A Google Tech Talk May 5, 2010 ABSTRACT Presented by Michael Goard, PhD, and Emily Jacobs, PhD. The majority of the human brain is comprised of a single structure, the neocortex, responsible for a range of cognitive functions, from sensory perception to abstract thought. However, despite this diversity of functions, the neocortex has a simple architecture it is comprised of numerous repeated motifs of a single stereotyped neural circuit. This talk will serve as an introduction to the structure and function of the neocortical circuit, particularly focusing on how it processes sensory input in order to generate cohesive perception of the external world. This will be followed by a description of recent experiments demonstrating how the neocortex can process sensory input in different ways depending on the behavioral state of the animal. Finally, there will be a discussion of how understanding neocortical function will lead to innovations in medicine, computing, and artificial intelligence. The study of neuroscience is devoted to understanding how the brain functions uniformly across members of a species, but a critical question centers on how cognitive processes differ between members of a species, or in an individual under varying environmental conditions. In short, why do some people excel where others falter? This talk introduces two factors that contribute to individual differences in cognition: genes and hormones. This concept is examined through recent experiments ...
Keywords: google, tech, talk, brain, science, perception, dopamine
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