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We learn by connecting ideas and emotions. Recent research has found that emotional connections are the keys for unlocking learning potential. John Medina, a developmental molecular biologist, explains in his book Brain Rules that an emotionally charged event called an emotionally competent stimulus—ECS creates a kind of chemical Post-It note written in the ink of dopamine on the brain for remembering information. An ECS can be something as simple as using paradoxes i. Neuroscience shows that connecting ideas and emotions is a key part to knowing and learning and we should be incorporating ECS Post-It notes in our classrooms.
Our vision is literally affected by our emotions. Positive and negative moods, according to a neuroscience study, affect the way we see the world around us by either broadening positive or narrowing negative our peripheral vision respectively. Because it is our brains that see and not the eyes, emotions and opinions help define our vision of reality. In short, the type of classroom that a teacher constructs positive or negative matters more than we have given it credit for.
Incorporating the learning of values such as compassion into classrooms can broaden the realm of possibilities for our students—both literally and figuratively. The realm of possibilities for our students, however, should not be confined by the walls of classroom. Academic success, according to neuroscientists and education researchers, is also linked to playground and recess time.
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Medina says it best: It makes no sense that America is trying to move up the international ladder of standardized test scores by making its test takers stand still. But is standardized testing the best way to learn or measure learning? Even the debates over the most cutting edge theories of neuroscience offer insights into how to address highly controversial education policies such as testing. Although quantum physics is widely known for the idea that a particle can be in two different places at the same time, it is the not-so-well-known Quantum Zeno Effect QZE that provides the source of strength for the standardization critique.
Functional MRI analyses of normal subjects in various states of consciousness fully alert and engaged in behaviors, awake and resting, sleep states and in anesthetized and brain-injured subjects have provided insight into where and how the brain processes patterns. When a healthy person lies quietly with their eyes closed for several minutes the resting state there is a network of neuronal circuits that are very active.
As subjects transit from the awake state to deep sleep there is reduced activity in the frontal DMN and reduced connectivity with posterior regions of the DMN Horovitz et al. The nature and function of sleep states has been a topic of considerable interest for centuries, with recent findings suggesting important adaptive functions that enhance brain function during wakefulness, most notably memory consolidation Walker and Stickgold, Neural networks throughout the cerebral cortex are remarkably active during sleep for review see Picchioni et al.
In the REM stage of sleep there is increased activity in the hippocampus, cingulate and sensory cortices, and amygdala which may play roles in memory consolidation and regulation of emotions. Indeed, recall of dreams suggests that the PP occurring during REM sleep involves the mental construction of scenes that are often emotional in nature e.
Based on recall of dreams, and emerging evidence regarding the neuronal circuits involved in dreaming, the types of SPP that occur during REM sleep in humans include language, imagination and magical thinking De Gennaro et al. In non-REM light sleep there is a relative preservation of cortical network activities, while in deep slow wave sleep there is a marked decrease in activity of cortical networks. The DMN may play important roles in sleep states. During the transition to sleep activity among nodes within the DMN remains high, but interactions of the DMN with anti-correlated cortical networks is reduced.
In deep sleep connectivity between the frontal and posterior nodes of the DMN is reduced.
Until recently, studies of the DMN have been restricted to humans. However, a DMN that includes homologous brain regions has recently been described in rodents Lu et al. The importance of imagination and invention for the rapid advancement of the human species cannot be overstated. The invention of tools and technologies have dominated the recent development of civilizations throughout the world. The earliest evidence for the invention of tools by our human ancestors dates to approximately 2. At that time hominid brains were about the same size as those of apes approximately grams , whereas the brain of modern humans is nearly three times larger.
Functional MRI studies suggest that when someone views and then imagines using a tool, widespread cortical neuronal networks are activated including those in the motor areas and temporoparietal, inferior frontal, occipital, parietal, and ventral temporal areas Wadsworth and Kana, The latter findings are consistent with a scenario in which the ability to invent novel objects, technologies and computations likely required the expansion of circuits involved in the processing of patterns particularly visual and auditory patterns perceived in the environment or learned from others.
Brain regions involved in episodic chronologically ordered memory of past events are also involved in the imagining of future events Suddendorf et al.
Research on these drugs has revealed aspects of SPP in the human brain that are shared with lower mammals. Intact attentional control of working memory encoding in schizophrenia. Moreover, there were two post-list response cues. Language provides powerful reproductive and survival advantages. Evidence for a navigational map stretching across the continental U.
Thus, the neural substrates of imagination and invention enable the brain to formulate and construct tangible objects that provide future survival advantages to the individual, tribe or country. Examples include weapons, farming equipment and procedures, transportation vehicles from horses to airplanes , drugs and medical devices, and sophisticated high-speed communication networks. A fascinating aspect of human SPP is the ability to fabricate mental entities that do not exist in the real world, including magical thinking. In Western culture magical thinking refers to beliefs in, among other things, clairvoyance, astrology, spirit influences, and telepathy.
Superstitions and rituals are examples of types of magical thinking. The cognitive fabrication of imaginary patterns is prominently illustrated in religious beliefs which have presumably provided an adaptive advantage to many societies. Figure 3 illustrates how a type of SPP, magical thinking, has had a major influence on cultural evolution.
A recent functional MRI study suggests that religious belief involves neural networks that process information regarding intent and emotion, abstract semantics and imagery Kapogiannis et al. Transcranial magnetic stimulation focused on the left lateral temporal lobe, but not the right lateral temporal lobe or vertex, reduced magical thinking Bell et al.
Interestingly, structural differences between religious and non-religious subjects have been demonstrated including increased volume of right middle temporal cortex and reduced volumes of left precuneus and orbitofrontal cortex in religious subjects Kapogiannis et al. These findings are consistent with psychological theories of the evolution of religious belief which posit adaptive cognitive functions of such magical thinking Culotta, Prominent historical examples of magical thinking, the belief in imaginary agencies, that became commonplace throughout the world, presumably because of its adaptive value for the individual and societies.
Examples include behaviors that adversely affect monogamous relationships adultery or violent acts against other members of a society murder. In more recent history, the Gods of the major religions of the world Christianity, Islam, Judaism.. Nevertheless, many dogmatically religious people continue to ignore the incontrovertible evidence for human evolution, and instead embrace the mythology of creation by a God Coyne, This is a fascinating example in which a type of uniquely human SPP magical thinking has sustained a belief that is based on fantasy rather than reality.
Interestingly, as described in the next section, there is fine line between the magical thinking of religious beliefs that have provided adaptive value for many civilizations and societies, and the delusions of psychoses that can place individuals and those they associate with in harm's way.
This notion is illustrated in the following two quotes which exhibit the remarkable similarities between the delusions of individuals with schizophrenia and those described in religious doctrine. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Research on these drugs has revealed aspects of SPP in the human brain that are shared with lower mammals.
First, the serotonin 5-HT 2A receptor, which is conserved among mammals, is believed to be the molecular target of all three psychedelic drugs. It will be of considerable interest to elucidate the SPP mechanisms neural circuits and neurochemistry that mediate reality-based thinking and magical thinking, and the transitions between these mental states. The burden of brain disorders on societies is immense.
Anxiety disorders and depression hobble the lives of hundreds of millions of people throughout the world Baxter et al. Although effective treatments are available for many people affected with these disorders, many others continue to suffer. Less common, but more refractory to successful treatment, are bipolar disorder and schizophrenia Saarni et al. Because psychiatric disorders often have an early age of onset second, third and fourth decades of life and can exhibit a relapsing and remitting course, their lifetime burden is substantial. Later in life many people develop a neurodegenerative disorder, with Alzheimer's disease AD and Parkinson's disease PD being the most prevalent Chen, ; Reitz and Mayeux, AD and PD are progressive fatal disorders with the patients requiring constant care for 5—10 years.
In general, psychiatric disorders result from an abnormal skewing of SPP in ways that dissolve the neural circuit-based boundaries between reality and imagination, between the realms of possibilities and probabilities. Everyone experiences anxiety transiently in situations that involve real threats to oneself or loved ones; this heightened state of arousal is an adaptive response that provides motivation toward actions that can mitigate the danger.
However, individuals with an anxiety disorder react to perceived threats that either do not in fact exist or are highly unlikely to occur. Depression is a state of self-doubt and hopelessness that often follows a period of chronic anxiety or a catastrophic life event. It involves a pervasive distortion of reality and an unrealistic catastrophic view of the future. Central to the perturbed thought processes in these disorders is the complex SPP repertoire of humans including language and imagination.
The cellular and molecular alterations underlying anxiety disorders and depression are partially understood, and involve reductions in synaptic densities in the hippocampus, deficits in serotonergic and noradrenergic neurotransmission, and reduced BDNF signaling McEwen et al. Studies of animal models have clearly shown that BDNF plays a major role in spatial pattern separation, and that interventions known to elevated BDNF levels and ameliorate anxiety and depression enhance spatial pattern separation Creer et al.
These findings suggest roles for impaired PP in the pathogenesis of anxiety disorders and depression. Based upon reciprocal social interactions, language-based communication and the perception of others' emotions, in light of their own introspective thoughts and emotions, humans presume that others have a mind similar to their own. By envisioning future interactions with other individuals, the outcomes of those future interactions can be biased in one's favor.
Similarly, the ability to predict the thought processes and actions of others provides major advantages in navigating what are often complex social landscapes in human societies. However, the inferring of agency, beliefs and intentions in others, is dysregulated in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism spectrum disorders Senju, ; Martin et al. The diagnosis of schizophrenia is based on a person suffering from delusions, hallucinations and disorganized speech, often accompanied by or oscillating with negative symptoms such as anhedonia, social isolation, and lack of motivation.
The hallucinations and paranoia that occur schizophrenia patients could be considered a pathological dysregulation of the imagination and mental time travel categories of SPP. In schizophrenia, patterns generated within the brain are perceived as external. At other times, schizophrenia patients may experience paranoia, an unrealistic belief that others intend to harm them, and a fear of persecution.
Such delusions can severely compromise the ability of schizophrenics to perform well in school, a job and social settings. However, more subtle paranoid beliefs are common among the general population, and may often be beneficial. For example, when returning to one's car in a dark parking lot, the belief that there may be a robber lurking in the vicinity will prompt behaviors that reduce the chance of being mugged. Similarly, not providing personal information to strangers can prevent identity theft. For most high-functioning individuals in modern society there is a balance between trust and paranoia, based upon a rationale appraisal of the situation based upon experience and understanding Green and Phillips, ; Nelson et al.
It has been proposed that religion and schizophrenia have similar evolutionary underpinnings Dein and Littlewood, In this view, both theory of mind and attributing life events to an external agency are hyperextended and intrude thought processes and actions excessively. One way to view the brains of those who believe in a God, particularly fundamentalists, is that they have a low level of trust in people and so fabricate an external agency, a security blanket in which they trust. It can be argued that although their symptoms are different, human psychiatric disorders all involve distortions of reality hallucinations in schizophrenia; unrealistic view of threats to well-being in anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders; and a distorted image of one's current and future life situations in depression.
In essence, the SPP capabilities of imagination and envisioning future scenarios are dysregulated. Alzheimer's disease AD is rapidly becoming a major cause of morbidity and mortality as an increasing number of people live into their 70 and 80 s, the most common age of disease onset Mayeux and Stern, ; Chan et al. AD is characterized by the progressive deterioration of cognitive function with an insidious impairment of short-term memory that becomes amplified to the point of inability to perform even the simplest tasks.
As synapses and neurons degenerate in the hippocampus and connected regions of cerebral cortex PP ability is lost. One of the cognitive tests routinely used in the diagnosis and evaluation of disease progression in AD is the clock drawing test in which the subject is asked to draw a clock that includes the hour numbers 1—12 and shows a specific time. Figure 4 shows examples of a clock drawing test when a subject progresses from normal brain function to mild cognitive impairment MCI or early AD to advanced AD.
This example of progressive deterioration of clock drawing ability in AD illustrates how the degeneration of brain regions involved in SPP can manifest as an all too common human brain disorder. Aging is the major risk factor for AD. During normal aging there is often a decrement in spatial pattern separation performance Stark et al. Many individuals may compensate for such age-related alterations, and some cases of AD may result from a failure of such adaptive neuroplasticity Buckner, The progressive deterioration of pattern processing ability in a subject as they progress from mild cognitive impairment MCI to severe Alzheimer's disease AD.
In this clock drawing task the subject is asked to draw a clock with the hours and showing the time 2: In the case of the patient with late-stage AD, the drawing bears little resemblance to a clock. If SPP has played a fundamental role in the evolution of the human brain, then this should be evident in both the historical record and trajectories of different human populations throughout the world. The SPP theory predicts that populations that more rapidly develop SPP capabilities will experience accelerated accrual of resources and prosperity.
The examples of major SPP abilities acquired during human evolution that were considered above language, invention, imagination, reasoning, and planning for the future should have each provided a survival and resource-accumulating advantage. The SPP theory therefore predicts that populations that did not develop each of these SPP capabilities would have been outcompeted by those populations with brains that did acquire, through evolution, those SPP capabilities.
This prediction is supported by the fact that all surviving populations of H. Hominin populations lacking, or with relatively poorer, SPP capabilities presumably failed to compete successfully, and so no longer exist. The numbers of extinct hominin species is uncertain, estimates range from 8 to 27, with evidence suggesting that Neanderthal and Denisova hominins extinctions were driven by H. Sapiens , the only surviving species Bokma et al. Brain size deduced from cranial vault volume varies among now extinct hominins, with most considerably smaller than humans and some, notably Neanderthals, close to H.
Sapiens Arsuaga et al. As described above the expansion of the prefrontal cortex and brain regions associated with processing of visual input in humans relative to great apes, suggests that the functional roles of these brain regions likely provide major adaptive advantages. Unfortunately, the latter prediction is not directly testable given the lack of brain specimens from any extinct hominin species.
The SPP theory predicts that variability in SPP capabilities among current human populations will be associated with variations in resources, health and welfare indicators of fitness of the different populations. Studies have documented positive associations of brain size with greater intelligence, faster decision making and greater cultural achievements between and within genetically differentiated populations of modern humans Rushton and Jensen, This suggests that variability in SPP among existing groups of humans may be sufficiently robust to influence their relative fitness and so the future evolution of the human brain.
The differential SPP-mediated development of technologies to improve transportation, manufacturing, scientific discovery and health care have resulted in the advancement of some populations above others. Individuals in populations that have most heavily utilized the SPP capabilities of their brains currently enjoy the greatest levels of prosperity, better health and longer lives.
The disparities between and within countries are in some cases quite striking, with African countries exhibiting considerably less propensity for SPP, as reflected in poverty, low levels of education, high infant mortality and short lifespans. In contrast, the United States, and many countries in Europe and Asia are experiencing economic growth that is arguably resulting, in large part, from development of SPP-based technologies, with computer-based systems being a prominent example of a human invention that enables processing of information at rates many orders of magnitude beyond the capability of the human brain.
Clearly, humans have recognized the central importance of SPP for their advancement as a species. Interestingly, although variability in DNA sequences is the fundamental molecular basis of evolution, emerging evidence suggests major roles for trans-generational epigenetic mechanisms for the rapid inheritance of traits. For example, changes in DNA methylation can occur in response to life experiences, and such methylation changes can affect gene expression and phenotypes influenced by those genes.
The brain may be particularly modifiable by epigenetic processes that can influence its development, function and susceptibility to behavioral disorders Meloni, Animal studies have shown that changes in DNA methylation that occur in brain cells in response to socio-environmental factors particularly during early life play important roles in learning and memory and, importantly, can be transferred from parents to offspring. This has been shown for several behavioral traits in animals including sociality, and susceptibility to addiction or depression Meloni, ; Sen, ; Vassoler and Sadri-Vakili, If epigenetic mechanisms influence SPP, then it would be predicted that SPP capabilities may be rapidly enhanced within only a few generations.
Finally, the SPP theory predicts that human evolution will continue to involve expansion of the prefrontal cortex and functionally associated brain regions, with resulting improvements in the brain's ability to rapidly process information and make good decisions. The specific outcomes of advanced SPP for future generations remain to be determined, but may hopefully include the invention of technologies that eliminate suffering and help ensure the long-term survival of our species.
This closing section is intended to highlight the importance for society of advancing an understanding of how and why SPP is fundamental to the human experience. To illustrate this point, examples are provided of how SPP has enabled the development of major human cultural practices that are not based in reality. Considerable evidence, some of which is described above, supports the notion that SPP is the underlying mechanism for many higher cognitive functions of humans thought, reasoning, imagination, invention. This suggests that humans are the dominant species, in part, because of the superior ability of their brains to store and process patterns and transfer those patterns to others.
Technologies developed by the human brain are based on the reproduction and modification of patterns encountered in nature e. While the centrality of SPP to all of human consciousness, thoughts and behaviors is congruent with our evolutionary history, some neuroscientists and most of the lay public are unaware of this important fact. Knowledge of the roles of SPP in human brain function could be incorporated into the primary education so that everyone has a basic understanding of the mechanisms underlying human cognition, creativity and complex behaviors.
Another example comes from the geneticist and current director of the National Institutes of Health who wrote: It must be examined with the heart, the mind, and the soul—and the mind must find a way to embrace both realms. Collins, The Language of God Compared to lower species, the human brain is particularly advanced in its ability to fabricate new patterns and transfer them to others. This SPP ability has been fundamental to the development of new technologies and to the dissemination of knowledge of the world and its societies.
What are the implications of SPP being the neural basis for the entire human experience for the future of human societies? Computers can now perform many types of pattern processing and are increasingly used to replace people in positions such as accounting, data processing and manufacturing. While computers still fall considerably short of humans in the realms of invention and scientific discovery, one might imagine that as understanding of the mechanisms by which neural circuits in the human brain process patterns increases, computers and robots may equal or even surpass humans in the areas of creativity, invention and even scientific discovery Sparkes et al.
Artificial intelligence is an active area of investigation involving efforts to mimic the brain's SPP capabilities on the one hand, and to interface the brain with machines, on the other hand Meltzoff et al. A better understanding of SPP mechanisms, at the molecular, cellular, neuronal network and behavioral levels will not only advance knowledge of brain function and neurological disorders, but may also inform research in wide range of fields of technology.
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