Mouseunculus
July 25, 2013 3:35 PM Subscribe
Oh hey it is excellent that in my time zone I just woke up before seeing those mole diagrams because frankly I would probably never sleep again if it were nighttime here!
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:53 PM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:53 PM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Why is a large part of my brain allegedly devoted to moving my nose? My nose is really not that dextrous.
posted by agentofselection at 4:16 PM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by agentofselection at 4:16 PM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
(That's in reference to ostro's link, not the OP)
posted by agentofselection at 4:17 PM on July 25, 2013
posted by agentofselection at 4:17 PM on July 25, 2013
That's no mole, that's a dhole!
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:19 PM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:19 PM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
My nose is really not that dextrous.
Mine is.
Why is ostro's link NSFW, even slightly? "Boy, there's a nekkid HUmunc'lus on yore computer screen. Clean out ch'er desk right now!"
And why is that guy's willy so small? It's a kind of feeler, right?
posted by sneebler at 5:29 PM on July 25, 2013
Mine is.
Why is ostro's link NSFW, even slightly? "Boy, there's a nekkid HUmunc'lus on yore computer screen. Clean out ch'er desk right now!"
And why is that guy's willy so small? It's a kind of feeler, right?
posted by sneebler at 5:29 PM on July 25, 2013
And why is that guy's willy so small? It's a kind of feeler, right?
Though it's sensitive, its purpose is fairly specific and limited. You don't see with it, for instance, or use it to pick things up.
Unless you do, in which case, we are very, VERY interested. For science reasons.
posted by louche mustachio at 6:16 PM on July 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
Though it's sensitive, its purpose is fairly specific and limited. You don't see with it, for instance, or use it to pick things up.
Unless you do, in which case, we are very, VERY interested. For science reasons.
posted by louche mustachio at 6:16 PM on July 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
And why is that guy's willy so small? It's a kind of feeler, right?
Here's an updated version (somewhat more NSFW).
posted by homunculus at 6:27 PM on July 25, 2013
Here's an updated version (somewhat more NSFW).
posted by homunculus at 6:27 PM on July 25, 2013
Speaking of Wilder Penfield's research: Memory implantation is now officially real
posted by homunculus at 6:37 PM on July 25, 2013
posted by homunculus at 6:37 PM on July 25, 2013
And why is that guy's willy so small? It's a kind of feeler, right?A girl's gotta have her standards.
Though it's sensitive, its purpose is fairly specific and limited. You don't see with it, for instance, or use it to pick things up.
posted by pxe2000 at 7:01 PM on July 25, 2013 [4 favorites]
Though it's sensitive, its purpose is fairly specific and limited. You don't see with it, for instance, or use it to pick things up.
Unless you've got the right magnetic implants.
posted by homunculus at 8:12 PM on July 25, 2013
Unless you've got the right magnetic implants.
posted by homunculus at 8:12 PM on July 25, 2013
Cool project. But I think it has a pretty limited scope. It's tough because these types of things, very popular right now in pop neuroscience, tend to be pretty reductive.
And why is that guy's willy so small? It's a kind of feeler, right?
Well, the distinction this article didn't make is that there are actually two homunculi - one mapped to the precentral gyrus and one on the postcentral gyrus. You have this big valley running down the middle of your brain called the central sulcus and it splits the frontal lobe from the parietal lobe. The temporal lobe is really important for movement, especially really coordinated, planned out movements (like speech or grabbing), whereas the parietal lobe is important for somatosensory stuff. So there's a homunculus on the temporal lobe and one across the valley on the parietal lobe and they look different but similar. The one on the temporal lobe is mapped to motor movement, which is why the articulators, the face, and the hands are so big - because they produce very fine movements. The one on the parietal lobe is mapped to sensory input - it looks similar, but not totally the same.
Another thing is that it's not just the spot on the brain but the length of the stimulus to that spot. So when they've recreated Penfield's experiments they've found that like a little bit of stimulus on the index finger spot will make it twitch, but a longer stimulus will, for example, cause the person to draw their hand to their mouth. This is due to complicated factors of cortical layers and columns and such. The short version is that it's more complicated obviously than "here is the penis spot."
The other thing here is that the homunculus is only a part of the story. Most of, say, rat's perception is smell and that perception is being processed not really all that much by the rat-unculus but rather is being processed mostly by the rat's enormous olfactory bulbs in the front of its brain (seriously, those fuckers are big). The takeaway here is that the brain has clear regions that are specified for certain things, but it's also at the same time not all that hyperlocal. So while this kind of mapping is totally awesome and useful, and has done wonders, as the article says, for brain surgery, it doesn't explain all that much about cognition or perception generally, like with the penis.
posted by Lutoslawski at 9:43 PM on July 25, 2013 [11 favorites]
And why is that guy's willy so small? It's a kind of feeler, right?
Well, the distinction this article didn't make is that there are actually two homunculi - one mapped to the precentral gyrus and one on the postcentral gyrus. You have this big valley running down the middle of your brain called the central sulcus and it splits the frontal lobe from the parietal lobe. The temporal lobe is really important for movement, especially really coordinated, planned out movements (like speech or grabbing), whereas the parietal lobe is important for somatosensory stuff. So there's a homunculus on the temporal lobe and one across the valley on the parietal lobe and they look different but similar. The one on the temporal lobe is mapped to motor movement, which is why the articulators, the face, and the hands are so big - because they produce very fine movements. The one on the parietal lobe is mapped to sensory input - it looks similar, but not totally the same.
Another thing is that it's not just the spot on the brain but the length of the stimulus to that spot. So when they've recreated Penfield's experiments they've found that like a little bit of stimulus on the index finger spot will make it twitch, but a longer stimulus will, for example, cause the person to draw their hand to their mouth. This is due to complicated factors of cortical layers and columns and such. The short version is that it's more complicated obviously than "here is the penis spot."
The other thing here is that the homunculus is only a part of the story. Most of, say, rat's perception is smell and that perception is being processed not really all that much by the rat-unculus but rather is being processed mostly by the rat's enormous olfactory bulbs in the front of its brain (seriously, those fuckers are big). The takeaway here is that the brain has clear regions that are specified for certain things, but it's also at the same time not all that hyperlocal. So while this kind of mapping is totally awesome and useful, and has done wonders, as the article says, for brain surgery, it doesn't explain all that much about cognition or perception generally, like with the penis.
posted by Lutoslawski at 9:43 PM on July 25, 2013 [11 favorites]
(in the above I meant frontal (is really important for movement) not temporal)
posted by Lutoslawski at 10:10 PM on July 25, 2013
posted by Lutoslawski at 10:10 PM on July 25, 2013
Surely the word should be murunculus.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 11:28 PM on July 25, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 11:28 PM on July 25, 2013 [3 favorites]
Parturient O'Leary, nascetur ridiculus mus.
posted by Segundus at 11:34 PM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Segundus at 11:34 PM on July 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Neat (and eponysterical)! Those mole diagrams really a bit terrifying. I thought this article did a great job of distilling the science and making it pretty clear to a total novice like myself.
I really appreciate Lutoslawski's detailed explanation of what is missing from the article, too - thanks for that. It would be nice to see some of those limitations addressed in the piece itself.
posted by k8lin at 5:23 AM on July 26, 2013
I really appreciate Lutoslawski's detailed explanation of what is missing from the article, too - thanks for that. It would be nice to see some of those limitations addressed in the piece itself.
posted by k8lin at 5:23 AM on July 26, 2013
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posted by ostro at 3:52 PM on July 25, 2013