Idiot Brain (42 page)

motion sickness 8–12

lack of 11

at sea 11–12

motor cortex 21, 139, 230

multitasking 180

musical ear syndrome 164

Myers–Briggs Type Inventory (MTBI) 197–8

NASA 187

needs, hierarchy of 209–10

negging 110–11

neocortex 6, 14, 231

nervous system 29–30 (
see also
brain)

autonomic 30

neurons in,
see
neurons

peripheral 30

somatic 30

sympathetic/parasympathetic 30–1, 280

neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) 227–8 (
see also
brain: and language processing)

neurons 9, 21, 23, 38, 40, 69–70, 88–9, 264

light-detecting 168 (
see also
vision)

“mirror” 250

and neuroplasticity 270, 301

olfactory 155–6

and synapses 40–1, 139, 285

neurotransmitters 40

Nietzsche, Friedrich 217

nootropics 142

noradrenalin 269

nucleus accumbens 96–7

nystagmus 11, 173

occipital lobe 173, 295

Office for National Statistics 76

olfactory system 154–6

operant condition 207

optic nerve 155, 171 (
see also
vision)

optokinetic reflex 172 (
see also
vision)

orbitofrontal cortex 194, 201, 203

overt and covert orientation 183

oxytocin 107–8, 243–4

parallax 175 (
see also
vision)

parietal lobe 124, 139, 182, 183, 219, 259

Parkinson's disease 263, 292

Patient HM 71–2, 74

Patient X 73

Pavlov's dogs 91

periaqueductal gray 200

personality 188–221

and anger 199–206

persistence of 203–4

as threat response 200 (
see also
fight-or-flight response)

usefulness of 201–3

Big 5 traits of 192–3, 194–5

and factor analysis 195

and brain configuration 195

and Gage 189–90 (
see also
Gage, Phineas)

genetic factors underlying 194

and humor 214–21

brain regions implicated in 219

and sign language 219–20

surprise as element of 215, 219

and motivation 206–14

extrinsic vs intrinsic 210–11

and Maslow's hierarchy of needs 209

sex as 210

tests 191, 197–8

Types A and B 195

Phares, E. Jerry 190

pheromones 243
n

phobias,
see
fear

photoreceptors 168–9, 171 (
see also
vision)

pineal gland 19

pleasure principle 207

pleiotropy 146

posterior cingulate gyrus 243

posterior hippocampus 194

posterior parietal cortex 184

praise vs criticism 104–11

prefrontal cortex 38, 121, 123, 124, 134, 137, 147, 181–2, 194, 237, 243, 257, 259, 287, 296

proprioception 9, 153

psychosis 276, 282, 292, 297

pulvinar nucleus 184

putamen 226, 230, 243

Pygmalion effect 149

Rain Man
125

“reptile” brain 6, 14, 28

retina 79, 168–71, 172, 174, 183

fovea in 170–1, 184

and 3D images 175

Rorschach test 197

Rosen, Howard 133

saccades 172 (
see also
vision)

Sapir–Whorf hypothesis 227

Saw
96

seasickness 11–12 (
see also
motion sickness)

“seeing stars” 173 (
see also
vision)

self-awareness 152

self-confidence 129–30

self-determination 211

self-discrepancy theory 212

self-image 109, 236, 238

self-worth 64, 129

senses 153–4 (
see also
individual
senses)

chemical 161

mechanical 162

sensory cortex 295, 297

serotonin 269–70, 285

sex, as motivator 210

sleep 17–26

artificial light's effects on 20

and depression 269–70

and dreams 21–2, 25

duration of 18–19

and hibernation 20

and hypnic jerk 22

and jet-lag 19

and memory 24–5

in nonhuman animals 17–18

NREM period of 20–1

paralysis during 23

and predators 18

REM period of 20–2, 23, 24, 25–6

stages of 20–1, 22

walking during 24

social learning 90

somatosensory cortex 164, 165, 166

somatosensory system 164–5

Stanford Prison experiment 258–9

stress 1, 26, 106, 201, 276–83

substantia nigra 263

superior colliculus 184

superior temporal gyrus 226

superstition 78–85

supramarginal gyrus 124

synesthesia 264

taste, vs vision 15

temporal lobes 41, 71, 182, 194, 226, 295

thalamus 28–9, 171, 294

Theory of Multiple Intelligences
(Gardner) 126

3D 175–6 (
see also
vision)

transcranial direct-current stimulation (tCDS) 142–3

UK Mental Health 76–7

vagus nerve 11

ventral tegumental area 96–7

vestibular system 9

vestibulocochlear nerve 163

vision 167–77

and attention 183

and creationism 168
n

and extra-ocular muscles 11

and motion sickness 11

peripheral 184

and saccades 172

and “seeing stars” 173

vs taste 15

visual cortex 173–4, 229

walking:

as exercise 7–8

and lack of motion sickness,
see
motion sickness

Wernicke, Carl 224

Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome 73

Wernicke's area 39, 224–6

Williams, Robin 268

Zeigarnik effect 214

Copyright ©2016 by Dean Burnett

First American Edition 2016

First published in Great Britain by Guardian Books and Faber and Faber
Limited under the title
The Idiot Brain: A Neuroscientist Explains
What Your Head is Really Up To

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