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2.1 The Brain: A Work in Progress

LOQ LearningObjectiveQuestion

2-1 How do biology and experience interact?

plasticity the brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience.

THE MIND’S EYE Daniel Kish, who is completely blind, enjoys going for walks in the woods. To stay safe, he uses echolocation—the same navigation method used by bats and dolphins. By clicking his tongue and listening to the sound’s reverberation, Kish engages his brain’s visual centers. Although Kish is blind, his brain helps him “see.”

Volker Corell Photography

Your brain is sculpted not only by your genes but also by your experiences. Under the surface of your awareness, your brain is constantly changing, building new pathways as it adjusts to new experiences. This neural change is called plasticity, and it continues throughout your life (Gutchess, 2014). Plasticity is part of what makes the human brain unique (Gómez-Robles et al., 2015). More than for any other species, our brain is designed to change. By having a flexible brain, we can adapt to new social, cultural, and other environmental factors. Our brain is a work in progress.

Consider the case of Daniel Kish. He is an enthusiastic mountain biker and a skilled cook. Daniel is also completely blind. To “see” his surroundings, he learned to use echolocation—clicking his tongue and listening to the sound’s reverberation. “I don’t use my eyes [to see],” Daniel says. “I use my brain” (Kish, 2015). And so he does. Blind echolocation experts, such as Kish, use the brain’s visual centers to navigate their surroundings (Thaler et al., 2011, 2014).

biological psychology the scientific study of the links between biological and psychological processes.

cognitive neuroscience the interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language).

How does our brain create our mind? Such questions fascinate biological psychologists, who study the links between biological (genetic, neural, hormonal) processes and psychological processes. In cognitive neuroscience, people from many fields join forces to study the connections between brain activity and mental processes. One of the great mysteries these scientists are trying to solve is consciousness—what it is and how it works. (More on this to come.)

Around the world, researchers are unlocking the mysteries of how our brain uses electrical and chemical processes to take in, organize, interpret, store, and use information. One giant study, the $40 million Human Connectome Project, is mapping long-distance brain fiber connections in search of “what makes us uniquely human and what makes every person different from all others” (2013; Gorman 2014). To be learning about the brain now is like studying geography while the early explorers were mapping the world.

Our own exploration of the brain starts small and builds—from nerve cells to brain functions to brain states, including sleeping and dreaming.

Retrieve + Remember

Question 2.1

•What do psychologists mean when they say the brain is “plastic”?

ANSWER: The brain adapts to new experiences by building new pathways.

Question 2.2

•What branch of psychology studies the links between behavior and biology?

ANSWER: biological psychology