#1 Intro -

The study of behavior and mental process

Structuralismructuralism, is subjective and can be influenced by personal biases and preconceptions. This makes it difficult to achieve objective and replicable results.

• Structuralism focuses on the internal processes of the individual and neglects the role of external factors, such as social and cultural influences, in shaping behavior and mental processes. The reductionist approach of structuralism, which breaks down complex mental experiences into their most basic components, can overlook the holistic nature of human experience.

Examples of Structuralism:

• Wundt's use of introspection to study the elements of consciousness, such as sensations, emotions, and thoughts.

• Edward Titchener, a student of Wundt, developed a system of psychology called "structuralism" which focused on the analysis of the basic elements of the mind.

• A structuralist approach to studying memory might involve breaking down the memory process into its component parts, such as encoding, storage, and retrieval, in order to better understand how memory works.

Functionalism

Functionalism is a theoretical perspective in psychology which emphasizes the importance of the functions of mental processes and behaviors. According to functionalism, mental processes and behaviors serve a purpose in allowing an individual to adapt to their environment and achieve their goals. By William James

Pros of functionalism:

1. Holistic view: Functionalism provides a holistic view of mental processes and behaviors, considering their purpose and function, rather than just analyzing isolated elements.

2. Promotes flexibility: Functionalism promotes flexible thinking, encouraging individuals to adapt and be creative in their problem-solving approach.

Cons of functionalism:

1. Lacks specificity: Functionalism does not specify how mental processes and behaviors are related to underlying physiological processes.

2. Reductionist view: Functionalism often reduces mental processes and behaviors to their adaptive value, ignoring the complexity of human cognition and experiences.

3. Ambiguous approach: Functionalism takes a broad and often ambiguous approach, making it difficult to test empirically.

Example of functionalism: A functionalist approach is useful in understanding how our memory works. According to functionalism, the purpose of our memory is to enable us to take previous experience into account when making decisions in the future. This approach is useful in applications such as educational practice when designing learning programs that aim to enhance memory and retention.

Psychoanalysis

The idea of psychoanalysis in psychology is to explore the unconscious mind to understand and treat mental issues. It was founded by Sigmund Freud, (The iconic cigar and glasses) who believed that individuals have unconscious desires and conflicts that influence their behavior and emotions. Aka the talking cure., He said mental illness can be cured by talking and self discovery. This was a big breakthrough.

Pros:

• Psychoanalysis can provide insight and self-awareness, allowing individuals to better understand their thoughts and actions.

• It can offer a long-lasting treatment for mental health issues by targeting the root cause of the problem, rather than just alleviating symptoms.

• It can be used to treat a variety of mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, and personality disorders.

Cons:

• Psychoanalysis can be a lengthy and expensive process, requiring multiple sessions over several years.

• It may not be suitable for everyone, particularly those who require more immediate or intensive treatment.

• The use of the therapist's interpretations can be subjective and may not be supported by empirical evidence.

Example of pros: An individual struggling with anxiety may discover through psychoanalysis that their symptoms are rooted in childhood experiences of abandonment which can lead to better insight and understanding of the reasons behind their anxiety.

Example of cons: A person who demands quick relief from their mental health symptoms may not find psychoanalysis helpful as it is a lengthy process that takes time to affect change.

Behaviorism

Behaviorism By B.F. Skinner is a psychological perspective that focuses on the observation and analysis of behavior, rather than on the internal mental processes of individuals. According to behaviorists, behavior is shaped by environmental factors such as rewards and punishments, and people's actions can be reliably predicted and controlled by manipulating the environment. This approach emphasizes the use of empirical research methods to study observable behavior and rejects the use of introspection or other subjective methods.

Its is interesting here as this is one of the few school of thought that rejects intropection or any subjective method and only focus on empirical methods

This is also the study of observable behavior.

Pros of behaviorism:

• There is a strong emphasis on use of objective methods such as experimental designs, which allows for greater control and accuracy in scientific research.

• Behaviorism has been applied successfully to address problems such as addiction, phobias, and other behavior-related disorders through behavior modification techniques.

• The approach is relatively simple, easy to understand, and can be applied to a wide range of behaviors.

Cons of behaviorism:

• The focus on observable behaviors may neglect the importance of internal processes such as emotion and cognition in shaping behavior.

• Some critics argue that behaviorism can sometimes be too simplistic and overlook individual differences in behavior and motivation.

• Behaviorism has been accused of promoting a reductionist view of human behavior, treating people like machines that can be programmed to respond in certain ways.

Example: A behaviorist might study how a child learns to speak by tracking the development of specific verbal responses to various stimuli (such as a caregiver's words or actions). Once the behaviors that lead to successful language acquisition are identified, behavior modification techniques can then be applied to reinforce and strengthen these behaviors while discouraging ineffective or inappropriate ones.

The human brain is by far the most complex physical object known to us in the entire cosmos

#2 Psychological Research

“I took pills that will accelerate my brain waves AKA Coffee, So am i smarted or stupid faster“

Intuition - According to psychology, our intuition isn’t always right and something it can be completely wrong. We only think about things that makes our intuition more strong, like “Dude, i told you so“. This is known as the Hindsight Bias, it explains what just happened because of the confirmation we got rather than what will happen in the future.

There is no reason to trust our intuition as it can be 100% wrong too.

Hindsight bias refers to the tendency for people to perceive events as more predictable than they actually were, after the event has occurred. In other words, people may believe that they "knew it all along" or that the outcome was obvious, even though they may not have had such a strong sense of certainty before the event occurred. This bias can lead people to overestimate their ability to predict future events, which can be problematic in many areas, including finance, politics, and medicine. They didnt know until we tested it.

Intuition, on the other hand, refers to a feeling or sense that something is true or likely, even if there is no conscious, logical reasoning to support that feeling. Intuition can be thought of as a type of unconscious processing that draws on past experiences, knowledge, and emotions to guide decision-making. While intuition can be a valuable tool in decision-making, it is not infallible and can be influenced by biases and heuristics.

Both Intuition and Hindsight Bias tells about about what just happened rather than what will happen in the future.

We also overthink about some of things that truly random. Like finding meaning in getting a streak when doing a coin flip, while there is equal chances of getting heads or tails.

@@The <<process of scientific enquiry h<<elps us from making false assumption and prevents us from blindly trusting our intuitions. @@

The Scientific Method in Psychological Research -

Operationalizing Your Questions

1. Question and A Theory - Theory is not a guess , But rather something that explain the observation and predict the outcome.

2. Then Hypothesis, it is the testable prediction .

3. Test with a replicable experiment. Replication is key. If the theory is valid as we change the environment and the subject, we are on to something.

-- Hypothesis and theory are entirely different, Theory is based on well established fact and research and while hypothesis, is a method used to do the research which has a cause and effect relation. So an example will be, Question - Is there any relation between caffeine and memory , Hypothesis - Is there any memory performance benefit to those individual who consumed caffeine before a test compared to those who did not. (Cause is consumption of caffeine and effect on memory is studied) and Theory - Caffeine consumption leads to better memory recall. Test will be blind tests, group groups ,use of placebo etc. T__he independent variable__ is the caffeine and dependent variable is the result of the test. As the t__est is replicable__ anyone try it, question it and eventually get to a solid theory

Type of research:

1. Case Study.

2. Naturalist observation.

3. Survey and Interview

4. Experimentation

Case Study - This method involves in-depth analysis and detailed study of an individual, group of people or a specific phenomenon. It is usually done by interview, observation, assessment etc. This is used by clinical psychologist to help patients. The drawback of this method is that it cannot be generalized as it a study of a single person or small group and cannot be applied to the broader population. But this can help us frame hypothesis. Example of this will be “Little Albert by John Watson“, he studied the child and his fear of white rats. From which he made a hypothesis on Whether the fear can be trained to be triggers from a specific by associating the white rat with the sound. This can help us to do generalized studies.

• Pros -

• Gives an highly detailed and rich information of the specific case

• In clinical testing , helps to give an individualized treatment

• For specific phenomenon and rare case, this can give a more qualitative and faster finding.

• Helps to frame hypothesis for farther study.

• Cons

• Cannot be generalized and applied to the broader population.

• Researcher bias and subject bias can occur.

• Cannot perform control group testing and cannot be replicated.

• Other methods can give samples from larger group in the same time.

Naturalist Observation - Here the subject in observed at the natural setting where the behavior occurs. Basically spying . This is very similar to the case study and it is a detailed and focused on small set of people or an individual. This can be very useful to get a third eye to a situation. But has limited ability to explain why something happens without farther study with an hypothesis. An example will be observing a person watching a horror movie. To the study effects of the movie. The key here is that there should not be any involvement of the observer or something manipulate things. This is very useful is describing behavior.

Survey and Behavior - This can be useful get data from 1000s of people in relatively shorter period of time. Survey can help us understand consciously linked beliefs. But the wording can matter a lot, like more force full words like Bad and Censor may give a different response compared to “limit” and “not allowed”. Example , Do you believe in climate change is different from Do you understand climate change or Do you believe in space aliens is different from Do you think there is intelligent life somewhere in the cosmos. Because when you heard the word space aliens you mind goes to the movies scenes and words like cosmos or universe will make you think stars and that vast universe . Its also matters who you asks, asking a group of students in a pacifist club about what they think about arms control. But the results wont really matter because there is a clear sampling bias , to solve this we need a random sample

Drawing Conclusions- “How one trait or behavior is related to another, or how they correlate“. Correlation is not causation Example - If a person ate expired food and got a fever, we can say the expired food might have caused the fever but what if the person already on the verge of a fever and the food was fine. or he had a bad drink or he got a fear induced fever. Correlation can predict the outcome of a cause and effect relation but they cannot prove them.

TO DRAW CONCLUSIONS WE HAVE TO START EXPERIMENTING

Experimentation - Experiment allow us to isolate different affects by manipulating or changing independent variables and keep others constant. This is usually done with Controlled Group and Uncontrolled Group aka ones we mess with and dont. The groups has to be random. Sometimes we use blind groups where they are not told what the testing is and have a placebo. And when even researcher are also not told about the research its called a Double Blind group. This is done to minimize any bias .

#3 - Brain chemicals

Everything psychological is biological

Neurons or Nerve Cells - There are over billions of neurons in our brains. From few milimeters long to the length of our legs. There are mainly 4 different types of neurons and they are -

, Bipolar or Interneurons: Also known as association neurons or local circuit neurons, interneurons are responsible for connecting and communicating between sensory and motor neurons. They facilitate the integration and processing of information within the CNS.

, Unipolar or Sensory Neurons: These neurons transmit information from sensory organs (such as the eyes, ears, nose, skin, and tongue) to the central nervous system (CNS). They are responsible for sensing and perceiving external stimuli.

, Multipolar - Motor Neurons: These neurons transmit signals from the CNS to muscles and glands, enabling voluntary and involuntary movements. Motor neurons play a crucial role in controlling muscle contractions and coordinating bodily actions.

, Pyramidal Cell - These neurons are characterized by their pyramid-shaped cell bodies and long axons. Pyramidal neurons are the principal excitatory neurons in the cerebral cortex and play a crucial role in cognitive processes, including learning, memory, and decision-making..

Neurons transmit signals when stimulated by sensory input or triggered by neighboring neurons . The dendrites picks up signal shoots the electrical charge using the neurons action potential through the axons terminals.

All Neuron have the same basic parts and they are -

1. Cell Body (Soma): The cell body is the main region of the neuron. It contains the nucleus, which houses the genetic material of the cell, and other organelles necessary for cellular functions, such as protein synthesis and energy production. When Cell body dies , the whole neuron dies.

2. Dendrites: Dendrites are branching extensions that protrude from the cell body. They receive signals from other neurons or sensory receptors and transmit these signals towards the cell body. Dendrites play a crucial role in integrating incoming information. They are the listeners

3. Axon: The axon is a long, slender projection that extends from the cell body. It carries electrical impulses, called action potentials, away from the cell body and transmits them to other neurons or target cells. Axons can vary in length, with some reaching several feet in the human body. They are the talkers

4. Axon Terminal: At the end of the axon, there are small branches called axon terminals or terminal buttons. These structures form synaptic connections with other neurons or target cells. Axon terminals contain synaptic vesicles that store neurotransmitters, which are released into the synapse to communicate with the next neuron or target cell.

5. Myelin Sheath: Some axons are covered by a fatty substance called myelin, which forms a protective sheath around the axon. Myelin acts as an insulating layer, increasing the speed and efficiency of electrical signal conduction along the axon. The myelin sheath is created by specialized cells called oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system (CNS) and Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system (PNS). If it degrades , those with Multiple Sclerosis leads to lack of muscle control.

6. Nodes of Ranvier: The myelin sheath is periodically interrupted by small gaps called nodes of Ranvier. These nodes allow the action potential to "jump" from one node to the next, a process known as saltatory conduction, which further speeds up the transmission of signals along the axon.

7. Synapse: These are the contact points between the neurons and they almost touch the axon. The synapse is a specialized junction between two neurons or between a neuron and a target cell, such as a muscle or gland. It consists of the presynaptic terminal of one neuron, the synaptic cleft (a small gap between neurons), and the postsynaptic membrane of the receiving neuron or target cell. Neurotransmitters released from the presynaptic terminal cross the synaptic cleft and bind to receptors on the postsynaptic membrane, allowing for the transmission of signals.

Neurotransmitters are the messengers, they excite and inhibit the receptors sites . They dont stay there for long and gets reabsorbed by neuron by the process of reuptake. Endorphins bring positive feels. there are 100s of different type some excite and other inhibit.

Excitatory Neurotransmitters - These increases the chance of firing an action potential. Example Norepinephrine helps control alertness and arousal. Glutamate is involved in memory but over supply can cause seizures thats why some people are sensitive to MSG.

Inhibitory Neurotransmitters- They decrease the chance of action potential . Gamma-Aminobutyric acid GABA . Serotonin .

Acetylcholine - can inhibit or excite. Enables muscle action, learning and memory, Alzhimers’s patients experience low acetylcholine. due degradation.

Dopamine can inhibit or excite. Excessive amount can cause schizophrenia

Endocrine System - A set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream. They are much slower than the nervous system and lasts longer. That explains why it takes time to linger angry or fear response.

Endocrine System Glands - Adrenal Glands (Inner part helps trigger fight or flight response), Pancreas (monitors and regulars blood sugar), Thyroid (affects metabolism) and ParaThyroid Glands (regulate level of calcium in blood) . Testes and Ovaries secrete sex hormone.

Pituitary Gland Most important - Growth hormones and oxytocin. controlled by hypothalamus. as the “master gland” because it monitors and regulates many bodily functions through the hormones that it produces, including: Growth and sexual/reproductive development and function of other Glands of the endocrine system (thyroid gland, adrenal glands, and gonads)

Hormones - The chemical messengers act on the brain by travelling through the bloodstream into the tissues. Note some hormones are chemically identical to neurotransmitters . They basically affect attraction, appetite and aggression .

#4 - Meet Your Brain

After years feeling heads of strangers early 1800’s German physician Franz Joseph Gall was on to something, that different parts of the brain control specific aspects of our behavior.

Franz Joseph Gall was the first Phrenology , now considered a pseudoscience. Phrenology is the detailed study of the shape and size of skull as a indication of the character and mental abilities of a person. But Bigger skull is linked to bigger brain and more brain power.

Central Nervous System is the main command center also know as the CNS. There is also the peripheral nervous system which is made up sensory neurons.

How our behavior and brain are connected. A good example for this is the story of Phineas Gage, a well manner Gage after getting shot by accident had lost a good chunk of his brain. Although he heal but lost an eye, he did have the same memories and skills. But he was no longer a nice person, he became angry and short termed and his friends could tell he was no longer Phineas Gage. Lesson , Want change yourself, throw some brain out .

FYI we use more than 10% of our brain, more like 100%.

Brain scans show that nearly all parts of our brain lights up when do simple tasks like walking or standing up. The brain need 20% of our body’s total energy to work and if the 10% thing was true, we would probably have a peanut size brain as we evolve and throw away the useless parts to conserve energy. Koala have evolved to have small brain to conserve energy.

Structurally the outer most layers of the brain is the newest , most detailed and complex and going down the inner layers are more simpler, smaller and more generic. Inner most part is also called “Old Brain“. It still does the same function as it did since early ancestors. It is anchored by the brain stem and is central core of the brain. At the base of the skull is the medulla, they are responsible for automated tasks like breathing.

The Old Brain keeps our bodies basic functions running smoothly.

important functions, including:

• Basic life support: The hindbrain controls many of the body's involuntary functions, such as breathing, heart rate, and digestion. This allows us to stay alive without having to consciously think about it.

• Motor control: The hindbrain is involved in coordination, balance, and motor learning. This allows us to move smoothly and efficiently.

• Sleep and wakefulness: The hindbrain plays a role in sleep and wakefulness. It helps us to fall asleep and to stay asleep.

The medulla oblongata, pons, thalamus, reticular formation, and cerebellum are all located in the brainstem

The medulla oblongata is the lowest part of the brainstem. It is responsible for controlling many of the body's involuntary functions, such as breathing, heart rate, and digestion.

The pons is located just above the medulla oblongata. It is responsible for relaying signals between the brain and the spinal cord. The pons is involved in sleep, respiration, and facial movements

The thalamus is located in the middle of the brainstem. It is a relay station for sensory information from the body to the cerebrum.

The reticular formation is a network of neurons that extends throughout the brainstem. It is responsible for maintaining consciousness and wakefulness. The reticular formation plays a role in regulating arousal and attention.

The cerebellum is located at the back of the brainstem. It is responsible for coordination, balance, and motor learning.

The limbic system is involved in emotions and memory, and the basal ganglia control movement and reward processing.

Some of the major structures of the limbic system include:

• The amygdala: The amygdala is responsible for processing emotions, especially fear and anxiety.

• The hippocampus: The hippocampus is responsible for long-term memory formation and retrieval.

• The hypothalamus: The hypothalamus is responsible for regulating many bodily functions, including hunger, thirst, and sex drive.

• The thalamus: The thalamus is a relay station for sensory information from the body to the cerebral cortex.

• The cingulate gyrus: The cingulate gyrus is involved in attention, motivation, and emotion.

some of the functions of the limbic system:

• Emotion: The limbic system is involved in the processing of emotions, such as fear, anger, happiness, and sadness. It also plays a role in the regulation of our emotional responses.

• Behavior: The limbic system is involved in the control of our behavior. It helps us to make decisions, to learn from our experiences, and to respond to rewards and punishments.

• Memory: The limbic system is involved in the formation and storage of long-term memories. It also plays a role in the retrieval of memories.

• Olfaction: The limbic system is involved in the sense of smell. It helps us to identify different smells and to associate them with memories and emotions.

The Grey Matter - The two hemispheres of our cerebrum make up about 85% of our brain weight, and oversee your ability to think, speak and perceive. The left and right brain have different functions and are connected by corpus callosum . Language is left and creative on right. Cerebral Cortex a thin layer of interconnected neurons and Glial Cells

Glial cells, also known as neuroglia, are non-neuronal cells that provide support and protection for neurons in the central nervous system (CNS). They play a crucial role in maintaining the health and function of the nervous system by providing structural support, regulating the chemical environment, and repairing damage.

All lobes are divided by fissures and each hemisphere controls the opposite side of the brain. All these are the grey matter parts.

Frontal Lobes are involved in speaking planning judging, abstract thinking and personality aspects

Parietal Lobes are involved in Sense of touch and body position

Occipital lobe are involved in information related to sight

Temporal lobe are involved in comprehension , sound and speech.

Motor Cortex - Voluntary motor functions

Association areas , they cannot triggered or active specific areas using electrical signals. in the brain are regions that integrate information from multiple sensory inputs and are responsible for higher cognitive functions such as perception, memory, and language. There are several association areas in the brain, including the prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex, and temporal cortex. Damage to association areas can result in cognitive deficits such as difficulty with problem-solving, decision-making, and language comprehension.

#5 - Sensation and Perception

Prosopagnosia - A neurological disorder that impairs a person’s ability to perceive or recognize faces, also known as face blindness. “Who am i” has an whole new meaning. Oliver Sacks has it.

Prosopagnosia is great example to show the difference between sensation and perception. Sacks can see a face just like anyone (sensation) but cannot process it (perception).

Sensation refers to the process of detecting stimuli through our senses, while Perception is the process of interpreting and making sense of those stimuli. In other words, sensation is the initial detection of sensory input, while perception is the cognitive process that follows.

Absolute Threshold of Sensation - It is the minimum amount of sensory stimulation that is needed to register a particular stimulus 50% of the time. 50% because sometimes the brain just wont register it even if you hear the exact same sound . There are factors like alertness and expectations in play . That brings us to the signal detection theory - a model for predicting how and when a person will detect weak stimuli, partly based on context.

Sensory adaptation is a phenomenon that occurs when our sensory receptors become less responsive to constant or repetitive stimuli over time. It is a natural process that allows our senses to adjust to ongoing or unchanging sensory information, enabling us to focus on detecting new or important stimuli. This can be seen in all senses ,

1. Vision: When exposed to a constant level of light, such as being in a dimly lit room, our eyes gradually adjust and become less sensitive to the low light level. However, when we move to a brighter environment, our visual sensitivity increases as our eyes adapt to the change.

2. Hearing: If you're exposed to a continuous, loud noise, such as the sound of a fan or traffic, your hearing will gradually adapt to it, and you may notice the noise less over time. This adaptation helps prevent auditory fatigue.

3. Smell: When exposed to a persistent odor, such as a strong perfume or the smell of a certain food, our sense of smell adapts, and we become less aware of the scent. This adaptation allows us to detect new odors more easily.

4. Touch: If you place your hand on a surface with a constant temperature, such as a warm or cold object, the initial sensation diminishes as your skin adapts to the temperature.

Sensory Overload - Is something that can be direct effect of sensory adaptation or when there is a high level of sensory input compared to relative sensory input. This can be a flash bang or an explosive sound.

Difference Threshold of Sensation - This is amount of difference is sensory levels of be considered different from another stimuli. Like difference in brightness of two light source. Weber’s Law - We perceive differences on logarithmic than a linear scale. Meaning bigger the difference , higher the chance of perceiving it as a different .

Eyes

.Light We only see the visible spectrum of light, light or electromagnetic radiation ranges from Gamma Rays to Radio Waves. The wavelength determines the Hue. Short wavelength is high frequency bluish color and Long wavelength is low frequency reddish color.

Amplitude determines the intensity (how much energy it has).

Neurology of Vision-

Retina --inside-- Cones and Rods.

Cones and rods are photoreceptor cells in the retina of our eyes. Cones are responsible for color vision and visual acuity, while rods are responsible for vision in low light conditions and detecting motion. Cones are densely packed in the fovea, the central part of the retina, while rods are more densely packed in the periphery. Additionally, there are three types of cones that are sensitive to different wavelengths of light, allowing us to perceive a wide range of colors. Rods, on the other hand, are not sensitive to color and are more sensitive to light than cones.

Our eyes can sense and differentiate between million of different hues, there are two major theory that explain how our eyes sense different colors. The widely accepted one is the Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic theory. The theory explains that retina has three different cones which register red, green and blue. Combined they perceive a single color. Unless the person is colorblind , about 1 in 50 males experience color blindness. Colorblindness is sex linked and only the males have it. If you cant see red, green or blue that means one of the cones is missing or not working correctly and that makes y__ou Dichromatic vision__.

There is a rare condition called achromatopsia or monochromatic vision, here the person see the world in the shade of a single color. This is also known as total colorblindness.

Unfortunately there are no cure for colorblindness

Another theory is the Opponent-process theory, where some cells will be stimulated while others might get inhibited .

After cones and rode, get stimulated they activate the bipolar cells behind them and there job is to turn on the neighboring Ganglion Cells, the long axion of these cells braid together to form the optic nerves which send electrical impulses to the visual cortex of the brain. It travels from the Thalamus to the visual cortex . The visual cortex sits at the back of brain in occipital lobe where left cortex process the right eye and wise-versa . Each cortex have their own feature sectors which processes things like shapes, depth, motion etc. Binocular integration contributes for depth perception.

Parallel Processing is when the brain simultaneously process color, motion, shape and depth to make sense of things.

#6 - Homunculus

Latin for “Little Man“ - The hideous creature within us

Homunculus model scales parts of our body to its relative function. Like how much would each part grow if relative to how much we sense with them. It help us to understand the relationship between our brains and our senses

The Human Ear

These are organs as they give us Directional Stereophonic Hearing .

Ear drum receive sound waves from the outer ear and these waves are amplified by the Ossicular Bones The Ossicular bones consist of the Stirrup, Hammer and the Anvil . From there they go to the Cochlea which consist of tiny cochlea hair cells

These sensation cause electrical impulses to go through nerve fibers to the Auditory Nerves and finally to the Auditory cortex in the brain

Tongue and the taste buds

Taste unlike other senses is a chemical sense.

Each of our taste buds contain a pocket like pore called the Taste Pore , that contain 50-100 hair like receptor cells called the Gustatory Receptor Cells. Supporting cells and Basal cells are also in the taste pore.

The taste map. Which is completely wrong. Apart from this there is a 5th favor called Umami

Synesthesia

Synesthesia is a neurological condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. In other words, synesthetes may see colors when they hear music, or taste flavors when they read words. It is estimated that about 4% of the population has some form of synesthesia. We are not sure what causes this.

Nose and The Smells

Unlike other senses, smell is a chemical sense like taste. There are millions of receptor cells in the nasal cavity. From there they go to the Olfactory Bulb and Primary Smell Cortex. Apart from this they also parts of the limbic system responsible for emotion and memory. We dont have specific odor receptor which respond to specific smell.

Each smell can be perceived based on our experiences there by linking emotion and memory function. Even if we cant tell what smell the is exactly, the perception will be accurate enough to trigger responses. The familiarity concept of smell.

Sense and the limbic system

The amygdala and hippocampus are two brain regions that are involved in processing sensory information. The amygdala is responsible for processing emotions, particularly fear and anxiety, and is linked to the sense of smell. The hippocampus, on the other hand, is involved in memory formation and is linked to the sense of sight and spatial awareness. Together, these two regions play a crucial role in how we perceive and respond to sensory information in our environment.

Touch and Kinesthesis

Touch is very important is early development. This can be seen in infant monkey, who doesnt experience touch become more distraught . In infant babies, lack of physical contact like touch can lead of developmental issue like risk of emotional, behavioral and social problem as they grow.

The sense of touch is a combination of 4 senses - Pressure, Warmth, Cold, Pain.

The fingertips are most sensitive to various touch

These touch sense combines with joins, bones, tendons to provide our own kinesthesis Kinesthesis is how our body senses its own movement and positioning. This explain how we can move another without some senses like vision, sound. The vestibular sense which tells the head positions for balance by fluid filled canals

#6 - Perceiving is Believing

Senses mean little without our brains to translate into meaningful perception. So what you see is not what you get.

All these can make us see things that might not be there or miss something that was there. Affecting our spatial awareness

Is it a duck or a bunny. Or Both. Now your brain is switching between both. If i ask do you see the bunny, your expectation kicks in and your brain starts looking for a bunny.

As per our __perceptual se__t, seeing is only one thing. So seeing is believing but as per our perception , believing is seeing. As perception can be influenced by external factors. This can lead to many optical illusion

Form Perception and Figure Ground Relationships

The organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground). The divide things into objects and surroundings.

The Faces or Vase illusion is it a face or vase. It change as we change the background. Focus more on the white, you see the vase . Focus more on the blacks you see the faces.

Note that it can also mean what is in in focus even if its the same object. Like in a party who you focus on becomes the figure and everyone else become the ground.

Rules of Grouping

we order things based on proximity, continuity and closure. Find order in randomness.

The rule of proximity says that we like to group nearby figures together. Like instead looking at leaves and flowers see group them as a plants.

The rule of continuity says that we like to perceive smooth continuous patterns and ignore broken ones

The rule of closure says that we tend to fill gap to create a complete whole object.

Depth Perception

The ability of see the world in 3D. This what helps us determine the distance or shape

We use Binocular and Monocular Cues . Binocular Cue means the depth cues that is due the retinal disparity and depends on the use of the two eyes. Fun Fact Eyes are 2.5 inches apart

• Binocular Disparity: Our eyes are positioned slightly apart, which means each eye receives a slightly different image of the same object. The brain compares these two different images and calculates the disparity (difference) between them to perceive depth. This is known as stereopsis or binocular disparity.

• Convergence: Convergence refers to the inward movement of the eyes when focusing on nearby objects. The brain uses the degree of convergence to estimate the distance of the object. The greater the convergence, the closer the object is perceived.

Monocular Cues we use to judge far off object . When we use one eye only. We use them for finding relative size and height, linear perspective, texture gradient and interposition. While some of these can be seen with both eyes, they are still monocular cues as they can be seen with one eye only too.

• Interposition: Interposition occurs when one object partially blocks or overlaps another object. This creates the perception that the overlapped object is farther away. By analyzing the position of objects in the visual field, the brain can determine the relative distance between them.

• Texture Gradient: Texture gradient refers to the change in the appearance of texture as it recedes into the distance. Objects that are closer appear to have more distinct and detailed textures, while objects farther away appear to have finer and less detailed textures.

• Relative Size: When two objects are known to be similar in size, the one that appears smaller is perceived as being farther away. This cue relies on our knowledge of object sizes and helps us estimate their distance.

• Height in the Visual Field: Objects that are located closer to the horizon are perceived as being more distant than objects located higher in the visual field.

• Motion Parallax: Motion parallax is the perceived difference in the speed and direction of objects as we move. Objects closer to us appear to move faster and in the opposite direction of our movement, while objects farther away appear to move slower and in the same direction as our movement.

• Examples: When you see a road stretching into the distance, the converging lines provide a cue for depth perception. Interposition cues are used when objects partially block each other in your visual field, allowing you to determine their relative distance. Texture gradient helps you judge the distance of a field of flowers, where the flowers closer to you appear larger and more detailed, while those farther away appear smaller and less detailed.

Motion Perception

Generally Shrinking objects are retreating and enlarging objects are approaching.

Brain can easily be tricked when it comes to motion , large objects tend to be slower than small objects even when they are at the same speed.

Perceptual Constancy or Consistency

We know what a dog looks like even if wears a suit or is in space or If it giant. Or if not see in 3D.

Perceptual constancy, also known as perceptual consistency, refers to the ability of our brain to perceive objects consistently despite changes in their sensory input.__ It allows us to recognize and interpret objects as stable and unchanging, even when they are viewed from different angles, distances, lighting conditions, or sizes.

#8 - Consciousness

Consciousness is like the force, we don’t really know how it work. But use wisely. It is most familiar and mysterious part of our lives.

Every science has a concept that is so fundamentally abstract that we find it difficult to describe it. Physics doesn’t tell us much about outer space and biology tell us if something is alive or not, but not why it is alive. And Finally ask a psychologist what consciousness is .

Consciousness - Our awareness of ourselves and our environment. There are many stage of consciousness .

Psychologist William James- Came up with “stream of consciousness“ as it is an continuous, moving stage of mind.

Stages of Consciousness

Walking , Tripping , Dreaming and Sleep. Some are triggered by medication or hypnosis.

Cognitive Neuroscience - The study of how brain activity is linked with our mental processes.

Brain Scanning- There are two types mainly Structural imaging and Functional Imaging.

Structural Imaging - Shows a static image of the brain using CT, MRI etc. They help in identifying large scale tumors.

Functional Imaging - Shows us the electromagnetic activity in the brain. Like blood flow. They can be fMRI

Debate in neural image finding is there. As we know correlation does equal causation . Like activity detect in the brain while having some thoughts might be useful to know but it does not means much.

Evidence show that there is not only one form of consciousness .

Dual Processing Model is the principle that information is simultaneously processed on separate conscious and non-conscious tracks. Like the Deliberate Mind telling us “Look there is dog“ and Our Automatic Mind telling us “Color is red, has fur , is running , size and distance “

Brain Fact - All senses give about 11 million bits of information every second. But we consciously register only 40 at a time.

Selective Attention - It is how we focus our conscious awareness on a particular stimulus or group of stimuli. Suggestion can change our selective attention like thinking about the tongue , you start feeling the saliva . An auditory example of selective attention is how we focus and tune out everything else but who we are talking to in a party. As soon as someone speaks your name, your consciousness focuses on them. This can be seen even in infants as young as 5 months old. When we move our selective attention ,we also active our selective inattention. What was in focus now becomes selectively out of focus.

Inattentional Blindness - Is when we fail to notice things that are not in our focus. An example will be Moonwalking Bear. The original experiment found that 50% of people failed to notice the change. Note this was not done is person. Spatial awareness might come into play and produce a different result.

Magicians exploit this the most, they call this misdirection. Every time we engage in a magic, we are engaging in an experimental psychology.

Change Blindness - Is when we fail to notice change in the environment. This is different from inattentional Blindness as that is the result of being focused on one thing.

Person Swap - Is an experiment when the experimenter will stop someone in the park and ask them direction and distract them and the original experimenter gets replaced by someone identical. Half the time people dont know notice.

This can be dangerous when faulty memories lead to false eyewitness.

Yoda - A Jedi uses the force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.

The reality is we are far less aware of things going around us than we think.

#9 - To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

. Sleeping Dogs never lie

Sleep is a periodic, natural, reversible and near total loss of consciousness So coma and hibernation is entirely different.

We don’t really know why we sleep but my take there heavy consequences when we don’t sleep and numerous benefits so that reason enough. There are some theories.

Theories for sleep

Recuperation- Says while we sleep neurons regenerate , rest and repair themselves.

Growth - Pituitary Gland release growth hormones. Explains why babies sleep all the time. And why less sleep is need for adults

Mental Functions - Like processing memory from short term storage to long term storage

Stages of Sleep

Brain waves study using Electroencephalograph . The machine that measures the brain electrical activity.

REM or Rapid Eye Movement Sleep stage is the final sleep stage in the sleep cycle and the most important sleep stage . During which we experience vivid dreams commonly occur.

NREM or Non Rapid Eye Movement

NREM-1 , NREM-2, NREM-3 and finally REM

Each having unique brainwave patterns.

During when we are awake our endocrine system releases “awake“ hormones called cortisol from the adrenal gland. With nightfall comes the release of sleepy melatonin hormones from the pineal gland.

Alpha Waves which comes when we are feeling sleepy immediately transition into NREM-1 which can be clearly seen in the brain waves. In this stage we experience Hypnagogic sensation. Then into NREM 2 during which stage rapid burst of brain activity can be seen called Sleep Spindles. NREM-3 with slowest waves called the delta waves. Brief and Fragmented dreams can occur during the first 3 stages of sleep

And Finally REM sleep . REM is paradoxical as the motor cortex is jumping all over the place while the brainstem blocks it. Leaving the muscles so relaxed that muscles are basically paralyzed

This sleep cycle repeat it self every 90 mins

Sleep Deprivation

Lack of sleep has been linked to both psychological and physiological effects like depression , high anxiety and weight gain. Even immune system suppression and slowed reaction time.

Sleep Disorders

Insomnia - which is recurring problems in falling asleep or staying asleep. To be considered, the person who have experienced problems falling asleep for 3 continuous days in a week over a month.

Narcolepsy - The sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks . Major identifying character is excessive sleepiness accompanied by cataplexy when body falls asleep. Hypocretin (this helps us stay awake ) neurotransmitter deficiency can be cause and in rare cases as result of brain infection or disease.

Sleep Apnea - The sleep disorder that causes the sleeper to temporarily stop breathing. Decrease in oxygen levels walk them up.

Birbiglia - REM sleep behavior disorder which we fully don’t understand. Associated with dopamine deficiency.

Night Terrors- Terrible as they sound leading to increased heart rate and breathing common in children under 7 and may come up as a result of stress, sleeping deprivation and sleeping unfamiliar surrounding. So the monster under the bed is very real to them. Nightmares which happen during REM sleep are entirely different.

Sleep Talking and Sleep Walking - Like Night terrors occur during NREM 3 stage

Dreams-

Brain Fact - the average person spends about six years of their life dreaming.

We generally dream about things that happened that day or what we experience that day.

Theories for Dreams

The study of dreams is a mix of neuroscience and psychology known as oneirology

All theories seems stupid as the are based on non replicable and introspective input about a persons dream. Unless we also can see it or verify it. Not scientific at all.

Wish-Fulfillment theory by Sigmund Freud - lacks scientific backing

Information Processing Theory proposed that our dreams help us sort our and process the day’s events and fix them into our memories. Important when it comes to learning and processing new information. Studies show people recall things better after a good night of REM sleep.

Physiological Function theory suggest that dreaming may promote neural development and preserve neural pathways by providing the brain with stimulation. More stimulation means they expand their connections more. Babies dreaming more means the develop their brain functions more quickly .

Cognitive development theory suggest that dreams are a part of our cognitive development and they draw on our knowledge and understanding of the world mimicking reality

REM sleeps trigger neural activity and dreams are accidental side-effects

One thing we do know is that REM sleep is both vital for biological and psychological

#10 - Altered States

Let me tell you something about hypnosis, its a real thing but not what you think.

Franz Anton Mesmer - German physician started treating all manner of medical problems by putting his patients into a trance like state during which he claimed to align their “internal magnetic force“ which he called animal magnetism. He used the healing power of suggestion.

Hypnosis is an example of altered state of consciousness

Altered states can include hallucinations under the effects of psychoactive drugs.

Hypnosis

Hypnosis is a calm, trance like state during which you tend to have heightened concentration and focus, and in which you’re typically more open to suggestion. It has empirical evidence and has been successfully been used in treating anxiety, weight loss and chronic pain.

Hypnosis cannot make you act totally against your will. Nor is hypnosis a reliable way to enhance the recall of deeply buried memories.

Only about 20% of us are thought be highly hypnotizable. Still that is a very big number. There are thing like the S__tanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale__ to test people.

How does hypnosis work

There is still some disagreement stating what is a hypnosis stage.

Social Influence theory suggests that people trend like good hypnotic subjects as they trust their hypnotist

Dissociation theory suggest that it has something to do with a special dual processing state of split consciousness . By this way a hypnotist help us not by blocking pain but by selectively not attend to that pain. Very similar to dissociation we all experience , the famous “ where am i “. In clinical practice, people are not made to dissociate but asked to dissociate. Adaptive Dissociate Capacity is what we use.

Drugs Tolerance and Neuroadaptation

the most classic way to enter an altered state of mind is by using drugs. Morning coffee is still considered a drug.

Tolerance - The diminishing effect with regular use of the same dose of a drug, requiring the user to take larger and large does before experiencing the drugs effect.

Neuroadaptation- It is the process by which brain chemistry adapts to offset the effects of the drugs.

Psychoactive Drugs

These are chemical substances that alter your mood and perception. They go straight to brain synapses and mick the function of neurotransmitters. Psychoactive drugs also have placebo effect, expecting and suggestion plays a big part. Can help in deaddiction.

These are mainly categorized into Depressants, Stimulants and Hallucinogens.

Depressants

These are alcohol, tranquilizers, opiates etc. They bring about slow body functions by suppressing neural activity . Alcohol act as an __Disinhibito__r which impairs the brain’s judgement areas, while reducing the self awareness and self control. Alcohol also disrupts memory formation . Similar to alcohol , tranquilizers or barbiturates depress nervous system activity. Note that these are used to treat conditions like anxiety and depression. But high dose can have negative impact. Mix and match equals death. Opiates works the same way and envelop the brain in a fog of no pain bliss. Though it is used for pain treatment, this can lead to brain stopping neurotransmitter endorphins which is the natural pain killers.

Stimulants

They excite rather than suppress neural activity and speed up bodily functions by bringing up energy and self confidence and changing the mood. Legally we have caffeine, nicotine and other amphetamines.

Cocaine , Freud love them even wrote a book about using it. Before moving to cigar addiction. Coke blocks reuptake of dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine .

The thing about excessively activated neurotransmitters is that they can become temporarily depleted and cause that agitated crash. Remember the longer they stay at the synaptic clef the more likely they are to get bonded by the receptors for post synaptic reaction.

Hallucinogens or Psychedelics

They come in plant, fungal and synthetic forms like LSD. These drugs distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of actual sensory inputs.

Brain Fact - LSD has discovered by accident

There are multiple non drug induced hallucinations that can happened after a brain injury or even fever or extreme depression.

Even normal people can hallucination like auditory hallucination you thinking someone calling your name.

Therapeutic Approaches: Psychedelic-assisted therapy typically involves administering a moderate dose of a psychedelic substance in a controlled setting, accompanied by trained therapists or guides. These sessions aim to facilitate deep exploration and processing of emotions and memories, often targeting the root causes of mental health issues. Therapy sessions are usually supported by pre- and post-session integration work to help individuals integrate their experiences into their daily lives

#11 - How to Train a Brain

Given a dozen healthy infants, i could train anyone of them of be a doctor, artist, lawyer, engineer or even a thief regardless of their talents, tendencies or ancestry -John B Watson. RIP Little Albert.

Behaviorism - An empirically rigorous science focused on observable behaviors and not unobservable internal mental process

Learning - The process of acquiring, through experience, new and relatively enduring information or behaviors.

Ivan Pavlov - The famous bell and food experiment

Associative learning - When a subject links certain events, behaviors or stimuli together in the process of conditioning. Here linking the bell and food. This is the basic form of learning a brain can do.

Classical Conditioning -By Ivan Pavlov .A type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events. Kind of a adaptive response to change in environment. Classical conditioning shows how a process like learning can actually be studied through direct observation of behavior. Linking the role of psychology in learning and according Pavlov making learning an observable factor.

Steps of Classical Conditioning-

Before conditioning , a dog will drool as it smells food as a natural response or unconditioned response. here the food is the unconditioned stimulus . The ringing sound from the bell is the neutral stimulus. Right now the sound means nothing to the dog.

During Conditioning - The unconditioned stimulus (food) is paired with the neutral stimulus. This is repeated many times till the association is make between the two stimuli , this stage is called Acquisition

After-Conditioning- The neutral stimulus has become a conditioned stimulus and results in a conditioned response.

Would new conditioning be used to undo old conditioning.

Well, condition doesn’t last forever with reinforcements. And Yes, it could be done. This is by the process of extinction which is the process of unlearning or unlinking a conditioned response or overcoming a preconditioned response. In the case of the roller coaster, exposure therapy is used where little by little the roller coaster is introduced as a safe thing.

This brings up my point of Psychology limited to a room sucks. Going with the person with a camera to see the fear in person and help them by being a friend. Who knows maybe its something else near the roller coaster than caused the fear.

Operant Conditioning - Another type of learning similar to classical conditioning. If classical conditioning is about forming links between stimuli, operant conditioning involves associating our own behavior with consequences .

Or Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if follow by a punisher. Like in the dogs experiment , the opposite might be done where the bell is rung and then food follow if the dog response.

Difference between Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning.

1. Nature of the stimulus and response:

   • Classical Conditioning: In classical conditioning, the focus is on the association between a neutral stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus that elicits a reflexive response. The neutral stimulus is paired with the natural stimulus, and eventually, it comes to evoke the same response as the natural stimulus. For example, in Ivan Pavlov's famous experiment, the sound of a bell (neutral stimulus) was repeatedly paired with the presentation of food (natural stimulus), which led to the dogs salivating (response) when they heard the bell alone.

   • Operant Conditioning: In operant conditioning, the focus is on the association between a voluntary behavior and its consequences. The behavior is strengthened or weakened based on the consequences that follow it. For example, if a rat presses a lever and receives a food reward, it is more likely to repeat the behavior in the future.

2. Role of reinforcement:

   • Classical Conditioning: In classical conditioning, reinforcement is not a central element. The neutral stimulus becomes associated with the natural stimulus, and the response occurs automatically, without the need for reinforcement.

   • Operant Conditioning: Reinforcement plays a critical role in operant conditioning. Behaviors are shaped and maintained through reinforcement, which can be positive (adding a desirable stimulus), negative (removing an aversive stimulus), or punishment (adding an aversive stimulus).

3. Focus on involuntary vs voluntary behaviors:

   • Classical Conditioning: Classical conditioning primarily deals with involuntary, reflexive responses. It involves the association between stimuli that automatically elicit responses.

   • Operant Conditioning: Operant conditioning focuses on voluntary behaviors. It explores how behaviors are influenced and shaped by their consequences.

4. Timing of the association:

   • Classical Conditioning: In classical conditioning, the neutral stimulus is typically presented before the natural stimulus to establish the association between them. This temporal relationship is essential for the conditioning to occur.

   • Operant Conditioning: In operant conditioning, the behavior occurs first, and then the consequences follow. The association is made based on the relationship between the behavior and its consequences.

Shaping is an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behaviors towards closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior. There can to be a reason for the rat to pull the lever in the first place thats what shaping does. Little by little in the process of successive approximations , the rat learns that lever equal food.

B.F. Skinner and Skinner box,

he designed the famous operant conditioning chamber Called the skinner box. which has a lever or button which releases food.

Maybe inspired his Air Crib or inspired by.

Positive Reinforcement - is a stimulus that is presented after a positive or desired response, strengthens the response.

Negative Reinforcement - Is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. Like rat pushing a button stop the noise.

Negative reinforcement is not the same as Punishment. But negative reinforcement removes the punishing event to increase a behavior.

Punishment- Decreases a behavior either positively or negatively .

Primary Reinforcers - an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need. Eating food to live. You dont have to learn that. We link primary reinforcers to conditioned reinforcer like paycheck linking to food linking to survival. Conditioned reinforcer a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer.

Reinforcement Scheduling

Partial (intermittent) reinforcement- reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement.

Many disagree that external factors only effects behavior and ideas of Skinner, Pavlov, and Watson. Looking at motivation which is an internal mental process, we can say its both internal and external.

#12 - The Bobo Breakdown

If you see a kid giving an uppercut to a doll. Help the kid as there is more than that meets the eye.

Bobo Doll Experiment

Albert Bandura - His experiment where a child observed a women punching a Bobo Doll, an inflatable punching bag for 10 mins and later the kid was taken to a room full of fun toys which was soon taken away and the frustrated kid was left alone with Bobo. And Bandura watched what happened. Its pretty scary that the kid start mimic the women and started letting out his anger on the Bobo Doll. Even went as far as to use a hammer, hostile language and toy guns. But other children who saw an adult playing nicely with the doll or just ignoring it. Didnt respond the same way in their frustration.

This research showed that how learning can occur through observing and imitating someone else’s behavior. And not only by conditioning and association , reward and punishment.

Social Cognitive Learning

Social cognitive learning, also known as social learning theory, is a psychological theory developed by Albert Bandura. It emphasizes the importance of observing and imitating others' behaviors, attitudes, and emotions in the process of learning. According to this theory, individuals learn through a combination of direct experience, observation of others, and cognitive processes such as attention, memory, and motivation. Social cognitive learning suggests that people can acquire new behaviors and skills by observing others and the consequences of their actions. It also highlights the role of self-efficacy, which refers to an individual's belief in their ability to successfully perform a specific task or behavior. Overall, social cognitive learning provides insights into how social factors influence learning and behavior.

This goes against the idea that learning is only about conditioning and association, Reward and Punishment.

Bandura’s experiment showed that just as there more than one way to beat up a clown, there are more than one way to learn.

Brain Fact - Human are more taste averse than sight averse.

Learning And Cognition

Species can more easily learn associations that help them thrive or survive and that not all associations are learned equally. Like its more easier to teach a pigeon to pick its beak on a dot for food than to teach it to use its wings to touch the do for food. as pecking is a natural behavior . There are biological limits to species when it comes to learning so expecting involving humans and animal can give different results.

What we learn doesn’t only influence our behavior, it also shapes our attitudes .

Cognition - Our thoughts, perspectives and expectations . and cognition is as important as social context.

As per conditioning learning, an alcohol addict can given some beer with something added give it a nasty taste. But the brain can think its not alcohol that taste nasty but something might have been added to it. Our Brains sometimes can think our way out of an intended association. So here associating booze with something nasty fails. T__he social context__ like their friends, family drinking it can reinforce that alcohol consumption is more than the nauseating pill could ever punish it.

Latent learning

we all know the places around our house without anyone teaching it to us. And we can easily tell the directions. That’s because we are constantly developing cognitive maps or mental representation without explicitly telling ourselves to do it.

The classic rats in the maze, even rats do this. without any reward or punishment. And the moment the reward is introduced, rats fly through the maze to the location of the food. They are as fast or faster than rats who have been taught with rewards.

Observational Learning, Modeling, and Imitation

Observational learning is as it sounds learning by observing. We dont always need to taught everything. We can learn by the modelling, process of observing and imitating a specific behavior.

Practice makes perfect nope, Practice makes permanent . Learning it right, Practice it right to make it perfect.

Best example of modeling is the influence of pop culture on our daily lives.

__Mirror Neurons- which fires when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. This is relatively new . Showing reward, reinforcement relation to learning from Bandura’s experiment. Kids sees mom fight again and now his reward pathway activates.

Observation social learning starts really early and powerful paternal model are important. Positive spreads and negative brings antisocial behavior .

Imitation is not just the sincerest form of flattery, It is the sincerest form of learning - George Bernard Shaw.

#13 - How We Make Memories

Our memories may haunt us or sustain us but either way, they define us and help us make who we are.

Procedural memories are stored differently than personal memories. Like remembering how to walk or talk but not your BFF’s name or who won the war. Personal memories go to the hippocampus while procedural memories might go to the motor cortex.

Accessing Memory: Recall, Recognition and Relearning

Memory- Learning that has persisted overtime- information that has been stored and , in many cases, can be recalled.

Memories are usually accessed through three ways- Recall, Recognition, Relearning. Or the different 3 R’s.

Recall - a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier. Like helps fill in the blanks. ____ is capital of india.

Recognition - a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned. Like a multiple choice, Which of the following is the not cities in india. Mumbai, Horserashes, Delhi .

Relearning - a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again. Like refreshing old information. Like when you study for an exam we relearn what we forgot more easily.

How is Memory Stored

Early model of memory formation. First Its is encoded in the brain in the working/short term memory and then into the long-term memory where it gets retrieved for future use.

Before getting it into the short-term memory , we store it as a sensory memory like a snapshot of what we just saw.

When you remember things it goes to the short term memory. By encoding it through various methods like . This is how you briefly remember things. Try remembering a phone through rehearsal and see how fast it you forget it. T__his information only stays in our memory for under 30 seconds without a lot of rehearsals.__

Various methods of encoding-

1. Rehearsal: Rehearsal involves the repetition or maintenance of information in working memory. This process helps to reinforce and consolidate memories.

2. Association: Creating associations between new information and existing knowledge or memories helps in encoding. This can involve linking new information to concepts or experiences already stored in the brain.

3. Elaboration: Elaboration involves expanding and adding details to the information being encoded. By relating new information to existing knowledge or creating meaningful connections, memory encoding is enhanced.

4. Organization: Organizing information in a structured manner aids in memory encoding. This can involve categorizing information, creating hierarchies, or using mnemonic devices to improve recall.

5. Semantic(related to language and logic) encoding: Encoding information based on its meaning is a powerful method. When information is processed and linked to its meaning, it is more likely to be stored effectively. Deep processing, such as relating information to personal experiences or emotional significance, enhances semantic encoding.

6. Visual imagery: Creating mental images or visual representations of information can facilitate memory encoding. Visual cues and spatial relationships can be particularly effective for remembering certain types of information.

7. Contextual cues: Memories can be encoded with contextual information related to the time, place, people, or other environmental factors present during the initial encoding. This contextual information can later act as retrieval cues to aid in memory recall.

8. Emotional arousal: Emotionally charged experiences tend to be encoded more effectively. The brain prioritizes the encoding of emotionally salient information, potentially leading to stronger and more vivid memories.

Brain Fact- Our mind can only hold 4 to 7 chunks of information at a time. This is referred to as ‘the magical 7 plus or minus 2’ a theory by Cognitive Psychologist George Miller. Miller's observations and experiments on human memory. He found that people tend to have difficulty recalling more than about seven items, such as digits or letters, when presented with a random sequence. Chunks as in a group of items or a meaningful single item. This is a limitation of short term or working memory. After that the memory either gets decayed or transferred to the long-term memory.

Long-Term Memory is the brains durable and ridiculously spacious storage unit holding all knowledge, skills and experience.

Working Memory or Short Term memory.

Working memory is conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information and of information retrieved from long-term memory.

It not only functions in encoding, but also retrieving. It involves both explicit and implicit processes. Both of these get transfer to the long term memory.

Types of Memory

1. Episodic memory: Episodic memory involves the ability to remember specific events, experiences, and personal episodes in a particular context. It includes details about time, place, emotions, and associated sensory information. Episodic memory allows us to recall past experiences and mentally re-experience them.

2. Semantic (relating to language or logic)memory: Semantic memory refers to general knowledge and facts about the world, independent of personal experiences. It includes concepts, meanings, language, and factual information. For example, knowing that Paris is the capital of France or that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius represents semantic memories.

3. Procedural memory: Procedural memory involves the recall and execution of motor skills, habits, and learned procedures. It enables us to perform tasks automatically, such as riding a bicycle, typing on a keyboard, or playing a musical instrument. Procedural memory is often acquired through repeated practice and is less dependent on conscious awareness.

4. Implicit memory: Implicit memory refers to memories that influence our behavior and cognition without conscious awareness. Retention independent of conscious recollection. Our brain storing information passively Even things we are not aware of gets transferred to the long term memory. Example - Classically Conditioned Associations like fear of dentist gets recorded even if dont want to and gets recalled every time you see a dentist and hear the drill. This is recorded by the implicit memory into long term memory by Automatic Processing - Non-conscious encoding of incidental information such as space, time and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meaning. Like the remembering the way back home from a new place. Unless we have some brain disorder, we have no choice but to learn these.

5. Declarative memory: Declarative memory encompasses both episodic and semantic memory. It refers to memories that can be consciously recalled and "declared." Declarative memory involves the conscious retrieval of facts, events, and information. Explicit memory is memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare. We make most use of it while studying. Or involving remembering things we need.

6. Spatial memory: Spatial memory involves the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information about the environment and spatial relationships. It enables us to navigate and remember locations, routes, and layouts.

7. Recognition memory: Recognition memory refers to the ability to identify or recognize previously encountered stimuli, events, or information. It involves determining whether a presented item or situation has been encountered before.

All memories form as short term memory and then becomes long term memory by the process of consolidation. So types of memories are applicable to both.

Consolidation of memories : After initial encoding, memories undergo a process called consolidation, where they are stabilized and strengthened. Consolidation involves the transfer of memories from temporary storage to long-term storage, often occurring during sleep.

Memory Tricks -

Mnemonics - Make sentence from short forms.

Chunking - Organizing items into familiar, manageable units. Often occurs automatically.

Using multiple forms of input like reading and listening. Auditory memory and visual memory both work for better formation and recall.

Shallow Vs. Deep Processing

Shallow processing is where encoding information on basic auditory or visual levels, based on the sound, structure or appearance of a word. Its like you saw a word, you might remember because of the cool fonts (visual) or by hearing someone say it (auditory).

But to really retain the information we use Deep Processing. encodes semantically, based on actual meaning associated with the word.

So learning by just seeing the word or hearing is shallow processing and learning it by linking its meaning is deep processing here semantic means related to language or logic.

And to make it really really stick we should link it to something meaningful or relate it with personal emotion or experience

Forming memory depends both on the time you took to learn it and how you made it personal to you.

#14 - Remembering and Forgetting

Turns out human memory is a very fragile thing.

How Memories Are Stored

Retrieval Cues And Priming

Context And Mood Influencers

How information is Forgotten

Interference And Misinformation

Issues With Eye Witness Accounts.