How do they determine when certain regions of the brain first appeared? Is it based on probable branching from the phylogenetic tree?
Slightly relatedly, I know that there has been research using EM fields in a sort of reverse-MRI to (temporarily) disable sections of the brain. Has this practice extended to turning off the moral reasoning sections and seeing how people's answers to moral questions change? It seems that such an experiment could go a ways towards determining whether morality is inherent (brain structure) or learned (brain structure too, I suppose... but in a different way)
Oh, and apologies to tesla_aldrich for hijacking the topic.
I haven't seen any research where they "turn off" parts of peoples' brains. Apart from the ethical implications, I don't think we know enough to be able to do that.
Instead, researchers rely on people with birth defects or brain injuries; basically, people who have parts of their brain already turned off. Oliver Sacks writes a lot about these sorts of people.
Something I read recently is about experiments done on sociopaths. Seems as though sociopaths do have knowledge of right and wrong, and of the moral implications of their actions. What they don't have is motivation to follow that moral compass. Researchers have put sociopaths into MRI scanners and have asked them moral questions; there is a part of the brain that lights up in normal people that doesn't work right in sociopaths. It is hypothesized that this part of the brain is the seat of morality.
"Oh, and apologies to tesla_aldrich for hijacking the topic."
Oh, nothing of the sort. This is the best part about LiveJournal; having a completely irrelevent conversation in someone else's LJ.
I actually pulled the book off the shelf and looked it up. By "turn off" I was referring to the process of transcranial magnetic stimulation. I first learned of this when I was perusing Mind Hacks (it's Hack #5). The process seemed interesting to me, though I admit to some fear on my part which would prevent me from actually trying it out. Intellectual curiosity does not overshadow the risk of brain damage (which they say is slight... but still).
Interesting to hear about the sociopath study. I've heard similar in relation to the interesting abilities that autistic people have. Basically, it's not that they have any natural ability a non-autistic person has, it's that their brain rewards the work needed to hone such a talent in ways that other brains do not.
I agree with your ethical implications statement, but it would seem (from a just two sources) that such research is progressing. Whether it's applicable to the study of morality, however, is well beyond my layman understanding of brain science.
That's true, but some of them have savant-like abilities that often revolve around memorization: know pi to thousands of decimal places, can sketch photo-realistic scenes from memory, rapidly mentally calculate complex algorithms, etc.
Not to say there's not a significant cost or that their brains are wired differently. I'm just saying that I've read that part of what is wired differently is the motivation/reward piece.
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branchandroot
Re: Fear
Date: 2008-02-09 10:14 am (UTC)Slightly relatedly, I know that there has been research using EM fields in a sort of reverse-MRI to (temporarily) disable sections of the brain. Has this practice extended to turning off the moral reasoning sections and seeing how people's answers to moral questions change? It seems that such an experiment could go a ways towards determining whether morality is inherent (brain structure) or learned (brain structure too, I suppose... but in a different way)
Oh, and apologies to
Re: Fear
Date: 2008-02-09 08:06 pm (UTC)Instead, researchers rely on people with birth defects or brain injuries; basically, people who have parts of their brain already turned off. Oliver Sacks writes a lot about these sorts of people.
Something I read recently is about experiments done on sociopaths. Seems as though sociopaths do have knowledge of right and wrong, and of the moral implications of their actions. What they don't have is motivation to follow that moral compass. Researchers have put sociopaths into MRI scanners and have asked them moral questions; there is a part of the brain that lights up in normal people that doesn't work right in sociopaths. It is hypothesized that this part of the brain is the seat of morality.
"Oh, and apologies to tesla_aldrich for hijacking the topic."
Oh, nothing of the sort. This is the best part about LiveJournal; having a completely irrelevent conversation in someone else's LJ.
B
Re: Fear
Date: 2008-02-09 08:25 pm (UTC)Interesting to hear about the sociopath study. I've heard similar in relation to the interesting abilities that autistic people have. Basically, it's not that they have any natural ability a non-autistic person has, it's that their brain rewards the work needed to hone such a talent in ways that other brains do not.
I agree with your ethical implications statement, but it would seem (from a just two sources) that such research is progressing. Whether it's applicable to the study of morality, however, is well beyond my layman understanding of brain science.
Re: Fear
Date: 2008-02-09 08:36 pm (UTC)B
Re: Fear
Date: 2008-02-10 04:15 am (UTC)Not to say there's not a significant cost or that their brains are wired differently. I'm just saying that I've read that part of what is wired differently is the motivation/reward piece.
Re: Fear
Date: 2008-02-10 01:50 pm (UTC)B