I was surprised that everyone’s presentation was so good. Is it now strongly emphasized for researchers to share their research with a broader audience?
A:
Thank you for your kind words.
It is true that funding agencies and government bodies often recommend that we actively engage in public dissemination of our work these days. Personally, I also enjoy doing this and find it meaningful. To the extent that some members of the public are interested, we can do our parts in sharing our knowledge, instead of relying only on journalists. If this helps to attract some students into pursuing science as a career, it makes it more personally rewarding still.
Q:
Is it possible to use fMRI to visualize what the person is thinking?
Language contains a large number of words. Does this mean that if spider signals exist, all 10,000 to 50,000 concepts of a language are unconsciously recalled every minute, or are related concepts simultaneously evoked?
A:
Great question. In fact, some researchers have tried to map out not all the signals for common words and semantic concepts – https://www.nature.com/articles/nature17637.
And these signals, like the spider signal in my experiment, will in fact fluctuate slowly over time – mostly unconsciously.
Q:
Is the brain area different for unconscious and conscious imagery?
Are there varying degrees of aphantasia, ranging from mild to severe?
How is unconsciousness defined in this context?
A:
Great questions. When people engage in unconscious imagery, they also make use of the same visual areas of the brain. There may be subtle differences in the pattern of the activities between conscious and unconscious imagery. But one likely possibility is also that the difference is mainly in higher cognitive areas, e.g. a brain region known as the prefrontal cortex. We usually define ‘unconscious’ as having no subjective vivid experience. And indeed, aphantasia comes in degrees.
Q:
I think I might have aphantasia, but I haven’t had any awareness or difficulties with it in my life so far. On the contrary, I often feel that I am ahead of others in foreseeing and imagining things.
A:
This is possible. In fact, many aphantasics do not have any difficulty performing visual tasks. Somehow, they can use other (possibly nonconscious) strategies, which may end up working better. In the laboratory, we are now trying to understand better in what ways their strategies may be different from others, and what may be the pros and cons, etc.
Q:
Is research fun?
A:
There’s a misconception that scientists are boring intellectuals and don’t know how to have enjoy life. Nothing is further from the truth. The process of science is about discovery and creativity and attracts open-minded, critical thinking individuals. Brainstorming with other scientists in the lab or at international scientific meetings is a lot of fun and one of the best parts of this job.
Q:
It is said that the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus play a braking role after the amygdala reacts. Do these structures wear down (physically) after this phenomenon occurs?
A:
These brain systems don’t necessarily wear down with repeated use, but their dysfunction has been implicated in trauma related psychiatric disease. Notably, prefrontal cortex function in particular is known to be downregulated in individuals who develop post-traumatic disorder patients.
Q:
What is the most important thing to become a researcher?
A:
It’s a combination of characteristics. Creativity and imagination are very important in making new scientific discoveries. However, seemingly opposed to creative thinking, attention to detail and methodical, logical thinking are also essential qualities. This combined with a burning ambition and a desire for truth are the ingredients that I think make a great researcher.
Q:
I understand that each situation is interpreted by an internal model created by the prefrontal cortex, but where and how are the memories that produce this stored?
A:
This is an active area of research. We are now testing whether and how neural plasticity and memory storage for the memories which make up internal brain models of emotion occurs in the medial prefrontal cortex. Our research so far has shown that a specific population of prefrontal cortex cells are required for expression of memories which rely on the internal model, suggesting that they are involved in storage.
