Dr. Anderson Schwartz, a brilliant professor at the University of Pittsburgh, is a neurophysiologist who does scientific investigations in order to develop prosthetics. In his appearance at Elon Monday evening, Schwartz explained how he studies complex patterns in which neurons fire, and how understanding what this means helps him and other scientists to develop life-changing prosthetics. Through his work, he attempts to validate scientific theories by testing various types of prosthetics on both humans and animals, such as monkeys
In comparing a human brain to a brain of a monkey, Schwartz suggests that there is a relation between spots in the motor cortex and muscle contraction. He explains that the firing of neurons is a very complicated activity to grasp, and a large population of neurons act simultaneously for every movement.
Thanks to prosthetics, this man's life was changed radically. A quadriplegic, he hadn't been able to move his arm in 7 years. After a receiving a surgically implanted mechanism, he was able to move his arm after just 30 days, and gives his girlfriend a high-five, which was the first time they were ever able to touch.
Schwartz says movement should be considered a behavioral output, as opposed to viewing it in terms of mechanics. In addition, he says, behavior is linked to cognition; thus, the brain is embedded in the body, which senses the world through sensors and is used to act on the environment.
Schwartz describes conscious experience as a derivation through the collective use of the brain and the body. Therefore, by showing a target to an animal, such as a monkey, scientists assume that it will reach for it to get the reward, which is usually some sort of food.
“Even if he’s not moving, he thinks about moving,” says Schwartz.
This is what he called observation-based activity. By studying input and output, scientists can see what’s going on in the brain that is responsible for generating behavior and choosing a response. When a movement is generated, it is observed, and is therefore feedback. This means the person or animal can analyze whether the movement was the one that had been intended on or not, which is considered learning.
rachel vargyai 