ALPHABETICAL BRAIN® VOCABULARY HUMANIST FAMILY BRAIN STUDY GUIDE HUMANIST FAMILY BRAIN STUDY GUIDE April 15, 2022 3 BRAIN STUDY QUIZZES AND A 30 DAY TIMETABLE STUDY CHART When you decide to spend the time and energy required to learn about your brain's physical structure and your mind's mental functions, which are known as your natural willpower, creative imagination, and adaptable self-identity. They all depend on your memory resources which make possible your ability to plan for predictable future situations and relationships and improvise to overcome emergency challenges. This step-by-step advice can empower you to "chunk" or categorize the brain facts and ideas into declarative statements and use the spaced-repetition method of memorization. Then the 15 brain ideas can become useful declarative memories in your long-term memory consolidation system, which is in the hippocampus part of your limbic system. You will be able to make better ordinary decisions as well as more life-enhancing transformative decisions as you use your time more efficiently. In addition, you will be able to make altruistic humanistic ethical choices easier when you make strategic decisions about both your personal issues and the social issues you are passionate about. That is because your thinking and deciding will be grounded in scientific facts about social conditions, if you use critical thinking skills and critical reading strategies to determine what is serious true knowledge and what is untrue spurious speculation about human nature and human potential. Also, you will learn that your brain is active at night when you are asleep since that is the time that it consolidates the most important experiences of each day for inclusion in your long-term memory consolidation system. Furthermore, brain scientists have discovered that the type of memory resources that your brain uses to remember new information and store it in your long-term memory consolidation system is determined by the kind of information you want to remember. For example, there are three major kinds of "declarative memory," including semantic memories, episodic memories, and autobiographical memories. Also, there is one major kind of non-declarative memory called "procedural memory." [1] All four kinds of memory have different triggers in your hippocampus but get strengthened in similar electrochemical (biochemical) ways due to the "wiring" of your nervous system. For example, procedural memory, which is the most familiar to everybody, is the easiest to be consciously aware of since when you are learning a new skill you can be aware of the changes in your bodily movements by simply counting the repetitions or the amount of practice required to make a new habit or behavior easy to do. This kind of procedural memory is commonly called "muscle memory" because it refers to habits or behaviors that you have learned that directly involve the movement of your muscles such as learning a new exercise routine or how to ride a bike or drive a car or brush your teeth, which people can learn quickly to become automatic or unconsciously performed. Since the 15 brain ideas and their definitions are factual ideas about your brain and body, the meanings are remembered mainly in the neuronal pathway systems of your brain's semantic memory and autobiographic memory in the physical area of the hippocampus parts of your limbic system and the temporal lobes of your cerebrum. All four of your major memory systems can be accessed by the working memory function of your prefrontal cortex in the frontal lobes of your cerebrum just under your forehead. [2] The FRONT SIDE of each brain flash card consists of a brain diagram and a memory code (letter or letters) related to the brain idea illustrated by the brain diagram. Also the FRONT SIDE of each flash card contains a QUESTION to clarify the brain idea because questions (interrogatives) are known to help ideas stick in your declarative memory, which is a type of semantic memory. The BACK SIDE of each brain flash card consists of either the same brain image or a different one that provides an additional visual perspective which ANSWERS the question asked on the FRONT SIDE. That short declarative statement (answer) defines the brain idea in the most concise way possible and contains a link to more DETAILS about the brain idea. Also each brain diagram illustrates how the 15 brain structures and 15 mental functions are all connected to the structures and functions of each other in order to produce your ability to imagine, reason, and remember. [3] By seeing the visual brain diagrams (picture models) on the flash cards, in addition to the text (words), you can more easily imagine the functional relationships among your brain's major physical structures and mental functions. The info-graphics (illustrations or diagrams) that show the relationships among your brain structures and mental functions are comprehended by different parts of your brain. And text is decoded in other parts or areas of your brain. This means that the design of the brain flash cards is stimulating many places in your brain and may be connecting to older memories of past similar experiences with both letters and words and declarative statements. Since your brain is constantly relating information from new experiences to your memories of older similar experiences and things in your present situation, your use of language skills and your vocabulary are impacted in the same way that your other memories interact. Your working (short-term) memory system and your long-term memory consolidation system are continuously interacting in order for you to make new evaluations and develop new understandings of your current situations. For example, since you already know the 26 letters of the English language alphabet and the hundreds of (sound bits) that they make possible, and you already know how to focus your attention on a particular thing or idea, you can learn the factual information about each of the new brain ideas faster by using the handy infinity symbol. It permits you to quickly navigate from one side of a flash card to the other side and also connect to the DETAILS files for each of the 15 brain ideas. The infinity symbol serves as a "flash card flipper" and is located under each brain flash card for quick navigation back and forth: from side to side. It allows you to flip each flash card over and over again until the brain ideas and memory codes converge and coalesce in both your conscious working memory system and in your unconscious long-term memory system. The back sides of each of the 15 brain flash cards connect to important additional details for each idea and they promote concentration and easy memorization. They associate relevant meanings of the new brain words and the facts that they symbolize. You can effortlessly go from the simple explanations to the more complex and back again to refresh your memory! Also by using the RIGHT ARROW navigational symbol on the front side of each brain flash card, you can flip it over to the back side of each flash card. In addition, by clicking or tapping on the RIGHT ARROW on the back sides of all 15 brain flash cards, you can GO FORWARD to the next flash card. The only exception is the back side of flash card #15 Long-Term Memory, which is labeled as "LOOP," since it instantly returns you to the first flash card, #1 Working Memory. Using the brain flash cards to memorize your brain's structural facts and the ideas that explain your brain's mental functions can provide you with a quick and convenient way to repeatedly expose yourself to the new brain information so it will become more memorable and eventually much more relevant in your life. You can always rapidly return to the list of all 15 free sample brain flash cards by clicking or tapping on the LEFT ARROW, which is on the lower left side of all the flash cards and is always labeled "LIST." [4] In addition to the 15 sample brain flash cards, there is another kind of file, which links from the ends of each of the 15 DETAILS FILES. They are called the FACT FINDER files, which link to citations from source material which describe the 15 brain structures and mental functions. They contain the best books published about brain science from a rational humanistic perspective. This important brain information has been organized in a unique logical pattern that provides the easiest way for you to understand your incredibly complex brain structures and mental functions in terms of a few easy to comprehend brain structures and mental functions. The organization of the quick links on the website was designed to encourage you to be able to use your critical thinking skills and critical reading strategies to comprehend the brain information as you go along. Then you will be able to infer new meanings about how your brain perceives and constructs (really, "re-constructs") your unique perspective of reality from what your body senses and your long-term memory module in the hippocampus part of your limbic system remembers! Once you have mastered the 15 brain ideas in the free sample, you will be able to appreciate the value of all the new brain knowledge that is being created every year. Moreover, the 15 main brain ideas can have an enormous stabilizing impact on your growing conscious self-awareness and on your adaptable core self-identity, especially after you have memorized them and can recall them easily from your long-term memory system. [5] The self-directed learning process emphasized on this website is the classic spaced-repetition method of memorization. It depends on your scheduling special times to focus your attention on the basic structures and functions of your brain that are necessary for you to understand in order to master the complete sequence of the 15 free brain ideas in the Humanist Family Brain Study --- one brain idea at a time! The scheduled sequence of study times or exposures to the brain and mind facts and ideas, including graphic diagrams, can help you create more frequent the repetitions you do, the stronger the neuronal signaling will be in your brain's neuronal pathways. This is the natural learning process that can be used anytime you want to remember anything permanently in your long-term memory consolidation system. [6] Before you start your serious study of the brain flash cards, it is important to realize that simply writing down the names on the list of the 15 sample brain names on the first Study Quiz can help you remember all of the brain ideas faster than if you merely read them to yourself. You will be activating millions and millions and millions of memory molecules! (Remember Carl Sagan's "billions and billions and billions of stars in the cosmos?"] Your brain study can conjure up that same kind of grand drama, if you will think big with an open mind. If you have Adobe Reader installed on your computer or mobile device, then you can use the four printable pdf forms in the Humanist Family Brain Study file in order to facilitate your brain study. (All four of the pdf files are accessible to you alone for your own personal educational purposes.) However, by just writing down the list of the brain ideas at the beginning of your brain study, you can easily reinforce what you are learning. By writing down the summary definition for each brain idea, you will also be able to refer to the list of names and definitions later as you recall and recite and review the names and definitions of the parts of your brain and their essential awesome functions. You will be discovering the purpose and function of each brain idea as you progress through the 15 brain flash cards in the free sample and then you will be able to see how they interact to create your unique human consciousness and sense of self. The important educational technique of simply writing down the name and definitions of the brain ideas on paper (the old reliable way of learning anything new) as part of your study plan is a scientifically proven memory booster. That process of learning will give you a stronger mental scaffolding (psychological structure) for capturing the details of the particular brain function through categorizing or chunking the new details into your long-term memory consolidation system. This immersive multi-sensory learning process allows information to be transferred more quickly from your working (short-term) memory system in your prefrontal cortex to your long-term memory consolidation system that is located in the hippocampus part of your limbic system's intricate emotional center. To do this, you need to create a sense of focused attention, which means that you need to deactivate your parasympathetic nervous system. To get ready to learn, you can take a few deep breaths for a minute so you will be able to slow down or stop the typical commotion of your intrusive automatic stream of consciousness thoughts by using basic mindfulness skills or meditation practices to achieve a calm attentive personal learning environment. By injecting more fresh oxygen into your brain with several deep breaths, you will be able to remember better when you are thinking about the brain ideas and their definitions. [7] Next, you can write down the appropriate matching brain names to a list of the memory codes provided on Study Quiz #2, which is on the Humanist Family Brain Study file. Again, it is important to note that the pdf form is only accessible to you for your own educational purposes. If you follow through and do the writing part as recommended together with filling in the words on the online printable files, you will be involved in multi-sensory immersive learning. This proven learning process involves using several senses at the same time, such as sight and touch together in order to understand and remember a brain idea better. The alphabetical memory codes, which are associated with each part of your brain and each brain function, can be thought of as memory "cues." They can assist you in remembering the brain ideas, since the language units of alphabetical letters are already stored in your long-term memory consolidation system. Since the letters in the memory codes already have hundreds of thousands or even millions of synapses (neuronal pathway connections) throughout your cerebral cortex (depending upon your age) they can easily connect the new brain ideas to the memory codes and strengthen their meanings in your long-term memory system. This will make them easier to be recalled quickly on command. The more you choose to repeatedly associate the factual brain ideas on the brain flash cards with each other, the more they will coalesce and become integrated and synergistic in your long-term memory consolidation system. And the more you integrate the new brain facts and ideas in your long-term memory consolidation system, the easier it will be for your creative working (short-term) memory in your prefrontal cortex to activate your conscious executive functions when you make important decisions. [8] After you have studied the 15 brain flash cards, you can read the list of 15 Questions located on Study Quiz #3 in the Humanist Family Brain Study file and connect the 15 Brain Ideas to the 15 Questions. As you read each question, think about the name of the brain idea that is directly related to each question and remember that your human brain has evolved efficient memory techniques to hunt for and recognize meaningful patterns. For best results, write the name of the brain idea at the end of each question on the printable pdf form at the link provided or write the questions and proper brain names on a blank piece of paper as you make the correct connections. This conscious intentional act of reinforcing the mental process of memorization can speed up your memory retention and consolidation. [9] To manage your time better during your brain study, you can keep a written record of the time you devote to your brain study sessions by using the printable 30 Day Timetable Chart at the bottom of the Humanist Family Brain Study file. If you use the 30 Day Timetable Chart to record the amount of time you spend studying your brain for a few days, you will notice a pattern of your best times for brain study. Knowing your brain study pattern can motivate you to continue your brain study until you develop the habit of thinking both consciously and unconsciously about your own new brainpower potential. The link to the 30 Day Timetable Chart is near the bottom of the Humanist Family Brain Study file. [10] After you have memorized the brain names and functions, they will become habits that will upgrade your thinking and reading skills. You will have mastered real words that signify real things that will connect you to real life or what most modern brain scientists call "reality." When all the new brain-related words are properly contextualized and memorized by using the educational formats on this website, they will be easily retrievable from your long-term memory resources by your prefrontal cortices. That means that your long-term memory consolidation system is accessible to your prefrontal cortex or conscious executive function whenever you choose to use it. Then you will be able to effortlessly activate your working (short-term) memory system whenever you want to use it to make new plans and achieve new goals using your new brain vocabulary and saving your time. One of the worst enemies of clear thinking and self-directed learning is information overload. It is toxic to your brain if you do not manage it carefully. Many studies have demonstrated that the constant distractions and disruptions of the mass media, fueled by the entertainment industry, on a "24/7" basis, can produce excessive distress in your life due to its never ending visual and auditory assaults on your brain and nervous system. The mass media and social media are both constantly bombarding your brain and nervous system because advertisers want your attention and the businesses they work for all want as much of your money as possible. Therefore, it is wise for you to learn time-management skills and self-control skills related especially to protecting yourself from the worst aspects of information overload and mass media trivia. Why waste your precious time --- when you don't need to? Use your natural willpower and adaptable self-identity to become more creative and successful. REMEMBER ALWAYS: You Are Your Adaptable Memory! instantly go to: WEBSITE INDEX ALPHABETICAL BRAIN® VOCABULARY produced by Infinite Interactive Ideas®