Mind Matters Reporting on Natural and Artificial Intelligence

TagPersistent vegetative state (PVS)

brain-doodle-illustration-with-textures-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Brain doodle illustration with textures
Type
post
Author
News
Date
October 11, 2020
Categorized
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
Tagged
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Your Mind vs. Your Brain: Ten Things To Know

Although we are only beginning to understand the workings of the brain, it clearly isn't the same thing as the mind
News
October 11, 2020
Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Here are some reasons why they aren’t really the same: 1.Is the human brain unique in some way? Yes, but not so much in its structure as in the things we do with it. For example, the human, mouse, and fly brains all use the same basic mechanisms, which is a bit of a puzzle, considering the different things we do with our brains. The human brain is bigger than most. But then lemurs performed as well as chimps on the primate cognitive test battery (a primate intelligence test) and lemurs only have brains that are 1/200th the size of chimps’ brains. So, what we humans are doing differently from lemurs and chimps doesn’t depend wholly on brain size either.…

senior in coma.jpg
side view of senior man in coma on bed in hospital
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 10, 2020
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience
Tagged
, , ,

Is There Hope for People in a Persistent Vegetative State?

Yes! Modern neuroscience is shining a light on their minds
News
June 10, 2020
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience

Today, many neuroscientists don’t even call it a persistent vegetative state. The new term is disorders of consciousness. One neuroscientist recounts, In the past 20 years, advances in neuroimaging techniques have allowed us to explore brain functions in these altered states of consciousness. One breakthrough study conducted at our lab, in collaboration with the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, involved 54 DoC patients. The researchers asked the patients to perform two mental-imagery tasks while they lay in a brain scanner. In the first, they were asked to imagine playing tennis; in the second, to imagine walking from room to room in their home – mental tasks that are associated with contrasting patterns of neural activity. Remarkably, five patients…

sick-mature-woman-lying-in-bed-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpeg
Sick mature woman lying in bed
Type
post
Author
News
Date
April 15, 2020
Categorized
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind
Tagged
, , , , , , , , ,

Can Loved Ones in a Coma Hear Us?

Modern brain imaging studies show that very often they can. And, with help from new technology, they can answer us too
News
April 15, 2020
Medicine and Health, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind

Pioneering research using brain imaging (fMRI) over the last fifteen years has shown that, even in deep coma, people can hear, understand, and respond. It’s no longer just anecdotes from caregivers. The controversial Terri Schiavo case might be decided very differently today.

Read More ›