Science a GoGo's Home Page Forums General Discussion General Science Discussion Forum How do we think?

I've got a question for those who know alot on how the brain works. I've been wondering where our thoughts come from. I understand that our mind usually reacts to the events around us, and with experince and/ or knowledge, we base a series of options on which we can choose from; but what if we are worried about an event, and suddenly, without trying, your mind comes up with a solution that appeases the situation.

How does this work exactly? Where does the thought originally come from? If what who we are defines our action, and our actions are generated by thoughts, is the reason that thoughts are created, really defintive of us, or just some complex piece of meat working how it should?

Therein lies the mystery of the mind.

The short answer is, nobody yet knows the answer to your question though lots of people are researching it.

One interesting recent paper is discussed here.

It seems the brain may be not just a computer, but a quantum computer that's exceedingly better at math than you or me.

w

thanks for the link wayne!

Yes. Good one. I was pleased to see the comment, "One day I had a drink with some machine-learning researchers". I knew it was good for you.

Nobody knows exactly how the Brain remembers Anthony.
But the basis of memory both in man and animals is chemical. And is of some interest to me.
Important also, is the addition of a DENSE 3D stucture of synapses, or connections between the Brain cells.
The growth of these 3D connections continues apace, for the first few years after birth, before slowing down when a child reaches ten years or so. Efficient 3D connections are probably genetic and layed down when the foetus is in the womb.
Chemicals taken by the mother, have been shown to disrupt efficient brain formation

The genetic effects upon brain development are thought to be shown by those few lucky individuals who are classed as 'Savants' or even an Idiot Savant, if they have amazing abilities upon just a single subject.

Further proof that the basis of memory is chemical comes from tests done over 40 years ago upon flatworms and mice, that were taught to run and learn a maze.
When their brain was ground up and fed to other mice, these animals learnt their way around the same maze with ease.
Other low dose chemical effects were shown to have effected damage to Rat brains, include the insect repellant DDT (banned world wide since it affects humans) and Permethrin insecticide.
I believe the anti-nerve gas agent that was administered to soldiers in the 1990 Gulf War, had a deleterious effect upon the soldiers for some years later.

It is known that the chemical messenger Acetylcholine, must be high during wakefulness, and much lower during sleep. It might be regulated by light, or absence of it, during sleep. A completely dark room and the use of a black pillow case, helps one obtain a deeper sleep. I can attest to the black pillow cover, having used one for ten years now.
Other chemicals important to the Brain are acetylcholine, serotonin, cyclic AMP, noradrenaline, and many many others, known and unknown.
Biologists in the US say they can observe nerve cells 'learning' and 'remembering'. The results of their experiments suggest that memory may result from chemical changes inside neurons themselves, not from the formation of new synapses between neurons.
I personally believe that it is the efficient 3D synapse connections that allow us to recall other informations related to ones original thought. Rather like the 'link and peg' method so loved by memory training experts. A subject I have written about within this Forum about a year ago.
3D Peg and Link memory methods are exactly similar to how the brain recalls memory within its 3D synapse connections?

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"You will never find a real Human being - even in a mirror." .....Mike Kremer.
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It's also worth noting that critical thinking requires considerable collaboration between different areas of the brain.

For instance, it appears that a disconnect between the cortex and the limbic system may be what gives rise to Capgras's syndrome. Capgras's is characterized by the delusion that the people around the patient have been replaced. They recognize their mother's face, but believe her to be an impostor. They see their family around them, and know that they look like their family, and know their names, but they are sure that these aren't REALLY their family. The cortex is where the facial recognition happens, and that's working fine. The limbic system gives rise to emotions, and these patients are still emotional. But the disconnect causes them to feel none of the emotional attachment that they should be feeling towards their loved ones so the delusion tells them that these are impostors. Interestingly, casual acquaintances are unaffected and not seen as impostors. The patient isn't used to having a strong emotional attachment to them, so the disconnect has no effect.

Another interesting thing about brain region cooperation is that we all seem to have lots of "multiple personalities". If you sever a patient's corpus callosum (the tissue that bridges the two brain hemispheres), you can interview what seem like two totally different people. One patient, who was an accountant, was asked what job he would most like to have. He said he likes being an accountant. The same question was put to him in writing, and he responded in writing that he wants to be a racecar driver. These personalities all seem to cooperate in a healthy brain to give give us our unique selves. But in an unhealthy brain they can become disconnected and lead to Multiple Personality Syndrome.

Similarly, damage to one side of the brain can cause somebody to no longer recognize what a typewriter keyboard is and yet they can sit in front of one and use it as proficiently as before the brain damage. But they can no more explain to you what it is that they could explain something they'd never seen. (I wish the article with this example had mentioned if they asked in writing what the keyboard was and allowed for a written response. I suspect they would have easily identified it that way.)

Some stroke victims lose the ability to conceive of anything to one side of their field of view. They eat everything on one half of their plate, but the other half of the plate doesn't exist. (I presume they are unable to turn their head to shift their field of vision, but that's only my supposition.) One researcher set up a mirror such that the patient could see an apple in the mirror even through the physical apple was on the effect side of the field of vision. It was clearly in front of them, but they could only see it in the mirror. When asked to pick it up, they tried to reach through the mirror and complained that the piece of glass was in the way. This was an adult who still understood how mirrors worked, but couldn't intellectually conceive of anything on their left.

These kinds of brain disruptions, while tragic, give insight into the formation of thought and critical thinking. When you make a decision, it isn't just a part of your cortex being accessed - it's your whole brain. And damage to any part of it can effect that decision.

w

the question arose from a sudden worry i got. i questioned that if our thought was just reactions of the enviroment around us, are we oblivious to actually think on our own? or are we just a reaction of the enviroment and just choosing certain options due to the certain factors of the current atmopshere of the enviroment.

can anyone prove this wrong

You'll find a discussion about this in the posts "KNOCK Revs and Religion. Give it your best shot!!!", dates 15th - 21st March.

If you care to add to that lot go ahead! <g>

I don't think anyone wishes to feed the troll.

But it might be something for a new thread.