Social networks, covid and robots: how our brain responds to the challenges of the XNUMXst century

Is it possible to create a robot with a human mind?

Participants of the discussion:

• Vera Tolchennikova — neurophysiologist, candidate of biological sciences, deputy director of the RUDN Research Institute of Brain Development, lecturer at the Department of Higher Nervous Activity, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University. Lomonosov.
• Ainur Ragimova, PhD, Research Fellow at the Center for Neuroeconomics and Cognitive Research, Institute of Cognitive Sciences, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
• Sergey Romantsev is a podcast host and tech blogger.

Highlights from the release

Brain, body and mind: how they are connected

Our brain is not only a “gray matter” that makes decisions, explains Ainur Ragimova. This is the control center of the whole body – heartbeat, the functioning of the digestive tract, the position of the body in space, and so on. The cerebellum and spinal cord are responsible for this. The brain and body must be considered as a system, adds Vera Tolchennikova. There are things that we can control consciously – these are the processes in which striated muscles are involved. Others do not, for example, pressure, temperature.

Many of our decisions depend on hereditary patterns—risk-taking, control propensity, rigidity, and so on. Under the influence of the external environment, behavior adapts: the brain sets the rhythm, but consciousness is the “second violin” that can correct it.

Has the brain changed under the influence of technology?

The penetration of the Internet and social networks into everyday life has led to the fact that we have reduced the possible waiting time, says Vera Tolchennikova. This means that now we get what we want in one or more clicks. And, for example, no one wants to wait for a book from the library for several days. Before the invention of the Internet, the waiting period between the program and the result was longer. Reduction of waiting periods, acceleration of information flows, growth in the number of incentives led to a reduction in attention credit. You can fix this with the help of difficult tasks: train strategic thinking, prefer text to a movie or clip, reduce the time spent watching primitive content.

However, you need to understand that clip thinking is typical only for residents of cities that have the Internet, explains Ainur Ragimova. Significant brain and body changes require that the functionality and convenience of these changes be proven across multiple populations.

Memory mechanisms: is it possible to develop photographic memory

The Atkinson-Shiffrin model of memory, proposed in 1968, states that there are three memory structures: sensory, short-term, and long-term. According to this model, in the online mode, part of the information that is important is stored and transferred to a long-term form, and everything superfluous is forgotten.

The ethologist Konrad Lorenz described memorization according to a different mechanism – this is imprinting, or imprinting. Lorenz noticed that the first object that gray geese see immediately after hatching is imprinted on them as a mother. This memorization mechanism works not only in the first minutes after birth, but also in any “sensible” or “critical” period. It is possible to introduce an adult into a similar state of hyperexcitability. So, in the experiment of psychologist Veronika Nurkova, the subjects chose eight events from their personal lives that were important to them, photographs or drawings associated with these events, and then described them in words. The recorded audio tracks were superimposed on each other, and the photographs were presented as slides. For 15 minutes, the subjects listened to a chorus of voices and looked at pictures from their lives. They went into a super-resource state, in which their memory didn’t work as it normally would.

In this state, a person easily captures information. But far from always he will be able to reproduce it effectively. Memory consists of three processes: memorization, storage and reproduction. The reproduction process is unstable and depends on many factors: motivation, socialization, time of day. Often “problems with memory”, for example, among schoolchildren, are associated precisely with the instability of the reproduction process.

Is it possible to combine the human brain and the body of a robot

The symbiosis of machine and brain already exists, experts say. For example, during deep stimulation, a device is implanted in the brain that sends electrical impulses. This neurosurgical method is used in Parkinson’s disease.

Startup CTRL-Labs is developing a device that will allow you to control a computer with the power of thought. The technology decodes brain signals and converts them into digital ones.

However, it is still impossible to place the brain in a robot body: the brain needs favorable conditions and a sensitive part. It receives information from the rest of the body, processes it and reconstructs it in the head.

How to force the brain to create new neural connections

Guests agree that regular, properly selected physical activity will help develop the brain. Sports activities affect our ability to make decisions, analyze information, and so on. Ainur Ragimova also offers to study foreign languages ​​- this creates a kind of “backup” to all existing concepts in the head. According to studies, bilingual patients or those who learned a language as a teenager are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and retain their functions better. Any tasks that involve ambiguous solutions, such as playing chess or playing the piano, can stimulate the creation of new neural connections.

Do not forget that the level of intelligence is largely determined by genetics. Cognitive functions may differ due to different predispositions and a combination of external and internal factors. Mood disorders and neurological diseases also affect them – they need to be monitored and treated.