The Brain Story5 TABLE 1.1 A Selection of Terms Coined by Thomas Willis Term tics of hu ed inside the hed n develo ed to the nt where da aldid not and right hemispheres of every Axonal fibers connecting the constructing complex theories about the motives of fellow cerebellum and brainstem. humans.Examples of attempts to understand the world Claustrum and our place in it inchde oedinus rex (the ancient greek sueand the putamen. play that deals with the nature of the child-parent conflict) and Mesopotamian and Egyptian theories on the nature of Corpus striatum religion and the universe.Although the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher,Thales,rejected supematural explanations of The phenomena and proclaimed that every event had a natu- Internal capsule White matter pathways conveying information from the thalamus to the methodology to explore the mind systematically through Medullary pyramids t consists o It wasn'tuntil the 19thcentury that the moder tradi of observing,manipulating,and Neurology The study of the nervous system and starte th its disorders L:I Optic thalamus The portion of the thalamus relating to ngets its job P isual processing Spinal accessory ulders the hyp as the scien Stria terminalis thata basal forebrain alon sure foot ting.And in of c Striatum Gray matter structure of the basal end to the rich phe na to study. ganglia Vagus nerve ranial rve.which. The Brain Story roblem to solve.A hun cls e in the ed to c y,and do th .Yo 5-7 million ago.Since that an, start by looking at the and askin have evolved into the nt hutr able of all ple of questions.“Hn g p s the blob g yourk as orts ofwondrous feats Thro ahout this hook we will be ch part contributing to a whole?Or,is the reminding you to take the evolutionary perspective:Why blob full of individual processing parts,each carrying out might this behavior have evolved?How could it promote specific functions,so the result is something that looks survival and reproduction?wWHGD?(What would a like it is acting as a whole unit?"from a distance the citv hunter-gather do?)The evolutionary perspective often of New York(another type of blob)appears as an inte- helps us to ask more informed questions and provides grated whole,but it is actually composed of millions of insight into how and why the brain functions as it does. individual processors- that is,people.Perhaps people,in During most of our history,humans were too busy to turn,are made of smaller,more specialized units think about thought.Although there can be little doubt that This central issue- -whether the mind is enabled by the the brains of our long-ago ancestors could engage in such whole brain working in concert or by specialized parts of activities,life was given over to more practical matters, such as surviving in tough environments,developing ways The Brain Story | 5 to live bett er by inventing agriculture or domesticating animals, and so forth. Nonetheless, the brain mechanisms that enable us to generate theories about the characteris￾tics of human nature thrived inside the heads of ancient humans. As civilization developed to the point where day￾to-day survival did not occupy every hour of every day, our ancestors began to spend time looking for causation and constructing complex theories about the motives of fellow humans. Examples of att empts to understand the world and our place in it include Oedipus Rex (the ancient Gree k play that deals with the nature of the child–parent confl ict) and Mesopotamian and Egyptian theories on the nature of religion and the universe. Although the pre-Socratic Gree k philosopher, Th ales, rejected supernatural explanations of phenomena and proclaimed that every event had a natu￾ral cause (presaging modern cognitive neuroscience), the early Gree ks had one big limitation: Th ey did not have the methodology to explore the mind systematically through experimentation. It wasn’t until the 19th century that the modern tradi￾tion of observing, manipulating, and measuring became the norm, and scientists started to determine how the brain gets its jobs done. To understand how biological sys￾tems work, a laboratory is nee ded and experiments have to be performed to answer the questions under study and to support or refute the hypotheses and conclusions that have bee n made. Th is approach is known as the scien￾tifi c method, and it is the only way that a topic can move along on sure footing. And in the case of cognitive neuro￾science, there is no end to the rich phenomena to study. The Brain Story Imagine that you are given a problem to solve. A hunk of biological tissue is known to think, remember, att end, solve problems, tell jokes, want sex, join clubs, write nov￾els, exhibit bias, fee l guilty , and do a zillion other things. You are supposed to fi gure out how it works. You might start by looking at the big picture and asking yourself a couple of questions. “Hmmm, does the blob work as a unit with each part contributing to a whole? Or, is the blob full of individual processing parts, each carrying out specifi c functions, so the result is something that looks like it is acting as a whole unit?” From a distance the city of New York (another ty pe of blob) appears as an inte￾grated whole, but it is actually composed of millions of individual processors—that is, people. Perhaps people, in turn, are made of smaller, more specialized units. Th is central issue—whether the mind is enabled by the whole brain working in concert or by specialized parts of the brain working at least partly independently— is what fuels much of modern research in cognitive neuroscience. lineage diverged fr om the last common ancestor that we shared with the chimpanzee somewhere in the range of 5–7 million years ago. Since that divergence, our brains have evolved into the present human brain, capable of all sorts of wondrous feats. Th roughout this book, we will be reminding you to take the evolutionary perspective: Why might this behavior have evolved? How could it promote survival and reproduction? WWHGD? (What would a hunter-gather do?) Th e evolutionary perspective oft en helps us to ask more informed questions and provides insight into how and why the brain functions as it does. During most of our history, humans were too busy to think about thought. Although there can be litt le doubt that the brains of our long-ago ancestors could engage in such activities, life was given over to more practical matt ers, such as surviving in tough environments, developing ways TABLE 1.1 A Selection of Terms Coined by Thomas Willis Term Definition Anterior Axonal fibers connecting the middle commissure and inferior temporal gyri of the left and right hemispheres. Cerebellar Axonal fibers connecting the peduncles cerebellum and brainstem. Claustrum A thin sheath of gray matter located between two brain areas: the external capsule and the putamen. Corpus striatum A part of the basal ganglia consisting of the caudate nucleus and the lenticular nucleus. Inferior olives The part of the brainstem that modulates cerebellar processing. Internal capsule White matter pathways conveying information from the thalamus to the cortex. Medullary pyramids A part of the medulla that consists of corticospinal fibers. Neurology The study of the nervous system and its disorders. Optic thalamus The portion of the thalamus relating to visual processing. Spinal accessory The 11th cranial nerve, which nerve innervates the head and shoulders. Stria terminalis The white matter pathway that sends information from the amygdala to the basal forebrain. Striatum Gray matter structure of the basal ganglia. Vagus nerve The 10th cranial nerve, which, among other functions, has visceral motor control of the heart. 002_021_CogNeu_4e_Ch01.indd 5 7/17/13 9:27 AM