What is Digg?50 Comments
- DelayedEraser, on 07/27/2008, -2/+18I've said it before and I'll say it again: RESEARCH ANY DRUGS YOU GET PRESCRIBED!
Which is not to blame this poor woman for her problem... it's very sad that we can't just trust our doctors. - MyMagma, on 07/28/2008, -4/+13Insane in the membrane
Insane in the brain! - noen, on 07/28/2008, -0/+6The brain can re-wire itself but it certainly can't totally reconfigure how it works. You can't voluntarily re-wire your brain to see sound or smell sights. Lots of research has shown that homosexuality has a strong genetic component but like all things it's a bit of this and bit of that. What I believe is that there are some gays who are just born that way and others who become gay through life experiences coupled with a genetic predisposition towards being gay.
Look into epigenetics. This is the ability of DNA to respond to the environment. The classic experiment is where genetically nervous rats were raise by genetically calm mother rats. The genetically nervous rats grew up to be calm and then passed on that trait to their offspring but their DNA remained the same. We don't know but perhaps it works like that in humans. An environmental stressor, like getting abused by daddy, might trigger a genetic predisposition towards being gay in some. But again, we don't really know. - PabloMac, on 07/28/2008, -1/+7Your brain needs to change itself.
- eouw0o83hf, on 07/28/2008, -0/+6Premise 1: Cells contain membranes.
Premise 2: Brains contain cells.
Conclusion: If all of your membranes are insane, it logically follows that your brain is likewise insane.
The proof of membrane insanity is trivial and omitted as an exercise for the reader. - ChayD, on 07/28/2008, -0/+5They had an article in Wired magazine a few months back about this, were they had a camera linked to an array of electrodes, so you could 'see' with your tongue. Clever.
Edit: And here it is: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.04/esp_pr.ht ... - smurfsahoy, on 07/28/2008, -0/+5Just to be clear, your brain can't do anything without changing. If I tell you "cats don't have livers" and you believe me, there will be a significant physical change in your neural connections as a result of that learning. Some things are just a matter of changing the strength of existing connections too, but that's still a physical change at the cellular level, even if a less obvious one.
Neural plasticity is more about your brain overall structure and function changing from the norm, especially one set of cells respecializing to a totally different purpose (touch to vision or something). It's been shown in some instances and not others, might be possible anywhere, might not be, etc. But just know that the debates about various kinds of plasticity are NOT about whether anything in the brain changes its organization at all. That's already clear and well known. Even if nobody believed in plasticity, we would all agree that you can change your beliefs and preferences and attention, etc. just fine, and maybe even completely, and that all of it would be due to physical brain changes, separate from "plasticity." - dafragsta, on 07/28/2008, -1/+5Ok, there's something about that particular lyric that always stuck in my craw.
How the ***** can you be insane in a thin exterior layer used to keep all the gooey goodness of your cells from spilling out. That just doesn't make any sense. - everfresh59, on 07/28/2008, -0/+4Great article! It's fantastic to gain some understanding as to how the brain has the ability to re-adapt itself when it loses something it's had for so long.
- killbert24, on 07/28/2008, -0/+3This is an excerpt from the book "The Brain That Changes Itself" by Norman Doidge.
http://www.amazon.com/Brain-That-Changes-Itself-Fr ... - Kcaj, on 07/28/2008, -1/+4It would be even more hilarious if you could cause homosexuality through Neuroplasticity, rather than attempt to cure it.
In my personal experience, I think some people are born gay. Others, are made gay through exposure (positive or negative). As a young male, I experimented with my sexuality thoroughly. Many of my "heterosexual" friends who went on similar excursions have yet to come back from them.
The homosexual life-style is very appealing in some aspects, and then in others, absolutely horrifying. I now consider my self a "bi-sexual" with majority preference (80%+) towards heterosexuality. However, in the gay and bisexual community, this is a rare affliction, as most "bi-sexuals" are majority homosexual in nature, and rarely stray in to heterosexuality.
So, back on topic, I wonder if I could neuroplasticity bisexuality?? Could I go udner neuroplasticity and become 100% heterosexual, or 100% homosexual? IF so, which is the "correct" choice?? - MadHarvey, on 07/28/2008, -0/+3Jesus's neighbor?
- Cyras, on 07/28/2008, -0/+3Read the book, it was quite fascinating. Reccommend it to anyone interested in mental health / psychology
- Stevethegreat, on 07/28/2008, -1/+4Why should we even care who the neighbor *****, genetically-hardwired or not? The question about one's sexuality is ridiculous in the first place...
- glinsvad, on 07/28/2008, -0/+2I see you skipped the class on subsets...
- Tearlock, on 07/28/2008, -0/+2I love living in the future!
- crispee, on 07/28/2008, -0/+2Where?
Watch a child grow up from infancy. They don't know what the ***** is going on. They don't know where their limbs are, they don't know what the hell these eyes do or are perceiving. All they really know is that they like to be held a certain way and suck on certain things.
Then in time their brain learns how their limbs work, how their eyes work, how their ears work, how pressure feedback on their skin works.
I contend that if you put our brain in any animal or even a computer with all kinds of interesting senses, it would make sense of it all, and form internal structures that figure it out.
The brain is amazing and has evolved that way thru many different species with drastically different inputs and forms. - tcpip4lyfe, on 07/28/2008, -0/+2Wait...Cat's really don't have livers? ::head explodes as Brian changes::
- gethane, on 07/28/2008, -0/+2fantastic and interesting article.
- martingwalker, on 07/28/2008, -0/+2Since the brain is plastic, it makes sense to know how we can use that information to our advantage. Logically, if we know the right stimulation (exercise) we can strengthen brain function. This is what a team of researchers set out to prove and showed that you can make yourself smarter with the right training. (These are not brain games...) This also ended up being reported in Wired, and elsewhere: http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008 ...
And the training method they used is now commercially available: http://iqtesttraining.com - Seeker51, on 07/28/2008, -0/+1I know that many people reading this might be skeptical about the idea of a brain being able to change and, while I'm certainly not an expert on the subject, I've had dinner with the author of this book/article and he is a brilliant man who takes his research incredibly seriously.
- DelayedEraser, on 08/17/2008, -0/+1also the class on getting stoned and writing rap lyrics...
- banthis, on 07/28/2008, -1/+2Sorry bro, you failed at good commenting.
- liuite, on 07/28/2008, -0/+1ok, i've changed my mind.
- Nick71, on 07/28/2008, -1/+2Absolutely amazing!!
- insomniacal, on 07/28/2008, -3/+4Neuroplasticity makes me wonder about assertions that homosexuality is hard-wired from birth. I don't doubt that differences in brain structures can be found between straight and homosexual, I'm just curious about what longitudinal studies would find. Do all of those differences exist from birth? Are none of them influenced by nurture?
- RANDOM667, on 07/28/2008, -1/+2Is that the same two that died on mars?
- cwmather, on 07/30/2008, -0/+1Yeah, I'm not getting into an evolution debate today....
- pitchblack16, on 07/28/2008, -1/+2next step, shooting lasers out of your eyes
- ad33lshahid, on 07/29/2008, -0/+1its a really good book incase anyone was wondering.
- edstittle, on 07/28/2008, -1/+2they'd be the ones ;)
- edstittle, on 07/28/2008, -5/+5***** you, two of my friends were killed when their brains changed.
- TaintBrush, on 07/28/2008, -1/+1Lucille II?
- cocacolea, on 07/28/2008, -0/+0good work brain!
- inactive, on 07/28/2008, -1/+1My brain can turn into an 18 wheeler like Optimus.
- cwmather, on 07/28/2008, -2/+2Uh, I would argue that this article has some pretty good evidence for God...
- JaronDiggGuy, on 07/28/2008, -1/+1That was both disgusting to read yet unfairly amusing at the same time.
- o0joshua0o, on 07/28/2008, -1/+1I am training my brain to TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!!
- Syujinkou, on 07/28/2008, -0/+0we are all insane in the brane
- COMCON4US, on 07/29/2008, -0/+0So, the brain sucked the drugs through the skull to get the change started........i've heard of brains reffered to as sponges, but this is rediculous.
- oshoel, on 07/29/2008, -0/+0Does this mean that true cyborgs are just around the corner?
- JaronDiggGuy, on 07/28/2008, -1/+1That was a very interesting sidenote, thank you.
- Animal, on 07/28/2008, -3/+1"Neuroplasticity makes me wonder about assertions that heterosexuality is hard-wired from birth. I don't doubt that differences in brain structures can be found between gay and heterosexual, I'm just curious about what longitudinal studies would find. Do all of those differences exist from birth? Are none of them influenced by nurture?"
FIXED - miggyb, on 07/28/2008, -3/+1Ah, damnit. I was about to make a portal joke, but then I saw that the protagonist's name was Chell, not Cheryl. Damnit, that would have been a perfect explanation.
- GordonFree, on 07/28/2008, -5/+3Your brain is a miracle? Speak for yourself...
- Andrwmorph, on 07/28/2008, -6/+3God refuted! Science wins!
- duckyinc, on 07/28/2008, -6/+1I gave up after the first paragraph, anyone interested in Neuroplasticity read this instead. (wtf is wrong with the telegraph and long boring life stories?)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroplasticity - dyreschlock, on 07/28/2008, -6/+1Who's Brain?
- Kcaj, on 07/28/2008, -15/+0IS HOAP FOR ME PLZ?!!!!! I HAS A BRAEN DISFUNKSHIN NOW ALOW ME TO WORKFORSE CUZ AS A BABIE I WAS A HAMMER HITTED TOA MY HED AND BRAEN DAMAEGE.
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