Dragos Cirneci PhDDragos Cirneci PhD

Brain Research Institute

Neuromyths = common misconceptions about brain mechanisms,

which are taken for granted in today’s society

1. we have 5 senses2. “the primitive part of the brain”3. the rational vs the emotional brain 4. the brain as a camcorder5. new neurons doesn’t appear in adult brain6. genes vs environment effect7. mental problems as effect of childhood traumatic

memories

8. The most important myth is that consciousness dictates our decisions and actions

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Neuromyths = common misconceptions about brain mechanisms, which are taken for granted in today’s society

1. we have 5 senses

Actualy we have at least 15 (discovered until now): sight (ophthalmoception), hearing (audioception), taste (gustaoception), smell (olfacoception), touch (tactioception) , feromonal sense, blue light sense, temperature (thermoception), kinesthetic sense (proprioception), sensors for lungs dilatation, pain (nociception), balance (equilibrioception), visceral sense (the perception of internal organs), chemical senses for detecting carbon dioxide concentration in the blood and sugar concentration.

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Neuromyths = common misconceptions about brain mechanisms, which are taken for granted in today’s society

2. “the primitive part of the brain”

Human brain is similar in its organization and functions with all the mammals brain. Only some parts are more evolved but these parts exist also in mammals brain.

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Neuromyths = common misconceptions about brain mechanisms,

which are taken for granted in today’s society

3. the rational/the emotional brain

Emotions appear almost in all parts of the brain. Differences consist only in timing and type of context/action.

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Neuromyths = common misconceptions about brain mechanisms, which are taken for granted in today’s society

4. the brain as a camcorderThe memories are not “replayed from the tape” when they are remembered. The information stored in the brain is actually reconstructed and updated every time when we remember.

Every time when we do this that memory could become a new memory incorporating newinformation related with it.

We can learn only things related with what we already know

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Schacter & Addis, 2007

Neuromyths = common misconceptions about brain mechanisms, which are taken for granted in today’s society

5. new neurons doesn’t appear in adult brain

The brain generates new neurons during the entire life. These new neurons are essential for learning and coping with stress.

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Neuromyths = common misconceptions about brain mechanisms, which are taken for granted in today’s society

6. genes vs environment effect

The environment acts upon our brain by modifying the brain’s genes activity (some genes are turned on some are turned off). Learning and stress are actually examples of genetic effects– or more precisely “epigenetic effects”.

Dragos Cirneci Robinson et al. 2008

Neuromyths = common misconceptions about brain mechanisms,

which are taken for granted in today’s society

7. mental problems as effect of childhood traumatic memories

Adult mental problems are frequently rooted in childhood traumatic events but in most of the cases not the memory of the event is the cause of the problem. Traumatic events exert epigenetic effects upon the brain’s genes responsible for the circuits involved in adapting to novelty, fast changing environment, uncertainty and negative feedback.

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TraumaBrain’s genes

BrainCircuits

Behavior&

emotions

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genes vs environment effect

The environment acts upon our brain by modifying the brain’s genes activity (some genes are turned on some are turned off). Learning and stress are actually examples of genetic effects– or more precisely “epigenetic effects”.

Any enduring activity impacts brain’s genes and hence its functions

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29-30 Septembrie 2010 13

Human species has evolved in the last 10.000 years 100 times

more than before and in the last 5000 years 7% of the genes have

changed !

The digital era & the brain

TV, games, computers, mobile phones & internet impact the brain Internet addiction is officially a mental disorder Internet withdrawal on teenagers causes frustration, irritability and

headache

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The internet & the brain

There are positive and negative effects upon the brain

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Negative effects:

Internet BrowsingMedia multitaskinge-Mails

Positive effects:

Action-based gamesSocial mediaPornographic sites

The positive effects

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The positive effects

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Action-based video-games activate brain’s reward pathway, increasing the secretion of dopamine

Effects on:

•Focused attention•Working memory•Decision making•Problem solving•Reaction time

The positive effects

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• In USA 51% of Facebook users are above 40 year age

• The same 49% of YouTube users• …and 45% of Twitter users

The positive effects

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Constant using of social media networks (Facebook) increases oxytocin levels in the brain and is associated with thicker gray matter in mirror neurons network

The mirror neurons

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The positive effects

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Constant using of social media networks (Facebook) increases oxytocin levels in the brain

The positive effects

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In the countries were pornography is encouraged studies have shown a decrease of rapes and sexual related criminal acts

The negative effects

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Internet browsing negatively impacts the brain. The effects are more visible in children and adolescents

Causes:

•Superficial reading•Impulsivity•Low creativity•Low focused attention

The negative effects

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The negative effects

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The negative effects

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E-Mails are one of the most disrupting and stressing office tools

•12% of the work time is spent reading personal e-mails•One employee from a big company receives 400 e-mails/week•70% of them are opened in less than 6 seconds•Reading e-mail decreases the performance on IQ test with 10 points

The negative effects

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Brain’s connections in stress & depression

In depression the brain genes involved in plasticity & learning are turned off

Chronic stress negatively impact connectivity in the brain

Dragos Cirneci Liston, McEwen & Casey, 2009

How we can control the negative effects of media

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References

• Deng, W. et al. (2009) – Adult-born hippocampal dentate granule cells undergoing maturation modulate learning and memory in the brain. The Journal of Neuroscience, 29 (43), 13532-13542

• Liston, C., McEwen, B.S. and Casey, B.J. – Psychosocial stress reversibly disrupts prefrontal processing and attentional control. PNAS, 106 (3), 912-917

• Overby, D. (2007) – Free will: Now you have it, now you don’t. The New York Times Science supplement, january 2, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/02/science/02free.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

• Robinson, G.E., Fernald, R.D. and Clayton, D.F. (2008) – Genes and social behavior. Science, 322, 896-900

• Schacter, D.L., Addis, D.R. and Buckner, R.L. (2007) – Remembering the past to imagine the future: the prospective brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 8, 657-661

Dragos Cirneci Ph.D.Dragos Cirneci Ph.D.E-mail address: dragos.cirneci@brainperform.ro

www.synergonconsulting.ro

Thank you for your attention!