Me and 8 more undergraduates are preparing a short seminar
on the neurophysiology of learning. Having undertaken the
molecular mechanisms of
synaptic plasticity, which is believed to underlie
learning, I found that the vast majority of what we know
about learning at the synaptic level is based on rodent (or
invertebrate) models, either in vitro or in vivo. Naturally
the use of human models for studying such mechanisms faces
objective difficulties. A question thus occured to me:
could the bottom-up approach to such phenomena as memory
and learning (not to mention other cognitive functions) be
applied to humans? For example, due to the large
differences in the circuitry between the rat and the human,
similar molecular mechanisms could account for totally
different computations. As a medical student, I would like
to see this progress in molecular neurobiology being
applied directly to human neuropharmacology or another
intervention to cure mental illness.
I could really use some info (i.e. references, personal
ideas) on this (perhaps philosophical) matter. Thank you in
advance.
--
Zanos Stavros
Aristotle Univ School of Medicine
Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece
"If I had more time, I would have written you
a shorter letter"
Pascal
