Crazy brain tricks

Studying for Machine Learning; heres some stuff about brains that is kinda cool (if not hugely useful):

  • Violinists have enlarged mental models of their left hand a larger area of the motor (also probably the sensory) cortex allocated to left hand control — This is gained by trading with other areas of the body.
  • Blind people use their visual cortex when reading braille
  • Similarily, deaf people use their auditory cortext to read sign language
  • Experiments for you to try at home: It is apparently possible to 'rewire' ferrets so that they see with their auditory cortex!

The auditory and visual cortex do similar jobs; mapping an input. Vision is 2D, hearing is 1D.

updated for the finickey

Comments

Angus

Now your blog is starting to sound like my day job!

I would be very very suprised if you could swap the roles of the visual and auditory cortices in humans, given that the nerve pathways are pretty well mapped out (google for "meyer's loop" for pretty pictures).

However, on that note, synaesthesia sounds damn cool. Apparently it's the only mental abnormality that provokes feeling of envy in researchers ;).

P.S. Nice favicon... but I can't decide if it's a zombie or a pre-morning-coffee you :P

Brehaut

Heres a diagram of the various bits of the brain and what they relate to: Motor Homuculus

Cheers Gus.

Maat

I quite want synaesthesia.

Hannah

Well Matt, if you want it, all you have to do is take some speed, or that other drug they mentioned that started with m - that should do it!! Could be fun!
Disclaimer: I'm not actually endorsing the use of drugs! (I don't think I am anyways!!)

Nato

Hannah, you mean methamphetamine right?

Can I be finickey? I think you're using the term 'mental models' incorrectly. An enlarged mental model of their hand could mean that in the persons mind, they think their hand is bigger. Or it could mean their conceptualization of their hand is bigger, more complex than others. I don't think this is what you mean - mental models are "internal scale-model representations of an external reality". What you seem to be talking about is having a larger area of the motor (also probably the sensory) cortex allocated to hand control, which is different. I will shut up now...