PSYC 2560 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Pineal Gland, Parietal Lobe, Brain Damage

• School: University of Windsor
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 2560
• Professor: Abeare

Document Summary

Physiological or psychological: descartes argued that the universe consisted of physical matter (brain) and the human mind (soul, spirit) Cartesian dualism- mind and brain are separate entities) Pineal gland: located in the center of the brain, sent fluid through ventricles (descartes" idea came from seeing statues move using hydraulics) Problem with descartes theory: it violates the laws of physics. Brain damage causes change in the mind and physical brain, whereas according to descartes believed the spirit/soul/mind to be unchanging. Sack"s study of a man with asomatognosia (didn"t recognize his leg as his own): patient had a stroke in the right parietal lobe (part of brain important for understanding where your body is in space, where your body begins/ends) Gallup"s research on chimp self-awareness (indicating you are conscious): humans were formerly believed to be the only beings with a conscious, but this is no longer believed to be true (non-human animals have a level of self-awareness)