One thing I have always struggled with in reading philosophy is the doctrine of Innatism, which holds that the human mind is born with ideas or knowledge. This belief, put forth most notably by Plato as his Theory of Forms and later by Descartes in his Meditations, is currently gaining neuroscientific evidence that could validate the belief that we are born with innate knowledge of our world.

The predominant belief and assumption about human learning and memory is that we are born as a “blank slate,” and we gain our knowledge and ideas through new experiences and our memory of them. This belief is known as Empiricism and, although dates back to Aristotle, has been supported by many famous philosophers such as John Locke and Francis Bacon. However, a study published in last March’s Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences (PNAS) may, to an extent, discredit this main theory of knowledge collection. The research, conducted by the Blue Brain Group in Switzerland, explored the remarkable similarities in the neuronal circuitry in the neocortices of all brains. The study, summarized in this article in PNAS, essentially “discovered a synaptic organizing principle that groups neurons in a manner that is common across animals and hence, independent of individual experiences.” This discovery may have huge implications on our understanding of learning, memory, and development. The groups of neurons, or cell assemblies, appear consistently in the Neocortices of animals and are essentially cellular “building blocks”. In many animals then, it may hold true that learning, perception, and memory are a result of putting these pieces together rather than forming new cell assemblies. According to Dr. Markram, “This could explain why we all share similar perceptions of physical reality, while our memories reflect our individual experience.” This is a remarkable example of the ways in which neuroscience and its research is revolutionizing our understanding of the ways in which we come to know and perceive our universe, while simultaneously answering major philosophical questions. While these findings may go against the incredibly popular empirical view of knowledge, they lend themselves very well to the notion of innate ideas. Plato and Descartes used this general theory to explain human reasoning. Plato believed that the human soul exists eternally, and exists in a “world of forms (or ideas)” before life; all learning is the process of remembering “shadows” of these forms here on Earth. While this idea is still a little out there for me at least (and it may take a little more scientific evidence to support that claim), Descartes’ claims seem very consistent with the Blue Brain Group’s findings.
Descartes proposed that the inborn ideas that we possess are those of geometric truths and all of our intelligence can be accessed through reason. Discussing ideas in his fifth meditation, he states “We come to know them by the power of our own native intelligence, without any sensory experience. All geometrical truths are of this sort — not just the most obvious ones, but all the others, however abstruse they may appear.” Another study supporting this notion is the result of research on “intuitive physics,” or the seeming understanding we possess of the physical behavior of objects in our universe without even thinking about it. In an article summarizing the study, Janese Silvey provides the example that “if a glass of milk falls off a table, a person will try to catch the cup but not the liquid spilling out. That person is reacting rather than consciously thinking about what to do.” The report on the actual experiment, by Susan Hespos and Kristy vanMarle, showed that infants possess expectations that, for example, objects still exist when they are hidden, and are surprised when these expectations are not met (surprise was indicated in the study by a longer looking time). Other experiments were conducted to demonstrate the understanding that infants from 2-5 months old have of cohesive properties, solidity of materials, and other basic physical characteristics of objects. The full report of the findings can be found here.
For me, the best news that comes out of this is that these new findings compromise both the philosophical doctrines of innatism and empiricism, opening up new discussions of exactly what knowledge and learning mean.

Markram’s Study on Synaptic Organization-PNAS

Physics for Infants-WIREs Cognitive Science

Descartes’ Theories of Innate Ideas-Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Plato’s Theory of Forms and Thoughts on Innate Ideas-Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Infants Understand More Than Thought-Columbia Daily Tribune

New Evidence for Innate Ideas-Blue Brain Group

Our culture obsesses over self-image and appearance, and people are always trying to find the next miracle diet to make them thin, buff, and beautiful. However, tailoring a diet to ensure the fitness and optimal function of the most important organ, the brain, is just as important. The search for the perfect brain diet has yielded many different results, and now the Nerve Blog will give you the aggregated, ultimate, and effective diet for your brain.

Before providing specific foods that fit with the diet, I’ll overview what your brain needs. The first step to take is calorie reduction. While this is present in most other diets, it is particularly important in optimizing brain function. Establishing the foundation of health that is achieved through caloric reduction is necessary to prevent degenerative disorders in the brain and to generally remain healthy longer. In a 20 year study on the effects of caloric reduction in rhesus monkeys at the Wisconsin National Primate Center that compared a group following a normal diet with a group on a diet of restricted calories, a 30% higher survival rate was achieved by the latter group, and that same group experienced much lower rate of occurrence of many diseases, including brain atrophy. In his book “Think Smart: A Neuroscientist’s Prescription for Improving Your Brain’s Performance,” Dr. Richard Restak advises avoiding foods high in calories and especially those containing processed fats. This ties into one of his main pieces of advice for people dieting for mental well being, that “what’s good for the brain is good for the heart.” This is because circulatory system health is crucial in maintaining efficient brain function, because clogged arteries and reduced blood flow to the brain can lead quickly to cognitive impairment. Also, the importance of the benefits of both omega-3 fatty acids as well as antioxidants is emphasized in both Restak’s book as well as several studies published in Nature in 2008. The studies, conducted by both Norman Salem Jr. and Jean Marie Bourre, found that omega-3 fatty acids normally facilitate healthy brain function as components of cell membranes, as well as demonstrating that a deficiency of them in human diets caused an “increased risk of several mental disorders, including attention-deficit disorder, dyslexia, dementia, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.” The synaptic plasticity, or the ability of neurons to form new connections with other neurons, of brains on diets rich in omega-3’s was also higher. The same article also revealed findings from a study that showed higher verbal test scores in groups with diets richer in omega-3 fatty acids when compared to a control group with a normal diet. Now that we have examined the basis of healthy brain function, we can identify specific dietary sources of these nutrients and explain how to incorporate them into our diet in the following guidelines:

1. Avoid high-calorie foods and foods with “empty calories” (especially foods high in processed fats). Try to incorporate leafy and green vegetables. Eat chicken rather than red meat whenever possible (although fish is the best protein).

2. Get plenty of antioxidants: Free radicals in the body seek to gain electrons from oxidizing agents in the body, which often come from cell components. This can cause damage to the cells and increase the speed of aging. This can have detrimental effects on the brain, but the consumption of antioxidants does a lot to slow this process. Foods high in antioxidants, like fruits and vegetables, should be eaten at about every meal. Good sources of antioxidants (and some often recommended brain foods) are blueberries and acai berries, as well as all fruits and vegetables.

3. Regularly incorporate omega-3 fatty acids: Do this by eating fish at least three times a week. Wild salmon is considered one of the best brain foods because it is high in essential fatty acids and low in calories and saturated fat. Also, acai berries are rich in omega-3’s and low in calories (and, as we have seen, are rich in antioxidants), making them great food for your brain.

4. Balance this out with regular exercise and a generally healthy lifestyle: your brain’s health will benefit greatly from the rest of your body’s fitness, and vice-versa.

Yes, I have been on this diet for about two months. I sometimes have lapses and enjoy a burger, but I have pretty consistently followed these guidelines. While I don’t know if my IQ score is any higher and I didn’t magically start learning things faster (it has only been two months…), I already feel healthier overall and hopefully the benefits continue to show.

The Effects of Nutrients on Brain Function -Nature

Caloric Restriction in Monkeys-Science Magazine

Best Brain Foods

Think Smart By Richard Restak

How often do you eat lemons whole? Would you eat them more often if they tasted like lemonade? An increasing trend in the past three years has been “flavor tripping” by means of the miracle fruit. The fruit is used mainly at parties and events specifically to eat it and taste other foods that are normally sour, sweet, and/or salty, and is not part of a normal diet.

Richardella dulfica, known as “miracle fruit” or “miracle berry,” has the power to make sour foods taste sweet and other foods transform their flavor into a candy-like saccharinity. These magical berries have long been somewhat of a culinary and scientific mystery. A team of researches from Japan and France, led by University of Tokyo’s Keiko Abe, believe that they have discovered the fruit’s sweetening secret.

The berries produce the perception of a sweet taste through a protein they contain, called miraculin. The protein has long been known to cause the effect. However, Abe’s team was the first to explain the mechanisms by which the protein affects the taste receptors to cause many fascinating flavor changes, including the ability to make “Guiness taste like a chocolate shake.”

Abe and his team determined the effect of the protein on taste receptors by testing it on cultured cells at various pH levels. The cells were treated with fluorescent molecules that glowed when the cells were activated. What the team found out through this experiment was that miraculin does not actually activate the sweet taste receptors at a normal pH level, but rather it produces an inhibitory effect. However, when the pH is lowered (is slightly acidic), the sweet taste receptors are activated, and slightly acidic foods, such as lemons and limes, end up tasting sweet.

Keiko Abe told Discovery.com that “the sweetness of miraculin at acidic pH in the mouth is the strongest of almost all the known sweeteners; this will lead to industrial use of this non-calorie sweetener.” While this could be exciting news for the food industry, a few large obstacles would need to be overcome in order to use this ingredient in food. Paul Breslin, a sensory biologist from Rutgers University, states that “since it is a protein, it probably would fall apart if heated, making it a poor candidate for baked goods anyway.” Also, the United States Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve the berry’s use in food. This exciting discovery will help determine this amazing fruit’s future, but for now it will remain a party trick.

P.S. Make sure you come to The Mind and Brain Society’s Miracle Berry Tastravaganza on Wednesday, October 26th from 7 PM to 10 PM in BU Central. We will have sour, spicy, and salty foods for you to sample once you’ve eaten your miracle berry. If you want to learn more about this event and you’re a BU undergraduate student, attend The Mind and Brain Society’s Theory of Mind Discussion and General Meeting on Thursday, October 20th at 7 PM.

Miracle Fruit’s Secret Revealed – Science News

Miracle Fruit Explained – Discovery.com

Flavor Tripping Parties – NYTimes.com

Miracle Fruit Explanation – Nature