Train Your Brain: Build a Framework for Clear Thinking

Train Your Brain

Build a Framework for Clear Thinking

Take Full Advantage of Your Brain’s Exceptional Powers

By Dr. William W. Dodd

Copyright 2012 William Dodd

Smashwords Edition

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Your Neurons at Work

Chapter 2: Framing Your Thoughts

Chapter 3: Putting Your Brain to Work

Chapter 4: Tools for Clear Thinking

Chapter 5: Food for Thought

Chapter 6: The Conscious Mind

Chapter 7: A Model of the Mind

Chapter 8: Solving Problems

Chapter 9: Getting it Right

Chapter 10: Managing Your Resources

Chapter 11: Clear Thinking and You

About the Author

Introduction

Clear thinking involves learning more, remembering more, making better decisions, finding more satisfactory solutions to a variety of problems, and improving relations with others.

The most important concept in Train Your Brain is that thinking skills can be developed and enhanced through directed effort and practice. You can train your brain to think better, just as you can train your muscles to perform specific tasks, such as playing a saxophone or swimming the backstroke.

A clear thinker systematically collects data, analyzes information, and makes considered decisions. A clear thinker also communicates effectively and strives to work effectively with others.

Thinking clearly on a regular basis is an achievable objective. It does not require a revolutionary approach. Every attempt at clear thinking leads to increased knowledge and improved skills. Each success lays the foundation for more success in the future. As you learn more and start to think more clearly, additional learning becomes easier. With more knowledge, clear thinking becomes a habit rather than a challenge.

Over time, the cumulative effect of increased knowledge and clear thinking will lead to systematic improvements in your own health, wealth, satisfaction, and happiness.

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Chapter 1: Your Neurons at Work

1.1 Basic Anatomy of Your Brain

1.2 Your Body’s Communication Systems

1.3 Your Senses

Thinking is a wondrously complicated biological process.

The basic anatomy of your brain and input from your senses operate together to determine how your mind perceives the universe, and how you think.

1.1 Basic Anatomy of Your Brain

Your brain is where all your thinking takes place. So learning a little about the structure and operation of your brain is an appropriate beginning for a book on training your brain to think clearly.

The brain is a complex organic system for processing information fed to it by your senses. The structures of the brain contain several billion neurons with a total weight of about 1.4 kilograms (3 pounds). Those neurons require about twenty percent of the blood flow from your heart to keep them supplied with oxygen and nourishment. The brain floats in a cerebrospinal fluid that helps to support its spongy structure and protect it from mechanical shocks.

Based on knowledge derived from anatomy, evolutionary theories, and functional characteristics, the brain can be regarded as a composite of three basic substructures. According to Paul MacLean (Laboratory of Brain Evolution and Behaviour of the National Institute of Mental Health), as the human brain evolved primitive structures were successively surrounded by more advanced neural structures. The hindbrain, located at the base of the brain, is its most primitive part and is associated with autonomic functions. The midbrain complex lies above the hindbrain, is more sophisticated, and is associated with our emotions and the formation of memories. The left and right hemispheres of the forebrain form a cap over the midbrain. The forebrain is the most highly evolved component of the brain and is associated with awareness and thinking. (See Figure #1 for a sketch of the basic brain structures.) It is MacLean’s contention that,

We are obliged to look at ourselves and the world through the eyes of three quite different mentalities. [The human brain] amounts to three interconnected biological computers [each with] its own sense of time and space, its own memory, [muscle] motor control, and other functions.

Carl Sagan adds,

Each [of these three] brain[s] corresponds to a separate major evolutionary step. The three brains are distinguished neuro-anatomically and functionally, and contain strikingly different distributions of the neurochemicals dopamine and cholinesterase.

Figure #1: A sketch of the basic structures of the brain

We also know that the brain has conscious and subconscious modes. While you are reading this sentence part of your brain keeps your heart beating, part keeps your eyes moving across the page, and another part wonders what is for supper tonight. Your brain also has a sleep mode that can create dreams, and it has an unconscious mode to which it can retreat when your brain is injured. Your rational thoughts can be disrupted by emotional concerns, and your emotional concerns can be overridden by your basic needs to breathe, drink, and eat. It is no wonder that it is sometimes a challenge to think clearly.

With several levels of functioning, each with conscious and subconscious modes, it is a great advantage to be able to shift mental gears at-will to meet daily demands.

1.1.1 Learning about the Brain

There are a number of sources of information about the structure and operation of the brain.

Brain injuries

Whenever someone experiences a damaging head wound and survives, there is an opportunity to compare any resulting disability with the damaged region of the brain. Historically, the advent of high-speed bullets in the 19th century led to many non-fatal head wounds. Survivors had characteristic impairments when specific parts of the brain were injured.

Animal experiments

While there are recognized ethical constraints that limit neural experiments on humans, there are as yet few constraints limiting experiments on animals. And since there are many parallels between the structures of human and animal brains, much has been learned from animal studies about how our brains function. Continued experiments on animals reflect our basic ignorance of subtle biological processes.

Brain surgery

The techniques and procedures for performing successful operations on human brains evolved rapidly during the 20th century. There are no pain sensors in the brain itself and patients are normally restrained but awake during brain surgery. Surgeons can then talk to patients during an operation to confirm that incisions are having the intended effect.

During operations to treat patients with severe epilepsy, Wilder Penfield discovered that stimulating specific regions of the brain produced physical sensations. During the early 1950’s, he demonstrated that the sense of touch for each part of the body’s surface is represented on the parietal lobe (see section 1.1.4), and that adjacent parts of the body are represented on adjacent parts of the brain. Penfield also found that the more important and sensitive body regions have proportionally greater parts of the brain assigned to them. He discovered, as well, that stimulation of other regions could elicit particular memories in a patient.

In the 1960’s, a new operation was designed to ease the symptoms of severe epilepsy. In this operation the main connection (corpus callosum) between the left and right cerebral hemispheres of the forebrain is severed to prevent future epileptic seizures from spreading across the whole brain. While the operation limited the damage of epileptic seizures, it also led to characteristic deficiencies. Roger Sperry won the Nobel Prize in 1981 for his studies of the subsequent behavioural characteristics of these patients.

Brain scans

Non-invasive scanning techniques allow the human brain to be studied in action. A variety of scanning techniques have been developed since 1920, when the German physiologist, Hans Berger, first used electroencephalography to study the human brain. Newer techniques can detect activity in smaller regions of the brain over shorter time periods.

Here are brief descriptions of some of the common scanning techniques:

EEG – Electroencephalography – measures the electrical activity of the brain as detected by electrodes on the surface of the head.

MEG – Magnetoencephalography – similar to EEG but it measures magnetic signals.

MRI – Magnetic Resonance Imaging – uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to analyze soft tissue. It can be used on any part of the body, including the brain.

CT – Computerized Tomography (or CAT – Computerized Axial Tomography) – converts the information from a MRI into a three dimensional image.

fMRI – functional MRI – a newer version of MRI that is much faster (and much more expensive).

PET – Positron Emission Topography – requires the injection of a radioactive substance into a patient’s bloodstream. The patient is given a specific mental task to perform and the most active areas of the brain then absorb the most radioactive material.

NIRS – Near-Infra-Red Spectroscopy – can be used to assess brain function by detecting changes in blood hemoglobin concentrations that are associated with neural activity.

1.1.2 The Hindbrain

The hindbrain is considered the most primitive component of the brain. It is located at the top of the spinal cord, just inside the base of the skull. Its main components are the medulla, the pons, and the cerebellum.

The medulla is located just at the top of the spinal cord at the lower end of the hindbrain. The medulla controls many autonomic functions including respiration, circulation, and digestion. At the top of the medulla, just under the midbrain, is a small region called the reticular activating system. The reticular activating system is believed to harbour our centre of arousal and motivation. This system acts as a primary filter on all incoming neural signals. Signals are forwarded to other parts of the brain only if the input is deemed significant. The reticular activating system is also involved in maintaining consciousness and regulating sleep.

The cerebellum is located at the back of the hindbrain, behind the medulla. It is about the size of a small apple and is divided into left and right hemispheres . Its compact structure contains about fifty percent of the brain’s neurons in only ten percent of the brain’s volume. About 200 million input neurons from the spinal cord pass through the cerebellum. The cerebellum also controls subconscious movements to maintain posture, balance, and co-ordination.

The pons is a swelling around the medulla just in front of the cerebellum. It connects the two halves of the cerebellum and manages the switching of signals from one side of the body to the opposite side of the brain. It plays a major role in relaying sensory information from the cerebellum to the forebrain.

Figure #2: Basic structures of the hindbrain

1.1.3 The Midbrain Complex

To simplify the discussions, the term ‘midbrain complex’ has been coined to include the midbrain along with the thalamus and the limbic system.

The midbrain is cylinder shaped, about 2 centimetres (cm) in height and 2 cm in diameter. It sits on top of the hindbrain in the middle of the head; approximately level with the bridge of your nose. The midbrain is associated with the pathways for voluntary muscle control, visual system reflexes, and hearing.

The thalamus consists of two plum sized lobes just above the midbrain. These left-right lobes provide a system for relaying neural signals between the midbrain and the hemispheres of the forebrain, and act as the brain’s main filter of sensory input. The thalamus is also associated with regulating sleep, wakefulness, consciousness, and mental arousal.

The limbic system is an important series of left-right nerve pathways located around the midbrain and under the forebrain. The limbic system is involved in emotional responses such as fear and aggression, mood in general, appetite, and emotional responses to food. The limbic system is also involved in the processing and storage of short-term memory. From an evolutionary point of view, the limbic system is an old structure that can also be found in fish, amphibians, and reptiles – as well as mammals. The limbic system is highly connected with the frontal lobes (see section 1.1.4) and may be the source of emotional satisfaction that can be derived from clear thinking. There is no universal agreement on exactly which organs should be listed as part of the limbic system, but its main components are the hypothalamus, the hippocampus, and the amygdala.

The hypothalamus consists of two small left-right structures, each about the size of a bean. The two parts of the hypothalamus reside under the two parts of the thalamus. The primary function of the hypothalamus is to maintain the body’s status quo. It regulates blood pressure, temperature, fluid levels, electrolyte balance, body weight, and appetite. Your hypothalamus sends you a signal to let you know when you are hungry, thirsty, tired, mad, or sad. The hypothalamus is also connected to the pituitary gland, the master regulator of the body’s endocrine (hormone) system.

Your hypothalamus works much like the thermostat on a furnace, maintaining key body parameters at appropriate levels. In the short run you may gain or lose a few pounds, but the setting for body weight established in your hypothalamus will eventually bring your body weight back to its former setting. Similar corrective measures initiated in your hypothalamus maintain your body temperature and blood pressure.

Figure #3: Basic structures of the midbrain complex

The amygdala has a left-right structure with almond shaped components residing just below the hypothalamus. The amygdala is involved with the emotions of aggression, fear, and pleasure. Persons with a large amygdala tend to be more aggressive. Anxiety, autism, depression, narcolepsy, phobias, and schizophrenia are often linked to a malfunctioning amygdala.

The hippocampus has a left-right structure in the shape of elongated beans curving towards the back of the brain from the amygdala. The hippocampus plays an essential role in our ability to create new memories of daily events and also influences our ability to access old memories. Research also suggests that the hippocampus plays a role in our ability to form mental maps of our surroundings and to perform spatial tasks.

The nucleus accumbens is sometimes considered part of the basal ganglia of the forebrain and sometimes as part of the limbic system. It has sensitive dopamine receptors that respond to intense stimuli, novel stimuli, and pheromones. The nucleus accumbens has been called the pleasure centre of the brain.

Many of the structures in the midbrain are connected by an extended loop called the fornix.

1.1.4 The Forebrain

The forebrain (also known as the cerebrum) is the dominant part of the brain that you see in most pictures of the brain. The forebrain is the most evolved portion of the brain and is usually regarded as the seat of conscious thought. It has two basic components, the large cerebral hemispheres, and a set of specialized nerve clusters called the basal ganglia.

The left-right structures of the cerebral hemispheres look like the two halves of a giant walnut, and are situated at the top of the brain. The wrinkled surface of the cerebrum is also known as the cerebral cortex, or the neural cortex. The word ‘cortex’ simply means outer layer. The cortex has many folds that increase its surface area by a factor of three and consists of about ten billion neurons arranged in six thin layers. This grey matter is supported by a thicker layer of myelinated axons (white matter). The two cerebral hemispheres are connected by a thick band of cells called the corpus callosum. The cerebral hemispheres are essential to thought, memory, and personality. They receive, store, and interpret information from all over the body, and initiate voluntary actions.

The cerebral hemispheres are each divided by larger folds into four distinct lobes. See Figure #4. By the time impulses from neurons in your body reach this portion of your brain, they have switched sides. Lobes on the right side control processes on the left side of the body, and visa versa.

As the name implies, the frontal lobes are located at the front of the brain, just behind your forehead. Your most advanced thinking and decision-making occur in the frontal lobes. Your personality and intelligence are thought to reside here. The motor cortex in each frontal lobe controls all your voluntary muscular activity. The right motor cortex lies in a band from the top of your head down towards your right temple. The portion near the top controls the movement of your lower left body and the portion near your right temple controls the muscles on the left side of your face. The frontal lobes also contain Broca’s area devoted to generating speech, and other regions related to understanding, learning, thinking, and planning.

The parietal lobes lie just behind the frontal lobes and extend towards the back of your head. The parietal lobes contain the somatosensory cortex, a region that receives sensory input from all parts of your body. A map of the surface of your body can be traced out on the somatosensory cortex.

Figure #4: Basic structures of the forebrain

The occipital lobes are located at the very back of the head and are devoted to vision. If you happen to get hit in the back of the head you sometimes ‘see stars’ because the occipital lobes have been jarred and spurious neural signals are generated.

The temporal lobes are located at the side of the head, just inside the ears. Appropriately, the temporal lobes contain the auditory cortex that is responsible for the ears and hearing. The temporal lobes also contain Wernicke’s area; a region devoted to understanding speech.

The basal ganglia are small and specialized clusters of cells involved with the control of movement. They are found inside the white matter beneath the cerebral cortex.

This introduction to the anatomy of the brain has touched on the major structures at work in your brain. There are also several large spaces in the brain, called ventricles, that are filled with cerebral fluid. The cerebral fluid circulates through the ventricles transporting hormones, removing waste, and helping to support the structure of the brain.

A summary of the basic structures of the brain and their main functions is provided in Table #1.

Table #1: A summary of basic brain components

The fundamental concept to remember is that your brain is a highly complex structure deserving of your best efforts to use it effectively.

1.1.5 The Left Brain and the Right Brain

Most structures on the right side of the brain are duplicated by similar structures on the left, and most components are designed to control functions on the opposite side of the body. A massive neural link, the corpus callosum, connects the left and right sides of the brain. This connection provides a natural backup in which most neural control mechanisms are duplicated in the right and left sides of the brain. If one side of the brain is damaged, there is still a good chance that an individual can survive using the backup functionality in the other half of the brain.

There are minor differences between the right and left sides of your brain. In a typical right-handed person, the left cerebral cortex controls language analysis and speech production, and tends to process information one item at a time in a sequential manner. In the same right-handed person, the right cerebral cortex tends to process information holistically to gain an overall impression.

Most humans display a distinct preference for using the right hand, both for fine motor activities such as writing, and for power activities such as swinging a bat or club in sports. In fact the whole right side of a right-handed person tends to be dominant over the left. People tend to have a dominant eye, a dominant ear, a dominant arm, and a dominant leg – all on the same side. Since body parts are controlled by the opposite side of the brain, in these people the left cerebral cortex tends to dominate.

This arrangement, with each half of the brain managing the opposite side of the body, is common across the animal kingdom. When combined with the concept of a dominant side, the neural crossover may provide a distinct survival advantage. If a creature were involved in a life and death struggle it would tend to turn its strongest side towards the most immediate enemy. With the crossover brain structure, this posture automatically moves the dominant half-brain away from the enemy. The dominant half-brain is thus better protected and can continue to direct moves for attack and defence even if the leading half-brain is damaged.

About 86% of the population is right-handed, and these people process language in the left cerebral cortex. The remaining 14% can be divided into three groups:

About 2% are pure left-handers and process language in the right cerebral cortex. Their brains are left-right mirror images of right-handed people.

About 4% process language in both sides of the brain. These people tend to be ambidextrous and can write or play sports equally well with either hand.

About 8% have a mixed dominance. These people tend to perform some tasks with their right hand and some with their left hand, and process language on the same side as their dominant hand. Those with mixed dominance often have difficulty distinguishing right from left, but sometimes find it easier to view a situation holistically rather than seeing it as composed of individual components.

The tooth-brush test for handedness

If you brush all your teeth with your right hand, your dominant side is probably on the right.

If you brush all your teeth with your left hand, your dominant side is probably on the left.

If you can brush all your teeth with either your right or your left hand, you may be ambidextrous.

If you brush some of your teeth with your right hand, and the rest with your left, then you may have a mixed dominance.

In human society, your handedness can sometimes be an advantage, and sometimes a disadvantage. Most devices and structures are designed for the right-handed majority – everyday items such as door handles, stair rails, and scissors are right-handed. The left-to-right flow for reading and writing favour right-handers. Left-handed baseball pitchers are in demand because the majority of batters are right-handed and find it more difficult to hit pitches delivered from a pitcher’s left hand.

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1.2 Your Body’s Communication Systems

The body has two major communication systems: the electro-chemical nervous system, and the bio-chemical endocrine system. These systems gather information about your body and your environment, process that information, and then initiate action that will increase your chances for survival. Ultimately, all of your actions are intended to increase your chances for survival.

1.2.1 Neurons – Building Blocks of the Nervous System

The nervous system consists of billions of specialized cells called neurons. About one third of your neurons are organized into a complex communication network to carry information from your sense organs to your brain and from your brain back to your muscles. The rest of your neurons form the structures in your brain.

A neuron is a specialized and elongated cell that transmits an electro-chemical signal from one end to the other. A neuron receives signals through delicate branching structures called dendrites located near the cell nucleus. A nerve cell has one longer extension, an axon. And at the far end of the axon, there are more branches. A single neuron can receive signals though many of its dendrites and can transmit signals to many other neurons through its axon branches. If a strong nerve impulse arrives at a dendrite, or a weaker signal arrives at a number of dendrites, then an electro-chemical signal is generated that propagates along the axon and then off to the dendrites of one or more nearby neurons.

There is a tiny but important gap, called a synapse, between the dendrites and axons of neighbouring neurons. A nerve impulse can only jump this gap with the assistance of specialized chemicals called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are created and released at a synapse as a nerve impulse approaches the end of an axon. If enough neurotransmitter has been generated before the nerve impulse arrives, then the impulse can cross the synapse and continue down the dendrite of the next nerve. An impulse has a greater chance of being transmitted if the signal in a single axon is stronger, or if an impulse has been duplicated and is travelling along several neighbouring neurons at the same time. A synapse can also act as a filter by blocking weaker signals. After an impulse reaches the end of an axon, neurotransmitters are quickly broken down so they will not interfere with the next set of nerve impulses.

Neurons outside of the brain are bundled to form nerve fibres that look like white cords or wires. Signals typically travel from dendrites and down the axon of a nerve fibre at speeds up to one hundred metres per second, depending on the overall structure of the nerve bundle. Although neurons are carefully protected and nourished by support cells, they are unable to undergo cell division or to repair any significant damage. Any neural damage tends to be permanent.

Figure #5: The basic structure of a neuron

1.2.2 The Central Nervous System

Your nervous system has two main components: the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. The central nervous system, in turn, has two main components: the brain and the spinal cord. The spinal cord is the trunk line for transmitting neural signals back and forth between your body and your brain. The central nervous system is protected by the skull and the spine, and by three membranes of fibrous tissues – the meninges. Damage to the spinal cord is very serious and can lead to permanent disability or death.

1.2.3 The Peripheral Nervous System

The peripheral nervous system is a network of sensory neurons that branch out from the spinal cord to reach every nook and cranny of your body. One set of sensory neurons transmits signals towards the central nervous system and then on to your brain, and another set of motor neurons transmits signals in the opposite direction to activate both the voluntary and involuntary action of muscles.

The peripheral system has a right-left symmetry with forty-three pairs of major nerve fibres. Ten of these pairs emerge from the underside of your skull to serve your head, and the other thirty-three pairs emerge at different points along your spine to serve the rest of your body.

The peripheral nervous system can be further divided into the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.

The somatic nerves serve activities that are under your conscious control. They collect information from sensory organs and transmit signals to muscles to initiate voluntary movement.

The autonomic nervous system controls short-term actions and systems that function without conscious control. Some autonomic neurons (sympathetic) are dedicated to stimulating organs and muscle action, and other autonomic neurons (parasympathetic) are dedicated to inhibiting the action of muscles and organs. The autonomic system can transmit signals to alter the size of your pupils in response to light, change your rate of breathing, alter your heart rate, stimulate muscular contractions in your stomach and intestines, and cause the hairs on your skin to stand on end.

The autonomic system can also transmit signals to generate a co-ordinated set of activities such as a response to perceived danger. The danger response includes an increase in respiration and heart rate, the dilatation of air passages, the diversion of blood from the skin and internal organs to muscles, and the release of extra sugar from the liver into the bloodstream.

1.2.4 The Endocrine System

The endocrine glands secrete hormones into the blood stream to maintain chemical balances in the body, to help prepare your body for emergency situations, and to control longer term processes such as sexual maturation and body growth. Specific hormones may start, stop, or inhibit a process and often participate in chemical feedback loops to help maintain normal body conditions.

The pituitary is the master endocrine gland. It is the size of a pea and is located just under the thalamus, surrounded by bone at the bottom of the skull. The thalamus provides the connection between the brain and the pituitary gland.