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I've been thinking about the idea that the keystrokes when I type are a learned reflex. Individual keystrokes seem to go faster than the brain can process and for someone who types 100wpm+, it seems like the thought process can be shut down entirely while copying files and data processing.
If this actually is a reflex, how is it different from reflexes we are born with; a knee jerk for instance?
Is there a chemical change that goes on to create learned reflexes?
If this actually is a reflex, how is it different from reflexes we are born with; a knee jerk for instance?
Is there a chemical change that goes on to create learned reflexes?
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Portland
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Re: Instinctive Reflex vs. Learned Reflex?
Sat, September 24, 2005 - 8:57 PMI don't know a ton about this but things such as typing, riding a bike, etc. are a function of the cerebellum, which is responsible for, in large part, learning repetitious tasks. And, if I'm not mistaken and I certainly might be, reflexes such as the knee jerk are not. I think this is more of a brain stem thing.
So, in short, it involves different brain regions. It's vastly more complicated but it's safe to say the cerebellum is one of the major regions involved in 'learned reflexes', which may explain why you are able to perform these tasks without a lot of conscious awareness of doing them. But remember when you first learned to type? It was probably a very consicous effort to do it. Now it's not. In fact, if you are conscious of it you probably make quite a few mistakes. -
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Re: Instinctive Reflex vs. Learned Reflex?
Mon, September 26, 2005 - 5:44 PMNever quite understood what the cerebellum was all about. In high school they kind of glossed over that, saying it was responsible for things like balance, coordination etc.
What I also remember was that a basic reflex, like a knee jerk, was composed of a circuit that went to the spine and back again without involvement from the brain.
In this case, it looks like the cerebellum is a sort of bridge between the two, not a circuit so much as a relay with the brain determining the direction and the cerebellum governing the action with a coded response.
Now the question is, what's the code?
Download typing directly into the cerebellum -- how many years before we see it? -
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Re: Instinctive Reflex vs. Learned Reflex?
Mon, September 26, 2005 - 5:58 PM--more info--
www.bbsonline.org/documents.../00/04/72/
lots more on googling "how cerebellum learns". Seems there are different theories to look at.
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Re: Instinctive Reflex vs. Learned Reflex?
Mon, September 26, 2005 - 6:46 PM"In this case, it looks like the cerebellum is a sort of bridge between the two, not a circuit so much as a relay with the brain determining the direction and the cerebellum governing the action with a coded response."
Well, not exactly. Cerebellum means little brain and, although it may have many connections to other parts of the brain such as motor cortex, it allows ffor non-cognitively driven activity, specifically motor.
Here's a very reasonable definition from Wikipedia:
The cerebellum (Latin: "little brain") is a region of the brain that plays an important role in the integration of sensory perception and motor output. Many neural pathways link the cerebellum with the motor cortex—which sends information to the muscles causing them to move—and the spinocerebellar tract—which provides feedback on the position of the body in space (proprioception). The cerebellum integrates these two functions, using the constant feedback on body position to fine-tune motor movements.
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Re: Instinctive Reflex vs. Learned Reflex?
Mon, September 26, 2005 - 6:08 PM>it seems like the thought process can be shut down entirely while copying files and data processing.
From a musician's perspective, I'd say that what tends to be recognized as 'consciousness' can usually be shut off for a few seconds at a time while improvising, if the context is not too demanding. OTOH, improvisation tends to go better if there is at least some management of the output by the part of the mind that makes long-range structural decisions.
