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NT Bureau
Chennai, Jan 8:
 

Dr V S Ramachandran, director, Centre for Brain and Cognition and professor at the University of California, San Diego, US, delivering the N Soundararajan lecture in Chennai yesterday.

        Understanding brain, the role of its complex parts in cognition, evolution of human mind and culture have fascinated the medical scientists, neurologists and the layman alike.

        This subject was given a sharper focus at the three lectures organised by the Neurosciences India Group (NSIG) and the Indian chapter of International Neurological Association (INA) yesterday. Exploring a common theme of Enhancing the Brain — Empowering the Mind, three well-acclaimed neurologists dilated on various behavioural and empirical aspects of brain functions and how it impacted on mind. 'Though consciousness is a holistic function of the brain, it is also responsible for many unconscious processes in human mind. There is a direct link between consciousness and the evolution of language,' said Professor

        V S Ramachandran, director, Centre for Brain and Cognition, who teaches Neuropsychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, US.

        Dwelling at length on the subject of How the Brain and Mind Work, he said it was still a wonder that a 1.5 kg mass of flesh could contemplate on any intricate and complex subject, including planets on galactic space, the meaning of infinity, and even on its own self.

        'To understand the human mind and the evolution of consciousness, it is critical to know the functions of mirror neurons (located on the frontal lobes of the brain). Also, called as empathy neurons for they dissolved the barriers that exist between the self and other objects which created the self-awareness leading one to introspection,' Ramachandran explained. He attributed the lack of language formation and social abnormality in autistic persons to deficit of mirror neurons in their brains leading to impaired faculty and lack of cognitive abilities. Mirror neurons allowed mind to learn through imitation and practice, and even abstract concepts would be unraveled in a stimulated environment.

        The profoundly enigmatic issues of culture, self-consciousness, empathy, love and dissolving the gulf between the self and other beings could only be tackled through metaphysical and empirical theories on brain functions, thus he summed up the N Soundararajan lecture.

        Taking up sensitive and ethical issues involved in enhancing the human brain, Professor Perminder Sachdev, director, Neuropsychiatric Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital at Australia, informed stimulated environment like learning and exercise resulted in cell proliferation in brain. 'Normal functions of the brain like memory retention and cognitive multi-tasking could be enhanced by therapeutics, drugs, brain-machine interface and technological devices like cortical neural prosthesis,' he said, while delivering the A Apparao lecture.

        But there were larger and ethical issues like whether brain enhancement was safe, would it lead to a deviant character affecting the individual or in future there would be coercions on sections of people for brain enhancement to deliver more in workplaces — all of which would usher in a dramatic change in the role of neuropsychiatrists. 'They may as well be called as Quality of Life Consultants in future,' he added.

        In the third lecture of the series, Dr Murali Doraiswamy from the Duke University, US, delivered the Dr Lakshminarayanan endowment oration on the subject of age-proofing brain. Earlier, in his address Professor E S Krishnamoorthy, vice-chairman, The Gopalakrishna Institute of Neurological Sciences at the VHS and director, NSIG, said neurological advances have proved that brain was capable of adaptation and enhancement and hoped the lecture series would provide a heightened awareness on the cognitive abilities of the brain.

        Further, he said the aim of Neurosciences India Group was to create a vibrant community of neurologists through constant education. With the support from medical intellectuals and public, the NSIG had organised over 30 symposia in the last six years by inviting renowned physicians and experts of neurological sciences.