In the video “3 clues to understanding your brain,” Vilayanur S. Ramachandran discusses three clues to understanding your brain. The three major “clues” are Capgras delusion, phantom limb, and synesthesia. Ramachandran uses life event examples while explaining each clue to help the audience better understand.
The Capgras delusion is when the patient cannot recognize what things are. When the fusiform gyrus or “face area” of the brain has been damaged, a patient cannot recognize an individual’s faces. A person can recognize voices, but he or she does not identify who it is by their face. He or she cannot even recognize his or her own face in a mirror.
In the video, Ramachandran gives the example of a patient who suffered a head injury, comes out of a coma seemingly normal, but looks at his own mother and does not recognize her. He knows it is his mother, but his delusion directs him that it is not her. Dr. Ramachandran gives another example that in which a son could have sexual attractions to his mother after an injury to the head.
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Ramachandran states, “─ this is the standard Freudian view. Then, as you grow up, the cortex develops, and inhibits these latent sexual urges towards your mother.─ And then what happens is, there’s a blow to your head, damaging the cortex, allowing these latent sexual urges to emerge, flaming to the surface, and suddenly and inexplicably you find yourself being sexually aroused by your mother” ( Ramachandran). The sexual attraction to the patient’s mother is because he sees his mother as an impostor. Studies show that a patient could, in addition, have the same type of delusion to his or her pet.
Phantom limb is when an arm or leg is amputated due to gangrene and the patient continues to feel the presence of the missing limb. Ramachandran says that a patient with phantom limbs may claim that he or she can move his or her phantom. Paralyzed phantoms are due to a peripheral nerve injury, meaning that the actual nerve serving the arm has been cut. Dr. Ramachandran states, “In fact, you can get a phantom with almost any part of the body. Believe it or not, even with internal viscera. I’ve had patients with the uterus removed — hysterectomy — who have a phantom uterus, including phantom menstrual cramps at the appropriate time of the month” (Ramachadran).
He also tells how when a paralyzed limb stays in a sling for months the patient will begin to feel pain in the phantom after that limb is amputated. V.S. Ramachandran talks about how he received a patient with a ten-year amputated arm and wanted to move it. He allowed his patient take home a cardboard box with a mirror in the middle of it so that the patient could put his working hand in front of the mirror and his phantom behind it. When the patient done so the brain would think that his phantom was moving and it would take away the phantom pain.
Synesthesia is an unusual phenomenon that was discovered by Francis Galton. “Synesthesia runs in families, so Galton said this is a hereditary basis, a genetic basis. Secondly, synesthesia is about ─ and this is what gets me to my point about the main theme of this lecture, which is about creativity ─ synesthesia is eight times more common among artists, poets, novelists and other creative people than in the general population” (Ramachadran).
Theories say a person with Synesthesia is just crazy or on drugs, but the real theory is a miswiring in the brain. Being that is runs in families, there is an abnormal gene mutation that may cause the cross wiring. “We found that the color area and the number area are right next to each other in the brain, in the fusiform gyrus. ─ So, every time you see a number, you see a corresponding color, and that’s why you get synesthesia” (Ramachadran). Synesthesia is not just cross wiring between colors and numbers.
Cross wiring is also distinct parts of the brain, this being why artists, novelists, and poets are able to create critical metaphorical thinking. Ramachandran uses the example with the Martian alphabet saying we all use cross model synesthesia. He says sharp reflections such as “Kiki” mimics the visual inflection of the sharp, jagged shapes. This engagement in the brain is found in the fusiform gyrus so when that is damaged a person may lose the ability to correctly interact with the “Bouba-Kiki” exercise.
Vilayanur Ramachandran is a Neurologist who studies deep into the basic mechanisms of the human brain. He studies individuals who have mental illnesses or who has had an accident that caused a brain injury. Ramachandran tries to help fix a people’s problems from the injury or illness. His audience could possibly be individuals who have brain injuries or other medical students who are studying his studies of the brain. The video makes a people learn a lot about three different damages to the brain. This research is very important, especially if they are is going into the medical field. It is an excellent learning video that is much recommended.
References
- Capgras delusion: an interactionist model.
- The Capgras Delusion and Responses to Estinyl and Mesantine
- The Relationship Between Body Part Perception and Phantom Limb Perception: A Meta-analytic Review
- Phantom Limb Phenomenon Different Enumerations on 849 Amputees in Turkey
- Experimental use of mirror visual feedback for phantom limb pain resolves pain by restoring cortical activity
- Clinical response of BILAG± should be based on the physicians’ intentions to the individual organ involvements rather than symptoms – post-hoc analysis of randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study
- Synesthesia: When people mix their senses
