|
Class number:
3185
|
|
Title: The Divided Brain |
|
Department: Neuroscience |
|
Career: Undergraduate |
|
Component: Lecture |
|
Session: Regular |
|
Instructor's Permission Required: No |
|
Grading Basis: Regular |
|
Units: 1.00 |
| Enrollment limited to 24 |
|
Current enrollment: 25 |
|
Available seats: 0 |
|
Start date: Tuesday, September 5, 2023 |
|
End date: Thursday, December 21, 2023 |
|
Mode of Instruction: In Person |
|
Schedule: MW: 11:30AM-12:45PM, MECC - 246 |
|
|
Instructor(s): Seraphin, Sally |
|
Prerequisite(s): None |
|
Distribution Requirement: Meets Natural Science Requirement |
|
Note: 8 seats reserved for first year students. |
|
Note: Students will be expected to participate in related Trinity College symposia, exhibits or lectures as well as cultural events in the Hartford area. |
Course Description:
At the core of brain science is a tension between the immaterial mind, soul, or consciousness and the tangible body and nervous system. Similarly, compelling case studies from split-brain patients and evidence for the left-lateralization of language functions have encouraged dualistic notions of the "emotional, artistic, creative" right-brain and the "verbal, mathematical, logical" left-brain hemispheres. Following a brief introduction to neuroanatomy, this course explores the analogous "mind-body" and "left-right brain" problems by integrating evolutionary, biomedical, socio-cultural, and humanities perspectives on the intricate neurobiological bases and phenomenological aspects of human experience. We interrogate the hypothesis that human brain-culture coevolution has accelerated left-hemispheric dominance exacerbating challenges of the western world ranging from the increased prevalence of mental illness and political polarization to climate change. |