Memory, Learning and Our Virtual Brains :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Clearly, education has an immediate and definite purpose in my own life. As a student, I have been exposed to events that have had a profound impact on the development of my interests, talents, values, or what some may call intelligence. My own approach to problem solving has inspired me to frame the question of the interplay of intelligence, human behavior, learning, and experience in the language of neuroscience. Neuroscience is appealing to me because it offers an explanation for the micro and macro-level processes that operate to create my complex and unique approach to problem solving and response to the world. In this way, the alignment of neuroscience with biology and psychology offer a convincing general plan for the framework of stimulus and response. That is, neural cell development impacts upon external stimulus reception that, in turn, directs cognitive processing and eventually elicits a behavioral response. This course has indicated to me that the neural circuitry invol ved with such systems of stimulus and response are not linear, but complex and interdependent. What follows is an integration of brain-based theories on internal representations of experience and memory for the purpose of providing perspective, and ultimately improving the conditions for learning and development in a progressive way. The term intrinsic variability has been drilled into our brains. No doubt, my dendritic spines have stretched, etching a special "intrinsic variability" path extending from deep in my hippocampus to the folds of my neocortex. When I recall this phrase, a furious stream of chemical spills and reactions is ignited. In my brain, this stream passes through neurons that code for other phrases that have become important to me throughout this course, for example, learning, memory, intelligence, and feedback. But like the term implies, this is my own stream. In my final web paper I will guide you through the landmarks of my path. What follows from intrinsic variability is the idea that the brain is plastic, or impressionable. It seems there is a stability-plasticity trade-off where our brains are hardwired to retain function, yet malleable enough to learn, create memories and, in some cases, compensate for functional damage (1). With each moment that passes, a particular exchange with the ex ternal world rearranges some piece of neural circuitry, yielding unique and diverse neural patterns for each individual(2).That no brain ever looks the same from one moment to the next makes the job of understanding brain function inherently difficult.