Download 1. Learning Depends on Integration of Brain Structures

1. Learning Depends on Integration
of Brain Structures
The human brain is a wet mass of nerve
tissue.
The brain has three parts
– Forebrain (cerebrum and diencephalon)
– Mid brain (top of the brain stem)
– Hindbrain (formed by cerebellum and part of
brain stem.)
1.Learning Depends on Integration
of Brain Structures
Midbrain
– Critical to learning
– Governs reflex muscle activity such as
adjusting
– Deep inside the brain stem is reticular
formation which controls consciousness,
alerts of danger, etc.
– Reticular formation is significant in attention
and learning.
1.Learning Depends on Integration
of Brain Structures
Hindbrain
– Made up largely of the cerebellum.
– Important for coordination and balance
– Cerebellum examines sensory in formation
from the muscles to do this job.
1.Learning Depends on Integration
of Brain Structures
Forebrain
– Central core of the brain or diencephalon.
– Connects the left and right hemispheres.
Forebrain’s Parts
Cerebral cortex
Neurons
Cerebrum
Corpus Callosum
Right Cerebral
hemishpere
Left Cerebral
hemisphere
Diencephalon
Thalamus
Hypothalamus
Cebral Cortex
–
–
–
–
Frontal Lobes
Parietal Lobes
Occipital Lobes
Temporal Lobes
1.Learning Depends on Integration
of Brain Structures
Cerebral Dominance and Language
– Left hemisphere
For 90% of the population the left is superior at
producing concepts and language.
Control the acts of speaking and writing and recent
verbal memory.
Production of speech sounds and listening ability.
Verbal memories
1.Learning Depends on
Integration of Brain Structures
– Right hemisphere
Processes information that is treated as a unified
whole, such as the perceptionof faces and the
other three-dimensional objects.
Emotional memories
1.Learning Depends on Integration
of Brain Structures
Cerebral Specialization and Learning
– The earlier and the more often both hemispheres are activated
by use, the more dendrite connections form, extend across the
corpus callosum, and myelin.
– Myelin is a fatty white sheath that instulates each neuron and
facilitates fast, smooth processing.
– The more myelin, the faster the processing between both
hemispheres and the rest of the brain.
– Tiger Wood’s example (pg. 12)
– The sooner children learn to coordinate the left-to-right
movement of their eyes to follow the the words on a page while
listening to stories and attempt to write their names, the earlier
they while learn to read.
2.Neural Development is
Continuous
Human beings have unlimited potential for
learning that continues through old age.
Neurons
– The functioning core of the brain and the
entire central nervous system.
– Each neuron has one axon and as many as
100,000 dendrites.
– Dendrites receive electrical impulses from
other neuron and transmit them along a long
fiber called an axon.
2.Neural Development is
Continuous (Cont.)
Dendrites are the main way by which neurons
get information (learn).
Dendrites receive electrical impulses from other
neurons and transmit them along a long fiber
called an axon.
In the synaptic gap, and electrical signal is
briefly transmitted into a chemical called a
neurotransmitter.
– Dopamine and serotonin
2.Neural Development is
Continuous (Cont.)
Anotomical and Physiological Symmetries
– Flexible at birth until the first few years of life
– In the first two years of life, if the left
hemisphere is tramatized, the functional
language ability is reestablished in the right
hemisphere.
3. Perception forms the brain’s
structure
Perception Defined – How our brains perceive, receive, and interpret
information impacts how the assemblies of neurons organize and
connect to build our brains.
Developing a Category System
Perception and Expectation
Visual Expectation
4. Sensory Experience Builds Our
Brain
Nerve networks are made up of our unique sensory
experiences lay down intricate patterns and maps that
govern how an individual’s brain develops and functions.
The richer our sensory environment and the more
opportunity individuals have to explore and become
actively involved with it, the more intricate the patterns
for learning, thought, and creativity become.
The latest infant research reveals that the breain is
profoundly flexible, sensitie, and plastic and deeply
dependent on and influenced by events in the
environment.
5. The Brain is Organized into
Functional Systems
Mental tasks are performed not by a single
area of the brain but by the operation of
many functional units, each of which is
located in a specific part of the brain.
Luria – Three functional units for each
brain activity
Unit I
Unit II
Unit III
6. The Brain is a Pattern
Synthesizer
The brain’s neural network categorizes
stimuli into groups that form patterns and
responds to patterns that have been
established by past experiences.
7. Neural Plasticity of the Brain
Neural plasticity allows the brain to
constantly learn and relearn.