whether it is a genuine scientific problem in the first place. And not surprisingly, everyone agrees that the hard problem (if it is a problem) remains a mystery.

Flynn Effect

Gladwell, Malcolm (12/17/07). None of the Above: What I.Q. doesn't tell you about race. The New Yorker. Retrieved 12/19/07: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2007/12/17/071217crbo_books_gladwell.

This article provides an extensive review of a new book by James Flynn that discusses the increase in IQ that has been going on in recent decades, throughout the world. The book and the review also discusses assertions about differences of IQ of various races.

Quoting from the review:

Flynn has been writing about the implications of his findings—now known as the Flynn effect—for almost twenty-five years. His books consist of a series of plainly stated statistical observations, in support of deceptively modest conclusions, and the evidence in support of his original observation is now so overwhelming that the Flynn effect has moved from theory to fact. What remains uncertain is how to make sense of the Flynn effect. If an American born in the nineteen-thirties has an I.Q. of 100, the Flynn effect says that his children will have I.Q.s of 108, and his grandchildren I.Q.s of close to 120—more than a standard deviation higher. If we work in the opposite direction, the typical teen-ager of today, with an I.Q. of 100, would have had grandparents with average I.Q.s of 82—seemingly below the threshold necessary to graduate from high school. And, if we go back even farther, the Flynn effect puts the average I.Q.s of the schoolchildren of 1900 at around 70, which is to suggest, bizarrely, that a century ago the United States was populated largely by people who today would be considered mentally retarded.

In brief summary, Flynn argues that:

1. The increase in IQ is due to better informal and formal education in areas of abstract ideas, abstract reasoning, and use of metaphors.
2. The so called "findings" about racial differences in IQ are not supported by the data on which these findings have been based.

Games to Enhance Brain Functioning

In recent years, there has been some useful work both in developing drugs that help enhance brain functioning and in developing computer-based games and other activities designed to help the brain functioning of older people. For some free examples of such games, see http://www.lumosity.com/. Michael Merzenich is one of the leading researchers in this area.

The Chronicle of Higher Education 9/16/2010 retrieved 9/23/2010 from http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Can-the-Wii-Make-Your-Brain/26979/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en is an interesting short article titled Can the Wii Make Your Brain Bigger.

The article reports on a study in with adults ages 50 to 70 spent 20 hours over a period of a month playing a game. Quoting from the article:

The game "Big Brain Academy" for the Nintendo Wii tests your abilities in five areas: "memory, analysis, number crunching, visual recognition, and quick thinking." According to its promotional material, it allows you to "have fun learning from the comfort of your couch." …

First, the bad news: playing the Wii game didn't improve their cognitive and perceptual abilities, according to the tests. On the upside, the subjects did get better at playing "Big Brain Academy." Those Wii skills, however, don't seem to transfer to the non-Wii world.

An abstract of the research paper is available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20822257.

Innate Math Skills

Cantlon JF, Brannon EM (2007) Basic Math in Monkeys and College Students. PLoS Biol 5(12): e328 doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050328. Retrieved 12/19/07: http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0050328.

Quoting from the document:

Adult humans possess a sophisticated repertoire of mathematical faculties. Many of these capacities are rooted in symbolic language and are therefore unlikely to be shared with nonhuman animals. However, a subset of these skills is shared with other animals, and this set is considered a cognitive vestige of our common evolutionary history. Current evidence indicates that humans and nonhuman animals share a core set of abilities for representing and comparing approximate numerosities nonverbally; however, it remains unclear whether nonhuman animals can perform approximate mental arithmetic. Here we show that monkeys can mentally add the numerical values of two sets of objects and choose a visual array that roughly corresponds to the arithmetic sum of these two sets. Furthermore, monkeys' performance during these calculations adheres to the same pattern as humans tested on the same nonverbal addition task. Our data demonstrate that nonverbal arithmetic is not unique to humans but is instead part of an evolutionarily primitive system for mathematical thinking shared by monkeys.

…

The fact that humans and nonhuman animals represent numerical values nonverbally using a common cognitive process is well established [1–7]. Both human and nonhuman animals can nonverbally estimate the numerical values of arrays of dots or sequences of tones [8–12] and determine which of two sets is numerically larger or smaller [13–19]. When adult humans and nonhuman animals make approximate numerical comparisons, their performance is similarly constrained by the ratio between numerical values (i.e., Weber's law; [7]). Thus, discrete symbols such as number words and Arabic numerals are not the only route to numerical concepts; both human and nonhuman animals can represent number approximately, in a nonverbal code.

Intelligence

“Did you mean to say that one man may acquire a thing easily, another with difficulty; a little learning will lead the one to discover a great deal; whereas the other, after much study and application, no sooner learns than he forgets?” (Plato, 4th century B.C.)

The quote from Plato provides evidence that people have been interested in the topic of intelligence for well over 2,000 years. In more modern times, Charles Spearman argued in a 1904 research paper that there is a general intelligence factor (named "g"), and his theory still is strongly supported. Quoting Spearman:

When asked what G is, one has to distinguish between the meanings of terms and the facts about things. G means a particular quantity derived from statistical operations. Under certain conditions the score of a person at a mental test can be divided into two factors, one of which is always the same in all tests, whereas the other varies from one test to another; the former is called the general factor or G, while the other is called the specific factor. This then is what the G term means, a score-factor and nothing more. … G is in the normal course of events determined innately; a person can no more be trained to have it in higher degree than he can be trained to be taller.

At approximately the same time, Alfred Benet, a French psychologist, began working on the development of an IQ test. Quoting from the referenced article:

In 1904 a French professional group for child psychology, La Société Libre pour l'Etude Psychologique de l'Enfant, was called upon by the French government to appoint a commission on the education of retarded children. The commission was asked to create a mechanism for identifying students in need of alternative education. Binet, being an active member of this group, found the impetus for the development of his mental scale.

Binet and Simon, in creating what historically is known as the Binet-Simon Scale, comprised a variety of tasks they thought were representative of typical children's abilities at various ages. This task-selection process was based on their many years of observing children in natural settings. They then tested their measurement on a sample of fifty children, ten children per five age groups. The children selected for their study were identified by their school teachers as being average for their age. The purpose of this scale of normal functioning, which would later be revised twice using more stringent standards, was to compare children's mental abilities relative to those of their normal peers.

Howard Gardner, David Perkins, and Robert Sternberg are current researchers who have written widely sold books about intelligence. Of these three, Howard Gardner is probably best known by K-12 educators. His theory of Multiple Intelligences has proven quite popular with such educators.

Sternberg divides intelligence into analytical, creative, and practical components. The link is to a short video in which Sternberg gives his definition of intelligence.

There are many researchers who have contributed to the extensive and continually growing collection of research papers on intelligence. See, for example, "Current issues in research on intelligence."

The following definition of intelligence is a composite from various authors, especially Gardner, Perkins, and Sternberg. Intelligence is a combination of the abilities to:

1. Learn. This includes all kinds of informal and formal learning via any combination of experience, education, and training.
2. Pose problems. This includes recognizing problem situations and transforming them into more clearly defined problems.
3. Solve problems. This includes solving problems, accomplishing tasks, and fashioning products.

There is a near universal agreement among researchers that some aspects of our intellectual abilities depend heavily on our experiential histories, and some aspects depend on our genetic makeup. Thus, a person’s cognitive abilities are a combination of nature and nurture. People who study this area talk about fluid intelligence—gf, which is biologically based—and gC, crystallized intelligence (based on acquired knowledge).

From a teacher’s point of view, it is important to understand that a person’s life experiences—which include formal and informal education—contribute to the person’s crystallized intelligence. Education is very important!

Lead

Toppo, Greg (2/3/09). Study links children's lead levels, SAT scores. USA Today. Retrieved 2/3/09: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-02-02-lead-SAT_N.htm.

Quoting from the article:

Could a decades-long drop in the concentration of lead in children's blood help explain rising SAT scores?

A Virginia economist who pored over years of national data says there's an "incredibly strong" correlation, which adds to a growing body of research on lead's harmful effects.

The findings, to be published this winter in the journal Environmental Research, suggest that from 1953 to 2003, the fall and rise of the average SAT math and verbal score has tracked the rise and fall of blood lead levels so closely that half of the change in scores over 50 years, and possibly more, probably is the result of lead, says economist Rick Nevin.

He controlled for rising numbers of students taking SAT prep courses and for rising numbers of students who speak a foreign language at home — that would depress verbal scores.

Nevin estimates that lead explains 45% of the historic variation in verbal scores and 65% in math scores.

Mathematician's Mind

Logical/mathematical is one of the eight intelligence areas in Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences. The mathematician Jacque Hadamard is well known both for his research results in mathematics and for a 1945 book,The psychology of invention in the mathematical field. Quoting from this book:

Concerning the title of this study, two remarks are useful. We speak of invention: it would be more correct to speak of discovery. The distinction between these two words is well known: discovery concerns a phenomenon, a law, a being which already existed, but had not been perceived. Columbus discovered America: it existed before him; on the contrary, Franklin invented the lightning rod: before him there had never been any lightning rod.

Such a distinction has proved less evident than appears at first glance. Toricelli has observed that when one inverts a closed tube on the mercury trough, the mercury ascends to a certain determinate height: this is a discovery; but, in doing this, he has invented the barometer; and there are plenty of examples of scientific results which are just as much discoveries as inventions. Franklin's invention of the lightning rod is hardly different from his discovery of the electric nature of thunder. This is a reason why the aforesaid distinction does not truly concern us; and, as a matter of fact, psychological conditions are quite the same for both cases.

On the other hand, our title is "Psychology of Invention in the Mathematical Field," and not "Psychology of Mathematical Invention." It may be useful to keep in mind that mathematical invention is but a case of invention in general, a process which can take place in several domains, whether it be in science, literature, in art or also technology.

Modern philosophers even say more. They have perceived that intelligence is perpetual and constant invention, that life is perpetual invention. As Ribot says, "Invention in Fine Arts or Sciences is but a special case. In practical life, in mechanical, military, industrial, commercial inventions, in, religious, social, political institutions, the human mind has spent and used as much imagination as anywhere else"; …

Peter Liljedahl's 2004 paper Mathematical Discovery: Hadamard Resurrected presents a more recent analysis of Hadamard's ideas. Quoting from the article:

Hadamard's treatment of the subject of invention at the crossroads of mathematics and psychology was an entertaining, and sometimes humorous, look at the eccentric nature of mathematicians and their ritualistic practices. His work is an extensive exploration and extended argument for the existence of unconscious mental processes. To summarize, Hadamard took the ideas that Poincaré had posed and, borrowing a conceptual framework for the characterization of the creative process in general, turned them into a stage theory. This theory still stands as the most viable and reasonable description of the process of mathematical invention. In what follows I present this theory, referenced not only to Hadamard and Poincaré, but also to some of the many researchers who's work has informed and verified different aspects of the theory.

…

The phenomenon of mathematical invention, although marked by sudden illumination, consists of four separate stages stretched out over time, of which illumination is but one part. These stages are initiation, incubation, illumination, and verification (Hadamard, 1945). The first of these stages, the initiation phase, consists of deliberate and conscious work. This would constitute a person's voluntary, and seemingly fruitless, engagement with a problem and be characterized by an attempt PME28 – 2004 3–251 to solve the problem by trolling through a repertoire of past experiences (Bruner, 1964; Schön, 1987). This is an important part of the inventive process because it creates the tension of unresolved effort that sets up the conditions necessary for the ensuing emotional release at the moment of illumination (Barnes, 2000; Davis & Hersh, 1980; Feynman, 1999; Hadamard, 1945; Poincaré, 1952; Rota, 1997).

Following the initiation stage the solver, unable to come to a solution stops working on the problem at a conscious level (Dewey, 1933) and begins to work on it at an unconscious level (Hadamard, 1945; Poincaré, 1952). This is referred to as the incubation stage of the inventive process and it is inextricably linked to the conscious and intentional effort that precedes it.

There is another remark to be made about the conditions of this unconscious work: it is possible, and of a certainty it is only fruitful, if it is on the one hand preceded and on the other hand followed by a period of conscious work. These sudden inspirations never happen except after some days of voluntary effort which has appeared absolutely fruitless and whence nothing good seems to have come … (Poincaré, 1952, p. 56)

Michael Merzenich

Michael Merzenich is a world leader in brain science. Much of his work has been directed toward research and applications in education. See a 23 minute talk available at http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_merzenich_on_the_elastic_brain.html.

Quoting from http://www.positscience.com (10/12/09):

Dr. Michael Merzenich, PhD - renowned neuroscientist, university professor, cochlear implant inventor, brain plasticity expert and tech entrepreneur - was formally inducted in the Institute of Medicine today in Washington, D.C. Also a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Merzenich is one of a small group of scientists and doctors in the U.S. who have been selected for recognition by both institutions. IOM members are elected by their peers through a selective process that recognizes people who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health.

"I am, of course, delighted by the generosity of my colleagues to be chosen for this honor," said Dr. Merzenich, currently co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Posit Science. "The discovery of the brain's ability to rewire itself has been at the core of my life's work, and I have been very fortunate to have worked with some of the brightest scientists, technologists and clinicians in the world with the mission of applying our science to improve the quality of life for others.":: Dr. Merzenich is currently working with scientists and doctors at the University of California, San Francisco on mental health solutions, including recent promising studies on the use of brain fitness training conducted in aging, brain-injured, autistic and schizophrenic patient populations.

"Mike has been a pioneer and a leader in demonstrating that the brain function and wiring is sensitive to neural activity. His basic work has elucidated mechanisms underlying this plasticity, and his translational work has illuminated the possible ways medicine can intervene to ameliorate brain disorders," said Dr. John Rubenstein, MD, PhD, distinguished professor in Child Psychiatry at UCSF and an IOM member. "His work has revolutionized the way we view the brain's plasticity and his latest work in mental disorders illustrates his sincere dedication to alleviate human suffering."

For more than three decades, Dr. Merzenich has been a leading pioneer in brain plasticity research. In 1971, Dr. Merzenich joined the faculty of UCSF and started the Keck Center for Integrative Neurosciences. In the late 1980's, Dr. Merzenich was part of the team that invented the cochlear implant. In 1990 he became a full professor at UCSF in Neuroscience, Physiology, Biomedical Engineering and Otolaryngology. He is currently Professor Emeritus in the departments of Otolaryngology and Physiology at UCSF.

In 1996, Dr. Merzenich was the founding CEO of Scientific Learning Corporation, which markets and distributes software that applies principles of brain plasticity to assist children with language learning and reading. In 2003, Posit Science was begun by Dr. Merzenich and Jeff Zimman to take neuroscience out of the labs and put it into the hands of consumers with engaging adaptive brain fitness software.

Dr. Merzenich has published more than 200 articles, including many in leading peer-reviewed journals (such as Science and Nature), received numerous awards and prizes (including the Ipsen Prize, Zulch Prize, Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award and Purkinje Medal) and has been granted more than 50 patents for his work.

"Mike's work not only improves cognitive function across a wide array of disorders and conditions," said Zimman, Chairman of Posit Science. "Results from his studies have also been shown to significantly improve broad measures of overall health such as health-related quality-of-life and performance of everyday tasks."

Dr. Merzenich holds a BS in General Science from the University of Portland and a PhD in Physiology from Johns Hopkins University, with a Neuroscience fellowship from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. To read his blog, go to http://merzenich.positscience.com/.

About Posit Science

Posit Science is the leader in delivering clinically proven brain fitness software into the hands of consumers. The company combines breakthrough research and a focus on great customer experiences to create products that are engaging and help users think faster, focus better and remember more. Staff neuroscientists collaborate with more than 50 scientists from leading research institutions as well as engineers and product marketers to design, build and test our computer-based programs. Posit Science products are available online, through health, long term care and auto insurers, and from public television's "The Brain Fitness Program" documentary. For more information, visit www.PositScience.com or call 1-866-599-6463.

Mirror Neurons

Quoting from the Wikipedia:

A mirror neuron is a premotor[1] neuron which fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another (especially conspecific) animal. Thus, the neuron "mirrors" the behavior of another animal, as though the observer were itself acting. These neurons have been directly observed in primates, and are believed to exist in humans and in some birds. In humans, brain activity consistent with mirror neurons has been found in the premotor cortex and the inferior parietal cortex. Some scientists consider mirror neurons one of the most important findings of neuroscience in the last decade. Among them is V.S. Ramachandran[2], who believes they might be very important in imitation and language acquisition. However, despite the popularity of this field, to date no plausible neural or computational models have been put forward to describe how mirror neuron activity supports cognitive functions such as imitation.

Mirror neurons have received quite a bit of publicity. A January 2005 NOVA contains an excellent 14 minute video about Mirror Neurons. See also an article in this Wiki written by Robert Sylwester and first published in [ http://brainconnection.positscience.com/library/?main=talkhome/columnistsBrain Connections.]

Here is a very brief book recommendation quoted from an email message written by Robert Sylwester:

Marco Iacobonni, Mirroring People: The New Science of How We Connect With Others (2008, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux)

Within the brains of humans, apes, and monkeys is a small set of neurons that simulate the actions of others in real time. When you see Humphrey Bogart lock lips with Ingrid Bergman, the same brain cells fire as when you kiss your honey. When you hear co-workers crack open a soda, in your brain it's as if you'd opened the can yourself.

Since their discovery in monkeys less than two decades ago, mirror neurons have been called into service to explain just about everything that makes us human -- from empathy and language to politics and pornography. Are these cells really the be-all and end-all of human nature? In one of the first books on the subject, neuroscientist Marco Iacobonni clearly explains what we do know (and how) and what we don't know (and can't).

Want to learn what mirror neurons have to do with Super Bowl commercials, violent video games, autism, addiction, and even free will? This is your book. Watching someone else read Mirroring People doesn't count.

Poverty

Sanders, Robert (2/12/08). EEGs show brain differences between poor and rich kids. UCBerkley News. Retrieved 12/25/08: http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/12/02_cortex.shtml.

Quoting from the article:

In a study recently accepted for publication by the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, scientists at UC Berkeley's Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and the School of Public Health report that normal 9- and 10-year-olds differing only in socioeconomic status have detectable differences in the response of their prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that is critical for problem solving and creativity.

…

"Kids from lower socioeconomic levels show brain physiology patterns similar to someone who actually had damage in the frontal lobe as an adult," said Robert Knight, director of the institute and a UC Berkeley professor of psychology. "We found that kids are more likely to have a low response if they have low socioeconomic status, though not everyone who is poor has low frontal lobe response."

…

"This is a wake-up call," Knight said. "It's not just that these kids are poor and more likely to have health problems, but they might actually not be getting full brain development from the stressful and relatively impoverished environment associated with low socioeconomic status: fewer books, less reading, fewer games, fewer visits to museums."

Kishiyama, Knight and Boyce suspect that the brain differences can be eliminated by proper training. They are collaborating with UC Berkeley neuroscientists who use games to improve the prefrontal cortex function, and thus the reasoning ability, of school-age children.

Reading and the Brain

Hamilton, Jon (12/9/10). Reading practice can strengthen brain 'highways.' npr. Retrieved 12/10/09 from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121253104. Quoting from the article:

Intensive reading programs can produce measurable changes in the structure of a child's brain, according to a study in the journal Neuron. The study found that several different programs improved the integrity of fibers that carry information from one part of the brain to another.

"That helped areas of the brain work together," says Marcel Just, director of the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Coordination is important because reading involves a lot of different parts of the brain, Just says.

Some parts recognize letters, others apply knowledge about vocabulary and syntax, and still others decide what it all means. To synchronize all these operations, the brain relies on high speed "highways" that carry information back and forth, he says.

…

So during the next school year, Just and Keller enrolled some of the poor readers in programs that provided a total of 100 hours of intensive remedial instruction. The programs had the kids practice reading words and sentences over and over again.

When they were done, a second set of MRI scans showed that the training changed "not just their reading ability, but the tissues in their brain," Just says. The integrity of their white matter improved, while it was unchanged for children in standard classes.

Equally striking, Just says: "The amount of improvement in the white matter in an individual was correlated with that individual's improvement in his reading ability."

Penttila, Nicky 10/13/06). Brain Science in the Classroom.The Dana Foundation. Retrieved 1/28/08: http://www.dana.org/events/detail.aspx?id=5196. Quoting from the article:

What can neuroscientists tell us about how to help a child learn to read, especially a child who is having great difficulty?

In some respects, quite a lot; in others, not yet nearly enough, said a panel of experts at a forum Oct. 12, [2006] at the Dana Center in Washington, D.C., on how advances in neuroscience might be translated into school lesson plans.

…

“The shining message of neuroscience research so far is how important it is to teach not only the first language in the early grades but also second languages,” when the parts of the brain responsible for that sort of learning are their most energetic, said panelist Colin Blakemore, the chief executive of the U.K. Medical Research Council. Unfortunately, he said, many school systems still do not follow that advice, and wait to teach “foreign” languages until the upper grades.

In fact, Blakemore pointed out, all children need to learn to cope with the foreign environment called a schoolhouse. “The brain we house was not designed to sit in a classroom” but wander the plains hunting and gathering. Neither was it designed to read, he said: Homo sapiens has been around more than four thousand years, but has been reading and writing for only a thousand years or so. So it’s not surprising that educators have found success exploiting the natural features of the brain itself, such as the importance of repetition, focused attention and linking what is learned to actions. Neuroscientists also have helped show how the way information is presented, such as in action or on a blackboard, singly or in groups, can affect how much a child retains, Galaburda said.

Sex Differences

Substantial progress is occurring in identifying differences in human female and male brains. The following article contains a good discussion of some of the latest findings:

Hoagh, Hannah (7/16/08). Brains apart: The real difference between the sexes. New Scientist magazine, pages 28-31. Quoting from this article:

But it's becoming obvious that the hypothalamus is only the beginning of the story. For a start, the relative sizes of many of the structures inside female brains are different from those of males. In a 2001 study, Jill Goldstein of Harvard Medical School and colleagues measured and compared 45 brain regions in healthy men and women. They found that parts of the frontal lobe, which houses decision-making and problem-solving functions, were proportionally larger in women, as was the limbic cortex, which regulates emotions. Other studies have found that the hippocampus, involved in short-term memory and spatial navigation, is proportionally larger in women than in men, perhaps surprisingly given women's reputation as bad map-readers. In men, proportionally larger areas include the parietal cortex, which processes signals from the sensory organs and is involved in space perception, and the amygdala, which controls emotions and social and sexual behaviour. "The mere fact that a structure is different in size suggests a difference in functional organisation," says neurobiologist Larry Cahill at the University of California, Irvine.

Short Term Memory and Web Design

Short-term memory is also often called working memory. The following article is a "classic" and is still well worth reading:

Miller, George A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus of minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Retrieved 12/7/09 from http://www.musanim.com/miller1956/.

The working memory of people varies significantly with different people, and it also varies under conditions of stress, drugs, and so on. The development of writing and eventually of wide scale literacy has made a huge contribution to human abilities to deal with complex problems. A written list of chunks of information serves as an augmentation to our quite limited working memory capabilities.

Chunking is one of the key ideas in making better use of one's limited working memory.Quotinf from Miller's article:

In order to speak more precisely, therefore, we must recognize the importance of grouping or organizing the input sequence into units or chunks. Since the memory span is a fixed number of chunks, we can increase the number of bits of information that it contains simply by building larger and larger chunks, each chunk containing more information than before.

A man just beginning to learn radio-telegraphic code hears each dit and dah as a separate chunk. Soon he is able to organize these sounds into letters and then he can deal with the letters as chunks. Then the letters organize themselves as words, which are still larger chunks, and he begins to hear whole phrases.

The following article discusses short term memory in terms of design of effective Web pages.

Nielsen, Jacob (12/7/09). Short-term memory and Web usability. Retrieved 12/7/09 from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/short-term-memory.html. Quoting from the website:

Summary. The human brain is not optimized for the abstract thinking and data memorization that that websites often demand. Many usability guidelines are dictated by cognitive limitations.

People can't keep much information in their short-term memory. This is especially true when they're bombarded with multiple abstract or unusual pieces of data in rapid succession. Lest designers forget how easily users forget, let's review why our brains seem to be so weak.

Human beings are remarkably good at hunting the woolly mammoth. Considering that we humans have neither fangs nor claws, our ancestors did fine work in exterminating most megafauna from Australia to North America armed with nothing better than flint weapons. (In today's more environmentally conscious world, we might deplore their slaughtering ways, but early humans were more interested in catching their dinner.)

Many of the skills needed to use computers aren't highly useful in slaying mammoths. Such skills include remembering obscure codes from one screen to the next and interpreting highly abbreviated form-field labels. It's no surprise that people are no good at these s

Two Hemispheres

MacNeilage, P.F., Rogers, .J., and Vallortigara, G. (July 2009). Evolutionary Origins of Your Right and Left Brain. Scientific American. Retrieved 6/20/09: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=evolutionary-origins-of-your-right-and-left-brain.

Quoting from the article:

The division of labor by the two cerebral hemispheres—once thought to be uniquely human—predates us by half a billion years. Speech, right-handedness, facial recognition and the processing of spatial relations can be traced to brain asymmetries in early vertebrates.

The left hemisphere of the human brain controls language, arguably our greatest mental attribute. It also controls the remarkable dexterity of the human right hand. The right hemisphere is dominant in the control of, among other things, our sense of how objects interrelate in space. Forty years ago the broad scientific consensus held that, in addition to language, right-handedness and the specialization of just one side of the brain for processing spatial relations occur in humans alone. Other animals, it was thought, have no hemispheric specializations of any kind.

Here we present evidence for a radically different hypothesis that is gaining support, particularly among biologists. The specialization of each hemisphere in the human brain, we argue, was already present in its basic form when vertebrates emerged about 500 million years ago. We suggest that the more recent specializations of the brain hemispheres, including those of humans, evolved from the original ones by the Darwinian process of descent with modification. (In that process, capabilities relevant to ancient traits are changed or co-opted in the service of other developing traits.) Our hypothesis holds that the left hemisphere of the vertebrate brain was originally specialized for the control of well-established patterns of behavior under ordinary and familiar circumstances. In contrast, the right hemisphere, the primary seat of emotional arousal, was at first specialized for detecting and responding to unexpected stimuli in the environment.

kills, since they weren't important for survival in the ancestral environment.

Some Video Resources

Fischer, Kurt. Three short videos of Fischer presenting his insights into brain science and education. Harvard Graduate School of Education. Retrieved 12/23/08: http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/learning/video-learn002b-uk_kf_growthcyc.html. Both the videos and transcripts of the videos are available.

Grandin, Temple (February 2020). Temple Grandin: The world needs all kinds of minds. 19 minute video. Retrieved 2/25/10 from http://www.ted.com/talks/temple_grandin_the_world_needs_all_kinds_of_minds.html. Quoting from the Website:

Temple Grandin, diagnosed with autism as a child, talks about how her mind works -- sharing her ability to "think in pictures," which helps her solve problems that neurotypical brains might miss. She makes the case that the world needs people on the autism spectrum: visual thinkers, pattern thinkers, verbal thinkers, and all kinds of smart geeky kids.

Neville, Helen (2009). Changing brains. University of Oregon Brain Development Lab. Retrieved 2/27/10 from http://changingbrains.org/. This nine-part video is available free online, can be downloaded for free, and can be purchased on a DVD.

Rose, Charlie (2009-2012). Charlie Rose Brain series. Retrieved 10/8/2012 from http://www.charlierose.com/view/collection/10702. For a discussion of these videos, see http://i-a-e.org/iae-blog/the-brain-series-on-pbs-hosted-by-charlie-ross-and-eric-kandel-309.html.

There are five videos, each about 55 minutes in length. The provide an excellent introduction to brain science and tbrains. Quoting from the Website:

Charlie Rose Brain Series Episode One. Tonight’s introductory topic-- The Great Mysteries of the Human Brain: consciousness, free will, perception, cognition, emotion and memory with a roundtable of brain researchers. Co-Host Eric Kandel from Columbia University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Cornelia Bargmann from Rockefeller University, Tony Movshon from New York University, John Searle from University of California Berkeley and Gerald Fischbach of the Simons Foundation.

Sternberg, Robert (2007). Interview with Dr. Sternberg. Retrieved 12/29/08: http://www.indiana.edu/~intell/sternberg_interview.shtml. Includes both video interview and script.

This is the first of a series of five that are available free on the Web. I strongly recommend this video (indeed, the whole series) for your educational viewing.

References

Bennett, Barrie (n.d.). Instructional Intelligence website. Retrieved 6/22/08: http://www.instructionalintelligence.ca/. There is a very important paper titled Instructional Intelligence-Meeting Diverse Students, Diverse Needs available as a PDF file at that location.

Brown University (6/10/09). Brain-Computer Interface, Developed at Brown, Begins New Clinical Trial. Hope for people with paralysis. Retrieved 6/19/09: http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2009/06/braingate2. Quoting from the article:

BrainGate, an investigational technology being developed to detect brain signals and to allow people with paralysis to use those signals to control assistive devices, is about to begin a second, larger clinical trial. The system is based on neuroscience, engineering and computer science research at Brown University.

The BrainGate2 pilot clinical trial is taking place at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), in close collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of researchers from MGH and Brown University. The study has been approved by the MGH Institutional Review Board to begin recruiting participants. The trial extends prior safety and feasibility research of the BrainGate Neural Interface System, which consists of an implanted baby aspirin-size brain sensor that reads brain signals and computer technology that interprets these signals. The BrainGate Neural System may allow people with paralysis to control assistive devices.

deCharms, Christopher (February 2008). Looking inside the brain in real time. TED Talks. Retrieved 3/30/08: http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/236. This is a 4-minute video showing real time imaging of activity in a person's brain. This real-time visual information provides a basis for a person to train specific parts of their brain. The video discusses using this for pain control.

Gazzaniga, Michael (Organizer) (2008). Learning, Arts, and the Brain. The Dana Consortium Report on Arts and Cognition. Retrieved 3/10/08: http://www.dana.org/uploadedFiles/News_and_Publications/Special_Publications/Learning,%20Arts%20and%20the%20Brain_ArtsAndCognition_Compl.pdf

Quoting from the report's summary:

1. An interest in a performing art leads to a high state of motivation that produces the sustained attention necessary to improve performance and the training of attention that leads to improvement in other domains of cognition.
2. Genetic studies have begun to yield candidate genes that may help explain individual differences in interest in the arts.
3. Specific links exist between high levels of music training and the ability to manipulate information in both working and long-term memory; these links extend beyond the domain of music training.
4. In children, there appear to be specific links between the practice of music and skills in geometrical representation, though not in other forms of numerical representation.
5. Correlations exist between music training and both reading acquisition and sequence learning. One of the central predictors of early literacy, phonological awareness, is correlated with both music training and the development of a specific brain pathway.
6. Training in acting appears to lead to memory improvement through the learning of general skills for manipulating semantic information.
7. Adult self-reported interest in aesthetics is related to a temperamental factor of openness, which in turn is influenced by dopamine-related genes.
8. Learning to dance by effective observation is closely related to learning by physical practice, both in the level of achievement and also the neural substrates that support the organization of complex actions. Effective observational learning may transfer to other cognitive skills.

Goleman, Daniel: Why aren’t we all Good Samaritans? Thirteen minute video on Social Neuroscience.

Quoting from the Website:

Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, asks why we aren’t more compassionate more of the time. Sharing the results of psychological experiments (and the story of the Santa Cruz Strangler), he explains how we are all born with the capacity for empathy -- but we sometimes choose to ignore it.

Hawkins, Jeff: Brain science is about to fundamentally change computing. A 20 minute 2003 video of a talk by Jeff Hawkins.

Quoting from the Website:

To date, there hasn't been an overarching theory of how the human brain really works, Jeff Hawkins argues in this compelling talk. That's because we still haven't defined intelligence accurately. But one thing's for sure, he says: The brain isn't like a powerful computer processor. It's more like a memory system that records everything we experience and helps us predict, intelligently, what will happen next. Bringing this new brain science to computer devices will enable powerful new applications -- and it will happen sooner than you think.

imbes (n.d). International Mind, Brain & Education web site. Retrieved 6/19/09.

Quoting from the Website:

The mission of the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society (IMBES) is to facilitate cross-cultural collaboration in all fields that are relevant to connecting mind, brain, and education in research, theory, and/or practice.

You can learn about our work by reading our newsletter, journal, and online conference presentations or by listening to podcasts of presentations from our international meetings.

One of the imbes projects is titled A groundwork for creating useful knowledge about learning and teaching. Here is the first part of a description of that work:

The connection between education and research should not be one-way. Instead, two-way, reciprocal relationships must be made, where practitioners and researchers work together to formulate research questions and methods that will move both science and teaching forward. This two-way collaboration is the only way that education can benefit from the kind of usable knowledge regularly created in fields like medicine.

imbes has a journal. [ http://www.imbes.org/journal.html View the entire first issue of Mind, Brain, and Education.] Here are two examples of articles in this issue:

Why Mind, Brain, and Education? Why Now? Kurt W. Fischer, David B. Daniel, Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Elsbeth Stern, Antonio Battro, and Hideaki Koizumi (Editors)

A Few Steps Toward a Science of Mental Life. Stanislas Dehaene

Jensen, Eric P. (February 2008). A Fresh Look at Brain-Based Education. Phi Delta Kappan. Retrieved 2/12/08: http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k_v89/k0802jen.htm.

This article provides an excellent overview of many different aspects of how brain research is relevant to and is impacting education. The article is available free, online, at the website given in the citation.

The same issue of the Phi Delta Kappan contains several articles responding to the article by Jensen. See Willis (February 2008). Quoting from the article:

It has been more than 20 years since it was first suggested that there could be connections between brain function and educational practice. In the face of all the evidence that has now accumulated to support this notion, Mr. Jensen advocates that educators take full advantage of the relevant knowledge from a variety of scientific disciplines.

OHSU (n.d.). Brain Awareness. Retrieved 11/4/09 from http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/education/schools/research-institutes/brain-institute/brain-awareness/index.cfm. Quoting from the Website:

During this year’s OHSU Brain Awareness Season, discover how your mind uses these tools to formulate decisions, language, rational thought, empathy and self-awareness.

Join our quest to understand the single-most complex machine in the universe by learning firsthand from world-renowned neuroscientists whose research gives us insight into who we are as individuals. Hear for yourself how their discoveries also allow us to understand, diagnose and treat diseases of the mind which affect millions of American lives.

Brought to you by the OHSU Brain Institute, one of the largest groups of neuroscientists and clinicians in the country… who provide the latest in breakthroughs, understanding and care for each and every Oregonian.

Payo, Robert (3/16/08). Brain Games: Neuroscience and Active Participation Teaching Methods at the ASCD Conference. Retrieved 4/9/08: http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/roadreports/2008/03/16/brain-games-neuroscience-and-active-participation-teaching-methods-at-the-ascd-conference/.

Quoting from the Website:

Another study points to changes in blood flow in the inner brain in an area known as the amygdala, related to the forming and storing of emotional memories. Studies indicate that decreases in cerebral blood flow can be found in this area when a person is in a stressful or negative emotional state, affecting their ability to retain information.

What implications does this have for teaching? Given that the brain has versatile neuroplasticity, developing student strategies to strengthen their abilities to create new pathways, connecting new knowledge to previously learned concepts and patterns, teaching students to look at problems from multiple perspectives or providing periodical shifts in attention when teaching through the use of word puzzles or discrepant events—what Willis calls “syn-naps”—can aid student understanding and capitalize on the innate processes of each individual. Such strategies are the hallmark of good teaching, but having a better understanding and intentional focus on brain-based strategies is a useful tool for any teacher.

Philips, Helen (9/4/06). Instant Expert: The Human Brain. NewScientist. Retrieved 7/24/08: http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/brain/dn9969/.

Quoting from this two-page article about the human brain:

The complexity of the connectivity between these cells is mind-boggling. Each neuron can make contact with thousands or even tens of thousands of others, via tiny structures called synapses. Our brains form a million new connections for every second of our lives. The pattern and strength of the connections is constantly changing and no two brains are alike.

It is in these changing connections that memories are stored, habits learned and personalities shaped, by reinforcing certain patterns of brain activity, and losing others.

Philips, Helen (September 2006). Introduction: The human brain. New Scientist. Retrieved 8/9/2010 from http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9969-instant-expert-the-human-brain.html. Provides a two-page introduction to the human brain. Quoting from the article:

The complexity of the connectivity between these cells is mind-boggling. Each neuron can make contact with thousands or even tens of thousands of others, via tiny structures called synapses. Our brains form a million new connections for every second of our lives. The pattern and strength of the connections is constantly changing and no two brains are alike.

It is in these changing connections that memories are stored, habits learned and personalities shaped, by reinforcing certain patterns of brain activity, and losing others.

Pinker, Steven (n.d.). Miscellaneous video and audio talks and presentations. Retrieved 5/12/08: http://www.reitstoen.com/pinker.php.

Stansbury, Meris (7/21/09). What educators can learn from brain research. Breakthroughs in neuroscience are measuring brain response to stimuli and beginning to alter classroom practices. eSchool News. Retrieved 7/21/09: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=59792.

Quoting from the Website:

Michael Atherton, a researcher in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota, believes educators should look only at specific types of studies when considering implementation strategies.

"Education is an applied field, like engineering," said Atherton. "If there's no connection to practice, then that research is best left to basic researchers in the cognitive neurosciences."

In Atherton's [16-page report] titled "Education and fMRI: Promise and Cautions," he describes detailed research techniques used in fMRI studies as the foundation for a methodological framework that can be used by educators to assess how applicable a study might be for classroom implementation.

Sylwester, Robert. Brain Connection Columnist. About eight years of monthly articles on brain science are available. All are education-oriented and written at a lay-person level. The sequence of articles provides an excellent overview of this rapidly changing field.

Taylor, Jill Bolte (2008). My stroke of insight. TED. Retrieved 5/23/08: http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/229. 19 minute video.

Quoting from the Website:

Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: She had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions—motion, speech, self-awareness—shut down one by one. An astonishing story.

Wikipedia (n.d.). Cognitive neuroscience is providing us with important new understanding of brain functioning. Brain science research is producing a number of practical applications in education, medicine, and in human performance.

Willis, Judy (February 2008). Building a Bridge from Neuroscience to the Classroom. Phi Delta Kappan.

Quoting from this article:

The brain-research evidence for certain instructional strategies continues to increase, but there still is no sturdy bridge between neuroscience and what educators do in the classroom. But educators’ knowledge and experience will enable them to use the knowledge gained from brain research in their classrooms. For example, choice, interest-driven investigation, collaboration, intrinsic motivation, and creative problem solving are associated with increased levels of such neurotransmitters as dopamine, as well as the pleasurable state dopamine promotes. Novelty, surprise, and teaching that connects with students’ past experiences and personal interests and that is low in threat and high in challenge are instructional strategies that appear to be correlated with increased information passage through the brain’s information filters, such as the amygdala and reticular activating system. Lessons in which students are engaged and invested in goals they helped to create have the potential to stimulate and restimulate networks of new memories as students actively process information in the construction of knowledge. These instructional strategies date back to theories developed decades before neuroimaging. But they are consistent with the increasing pool of neuroimaging, behavioral, and developmental psychology.

Also see her Website at http://www.radteach.com/. Quoting from that site:

Dr. Judy Willis, a board-certified neurologist in Santa Barbara, California, has combined her 15 years as a practicing adult and child neurologist with her teacher education training and years of classroom experience. After five years teaching at Santa Barbara Middle School, and ten years of classroom teaching all together, this year Dr. Willis reluctantly left teaching middle school students and dedicated herself full-time to teaching educators. With an adjunct faculty position at the University of California, Santa Barbara graduate school of education, Dr. Willis travels nationally and internationally giving presentations, workshops, and consulting while continuing to write books for parents and educators. She is an authority in the field of learning-centered brain research and classroom strategies derived from this research.

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This is a collection of IAE publications related to the IAE document you are currently reading. It is not updated very often, so important recent IAE documents may be missing from the list.

This component of the IAE-pedia documents is a work in progress. If there are few entries in the next four subsections, that is because the links have not yet been added.

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All IAE blog entries.

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Neuromythologies (brain science mythologies) in education.

An intact human brain is naturally curious and creative.

Research on how exercise improves brain functioning.

The discipline of Educational Neuroscience.

The Brain Series on PBS Hosted by Charlie Ross and Eric Kandel.

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All IAE Newsletters.

Information Age Education Newsletter. Start with Issue # 31.

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20/20 Vision for 2020 Challenges.

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