Can a Dead Fish Prove that Modern Brain Studies Are Bunk?

[☭proletarian☭]

Scientists have a neat little tool they use to read your mind. It’s called fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging for those not in the know) and it seems to be everywhere these days. Scientists are using it for everything from looking at your dreams to studying the brains of jazz musicians to IDing the part of the brain that is activated when we get grossed out. But not everyone believes fMRI studies are all that useful. In fact, one group recently set out to show how the studies, if not done carefully, can be downright misleading. And to do this, they used dead fish.

Can a Dead Fish Prove that Modern Brain Studies Are Bunk? | Discoblog | Discover Magazine

 

[midcan5]

Modern brain studies only map out the brain and look at those places that are activated with certain types of activities and emotions. While there is great similarity in mind form the differences and the actor's experience play too large a part to make this a simple reading of a mind. The human context matters, and growing up changes it too. Let's face it as much as we like to think there is a special 'thing' contained somewhere in the self, we are really just a biological creation, a brain. Wondrous for sure.

Check out the Churchland's and Dan Dennett for some interesting stuff on mind, books and youtube.

This piece is directly related to topic but all are great and worth a listen.

Rebecca Saxe: How we read each other's minds | Video on TED.com

MIRROR NEURONS AND THE BRAIN IN A VAT By V.S. Ramachandran

Michael Merzenich on re-wiring the brain | Video on TED.com

Beau Lotto: Optical illusions show how we see | Video on TED.com

PHD with autism.

In Depth - In Depth: Temple Grandin - Book TV

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/health/research/03brain.html?_r=1&em

I have lots of links books etc as I find this topic fascinating as I am always puzzled over different minds and their way of creating meaning.