how the brain constructs meaning

8/7/2019 How the brain constructs meaning

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How the brain constructs meaning

By:

Miguel Marcano Manich

Educ 553

Prof. Leroy Alicea


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ReflectionThe Brain is wider than the Sky (Emily Dickinson)

The Brain - is wider than the Sky -

For - put them side by side -

The one the other will contain

With ease - and You - beside -

The Brain is deeper than the sea -

For - hold them - Blue to Blue -

The one the other will absorb -

As Sponges - Buckets - do -

The Brain is just the weight of God -

For - Heft them - Pound for Pound -

And they will differ - if they do -

As Syllable from Sound


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What is the brain?

The brain is the center of the nervous

system and is a highly complex organ.


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How the brain works?

The brain takes in all information relating to

the bodys internal and external

environments, and it produces the

appropriate responses.


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Brain functions

controls body temperature, blood

pressure, heart rate and breathing.

accepts a flood of information about the

world around you from the various senses handles physical motion when walking,

talking, standing or sitting.

lets you think, dream, reason and

experience emotions.


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Constructing meaning

The search for meaning is innate.

All learners are trying to make sense out of

what is happening around them at all

times. There are three factors that focus on

constructing meaning:

Relevance

Emotion Pattern


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Relevance. On a cellular level, it's the

activation of existing connections in neural

networks. It relates to something the

learner already knows some informationabout. The more relevance this has to the

learner, the greater the meaning.


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Relevance: What do we know?


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Emotion.When the learner's emotions are

engaged, the brain "codes" the content by

triggering the release of chemicals that

single out and "mark" the experience as

important and meaningful. Emotions

activate many areas in the body and the

brain. This may give meaning to

something without your having any

understanding of it.


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Emotion: How do we feel?


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Pattern. Isolated information has little

meaning. The brain builds larger patterns

to help form genuine structures of

meaning. The context helps make it part of

an overall pattern. Context can be social,

intellectual, physical, economic,

geographic, political, or any other pattern

which makes meaning.


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Pattern: With what do I associate?

Greattaste

Neareststore

Price

Quantity

Quality

Take out?

Toppings

Storenext to

Good/Badmoments


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Where meaning is created?

Meaning is created in three part of the brain:

The ventral stream

The dorsal stream

The limbic system


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Places where meaning is created

1) The ventral system is necessary for

conscious processing to perceive object

recognition and form representation.

2) the dorsal stream system is involved in

spatial awareness: recognizing where

objects are in space, and guidance of

actions. It is responsible for delivering

sensory information from the external

world to the brain.


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Places where meaning is created(cont)

3) the limbic system: is the home of

emotions, motivation, the regulation of

memories, the interface between

emotional states and memories of physical

stimuli, physiological autonomic

regulators, hormones, sexual arousal, and

some decision systems.


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The dorsal, ventral and limbic system

dorsal

ventral

limbic


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Conclusion

It is clear that the human brain is the

biggest discovery ever made. We claim that

as rational human beings we use our brain to

our full potential, yet we always forget wherewe left our car keys or maybe even in what

parking space we parked our car. Why

colonize unexplored regions of space when

we havent even unlocked the brains true

potential.


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7|-|3 3|\|


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References

Nemours Foundation (1995) Kids Health. Available from

http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/brain.html

Retrieved March, 2010.

DiscoveryChannel (2008) How the brain works. Available from

http://www.howstuffworks.com/brain.htm


MindShare (2010) How the brain creates meaning. Available from

http://www.mindsharecorp.com/blog/neuroscience/how-the-brain

creates-meaning/


Maher, J. (2009) How the brain constructs meaning. Available from

http://www.pgcps.pg.k12.md.us/~elc/brain5.htmlRetrieved March, 2010.

Snider, B. & Arthur, S. (2001) Dorsal and Ventral stream. Available from

http://ahsmail.uwaterloo.ca/kin356/dorsal/dorsal.htm



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References

Boeree, G. (2009) The Emotional Nervous System. Available from

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/limbicsystem.html


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