The
Harvard Brain, Spring 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome, Credits and
Table of Contents (PDF version)
- The Learning Game by Vikaas Sohal
[click here for text version]
- The ability to learn may be a human being's most important asset. Networks
of neurons modeled on computers are broadening our understanding of the
human brain's ability to learn.
- The Development of the Neuromuscular Junction
by Anna Greka
[click here
for text version]
- A wealth of information is known about the structure and function of
the neuromuscular junction. Only recently, however, have scientists provided
insight into the molecular basis of the development of this structure.
- The Integration of Literature & Neuroscience
& Its Inhibitors by Dan Engber
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- Neuroscience and literature seem to be two vastly different fields.
Dan Engber, a Literature concentrator, investigates how scientists and
humanists may engage in a more constructive dialogue.
- Prosopagnosia: A look at the laterality and
specificity issues using evidence from neuropsychology and neurophysiology
by Mike Takamura
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- Patients with prosopagnosia are unable to recognize familiar faces.
Studies from neuropsychology and neurophysiology have revealed the biologic
basis for this tragic deficit.
- The Psychologizing of Religion in William James'
Varieties of Religious Experience by Tracey Cho
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- In the Varieties of Religious Experience, American psychologist William
James embarked on a uniquely empirical treatment of religious phenomena,
a topic which had previously confounded scientists. James' approach reveals
how modern neuroscientists must maintain an awareness of the social implications
of their work.
- Neurobiological Insights into Infantile Autism
by Amy Herman
[click here for text
version]
- Infantile autism is a developmental disorder, characterized by deficient
communication, socialization, and imagination. Neuropathologic studies
of autism identify abnormalities in regions that may be critical for the
normal development of language, memory, and social interaction.
- Early and Late Onset as Subdivisions of Alzheimer's
Disease by Elizabeth Kensinger
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- Early onset and late onset Alzheimer's Disease (AD) differ in terms
of the symptomatic, genetic, and neurological characteristics. Examination
of the differences between early and late onset AD might reveal new treatment
strategies for patients based on theirsubtype of disease.
- I'm Alive! by Sameer Chopra
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- Consciousness is the most puzzling aspect of the mind. Will further
research ever bring us closer to understanding the relation between the
mind and brain?
- Machine Analogies and Categories of Consciousness
by Robin Goldstein
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- Among psychologists, neuroscientists, and philosophers, there is much
controversy over the nature of consciousness. An exploration of the debate
between philosophers Paul M. Churchland and Daniel C. Dennett illustrates
the complexity of this elusive phenomenon.
- The Emergence of Orientation Selectivity in
Self-Organizing Neural Networks by Josh McDermott
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- It is believed that the human brain is composed of intricate connections
between more than 100 billion neurons. Somehow, in the course of development,
the brain achieves its complex structure. Neural networks of "self-organization"
in the mammalian visual system may broaden our understanding of how the
brain acquires its functional specialization.
- A Comic: Grey Matter: Prions, Possibilities, and Panic-The Story of
Some British Cows by Scott Rifkin
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