1. This mindmap represents my ongoing progress learning about how the brain works and how that knowledge can help me be a better educator, father and friend.
2. Areas of the Brain
2.1. Frontal lobe
2.1.1. The frontal lobes contain a number of important substructures, including the prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, motor and premotor cortices, and Broca's area. These substructures are involved in attention and thought, voluntary movement, decision–making, and language.
2.1.1.1. ASSOCIATED FUNCTIONS Executive processes (voluntary behavior such as decision making, planning, problem–solving, and thinking), voluntary motor control, cognition, intelligence, attention, language processing comprehension
2.2. Temporal lobe
2.2.1. The temporal lobes contain a large number of substructures, whose functions include perception, face recognition, object recognition, memory acquisition, understanding language, and emotional reactions.
2.2.1.1. ASSOCIATED FUNCTIONS Recognition Perception (hearing, vision, smell) Understanding language Learning and memory Associated cognitive disorders Schizophrenia is the cognitive disorder most closely aligned to temporal lobe dysfunction.
2.2.1.2. Wernicke’s Area
2.2.1.2.1. This critical language area in the posterior superior temporal lobe connects to Broca’s area via a neural pathway. Wernicke's area is primarily involved in the comprehension. Historically, this area has been associated with language processing, whether it is written or spoken.
2.2.1.3. Hippocampus
2.3. Occipital lobe
2.3.1. The occipital cortex is the primary visual area of the brain. Two important pathways of information originating in the occipital lobes are the dorsal and ventral streams. The dorsal stream projects to the parietal lobes and processes where objects are located. The ventral stream projects to structures in the temporal lobes and processes what objects are.
2.3.1.1. ASSOCIATED FUNCTIONS vision
2.4. Parietal Lobe
2.4.1. The parietal cortex plays an important role in integrating information from different senses to build a coherent picture of the world.The parietal cortex processes attentional awareness of the environment, is involved in manipulating objects, and representing numbers.
2.4.1.1. ASSOCIATED FUNCTIONS perception and integration of somatosensory information (e.g. touch, pressure, temperature, and pain) visuospatial processing spatial attention spatial mapping number representation associated cognitive disorders
2.5. Cerebellum
2.5.1. The cerebellum monitors and regulates motor behavior, particularly automatic movements. Some recent studies have associated the cerebellum with cognitive functions, such as learning and attention(???). it contains more neurons than the rest of the brain combined..
2.5.1.1. ASSOCIATED FUNCTIONS coordination of voluntary movement motor–learning balance reflex memory posture timing sequence learning
2.6. Brain stem
2.6.1. The brain stem consists of a group of structures that lie Deep within the brain, including the Pons, medulla oblongata, and midbrain.
2.6.1.1. Associated functions maintaining homeostasis by controlling autonomic functions (including blood pressure, breathing, digestion, heart rate, perspiration and temperature) alertness sleep balance startle response NOTE: Very few cognitive disorders have been associated with the brain stem.
3. Brain
3.1. Brain functions required for learning
3.2. http://tinyurl.com/orurlo9
4. brain functions
4.1. attention
4.1.1. Examples: memory, hidden object games,
4.2. perception
4.3. executive function/self direction
4.4. memory
4.5. speech
4.6. language
4.7. sensory
4.8. motor
4.9. mood
4.10. social function
4.11. Motivation
4.11.1. Anterior cingulate gyrus
4.12. Resilience
5. Types of Human Memory
5.1. Working Memory
5.2. Episodic Memory
5.2.1. The term working memory is used to describe the process where one “holds on” to small bits of recently learned information. An example of working memory would be the ability to hold on to the digits of a phone number in the short time between hearing them and dialing the number. Another example would be the base runner in a baseball game that must keep track of the number of outs and runners on base. The capacity of our working memory is limited, allowing us to remember only a few bits of information at one time. Anatomy Working memory is thought to involve the frontal cortex and parietal lobe.
5.3. Semantic Memory
5.3.1. Episodic or implicit memory is the memory of an event or “episode”. This type of memory is declarative and is relevant both to recent and remote events. Examples of episodic memory would be the ability to recount what you did today and where you were when you heard shocking news. Another example would be remembering where you parked your car. Episodic memory can be thought of as a process with several different steps, each of which relies on a separate system of the brain.
5.3.2. Semantic memory is strongly language-based and describes memory for facts and words. This can be thought of as a form of non-declarative memory because the knowledge is often not associated with a particular time or place. However, semantic memory must be thought of as separate because damage to brain regions that impair semantic memory do not always affect other forms of non-declarative memory, and visa-versa.
5.4. Long Term/Remote Memory
5.4.1. Memory of events that occurred in the distant past is referred to as remote or long term memory. The underlying anatomy of remote memory is poorly understood, in part because testing this type of memory must be personalized to a patient’s autobiographical past. What is known is that, like semantic memory, remote memory eventually becomes independent of the hippocampus.
6. Areas of Learning & Experience - some Info from Eric Jensen
6.1. Exercise
6.1.1. The optimal activity is voluntary gross motor, such as power walks, games, running, dance, aerobics, team sports and swimming. Students need 30-60 minutes per day to lower stress response, boost neurogenesis and boost learning. NOTE: voluntary activity does more good than forced activity
6.2. Social
6.2.1. social experiences, which become encoded through our sense of reward, acceptance, pain, pleasure, coherence, affinity and stress. In fact, poor social conditions, isolation or social “defeat” are correlated with fewer brain cells. Use targeted, planned, diverse social groupings with mentoring, teams and buddy systems. Work to strengthen pro-social conditions. Teacher-to-student relationships matter, as do student-to-student relationships.
6.3. Neuroscience/METACOGNITIVE training
6.3.1. direct instruction and experience learning how individuals learn and think. Attentional skills, memory skills and processing skills.
6.4. Stress
6.4.1. chronic/acute stress affects attendance, memory, social skills and cognition. Teach coping strategies, how to recognize stress, activities and actions that reduce stress. Friendships, exercise, art can all help someone feel control over their life and therefore able to better manage stressful situations as they arise. Allostatis
6.5. "We are ALL different"
6.5.1. An atypical brain is the norm. Allow students to grow at their developmental rate of maturation. Do not expect students to be at the same point in a book at the same time. Make difference the norm. Celebrate it.
6.6. Content and delivery
6.6.1. Strive for content delivered in no more than 4-8 minute chunks for new content and information and 8-15 minute chunks for more complex concepts and advanced information. Give breaks and time for different types of tasks. The rest time helps cognitive processing. Our brain holds 2-4 chunks NOT 7 chunks so scale back delivery of new information to reflect this.
6.7. Arts
6.7.1. 30-60 minutes 3-5 times a week of arts. increased attention, time on task, visual spatial skills. Performance arts also yield important social skills like empathy, verbal memory and more.
6.8. Nutrition
6.8.1. Proper nutrition yields big results when it comes to cognitive tasks. Lower carbs and refined sugars and higher fruits and vegetables help the brain regulate complex chemical processes more efficiently.
6.9. Breaks
6.9.1. a break every 45 minutes for 15 minutes has shown engagement and performance improvements in Finnish schools, which have been using this strategy since the 1960s. It has been adopted by asian countried to at a 30 to 10 ratio of time on task to free time.