A broom closet in a mansion. A stowaway on a transatlantic journey. The CEO of a large and diverse company.
Neuroscientist David Eagleman spoke in metaphors when describing the conscious brain’s relation to the subconscious March 12 in McCrary Theater. The conscious part of the mind is but one cog in its vast machinery, and the more complex workings of the subconscious directly affect cognition and perception, he said.
“Most of what you do and how you act is a part of the unconscious brain,” Eagleman said. “There is another that we don’t know inside of us.”
Eagleman has pioneered many studies on the inner workings of the brain and authored several books, including “Incognito: The Secret Lives of Brains.”
Everything from the formation of ideas to the construction of visual fields is entirely the responsibility of the unconscious mind, which is developed and shaped by genetic, social and environmental factors. Individual differences in the subconscious can alter individual perceptions, Eagleman said.
“We accept the reality that is presented to us,” he said. “But (realities) can be quite different for different people.”
His work on the phenomenon of synesthesia has given way to further study of individuals’ perception of reality. Synesthesia, or the combination of two incongruous sensory experiences, results from an anomalous crossing of neural pathways in the brain.
[quote] We accept the reality that is presented to us. But (realities) can be quite different for different people. - david Eagleman, neuroscientist [/quote]
“Most commonly, (words referring to) days and months trigger color experiences in synesthetes (or people with synesthesia),” Eagleman said. “But every combination of sensory experiences has been found somewhere.”
But the atypical crossing of neural pathways is not necessarily unique to synesthetes, he said. Some intersection of neural pathways occurs in every subconscious mind, allowing it to comprehend a certain degree of synesthetic imagery.
According to Eagleman, this explains such concepts as “cool jazz” and “warm personalities.”
“There’s a lot of cross talk in different areas of the brain,” Eagleman said. “We understand other’s synesthesia even though we don’t have it ourselves. Many synesthetic phrases have stuck around in our language presumably because they were introduced by a synesthete and others understood it.”
The genetic predisposition to synesthesia opens up the idea that genetic variations may affect perception of reality. A better understanding of these variations may lead to a better understanding of behavior, motivation and social interaction, Eagleman said.
These variations may explain the repetition of negative behavior, even after legal repercussion. The high incarceration rate in the United States is indicative of the inefficiencies of its legal system, he said.
“We need to understand that different people can commit different crimes for different reasons,” he said. “A better understanding of behavior can help up create tailored interventions to help people in a customized way.”
The assumption that humans are “practical reasoners” is a pitfall of the system, Eagleman said.
“Morality and decision-making (are not indicative) of a person’s essence, (but rather) their neural composition,” he said. “Brains are like fingerprints, different for everyone.”