Psychology 202 – Section 005 (Term 2, January 2002)

 

Weekly Talking Points

Come to the P202 tutorial each week prepared to discuss the following points:

7 Jan.  Rama 1. The phantom within.

  1. Using your two fists placed side-by-side, describe the major structural components of the brain. What are the structures that correspond to your wrist? What are you looking at when you separate your fists and look at your fingers? What corresponds to your thumbs? Your pinky fingers?
  2. What does the alien hand phenomenon tell us about the brain and the mind?
  3. Why does a fake smile look different from a real smile?
  4. What do cases of specific brain damage, such as those involved in amnesia and dyscalculia tell us about the design of the brain?

14 Jan.  Rama 2. Knowing where to scratch.

  1. What do some neuroscientists mean when they say that "real estate" is everything in the brain? In what way is the brain a map?
  2. Cross your middle finger over your ring finger (use your thumb to hold the ring finger in place) and touch both tips of your fingers with a pencil – the effect is strongest if you close your eyes or look away. Do the same with your fingers uncrossed. Why does it feel like two pencils in one case and only one pencil in the other case?
  3. What is the basis for phantom limbs, according to Ramachandran?

21 Jan.  Rama 3. Chasing the phantom.

  1. What does pain in phantom limbs tell us about how our conscious world is organized in the brain?
  2. Why did the mirror work to cure the phantom pain in Rama's patient?
  3. What does the phantom nose experiment (p. 59) tell us about our own conscious experience?


28 Jan.  Rama 4. The zombie in the brain.

  1. According to Rama, what sort of visual tasks can be performed by the unconscious, zombie-like parts of our brain?
  2. What are the primary functions of the two visual streams Rama talks about in this chapter?

4 Feb.  Rama 5. The secret life of James Thurber.

  1. In what sense is every act of perception an act of "construction" on the part of the brain?
  2. Provide instructions to your friend so that they can make your head disappear when looking at you with one eye.
  3. What will they likely see in the location of your now-invisible head? What does this tell you about the "rules of construction" in the brain?

11 Feb.  ???

18 Feb.  Midterm break.

25 Feb. Midterm exam (in Angus 104).

4 Mar. Rama 6-7. Through the looking glass; The sound of one hand clapping.

***Note. This is also the written assignment for this week.***

  1. Why is the condition of neglect, following a stroke, more likely to occur if the stroke is on the right side of the brain?
  2. Give an example of an experiment that has been performed to demonstrate that visual information from the neglected side of the visual field is nonetheless being processed by the brain.
  3. Describe the phenomenon of mirror agnosia.
  4. What is anosognosia?
  5. How do Rama and Freud differ in their interpretation of denial in some stroke patients?
  6. Why does Rama think that caloric stimulation eliminates denial temporarily?

11 Mar.   Rama 8. The unbearable likeness of being.

  1. What are the main features of Capgras Delusion?
  2. What part of the brain is responsible for making your palms sweat when you are nervous?
  3. How do researchers use the sweat in your palms as an index of emotional arousal?
  4. How might racial stereotypes reflect an interaction between the temporal lobes and the amygdala?

18 Mar.  Rama 11. You forgot to deliver the twin

  1. In what ways, according to Rama, is the mind able to influence the body? In what ways is it not?
  2. What does Rama think is the correct approach for evaluating claims of non-Western medicine?

25 Mar.  Rama 9. God and the limbic system.

  1. What is the "kindling hypothesis" to account for hyper-religious experiences in some patients?
  2. How does Rama test the kindling hypothesis in two epilepsy patients?
  3. What kind of a "problem" is posed by the fact that human potential intelligence is so much greater than its necessary intelligence (to survive and thrive)?
  4. What is the important point made by noting the existence of "savants?" What do they tell us about the nature of intelligence?

1 Apr.  Rama 12. Do Martians see red?

  1. What is the problem of "qualia?"
  2. What do our experiences of information from regions in a blindspot tell us about consciousness?
  3. What are the three laws of qualia for Rama?
  4. Show that you understand Rama's test for consciousness by discussing whether an ant is conscious or not.
  5. Which of Rama's 7 senses of the "self" is closest to your own sense of self? One way to answer this question is to ask "What would I be like if I were missing any one of these 7 types of self?"