Structure of the Brain
- ventricles
- fluid-filled cavities inside the brain
- originally thought to be where the action is
- brain stem and midbrain
- cortex
- Sheet of neurons (gray matter) with connections between
them (white matter).
- "Newest" part of the brain evolutionarily.
- Can cognitive functions be localized to specific brain areas?
- Some brain areas clearly devoted to early sensory
processing.
- Others clearly devoted to late motor processing.
- Language areas in left hemisphere.
- Hard to localize higher-level functions.
- judgment
- problem solving
- planning
- memory
- sensory areas
- auditory
- somatosensory
- vision
- early visual areas - color and orientation
- later visual areas
- complex objects like hands and faces
- locations
- motor areas
- other areas
- cortex separated into two hemispheres
- connected by corpus callosum
- differences between left and right hemispheres
- language usually on left hemisphere
- right hemisphere generally better at spatial tasks
Descartes
- Made sharp distinction between mind and body.
- Proposes pineal gland as seat of the soul.
- Iron rod through frontal lobes.
- Dramatic change in personality.
- Before the accident, he was a capable foreman, and
considered a smart businessman.
- After his recovery, he was "fitful, irreverent, and grossly
profane, showing little deference for his fellows."
- "…impatient and obstinate, yet capricious and
vacillating, unable to settle on any of the plans he devised
for future action."
- " No longer Gage", according to his friends.
- How could brain damage change personality?
Web sites on Consciousness and the Brain:
Other Neuroscience Web sites you may find interesting:
Psych 391D:
Consciousness 
Kyle Cave
Psychology Dept.
U.
Mass.