Critical Reasoning Papers - Article Example

The Brain’s Dark Energy Task: The Brain’s Dark Energy In his article, Marcus Raichle critically explains the brain’s activity, when an individual is mentally active and at rest. This result from a study his team conducted to determine the brain’s activity when the person is at rest. He cites a brain region called the Default Mode Network (DMN) to be responsible for the brain’s activity, when an individual is at rest. Raichle also explains how DMN could aid in knowing the cause of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease (Raichle, 2010).

The author explains how earlier studies done by other experts claimed that the brain could be inactive when a person was at rest. However, the study by neurological scientists denounced this claim. Raichle believes that the brain is always active, even when a person is at rest. He bases his reasoning from the Hans Berger’s (a former neurosurgeon’s) research. The author has used various research techniques, including sampling and image taking, as clearly defined in his article. The author claims to have done the research with a team of experts.

He compares his study with that of other researchers, making his work reliable. Earlier, researchers had a misconception that the brain’s activity switched off, when a person was at rest. However, using various brain-imaging testing, Raichle’s research discredits this claim. In his survey, Raichle argues that the mind is constantly forecasting prospective events while resting. Moreover, the brain uses a significant amount of energy while resting (Raichle, 2010). The author denotes this as dark energy.

As a result, it is evident that the author has analyzed the two possibilities of his research. On the other hand, the writer does not clearly show the link between Schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s diseases and brain activity. The article further accentuates what I have learnt in class about the brain processes while one actively involves him or herself in thinking or while at rest (Raichle, 2010). The article highlights that even though the person is at rest, the brain is still active in the background.

In the class, we learnt that earlier assumptions by some researchers might be inaccurate, and hence it is imperative to conduct an independent research before accepting any research work. Since the world experiences so many challenges today because of lifestyle changes, several mental disorders have arisen. The media have reported an increase in the number of individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia diseases. Recently, there was an interview in the local television where a certain doctor discussed the causes and effects of Schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disorders.

As a result, Raichle’s research on the human brain conditions while working and at rest will help alleviate these predicaments. The writer has explicitly ironed out the fallacy that had been there in the past that when a person is at rest, the brain is inactivity state. Moreover, it is now evident that the brain uses energy of nearly equal measure while active and at rest. In my opinion, the information the writer provides is relevant, since other independent studies agree to this fact. However, in my view the writer should have elaborated on the connection between various mental diseases and the brain activity.

I believe this will aid in controlling these diseases. My view is that the brain uses nearly the same amount of energy while active and at rest. However, my belief is that the brain still needs some time to rest though these energies may be nearly equal. ReferenceRaichle, M. (2010). The Brain’s Dark Energy. Scientific American, 314, 44 – 49.