Spatial Cognition and Navigation
In the complex dissection of the human brain evolving in our course, great strides have been made on the path to comprehension of thought and action. Evidence concerning the true relationship of mind, body, and behavior has been elucidated through discoveries of the neural pathways enabling active translation of input to output. We have suggested the origins of action, discussed stimuli both internal and external, as well as concepts of self, agency, and personality interwoven with a more accessible comprehension of physical functionality. However, I remain unable to superimpose upon the current construct of brain and behavior a compatible notion of awareness of self. What are the cognitive and neural mechanisms involved in understanding the spatial relationships between oneself and other objects in the world? How do we even become aware of space and the environment in which we live? What element of the nervous system governs those processes, which enable human beings to navigate through space?
The term "spatial cognition" is used to describe those processes controlling behavior that must be directed at particular location, as well as those responses that depend on location or spatial arrangement of stimuli (1). Navigation refers to the process of strategic route planning and way finding, where way finding is defined as a dynamic step-by-step decision-making process required to negotiate a path to a destination (2). As a spatial behavior, negotiation demands a spatial representation; a neural code that distinguishes one place or spatial arrangement of stimuli from another (1). What, though, serves as such a representation in navigation and from where are these representations derived? The processes occurring within the hippocampus provide such representations.
The hippocampal mode of processing is concerned primarily with large distances and long spaces of time. These processes demand a very specific form of spatial representation, which relate locations to one another as well as to landmarks in an environment, rather than simply to the agent of action. Spatial attention and action, which result from encoded sensory information, are controlled by the parietal neocortex (1). Information relating to the location and stimuli derived from that location is encoded in sensory cortices. Informed by this egocentric information, allocentric representations provide a basis from which one's current location and orientation can be computed from one's relationship to sensory cues in the environment. This particular set of locations is referred to as a cognitive map.
Spatial learning is the ability of an organism to memorize their environment and to use this information to navigate within it. Boal et al. (2000) notes that this type of learning has been demonstrated by other inverts. It has been demonstrated that through spatial learning, octopuses can remember where they have been and have an understanding of distance, likely by utilizing a cognitive map and a working memory (Boal et al., 2000; Mather, 2006; Mather & Kuba, 2013; Stolzenburg, 1993). They also have the ability to orient themselves in space, even when displaced by experimenters and have been shown to use moving landmarks to do so (Alves et al., 2008; Boal et al., 2000; Mather, 2006; Mather & Kuba, 2013). These abilities allow them to navigate many different areas and consistently find their way home. Octopuses often forage far from home and their paths to and from the den do not usually overlap nor do they use the same route multiple times, indicating that they know where they have been and that food will no longer be available there (Boal et al., 2000; Hvorency et al., 2007; Mather, 2006; Mather & Kuba,
The word “scarab” is a Latin word used to describe an Egyptian gem in the shape of a beetle. These scarab beetles are modeled after the dung beetles that are prominent in the Egyptian area. This beetle makes a habit of rolling a large ball of dung around. It will eat from
According to previously done research, brain scans show distinct areas of the brain that are engaged in activity during these separate memory types. Memory involving the recollection of facts and events centralize in the hippocampus and its nearby neurological networks. The hippocampus creates the link between short term memory and its solidification into long term memory. Some of these memories turn into semantic memory which no longer needs the hippocampus to convert and translate the memory. Spatial memory, mental maps of space, are centrally located in the hippocampus. This type of memory is one of my strengths. I am extremely good at remembering spaces and creating maps in my head of my location at all times. I can visualize north south east and
In this article the Pro side is going to be, the crime is a crime no matter who did it. Even if a child did a crime doesn’t mean the victim didn’t suffer. There are several people who believe that the juvenile court has been established with the age factor in mind rather than focusing on the crime factor. Trying juveniles as adults should get them to understand consequences of their actions, but also keep them from committing any further crimes and become fully acknowledge that they are not given any special consideration because of their age factor. Also, this can have the affect to lower the amount of crime. The way to deter crime, courts can give harsher punishments. Furthermore, the juvenile justice system can be a slap on the wrist compared to the adult justice system. There are also some other arguments on the topic of treating juveniles as adults that compare both sides of the argument. There was an article in CNN which had two different views of an argument on the topic, should the U.S. justice system treat juvenile violent offenders as adults? According to CNN Magazine,
Even though juveniles are kids, they should still be able to distinguish right from wrong. The victims and their families should still deserve justice.
Juveniles deserve to be tried the same as adults when they commit certain crimes. The justice systems of America are becoming completely unjust and easy to break through. Juvenile courts haven’t always been known to the everyday person.
Overall, based on these research and module articles, it is shown that young teens’ brains are still physically changing and that is what makes them different from adults. They are most likely immature and act impulsively, but their brain development is still progressing into adulthood. That shows that young people are not really in control of their mindset, and are more prone to doing irrational things. Lastly, juveniles’ backgrounds should not make them tried as adults. The crimes they have committed are like adults, but it doesn’t mean they are automatically adults. These young inmates needed help and support and it is rehabilitation. These articles’ purpose is to demonstrate an logical argument to emphasize the issues of why juveniles should
The only difference between two offenders who commit a crime is the age at which they do so. Adolescents between the ages of 14 and 16 must be held accountable for their actions, especially involving serious crimes (EAPL). At these ages the average person is mentally mature enough to comprehend the consequences that come with committing a crime. If juvenile offenders are capable of planning out and succeeding in the murder or rape of an individual, then they absolutely must be tried as an adult. “Taking a life is murder, regardless of the age of the offender and the penalties to be imposed must not discriminate” (Green Garage). Although adolescents lack decision making, it does not mean that they lack the ability to understand that these violent crimes are unacceptable. Juvenile offenders should not be given any special considerations because of their age
People have been debating for years whether juveniles should be punished as adults if they commit the same crime as an adult. People’s arguments are based on different studies: imaging on the brain showed undeveloped parts that mainly control emotions and actions in adult’s brain, and other studies showed that the juvenile crime rate is not equal between countries which weaken the “theory” of undeveloped brain causing these actions from teenagers. I strongly agree with the minority decision of the United States Supreme Court that juveniles should be punished even if it requires a life sentence in prison without parole because every action should have consequences. By punishing teenagers as adults, it can be an
Usually, some of the teenagers do not appreciate their life and the freedom that they have; They think that because they are young, will never lose their benefits or their liberty. Teens are not fully aware of the consequences of their actions because always people try to protect them from the reality, from the real world. Today most of the teenager are losing the respect to the authority, and to the law because they are not more afraid to the consequences that can bring a crime. Many people believe that give to teens an adult punishments is to cruel because they are not old enough to take all the responsibility for their crimes, but the reality is that if they are capable to commit a crime they have to be responsible for the consequences.
pp. 164-71. LeDoux, J. E. (2002). "The 'Path How Our Brains Become Who We Are. New York: Viking Books, Inc. M. M. Merzenich, J. K. (1983).
. By reviewing the issue about juvenile crimes and the serious debates around it, it is important to look at all the factors and restrictions involving the cases. For example, due to the fact that a minor is anyone under the age of 18, not much can be done without the parents discretion. Although this can be overruled when a child commits a serious crime or needs extreme care. (). In my opinion, I do think the issue is blown out of proportion due to the fact that I believe if a child commits a crime to a certain extent such as murder or anything equal to that, then they should be put on trial as an adult. Although this should involve some restrictions such as the individual's mental capacity because there are some children who are as smart
Opponents of the use of genetically modified crops believe that their use will have a detrimental effect on the environment. One of the biggest concerns is that cross pollination will cause the introduced genes to be incorporated into the genomes of other plants. This could result in “superweeds” that are resistant to herbicides and are extremely difficult to eradicate. There are also concerns that bugs could be affected as well. Some believe that there is a possibility that crops transformed with genes that increase pest resistance could harm essential pollinators such as bees and butterflies. On the other hand some fear that pest will become resistant to pesticide that are engineered into crops.
Life changed immensely in the 20th century as air conditioning and refrigeration systems became more efficient and controllable. Air Conditioning and Refrigeration play important roles in providing human comfort, food processing, storage, and many other industrial processes. We chose this topic because our life would be difficult without AC and Refrigeration. This paper will talk about the history of air conditioning and refrigeration, the role of engineers in designing and building it, people’s life before and after air conditioning and refrigeration, and finally Applications in the area of achievements and future developments.
The bacterium in which the genetic material is derived from produces certain toxins that prove to be toxic for several common agricultural pests. These toxins responsible for the insecticidal properties of the bacteria are vegetative insecticidal proteins (Vip), crystal (Cry) and cytolytic (Cyt) toxins. The use of Cry genes, however, is more commonly used when altering the plants’ genetic material, primarily because i...