07.13.06
Brain wrapup
This article talks about a study that shows sleep enhances memory retention. I think the title is a bit misleading. I think it should be more correctly explained as restfullness improves cognitive function. In the second experiment, subjects had to learn a new set of words in a short time span. Those that were well rested had higher cognitive ability. Nothing too major in this article.
Here is another article that discusses the “Contempory Theory of Dreaming”. Its an interesting read. The conclusion of the article is:
Thus we consider a possible (though certainly not proven) function of a dream to be weaving new material into the memory system in a way that both reduces emotional arousal and is adaptive in helping us cope with further trauma or stressful events.
Here is a very lengthy article that talks about the brain and conscious choice. One theory is that what we call free will is essentially a fiction, but instead a congnitive feeling. Theres alot more to the article. Set aside 20-30min and read it for yourself. I did like this interesting bit at the end which discusses free will and pre-destination.
A neuroscientist with a strongly philosophical and political cast of mind, he insists that we are freed as well as constrained by our “biosocial†nature, in other words by genes, environment and the constraints of the brain. Yet by the same token we as humans are radically undetermined. “Living as we do at the interface of multiple determinisms, we become free to construct our own futures, though in circumstances not of our own choosing.â€