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Reflection in learning
Reflection in learning
Reflection in learning
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The following paper is an inquiry into my experience with neurofeedback (NFB), through the different problems and questions it raises regarding the old problem of body-mind and object-subject dichotomy, ending in a tentative attempt at applying Gilbert Simondon’s philosophy and notion of the individuation process to the study of the mind and the self, through brain-computer interfaces (BCI) in general and NFB in particular. In a sense, this can be said to fit well with Simondon’s work, where “an object of scientific study becomes the a subject for philosophical reflection”.
The Object – Neurofeedback
NFB, also called neurotherapy, is procedure aimed at inducing neuroplasticity (Which can be defined as any process “involving some form of active or dynamic modification of neural properties resulting from the altered input”) by way of connecting the subject into a closed feedback system which, in various ways, is designed to maintain a specific section of the brain between a certain range of wave lengths. It has applications in areas such as medical use (treatment of neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions, like substance abuse, ADHD and epilepsy), therapy (emotional regulation), self-improvement (in golf or archery), research and even art. An offshoot of biofeedback, which helps gain better control over muscles, the NFB procedure differs from it by the fact that it does not necessitate a volitional action in response to the real-time input fed to the user, but also works without the subject’s active involvement, though there are types of NFB in which the patient is active. The two different types are sometimes referred to as passive and active NFB, respectively.
The device I used, called the 2EB Clinical System and manufact...
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...ram, Ranganatha; Blefari, Maria Laura; Kollias, Spyros; Birbaumer, Niels; Stephan, Klaas Enno; Luft, Andreas; Gassert, Roger, “Neurofeedback-mediated self-regulation of the dopaminergic midbrain”, NeuroImage 83 (2013): pp. 817–25.
Turner, Fred, From Counterculture to Cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network and the Rise of Digital Utopianism: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network and the Rise of Digital Utopianism (The University of Chicago Press, 2006).
Varela, Francisco J., “Neurophenomenology: A methodological remedy for the hard problem”, Journal of consciousness studies 3(4) (1996): pp. 330–49.
Virno, Paolo, “Angels and the general intellect: individuation in Duns Scotus and Gilbert Simondon”, Parrhesia 7 (2009): pp. 58–67.
Wiener, Norbert, Cybernetics: Or control and communication in the animal and the machine (Cambridge, Mass: M.I.T. Pr, c 1961).
The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader about Wilder Penfield and his research over electric brain stimulation. This essay will give a brief biography of Wilder Penfield, a description of his research, and finally discuss the insight his experiments provided and the influence they had on our body and behavior in general.
Hollinger, Veronica. "Cybernetic Deconstruction." Storming the Reality Studio. Larry McCaffrey, ed. Durham, NC: Duke UP, 1992.
Support for Biofeedback was done by Miller et al (1960-70's). Who showed that ordinary people can learn to control their involuntary physiological systems. Miller and DiCara (1967) demonstrated that rats were able to learn to control their cardiac muscles using operant conditioning techniques. Other research was done by Dworkin and Dworkin (1988) with teenagers who had a spine disorder. They successfully used biofeedback techniques to control the muscles in their spine and managed to straighten their spine again through it.
Spinoza, Benedictus De, Samuel Shirley, and Seymour Feldman. The Ethics ; Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect ; Selected Letters. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 1992. Print.
With this paper, we examined the literature on deep brain stimulation in order to answer the following questions: how does deep brain stimulation work in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, how effective is deep brain stimulation in treating Parkin...
Brooks, R. A. 2003. Prologue, In: Flesh and Machines: How Robots Will Change Us, Vintage.
Many people live with mental disorders that seem unbeatable and unbearable. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is changing all of that. This treatment utilizes electromagnets smaller than the palm of a hand to deliver magnetic impulses to targeted areas of the brain. These waves stimulate the neurons in that region, enhancing their performance and improving the brain’s abilities. The t...
...ransports them to all tissues of the body. Adrenaline excites the heart to increases muscle strength, like the reaction that comes from anxiety. Noradrenaline constricts blood vessels and helps transmit nerve signals. These chemicals are vital to many autonomic activities. Although the autonomic nervous system acts automatically, it is possible to have control of some autonomic functions. Biofeedback is teaching a person to control body functions like reducing heart rate. The benefits are that it can be used to relieve headache by moving blood away from the head to lessen pressure or by lowering high blood pressure. The fact that the body’s automatic functions can be affected by the mind greatly contributes to the understanding of the autonomic nervous system. In conclusion, the nervous system is an important part of science because understanding it can help save lives. Millions were saved from heart attacks, strokes, etc. from treating the nervous system. Understanding about the nervous system is also necessary for psychologists, physicians, and neurologists. Future experiments of the nervous system can benefit the human race by producing cures for presently incurable diseases.
Renner, T., Feldman, R., Majors, M., Morrissey, J., & Mae, L. (2011). States of Consciousness. Psychsmart (pp. 99-107). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Functionalism is a materialist stance in the philosophy of mind that argues that mental states are purely functional, and thus categorized by their input and output associations and causes, rather than by the physical makeup that constitutes its parts. In this manner, functionalism argues that as long as something operates as a conscious entity, then it is conscious. Block describes functionalism, discusses its inherent dilemmas, and then discusses a more scientifically-driven counter solution called psychofunctionalism and its failings as well. Although Block’s assertions are cogent and well-presented, the psychofunctionalist is able to provide counterarguments to support his viewpoint against Block’s criticisms. I shall argue that though both concepts are not without issue, functionalism appears to satisfy a more acceptable description that philosophers can admit over psychofunctionalism’s chauvinistic disposition that attempts to limit consciousness only to the human race.
Jan Scheuermann began losing control of her muscles in 1996 when her genetic disorder, spinocerebellar degeneration, began taking over her life. Soon Jan would be confined to a electric wheelchair. Two or three times a week Jan goes to a research lab at the University of Pittsburgh, here she works with a brain controlled prosthetic. In Jans case she controls a prosthetic arm. Jan is one of only a few individuals that received brain implants that help manipulate objects with thoughts. Inside her brain are two grids full of electrodes that were planted into her motor cortex. As her neurons fire the electrodes detect the rate at which they fire, and thick cables plugged into her scalp relay the activity to a computer. This new technology takes
A brain-computer interface (BCI) forms a direct communication pathway between the human brain and the ...
I am very grateful for the opportunity of submitting this article which may be published just in 1998, the fiftieth memorial year since the publication of Wiener's book, Cybernetics.
History has evolved through a series of counter-cultures, contraries to a community's subjective, shared system of beliefs that provide meaning to objective reality. Timothy Leary has defined the evolution of countercultures that range from the beatniks of the early fifties, the hippies of the sixties and seventies to the present day cyberpunks and new breeds (Vitanza 365). These groups have been met with resistance over the years as a result of their expressive attitudes and tendencies to break the molds of conformity which their culture had previously set. I will focus of the latest stage of evolution, the cyberpunk. The cyberpunk counterculture has encountered mixed reviews over the years. Many people feel as though it is a movement that is made up of no good troublemakers who pose a threat to the computer world. On the contrary, I feel that cyberpunks are taking a lot of heat from a small number of hell raisers who roam the data-highways looking to cause havoc. For the most part, cyberpunks have contributed to society in beneficial ways. As computer technology is rapidly increasing everyday, the issue is becoming relevant to society as a whole. We are all affected by its presence and therefore should become more aware of what lurks in the cyberworld.
Our human mind and body are linked together with the most basic level of cause and effect. When our mind does something, our body reacts, and vice versa. When something happens with the body, our mind reacts. This output is called biofeedback. The prefix “bio” means “life” and “feedback” means return of data to its origin. We can train our minds and bodies to react when we want through a certain type of therapy. This is called biofeedback training or therapy. Biofeedback training is the technique of making unconscious or involuntary bodily processes (as heartbeat or brain waves) perceptible to the senses in order to manipulate them by conscious mental control (Merriam-Webster.com). Biofeedback therapy is a non-drug treatment in which patients learn to control bodily processes that are normally involuntary, such as muscle tension, blood pressure or