who’s in charge here anyway? what happens when we learn something?

Who’s in charge here anyway?

What happens when we learn something?


Being well connected

When we are born we already have almost all of the neurons that we will ever have (100 billion or 100,000,000,000 cells).

The photograph on the following slide shows a small part of a human brain at three ages. The shaded circle shows a single neuron, which connects to other brain cells by connections called dendrites.


A single neuron has many dendrites that form links with other nerve cells


Being well connected

1. Describe the differences in the brain structure at three different ages.

2. Has the brain grown more neurons over three years? Explain your answer.

1. The younger the brain is, the more ‘plastic’ it is thought to be. The word ‘plastic’ here means moulded or shaped. Why might it be easier to learn language when very young but less easy when we get older?


Simple learning: Classical conditioning

All dogs start to produce saliva when they smell food.

In a famous experiment, Russian scientists, Ivan Pavlov, flashed a light bulb (or rang a bell) every time food was presented to a dog.

Eventually, the dog would produce saliva through flashing a light bulb or ringing a bell – without the presence of food.


Pavlov’s dogTraining phase

flashing light + food = salivating dog


Pavlov’s dogPost-training phase

flashing light – food = salivating dog


Simple learning: Classical conditioning

4. At the start of the experiment would you expect the smell of the food or the lit bulb to make the dog produce saliva? Explain your answer.

5. Did the dog salivate when Pavlov repeated the experiment, but with no food present?

6. Discuss with one of two classmates what you think may have taken place in the dog’s brain that caused this effect to happen.

4. Further Investigation: Pavlov proved that sights and sounds that do not normally signal food, can be learned and can trigger our stomachs and mouths and make our mouths water. Think about how advertisers use this idea for us.


Memories are made of this

© Alex Slobodkin


1. How did your memory test results differ from that of the boy in the lecture for each of the following:

a. Total number rememberedb. Where your remembered objects came in the listc. Whether you remembered the unusual/funny/unexpected

objects more easily than the ordinary everyday ones?

2. Suggest how your brain helps you to remember things from your past, by organising your memories under headings such as: nursery school, holidays, family, sport...etc

3. How is this similar to the using folders in a filing cabinet or on a computer? Are there any differences in the way we store and retrieve memories in our brain?



We are more likely to remember information if we can make it work for us. When we make sense of objects and events and link them to other knowledge or patterns, our short-term memories become long-term ones.

One system that we use is called Mnemonics (pronounced ‘ne-mon-ics’)

Mnemonics provide a structure to lists. Look at the following examples:

RICHARD OF YORK GAVE BATTLE IN VAINColours of the visible spectrum: Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue, Indigo, Violet

H.O.M.E.SNames of the American Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior

Mnemonics and Memories


Mnemonics and other memory cues use structures, rhythms and rhymes that we are familiar with.

a. Construct a mnemonic that helps to remember the names and order of the planets in the solar system:

Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto

b. See whether you can produce a mnemonic for the objects displayed in the lecture. Then test your ability to remember the objects:

pound coin, diamond lattice, skull, cuddly toy, hose, dice, broom,

Christmas hat, football, helmet, bucket, leaf blower, kettle,

camcorder, truck, mirror, juggling balls, alarm clock, globe, tyre,

child

Mnemonics and Memories


How to become World Memory Champion?

© Alex Slobodkin


The Jack of clubs reminds him of a friend, who is a skiing instructor

Visualises an old girlfriend, called Kate, skiing

The number ‘2’ represents the second letter of the alphabet, ‘B’ The the number zero becomes the letter ‘O’. So the 20th is represented by the letters BO, Barak Obama’s initials

Imagines Barak Obama fighting an octopus to produce a link between 20th and October

How to become World Memory Champion?


Attention please!


1. Work in a group of three: (i) participant (ii) timer, and (iii) presentation ‘clicker’.

2. Set up the PowerPoint presentation in presentation mode, so that you can move quickly from slide to slide

3. The timer says ‘START’ as they start the clock and the clicker moves to the first slide

4. The participant has to state the colour that the text is written in, and NOT what is written on the slide.

5. Continue through each slide until reaching the ‘STOP’ slide when the timer stops the clock

6. Repeat for the second round of slides

7. Then repeat once more for the third round of slides

The Stroop Effect


© Robert Simon

START

First Experiment


© Robert Simon

Red


© Robert Simon

Green


© Robert Simon

Blue


© Robert Simon

Black


© Robert Simon

Red


© Robert Simon

Blue


© Robert Simon

Red


© Robert Simon

STOP


© Robert Simon

START

Second Experiment


© Robert Simon

Rope


© Robert Simon

Plug


© Robert Simon

Snail

who’s in charge here anyway? what happens when we learn something?

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