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Science Matters: Center for Science in Society

A weekly feature (begun November 2004) connecting Center activities to what's happening in the world at large.

Online forum for continuing discussion  |  Archives

“The Bipartite Brain and Its Significance for Idealism, Pragmatism and Other Matters”
Emergent Systems: A Discussion, Jan. 26 & Feb. 2, 2005

"Signs of Awareness Seen in Brain-Injured Patients"
Thousands of brain-damaged people who are treated as if they are almost completely unaware may in fact hear and register what is going on around them but be unable to respond, a new brain-imaging study suggests.

The findings, if repeated in follow-up experiments, could have sweeping implications for how to care best for these patients. Some experts said the study, which appeared yesterday in the journal Neurology, could also have consequences for legal cases in which parties dispute the mental state of an unresponsive patient.

The research showed that the brain-imaging technology, magnetic resonance imaging, can be a powerful tool to help doctors and family members determine whether a person has lost all awareness or is still somewhat mentally engaged, experts said.Read more...

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On the lighter side...

"In creating the human brain, evolution has wildly overshot the mark". ~Arthur Koestler

BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
Who are you? Who are they? How did you get to be that way? How did they? What can you and they do about it? Read more to discover the answers to these questions, as well as many interesting resource websites on the brain.

The Bipartite Brain And Its Significance for Idealism, Pragmatism and Other Matters
A talk in two parts by Paul Grobstein as part of the Emergent Systems Discussion series.

Mind, Brain, and Adaptation: the Localization of Cerebral Function
(Part of a series on "MIND AND BODY: RENÉ DESCARTES TO WILLIAM JAMES")
As the 19th century progressed, the problem of the relationship of mind to brain became especially acute as physiologists and psychologists began to focus on the nature and localization of cerebral function. In a diffuse and general way, the idea of functional localization had been available since antiquity...Read more

See Science Matters: Serendip for related pages highlighting current news in the area of science and culture, as well as relevant materials on Serendip.

These pages have been created by Selene Platt in consultation with Paul Grobstein.
Please submit suggestions for other topics to explore in "Science Matters" to Selene Platt
.



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Director: Paul Grobstein -
pgrobste@brynmawr.edu | Faculty Steering Committee | Secretary: Selene Platt - splatt@brynmawr.edu
© 2003-2005, by Center for Science in Society, Bryn Mawr College and Serendip