I’ve been getting into brain science big time for the past few months. I’ve burned through a number of books, but realized half-way through the latest one that my conception of the brain is sort of jumbled. I recognize keywords like neurotransmitters, limbic system, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and all sorts of crap like that.
Where I have trouble is in categorizing all of this knowledge. I need a way to visualize and organize everything I know. I need a new top-down approach to learning this stuff, or things are going to keep whizzing past my head.
The problem with brain science is that every subject has its own name for a certain cluster of areas. Looking at this picture, you would assume that the brain can safely be divided into five basic areas, and from there you would go about learning about the specifics of each. Still, this one would have you believe there are actually six basic divisions, with hardly any overlap with the first image. Then you might decide to learn about the “cortex”, but that wouldn’t tell you much about where the frontal lobe is, as the prefrontal cortex and the cortex share it. God help you if you want a clear definition on what the limbic system is.
Trying to figure out what’s contained within what, what’s used only in certain contexts, what’s real and what’s just a construct, it’s all one big clusterfuck, IMHO.
I think a real model of the brain would help me significantly. A poster, a plastic science classroom style model, maybe an interactive learning module where you click on regions that takes you to more detailed information.
I’m sure quite a few of you were in the same situation I’m in and found a way out of it. How did you do it?
Well, those two pictures are merely oriented differently and show different structures. They do agree with each other as far as I can tell. Yes, some names overlap, but it’s sort of the same way that Atlanta is in Fulton County in Georgia. The cerebral cortex is a name for a region of the brain which houses several structures, each of which have their own names.
If you’re looking for a model, check out http://www.brain-mart.com/ . All kinds of brains! Brains. Braaaains.
I’m a physicist that collaborates with neuroscientists, which has involved a whole lot of learning neuroscience on the fly. I’m not sure there’s actually a good solution. Most current neuroscience research is led by researchers with backgrounds in other disciplines - physiology, psychology, genetics and cell bio, computer science, etc. They all use slightly different lingo. I’m lucky in that I always have people around to ask, but I turn to textbooks when I don’t. Even the textbooks show variation, more in what’s emphasized than what things are called, but it can still take multiple textbooks until I can find a definition of what I need. They also seem to go out of date quite quickly, which makes it tough to have multiple books on hand.
Oh - and I use wikipedia a hell of a lot more than I probably should. I certainly wouldn’t cite it as a source, but it’s excellent for getting the gist of things quickly. Many of the neuroscience articles are well referenced, too, which makes it easy to track down a more respectable source if desired.
Awesome website, Soul! It’s a little annoying that I can’t see the pictures in full resolution, but I understand they don’t want people printing out their own posters.
ForumBot, I highly suggest you read Luria’s *The Working Brain *. Read this and you will have an excellent understanding of the functional organization of the brain.
You could always get The Human Brain Coloring Book, if you’re into that kind of thing. It was required for Structural Neurobiology, and, even though we didn’t actually USE it in the course, I found it helpful myself.
My Psyc professor gave me that book and told me that if I could go though it and learn what was in there, I would know more about brain structures than him. It’s a good book, and hopefully someday I’ll get the time to work through it. Right now, I’m working my way though the Human Evolution Coloring Book for another class.
I’ve heard of that brain coloring book before. Do you think it would be wiser to get this one instead, as the one you linked was published over twenty years ago?
