The Future of the Most Important Human Brain

mattnyc99 writes "About a year ago, we watched live as neuroanatomist Jacopo Annese sliced the brain of Memento-style patient Henry Molaison (aka H.M.) into 2,401 pieces. Since even before then, writer Luke Dittrich — whose grandfather happened to be the surgeon to accidentally slice open the H.M. skull in the first place — has been tracking Annese and a new revolution in brain science. From the article in Esquire: 'If Korbinian Brodmann created the mind's Rand McNally, Jacopo Annese is creating its Google Maps. ... With his Brain Observatory, Annese is setting out to create not the world's largest but the world's most useful collection of brains. ... For the first time, we'll be able to meaningfully and easily compare large numbers of brains, perhaps finally understanding why one brain might be less empathetic or better at calculus or likelier to develop Alzheimer's than another. The Brain Observatory promises to revolutionize our understanding of how these three-pound hunks of tissue inside our skulls do what they do, which means, of course, that it promises to revolutionize our understanding of ourselves.'"

Comments

Re:This is simply misguided -- don't we know bette

[MichaelKristopeit 10]

you have absolutely no understanding of how brains develop.

brains are not stamped out of the same die like computer processors... THEY GROW.

you're an idiot.

Re:This is simply misguided -- don't we know bette

[metrix007]

We could also predict they would be individualistic, egocentric and disrespectful of authority. All you had to do was look at me...

And with this, you have demonstrated your complete ignorance of genetics. Well done.

Re:This is simply misguided -- don't we know bette

[metrix007]

I'm not ignorant.

People are arguing a sandman, yourself included, saying that I am saying that no physical changes occur

What I am saying is that all working non defective brains start off equal, and that changes made are not persistent.

am saying that the biggest cause of intelligence or a way of thinking is upbringing and environment, and that studying a brain will not show anything special.

There are exceptions where we may learn something from studying an exceptional brain, but people with exceptional brains are going to tend to be strange in some way. The people who seem smarter than most have a greater interest, or try harder or whatever.

If you can show me any definitive research that shows that brains that are not defective can be significantly different, and those difference can lead to increases in intelligence, I would appreciate it.