Computer Science 129

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Computer Science 129

• Science, Computing and Society
• Week 8
• Chapter 6

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GRE/GMAT WORDS

• Veracity truthful
• Prodigal wasteful, extravagant
• Alacrity an eager willingness to do something
• Prosaic dull and lacking imagination

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Interesting Stories

• Alien hand syndrome is a rare neurological
  disorder in which one hand functions
  involuntarily, with the victim completely unaware
  of its action. Symptoms include involuntary
  reaching and grasping, touching the face or
  tearing at clothing. More extreme cases have
  involved involuntarily stuffing food in the
  mouth, preventing the normal hand from completing
  simple tasks and self inflicted punching or
  choking.

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(No Transcript)
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Interesting Stories

• Think of the corpus callosum as the brain's
  e-mail server, a bundle of message sending nerves
  that connect and share information with the two
  hemispheres. Alien hand syndrome is a result of
  damage to these nerves. This damage most often
  occurs in brain aneurysms, stroke patients and
  those with infections of the brain, but can also
  manifest as a side effect of brain surgery, most
  commonly after a radical procedure that treats
  extreme cases of epilepsy.

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Chapter 6

• The brain performs an incredible number of tasks
  
• It controls body temperature, blood pressure,
  heart rate and breathing.
• It accepts a flood of information about the world
  around you from your various senses (eyes, ears,
  nose, etc.).
• It handles physical motion when walking, talking,
  standing or sitting.
• It lets you think, dream, reason and experience
  emotions.

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Chapter 6

• The Brain and Vision
• Class Experiment
• Wave opened fingered hand in front of eyes
  (notice blur)
• Now hold open fingered hand in front of eyes and
  shake your head (no blur)

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Chapter 6

• Why?
• Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (VOR)
• The vestibulo-ocular reflex, or VOR, is a reflex
  eye movement that stabilizes images on the retina
  during head movement by producing an eye movement
  in the direction opposite to head movement

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Chapter 6

• When the head moves, the VOR responds with an eye
  movement that is equal in magnitude but opposite
  in direction.

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Chapter 6

• Brain receives input, processes the input, and
  gives an output
• It does this at a cellular level and at the level
  of an organ

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Chapter 6

• Some Scientists do not believe the brain
  computes
• Consider the Chinese room analogy
• Man in room who does not speak or read Chinese
• The room is sealed off except for one door

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Chapter 6

• Man in room is given cards with Chinese symbols
  on them and a book of instructions (written in
  English or his native language)
• The instructions tell the person what symbols to
  send out in response to Chinese messages slipped
  under the door

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Chapter 6

• The Man uses the instructions as a computer uses
  a computer program
• The man does not know what or if he is
  communicating, but to an outsider his responses
  could look reasonable

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Chapter 6

• Conclusion is that a computer computes whereas a
  brain thinks, understands and has consciousness
• Brain is biological, not a machine

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Chapter 6

• Argument seems to be semantical
• Definition of computing is the debate
• I believe our brains compute, it is just our
  instruction booklet changes minute to minute
  depending upon what has happened to us.

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Chapter 6

• The complete function of the brain is still
  unknown
• 4 Regions of Brain
• Cerebrum (4 lobes)
• Cerebellum
• Diencephalon
• Brain Stem

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Chapter 6

• The medulla oblongata, located in the brain stem,
  manages the reflex centers for
• Vomiting
• Coughing
• Sneezing
• Swallowing
• Hiccupping
• Respiratory rate
• Vasoconstriction

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Chapter 6

• These are perfect examples of input, process,
  output analogy

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Chapter 6
The Neuron is the basic unit of our central
nervous system which includes our brain
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Chapter 6

• Something activates a dendrite and it passes an
  electrical signal down the soma (cell body) and
  the axon to the tip of the synapses. The
  presence of this electrical signal causes a
  change in permeability to the tip of the synapses
  allowing neurotransmitters to seep out into the
  synaptic cleft. The neurotransmitters bind to
  receptor sites on the tip of the post synaptic
  neurons dendrites. This binding causes an
  electrical signal to go down the post synaptic
  neuron and the process repeats. This sends a
  signal very quickly.

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Chapter 6
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Chapter 6

• Neurons use chemical mechanisms to transfer an
  electric impulse, or action potential, from cell
  to cell to affect a response
• http//www.bristol.ac.uk/synaptic/basics/basics-1.
  html
• Go to this website and read this one page

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What You Should Know

• Know all GRE/GMAT words

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What You Should Know

• Define
• Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (VOR)

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What You Should Know

• What are the four primary regions of the brain?

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What You Should Know

• SHORT ESSAY
• WHAT SEVEN REFLEX CENTERS DOES THE MEDULLA
  OBLONGATA CONTROL AND HOW DO THEY RESEMBLE A
  COMPUTER PROCESS

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What You Should Know

• SHORT ESSAY
• EXPLAIN CHINESE ROOM ARGUMENT AND WHAT IT HAS
  BEEN PURPORTED TO ILLUSTRATE

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What You Should Know

• SHORT ESSAY
• HOW DOES A NEURON USE CHEMICAL MECHANISMS TO
  TRANSFER AN ELECTIRCAL INPULSE