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Brain-science and education in Japan Hideaki Koizumi

in Neuroscience in Education: The good, the bad, and the ugly Published in print: 2012 Published Online: May Publisher: Oxford University Press 2012 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780199600496 eISBN: 9780191739187 acprof:oso/9780199600496.003.0100 Item type: chapter

From the viewpoint of neuroscience, learning and education can be defined as the processes of making neuronal circuits in response to external stimuli, and of controlling or preparing appropriate stimuli, respectively. Learning and education can thus be studied as a new field with brain science that includes disciplines related to the brain, e.g., neuropsychology, developmental cognitive neuroscience, behavioural sciences, and child neurology as well as neuroscience. This new discipline is named ‘brain-science and education’. National programmes run by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) in ‘brain-science and education’ began in December 2000 and nineteen projects were completed by March 2011. In this Japan initiative, not only were conventional non-invasive brain function imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, magnetoencephalography, and electroencephalogram used, but also a new methodology — near infrared spectroscopic optical topography was employed — resulting in the elucidation of various learning processes in the brains of infants and children. This chapter shares information on the special situation in Japanese education and some of the ‘brain-science and education’ initiative's results that may be important in future neuroscience in education.

Mirrors match minds

Simone Schüz-Bosbach and Wolfgang Prinz in New Frontiers in Mirror Neurons Research Published in print: 2015 Published Online: Publisher: Oxford University Press November 2015 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780199686155 eISBN: 9780191807589 acprof:oso/9780199686155.003.0011 Page 1 of 6 PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarship.com). (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 2017. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a monograph in OSO for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/page/privacy-policy).date: 16 January 2017

Item type: chapter

This chapter argues that the human mind should be understood as an open system that makes emotional as well as sensorimotor matches between people, probably in order to facilitate social understanding and social communication. To this end, the chapter takes a closer look at the representational foundations of what is called social mirroring. Taking for granted the general idea that mirrors match minds, it is examined in detail what such mind matching takes and how it works. The first section elaborates on the functional logic entailed in episodes of personal or social mirroring and discusses what kinds of representational resources such episodes require. The ensuing sections discuss how this logic is instantiated in representational devices for bodies, actions, and emotions.

The good, the bad and the ugly in neuroscience and education: an educator’s perspective Paul Howard-Jones

in Neuroscience in Education: The good, the bad, and the ugly Published in print: 2012 Published Online: May Publisher: Oxford University Press 2012 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780199600496 eISBN: 9780191739187 acprof:oso/9780199600496.003.0109 Item type: chapter

This chapter provides an educational perspective on some of the issues covered in this volume. It argues that from clearing out neuromyths, to identifying research questions and applying the results, the territory between neuroscience and education is best traversed with interdisciplinary dialogue and collaborative work between experts and practitioners in both fields. Neuroeducational dialogue and research is emergent, and it is presently the stuff of pioneers. That makes it exciting but it also means that the territory will be populated by the good, the bad, and the ugly for a few years to come, as we struggle to reach consensus about how to tell these apart.

Neural underpinnings of anticipatory action simulation and perception in expert brains Lucia Maria Sacheli, Salvatore Maria Aglioti, and Matteo Candidi in New Frontiers in Mirror Neurons Research Published in print: 2015 Published Online: Publisher: Oxford University Press November 2015 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780199686155 eISBN: 9780191807589 acprof:oso/9780199686155.003.0006 Item type: chapter

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Knowledge about upcoming actions is fundamentally important to anticipate rather than react to the actions of other individuals. Influential theoretical models suggest that the human motor system is “designed” to be an anticipation device and that it predicts what others are doing by implementing an inner motor simulation process. Multimodal, perceptuomotor, multiple-duty cells (mirror neurons) may also play an important function in action anticipation. Data indicate that the superior predictive ability of individuals who achieve excellence in a given cognitive-motor domain is inherently linked to a modulatory, fine-tuning activity that expertise exerts on somatosensory and motor systems. Phenomena and neural correlates of the anticipatory action mapping in elite athletes and expert pianists are reviewed, providing support for the hypothesis that one’s own sensorimotor representations are used for the predictive readout of actions and intentions of others. In addition, the possibly crucial role of predictive coding in social motor interactions is highlighted.

Schizophrenia, bodily selves, and embodied simulation Vittorio Gallese and Francesca Ferri

in New Frontiers in Mirror Neurons Research Published in print: 2015 Published Online: Publisher: Oxford University Press November 2015 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780199686155 eISBN: 9780191807589 acprof:oso/9780199686155.003.0019 Item type: chapter

One cannot fully understand schizophrenia unless one is able to frame it within a thorough account of the structure of subjectivity. Neuroscientific research so far has almost entirely neglected the firstperson experiential dimension of this syndrome, mainly focusing on high cognitive functions. A theoretical approach focused on self-disorder may shed new light on the psychopathological features of psychosis and inspire empirical research targeting the bodily and neurobiological alterations underpinning schizophrenia. This perspective is consistent with the model of embodied simulation, according to which basic forms of intersubjectivity are bodily grounded and rely on neural reuse. This chapter shows the relationships between the body, its motor potentialities, the notion of minimal self, and the self-disturbances and social deficits characterizing schizophrenia.

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Relating the ontogeny and function of mirror neurons to perceptual learning and inference James J. M. Kilner

in New Frontiers in Mirror Neurons Research Published in print: 2015 Published Online: Publisher: Oxford University Press November 2015 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780199686155 eISBN: 9780191807589 acprof:oso/9780199686155.003.0013 Item type: chapter

Ever since the discovery of mirror neurons, it has been proposed that such neurons underlie the ability to “understand” actions. Despite there having been over two decades of research, there is still much debate over the proposed role of the motor system in action perception. Indeed, there are many who argue that mirror neurons do not have a functional role but simply respond to observed action as a consequence of visuomotor associations that have been learned through a lifetime of experiences. However, the logic of this argument conflates the processes underlying perceptual learning with those underlying perceptual inference. This chapter argues that the best way to uncover the functional role of mirror neurons is to dissociate their ontogeny from their function.

Consciousness in animals Derek Denton

in The Primordial Emotions: The dawning of consciousness Published in print: 2006 Published Online: Publisher: Oxford University Press March 2012 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780199203147 eISBN: 9780191695476 acprof:oso/9780199203147.003.0004 Item type: chapter

This chapter examines consciousness in animals. It provides an overview of some aspects of evolution of the vertebrate brain and cognitive processes and discusses the results of previous ethology or comparative behaviour studies. This chapter suggests that the increasing readiness of an animal to engage in an instinctive repertoire of action is characterized by the build up of ‘action specific energy’ in the brain.

On gesture and speech

Maurizio Gentilucci, Doriana De Marco, and Elisa De Stefani in New Frontiers in Mirror Neurons Research Published in print: 2015 Published Online: November 2015

Publisher: Oxford University Press

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ISBN: 9780199686155 eISBN: 9780191807589 DOI: 10.1093/ Item type: chapter acprof:oso/9780199686155.003.0008

How is spoken language associated with gestures? The circuit controlling gestures and speech probably evolved from a circuit that controls arm and mouth movements involved in ingestion. In addition, the discovery of mirror neurons provided support for the gestural theory of the origin of speech because mirror neurons offer a natural substrate for the embodiment of language and create a direct link between the sender and receiver of a message. Behavioral studies indicate that manual gestures are linked to mouth movements used for syllable emission. Gestures and words are also related to each other. When producing communicative gestures (emblems) the intention to interact directly with a conspecific was transferred from gestures to words, inducing modification in voice parameters. The middle temporal gyrus and inferior frontal cortex seem to be involved in the integration and lexical/semantic processes performed on the two signals, that is, speech and gestures.

The definition of consciousness, and self-awareness Derek Denton

in The Primordial Emotions: The dawning of consciousness Published in print: 2006 Published Online: Publisher: Oxford University Press March 2012 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780199203147 eISBN: 9780191695476 acprof:oso/9780199203147.003.0002 Item type: chapter

This chapter examines the history of the development of the concepts of consciousness and self-awareness in science. It explains that selfawareness is the highest form of awareness variously described as the inward turning of consciousness, being the object of one's own attention, contemplation of one's own existence, reflective awareness, and being conscious of being conscious. It also discusses mirror self-recognition and self-awareness in apes and dolphins.

The neuroscience of human cognition Richard E. Passingham and James B. Rowe

in A Short Guide to Brain Imaging: The Neuroscience of Human Cognition Published in print: 2015 Published Online: Publisher: Oxford University Press November 2015 DOI: 10.1093/ ISBN: 9780198709138 eISBN: 9780191815270 acprof:oso/9780198709138.003.0008 Item type: chapter

The motivation for an imaging study should be better than simply “little is known about the neural basis of X.” As in other areas of science, Page 5 of 6 PRINTED FROM OXFORD SCHOLARSHIP ONLINE (www.oxfordscholarship.com). (c) Copyright Oxford University Press, 2017. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a monograph in OSO for personal use (for details see http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/page/privacy-policy).date: 16 January 2017

interest should be in phenomena that are in need of explanation. These could concern normal cognition, for example that it is difficult to carry out two tasks at the same time; or abnormal cognition, for example that there are patients who hear voices. Answering questions such as these can require a combination of methods, which can be best achieved by collaboration between scientists who are experts in different methods. With the maturation of brain imaging, users should think of themselves not as “imagers” but as neuroscientists.

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