how does the brain intergrate and access information?

[raf]

Does the brain impose principles and values to intergrate information to learn from experience! is it first concious then subconcious if so how do i unlearn old intergrated behaviour patterns.if i hold a hot cup my reactive reponse would probably be to drop it, is this subconcious ...how does the nervous system come into play here! Please excuse me if my question is not precise , if there is any websites that anyone can recommend on intergrating of information, behavioural patterns, nervous system ect and how that work together !

[iNow]

It may be difficult for me to answer your question, as it sounds like you need to learn the basics first. However, I will try, and I apologize if I am not clear. Please keep asking questions as needed.

 

Your nervous system (brain, spinal cord, and small connections around and in between) work by transmitting electrical signals, or currents. Every time you do anything, these signals are sent.

 

The more that a particular action is performed, the more that signal pathway is reinforced. It's a lot like erosion on the side of a mountain. The first time it rains, the water will trickle down very random paths. The next time it rains, there will be grooves that the water finds, and it will go down much more quickly. Eventually, since it has rained so often, the grooves are very deep and wide almost all water proceeds down those grooves each of the following times it rains.

 

It's very similar in your nervous system. Each time you engage in an activity, the "groove" gets wider and deeper. What is really happening is that more connections are being made among the nerves, and your neural web is getting denser.

 

So, when you try to learn something new, you must create new connections... your body creates new pathways or new "grooves" for the signal to go through. As you do that action more and more, that groove becomes bigger.

 

Your nervious system is very dynamic, it's very "plastic," and it's always changing and rearranging itself. New connections are formed and old connections which are not used as often get trimmed. It's in a constant state of change.

 

That is the very very basic view of the nervous system. I know your question was more about intentional inhibition of reflexive response (like continuing to hold a hot coffee cup even though it's burning you), but I want to take a pause and clear up any confusion you have on the basics before moving on.

 

So, do you have any questions on what I've posted above?

Can you summarize it in your own words so we can see where any gaps in your knowledge may be?

 

Enjoy.

[Mr Skeptic]

Does the brain impose principles and values to intergrate information to learn from experience!

 

I think it has to do with connections between neurons, that get reinforced the more often they fire together. How exactly that makes us intelligent is a bit beyond me -- I compare that to how an operating system on a computer runs itself. Anyhow there are trillions of brain cells, each with thousands of connections to other brain cells if I remember right.

 

is it first concious then subconcious if so how do i unlearn old intergrated behaviour patterns.

 

Actually, thoughts and perceptions are first unconscious and then conscious (by milliseconds). Things slowly fade into the unconscious as they become more familiar.

 

if i hold a hot cup my reactive reponse would probably be to drop it, is this subconcious ...how does the nervous system come into play here!

 

Reflex reactions like avoiding pain can bypass the brain, getting processed by the nerves in the spinal cord. The spinal cord says yank your hand back, and then sends the signal along to the brain saying ouch.

 

Please excuse me if my question is not precise , if there is any websites that anyone can recommend on intergrating of information, behavioural patterns, nervous system ect and how that work together !

 

Wikipedia is usually my first source nowadays, and they sometimes have links to good external websites as well. But you need to get the right article, be it about learning, reflex, or consciousness.

[raf]

thanks

 

Reflex reactions like avoiding pain can bypass the brain, getting processed by the nerves in the spinal cord. The spinal cord says yank your hand back, and then sends the signal along to the brain saying ouch

 

does it bypass the brain as to pass the less advanced processes to the nerves in the spinal cord?

 

so i have been burned once , now when im a situation of a hot cup, how does my mind deal with this situation (the pain/pleasure fight/flight principle, memory,concious and subconcious).

 

The process of how the brain intergrates new information and how it accesses the already integrated information as a basis to intepret the new data?

[foodchain]

thanks

 

Reflex reactions like avoiding pain can bypass the brain, getting processed by the nerves in the spinal cord. The spinal cord says yank your hand back, and then sends the signal along to the brain saying ouch

 

does it bypass the brain as to pass the less advanced processes to the nerves in the spinal cord?

 

so i have been burned once , now when im a situation of a hot cup, how does my mind deal with this situation (the pain/pleasure fight/flight principle, memory,concious and subconcious).

 

The process of how the brain intergrates new information and how it accesses the already integrated information as a basis to intepret the new data?

 

One of the members here, I think glider knows a lot about this stuff. Personally I think your best bet is to simply study the anatomy of the brain, such as each part because it has parts. For instance most of what is human about us is primarily located in the very foremost part of the frontal neocortex if I have the words right. Damage to this can impair self control I think. Also for instance language has a "center" in the brain, its not some perfect exact position person to person but very similar to it, plus damage can destroy this.

 

I would also suggest a decent place to start is reading about axons. You might also want to look up the role of calcium in the brain. I just think those two alone would give you an idea of the scope involved.

[Mr Skeptic]

Reflexes bypass the brain to save time. If you hurt your hand, your spinal cord tells your hand to pull away, as well as passing the message along to your brain. From what you said, it seems you aren't aware that the nerve impulse carrying the pain information has to pass along your arm to the spinal cord and up to your brain. I shouldn't have used the word "bypass" as it gives the wrong impression.

 

Your subconscious may also do reflexes, like the blink reflex or certain reflexes learned by driving pass through your brain but you can act before you are consciously aware of what is happening. This saves precious time -- you might avoid getting your hand mangled or something in your eye.

 

Your subconscious deals with most of the information from your senses. Most of the information is discarded, but new or important information is not. In some cases, your subconscious will pass the message along to your conscious for further actions. If you cut your hand, you will need to consciously stop the bleeding.

[iNow]

Uhh... sort of. Let's give some specific links. Here are a few quick high level ones:

 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pain/PN00017

 

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Courses/bio105/nervous.htm

 

http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec06/ch078/ch078a.html

 

http://med.stanford.edu/healthlibrary/resources/internet/bodysystems/neuro_pain.html