Psychology concepts and applications

Psychology

Insights from Academia to My Career and Personal Life:

Final Reflections on the Course

Of all the ideas that I was exposed to and engaged with during this course, those regarding the malleability and adaptability of the brain were both the most intriguing and, I believe, will be the most influential in my future career and in my life. Some of the things I have learned have truly reshaped my conceptions not only of psychology and how thought and the brain work, but also about the world in general and the possibilities that exist in a wider sense. Understanding the organ that helps us to understand the world is key to developing a comprehensive -- inasmuch as such knowledge will ever truly be possible -- and the new discoveries being made in this avenue of research is truly exciting and eye opening. I find the different ways in which the brain can adapt fascinating, and am eager to learn more on the subject.

The video of Dr. Vilayanur Ramachandran and the various work he did and discoveries he made concerning the human brain were the first things to really pique my interest in this area. His work with phantom imb patients was truly astounding, not just to him and the medical community but to me as a layperson/student as well. It was not only the solution he proffered but the problem he identified -- the fact that the brain was "clenching" a phantom fist precisely because there was no limb there -- that amazed me. Even on an entirely subconscious level, at what is practically an electrobiological level, human beings are fully able of fooling themselves despite their better interests. This fact both alarms and excites me, and I think the realization that our brains can change in accordance with new situations in often very drastic ways is an important one to come to as society moves through several rapid shifts.

Some of the work we read about concerning the Bonobos also ties into this understanding of the brain. Studies of these chimpanzee relatives revealed that new neural pathways are actually created through learning, meaning that there is a measurable physical change effected by learning a new behavior. Coupling this to the knowledge of the brain's adaptability and transformative ability demands a whole new consideration of the literal power of thought.