The Brain—Information about the Brain. 1 Introduction “I think, therefore I am.” —René Descartes, 17th-century philosopher Few of us question the crucial importance of the brain. It is vital to our existence. Our brains enable us to think, as René Descartes so skillfully pointed out nearly 400 years ago. The brain makes up only 2 percent of our body weight, but it consumes 20 percent of the oxygen we breathe and 20 percent of the energy we consume. Scientists have worked for many years to unravel the complex workings of the brain.
Despite these and other significant advances in the field of brain research, most of the processes responsible for the integrated functioning of billions of brain cells remain a mystery. An essential aspect of any scientific research is communicating results to the public in a way that is easily understood. To correctly interpret the information transmitted through these venues, we need a better understanding of basic concepts related to the brain. 2 Myths and Realities about the Brain Figure 1. Perceptual Learning Incepted by Decoded fMRI Neurofeedback Without Stimulus Presentation.
Vision Scientists Demonstrate Innovative Learning Method. Press Release 11-257 Vision Scientists Demonstrate Innovative Learning Method New research suggests it may be possible to learn high-performance tasks with little or no conscious effort December 8, 2011 View a video showing researchers explaining Decoded Neurofeedback. New research published today in the journal Science suggests it may be possible to use brain technology to learn to play a piano, reduce mental stress or hit a curve ball with little or no conscious effort. It's the kind of thing seen in Hollywood's "Matrix" franchise.
Experiments conducted at Boston University (BU) and ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan, recently demonstrated that through a person's visual cortex, researchers could use decoded functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to induce brain activity patterns to match a previously known target state and thereby improve performance on visual tasks. The finding brings up an inevitable question. Get News Updates by Email. Scientists say they're getting closer to Matrix-style instant learning.