Midterm Paper

Midterm Paper Students Name Institutional Affiliation Course Code and Name Instructors Name Date Midterm Paper Neuroscience plays an important role in explaining how the human mind works. The information used in such explanations is based on the studies done on various organisms over time. Stored data and ongoing research regarding primitive creatures helps a lot in analysing these concepts. Scientists have played a major role in this crucial subject and keep coming up with new discoveries every day. The main subject of concern is how the human brain works, focusing on evolution. The studies trace back years ago, giving insights into the evolution and explaining the brain's current functioning. The studies also highlight the concept of emotional consciousness and the rise of cognition. Scholars believe that organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular, have been in the process of development, thus causing differences in their cognitive capabilities over the years. This development also contributes to the differences in emotional consciousness among individuals. LeDoux, one of the most renowned neuroscientists, has played a major role in explaining how humans developed their brains more than four billion years ago. In his work, "The Deep History of Ourselves," LeDoux (2019) highlights various concepts that explain the connections between modern man and his ancestors. Therefore, this paper will focus on the biology of life, the rise of cognition, and emotional consciousness. Biology of Life The current research about the biology of life has been highly simplified due to the available studies that neuroscientists have conducted over the years. While the biology of life might seem easy to understand, it took scientists years of research to understand how the system works. LeDoux focuses this study on the nervous system by beginning with unicellular organisms. These are believed to be the simplest forms of life, and therefore, studying them paves the way for understanding the nervous systems of complex creatures such as humans (Stubbe & Nocera, 2021). Unicellular organisms are only made of one cell and, therefore, do not have complex body structures, making it easy to understand. Given that the human body is made of thousands of cells constantly dividing, understanding a single cell is key to knowing how a combination of cells in one organism works. Through his study of the sensory response of unicellular organisms, LeDoux laid a framework for understanding the complexities of other creatures. He also found how ecological changes affected these sensory capabilities over billions of years. Through evolution, human beings and other creatures went through many changes, which are described as mutation. The mutation allowed the nervous system to adapt to the living conditions. These changes, therefore, explain the differences in studies of how the nervous systems from billions of years ago differ from the current nervous system of human beings. LeDoux outlines the evolutionary changes found in primitive organisms and compares them to those of modern humans. Through this comparison, he has identified the adaptations that allowed these organisms to respond to stimuli in their current environment. A key factor of LeDoux's work on the functioning of the nervous system is genetic inheritance. Generic inheritance is highly connected with the concept of mutation. When organisms mutate, they do so to fit in the current ecological niche. Once the mutation occurs, the organisms pass on the mutated genetic material to their offspring. This enables the offspring to survive in the current ecological niche. However, the world has been changing a lot during the evolution process. This explains LeDoux's need to study different organisms from different generations to understand how mutation and evaluation have played a role in molding the current nervous systems in human beings. Molecular biology, as used in his studies, provides many insights regarding how modern animals have come to have a complex nervous system. As the ecological niches of animals keep on changing, adaptation will continue to take place to ensure that the nervous systems of these animal areas can adapt to the current living conditions. When an organism fails to adapt to its ecological niche, it faces a survival disadvantage. The animal is less likely to live for long in such a case. In most cases, they get killed by prey or fellow animals in the struggle for food. LeDoux also focuses on how neural circuits play an important role in facilitating the functionalities of the evolved neural systems. These neural circuits provide the key structural differences in the neural systems over the years. The functioning of a neuron is highly dependent on the information relayed within the neural path. Therefore, when a mutation occurs, the neural path changes to accommodate the changes in the external or internal stimuli. If the neural pathway does not change, it makes it challenging for the animal to perceive the stimuli, thus rendering the organism's body less effective than those of mutated animals. By studying the changes in functionality, LeDoux aimed to provide insights on predicting the functionalities of the modern human nervous system when exposed to different stimuli. By examining organisms from different classes, neuroscience uncovers how evolution has led to the development of this complex neuropathy, which is evident in modern animals. Key to his research about the nervous system is the concept of neuroplasticity. This concept refers to a nerve's ability to adapt to experiences. This concept outlines the basis for research regarding the role of nerves in motor coordination. It is a key area of study that helps neuroscientist uncover how human beings use their nerves to coordinate the activities that dictate one's behavior. These studies have also been used to study the functioning of the brain. According to LeDoux (2019), neurons use synapses to allow for communication along the neural path. Hence, scientists can predict human behavior based on motor coordination understanding how these synapses function when exposed to different stimuli, Such concepts facilitate future research that could, in turn, play an important role in the medical field for medicine production. Through this study, researchers can identify ways of predicting how certain medications would facilitate healing through neural pathways. As evolution keeps taking place, it is crucial to study this information to develop better medication. For instance, some drugs have proven to be resistant to certain drugs. Such resistance occurs because the body is adjusting its functioning to fit the current ecological niche. This ecological niche is characterized by drugs designed to alter the body's functioning to cure diseases. Therefore, understanding the body, specifically the nervous systems, will give researchers an edge in developing new and more effective medication. Failure to do so would expose humans and other animals to diseases that could become challenging to treat. In addition to studying the nervous system, the sensory organs of other organisms are also changing to adapt to the current evolution. For instance, bacteria-causing diseases adapt to ensure that the medication developed to eliminate them from the human body does not affect their functionality. Adaptation means passing on the genetic materials to their offspring, a factor that could challenge the medical field. Therefore, LeDoux's research about the evolution of the nervous system is crucial in creating a balance in how organisms interact with one another. LeDoux combines both psychology and evolutionary biology to effectively carry out his study of the nervous system. Through comparative studies, LeDoux has been able to compare the variations in the functioning of the nervous systems of different animals across time. He focuses on conserved data to find clues about ancient animals, an approach that has proven successful in understanding the functioning of the nervous system. For instance, data from advanced and primitive organisms have proven highly effective in proving the concept of mutation and genetic inheritance. Additionally, his work forms a basis for future studies, and scientists are expected to continue studying evolution for thousands of years. By studying the selective pressures that have led organisms to change their functionality over the years, it becomes easy to predict how the nervous system of human beings or other animals might look in the future. For instance, understanding the evolutionary concepts of emotions such as anger and fear can help predict how organisms are likely to behave in certain conditions. The Rise of Cognition LeDoux also focuses on the rise of cognition, focusing on important aspects such as the origin of learning and understanding among different spe...