Word: gyrus
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Neuroscientists have used fMRI to identify three areas of the left side of the brain that play key roles in reading. Scientifically, these are known as the left inferior frontal gyrus, the left parieto-temporal area and the left occipito-temporal area. But for our purposes, it's more helpful to think of them as the "phoneme producer," the "word analyzer" and the "automatic detector." We'll describe these regions in the order in which they are activated, but you'll get closer to the truth if you think of them as working simultaneously, like the sections of an orchestra...
Shamans teach that out-of-body experiences are best achieved through meditation, reflection and transcendental calm. Scientists believe they have found a less celestial source: the right angular gyrus of the brain...
...doctors believe her sensations were caused by a failure of the brain to integrate tactile sensations and balance. Transient out-of-body experiences can occur in anyone, but a glance around is usually all it takes to ground the brain in reality again. The right angular gyrus, however, sits quite near the vestibular cortex, the seat of balance. Jolting the Swiss patient's gyrus apparently threw the delicate feedback system out of synch--creating a state of neural chaos that was exacerbated when she moved her eyes and body. Whether shamans achieve the same state through meditation is impossible...
...equivalent of a paper cup. Quite the contrary, says Pierce, who has results from a neuroimaging study to back up her contention. Moreover, the center of activity in the autistic mind, she reported at a conference held in San Diego last November, turns out to be the fusiform gyrus, an area of the brain that in normal people specializes in the recognition of human faces...
...neuroimaging study, Pierce observed, the fusiform gyrus in autistic people did not react when they were presented with photographs of strangers, but when photographs of parents were substituted, the area lit up like an explosion of Roman candles. Furthermore, this burst of activity was not confined to the fusiform gyrus but, as in normal subjects, extended into areas of the brain that respond to emotionally loaded events. To Pierce, this suggests that as babies, autistic people are able to form strong emotional attachments, so their social aloofness later on appears to be the consequence of a brain disorganization that worsens...