Carrs Argument in Vital Paths - 1823 Words

Spencer Woo Professor Losh Cat 1 6 November 2012 Carrs Argument in Vital Paths I. Introduction Vital Paths is the title of the second chapter in Nicolas G. Carrs book, The Shallows. This chapter continues Carrs argument, posed in chapter one, in highlighting the dangers of the internet, regarding our cognitive abilities. Specifically on format, this chapter argues for our brains neurological flexibility through an array of examples, ranging from historical observations to scientific experiments, and ends cautioning that with malleability negative neurological effects are plausible. Carr introduces the argument for neurological flexibility with the tangible effects noted by Nietzsche, where the use of the mechanical typewriter†¦show more content†¦In Eric Kandels Aplysia experiment, Kandel showed that a slug lost sensitivity in its gills, after repeated contact to which Carr states the brain...change[s] with experience, circumstance, and need. Both, Kandels and Merzenichs, experiments lead to the same conclusion of the physical body adapting in real-time to the environment. Carr briefly writes how a man named Bernstein regained movement in his hand and leg after damaging his brain which regulated movement and how through the use of technology analyzing neural activity, Carr tells how violinists had increased cortical areas of their right hand compared to nonmusicians, and compared to their own left cortical areas. Carrs final example for the brains plasticity is with Pascual-Leones experiment. Pascual-Leone mapped the brain activity of a group of people playing certain notes on a piano, and a group imagining themselves playing the notes. He concluded that their brains had both changed in response to the experiment, both in playing, and imagining playing. Pascual-Leones work showed that the human brain can change itself neurologically without physical activity. Carr summarizes, We become, neurologically, what we think. Carr asserts through these scientific experiments that not only were Freu d, J.Z. Young, and William James, correct , but the adult brain...is not just plastic but...massively plastic. CarrShow MoreRelatedOcd - Symptoms, Causes, Treatment131367 Words   |  526 Pages(1976) cognitive theory of emotional disorders. From these two theoretical perspectives on clinical disorders, a new cognitive-behavioral approach to obsessions and compulsions was born. In many respects, my own professional development has taken a path similar to that seen in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for obsessional states. My roots are in the behavioral tradition, dating back to the early 1980s when I was a graduate student at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, England. My interest