The role of the cerebellum in creativity and expert stone knapping

2020 ◽  
pp. 105971232096646
Author(s):  
Frederick L Coolidge

The purpose of this article is to review the evolution and function of the cerebellum, particularly in regard to its role in creativity and expert stone knapping. First, the article reviews the history of the cerebellum, its evolution and phylogenetics, and its concerted evolution with various brain regions. It also notes the critical role of the cerebellum and the cerebro-cerebellar network in its traditionally recognized control of gross and fine motor movements and in its exaptation for basic and higher level cognitive processes, particularly in regard to increasingly more sophisticated stone knapping. Also, reviewed are various theories, advanced over the past three decades, of how the cerebellum tweaks and refines thoughts, images, and ideas just as it refines and smooths motor movements. Baddeley’s working memory model is also prominently featured, as are the works of Ito, Vandervert, and others on the cerebellum’s role in novel problem-solving, insight, and creativity. Finally, this article reviews two “Cognitive Rubicons” in stone tool knapping, Theory of Mind and stone knapping, and Malafouris’ Material Engagement Theory. The article concludes with a novel hypothesis that the automaticity provided by the cerebellum derived from extensive practice in stone knapping may have freed Baddeley’s central executive from its attentional demands and allows the mind to “wander and wonder.”

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa C. Baek ◽  
Matthew Brook O’Donnell ◽  
Christin Scholz ◽  
Rui Pei ◽  
Javier O. Garcia ◽  
...  

AbstractWord of mouth recommendations influence a wide range of choices and behaviors. What takes place in the mind of recommendation receivers that determines whether they will be successfully influenced? Prior work suggests that brain systems implicated in assessing the value of stimuli (i.e., subjective valuation) and understanding others’ mental states (i.e., mentalizing) play key roles. The current study used neuroimaging and natural language classifiers to extend these findings in a naturalistic context and tested the extent to which the two systems work together or independently in responding to social influence. First, we show that in response to text-based social media recommendations, activity in both the brain’s valuation system and mentalizing system was associated with greater likelihood of opinion change. Second, participants were more likely to update their opinions in response to negative, compared to positive, recommendations, with activity in the mentalizing system scaling with the negativity of the recommendations. Third, decreased functional connectivity between valuation and mentalizing systems was associated with opinion change. Results highlight the role of brain regions involved in mentalizing and positive valuation in recommendation propagation, and further show that mentalizing may be particularly key in processing negative recommendations, whereas the valuation system is relevant in evaluating both positive and negative recommendations.


Author(s):  
Biswajit Prasad Chhatoi ◽  
Sharada Prasad Sahoo

In a self-resilient economy, banking system assumes importance in imparting momentum to economic growth and prosperity through mobilization of financial assets. Performance of banks, irrespective of their nature and function, is germane to their asset creation and maintenance capacity. In a neo-liberal regime, radical policy changes have crept into loan mechanism, thereby subjecting the banks to efficiently recover the loans, which is a vital asset for any banking firm. In this context, the authors through intensive review of literature identified micro and macro banking factors responsible for productive NPA management. The macro banking factors refer to the economic environment whereas the micro banking factors refer to the bank and branch-specific factors. The authors identified the critical role of organizational structure, involvement of employees, and organizational efficiency in driving prudent NPA management. The authors have found that the efficiency in managing NPAs differ in public and private banks, which is attributed to involvement of employees.


2009 ◽  
Vol 186 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-ping Tong ◽  
Xiang-yao Li ◽  
Bing Zhou ◽  
Wanhua Shen ◽  
Zhi-jun Zhang ◽  
...  

NG2 cells originate from various brain regions and migrate to their destinations during early development. These cells express voltage-gated Na+ channels but fail to produce typical action potentials. The physiological role of Na+ channels in these cells is unclear. We found that GABA induces membrane depolarization and Ca2+ elevation in NG2 cells, a process requiring activation of GABAA receptors, Na+ channels, and Na+/Ca2+ exchangers (NCXs), but not Ca2+ channels. We have identified a persistent Na+ current in these cells that may underlie the GABA-induced pathway of prolonged Na+ elevation, which in turn triggers Ca2+ influx via NCXs. This unique Ca2+ signaling pathway is further shown to be involved in the migration of NG2 cells. Thus, GABAergic signaling mediated by sequential activation of GABAA receptors, noninactivating Na+ channels, and NCXs may play an important role in the development and function of NG2 glial cells in the brain.


2009 ◽  
Vol 219 (3) ◽  
pp. 652-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manabu Niimura ◽  
Takashi Miki ◽  
Tadao Shibasaki ◽  
Wakako Fujimoto ◽  
Toshihiko Iwanaga ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sutapa Ray ◽  
Victor Banerjee ◽  
Mickael Blaise ◽  
Baisakhi Banerjee ◽  
Kali Pada Das ◽  
...  

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 4801-4811 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgeni Efimenko ◽  
Oliver E. Blacque ◽  
Guangshuo Ou ◽  
Courtney J. Haycraft ◽  
Bradley K. Yoder ◽  
...  

The intraflagellar transport (IFT) machinery required to build functional cilia consists of a multisubunit complex whose molecular composition, organization, and function are poorly understood. Here, we describe a novel tryptophan-aspartic acid (WD) repeat (WDR) containing IFT protein from Caenorhabditis elegans, DYF-2, that plays a critical role in maintaining the structural and functional integrity of the IFT machinery. We determined the identity of the dyf-2 gene by transgenic rescue of mutant phenotypes and by sequencing of mutant alleles. Loss of DYF-2 function selectively affects the assembly and motility of different IFT components and leads to defects in cilia structure and chemosensation in the nematode. Based on these observations, and the analysis of DYF-2 movement in a Bardet–Biedl syndrome mutant with partially disrupted IFT particles, we conclude that DYF-2 can associate with IFT particle complex B. At the same time, mutations in dyf-2 can interfere with the function of complex A components, suggesting an important role of this protein in the assembly of the IFT particle as a whole. Importantly, the mouse orthologue of DYF-2, WDR19, also localizes to cilia, pointing to an important evolutionarily conserved role for this WDR protein in cilia development and function.


2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (48) ◽  
pp. 17306-17320 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Marks ◽  
L. Belluscio ◽  
C. F. Ibanez

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 3939-3950 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick S Barrett ◽  
Katrin H Preller ◽  
Marcus Herdener ◽  
Petr Janata ◽  
Franz X Vollenweider

AbstractClassic psychedelic drugs (serotonin 2A, or 5HT2A, receptor agonists) have notable effects on music listening. In the current report, blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal was collected during music listening in 25 healthy adults after administration of placebo, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and LSD pretreated with the 5HT2A antagonist ketanserin, to investigate the role of 5HT2A receptor signaling in the neural response to the time-varying tonal structure of music. Tonality-tracking analysis of BOLD data revealed that 5HT2A receptor signaling alters the neural response to music in brain regions supporting basic and higher-level musical and auditory processing, and areas involved in memory, emotion, and self-referential processing. This suggests a critical role of 5HT2A receptor signaling in supporting the neural tracking of dynamic tonal structure in music, as well as in supporting the associated increases in emotionality, connectedness, and meaningfulness in response to music that are commonly observed after the administration of LSD and other psychedelics. Together, these findings inform the neuropsychopharmacology of music perception and cognition, meaningful music listening experiences, and altered perception of music during psychedelic experiences.


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