Unknown Potential of the Human Brain

[Fkemman11]

He suffered a brain injury and some time shortly thereafter could play the piano with no prior lessons.

 

 

I have read about a few similar stories and saw a show once about a young retarded boy that just started playing classical piano one day- with him not even knowing what a piano was!

 

This makes me wonder what mysteries our brains still hold for us to discover. Do you think these stories are true? Do you think all of us have hidden talents that can be unlocked somehow?

Please share your thoughts! :happy:

 

OK. So first theory is that information and memories are passed through the genes from one generation to the next, but, are not connected to the consciousness except in special cases with newborns or brain trauma that somehow activates them. I don't think this is plausible as some have said.

 

Second theory suggested by Perraine is that neural pathways for some newborns are stronger than others making them smarter or more talented and that brain trauma might cause restructuring of the pathways during the bodies repairs to a similar end. This sounds more plausible. So based on this theory, we all can become smarter and/or more talented if science can figure out what kinds of repairs the body is making in the case of head trauma. The more I think about it, the more this makes sense. For example, when you break a bone in your body, the body repairs it to be stronger to resist breaking by increasing the density of the bone I think.

[DoctorKaizeld]

cool cool... now I swear to gawd if anyone says something about us only using 10% of our brains I will smack you upside the head!

but aside from that yeah the brain is quite amazing.

[Perraine]

Physiologically, what you are suggesting is not possible. We (our brains) "learn" by creating pathways in our neural network. When we perform a task a "connection" or circuit is created, if we repeat that task, the connection is strengthened to the point where it becomes "learned". If we don't repeat that task, there is the possibility of that "circuit" being over written by something else or even "forgotten". (but it could also lay dormant for years! )

 

We have no conscious control over when, how, or why these pathways are created in most cases, which is how babies learn so many things with seeming "ease", because most of their "circuits" are blank slates ready to be written, but it seems even while sleeping or otherwise occupied our brain can create the circuits all on it's own, even to adulthood, and we may never even know it's happened, unless the opportunity to "use" that circuit presents itself.

 

Ever experienced seeming to know the words or tune to a song, and humming/singing the tune to yourself, even though you can't "consciously" remember ever having heard it before? Maybe you heard it while working, or at a shopping mall, or even while sleeping, and your brain remembered it, without, it seems, your knowledge or permission. This may have been the case with the guy in the video.

 

As far as "natural talent" goes, well, our brain is a VERY complex organ, and who's to say that out of the trillions of possible pathways, that somehow, certain people have "stronger" circuits for certain tasks "naturally".

 

...

 

Now if you want to stray into the metaphysical, you could ask (as many have) is there such a thing as "consciousness"? Is there a "group consciousness" or group mind for the human race? (or all life?) Is there such a thing as a "soul"? Those are things that we may never know, but "could" also possibly explain the phenomenon you describe.

 

Personally I do think there is a ... "place" that our unconscious brains can access, a fifth (or eleventh) dimension, where exists such things as genetic/racial/cultural consciousness or "talent". Where such things as ESP, and possibly the paranormal reside.

[hexef]

The idea of us carrying our ancestors' knowledge through our genes is just a myth created by the AC series mostly. This theory does not sound plausible to me.

 

In the next decade, supercomputers will be able to simulate an entire human brain in realtime, my wild guess would be in the late 2020s. Even after they succeed in properly simulating it, another decade would be needed for our best neurologists to analyze all of this data and possibly discover many of our brains' secrets. So, until then, all we can do is to speculate how the brain works. Still, the "knowledge through genes" theory is just too silly in my opinion.

 

Also, all of these stories with getting hit in the head and suddenly becoming skilled in something sound fake to me. Since I've never found a reliable source of these stories I came to the conclusion that they are made up.

[Fkemman11]

The idea of us carrying our ancestors' knowledge through our genes is just a myth created by the AC series mostly. This theory does not sound plausible to me.

 

In the next decade, supercomputers will be able to simulate an entire human brain in realtime, my wild guess would be in the late 2020s. Even after they succeed in properly simulating it, another decade would be needed for our best neurologists to analyze all of this data and possibly discover many of our brains' secrets. So, until then, all we can do is to speculate how the brain works. Still, the "knowledge through genes" theory is just too silly in my opinion.

 

Also, all of these stories with getting hit in the head and suddenly becoming skilled in something sound fake to me. Since I've never found a reliable source of these stories I came to the conclusion that they are made up.

Then how do explain child prodigies? They have no prior knowledge to draw from that we know of. Look at this.

 

 

I do admit that the theory I suggested sounds far fetched- but, I wouldn't say it was silly. Can you offer a better explanation?

Also the key word you stated about computers is that they can "simulate" the human brain. But, only to the limits that we understand it.

[Fkemman11]

Physiologically, what you are suggesting is not possible. We (our brains) "learn" by creating pathways in our neural network. When we perform a task a "connection" or circuit is created, if we repeat that task, the connection is strengthened to the point where it becomes "learned". If we don't repeat that task, there is the possibility of that "circuit" being over written by something else or even "forgotten". (but it could also lay dormant for years! )

 

We have no conscious control over when, how, or why these pathways are created in most cases, which is how babies learn so many things with seeming "ease", because most of their "circuits" are blank slates ready to be written, but it seems even while sleeping or otherwise occupied our brain can create the circuits all on it's own, even to adulthood, and we may never even know it's happened, unless the opportunity to "use" that circuit presents itself.

 

Ever experienced seeming to know the words or tune to a song, and humming/singing the tune to yourself, even though you can't "consciously" remember ever having heard it before? Maybe you heard it while working, or at a shopping mall, or even while sleeping, and your brain remembered it, without, it seems, your knowledge or permission. This may have been the case with the guy in the video.

 

As far as "natural talent" goes, well, our brain is a VERY complex organ, and who's to say that out of the trillions of possible pathways, that somehow, certain people have "stronger" circuits for certain tasks "naturally".

 

...

 

Now if you want to stray into the metaphysical, you could ask (as many have) is there such a thing as "consciousness"? Is there a "group consciousness" or group mind for the human race? (or all life?) Is there such a thing as a "soul"? Those are things that we may never know, but "could" also possibly explain the phenomenon you describe.

 

Personally I do think there is a ... "place" that our unconscious brains can access, a fifth (or eleventh) dimension, where exists such things as genetic/racial/cultural consciousness or "talent". Where such things as ESP, and possibly the paranormal reside.

I agree with you to an extent. Stronger or "better" pathways in some people's brain could explain this some. But, why is it usually the left part of the brain or creative side that becomes more active? Is it because the right side or logical side is damaged? Now this begs the question of what kind of balance is normal between the two hemispheres? Do we use mostly the right or the left depending on circumstance or is it supposed to be a constant balance? And why are there two different sides in the first place?

[RatB0Y68]

Disclaimer: I am not a neurologist.

 

Plausible explanations I can think of regarding prodigies and inheritance:

 

- Genetics: Intelligence and brainpower have some genetic influence, in the case of child prodigies they perhaps inherited it from preceding generations, not necessarily parents. Or they simply got lucky through random mutation.

- Epigenetics: Their preceding generations learned certain useful skills, as I understand it these environmental triggers can 'switch on' certain genes through genetic 'markers'. These switched on genes may confer physical or cognitive advantages, allowing for inheritors to more easily learn certain skills or possess greater mental acuity.

 

On the subject of brain injuries:

 

When it comes to the strange development of new skills, tastes or personalities following brain injuries:

 

-Many components of the human body are multifunctional. Hormones such as testosterone govern sex drive, but it also governs muscular development. Neurotransmitters such as dopamine are responsible for pleasurable sensations and the feeling of reward, but they also control the perception of time. Many of the component parts of the human body fulfil multiple unrelated functions at once.

 

I have a feeling that when it comes to the systems of the human brain, the same principle is in operation. Connections formed by the brain, whether to learn a new skill or repair or compensate for an injury are multifunctional, this makes them more versatile and efficient. In the case of brain injuries, while the brain is focusing purely on self repair, the multifarious nature of neural connections may result in additional new capabilities or personality changes. In the case of adults learning talents they never seemed to have before, these may be a fortunate by-product from the attempted repair.

[Perraine]

As far as left and right hemispheres, from what I've read over the years, the interaction is not fully understood, but in a "healthy" brain they function in parallel for the most part. Generally the right side seems to be active with mostly "conscious" behaviour, while the left side handles the unconscious stuff, which includes "creative" impulses, not to sound too Freudian, but this may be tied to our sex drive or reproductive drive - Think the Bower Bird, creating a large impressive nest to entice a mate, this "creative impulse" ( the artistic talent if you will) is instinctive to the male bird, as is the "aesthetic appeal" ( the like or dislike) instinct with which the female bird chooses which nest to occupy.

 

It must be remembered that our brains have developed over millions of years, and there are many aspects that we may never understand, because they are far to "primitive", in the sense that they developed as survival mechanisms long before we thought up things like video games and the Internet. There are many aspects of our daily lives and even things we "bump into" every day that we simply do not need to be consciously aware of. If we had to try and consciously control our balance while standing or walking for instance, the thousands of minute muscle movements required, we wouldn't be able to think of anything else! ( such as how tasty that fruit looks, or how yummy that potential mummy looks ;) )

 

Those pathways are usually handled by the left hemisphere, and they influence and sometimes even control most aspects of our lives, from simple breathing to complex decision making (should I go for chocolate or vanilla ice-cream? Our subconscious will, in a healthy brain, have a preference, and "guide" our decision) But there is no "off the shelf" operating system for something as massively complex as the human brain, and although many patterns are similar from individual to individual, having developed over millions of years as a species, the intricacies of a "neural network" means that their will be differences in how the pathways are created.

 

I'm not sure that anyone has ever done anything even close to a definitive study of brain injuries, but I imagine that there are as many, if not more, people who change very little, or not at all, after brain injuries, than there are people who suddenly learn how to play the piano, we just "hear" about the piano players more often, because of the media coverage that "freaks" always get. No one wants to watch a video titled "Person has massive brain trauma, and nothing special happens".

 

We don't yet fully understand the vast number of combinations that can occur in our genome, but it is possible that some "traits" can be affected by our genes, certain "artistic" impulses for instance or mathematical aptitude may be affected by our genes. I imagine that RatBOY68 could be correct, in that perhaps it is a survival instinct for the left side to "take over", at least partially, in the aftermath of injuries, as this is part of our "fight or flight" survival skill, avoiding danger and/or pain and/or further injury - "Don't think, just stop the pain!"

[Fkemman11]

Maybe those doctors we now consider "quacks" who drilled holes in peoples heads or scrambled the tissue in the frontal lobe were on to something after all. One of these doctors continued performing these types of procedures as recent as the 1950's I think. Read that there were many variances on this as well- like opening a hole in the brain and pouring pure alcohol in! - https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2013/08/drilling-holes-in-heads-a-brief-history.html

[Reneer]

Maybe those doctors we now consider "quacks" who drilled holes in peoples heads or scrambled the tissue in the frontal lobe were on to something after all. One of these doctors continued performing these types of procedures as recent as the 1950's I think. Read that there were many variances on this as well- like opening a hole in the brain and pouring pure alcohol in! - https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2013/08/drilling-holes-in-heads-a-brief-history.html

Yeah, no. Simply drilling a hole into the skull isn't going to do anything beneficial, unless there are specific medical circumstances where it would be necessary (like cerebral edema increasing intracranial pressure). And prefrontal lobotomies are like using a shotgun to try and fix your car's engine problem.

 

And Perraine? Sorry, but pretty much everything you wrote is incorrect. First, while there are right / left sides to the human brain, they aren't regulated to "conscious" and "unconscious" thought or behavior. The human brain simply isn't lateralized like that, though pop psychology keeps pushing the idea. The most lateralized aspect of the human brain in terms of function is language, which is dominated by the left brain hemisphere, but the right brain hemisphere also plays a part and can even "take over" if the left hemisphere language processing areas are damaged (source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4874870/). And breathing - conscious or unconscious - is not controlled by the left hemisphere of the brain. Unconscious breathing is controlled via the brain stem, specifically the pons and the medulla, while conscious breathing is controlled by the cerebral cortex (source: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ap/chapter/respiration-control/).