Post 4

Article 1
Ethics and mapping the brain

In this article, it touches on the disadvantages of using technologies to find out what a person is thinking and also the issues that may arise when these technologies are used. One of the disadvantages is the example given; the case of Nancy, a hypothetical airline pilot who was fired after her brain images show that she might develop schizophrenia. One of the issues discussed is access. When the image of everybody’s head is stored in a file, who will have the rights to access these information?

APA Citation
This article is extracted from the Washington Times, titled “Ethics and mapping the brain” and is written L. Marano, published on 3rd June 2003.

Usefulness
This article is very useful since it has stated the disadvantages and ethics issue that might arise when using these technologies.

5 relevant vocabulary words/phrases and their definition
1.pedophilia - sexual desire in an adult for a child.
2.Hypothetical – logical
3.Genomics - the study of genomes
4.Predisposition - tendency to a condition or quality, usually based on the combined effects of genetic and environmental factors.
5.Juggernaut - any large, overpowering, destructive force or object, as war, a giant battleship, or a powerful football team

Article 2
A computer that can ‘Read’ Your Mind

In this article, it discuss on how the researchers continue to develop more advanced computational modeling to analyze the brain’s patterns. An example is the use of functional Magnetic Resonance Imagining (fMRI). fMRI is used to detect the brain’s activity. Based on these data, the researchers developed a computational modeling which allowed the computer to analyze what the subject was thinking. A more advanced computational modeling was developed recently, to analyze the brain activation patters. This way of analyzing a person’s thought is quite accurate. Hence it can be used in the study of autism, disorders of thought.

APA Citation
This article is published by the National Science Foundation on 30th May 2008 and it was retrieved on 6th August 2008 from the website stated.

Usefulness
This article is not very useful since it only talks about the advantages of using biomedical equipment to analyze the brain patterns, it did not discuss on the disadvantages of using the technology..

5 relevant vocabulary words/phrases and their definition
1.Folklore - the traditional beliefs, legends, customs, etc., of a people; lore of a people
2.Computational Modeling - a computer program, or network of computers, that attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system.
3.Frontal - of, pertaining to, or situated near the forehead or the frontal bone
4.Schizophrenia - a severe mental disorder characterized by some, but not necessarily all, of the following features: emotional blunting, intellectual deterioration, social isolation, disorganized speech and behavior, delusions, and hallucinations.
5.Semantic dementias - a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of semantic memory in both the verbal and non-verbal domains.