Posted by Noa on June 2, 2000, at 15:20:19
In reply to Re: more science, Adam? bob? anyone?, posted by Adam on June 2, 2000, at 14:59:08
Is it plausible that thoughts are encoded in auditory or visual "terms"? I read somewhere that when you look at something, neurons in the occipital lobe actually become active in a way that creates a sort of image of that object in your brain. So, if looking at the brain with imaging technology, an image of the object "lights up" on the occipital lobe. I would then imagine (operative word: imagine) that the concept of that object is associated with that "imprint", that it is, at least in terms of visual information, encoded as that visual pattern of affected neurons.
I also imagine (again, the operative word here is "imagine") that a similar process happens with verbal thought--it gets encoded in auditory patterns in various parts of the brain.
I think that we humans do most of our thinking in the auditory mode, and secondarily, perhaps, the visual mode. Some of us do more in one or the other, probably. I am not a very good visual thinker myself. Visual thinking can cover more ground contemporaneously, while verbal-auditory thinking is more sequential and temporal, well at least this is my impression.
Kinesthetic experiences seem more in line with emotions than thoughts. Similarly with olifactory, gustatory senses. We may develop thought associations to go with those senses, but the primary activity isn't thought perse. I think a lot of emotions get encoded through activation of parts of the brain associated with these senses, although perhaps many emotions are also associated with thoughts.
What do y'all think?
poster:Noa
thread:35642
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000526/msgs/35701.html